88: Chapter 88 Emotional Kidnapping

Ling Muxue stepped across the floor covered in broken porcelain shards to Wu Xi's side, the soles of her boots grinding against the shards with a harsh, grating sound.

She circled him once, tapping her fingers lightly against her chin, her eyes full of amusement.

"Not bad, Wu Xi." She grinned, revealing a mouthful of stark white teeth. "Crawling out of the tender trap so quickly?"

Wu Xi shook his head, his gaze falling on Jiang Jiye, who was still muttering to herself not far away.

"I never went in at all."

Ling Muxue raised an eyebrow and paused. "Oh?"

"The Lustful Hungry Ghost's illusions hook onto the things people cannot let go of in their hearts." Wu Xi's voice was devoid of any emotion. "I have nothing in my heart that I cannot let go of, so naturally, I couldn't enter."

"Then who was the one holding Cthylla and whispering sweet nothings just a moment ago?" Ling Muxue leaned in closer, lowering her voice. "I heard it clearly. You said, 'I like powerful women.' Tsk tsk, I didn't expect you, Wu Xi, to have such a penchant."

Wu Xi ignored her, his pupils suddenly constricting.

Jiang Jiye had somehow picked up the dagger from the ground, the gleaming blade pointed straight at her own heart, her fingers already gripped around the hilt.

Her eyes were hollow, tear tracks still streaking her face, and she was repeating over and over, "Brother, I've come to keep you company..."

"Jiye!" Wu Xi roared.

The shout wasn't loud, but it exploded in Jiang Jiye's ears like a thunderclap. Her entire body jolted violently, as if she had been yanked back from the edge of a ten-thousand-foot cliff.

"Clang!" The dagger dropped onto the bluestone slab, bouncing up a few inches.

The raging fire before her eyes extinguished instantly, and the image of Wu Xi lying in a pool of blood with a longsword in his chest shattered like a mirror into a thousand pieces. Jiang Jiye blinked, realizing she was still standing in the courtyard of Wukong Temple, and Wu Xi was standing perfectly fine in front of her, looking down at her.

"Brother Wu Xi..."

She froze for three seconds, then threw herself into Wu Xi's arms like a frightened kitten, sobbing loudly. Her fists pounded heavily against Wu Xi's back, her crying heart-wrenching. "I just saw you die! So much blood! No matter how I called you, you didn't answer! I was so scared... I was really so scared..."

Wu Xi reached out and gently patted her back. His palm was very cool, yet it carried a strange, stabilizing power.

"It is okay now," he said. "It was all fake."

Ling Muxue pursed her lips and turned to walk over to Qiu Chuanxing.

Qiu Chuanxing was standing where he was, trembling all over, his face full of despair and pain. He was gripping his longsword tightly, his knuckles white, muttering to himself, "Brothers, I've come to keep you company..."

Ling Muxue lifted her foot and gave him a hard kick right in the backside.

"Bam!" Qiu Chuanxing fell to the ground like a sack, his face planting into the mud.

"Hey! Wake up!" Qiu Chuanxing snapped his head up, looking at Ling Muxue blankly, mud still clinging to the corner of his mouth. "What... what are you doing?"

"What am I doing?" Ling Muxue rolled her eyes, standing in front of him with her hands on her hips. "If you didn't wake up, you would have been sucked into a dried corpse by that Lustful Hungry Ghost! By then, forget about revenge; you would have become a lonely wandering ghost yourself."

Qiu Chuanxing looked around; the battlefield with the setting sun like blood had vanished, and the corpses covering the ground were gone too.

His face instantly flushed deep red. He scrambled up from the ground, brushed the dirt off his body, and kept his head down, not daring to look at anyone.

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense." Ling Muxue interrupted him, pointing to Niu Fei not far away. "First, wake that big idiot up. If he keeps swinging like that, this courtyard is going to be demolished by him."

Niu Fei was holding that massive Xuanhua axe, swinging it frantically. His eyes were bloodshot, and he let out roars like a wild beast, each axe strike cleaving a deep crack into the ground.

"Give me back my sister!"

Qiu Chuanxing nodded and picked up his longsword from the ground. He took a deep breath, walked over to Niu Fei, raised his scabbard, and struck him hard on the back of his head.

"Thump!"

With a dull thud, Niu Fei's movements stopped abruptly.

He shook his head, and the Xuanhua axe in his hand fell to the ground with a clang. He rubbed the back of his head, looking at Qiu Chuanxing blankly.

"Brother Qiu? What happened? I just saw Xiaohua get snatched away by an evil ghost... She was calling me brother..."

"That was an illusion!" Qiu Chuanxing said.

