Ken Wang and I stared in astonishment at our surroundings. We were back on that snowy slope, and Louis Liu was floating right in front of us, his eyes cold but filled with a mocking smile.
"Hmph, tell your boss to come out. That's enough. This story is over."
I shouted, and Louis Liu, with his already twisted fingers, shook them slightly. Then, with a whoosh, he floated right up to us and sat cross-legged on the snow.
"Years ago, I witnessed a robbery, rape, and murder. The perpetrator was that taxi driver, Stanley Zhang. I happened to be nearby and managed to record the incident with my phone. Ethan Zhang, maybe that's how this world works—the worse a person is, the more terrible things they encounter. I've seen plenty myself."
I looked at Louis Liu, a smile in my eyes. Now I finally understood why Stanley Zhang was the first to act.
"As for me, I always thought that if you're going to be a villain, you have to be worse than the other villains. If you don't strangle someone else, they'll strangle you. I could sense that the whole group wanted me dead, but I still agreed to this trip to the snowy mountain. Do you know why?"
"Who the hell knows what's going on in your messed-up head? Ethan, stop wasting time. Take him out."
Ken Wang said, retreating behind me. I clenched my fists and stared at Louis Liu.
"Louis Liu, I don't want to hear your nonsense. Bring out the one behind all this."
As soon as I finished speaking, the snow in front of me exploded. Louis Liu was suddenly right in front of me, his hand clamped around my throat with overwhelming force—I couldn't breathe at all.
It wasn't just that I couldn't breathe—something was being gripped by Louis Liu. I knew very well that if it was damaged, I'd be finished. It was my Ghost Soul. A flash of insight hit me: now that I'm a ghost, I have a Ghost Soul.
Louis Liu threw me to the ground, then turned and walked away slowly.
"You know, out of the eight people who came here, five had strong intentions to kill me. Except for the accountant—he was always conflicted. Under Harvey Zhou's persuasion, he kept hesitating. Actually, he didn't know Harvey Zhou was investigating him. Things were about to fall apart, since I provided some evidence. Ha! I knew from the fifth deal onward that Harvey Zhou wanted me dead."
Louis Liu continued, "The people who died that night didn't even realize they were dead. They were all consumed by their hatred for me. The next day, the three who survived—Stanley Zhang the driver and Sean Wu—realized something was wrong, except for the accountant, Ethan Zhang, the role I was playing."
The two of them discussed it and decided to go skiing with a bunch of ghosts. They were terrified, but they'd heard that sometimes people die without realizing it—if no one points it out, they're fine. They planned to find a chance to go back and deal with the bodies in the camp and below.
"I realized what was happening that very night, Ethan Zhang. You want to know why everyone agreed to go to that ski spot? Because they all wanted to make their move there. Ridiculous, isn't it? Sure enough, someone triggered an avalanche once we arrived."
I quietly watched Louis Liu. He covered his cheek, grinning, then suddenly stood up, his eyes fierce as he looked at me.
"And those two idiot brothers—I saw right through them. Edward Lee had his younger brother deliberately slow down the group. At first, I just wanted to mess with them, but I went too far. Still, I've learned new ways to exploit people, now that I'm a ghost."
"Ethan, do you have a chance of winning?" Ken Wang asked. I didn't know how to answer. I could truly feel my Ghost Soul somewhere inside me—the most important part of any ghost. If it's damaged, you vanish completely. I've seen it happen many times.
"Boss, what do you think? Am I qualified to devour this kid now?"
Suddenly, Louis Liu shouted, and then the voice of the Blue Wraith echoed from the sky.
"Well, do as you please. I didn't expect Ethan Zhang to die so easily. Disappointing. Wasn't he supposed to be tough? How did he get crushed by the snow? Hurry up and finish it, Louis Liu."
"Understood, boss." As soon as Louis Liu finished speaking, I grabbed Ken Wang's collar and threw him to the right.
"Take care of yourself."
As I spoke, I tried to unleash my killing aura. Although it flowed out smoothly, just as I was about to form a sword, Louis Liu kicked me hard, sending me flying in pain.
