Chapter 142 Heartache

“The spirits of those you have killed will not rest! When I performed the rites to send them off, I condensed their deepest resentment into this ghostly flesh. Over the years, Xiao Hei has consumed nothing but your hatred and grudge!”

“Though it is a black dog, it was born precisely in a yin year, yin month, and yin day—an evil spirit of the shadows. Having consumed ghostly flesh for so many years, its hatred for you runs deep to the bone!”

“To amplify its fury against you, when it died, I forcibly extracted its tendons and drained the blood from its heart, crafting these clay figures—its terracotta warriors!”

“Today is the day you die!”

Grandma Li’s face twisted into madness.

Suddenly, Xiao Hei opened its mouth wide and let out a fierce roar at the witch.

The clay figures on the ground abruptly transformed into ghostly forms—men and women, even elderly people and children.

Their bodies were bound by black-red tendons.

At the very moment they saw the witch, their eyes burned with murderous bloodlust—pure hatred, so intense it sent chills down my spine.

After Xiao Hei’s roar, it lunged directly at the witch.

The witch sneered coldly, “A meddlesome clown with a dead dog dares to boast about killing me?”

With a swift motion, a short sword appeared in her palm.

A soft ‘puchi’ sound followed as the short sword plunged into the top of Xiao Hei’s head.

Its eyes filled with unwillingness and resentment, but its body began to collapse.

The ghosts that appeared writhed and howled, turning into black mist that merged back into Xiao Hei’s body.

Grandma Li’s eyes widened in horror as she shouted, “No!”

Like a final flash of life, Xiao Hei bit down hard on the witch’s shoulder.

The witch frowned and snorted coldly.

With a sharp pull, she withdrew the short sword from Xiao Hei’s head.

Xiao Hei’s ghost shattered into countless tiny fragments.

Grandma Li spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, slumping weakly to the ground, muttering repeatedly, “Impossible, how could this be?”

Xiao Hei’s soul dispersing so suddenly struck a harsh blow to Grandma Li’s spirit.

I clenched my fists tightly.

I had never imagined that after so many years, Grandma Li’s obsession was so deep that even Xiao Hei’s very existence was tied to her hatred of the witch.

Any living creature—be it a chicken or a pig—harbors emotions.

Even a tree does.

How much more then, a dog like Xiao Hei, raised by Grandma Li all these years?

To kill the witch, she was even willing to kill Xiao Hei herself, using its flesh, blood, and tendons to make those clay figures.

Yet, not only did it fail to kill the witch, it didn’t even leave a single obvious wound.

How could Grandma Li not break down?

“You are truly weak and worthless, just like before. This time, no man will step up to shield you from my attacks. But I don’t even want to kill you. You don’t have many days left. Since you suffer so much, just keep suffering.”

The witch gazed coldly at Grandma Li, then waved her sleeve and strode quickly toward the door.

Grandma Li croaked hoarsely, spitting another mouthful of old blood.

Wang Erjun’s face darkened with anger as he cursed, “Old hag! I’ll show you what my talisman can do!”

The talisman in his hand was part of a long string—ninety-nine papers woven together, their power concentrated into one strike.

The room was cramped to begin with.

The witch’s killing of Xiao Hei and her taunting of Grandma Li happened in an instant.

Without waiting for anyone to react, before the witch could respond, Wang Erjun unleashed the talisman strike!

The witch’s pupils contracted sharply as her body began to blur, as if attempting to evade the talisman’s effect through dispersion.

Yet at that moment, a large patch of ghostly blood oozed from her left shoulder—Xiao Hei’s previous wound!

Although Xiao Hei’s soul had scattered, it left behind a trace of injury on the witch.

Wang Erjun’s heart trembled as he unleashed a chain of binding curses, wrapping tightly around the witch’s left shoulder.

Instantly, her form began to coalesce.

Her face showed a hint of fear and caution.

However, the binding curse rendered her body immobile.

“Shock talisman!”

Wang Erjun shouted, throwing another talisman that flashed golden light followed by bursts of blood light.

At the same time, Li Yue stirred.

A veil of black mist seemed to envelop her as she charged into the witch’s crumbling body.

The mist shielded her, and in her hand was that peculiar iron nail, which surely inflicted significant damage on the witch.

The witch screamed in agony repeatedly.

After a while, Wang Erjun unleashed all his talismans in a sweeping motion, covering the witch’s body.

Li Yue staggered out from the witch’s misty form.

The black mist on her seemed to enter a small black gourd.

I immediately sensed that the black mist was itself a ghost.

It appeared that the small gourd served as a vessel for that ghost, much like the soul-preserving jar Zhang Chang had given me.

This was Li Yue’s secret and the reason she had to retrieve it from Zhang Chang.

Moreover, this item concerned her very life.

“Damn it, old hag. I can’t believe you still won’t die after all this!”

Wang Erjun panted angrily.

“Erjun, get out of the way!”

Li Yue suddenly grabbed Wang Erjun’s arm and pulled him aside.

At this moment, the witch’s black mist not only failed to dissipate but reformed into her body.

Her face was full of venomous hatred and fury. The surging resentment and yin energy darkened the walls of the room even further.

“You’re courting death!”

She howled fiercely and transformed into a black mist that surged toward Wang Erjun.

“Combat talisman!”

My face paled. Her speed was too fast—neither Wang Erjun nor Li Yue could dodge.

Holding that short sword, she clearly intended to end their lives.

I quickly drew a combat talisman and shot it toward the witch.

Her speed slowed noticeably.

Though she dodged the talisman, she was still shaken by its aftershock.

Just then, a cold laughter suddenly sounded clearly in my ear.

The voice was unfamiliar yet carried a haunting familiarity that made my heart tremble.

“Shadow witch, though I have suppressed you for so many years, I must admit you are no weakling. Yet now, to be cornered by mere children like this?”

“I no longer wish to seal you away. You’re destined to die at their hands, so I’ll let you linger a little longer.”

My whole body trembled uncontrollably.

From the witch’s corpse, her other eye emitted a continuous white mist.

This mist quickly formed into a human silhouette.

It was the image of my mother!

But she was clearly different from the mother I once knew.

Her expression was icy, with a faint hint of amusement—like watching us fight the witch was a source of great pleasure.

“Mother.”

I called hoarsely, tears streaming down my cheeks.

My mother furrowed her brow slightly, glanced at me coldly, then drifted indifferently upward.

The witch’s expression darkened as she said, “You don’t want to kill me, but I will kill you! That’s your son, right? I’ll kill him first!”

Her gaze suddenly fixed on me, and I felt an overwhelming chill, as if a wild beast had locked its eyes on me.

Zhang Chang appeared before me, his voice grave. “When dealing with this old demon, do not let your mother’s Three Corpse Spirits escape! Stop her!”

My body shuddered, and my attention snapped to my mother’s form, now halfway ascended.

I rushed forward, fiercely casting the Thousand Shadows Rope toward her.

The rope hooked my mother’s ankle, and I pulled with all my might—but it didn’t budge.

She turned her head, looking at me with cold eyes, and spoke words that pierced my heart.

“I can sense my original body has died, its soul scattered. Were you the burden back then? For the original to split and give me strength? If not for protecting you, why would we suffer such a fate?”

“You are not only a burden but also a murderer! No need to hide it, no need to call me mother. From your body flows a current of loathing—I know you were the man who once sought to use my original self as a vessel! Now that you’ve swallowed my soul, you still want to kill me?”