Chapter 2: Who Are You?!
"Ahhh, I'm going to kill you!!"
At this moment, Ling Baichuan was in unbearable agony. Ignoring whatever Ling Qiu was saying, he howled in a voice torn with pain, “...Beat him! Beat him to death!!”
The young men surrounding them all relied on Ling Baichuan for their future prospects. Although Ling Qiu’s methods and his aura inspired an inexplicable fear, they had numbers on their side. After only a brief hesitation, each grabbed a wine bottle and charged at Ling Qiu.
Witnessing this, Ling Qiu gave a faint shake of his head. “Since you’re all so eager to die, I’ll oblige you.”
Hiss—
Ling Qiu raised his hand, and a surge of black energy, like the wails of countless ghosts, swept over the crowd.
“Ahhh!”
At once, these men felt as if they had been plunged into hell. All around them rose the chilling screams and howls of vengeful spirits; a terror unlike anything they’d ever known crawled over their bodies, as if countless blue-faced, fanged specters were ravenously tearing at their flesh, organs, and very marrow!
The agony was as if their bones were being removed and their tendons drawn out—pain so intense it brought utter despair!
Amid the pitiful wails and screams, Ling Qiu calmly walked up to Ling Baichuan and pointed at the shards of glass on the floor. “I’ll say it one last time. Lick them clean.”
“You... you’re not human... What are you? What kind of monster are you?!”
In Ling Baichuan’s eyes, a terrifying black aura was rising from Ling Qiu’s entire body; a hellish presence, bleak and chilling, as if he were a massive black hole capable of devouring everything.
Bang!
Ling Qiu’s foot stomped hard on the back of Ling Baichuan’s head. With a wail, Ling Baichuan’s mouth was shoved directly into the glass shards on the ground!
As Ling Qiu ground his foot down, Ling Baichuan’s mouth filled with shards, and blood gushed out in streams.
“Mmmph mmmph—”
His pained cries and howls reduced to helpless whimpers, barely escaping his throat.
In that moment, he finally, utterly regretted everything...
He regretted ever making an enemy of Ling Qiu!
He didn’t know why Ling Qiu had become so terrifying.
But it was too late to wonder now. At this very instant, he wanted only to survive, to kneel and beg for mercy!
But unfortunately...
Once Ling Qiu was angered, sorry—he wouldn’t even give you the chance to kneel and plead!
“Do you know what’s more hopeless than death?” Ling Qiu said coolly. “It’s a life worse than death.”
With that, Ling Qiu pressed his palm to Ling Baichuan’s forehead!
Buzzing—
In an instant, Ling Baichuan felt his very soul torn apart and then reassembled!
The process was excruciating, as if his limbs, head, and organs were being shattered and then pieced together anew!
A moment later, Ling Baichuan suddenly felt his head was upside-down, though his body hadn’t moved an inch!
“Ahhh... my hands... my feet...”
Panic overwhelmed him as he realized his soul had been flipped upside-down; his legs and arms no longer obeyed him, and when he tried to move his hands, it was his legs that responded!
He was so terrified he wet himself...
But, amusingly...
His mouth began to drool uncontrollably. Strangely, the saliva seemed to carry a faint stench of urine...
Yes, Ling Qiu had completely inverted Ling Baichuan’s soul!
Bang.
Ling Qiu lifted his foot and sent Ling Baichuan crashing into the wall. Hands in his pockets, he turned and strode away in style. “Ling Baichuan, enjoy your extraordinary skeleton for the rest of your life. Oh, and by the way—it’s getting cold, take care not to catch a chill. Be careful you don’t get diarrhea.”
Thud.
The door closed behind him as he left.
Ling Baichuan wanted to roar in rage, but all that came out were a series of feeble, sputtering farts.
...
On the streets of Jiang’an City—
Amid the hustle and bustle, atop a towering skyscraper, Ling Qiu stood at the edge of the rooftop like a black god of night, hands in his pockets.
The wild wind tossed his pitch-black hair as he gazed down upon the city, slowly caressing the dark ring on his finger.
On the ring, countless ancient runes flowed like water.
“Ksitigarbha once said, to reverse the cycle of reincarnation and save her from the Eighteen Hells, one must awaken the power of the Ten Kings of Hell. But... how exactly does one awaken such power?”
Taking a deep breath, Ling Qiu put aside his doubts, his gaze resolute. “Lingli, back then you fought against the Eighteen Palaces of Hell for my sake, just so I could claim the throne of Yama. If not for you, I’d have been utterly obliterated, my soul scattered forever! Rest assured... no matter what, I will forge the Golden Body of the Ghost Emperor, crush the skulls of every Palace Lord beneath my feet to pave a crimson path, and bring you out in glory!”