With a crash, I slammed into something—a wall of ice, like a mirror. Louis Liu had vanished. Behind me, the ice cracked with a sharp sound.
"I'm right here, Ethan Zhang."
A heavy blow struck my back, sending me flying across the slope and crashing into the snow. With a whoosh, Louis Liu was in front of me again. Just as I tried to move, a hand grabbed my leg. Joanne Lu's head burst out from the snow, her white eyeballs grinning grotesquely.
Louis Liu raised his foot high and stomped down on my head. With a thud, I was embedded in the snow.
I felt as if I were seriously injured—the skin on my head was torn off by immense force, leaving a bloody mess. I screamed in pain.
"Heh, Ethan Zhang, what's wrong? Scared now?" Louis Liu said, lifting my head up.
"You're just like that accountant—weak and useless. Now you know, right? Ghosts are terrifying. You..."
(This chapter isn’t finished yet~.~ Please click next page to continue reading the exciting story!)
"Hahaha..." I burst out laughing.
"What are you laughing at?"
"I'm laughing at your ignorance, Louis Liu. Of course I know how terrifying ghosts are—more than you do. Don’t get too full of yourself..."
I roared, and suddenly Louis Liu opened his mouth, baring sharp teeth, and bit into my shoulder, tearing and devouring my flesh.
My left side was shredded, my arm torn off.
Then he threw me to the ground.
"Ugh, you taste awful. Let me finish you off here. I should thank you for coming into my story. Now, the higher-ups will probably rate me much higher."
As Louis Liu spoke, a sharp crack rang out—an icicle formed in his hand and stabbed into my chest. Then he grabbed the edges of the wound and ripped it open, exposing my ribs with a sickening crunch. He yanked out my heart, stuffed it into his mouth, and chewed noisily.
"It's over, boss."
As Louis Liu spoke, I closed my eyes, feeling something inside me. I'd witnessed countless ghost battles before, and now I was a ghost myself. Gradually, I adapted; I could feel it, even after Louis Liu knocked me to the ground.
Louis Liu floated up with a whoosh. He seemed to realize something—he was just a fierce ghost, no real threat to me. I burst out laughing.
"Don't make me die laughing, Louis Liu."
In that instant, I had already transferred my Ghost Soul. Even with my eyes closed, I could see everything on the snowy slope—every blade of grass, every tree.
"What's going on?"
Louis Liu swooped down at me again. I felt it—a thud as he stomped the snow, but I dodged easily. Then I opened my eyes and glared at him, a strange excitement surging through me, veins swelling as if about to burst.
"Aren't you a ghost? Don't you know about the Specter Web?"
I spoke softly. Louis Liu's face changed dramatically. Suddenly, I raised my hand, and the snow behind me exploded. Thick, powerful killing aura shot up, sweeping Joanne Lu into the air.
"Now, I have a few questions for you."
As I spoke, my killing aura pierced Joanne Lu's Ghost Soul. She disintegrated into ash, drifting away behind me.
The wounds Louis Liu had inflicted on me began to heal bit by bit.
"Ha." I couldn't contain my excitement and leaned in close to Louis Liu.
"Aren't you a ghost? Don't you know that to kill a ghost, you have to destroy its Ghost Soul?"
With a whoosh, Louis Liu floated into the air.
"Boss, help me!" he cried. Suddenly, the sky split open.
"You want to escape? Not so easy."
As I spoke, with a thunderous roar, thick killing aura erupted from all directions, rising into the air. In an instant, it split into countless black lines, covering the sky. Louis Liu froze in midair.
With a whoosh, I sensed his escape route and intercepted him, reaching out with a hand wrapped in black killing aura, which twisted and changed, echoing the explosive force inside me.
"You want to..." Louis Liu started to say, but I burst into wild laughter and swung my fists, sending shadowy punches at him. Black light erupted as I attacked his body relentlessly, holes appearing all over him. His screams turned from shock to agony as my assault continued.