Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 74: Who Will Win?

Jiang Xun quickly shrugged off the newcomer who had crashed into him. He hadn’t even gotten his footing before he figured out what had just happened.

In short, he’d been played by Fang Xiu’s team.

If it had really been the descent of a Great Evil, the evil spirits wouldn’t have needed to mess with taboos just to kick him out of the courtyard. The fact that he triggered a taboo meant he had cut himself off from solving the E personally. The courtyard now belonged to Fang Xiu.

Silently, Jiang Xun recited “Return Home, Come Away” a few times, but he wasn’t panicking.

If Fang Xiu had this level of skill, resolving the E wouldn’t be hard.

Jiang Xun could accept losing one skill reward. As long as he held on until Fang Xiu resolved the ritual, he could still return safely to the Disaster Relief Tower.

From this moment on, his goal was no longer to “eliminate the courtyard’s Master”, but simply to survive.

He glanced at the forest swarming with ghosts, brandished his brush-shaped magic weapon, and activated the talismans around him. With a few agile leaps, he vanished into the darkness.

Fang Xiu: “So the game’s started?”

“It’s started.” 

Bai Shuangying nodded. Under the moonlight, the Peach Bone Evil shimmered with a soft white glow. A’Qiao and Lu Wei staggered to their feet, their eyes clouded like hungry ghosts.

“That crazy woman ran off… She can’t run… We need some meat to eat…”

“Someone dying saves us water… Where the hell’s the rescue team… Useless trash…”

The two of them stumbled forward like zombies, muttering broken lines. Under the influence of concealment magic, their figures slowly faded into the night, like melting shadows.

They’d consumed flesh of their own kind before, so they were easy to control. But taking his eyes off them meant Fang Xiu’s safety…

“Do whatever you want.” Fang Xiu smiled. “I’ve got a puppy with me. I’ll be fine.”

The little black dog, with a soda can in its mouth, rubbed its head against Fang Xiu’s pant leg.

Bai Shuangying nodded, then his figure also disappeared.

Fang Xiu took a deep breath. Without Bai Shuangying by his side, he felt like he’d suddenly surfaced from warm water into cold air, a hollow kind of clarity.

Good. It helped him control his emotions.

“Good dog, help me find my teammates, will you?” Fang Xiu pulled out a roasted chicken drumstick and waved it in front of the dog.

This dog looked a bit silly, but as the “Master” of this place, it was certainly smarter than its peers.

The little dog happily bit down the drumstick and swallowed it in a few chomps. Then it spun in place twice and let out a low “woof”, signaling Fang Xiu to follow.

Earlier, when Fang Xiu and Bai Shuangying took walks at night, they relied on stealth. Now, walking in the dark, Fang Xiu relied on the dog. Evil spirits scattered away from it like Moses parting the Red Sea.

The black dog was also thoughtful; it would trot a few steps ahead, turn back to wag its tail until Fang Xiu caught up, then move forward again.

In less than five minutes, Fang Xiu found his teammates.

They were heading toward the courtyard. Cheng Songyun and Mei Lan were supporting the badly mutilated Blondie, while Guan He kept watch on the wind.

At the slightest movement, he would signal Cheng Songyun to activate the Resentful Ghost Shield and protect Mei Lan. Meanwhile, Blondie cursed and shifted into his ghost form, guarding the outside with Guan He. This stop-and-go pace made their return very slow.

When Guan He saw Fang Xiu, his eyes lit up. “Fang Ge!”

The black dog’s eyes lit up too. It ran around joyfully at their feet, stirring little breezes. Soon, it realized only Fang Xiu could see it, so it returned to his side with its ears drooping slightly.

Fang Xiu rubbed it with his foot and scanned the group.

Blondie was the most injured, likely from when Lu Wei swapped bodies. Mei Lan and Cheng Songyun looked disheveled but unharmed. Guan He had many new wounds, but his face was bright and full of life.

The good news: Even without him, they had solid judgment and a working combat system. He could use bolder strategies in the next ritual.

The bad news: Their cooperation was too seamless. He couldn’t test Mei Lan’s abilities. Oh well, there’d be another chance.

Fang Xiu hid his regret and greeted them as usual. “So you all made it out.”

“We heard Xiao Du scream just now and were afraid you were in trouble,” Cheng Songyun said honestly.

