Chapter 20: Revenge

“Generally speaking, the more painful a ghost’s death in life, the greater its resentment. The stronger its unwillingness, the deeper its obsession. Especially in this Instance World, where Yin energy is so dense it’s unbalanced, it’s very easy for ghosts to be born.” Lin Yujing held Yin Luo’s wrist, stroking the fissures on it. The cold was piercing to the touch.

“A living person’s power usually comes from the physical body. A Fierce Ghost’s power mostly originates from the soul, and is generally related to the method of their death. Whether it’s this cold aura or these wounds resembling torn flesh, they should all be part of your soul.”

“So, as a part of yourself, like your hands and feet, controlling it should be natural, shouldn’t it?”

He looked at the now white-haired youth and asked with a smile: “Oh right, possessing such formidable power after death… just how exactly did you die?”

He casually tossed out the words ‘Fierce Ghost’ and ‘Instance World’ so nonchalantly that Wei Congxin was truly terrified listening to it.

Although he knew the game wiped all player-related information from the minds of instance characters, Lin Yujing’s blatant attitude was clearly dancing right in the other’s face.

He had no idea if this little young master would fly into a rage on the spot and start a fight with him.

Yin Luo pulled back his hand. The constant need to suppress the surging negative emotions and murderous intent in his heart made his tone exceptionally cold: “Don’t know.”

“You really haven’t remembered anything?” Lin Yujing tried to grab his hand again, unwilling to give up.

Yin Luo remained silent.

The newly gained Flesh and Blood Force allowed him to sense the flow of blood in the other’s vessels, the contraction of muscles, even the transmission of neural signals.

Unlike Wei Congxin’s heart, which was pounding so hard it felt ready to burst, the grey-haired man’s heart rate maintained a constant level, making it impossible to perceive his emotional shifts.

“Hmm, I remember now,” the white-haired Fierce Ghost said.

“What?”

Yin Luo: “I won’t tell you.”

???

Lin Yujing stared in disbelief: “Hey hey, aren’t we friends? Shouldn’t friends be sincere and honest with each other?”

“In that case, you be honest with me. Tell me: a living person’s power comes from their physical body, so what is your power? Why do you possess power ordinary people lack? How can that frog eat metal and spit out gems? Is it a creature or a spirit entity? Also, where did you people come from? Why are you in my house? Honestly, you don’t act much like guests…”

“…”

Lin Yujing raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I was wrong. Friends really should have their own little secrets, give each other some space, and certainly shouldn’t keep prying until the pot breaks.”

Ever since Yin Luo had revealed his Fierce Ghost true form, the grey-haired man looked at him as if he were some priceless treasure, becoming far more agreeable.

Yin Luo gave a soft humph, well aware that both their hearts were full of twists and schemes.

These players could complete the main quest, leave this place, and receive rewards. But what about him?

The first quest, collecting his complete corpse, had restored his own power. So what about the second quest, revenge? What would be the reward?

In any case, his own second main quest wasn’t finished yet. These players could forget about running ahead of him.

Especially his “friend.”

The white-haired Fierce Ghost narrowed his eyes. The combination of the dense cracks on his refined face created an appearance of almost surreal beauty.

The next second, the dark red fissures vanished at light speed, disappearing without a trace like pencil marks erased clean. His porcelain-white face was restored to smoothness.

He drew in the chill energy, and aside from the white hair and red eyes, he almost looked like an ordinary youth again.

“I’ve got it.” The white-haired youth raised his chin slightly.

Just as the grey-haired man had said, the chill energy and the cracks on his body’s surface should all be parts of his soul. Therefore, they should move according to his will.

“So clever.” Lin Yujing applauded, a bit rueful. “At this rate, given a bit more time, you might just become a Taboo-level Ghost King of one region or another.”

“Taboo-level Ghost King?” Yin Luo seized on this unfamiliar term.

“That’s right, a rank above Nightmare-level is Taboo…”

“Lin Yujing! Wei Congxin! Help! Big brothers, bosses! Save me! Ahh! Zou Zihao is a Fierce Ghost!”

Before he could finish, his words were interrupted by shouting from outside.

“Should we… go take a look?” Wei Congxin asked tremblingly. “It sounds like Yan Shanque’s voice.”

“Shall we go see?” Lin Yujing looked at Yin Luo.

To the white-haired youth, ever since completing the main quest, this world seemed like a glass ball placed before him. Half was grey ice crystal, transparent and clear; the other half was fiery light and smoke, emitting a nauseating stench.

Yin Luo nodded indifferently: “Fine.”

The three had just stepped out the door when a giant cleaver slashed past right in front of their faces, slamming into the wall across from them.

“Holy crap?!” Wei Congxin jumped in fright. He turned his head, about to say something, when he saw the undisguised murderous intent and excitement in the white-haired youth’s crimson eyes.

…

Zou Zihao, now transformed into a Fierce Ghost, howled with mad shrillness. The sound waves were almost tangible. Even from so far away, they nearly pierced Qin Dan’s eardrums.

Fear finally crawled onto his face. He ran forward recklessly, decisively hurling his last talisman drawn with heart’s blood backward with all his might.

