10: Chapter 10 The High-Fever Demon

Yuwen Shou turned and ran.

He ran very fast, scrambling toward the cave entrance, no longer putting on an act.

A black shadow swept over his head. Bang!

Yuwen Shou was slammed back to the ground, falling face-first in a humiliating sprawl.

He struggled to lift his head and saw the Bowl-Playing Ghost hovering in mid-air, spinning that broken bowl in its hand.

"It's useless," the Bowl-Playing Ghost's voice sounded like it was squeezed out of a broken bellows.

"All the passageways have been blocked by your companions. None of you can escape."

Ghostly entities kept drifting out from the shadowed corners all around.

While mocking them, the Bowl-Playing Ghost used a few sticks to balance the bowl, performing splits and a one-legged stance.

Yuwen Shou's fists clenched, cracking loudly, his eyes turning red. "Scholar! F*** your grandmother!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the ghosts all around lunged forward.

Those things had no faces, only mouths; when they opened, they took up half their heads.

It lunged at the man nearest to it; before the man could even scream, his neck was bitten through.

Blood sprayed everywhere.

"Kill!" Someone shouted, and the group finally reacted, grabbing their weapons.

Niu Fei lowered his head, charging at the ghosts like a mad bull.

Lowering his shoulder, Niu Fei jerked his head violently, throwing them aside and slamming them against the wall.

"Come on!" Niu Fei yelled, his eyes red. "Come on!"

Yuwen Shou also climbed up from the ground.

With his back to the others, he muttered incantations.

Suddenly, the hair on the back of his head exploded outward, and a pitch-black hand crawled out from his scalp.

The hand was over a meter long and covered in black hair.

"Go to hell!"

The black hand elongated violently, lashing out like a whip, piercing straight through the chests of two ghosts.

Yuwen Shou grinned hideously, the black hand waving left and right, leaving ghost cries and wolf howls in its wake.

But there were too many ghosts, and people fell one by one.

Some had their throats bitten through, some had their brains sucked dry by the bowls, and others were so paralyzed by their own fear that they collapsed on the ground, waiting for death.

Yuwen Shou's black hand slowed down as well.

The hand began to tremble, and the wound on the back of his head was oozing blood, the pain making him gasp.

"Enough." The Begging Ghost's voice suddenly rang out, drowning out all the screams and fighting.

It stood in the middle of the pile of corpses, covered in wounds, yet it was still laughing.

That mouth, which occupied half its face, was stretched wide, revealing layers upon layers of teeth inside.

"Stop struggling, all of you," it said, its voice filled with exhaustion and mockery.

"Look at you, look at me; everyone is quite tired."

It looked around; the ground was covered in corpses, both human and ghostly.

Blood had soaked the ground, making it soft, and the air was thick with a fishy stench.

"None of you will survive anyway," the Begging Ghost said. "Why bother struggling?"

Wu Xi stared at the Begging Ghost's bloody maw, cursing internally.

This ghostly thing ate people like it was snacking on melon seeds—one bite at a time, chewing with a crunch.

"Niu Fei!" Wu Xi lowered his voice. "You take the left, I'll take the right. Let's add some ingredients to its mouth!"

Niu Fei didn't speak, exhaling two puffs of white Qi from his nostrils, charging forward like a mountain.

He grabbed the Begging Ghost's jaw with both hands, veins bulging, and pried it open with a violent force— "Snap!"

The Begging Ghost's mouth was forced open, revealing the densely packed sharp teeth inside and bits of flesh it hadn't swallowed yet.

Wu Xi took out the Black Lotus Powder he had scavenged from the Snake Person, dumping it straight into the Begging Ghost's mouth.

"[Black Lotus Powder]: A hallucinogen commonly used by Snake People, used as an interrogation tool, capable of causing unspeakable hallucinations and loss of sanity."

"Go to hell!"

Wu Xi dumped half the packet in.

The black powder drilled into the Begging Ghost's throat like smoke, vanishing instantly.

The Begging Ghost stiffened, and Niu Fei stepped back two paces.

Both men stared intently at the Begging Ghost.

Its eyeballs began to roll—slowly at first, then faster and faster, until finally, the two eyeballs turned in different directions, one looking at the sky and one looking at the ground.

Its mouth remained open, drool dripping from the corner, pulling out a long, thin thread.

"Hehe..." The Begging Ghost suddenly laughed.

The laughter was shrill and thin, like a child sneaking a snack.

"Tasty... steamed bun..." The Begging Ghost muttered, its gaze crossing over Wu Xi, staring straight at the Bowl-Playing Ghost.

"You... what are you looking at me for?" The Bowl-Playing Ghost shrank back.

The Begging Ghost grinned, revealing that bloody, mangled smile: "Steamed bun... such a big white flour steamed bun..."

"What?"

The Begging Ghost let out a strange cry and lunged at the Bowl-Playing Ghost.

Its movements were wobbly, but its speed was absurdly fast, tearing two large holes in the other's chest.

"F***!" The Bowl-Playing Ghost turned and ran. "I'm not a steamed bun!"

The Begging Ghost wasn't listening; it swiped with a claw, and the Bowl-Playing Ghost dodged to the side, though two bowls fell from its arms with a "clatter."

"My bowls!" The Bowl-Playing Ghost's face turned green, and it wanted to bend down to pick them up.

The Begging Ghost seized the chance to lunge, opening its mouth to bite.

"Let go, you damn thing! Let go!" The Bowl-Playing Ghost cursed while dodging.

