Chapter 119: Devouring Ghosts

Zhang Chang turned around and walked toward the riverbank outside the stilt house.

Although it had taken us a few minutes to walk from where we docked the boat, there was clearly a small path leading to the spot where Zhang Chang was heading. I immediately followed him and soon realized that this path had not been used for many years; it was overgrown with weeds. Had it not been for the fact that the path was raised like a field ridge, it would have long since disappeared.

Zhang Chang’s back exuded a sense of chill and murderous intent. The gentle, calm demeanor he had displayed just moments ago had vanished entirely.

In less than two minutes, we reached the banks of the Yin Dragon River. A full moon was reflected on the surface of the river, and as the water rippled, the moon danced along with it. Zhang Chang walked to the water's edge and took a rope out of the pack on his back.

The rope looked bizarre. It was not made of straw or hemp, but woven from some kind of special thread—black, white, gray, and a withered yellow. Each fine strand looked exactly like a human hair.

"After staying here for so many years, wanting to come here every single day—did you really think there wasn't a man in this house?" Zhang Chang’s voice was icy. Suddenly, he threw one end of the rope into the Yin Dragon River.

The surface of the Yin Dragon River surged violently. A bamboo raft appeared silently on the water. It was covered in colorful paper, soaked in the river water, and glistening with a wet, eerie reflection of the moonlight. It was chilling enough to make one's skin crawl.

Had that rope just summoned a ghost from the water?

Just then, the raft began to drift toward us, looking incredibly ominous. Zhang Chang’s expression remained cold and grim; suddenly, he yanked on the rope with immense force.

Water splashed everywhere! A blood-red figure was violently dragged out of the water!

It was an old ghost, not much younger than Zhang Chang. His face was deathly pale, and his eyes were pitch black, filled with pure greed.

"That is her hair! And what you're carrying on your back... that is her bones! You! You brought her out!"

The old ghost gripped the hair-woven rope tightly. The bamboo raft had drifted under his feet, and he stood steadily upon it. His eyes were burning with greed.

My pupils contracted; I suddenly understood. Zhang Chang’s murderous intent was for the sake of his wife. Something must have happened during the forty years he was away. Looking at the pack on Zhang Chang’s back, which contained her remains, and then at the old ghost’s greed, I felt an even deeper chill. Was he coveting this old woman?

"You are just a man who never intended to come home. I watched her wait here for decade after decade—what a wonderful woman she was."

"Yet all you ever did was make her wait!"

"If she had just entered the Yin Dragon River, she could have stayed with me forever, and she wouldn't have needed to wait for a man like you!"

"Today, you brought her to me! I will have your old bones tied to my raft, and I will make you taste the same torment she suffered every day!"

I frowned. The old ghost’s words made everything clear. He had fallen for the old woman, but she had only ever waited for Zhang Chang. Moreover, he was a soul trapped in the Yin Dragon River, and the old woman would never have been with him.

"So, you were the one constantly tormenting her with Yin energy, trying to make her die early?" Zhang Chang’s voice was frigid.

A twisted look of rage flashed across the old ghost's face. "So what if I did? Even in death, she was still waiting for you! She was waiting for you, and I was waiting for you, too. Now that you're here, don't think you're leaving!"

The old ghost’s voice became distorted with fury. A faint, bloody mist began to seep from his body, and his eyes turned deep crimson.

"Xie Yuan, stand back. I want you to watch me tear him apart, piece by piece, and let him watch his own soul scatter into nothingness!"

Zhang Chang’s voice was chilling. He suddenly leaped up and jumped directly onto the bamboo raft. The old ghost’s expression grew increasingly hideous, and the blood mist on his body erupted. With a cruel laugh, the raft beneath his feet suddenly sank into the water.

My expression changed slightly, and I instinctively shouted, "Watch out!"

Zhang Chang’s face remained impassive as he plunged into the water. The old ghost’s body instantly lunged at Zhang Chang, and his entire form seemed to drill right into Zhang Chang’s body. The next moment, I saw the clothes Zhang Chang was wearing turn blood-red, and his eyes mirrored those of the old ghost.

