Chapter 47: The Bird Startled by the Bow

After the ghost left, Ning Zhe did not rush toward the circuit breaker’s location but walked to the corpse the ghost had just possessed, crouched down, and gave it a quick inspection.

The corpse itself showed no signs of initial trauma; aside from minor abrasions caused by skin rubbing against the grass during the fall, there were no other external injuries. The facial muscles were rigid and frozen, locking the terrified, twisted expression of death onto its face.

Had Ning Zhe not known that Tai Yi and Zhao You were already dead by his own hand, he might have believed this man was from Hejia Village. After all, the manner of his death was nearly identical to Gu Yunqing’s.

——But does that mean there was nothing suspicious about him? Of course not.

Ning Zhe pulled a power bank from his pocket and turned on its light.

——His power bank had a built-in small lamp, usable not only for charging electronic devices but also as an emergency flashlight.

The bright, focused beam fell upon the corpse before him, illuminating the terror on its face with startling clarity—but Ning Zhe was not looking at the corpse itself. He was staring at the grass behind it.

The corpse killed by this ghost did differ slightly from an ordinary human body; it bore an anomaly—not obvious, not hidden, but easy to spot if one took the time to look.

Yet in the chaotic, frantic atmosphere moments earlier, no one had the energy to calmly examine a dead body.

After experiencing the recent danger and gaining a vague sense of direction, Ning Zhe easily spotted something unusual on the corpse.

“This corpse has no shadow,” Ning Zhe tilted the power bank slightly, changing the angle of light—but no silhouette of the corpse appeared on the grass.

The light from the lamp passed through the dead body on the ground without obstruction, as if passing through glass.

No, even completely transparent, colorless glass would produce some refraction or scattering—but this corpse showed nothing. The light passed through the solid human form without resistance or dimming, as if nothing stood before him.

“A person killed by a ghost loses their shadow,” Ning Zhe turned off the flashlight and tucked the power bank back into his pocket, standing up: “Alright, let’s organize what we know.”

1. The ghost has no normal vision—it cannot see people, only their shadows cast by light. 2. A person killed by the ghost has no shadow. 3. The ghost does not appear alone; it often possesses the corpses it has killed to move.

4. The ghost fears light. When too close to a light source, the corpse it possesses moves cautiously and slowly.

Just as it did not immediately kill Feng Yu in the corridor, or Ning Zhe beneath the streetlamp—when near a light source, the ghost’s movements become sluggish.

As Ning Zhe pondered, a faint rustling sound came from the corpse lying on the grass—it suddenly stirred.

The ghost had returned.

Although Ning Zhe had been careful using the power bank’s light, he could not avoid casting a faint shadow outline on the ground from the residual glow of the lamp.

Even if his inspection was swift and he turned off the light decisively, the shadow had existed—even for a second—and the ghost operated by rules: it only cared whether something existed, not how strong or weak it was.

Ning Zhe stepped back, watching silently as the corpse rose straight up, like a city gate pulled by ropes.

The ghost was right before him now—but could not find him, because the light was off.

“An interesting ghost…” Ning Zhe frowned slightly.

Unlike Zhao You, this ghost’s initial kill instinct was extremely strong. Without any prior information, encountering it meant instant death with no chance to react. But once armed with knowledge and a direction to evade or think, defeating or controlling it became easy—almost effortless.

“If my guess is correct—that this ghost was deliberately placed here because of ‘Zhao You’…” Ning Zhe’s expression turned strange: “Then this person seriously underestimated me.”

Even without Bai Zhi’s hint, Ning Zhe could have used Tai Yi’s rule to force others to die in his place, stacking deaths until the rule revealed itself. Many in the estate had died—but survivors remained.

Unless the person who released this ghost into the estate didn’t know Tai Yi existed.

“He knew Zhao You… but not Tai Yi?” A faint thread of insight tugged at Ning Zhe’s mind—he felt he had grasped something vital.

Rustle…

A faint scraping sound came from the honeysuckle bushes nearby. Ning Zhe instinctively turned his gaze toward the source—then came a muffled gunshot, silenced.

Shh—

The human body has limits. Even the fittest athlete cannot dodge a bullet at such close range—even if the nervous system reacts in time, the body cannot move fast enough.

But the rule does.

Tai Yi’s rule activated far faster than Ning Zhe’s body could move.

At the exact moment the gunshot rang out, the sunshade in Ning Zhe’s hand dropped to the ground—and the boy holding it vanished from Old Li’s sight, transforming into a small magpie that landed on the grass.

The moment its claws touched the ground, the magpie transformed back into Ning Zhe. He kicked off the grass with both legs, launching himself forward like an arrow released from a bow. Before Old Li could reacquire his target, Ning Zhe’s fist struck his abdomen.

“Ugh!”

The brutal blow to his abdomen brought searing pain—but Old Li could not even scream, because as Ning Zhe slammed his right fist into the man’s gut, his knee simultaneously shattered Old Li’s wrist holding the gun, and his left hand seized the man’s throat before a cry could escape, slamming him to the ground like a leopard pouncing on an antelope, its sharp canines clamping down on the prey’s windpipe.

Ning Zhe straddled Old Li, expressionless, squeezing his throat. His right hand shot toward the man’s face and plunged his fingers cleanly into the eye sockets.

Then came two wet pops—Ning Zhe tore out Old Li’s two eyeballs with his bare hands. The detached orbs dangled from the facial nerves on either cheek, like children’s yo-yos, tears and blood dripping down.

Only after this did Ning Zhe release Old Li’s neck, pick up the riot gun from the ground, and assume a steady shooting stance: “Who are you? Why did you shoot at me?”

But Old Li, severely injured, could not answer immediately. The middle-aged head of security curled on the ground, groaning and writhing in agony.

Shh—

A rubber bullet embedded itself in Old Li’s calf, followed by a piercing scream.

“I’ll ask again. Who are you? Why did you attack me? Do you have accomplices?” Ning Zhe whispered low.

(End of Chapter)