36: Chapter 36 The Female Ghost's Olive Branch, and a Vengeful Ghost Servant?

The female ghost lay sideways on the golden Phoebe bed, her phoenix eyes holding a spring-water-like smile as she locked gazes with Lin Ye for a long time.

She didn't move, and Lin Ye didn't move either.

A subtle tension permeated the air, like two strings stretched to their absolute limits; whoever moved first would lose the initiative.

Suddenly, she let out a chuckle, her figure floating up from the bed, her skirt rippling open as her bare feet stepped on empty air.

The next second, her figure flashed.

When she reappeared, she was already right in front of Lin Ye, raising her arms, as soft as two boneless white snakes, gently wrapping them around Lin Ye's neck, her entire body practically hanging on him.

A faint, chilling fragrance emanated from her body.

She brought her lips close to Lin Ye's ear, her breath fragrant like orchids, "How about... we cooperate?"

Lin Ye remained motionless, like a stone sculpture.

He neither pushed her away nor responded to her intimacy, simply lowering his head to look at those crimson, slit-like pupils so close at hand, actually growing interested.

A spectre wanting to talk about cooperation with him?

"What kind of cooperation?"

The female ghost smiled even more happily, her tone carrying a soul-bewitching softness.

"Of course it means giving you whatever you want—money, power, strength, longevity... Aren't you working hard as a trialer just for these? But how much can the Demon Suppression Division give you? Exchanging a narrow escape from death for that meager bit of resources, only to be controlled, oppressed, and manipulated like a chess piece by the Demon Suppression Division... Are you resigned to this?"

Her fingertips gently brushed across the back of Lin Ye's neck, like a cat testing its prey's reaction, "What's the fun in honestly being an ordinary person?"

As her voice fell, her body pressed a few inches closer, her fluttering skirt revealing a glowing white calf, her bare feet swinging gently in the air with a lazy and elegant posture, as if she weren't lobbying, but intimately whispering with a lover.

"You are very strong."

She tapped Lin Ye's chest with her fingertip, "I recognize your strength, so, I'll give you a choice: join us."

"Us?"

Lin Ye's gaze flickered slightly.

These words carried deep meaning.

"Evernight."

When the female ghost uttered these two words, her tone carried a nearly devout solemnity, "My name is Hongxiu. Two years ago, I willingly committed suicide here, reaching a contract with Evernight in a semi-controlled state. This villa and this ghost domain were both given to me by Evernight, and all I do is guard this door of Qingzhou for them."

Lin Ye's brows twitched imperceptibly.

No wonder this female ghost grew so fast.

Turns out someone was fueling the flames behind the scenes.

Evernight?

He had never seen this name in any documents.

The Demon Suppression Division's intelligence, the historical records of this world, and the textbooks of Qingzhou University had never mentioned these two words.

"Of course you haven't heard of it."

As if seeing through his confusion, Hongxiu pursed her lips and smiled, her fingertips twirling a strand of her long hair.

"Because even in the Demon Suppression Division, only the people at the very top layers are qualified to touch these two words. The people at the bottom risk their lives their entire lives without even knowing of their existence."

"So what is Evernight?"

Lin Ye pursued the question.

Having inexplicably arrived in this world, there were still far too many things he didn't understand.

Hongxiu tilted her head, looking at him with a meaningful gaze, and slowly spat out a few words: "The same identity as you."

"The same as me?"

"The core of Evernight is a batch of top-tier trialers. Just like you, they possess talent and strength far surpassing their peers. They once stood at the front lines of the Demon Suppression Division, and were once called geniuses, heroes, and saviors by countless people, but in the end, they chose another path... a path completely different from those righteous trialers shouting 'save the common people'."

Every word of her voice was like a poison-tempered hook, precisely snagging the deepest chord in a person's heart.

"They no longer want to be saviors; they want to be masters."

"Do you know what the source power of the demons' resurrection means? It is one of the most fundamental rules of this world. Whoever controls it controls the world. Evernight began laying out its plans over thirty years ago, infiltrating, lurking, infiltrating... Their goal has never been to eliminate anomalies, but to control them, and then use this power to take over the entire world!"

Speaking of this,

Lin Ye suddenly remembered something.

Over thirty years ago in this world, there was a major piece of news that became known to everyone.

Even now, it was occasionally brought out as casual conversation over tea.

Thirty-seven years ago, a batch of the top trialers at the time collectively disappeared while participating in an Eighth-Class Ghost Domain suppression mission.

The file stated that all members died in the line of duty, but there wasn't even a death confirmation, only a scribbled conclusion: whereabouts unknown.