With this thought, Ling Qiu leapt from the rooftop, his shadow flitting like the wind through the bustling city!
The black ring on his finger spun slightly. All the wandering spirits lurking in alleys and shadowed corners were instantly exposed.
To ordinary eyes, the world was mundane and uneventful.
But to Ling Qiu, countless wandering souls drifted beside every person!
When these souls saw Ling Qiu, it was as if they’d encountered the most terrifying god of slaughter since their deaths. Wailing in terror, they fled in all directions!
“Trying to run?”
Ling Qiu’s aura exploded outward, becoming like a bolt of black lightning. Wherever he passed, all the wandering spirits dissolved like mist and were instantly drawn into his body!
In about two hours, Ling Qiu had devoured every wandering soul in dozens of surrounding streets!
“Hiccup.”
Ling Qiu belched with satisfaction.
Though these common street spirits were low-grade, their sheer numbers were impressive!
“Having returned from the dead, King Ksitigarbha, moved by old bonds, secretly left me a trace of power. But to grow truly strong, devouring these insignificant spirits is far from enough!”
“Hm?!”
Suddenly, the black ring on his finger trembled violently!
He looked up and realized...
He had somehow arrived before a luxurious villa.
The entire mansion was shrouded in a terrifying, sinister black mist; the ghostly energy was so thick it blotted out the sky, not even a sliver of moonlight could break through!
“Such ghostly energy... this is a fierce ghost!”
Ghosts are ranked, from weakest to strongest: wandering souls, wild ghosts, fierce ghosts, vengeful ghosts, ghost fiends, ghost spirits, ghost heroes, ghost kings... and so on!
Ling Qiu smiled faintly.
If he could devour this fierce ghost, then... he could awaken his spiritual veins and resume cultivating the ‘Soul-Slaying Heaven-Burial Technique’!
With this thought, Ling Qiu slipped unnoticed into the villa.
...
Inside the villa—
On a lavish bed lay an old man, barely clinging to life, his body withered and sallow, his face drawn with pain.
Around him gathered more than a dozen people, all elegantly dressed and exuding an air of wealth.
“Is this the end for the Qin family?” sighed a middle-aged man.
The others wept softly.
Suddenly, a woman turned to a stunningly beautiful young woman and snapped, “Qin Siyao! This is all your fault!—If you hadn’t refused Young Master Wu, the old master would never be like this now!”
“The Wu family has a legendary ‘Soul-Returning Pill,’ said to be crafted centuries ago by a reclusive master! If you’d been willing to marry into their family, we might have had a chance at that miraculous medicine! But you... Hmph! Don’t think the old master’s affection for you puts you above everyone else, so pure and untouchable!”
“It’s your fault he’s dying!”
“If the old master dies, you’ll be cast out of the Qin family!”
Enduring their curses, Qin Siyao bit her lip to hold back tears.
The thought of marrying that repulsive Wu family scion was more than she could bear, even unto death!
But... she also couldn’t stand by and watch her grandfather die...
“Enough...”
Just then, a hoarse, aged voice spoke up.
Everyone shuddered—it was the old master!
“Grandfather!” they cried, rushing to his side.
With all his remaining strength, Old Master Qin said, “Leave us... I have something... to say to Siyao...”
Everyone shot Qin Siyao a vicious glare, but none dared defy the old master’s wishes. One by one, they left, seething with resentment.
Soon, only the old and the young remained.
“Grandfather... I’m sorry, it’s all my fault... Don’t worry, I’ll contact the Wu family right now—if it’s for you, even if I must...”
Qin Siyao spoke through tears.
“No, that’s not necessary.”
Old Master Qin, in what seemed a final surge, spoke faster than before. “Even if you agreed to marry into the Wu family, they’d never part with their treasured Soul-Returning Pill... These old bones of mine—if I die, I die. I just worry for you... Your parents passed too soon, and if I go, I fear the others will bully you...”
“Grandfather, please, don’t say that.” Qin Siyao was sobbing uncontrollably. “No matter what, I have to try. If not the Wu family, then even if I had to marry a dog or a pig, I’d do it if it could save you!”
“Enough nonsense. Stand aside.—You have only five minutes of your grandfather’s life left.”
But then—
Suddenly, a cold voice came from the window.
Startled, Qin Siyao turned around.
A young man, looking somewhat frail, was standing by the window!
It was Ling Qiu.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?!”
Qin Siyao braced herself as if for battle.
Ling Qiu, hands in his pockets, approached and cast a detached glance at Old Master Qin. “Who I am doesn’t matter. What matters is... I’m the only one who can save your grandfather. Of course, whether he lives or dies means nothing to me—I have no interest in saving him. He just happens to be targeted by the very thing I’ve come to deal with.”