Under the starlit night, I was sprinting wildly down a narrow path. Evergreen Sage had vanished, yet I felt no fatigue at all—my greatest advantage in this dream.
Finally, at the mountaintop, I saw a dilapidated temple. It looked ancient and worn, with the surviving outer walls covered in weeds. The entrance was barely recognizable, so I simply stepped over a mound of earth and entered.
The temple was tiny. Aside from the cracks in the walls, its basic structure remained. I walked up to the tightly shut wooden door and gave it a gentle push. With a creak, the door promptly crashed down onto the floor.
Dust billowed everywhere. Covering my nose, I retreated. The temple was no more than five or six square meters. In the center stood a deity statue, its colors mostly faded and the remaining paint peeling and cracked. It was impossible to tell which god it was meant to depict.
"Evergreen Sage, where are you?"
I shouted. After a while, I felt a chill and hurried out of the temple. In the distance, I saw a pale figure approaching—it was Evergreen Sage, panting heavily.
"You... How do you never get tired? You run so fast."
"Can ghosts get tired?"
Evergreen Sage explained that after he was caught by the Ironhide Revenant, he knew he was doomed. He immediately used a Purple Talisman his master had given him for emergencies, forcibly separating his soul from his body. He thought pretending to be dead would trick the revenant, but it was merciless—it tore his body apart, devoured most of his flesh, and ripped off his head.
Normally, if the body wasn’t destroyed, he could return within twenty-four hours and survive. But now, he was dead. Soon, even his separated soul would become a dead spirit. The damage to his soul mirrored the destruction of his body, gradually spreading until he would disappear for a time—waiting for his scattered souls and spirits (in Chinese lore, ‘three souls and seven spirits’) to come together again and form a true wraith.
As for the ten years of lifespan he borrowed, it had already returned to my body. Borrowing lifespan takes forty-nine days to complete; if the borrower dies or something goes wrong within that time, the borrowed years revert to the original owner.
"You really set me up. Will the Ironhide Revenant come after me?"
I roughly understood what was going on. Evergreen Sage shook his head and smiled.
"Don't worry. Although it can sense your aura and will come looking for you, as long as you keep running and stay several kilometers away, constantly changing direction, it won't be able to find you. Since your home is in the east, I brought you to the west. Your aura still lingers in the east, so it's likely searching for you there now."
"Damn, The Shrew!"
I blurted out. Evergreen Sage could only shake his head helplessly and patted me on the shoulder.
"My condolences, but it should be fine. The Ironhide Revenant's hatred is focused on you. As long as your wife doesn't interact with it, she'll be safe. Besides, the revenant has some intelligence—it only wants to find you and tear you to pieces."
"So you want me to deal with it? I can't use any powerful spells for now. How am I supposed to fight it?"
Evergreen Sage grinned from ear to ear.
"That's easy. The revenant's seal wouldn't be breaking so soon if I hadn't tampered with the Iron Sealing Spike in its skull—I tried to stuff some glutinous rice in to neutralize its corpse energy and slow its awakening. Sunlight helps a bit each day. Now, all you need to do is find a way to drive the Iron Sealing Spike back into its head before it pops out, and you'll be able to restrain it temporarily."
I nodded and pressed on with my questions.
"And after that? There has to be a day when it stops working, right?"
"After that, it's up to you."
I blinked. Evergreen Sage was already floating, smiling as he spoke.
"I'm really sorry, but this is as far as I can help you. If you manage to restrain it, run as far as you can—find a powerful master at a famous temple. You should have enough time. Farewell, Ethan Timms. Good luck."
"You bastard!"
I shouted. Evergreen Sage had already vanished into thin air. I wanted nothing more than to pin him to the ground and beat him senseless, then toss him into the latrine so he'd never recover. Only then would I feel better.
Now I was truly in trouble—the revenant's hatred was all directed at me. It would keep hunting me, and while I could run, there were only so many places in town. How long could I keep this up? I couldn't leave town, but then it struck me: maybe if I drove that spike back into the Ironhide Revenant, I could escape.
I looked at my own body. I didn't have much strength, but my reflexes were still sharp, and not getting tired was probably my biggest weapon now.