The number of those missing top trialers was thirteen.

"It seems you've guessed it."

Hongxiu's lips curled into a satisfied arc, "This world has never been simply black and white. What the Demon Suppression Division tells you is what they want you to know, while we... control what they don't want you to know!"

Her hands wrapped around Lin Ye's neck once more, this time with even bolder movements.

"Your potential is something I have never seen in any trialer. You are merely a first-test trialer, yet you could blast six late-stage peak Resentful Spirits to death with a single staff strike, and you have several sources of top-tier ranked power on you... Evernight needs someone like you."

Her voice gradually grew burning hot, yet her tone became increasingly soft and alluring.

"Join us, and you can obtain everything you cannot imagine. Wealth? The worldly assets controlled by Evernight are worth several small nations. Resources? The little things the Demon Suppression Division gives you are nothing more than scraps meant to dismiss beggars in front of Evernight. Strength? Evernight's core members master the true usage methods of certain anomaly sources, which can multiply your strength over and over again in a short period. And..."

She paused for a moment, her lips nearly touching Lin Ye's auricle, her breath icy yet provocative.

"And me. If you want, I can be yours too. In half a year at most, I can break through to the Red-Dressed realm. By then, a Red-Dressed spectre will be your ghost servant, serving you day and night by your side. Where else could you find such conditions?"

Not far behind Lin Ye, in the eyes of Su Tang, Shen Qinghan, and the others, the scene before them was bizarre to the extreme.

Lin Ye stood alone in place, facing that impenetrable darkness, his lips moving as if conversing with something.

But as for what was being said, they couldn't hear a single word.

Those sounds reached their ears and turned into a jumbled mess of garbled code, like syllables distorted and shattered by some force.

"Who is he talking to?" Wang Zheng asked in a low voice.

"Who else could it be?"

Although Shen Qinghan's Ghost-Slaying Blade was not enough to counter that female ghost, the blade's perceptive power told her that the energy density in the darkness ahead was fluctuating drastically.

Presumably, the female ghost didn't want them to hear, and deliberately interfered with them using mental power.

After listening to all the conditions Hongxiu offered, Lin Ye remained silent for two seconds.

"The conditions really do seem quite good."

A trace of smugness flashed in Hongxiu's eyes, and the arms wrapped around his neck tightened a bit more as she spoke in a nearly spoiled tone.

"Right? With your potential, given time you will inevitably become invincible across the world. Everything I mentioned, you completely deserve! As long as you nod your head, from now on, you will be an honored guest of Evernight and its future core. Whatever you want, you will have; whatever you want to do, you can do..."

"That's right, but I killed quite a few of your subordinates. Aren't you distressed?"

"Which ones? I can cultivate as many as I want later."

Tsk...

Lin Ye originally wanted to test her out, but didn't expect the other party not to care at all.

"But since you say I'm so amazing... why wouldn't I work alone instead of going to work for your so-called Evernight organization?"

Hongxiu's smile froze on her face.

She was still hanging on Lin Ye.

But the tenderness and affection in those crimson, slit-like pupils rapidly receded like a tide, replaced by the annoyance of being played with.

"You!"

Before she finished speaking, Lin Ye's hand had already grasped her neck.

His five fingers tightened like iron pliers, and a dark golden light suddenly burst from his palm.

The power of the yellow emperors essence blood condensed into a golden flame in his palm, pouring into Hongxiu's entire body from her neck.

Hongxiu's body twitched violently in his hands. Starting from the skin of her neck, dark golden patterns rapidly spread like a spiderweb across her face, her arms, and her entire body.

Those patterns flashed once, and her entire body exploded like crushed porcelain, turning into a sky full of black smoke and dust.

Before the smoke and dust had dispersed, behind that ghost heart deep within the hollow, a beam of red light re-condensed.

Hongxiu's figure walked out from the red light, completely unscathed, not even missing a single wrinkle on her skirt.

It was merely an avatar.

Lin Ye retracted his hand and patted away the smoke dust stained on his palm.

Of course he knew that killing an avatar was useless.

This heart, this villa, and this ghost domain were all Hongxiu's true body.

As long as they were still there, her avatars would be endless.

Kill one, and she would recreate another; there was no point.

"Unappreciative."

Hongxiu's tone was icy.

Lin Ye didn't look at her, instead turning around first to say to Su Tang and the others behind him: "I'll keep an eye on her. You guys seize the time to leave first, run down the mountain, and don't look back."

Su Tang's expression changed, and she immediately shook her head: "I' rather not leaving, I can..."

"If you stay, I'll be distracted."

Lin Ye raised his hand and gently pressed down on the top of Su Tang's head.