Niu Fei instantly sobered up, his eyes widening like copper bells. He snatched up the Xuanhua axe from the ground, the axe head flashing with a cold light in the sunlight.

"I'm going to cleave that son of a bitch! Daring to touch my sister, I'll chop him into minced meat!"

Just then.

A sharp screech suddenly came from the corner.

"Ahhh!"

This sound was so shrill it didn't sound human; it was like nails scraping against glass, or the dying howl of a beast.

Everyone whipped their heads around.

Jiang Yuehong stood up from the ground.

Her hair was disheveled, and her clothes were stained with mud. But most chilling were her eyes—those eyes that were always filled with timidity and fear had now turned completely blood-red, without a trace of white.

There was not a shred of fear on her face; in its place was a kind of near-maniacal, bloodthirsty excitement. The corners of her mouth curled up slightly, revealing an eerie smile.

In her hand, she now held a pair of scissors, appearing from nowhere.

It was an ordinary pair of tailor's scissors, but now it flashed with a cold, icy light. Fresh blood was dripping, drop by drop, from the blades of the scissors.

It turned out that in her illusion, something inside her had been thoroughly awakened.

The Jiang Yuehong who always hid behind others and didn't even dare to speak loudly was gone.

In her place was a murderer who had crawled out of Hell and became excited at the sight of blood.

"Blood... so much blood..."

Jiang Yuehong muttered to herself, sticking out her tongue to lick the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her eyes shimmered with a satisfied light, and she let out a soft sigh.

Then, she moved, her speed astonishingly fast.

No one saw how she moved. They only saw a blur flash by, and she had already appeared in front of the Frivolous Ghost.

The Frivolous Ghost was standing next to the Lustful Hungry Ghost, still wearing a smug smile on her face. She hadn't put this seemingly frail woman in her eyes at all.

Until Jiang Yuehong grabbed her by the hair, the Frivolous Ghost's smile froze on her face.

She wanted to struggle, wanted to scream, wanted to cast an illusion, but it was already too late.

"Snap!" A crisp sound.

The scissors in Jiang Yuehong's hands cleanly and efficiently severed her neck.

The female ghost's head rolled onto the ground, eyes still wide open, filled with disbelief. Black blood sprayed from her neck like a fountain, splashing all over Jiang Yuehong.

But Jiang Yuehong was even more excited.

She tilted her head back, letting the black blood spill onto her face. She opened her mouth, gulping it down in large mouthfuls, making satisfied gurgling sounds.

The courtyard was deathly silent; everyone was stunned.

The smile on Ling Muxue's face vanished; she subconsciously took a step back, her hand resting on the hilt of the blade at her waist.

Qiu Chuanxing's mouth hung open, his longsword nearly dropping to the ground. Niu Fei also stopped roaring, staring blankly at Jiang Yuehong, his Xuanhua axe hanging loosely.

Even for Wu Xi, a hint of imperceptible surprise flashed in his eyes.

Jiang Yuehong turned her head and looked at the Entwining Ghost.

The Entwining Ghost was scared out of her wits, trembling all over. She shrieked and waved her hand violently, and countless pink mists emanated from her body, surging toward Jiang Yuehong.

These mists were her innate illusion technique, capable of evoking the deepest desires in a person's heart. As long as one inhaled a single breath, they would fall into an endless, tender trap, unable to extricate themselves.

But Jiang Yuehong was crazy now.

There was no desire, no fear, no distracting thoughts in her heart.

In her eyes, there was only blood.

The pink mist wrapped around her body, slithering like snakes into her nostrils, mouth, and ears. But Jiang Yuehong had no reaction; her eyes remained icy, still filled with a bloodthirsty gleam.

The Entwining Ghost's face turned deathly pale instantly.

She turned and ran, but her speed was no match for Jiang Yuehong in her berserk state.

Jiang Yuehong caught up to her in a few steps and grabbed her arm.

"Pfft!" The scissors stabbed down fiercely, piercing directly through the Entwining Ghost's heart.

The Entwining Ghost let out a shrill scream, her body convulsing violently. Her body began to become transparent, turning into wisps of black smoke that dissipated into the air.

In the blink of an eye, both of the Lustful Hungry Ghost's capable subordinates had been dealt with by Jiang Yuehong.

The Lustful Hungry Ghost's face turned whiter than paper.

He never expected that this woman, who seemed the most timid, the most inconspicuous, and the easiest to control with illusions, would turn into such a terrifying monster.

The pink fan in his hand began to tremble violently.

"You... don't come over!"

The Lustful Hungry Ghost backed away in terror, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground.