Guan He pointed at Blondie and reported seriously, “Fang Ge, he says he triggered a taboo and can’t return to the courtyard.”

Fang Xiu feigned ignorance. “A taboo?”

Blondie seized the chance to rant. “Yeah, yeah! Can’t mess with the courtyard! Those bastards swapped my soul, used my body to break the rules… Finally got it back and my legs got chewed up by ghosts!”

Then, full of hope, he turned to Fang Xiu. “You’ve been out here a while, you must’ve figured something out, right? Can we resolve the E and go back already? Everyone standing guard over me at night isn’t a long-term plan…”

Fang Xiu didn’t answer directly. “Let’s not talk about that. I’m going to kill Jiang Xun.”

He said it calmly, like saying “I’m going to brush my teeth before bed.”

Blondie lit up with joy. “Yes, kill him! Show those idiots who’s boss!”

The others: “…?”

Fang Xiu was always practical. He never prioritized fighting other players over resolving the E, let alone just to save face for a teammate. Even back in Huanxi World, he’d willingly take losses to win a ritual.

So what had changed?

“I’ll get you all back to the courtyard first. Guan He, Cheng Songyun, one of you lend Du Zhichao your Five-Emperors Coins. With hidden magic weapons and ghost-guarding buffs, that’ll be enough.”

He skipped explanations and went straight to orders. “If things go wrong, return to your rooms. The spirits won’t act inside.”

Mei Lan murmured in agreement. Cheng Songyun and Guan He exchanged worried glances.

Fang Xiu ignored the storm in his teammates’ hearts. His steps back to the courtyard were steady, even a bit light.

This time, hatred hadn’t fully consumed him. A tiny voice in his heart was whispering, “Hurry, hurry, if you don’t, Bai Shuangying will win.”

With faint anticipation, Fang Xiu dropped off his companions and turned to leave. The dog was delighted their walk wasn’t over, panting happily as it followed.

Bai Shuangying had told him to bring teammates to face Jiang Xun, and the black dog counted. The others were too tired to be forced along. 

Watching him go, Guan He and Cheng Songyun lingered at the courtyard gate.

“Fang Ge’s in such a hurry to attack. That Jiang Xun must be dangerous,” Guan He said. “Just now he didn’t even look for Du Zhichao right away. He must’ve found something more important.”

Cheng Songyun had a different concern. “It’s too risky for him to go alone.”

Mei Lan stared at Fang Xiu’s back, then softly said, “Want me to look after Du Zhichao while you go help him?”

“You sure you can handle it alone?” Cheng Songyun was surprised. It was rare for Mei Lan to be so proactive.

Mei Lan nodded. “I can hide in the nectar water. This ritual has plenty of spirits, enough for a water ghost sacrifice.”

Guan He hesitated, then gave her his Five-Emperors Coins. “Here, take mine. You two both carry one.”

Cheng Songyun had just lent hers to Blondie. This way, both Mei Lan and Blondie had defensive charms. It should be safe enough.

“Thanks. You two be careful,” Mei Lan said quietly, watching as Cheng Songyun and Guan He disappeared into the night.

“Well now, looks like you’re quite gentle, looking after little ol’ me. My leg’s killing me, sis. Can you gimme a rub?” With two people left, Blondie opened his mouth to flirt.

“Scram.” Mei Lan’s tone was cold, like she was talking to a cockroach.

Noticing something subtly different about her demeanor, Blondie paused. “Huh?”

Mei Lan straightened, one hand over her chest, looking down at him. The shadows devoured her face, but her stark black-and-white eyes pierced through the moonlight.

Her gaze held no emotion, like she was observing a corpse.

A chill crept up Blondie’s spine. He instinctively shut his mouth and curled in on himself. “Mei J-Jie, sorry. It’s just a joke. I didn’t expect you to actually help me…”

“You can come over any time, my brother,” Mei Lan said softly. “You and I have our karmic debts paid. All’s well that ends well.”

“Wh-what?”

Mei Lan held her posture, eyes still locked on him, like a wax statue.

“Ah, I wasn’t talking to you,” she said mildly. Her eyes curved slightly.

……

Jiang Xun held a jade pendant in his hand and withdrew his gaze from midair.

