I struggled desperately to hold onto my fading consciousness. The force of that blow was overwhelming—it pierced straight through my ghostly soul. With a gurgling sound, bubbles rose from my body's surface, and then my chest began to repair itself, closing up the gaping hole that had been torn open.
I lay quietly on the ground. The feeling was terrible. All around me, it was silent. I could barely hear the Taoist's laughter anymore. Though he was still laughing, his voice was fading.
My ghostly soul felt empty, like a drafty window with cold wind constantly pouring in. I watched helplessly as the Taoist walked toward me, step by step. I wanted to get up, but my limbs wouldn't obey.
“You charged in far too recklessly, Ethan Zhang. Let this be a lesson—remember it.”
My shadow, lying beside me, suddenly spoke. Then I heard a vicious shout.
“Zhang Jizheng, give us your primordial spirit to eat! Hurry up, we don't have time to worry about anything else now.”
My consciousness was about to fade. I couldn't hold on much longer.
“How is this fair? If I let you eat everything, wouldn't that mean I'm dead?”
I heard Zhang Jizheng grumbling again, and a smile appeared at the corner of my mouth.
Gradually, I felt a warm current flowing through me. My mind started to clear, and my body seemed to be recovering. At that moment, the Taoist's voice became distinct once more.
“Ethan Zhang, your ghostly soul is about to dissipate. Letting you die like this isn't the solution. I'll put you into the Heaven-Earth Spirit Talisman Bag for now.”
The Taoist slowly approached, stopping a few meters away. He seemed to be preparing something, drawing with cinnabar on the ground. I waited for my strength to recover bit by bit, trying to reestablish contact with my ghostly soul.
“Don't hold onto any naive hopes, Ethan Zhang.”
My shadow reminded me again. I weakly moved my lips.
“Next, you know what to do, right? That thing isn't human at all, is it? It's the kind of skin-wearing demon you're familiar with.”
“Ah...”
I opened my mouth and responded, gradually starting to move my ghostly threads over.
“Don't waste your energy. Do you realize your ghostly soul has suffered extensive damage? A ghost's soul isn't as fragile as a human's. Even if mortally wounded, as long as it's not completely destroyed, there's still a way to recover. But this spell only attacks your ghostly soul—you can't even stand up now.”
Suddenly, I remembered what happened with Richard Li—thirteen of him. I asked aloud.
“Was it you who changed the fate of those thirteen Richard Lis?”