Book One, Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Second Artifact Spirit

The Boss had not felt such crushing pressure for a very long time.

It had been born three thousand years ago. After Miaoxuzi fell, it was separated from its companions and had roamed the world ever since. It knew full well that the spirit masters of the present were nowhere near as powerful as they had once been.

That was why it dared to seek a permanent place to settle down. It believed that with its abilities, even murder could be carried out with complete secrecy, without ever being discovered.

And indeed, it had hidden itself for a long time. More than ten years was an awfully long span for humans, and for more than a decade it had never been found.

Accustomed to such easy days, it had never imagined that among humans there would one day appear a spirit master so formidable, one who could compare with its former master, Miaoxuzi.

The Boss began to consider running.

Chi Xingwan gave a faint smile. “What’s wrong? Not going to fight me to the death anymore? Come on, then. Don’t tell me you’re scared.”

The Boss did not move. It had endured for three thousand years; was it some hot-blooded youngster who would flare up at a provocation? It had to escape. This amusement park was finished, but as long as it was not caught, there could be a second one, a third one, in the future.

Black miasma instantly flooded the entire prison, yet it could not touch Chi Xingwan at all.

A soft golden radiance shimmered over her body. All the black energy that drew near was purified, and that glow kept spreading until it occupied half the prison.

“Tch. Trouble.”

Much of the black miasma dispersed. The Boss no longer had the confidence to flee while completely off guard, so it had to think of another way.

But Chi Xingwan had lost patience. “Hey. What’s your name?”

The Boss kept its mouth shut.

Chi Xingwan did not mind. “That’s fine. I’ll know once I drag you out. By the way, you probably haven’t seen an old friend in a long time, have you? Want to see one?”

The Boss instantly went on guard. “What do you mean by that?”

“Exactly what I said.”

Chi Xingwan waved her hand, and the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda appeared out of thin air. From its lowest level poured a sinister blue-green glow.

“Aaah—”

A piercing scream erupted along with the pagoda’s appearance.

Startled by the sudden turn of events, the Boss looked closely at the thing wailing in agony in midair and immediately began to stammer.

“A-fox mask?”

A fox-faced human figure appeared in the air. Its limbs were firmly locked by four golden chains that reached out from the lowest level of the pagoda, and another chain coiled around its neck.

Chi Xingwan smiled. “You were both made by Miaoxuzi. You must have known each other. I suppose calling you friends is not out of place.”

“Who exactly are you? What do you want?”

Chi Xingwan took a step forward, and the pressure she exuded was overwhelming.

“I’m doing a good deed, helping you brothers reunite, and instead of thanking me, you speak to me so rudely? You’ll have to be punished for that.”

The Boss could not hold on any longer. Trembling, it dropped to its knees. “Let me go. I promise I’ll never appear before you again, and I promise I’ll never harm anyone again.”

Chi Xingwan’s smile vanished. She looked at it coldly. “Now you say this? Don’t you think it’s a little too late?”

The Boss shivered. “I can be of use to you. From now on, I will serve you as my master.”

“I don’t need you.”

The fox-faced figure had already been drawn back into the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda. From the tower’s second level, several golden chains extended and circled the Boss.

It had nowhere left to run.

“I don’t need a magical object steeped in such sin,” Chi Xingwan said, her face cold as frost.

The golden chains suddenly tightened, enclosing the Boss completely. They pierced through its body, then cinched hard, binding a huge bronze bell and dragging it out from within the Boss’s flesh.

The Boss regained consciousness once more. It was no longer being controlled, but its body was visibly shrinking by the second.

“No, I can’t die. My lord, please save me. I can’t die...”

It crawled across the floor toward the bronze bell suspended in the air, pleading, “I want to live. I want immortality. How could I possibly... die like this...”

Its breath grew weaker and weaker. Its body became as desiccated as a dead trunk. No, worse than that. In just a few minutes, it changed from a fat man into a gaunt old elder, and then into a pile of dry bones.

“So that’s how it is,” Chi Xingwan murmured to herself. “He should have died long ago. You kept his soul because you needed a proxy.”

She looked up at the bronze bell in the air and said coldly, “Soul-Capturing Bell, your sins run deeper than those of the fox-faced statue.”

The Soul-Capturing Bell still refused to yield. Enduring the pain, it said, “But I am more useful than the fox. I can manipulate hearts and minds. If you wish, I can build you an army that will obey your every command forever.”

“I told you, I don’t need it.”

The golden chains tightened again, and amid the bell’s shrieks of agony, it was drawn into the pagoda. The second level lit up with blue-green light, even brighter than the first.

After putting away the Demon-Suppressing Pagoda, Chi Xingwan walked through the basement once more. Finding no living person there, she finally went upstairs.

The castle floor was strewn with bones. Some wore maid uniforms, others butler’s attire; these were the people who had served them at noon.

“Thank you.”

Chi Xingwan stopped.

Before her stood a line of souls. Like the Boss, they were people who should have died long ago, yet were forcibly kept in the mortal world.

The difference was that the Boss had chosen it of his own will, while they had been compelled.

Looking at the half-faded figures before her, Chi Xingwan lowered her head, gathered herself, and then lifted her gaze again.

“Though you committed wrongs, you were, in the end, forced into them. Once you reach the underworld, accept your punishment properly, reform yourselves properly, and you may still have the chance to begin again.”

The butler smiled. “We will cherish the chance. Thank you.”

Chi Xingwan opened the gate to the Yellow Springs and said softly, “Go.”

Led by the butler, all the souls bowed to Chi Xingwan. Then, following the bronze soul lamp, they gradually vanished into the gate.

Watching them disappear, Chi Xingwan left the castle and made her way toward the staff dormitory.

“Ugh—”

Chu Fangfei was bent over beneath a tree, retching violently.

Jin Feng held a water bottle and patted her back again and again, grumbling, “I told you not to go in, but you refused to listen. See? Curiosity killed the cat. Now you’re the one suffering.”

“Ugh—” Chu Fangfei looked miserable. “How was I supposed to know it would be this disgusting? I—ugh—”

Chi Xingwan was baffled. “What happened?”

“Sis, did you already finish dealing with your side... ugh...?” Chu Fangfei asked between retches.

Seeing that she still wanted to speak, Chi Xingwan raised a hand to stop her. “I’ve finished on my side. What happened here? Jin Feng, you tell me.”

Jin Feng’s face was not looking great either. After gathering his thoughts, he said, “Boss, there are real zombies living in the staff dormitory.”