The yellow-paper, red-lined talisman fluttered as if blown by the wind, landing steadily on the face of the pursuing Blade-Wielding Fierce Ghost.

“AAARRRGGHHH!!” It let out a horrific shriek.

The talisman instantly melted. Upon contact with the Fierce Ghost’s charred skin, it was like pouring raw water into boiling oil, producing a violent sizzling sound, corroding the little skin remaining on its face.

Qin Dan seized this moment, quickly widening the distance, charging forward.

“Go die!!” That monster was thoroughly enraged. Under the soul-corroding pain, its hatred deepened. It raised the giant cleaver in its hand, which had undergone aberration until it was almost as tall as a person, and then hurled it fiercely. The great blade screamed through the air, hurtling straight towards the fleeing black-clothed man ahead.

Qin Dan sensed the oppressive force bearing down from behind and immediately produced a prop resembling a worn tortoise shell, placing it behind himself for defense.

The black, door-plank-like cleaver smashed viciously onto the tortoise shell. The shell only held out for a moment before shattering into pieces.

The immense impact force directly caused his chest to ache, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he collapsed forward.

Not dead!

Having narrowly escaped death, a powerful will to survive made him forcibly ignore the injuries on his body, stumbling and staggering onward in continued flight.

Almost there, almost there, soon he’d be able to survive, soon…

Just a little faster… just a little faster…

“Qin Dan?”

A startled cry rang out. Zhang Bing, who had finally led Yan Shanque up to the fourth floor, just happened to appear around the corner.

Seeing the two of them, Qin Dan first felt wild joy, but then saw their dirty yet relatively uninjured bodies, and he nearly wept aloud: “Save me!”

Zhang Bing was astounded: “How did you end up like this?”

“It’s Zou Zihao! Zou Zihao went mad!! He’s not a player; he’s a monster! He’s also a Charred Corpse!”

“What?” Zhang Bing turned his head and saw the Fierce Ghost, wreathed in flames, chasing after them with overwhelming momentum. The smell of burning grew even stronger.

“QIN—DAN! QIN—DAN!” The Fierce Ghost’s repeated calls were like death knells. “Heh heh heh—I won’t let you get away! I won’t let you get away!!”

“That’s him! The one at the very front is him!” Qin Dan’s eyes were filled with terror. “He attacked me from behind when it was just the two of us! I was caught off guard and gravely injured. He must be the Instance Boss!”

Zhang Bing hadn’t expected the Fierce Ghost to be hiding amongst their teammates and was incredibly shocked for a moment: “How strong is he?”

“Strength’s only average!” Qin Dan said quickly. “But he has that giant cleaver. That blade is very powerful. But he just threw it away, so his strength must have dropped significantly!”

“We have to deal with him quickly, or he’ll just control the other Charred Corpses and bleed us dry until we die here!”

Zhang Bing frowned, glancing at the door-sized cleaver lying nearby. Hesitating slightly, he still said: “Then be careful. I’ll see if I can kill him.”

“Alright, you be careful!”

Truthfully, Zhang Bing hadn’t fully believed Qin Dan’s words, but he genuinely had no better choice right now. The longer time dragged on, the more disadvantageous it was for them as players. Failing the main quest meant death regardless.

“You, get back further! Don’t get in my way…” He turned his head, preparing to give Yan Shanque one last instruction, only to see that Qin Dan had used some sort of prop, silently running several meters away already, almost about to disappear down the staircase.

In that brief moment’s delay, the furious Fierce Ghost had already caught up. Its frame was short and small, but the aura it radiated was terrifying, completely unlike anything an ordinary player could contend with.

“You bastard!”

Zhang Bing realized he’d been played.

“You—want to stop me? You want to stop me too?! Heh heh heh, then you can go die too!” The Charred Corpse roared.

The pain and fury of being burned alive had gradually eroded what little reason it had left. It grew increasingly frenzied, galloping on all fours like a bug, rapidly crawling towards him.

“Go! Now!”

Zhang Bing couldn’t spare any energy for his hatred towards Qin Dan. He had no way out now and could only grit his teeth and face the battle: “You go find Lin Yujing. I’ll hold it off here.”

“But…” Yan Shanque gritted her teeth, unable to bear the thought of running away alone.

Firelight flickered across the middle-aged man’s face, now graying at the temples: “Go, now! You’ll only hinder me here!”

The Fierce Ghost formed from Zou Zihao had arrived. With a twitch of its hand, the giant cleaver stuck in the ground immediately turned into black water, flowing counter-current back into its grasp.

Zhang Bing’s stamina was better than Qin Dan’s, but even he couldn’t directly clash head-on with the Blade-Wielding Fierce Ghost. That giant black cleaver was indestructible. The weapon he carried hardly qualified as a prop. He was driven back step by step, relying solely on his own agility to dodge.

Yan Shanque didn’t really want to run, nor did she really want not to run. Caught in agonizing indecision, she pulled out her final weapon—that pink diary. Holding it like a brick, trying to wield it as her last resort, she simultaneously raised her voice to its limit, shouting: “Help! Aaah! Zou Zihao is a Fierce Ghost! Quick, save him! Aaahh!”