Now isn’t the time to give up, he thought.

He had a rough idea of how the evil spirits were distributed.

The courtyard and the rooms—especially the rooms—were domains marked by the Master. Only the weakest of the spirits dared to intrude, trying to lure the sacrifices.

The farther one moved from the courtyard, the stronger the spirits became.

The powerful ones were like beasts, extremely sensitive to each other’s presence. They didn’t dare approach the courtyard, fearing a direct clash with the Master.

So they lingered at the edges of the death-boundary, preying on panicked victims trying to flee and on the lesser spirits constantly drawn there.

A bizarre but stable evil spirit “ecosystem”.

Jiang Xun decided to stay close to the courtyard walls, away from the prowling powerful evil spirits. Once daylight came, he could use sticks and stones to set up a maze formation and create an outdoor base.

Rest by day, defend by night, it should be viable in theory.

Before choosing a base, he needed to scout the spirit distribution farther out to pick the ideal spot.

In the dark, deformed shapes flitted through the shadows, and sticky whispers came from between the branches.

Jiang Xun picked up a stick to use as a cane and walked through the forest with confidence.

Four or five talismans were affixed to the tip of his stick; they would instantly ignite to warn him if spirits approached.

He also moved in accordance with his sect’s footwork techniques, light steps over the leaves, sending out pulses of defensive qi. Moreover, he was shrouded in two layers of spellwork: one to hide his presence, and another to ward off spirits. Low-level threats shouldn’t get near.

As long as he stayed away from the outer boundary, he should be saf—

“Hiss!” Jiang Xun’s brows twisted in pain.

Without warning, his hand burned in agony. A large chunk of flesh disappeared into thin air, and warm blood gushed out instantly.

In the moonlight, the talismans on his stick remained motionless without any signs of burning.

A taboo? No… He’d already dealt with three of them. But this clearly wasn’t a spirit attack… Could there really be more than three taboos?

Jiang Xun stepped back two paces, warily raising his staff. His brush was ready in his right hand. But all he saw ahead was a quiet night scene, with insects chirping softly among the fallen leaves.

Crunch. Crunch.

Something tore his pants and wounded his calf. At the same time, pain seared through his shoulder as his clothes were yanked hard.

This feeling…

He glanced at the wound on his hand. The edges were horribly familiar.

Bite marks. Human bite marks.

Jiang Xun looked again at the talismans. They still hadn’t ignited. There was only one explanation: He wasn’t being bitten by a spirit, but by a living human.

Jiang Xun spat, quickly swung his brush, and activated a dispel illusion spell but the reality it revealed showed the talismans intact.

…Not an illusion.

…But how could that be? What kind of person attacked like this?

“I’m an officially sanctioned Disaster Resolver!”

He shouted, voice stern. “I’ve already triggered a taboo and can no longer resolve this E. Let’s just back off now, or the Underworld will surely record this incident!”

Bai Shuangying looked down at Jiang Xun expressionlessly and said nothing.

He wasn’t the one doing the biting, so the Underworld couldn’t pin it on him.

Hidden nearby, A’Qiao and Lu Wei stared blankly into space with green-glowing eyes.

They chomped frantically on fresh flesh, blood and spit dribbling down their chins. “Why isn’t the rescue team here yet. Why are they still not here…”

“It’s not my fault—”

The purification spells that should have repelled spirits hit their bodies like snowflakes on a lake, vanishing without a trace.

Jiang Xun pressed his back to a tree, heart pounding like a drum.

After a brief calculation, he threw down his staff, stripped off his upper garments, and began drawing talismans directly on his skin. With wild strokes, the characters took form; his horrifying wounds stopped bleeding.

From a distance, he looked like a wax statue, riddled with holes but standing upright.

He’d been through six rituals. He knew how to cut off unnecessary thoughts. No matter who or what his opponent was, if it was a human, he’d fight like it was a human.

Humans weren’t beasts; their bite strength had limits. Without the risk of bleeding out, he wouldn’t die right away.

Jiang Xun picked up his ben and drew two “大*” characters in the air. With a flash of light, the dirt and leaves began to slither, forming two gaunt humanoid figures.

*Big.

They stretched out unnaturally long arms, encircling Jiang Xun protectively. Then, they began to sway and twirl around him like some eerie ritual.

