Chapter 1: The Female Ghost (2/2)

“Ha, finally lit up.”

Ye Qing let out a breath of relief, the warm flame slightly easing the fear in his heart.

However, just as he looked up, a pale, eerie female face suddenly appeared right in front of him, only an inch away, with hollow, lifeless eyes staring straight at him.

“Ah…” Ye Qing screamed and quickly retreated, crashing into the bed frame, the impact making his body ache all over.

But Ye Qing didn’t care about the pain, because at that moment, he saw it clearly — the woman only had an upper body, with her lower half a void, floating in the air. Her expression was numb, her eyes empty, and she radiated a chilling, ghostly aura.

“Ghost… ghost…”

Ye Qing felt his scalp go numb and screamed again. His shout seemed to stir the ghost, and she immediately floated towards him.

Before she could get closer, the cold aura invaded his body, making his blood feel as if it were freezing, trembling uncontrollably.

“Go away…” Ye Qing grabbed the fire striker with one hand, and with the other, he picked up the pillow, blanket, and anything he could reach, hurling them all toward the ghost in the air.

But the ghost was like a wisp of air, and the objects went right through her, completely ineffective. The ghost floated closer to Ye Qing, extending her hands to grip his neck.

A dark, bruised mark appeared on Ye Qing’s neck as the endless cold aura wrapped around him, as if it were freezing his life away.

“Heh heh…”

Ye Qing struggled desperately, but it was no use. His body grew colder and weaker, and the darkness in front of him slowly closed in, inch by inch, as if to swallow him whole.

“Am I… going to die again?” At the brink of life and death, Ye Qing had this thought: “But I feel like I can still try to save myself.”

“I remember, there’s something hidden in the gap in the wall. Maybe it can save my life.”

Under the pressure of life and death, Ye Qing had a strong premonition and impulse, perhaps a remnant of the original body’s survival instinct.

Ye Qing desperately threw the fire striker at the ghost. The ghost, clearly afraid of fire, screamed and released Ye Qing’s neck, floating backward.

Taking this opportunity, Ye Qing took several deep breaths, gathered all his strength, and slammed his fist into the wall with all his might. There was a loud “bang” as the wall’s plaster cracked and fell off. He felt a slight crack in his wrist, the sound of bones breaking, followed by a sharp pain shooting up.

But Ye Qing didn’t care about the pain. Gritting his teeth, he grabbed a piece of cloth, wrapped it around his fist, and continued smashing the wall.

At that moment, after dodging the fire striker, the ghost came at him again.

“Hurry, hurry!” Ye Qing gritted his teeth, his eyes reddening, veins bulging on his arms, smashing at the wall again and again.

“Crack,” the wall collapsed, revealing a dark compartment about the size of a head, inside which was a black, old wooden box.

“This is it!” Ye Qing’s eyes lit up. He threw off the cloth around his hand and grabbed the wooden box from the compartment. Just then, the ghost reached him again, just like before, its hands reaching for his neck.

“Die!” Ye Qing suddenly leaned back to avoid the ghost’s attack, tore the wooden box out of the wall, opened it, grabbed something inside, and threw it directly at the ghost in the air.

The movements were swift, like lightning.

“Boom…”

A burst of bright light exploded in the air, blinding and dazzling, mixed with a scorching force, like the blazing sun, instantly illuminating the dark room as bright as day.

“Ah…”

The ghost in the air screamed as the light touched it. A hint of fear appeared on its numb, hollow face. But before it could turn to flee, it was completely engulfed by the scorching light, burning into ashes.

The bright light lasted for about ten seconds before it completely extinguished. A worn-out yellow talisman slowly turned to ashes as it fell through the air, scattering into the wind.

“Phew… Finally, it’s over!” Ye Qing looked at the ghost’s ashes and the yellow talisman, collapsing onto the bed, panting heavily, his body drenched in sweat, feeling utterly exhausted.

It was only then that he felt the sharp pain all over his body, like being pricked with needles, and also the extreme fatigue and weakness.

“Luckily, luckily for this yellow talisman.” From his memory, this talisman seemed to have been bought by the original body’s parents from a wandering Taoist for a high price. It was said to have the power to exorcise evil spirits and protect the house. His parents had kept it in the house all this time, never used it, and never had the chance to.

He once thought the wandering Taoist was a scammer and that the talisman was just a bluff.

But today, unexpectedly, this yellow talisman saved his life!