The Begging Ghost swiped again.

The Bowl-Playing Ghost ducked, the claw grazing its scalp and smashing into the stone wall behind with a "boom."

Gravel flew everywhere.

That swipe had smashed an opening into the previously sealed cave entrance.

Wu Xi grabbed Niu Fei's arm and cursed: "Run!"

The two men bolted, the wailing of the Begging Ghost and the screams of the Bowl-Playing Ghost echoing behind them.

"This way!" Wu Xi scrambled toward the tunnel they had excavated earlier.

After turning two corners, the view suddenly opened up—it was the sealed tomb chamber they had dug into before.

A figure in black robes stood in the center of the tomb, back turned to them, looking down at the stone coffin.

Hearing the commotion, the person spun around—it was the Cave Master, holding two willow-leaf blades, the blades as thin as paper, gleaming in the gloom.

"How did you find this place!?" The Cave Master rebuked them sharply, his voice sounding like it was squeezed through his teeth, filled with suppressed rage.

Wu Xi had no time for small talk.

Without stopping, he charged straight toward the hole they had dug on the other side of the tomb chamber.

"Stop!"

The Cave Master roared, his figure flashing, the willow-leaf blade tracing an arc, aiming straight for Wu Xi's throat.

Wu Xi dodged to the side, the blade edge grazing his neck, cold and chilling.

He reached back, grabbed a plaque from the ground, and threw it, forcing the Cave Master to step back half a pace.

The Cave Master wanted to pursue, but a strange cry suddenly came from behind.

"Hehe... tasty..."

The Begging Ghost stumbled into the tomb chamber, eyes glazed, drool streaming from its mouth.

Seeing the stone coffin, it lunged at it, muttering: "Meat... big meat..."

"Stop!" The Cave Master's expression changed drastically.

No longer caring about Wu Xi, he turned and lunged at the Begging Ghost.

The willow-leaf blade struck several times in the air, the blade light fluttering like willow catkins, weaving a dense net that enveloped the Begging Ghost.

The Begging Ghost didn't notice, reaching out to pry open the stone coffin lid.

The Cave Master's blade arrived, the tip striking the Begging Ghost's back and carving out trails of blood.

"Ah!" The Begging Ghost cried out in pain, letting out a strange shriek.

"Get out! This is not something you can touch!"

The Cave Master shouted sharply, holding the willow-leaf blade horizontally in front of his chest, the blade vibrating slightly.

"You dog, how dare you hurt my brother!"

The Bowl-Playing Ghost followed closely behind, rushing in.

With a flip of its hands, two thick porcelain bowls appeared.

It aimed the bowl openings at the Cave Master, and a gust of Yin wind howled out from the bowls.

"You're courting death!"

The Cave Master was furious, shaking the willow-leaf blade, the blade light surging.

The Bowl-Playing Ghost inverted the large bowls, the Yin wind solidifying and colliding with the blade light, emitting a piercing shriek.

The three of them instantly engaged in a chaotic battle.

The Cave Master's blade style was light and agile; it looked gentle but actually concealed murderous intent.

Wherever the blade edge passed, it left fine scratches on the stone walls.

Although the Begging Ghost was out of its mind, its raw strength was astonishing, its fists smashing into the stone and sending gravel flying.

It howled while fighting: "Meat! I want to eat meat!"

The Bowl-Playing Ghost protected the Begging Ghost's side, the two large bowls flying about, constantly releasing Yin wind and ghostly fog to disrupt the Cave Master's vision.

The three exchanged blows, kicking up dust in the tomb chamber, even causing the stone coffin to shift from the vibrations.

"You bastards! Do you know what kind of place this is!?"

The Cave Master's blade technique became increasingly fierce.

"If you dare to destroy this place, I won't let you off!"

"Who cares about your Immortal Cave!"

The Bowl-Playing Ghost retorted.

"How dare you hurt my brother; I'll fight you to the death today!"

"I knew I couldn't trust you.

The Great King sensed something wrong with the nether pact; it must have been you who pulled some tricks!"

Boom!

The Begging Ghost slammed a fist into the stone wall, causing the entire tomb chamber to shake, gravel falling from the ceiling.

"Stop!"

The Cave Master's face was twisted, but no one listened to him.

The Begging Ghost had gone completely insane, smashing whatever it saw.

To protect it, the Bowl-Playing Ghost had no choice but to bite the bullet and clash head-on with the Cave Master.

The Cave Master, wanting to protect the tomb chamber, dared not strike with lethal force.

For a time, the three sides were deadlocked, fighting in an inseparable struggle.

Outside the tomb chamber, Wu Xi and Niu Fei had already crawled out of the Yin Sui Cave along the tunnel they had dug earlier.

Outside, the daylight was bright, stinging their eyes and forcing them to squint.

Wu Xi looked back at the pitch-black cave entrance, a cold sneer tugging at the corner of his mouth.

From inside the cave came the clattering sounds of fighting, along with the Cave Master's roars and the Begging Ghost's strange cries, all mixed together—it was quite lively.

"Come, help," he called to Niu Fei.

The two of them worked together to move several large rocks, blocking the cave entrance tightly.

Wu Xi brushed the dust off his hands and shouted at the cave entrance: "You few inside, take your time fighting!"

He paused, then added another sentence, his voice filled with undisguised mockery: "I hope you beat each other's brains out!"

With that, he pulled Niu Fei away and walked off without looking back.