A’Qiao and Lu Wei didn’t care. They lunged forward like animals, only to crash into the summoned guardians.

With a series of sickening cracks, their bodies lost all rigidity, collapsing like water sacks.

Their brains sloshed under their scalps, eyeballs popped from their sockets, and teeth scattered from their mouths.

With no ribs or spine left intact, their torsos crumpled, and they wheezed through crushed throats.

“Hehe, hehe.” The two lumps of meat laughed eerily on the ground, trying to mimic the ritual’s motions.

They were still alive, for now.

Bai Shuangying glanced down and remarked, “You’re leeches.”

“Two leeches that think they’re human.”

“Leeches don’t need bones.”

With his words, the meat piles twisted and stretched.

Flesh and fat squirmed, skin slipped like loose covers. Their heads and necks became equally narrow, faces grotesquely deformed, and their mouths relocated to the tops of their skulls.

They writhed along the ground, drawn by the scent of blood, latching onto Jiang Xun’s legs.

Within half a minute, new bite marks appeared. Though they resembled human teeth, the shape was deeply wrong.

The invisible attackers stopped eating flesh and started sucking his blood with abandon. Jiang Xun’s vision darkened.

When Fang Xiu arrived, he saw this scene.

He looked down at the human leeches. “…Wow.”

His ghost torture techniques were certainly creative and utterly dehumanizing.

Jiang Xun dying miserably was one thing, but these two, though far from saints, didn’t deserve this. Good thing only he could see through the illusion. If Cheng Songyun or Guan He saw this, it’d be hard to explain.

Fang Xiu decided to wrap this up quickly. “Guan He, use the Five-Ghosts Relocation to steal his brush. Don’t touch the weird guardians.”

Guan He nodded and slipped through the shadows. Before Jiang Xun could react, the brush was snatched from his hand.

Seeing Fang Xiu calmly execute his plan, Jiang Xun sneered, “So it really was you!”

Fang Xiu scratched his face awkwardly. “I did have that idea.”

Bai Shuangying: “？”

Jiang Xun: “???” What the hell are you saying?

Still, Jiang Xun didn’t stop casting. He flipped his palm and tried to summon his magic weapon again. Guan He cried out as the brush tried to fly away, only for Fang Xiu to casually bat it toward the black dog.

Tree-branch fetch! The dog perked up.

Just as the brush tried to flee again, the dog leapt up and caught it in its mouth. It dropped the brush at Fang Xiu’s feet with a wag of its tail.

Jiang Xun couldn’t see Bai Shuangying or the dog. To him, the brush had simply flown to Fang Xiu on its own.

Fighting dizziness, he bit into a spiritual herb and tried to summon again. The brush rose like an arrow… Only to stop midair and bounce gently back to Fang Xiu’s feet.

Jiang Xun’s bloodshot eyes widened.

His ankle was bitten again, blood draining rapidly. His beloved magic weapon refused to return. It was clear that Fang Xiu wanted him dead.

Words were useless now. He had to go all in.

Jiang Xun had four anomaly skills.

One was “Common-Grade Duplication”, tied to talismans. It was useless now; another, “Bone-Eating Twins”, couldn’t counter Fang Xiu’s strange powers.

As for the remaining two…

He chose “A Curse Passed Down Through Generations”. To use it, he had to sacrifice one of his internal organs.

As long as he had more blood-debt than Fang Xiu, the evil spirit it summoned would destroy him. It only worked on humans and could be used once per ritual. A hidden ace.

Jiang Xun had a special role in the Guishan Sect. He persuaded people to commit suicide and orchestrated mass suicides.

His direct and indirect blood-debts numbered over 500.

Fang Xiu was so young. How could he possibly compare?

…At worst, Jiang Xun could kill Fang Xiu and command his allies to destroy the ritual Master.

In a flash, Jiang Xun made his decision.

He pressed his hands to his stomach and chanted a twisted incantation. Black light spiraled around him.

Four lidless eyeballs, each the size of a human head, floated up behind him, their red pupils spinning wildly.

Seeing the anomaly aura, Bai Shuangying’s eyes narrowed.

Jiang Xun had summoned a Great Evil and it was checking the conditions for descent. Damn. Whatever pill Jiang Xun had taken, it was keeping him conscious despite the blood loss!