Su Tang opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but found herself unable to speak.

Because she suddenly realized that everyone staying here was Lin Ye's weakness, a target that the enemy could use to hold him back.

Shen Qinghan spoke at this moment, "He's right. There are no other ghosts in this villa anymore. As long as Lin Ye can keep an eye on her, now is the best time for us to evacuate. Otherwise, once the battle truly erupts, staying at the scene won't just fail to help, it might even drag him down."

Lu Wanqing nodded first, pulling on Su Tang's sleeve: "Let's go."

Putting their heads together, the group immediately decided to obey.

Su Tang was silent for two seconds, raised her head to glance at Lin Ye, "Then be careful."

Then she turned around, followed closely by the Silver Moon Wolf. After running two steps, she looked back at Lin Ye again, her throat letting out a hurried, low howl.

"Be careful." Shen Qinghan sheathed her blade and nodded at Lin Ye.

"Be careful," Lu Wanqing said.

"Be careful," Zhou Peng said.

Wang Zheng hoisted Jiang Xiaohong onto his shoulder, took a deep breath, and said, "Thanks, I'll definitely treat you to a meal another day."

The footsteps grew more and more distant, eventually disappearing at the end of the stairs.

Lin Ye turned around and looked at the furious Hongxiu, who obviously wanted to stop Su Tang and the others from leaving.

But with Lin Ye standing right there, she didn't dare to act rashly.

Lin Ye loosened his wrists, and the zhulong staff reappeared in his hand. Bright golden patterns lit up along the staff body, like magma flowing slowly through cracks.

"With the stage cleared, we can begin," he said.

Hongxiu did not say another word.

All her patience, all her disguise, all her coquettishness and lobbying had been completely exhausted the moment Lin Ye crushed her avatar.

"Since they're gone, then you stay here forever!"

The hair-raising voice sounded as if it were ringing out from hell.

Hongxiu formed a bizarre hand seal in front of her chest, her lips moving to utter a string of low syllables.

That sound didn't sound like human speech; it was sharp and ancient, as if flowing directly back into boiling hot oil, making one's brain tingle numbly.

The ghost heart contracted violently.

And then expanded!

A dark red shockwave burst from the surface of the heart, sweeping across the entire hollow wrapped in thick grudge power.

Wherever the shockwave passed, the blood vessel networks on the cavern walls suddenly bulged, twitching and twisting frantically like a nest of snakes struck by electric current.

Countless blood vessels broke free from the walls, intertwining in mid-air into an overwhelming dark red blood vessel net, blanketing down towards Lin Ye.

A spectre, mid-stage!

Only a hair's breadth away from the peak stage!

The concentration of her grudge power could no longer be measured by the Resentful Spirit rank.

That was a qualitative gap.

The grudge power of the Resentful Spirit rank was water, while her grudge power was mercury—heavy, viscous, and fiercely toxic. An ordinary person who touched a single drop would rot starting from their bone marrow!

As the blood vessel net covered down, Hongxiu's figure vanished from where she stood.

She merged into the ghost domain structure of the entire villa.

Her true body was not this avatar, nor this heart, but the villa itself.

The walls were her skin, the floors were her bones, and those blood vessels winding within the walls were her meridians.

The entire villa, from the basement to the top floor, brick by brick, was her body.

Therefore, her attacks could be launched from any angle, with no blind spots to speak of!

The wall to Lin Ye's front-left suddenly split open, and a huge bloody sharp claw darted out from the crack like lightning, its five fingers open to grab his throat.

Lin Ye dodged sideways, the sharp claw grazing past his auricle, and the wind pressure generated by the claw tips cut a white mark on his cheek.

At the same time, the floor to his rear-right churned up a layer of dark red flesh membrane, which rolled and coiled toward his ankles.

Directly above his head, the ceiling oozed a dense patch of blood beads, which condensed in mid-air into countless red long needles as fine as hair, shooting down like a rainstorm.

A three-sided pincer attack.

The timing was precise down to a fraction!

Seeing this, Lin Ye swung the zhulong staff in his right hand, smashing it down with a single blow towards the blood vessel net in front.

Intuition told him.

Against a spectre-rank ghost, he needed to be more serious!

This fellow was clearly much stronger and more troublesome than all the ghosts he had encountered before.

"Judging by the scale of the ghost domain, it looks to be at least level three."

The strength gap between a level three ghost domain and a level two one was not just a little bit, meaning Captain Zheng and the others, no matter how cautious they had been,

still greatly underestimated the upper limit of the ghost domain.

If he were to capsize in a place like this, it would be hilarious!