"What's wrong, aren't you a ghost? Hahaha, hurry up and recover, come on..."
I stood in the snow, staring at Louis Liu, whose body had been reduced to just a head. His eyes were filled with terror. I knew clearly that his Ghost Soul was inside his head, and his eyeballs darted back and forth.
I didn't kill him outright. Instead, every punch landed just shy of his Ghost Soul. By now, his Ghost Soul must be injured and extremely weak.
Suddenly, from all directions, countless ice crystals stabbed toward me. In an instant, my body was completely pierced through.
"With that many, let's see how you handle it!" Louis Liu shouted.
"Shut up." I grabbed his head with one hand. My body had been riddled with holes, but I didn't feel a thing. Finally, I understood what it was like when Yin Qiu was repeatedly transformed yet acted as if nothing happened.
"Damn, Ethan Zhang, where the hell do you get so much ghost power? This makes no sense!"
From the sky came the voice of the Blue Wraith, sounding utterly shocked.
"It's inexhaustible, haha. Isn't this the snowy mountain? Haven't plenty died here? The Yin energy is so dense, and the earth energy here is massive."
As soon as I finished speaking, all around, in certain spots, figures rose from the snow and wrapped up every ghost planning to attack me. They were the five people with intense killing intent toward Louis Liu, each expressionless, like puppets.
"It's nothing, it's nothing... damn, I spilled the tea. I'm too lazy to talk to you for now. Just wait until midnight—then it'll start. The next story is about to begin."
After a moment of silence, everything went quiet. I gripped Louis Liu's head and drifted up the hillside, where Ken Wang greeted me with a delighted expression.
"Haha, well done, Ethan! I almost thought you weren't going to make it!"
I shot Ken Wang a resentful look. I still couldn't figure out why he had the power to alter stories.
"Alright, tell me everything you know." I set Louis Liu's head down on the ground. He stared at me in terror.
"I just know that all the ghosts living in these stories are managed by something. They keep repeating the same tales, as long as someone brings them in. I don't know the details, but..."
Before Louis Liu could finish, I squeezed his skull and flung it high into the air.
"Remember this: anyone who relies on controlling others to make themselves stronger is weak—for life. You, them, all of you. Let this farce end now."
With a bang, the Deathbane Aura I released from Louis Liu struck him, gradually turning him to ash. I didn't think much about this story. These past few days, what I feared most was the human heart—maybe that's the real evil spirit.
"What about your body, Ethan? Want me to help you move it up here?"
"Don't bother. Instead, why don't you tell me what happened in that locked room you entered?"