Now what? If Bai Shuangying personally killed him, the Underworld would investigate. If he personally dispersed the Great Evil, they’d still investigate. He…

He zipped in front of Fang Xiu, and the Peach Bon Evil surged. This was a pain. He didn’t care anymore. He’d just do it.

Bai Shuangying was never one for schemes. He just followed his own heart. And right now, it said one thing: Fang Xiu must not die.

…He’d gone to so much trouble building this lovely nest.

Just as Great Immortal Bai prepared to go all out, the four eyeballs scanned the group, and vanished on their own.

Jiang Xun: “……???”

He clutched his stomach, his face contorting in disbelief. “Who the hell are you?! How can your blood-debt be heavier than mine?!”

Fang Xiu leaned on Bai Shuangying’s shoulder in confusion. “What’s he saying?”

Bai Shuangying: “…” He was too lazy to explain.

He gave a simple answer. “He says you’re delicious.”

Cheng Songyun readied her Resentful Ghost Shield and patted Guan He. “He’s talking nonsense, don’t believe him.”

Guan He stood tall. “Of course not! Fang Ge, anything else I should do?”

“The next bit’s not for minors. Cheng Jie, keep an eye on him,” Fang Xiu said, pulling a soda can from his pocket. “Xiao Guan, cover your eyes and ears.”

Guan He: “…”

Jiang Xun stared at Fang Xiu, pale and panting.

What kind of monster was this man? Where did he get so much blood on his hands? Not even a drug lord could rack up that kind of body count these days!

Wait… Could it be…

“You’re from the Guishan Sect too?” Jiang Xun rasped. “Wh-What level are you? If I’ve offended you, I—”

Thud!

The soda can flew out and nailed him in the forehead causing him to stagger.

“I’ve never been more disgusted by a misunderstanding in my life,” Fang Xiu said with a smile, but his eyes were dead cold.

“Trying to run? Might as well go out sprinting for once. No need to crawl.”

Jiang Xun looked toward the dense mass of spirits in the distance, then forced a weak smile.

“Seems you are not blessed by my god.”

He’d lost too much blood. His magic weapon was gone. His stomach was gone.

He still couldn’t read Fang Xiu’s techniques or background. His other magic weapons wouldn’t help much now.

This move was a gamble, but it was all he had left. While Fang Xiu turned away to speak, Jiang Xun curled up and activated his last anomaly skill.

Several hundred meters away, at the courtyard gate…

Hearing the sudden explosion, Mei Lan lifted her head briefly, then dropped her gaze again, distracted.

At her feet, Blondie’s body suddenly slumped sideways. Foam poured from his mouth. His eyes rolled back so violently that each eyeball seemed to split, and from within each one, an extra pupil emerged.

As the pupils rotated, both of his eyes turned into double pupils.

“Cough… cough…” Blondie clawed at his throat, and another voice seemed to speak from inside it:

“You and I have fulfilled our karmic duties. All’s well that ends well… protect me, sister…”

“The explosion was your doing.” Mei Lan’s fearful expression vanished. Her tone was flat.

“You self-destructed your own body to kill them?”

“Sorry for the trouble… Fang Xiu is too difficult… I can’t die yet…”

Blondie’s face twisted in terror, his mouth moving on its own. “I left a soul-swapping curse on him. I’ll just squeeze into this body for now…”

Mei Lan: “I see. So surviving the ritual with your soul intact still counts as making it through.”

“I know the truth behind the E. If you and I work together, we can end this quickly.”

Blondie’s body trembled harder. The second voice from his throat grew smoother, steadier, like it was recovering.

Mei Lan helped him to his feet and casually asked, “And what about that matter?”

“In a little while, we’ll be able to witness the end of days.”

Mei Lan raised her hand and gently pulled her scarf loose. “Is that so?”

The next moment, the scarf slithered like a snake around Blondie’s neck. His misshapen pupils widened in shock, and two voices screamed from his mouth…

“Mei Jie, stop—!”

“What are you doing?! …Cough—if you kill me, the other soul inside dies too—”

“He’s just scum, completely worthless.” Mei Lan’s voice was ice-cold. She made a small gesture, tightening the scarf. “You and I are both scums. You know that as well as I do.”

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