Zhang Bing was already struggling to hold on. How could a mortal body compare to a ghost sustained by resentment and obsession?

His chest had been slashed several times, his body drenched in blood.

They say a person’s life flashes before their eyes before death. But at this moment, Zhang Bing’s mind was completely blank. All his focus was consumed by the blade’s edge and the fiery light. Fear made his whole body stiff, unable to think of anything else.

Within the same Instance World, players had absolutely no ability to fight back against a Fierce Ghost. Zhang Bing finally understood this statement.

Was he going to die here, just like this?

His life… his daughter…

Clang—

The cleaver stopped.

Zhang Bing was stunned. He realized that at some unknown point, the Blade-Wielding Fierce Ghost’s body had been frozen by a layer of grey-blue ice, immobilized in place.

“This…”

“Brother Zhang, stop the bleeding first!” Yan Shanque hastily pulled him back from behind, dodging what would have been an almost certainly fatal slash.

“Run! It’s a Fierce Ghost!” Zhang Bing, reacting, immediately shouted a warning to the newcomer.

“It’s fine, it’s fine.” Even the most cowardly Wei Congxin gestured reassuringly from the back, indicating everything was very much okay.

“Indeed. If we don’t take action soon, it’ll run off.” Lin Yujing drawled lazily.

During the brief moment they’d been speaking, the Blade-Wielding Fierce Ghost had already broken free of the ice layer. It had retreated into the flames at some point, its figure gradually disappearing.

It was retreating. It was actually retreating.

Zhang Bing realized he wasn’t mistaken. It was trying to flee.

It was afraid!

A Fierce Ghost, born from unquenchable resentment after being burned alive, hiding among players for unknown reasons—was actually afraid!

Who was it afraid of?

“So, it was you.” A voice reached their ears.

Along with nearly imperceptible footsteps, the indoor temperature plummeted. Grey-blue snowflakes condensed as the temperature dropped, drifting down in sheets, landing on the flames and gently extinguishing them.

The white-haired youth walked over, step by step.

Ice paved the path for him. Frost spread with every step he took, from the floor to the walls, even to the ceiling.

Those ordinary Charred Corpses were frozen solid almost the instant they encountered him.

The flames were no longer obstructing brambles but lit bonfires to welcome the descent of a deity.

“You… you…” Zhang Bing and Yan Shanque, watching the role reversal in the blink of an eye, couldn’t quite process it.

Yin Luo didn’t look at them. His eyes were fixed solely on that Blade-Wielding Fierce Ghost.

Loathing welled up ceaselessly from his heart, rushing to his head. Fury almost set his sanity ablaze. Looking at that black giant cleaver, it was as if he could recall every single time it had hacked into his body.

Whatever game players, identity memories—all were completely thrown to the back of his mind. Only fury remained in his heart.

Kill it! Kill it!

Revenge! Revenge!

The scorching room grew colder and colder. The snowflakes that had been drifting lightly to the ground abruptly paused, then changed trajectory. Like ten thousand arrows fired at once, they shot madly towards the Blade-Wielding Charred Corpse, each flake carrying lethal intent.

“AAARRRRGGGHHH!!” The Fierce Ghost let out a miserable wail. The ice crystal snowflakes embedded in its body didn’t melt, instead boring inward like steel needles, oozing blackish-yellow pus.

Yin Luo leaped high into the air. An Ice Blade spun into his hand, but feeling it somewhat insufficient, it transformed into a giant broadsword.

The white-haired youth gripped the sword with both hands and slashed it down upon the monster.

No matter how the Fierce Ghost tried to dodge, its arm was cleaved off as easily as cutting tofu.

The Blade-Wielding Fierce Ghost shrieked in alarm. Even abandoning its arm, it wanted to flee into the flames. But the fire, suppressed and barely lingering by the frost, could no longer offer it sanctuary. Before it could run far, the white-haired youth, whose strength was terrifyingly immense, seized it and forcibly dragged it back out.

The low temperature made its body exceptionally brittle. Pain made it roar at the sky, but a giant sword suspended in mid-air pierced straight through it from top to bottom.

“What… is going on?”

Zhang Bing and Yan Shanque watched the one-sided massacre, somewhat at a loss.

This was the first time they’d witnessed Instance Fierce Ghosts fighting amongst themselves while the players just stood by and watched.

“What else? Enemies meeting, eyes blazing with extra fury.” Lin Yujing shrugged.

Wei Congxin scratched his face: “So, you mean… Pearl was actually dismembered by Zou… that Fierce Ghost with a knife, and then the Fierce Ghost itself also burned to death?”

【Main Quest 2: Investigate the Past of This House – Completed】

【Quest Evaluation: Can’t even free-ride properly. A bunch of noobs.】

【Main Quest 3: Take Your Leave of the Host, and Receive a Response】

【Quest Hint: A perfect visit should involve maintaining a good relationship with the host and finishing what you start, so as to leave behind a profound memory. Oh, you don’t have to say goodbye either. Just stay here, then.】