Jiang Yuehong ignored him.

She walked toward the Lustful Hungry Ghost step by step, the scissors in her hand dripping with black blood, leaving dark red marks on the bluestone slabs. Her eyes were hollow and cold, as if she were looking at a dead man.

"Blood... I want more blood..."

The Lustful Hungry Ghost panicked.

He waved his hand violently.

Countless pink threads of affection flew out from his sleeves, coiling toward Jiang Yuehong like venomous snakes.

These threads of affection were his most potent weapon, capable of controlling a person's mind; even someone with a higher cultivation than him would fall victim if they weren't careful.

But Jiang Yuehong no longer had a mind to control. Her mind had been completely occupied by bloodthirsty desire.

The threads of affection wrapped around her body, tightly binding her neck, arms, and legs. But Jiang Yuehong just gave a casual tug, and those incredibly tough threads were snapped like cotton thread.

The Lustful Hungry Ghost fell into complete despair.

He turned and ran.

His speed was fast, almost turning into a pink shadow. But Jiang Yuehong's speed was even faster, like a bolt of black lightning, instantly catching up to him.

Jiang Yuehong grabbed him by the back of his collar and slammed him hard onto the ground.

"Bam!"

The Lustful Hungry Ghost was shaken up, his bones feeling like they were about to fall apart. He struggled to get up, but Jiang Yuehong had already planted a foot on his chest.

A tremendous force came down; the Lustful Hungry Ghost felt like his ribs were about to break. He spat out a mouthful of black blood, and looking at Jiang Yuehong's blood-stained face, he was scared out of his wits.

"Don't kill me! Don't kill me!" He pleaded desperately, his voice trembling.

"I beg you, don't kill me! I will work like an ox or a horse for you! I will give you all my treasures!"

Wu Xi suddenly spoke up.

"Don't kill him yet."

Jiang Yuehong turned her head and looked at Wu Xi.

Her eyes were still filled with bloodshot veins, still carrying a crazed murderous intent. But when she saw Wu Xi, that murderous intent seemed to recede slightly.

Her lips moved, as if she wanted to say something.

Jiang Yuehong nodded.

She lifted her foot, then crouched down, the scissors in her hand resting against the Lustful Hungry Ghost's neck.

The cold blade pressed against the Lustful Hungry Ghost's skin, making him tremble all over, not daring to even breathe deeply.

"Why can't we kill you?" Niu Fei roared angrily. "You almost killed us all just now! You trapped us in an illusion, trying to suck out our essence! If I don't cleave you today, I won't be able to quell the hatred in my heart!"

"Because... because I know the secret of Wukong Temple!" the Lustful Hungry Ghost said hurriedly, as if grasping at the last straw of hope. "I know where the true body of the Lustful Hungry Ghost is! I know how to leave this place!"

Everyone was stunned.

Wu Xi looked at the Lustful Hungry Ghost, his eyes deep, as if he could see through his heart.

"What did you say?"

"I'm telling the truth!" the Lustful Hungry Ghost said hurriedly. "I am just a Clone of the Lustful Hungry Ghost! The real Lustful Hungry Ghost is still deep within the temple! He is a hundred times more powerful than me! If you kill me, no one will ever know his weakness! All of you will die here!"

Wu Xi fell silent.

He looked at the Lustful Hungry Ghost, his eyes devoid of any emotion. After a long while, he spoke slowly.

"Fine, I won't kill you for now."

"But you must lead us to find the real Lustful Hungry Ghost."

"If you dare to pull any tricks," Wu Xi's voice was as cold as ice, "I will make you die even more miserably than those two female ghosts just now. I will pull out your soul and fry it in a cauldron of oil, ensuring you never reincarnate for all eternity."

The Lustful Hungry Ghost nodded frantically like he was pounding garlic, cold sweat streaming down his forehead.

"I wouldn't dare! I absolutely wouldn't dare to pull any tricks! I will definitely lead you to find him! I swear to heaven! If I utter a single word of falsehood, may I suffer Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering, and never reincarnate for all eternity!"

Niu Fei was somewhat unwilling, the Xuanhua axe still raised in his hand.

"Brother Wu, are we just letting him go like this?"

"Keep him for now; he is still useful," Wu Xi said. "Once we have dealt with the real Lustful Hungry Ghost, it won't be too late to kill him."

Niu Fei nodded, glared viciously at the Lustful Hungry Ghost, and spat on the ground.

"You'd better behave! Otherwise, I'll cleave you with one axe and kick your head around like a ball!"

The ghost shrank his neck in fear, not daring to speak. Wu Xi turned his head and looked toward the depths of the temple.