"You're courting death! You actually dare to enter the Yin Dragon River!"

He opened his mouth, but the voice that emerged was that of the old ghost.

Possession!

My face turned pale. Even though I had great confidence in Zhang Chang, the scene before me terrified me. He had dared to enter the Yin Dragon River and had let the old ghost possess him. I no longer felt that Zhang Chang was in control of the situation.

I snatched a *Zhen* (Suppression) talisman from my pocket and threw it directly at him. The next second, however, his body dived into the Yin Dragon River.

Water splashed, and the reflection of the moon vanished. I clenched my fists, staring at the surface of the river, my face drained of color. If Zhang Chang died here because of his rage, all the time and effort Li Yue and I had spent finding him would be in vain. I would have to spend even more time searching for someone else who could help me.

Just then, the water surface rippled once more. Less than a minute had passed.

Zhang Chang suddenly broke through the water and landed firmly on the bank. In his left hand, he gripped a withered, skeletal corpse dressed in bright red clothing. In his right hand, the strange rope was wrapped tightly around the old ghost’s neck; the ghost’s eyes were bulging, and he was struggling in agony.

"It is difficult to completely kill an old ghost like this. They always leave a sliver of their soul within their remains. Even if you catch them, they won't die. Their corpse will escape, and after some time, they will recover."

As he spoke, Zhang Chang threw the skeleton onto the ground and stepped on it. With a cracking sound, a scream echoed out. Having been soaked in water for so many years, the bones were already brittle. Furthermore, it seemed there was something in Zhang Chang’s foot that was lethal to ghosts; with that one stomp, not only did the bones shatter, but the sliver of soul within them was forced out.

Zhang Chang laughed coldly and said, "Xie Yuan, this is the essence of a malicious ghost. For you, it is a great tonic."

I didn't let it escape; I took a sharp breath and pulled that sliver of soul toward me! Instantly, the soul collapsed into a ball of black mist and was sucked into my mouth. For a split second, I felt as if my own soul were bloated to the point of tearing.

The old ghost, still struggling, was left with nothing but terror.

"You are not human! What kind of monster are you? You actually consumed my essence!"

His spectral form began to disintegrate. I gasped, fighting through the sensation of being torn apart. But I couldn't absorb any more.

Zhang Chang looked at me, frowning. Before he could speak, I crouched on the ground, took out talisman paper and a blood-ink slab, and drew over a dozen *Zhen* talismans in one go. My soul felt a third of its strength vanish.

A look of surprise appeared on Zhang Chang’s face. I had never shown him my ability to draw *Zhen* talismans before, so his surprise was expected. My face turned slightly pale, and an instinctive craving welled up within me.

The surprise on Zhang Chang’s face shifted into something dark and cold. He held the old ghost out toward me. Just as I was about to inhale deeply, Zhang Chang pulled his hand back slightly.

A patch of flesh on the old ghost’s face twisted and collapsed into black mist, drifting toward my mouth. A single mouthful of soul was nowhere near enough to compensate for what I had just expended.

I stared at Zhang Chang, my voice also turning cold. "Give it here. Didn't you just tell me to eat it?"

Zhang Chang’s eyelids twitched, but a hint of excitement appeared on his face.

"That’s the emotion! Exactly! Xie Yuan, haven't you realized that this version of you, fueled by such emotions, is the real you?"

As he spoke, he moved the old ghost closer. Driven by instinct, I grabbed Zhang Chang’s wrist with both hands and forcibly snatched the ghost away!

Just as I was about to finish him off, Zhang Chang said in an eerie tone, "The more malicious the ghost, the more you must torment them. The more they suffer, the more powerful their soul becomes, and the more nourishing it is for you."

"Xie Yuan, being a overly rational person does you no good at all."

"Rational, good people are only ever bullied and hurt. Isn't your true nature... inherently evil?"