Although I desperately wanted to pull away, to stop this madness, I was utterly unprepared for what happened next. At that moment, it felt as if a tremendous force beneath my feet had gripped me tight—I simply couldn't break free.
I could sense that the Specter Web I unleashed wasn't coming solely from my body. Instead, it was also drawn from the areas surrounding the village—released by my Second Ghost Soul. I could feel this distinction clearly.
The moment the Second Ghost Soul appeared, I saw it manifest like a massive cloud, hovering right above my head. I didn’t know why, but perhaps deep in my subconscious, I sensed that this was the best way to use it.
Using myself as the center, I kept absorbing the ley line’s power. Then, the Second Ghost Soul acted as a kind of dispersal mechanism, channeling the immense energy through my body and letting it flow smoothly out into the sky around me.
With a thunderous boom, flames suddenly erupted sky-high from the direction of the parking lot, instantly illuminating most of the village.
In a flash, I saw a white figure soar through the sky toward the blaze. The Five Elements’ cycle had already been disrupted—the ley lines were truly affected.
Suddenly, as the figure flew past, the flames vanished in an instant.
Just as I was about to check on that figure, someone appeared before me, gripping his own neck. He wore sandals, a plaid shirt with a heart pattern, deep gray shorts, and his hair was wild and spiky like a hedgehog, streaked green and red. He had a nose ring, and was chewing gum.
He was the handsome type, with a long face and broad forehead, but his eyes had a shameless look that made you want to punch him on sight.
“Had enough fun, Ethan Zhang? I’m out now, so what’s your deal? Still not stopping?”
"Damn, what's with you? Suddenly hauling me up here like this."
In a blink, I was already standing at the doorway of the crime scene. I blinked and looked around.
"Get inside! What are you standing there for? You're a murderer now—if the villagers see you, you're dead meat."
"Damn it, this is all your fault!"
I roared, and in the next instant, I was sitting on the couch. The impossibility of it all left me stunned—I had no idea how I'd gotten inside. Just a second ago, I was yelling at the door.
"Want a drink? Here."
The guy in the plaid shirt tossed me a bottle of beer. I hurried to catch it.
I was starving and parched—my throat felt like it was on fire. I muttered thanks, popped the beer open, and it exploded all over my face and clothes.
He did it on purpose. I glared at the plaid-shirted revenant, his smug grin giving him away—he must've shaken the bottle before handing it to me.
"Son of a bitch."
Lan Jiuqing smirked, walked up to me, waved his hand, and sighed.
"I'm just trying to get rid of you, bad luck star. Otherwise, if you ruin our big event in a few days, what then?"
I let out a sound, staring at Lan Jiuqing, not knowing why he called me bad luck star.
"Whenever you get involved in ghost matters, it's always trouble. I heard the Eternal Life Society suffered big losses because of you, and that one-eyed old man—now he's locked up in the Hall of Malice with the Death Star. Seriously, Ethan Zhang…"
"That's not my fault—they started it."
I retorted bluntly. Sure, it started when we went looking for Bo Ziran’s daughter, but they provoked me first.
"Alright, I'll take you home tomorrow morning. The sooner this plague god leaves, the better."
I shot Lan Jiuqing a glare.
"No way—give me back my companions."
"Alright, I got it. I'll return the chubby one and the cute one to you. As for that girl, Huangfu Ruofei, I invited her to the wedding banquet. I'll personally bring her back in a few days—she won't be harmed."
"A wedding?" I stared at Lan Jiuqing in disbelief.
"Ji Yuner is marrying the leader of our Moonlight Clan. Didn't you know?"
I blinked, then shot to my feet, staring blankly at Lan Jiuqing.
"Are you kidding me?"
"It's true—a wedding."
My mind was in chaos—how could a zombie and a ghost get married?
"It doesn't matter if you're a ghost or a zombie—as long as heaven and earth bear witness, and there's love, you can get married."
"No, give me back Huangfu Ruofei first."
I gave Lan Jiuqing an extremely distrustful look.
"What do you take me for? Listen up, Ethan Zhang—I'm one of the Underworld Feathers of the March Feather. Back when I was at my peak, only Ghost Sovereigns could give me pause; everyone else in the magic world, or those Green Wraiths, I didn't care about at all. I'm that powerful—why would I need to lie to you? Just relax, go wash up and sleep. Tomorrow morning, I'll sneak you out."
I yelled, hurling the beer can at him. In an instant, he was in front of me, holding a towel and another beer.
"Alright, enough joking around. Don't waste the beer. I'll fry up a few dishes for you. No hard feelings, right?"
He said it, and I swallowed my anger, taking the towel. My face was sticky with beer foam, and I wiped it off quickly. But then I burst out cursing.
"Damn it, what the hell do you mean by this? Ah—"
I threw the towel aside, clutching my face as tears streamed down. My eyes were sealed shut—the towel was coated in chili powder and Sichuan pepper. I sneezed uncontrollably, burning and choking, snot and saliva and tears pouring out.
Rage boiled inside me—I could've killed him right then. But I was powerless, wheezing and rubbing my face against the couch, eyes still shut tight.
"Alright, this time I'm serious. No more jokes."
I felt a hand steady me, pulling me up. I shook him off with all my strength.
"Just wait—once I recover, I'll beat you senseless."
Just as I finished, my stomach growled. After a while, I couldn't take it anymore and let him help me wash my eyes.
I found the faucet and cautiously tested the water—it seemed fine. I washed up, eyes still streaming painfully, my whole face burning and twitching. I sprawled on the couch, mouth agape, tears spilling down.
From the kitchen came the sounds of cooking. He was making food. I glanced around, helplessly smiling at being treated like a monkey.
Half an hour later, the aroma hit me. I grabbed my beer and took a sip. He brought out several dishes: dried beef, marinated chicken feet, peanuts, and stir-fried rice noodles.
My stomach was growling—I was starving. He handed me chopsticks and I grabbed a piece of beef, but then glared at him, resentment in my eyes.
"Relax. I said I wouldn't mess with you anymore. Eat."
I ate suspiciously, but the food was surprisingly good. The other dishes were just as perfect. Before long, I was wolfing down everything, devouring the whole table with two beers to wash it down.
"Hey, what's your name?" Even though he'd cooked four dishes, I still felt nothing but dislike for him.
"Oh, I'm Lan Jiuqing. What's wrong, Ethan Zhang—aren't you going to thank me?"
"Thank you, my ass. It's all your fault—now look, I'm a murderer."
Lan Jiuqing grinned wickedly, walked up, waved his hand, and sighed.
"I'm just trying to get rid of you, bad luck star. Otherwise, if you ruin our big event in a few days, what then?"
I let out a sound, staring at Lan Jiuqing, not knowing why he called me bad luck star.
"Whenever you get involved in ghost matters, it's always trouble. I heard the Eternal Life Society suffered big losses because of you, and that one-eyed old man—now he's locked up in the Hall of Malice with the Death Star. Seriously, Ethan Zhang…"
"That's not my fault—they started it."
I retorted bluntly. Sure, it started when we went looking for Bo Ziran’s daughter, but they provoked me first.
"Alright, I'll take you home tomorrow morning. The sooner this plague god leaves, the better."
I shot Lan Jiuqing a glare.
"No way—give me back my companions."
"Alright, I got it. I'll return the chubby one and the cute one to you. As for that girl, Huangfu Ruofei, I invited her to the wedding banquet. I'll personally bring her back in a few days—she won't be harmed."
"A wedding?" I stared at Lan Jiuqing in disbelief.