It was still early, just past midnight. I wondered if I should go straight home and face the Ironhide Revenant. But I was uncertain. After all, Seven had said I should find a Taoist who could subdue the revenant. Now Luke Chen was dead, Evergreen Sage was dead too—both Taoists, though the former barely qualified and the latter was just a half-baked amateur.
Who was the third Taoist, really?
I racked my brain, recalling everyone and everything I'd seen in the dream so far. After a long while, I still had no answer. I sighed, stood up, glanced at the deity statue behind me, and let out another helpless sigh.
"If only I could get some help—turn this nightmare into a good dream."
With that, I turned to head home, planning to find the revenant and drive the spike into its skull. Suddenly, I thought of another way—mixing molten iron with cement, dumping the Ironhide Revenant into a deep pit, and sealing it tight. As long as I didn't mess with its head, maybe that would work.
Sigh.
Suddenly, I whipped around, eyes wide, and rushed to the statue. I thought I'd just heard someone sigh, but there was no one here but me—only the statue remained.
"Say something, will you?"
I spoke, but the statue didn't react at all. Then I noticed a yellow cloth buried in dust nearby. I picked it up and brushed it clean—the words on it were familiar: Lord of Infinite Virtue.
"Master Eli Lear, if you can hear me, show a sign—help me out."
I called out, but nothing happened. I tossed aside the yellow cloth and sighed as I walked away.
Climbing down was much easier than going up. In just an hour, I was home. The courtyard was unchanged, The Shrew still asleep. It looked like the Ironhide Revenant hadn't come. I looked around and found a two-meter-long stick—my only weapon against the revenant. Since it hadn't regained its strength, maybe I could hold out for a while.
I checked the Rice Talisman at my waist, then sat in the courtyard clutching the stick, waiting quietly. Time crept by—still no sign of the Ironhide Revenant.
Dawn was near. I watched the moon sink in the west and finally felt some relief. My only hope was to find a Taoist who could subdue the revenant.
Gradually, I stood and stretched. Suddenly, I sensed something strange. As I turned, a pair of blood-red eyes appeared right in front of me, claws reaching out.
I leaned back as the Ironhide Revenant silently flew over my head. I rolled away quickly, again and again.
With a whoosh, the Ironhide Revenant missed its attack, its eyes puzzled. It seemed wary of me, thinking I was Evergreen Sage. I stood, gripping the stick, crouched in a martial stance, muttering as if casting a spell. The Ironhide Revenant paused, watching me warily. I drew circles on the ground, pretending to write—putting on a show for the revenant. It actually seemed to believe I was setting up a ritual array.
Suddenly, I pulled out a Rice Talisman and hurled it at the Ironhide Revenant. The moment it touched the revenant, it burst into flames, burning fiercely.
The Ironhide Revenant whimpered, raising its hands and backing away. The flames had singed its fur. It straightened up, floating in midair, claws poised to strike again.
"You'd better stay back, or I'll take you down with me. I've set up a grand array—come any closer and I'll activate it."
I locked eyes with the Ironhide Revenant, the silence between us thick with dread. Time dragged on, dawn creeping closer. If I could just survive until sunrise, maybe it would finally leave—its strength still not recovered. My gaze kept flickering to the jagged bump on its skull. If I could force that spike back in, maybe I'd win myself a few precious moments—just enough to find the third Taoist and escape this nightmare.
The Ironhide Revenant prowled closer, its guttural roars echoing through the darkness. Less than five meters separated us. My heart hammered as I frantically searched for any way to avoid its jaws and drive the Iron Sealing Spike back into its skull.
"You damn ghost! Why are you making such a racket in the courtyard so late? I can't sleep! Didn't you say... Oh my god..."
My eyes widened, anger flaring inside me—The Shrew had woken up at the worst possible moment.
"Why did you come out here?" she shrieked, her voice slicing through the chaos.
The Shrew's scream collided with the revenant's furious roar. In a flash, the Ironhide Revenant lunged at me, its hands clamping around my throat like a vice. I dropped the stick, desperately bracing against its jaw, fighting to keep its head away. The stench was suffocating, making my limbs go numb and my stomach revolt. My strength ebbed away, and in that horrifying moment, I knew I was about to lose my grip.