Chapter Ninety-Six: Devoured Alive

"Come on, have a taste of your grandpa's strength!"

Zhang Hao had barely finished speaking when—*whoosh*—in this critical moment, the torch was suddenly extinguished as if on cue.

The Green-Clothed Ghost, which had been five paces away, flickered like a white shadow and appeared right before Zhang Hao, its face nearly pressed against his nose.

"Well, this is even more awkward!"

Before the thought had even settled in his mind, Zhang Hao was swept up by a flowing sleeve and sent flying, crashing heavily into the lid of the coffin, his fate unknown.

"Zhang Hao!"

Cui Yue’s eyes turned bloodshot, and he thrust his wooden sword forward with all his might.

"Humph!"

The Green-Clothed Ghost let out a cold snort, its left sleeve wrapping around a wooden stool and hurling it toward him. Before Cui Yue could dodge, he was struck on his side; the force was so immense that the stool shattered into a pile of wood splinters. Cui Yue struggled to his feet, one side of his body numb, his wooden sword nearly slipping from his grasp.

"Grandpa has something good for you! Take this!"

Seeing the ghost closing in, Cui Yue did not hesitate. He pulled a talisman from his robes and slapped it through the air. The paper talisman flew like a bolt of lightning. Before it even touched the ghost, the creature’s expression shifted violently; it clearly sensed that the energy contained within this talisman was no child's play—it held a grave threat. The ghost tried to retreat, but the talisman clung to it like a bone-seeking needle. It hurriedly raised its arms to block.

"Explode for me!" Cui Yue growled, his eyes chilling.

*Boom!*

The yellow talisman detonated right in front of the Green-Clothed Ghost. Golden light spilled everywhere, and countless golden sparks erupted in succession. The power was overwhelming!

*Ah!*

The Green-Clothed Ghost let out a shrill scream. Its white robes were torn to shreds, half of its flowing sleeve had been blasted away, and its entire body was covered in wounds from which thick, black miasma poured out. It was in a truly wretched state.

"Go to hell!"

Cui Yue pressed his advantage, his wooden sword whistling as he prepared to run it through.

The ghost, pushed to desperation, turned and flew toward the coffin of Xiao Feng’s father. With a single swipe, it split the coffin lid in two, grabbed the corpse, and pressed it to its ghostly face, sniffing greedily. A thread of white essence flowed from the seven orifices of the corpse and gathered above the ghost’s head, vanishing into it in a blink.

Strangely enough, in that short moment, the wounds on the ghost’s body healed at a visible rate, returning to their original state. Meanwhile, the corpse of Xiao Feng’s father withered away, the flesh collapsing until only dry bones remained.

"What is this? How is it back on its feet so quickly?" Cui Yue was horrified. The ghost was terrifying; it could absorb the essence of the dead to nourish its own spectral body. "Damn it, all that work for nothing, and that precious talisman from the glasses-wearing kid was wasted." He knew he didn't have many talismans left; counting them up, he had at most three.

Having absorbed the essence, the ghost felt refreshed. It tossed the corpse back into the coffin without a second glance and drifted slowly toward Cui Yue, step by step, pressing the attack. Although its expression was hidden, Cui Yue felt an immense pressure; this faceless monstrosity wanted to tear him apart.

Cui Yue secretly calculated whether to throw the remaining three talismans at once to blow this wretched thing to pieces. It would be a painful loss, but survival was paramount!

"Roar!"

The ghost wouldn't give him another chance. It moved with blinding speed, flickering white shadows dancing as it reached Cui Yue in an instant.

*Snap!*

Cui Yue was shocked, caught off guard. Before he could raise his sword, his body suddenly felt weightless, and he was lifted into the air, a pair of pale, freezing hands clamped tightly around his throat.

"This is it!"

Cui Yue felt a surge of overwhelming force. His legs thrashed in the air, but to no avail. His eyes began to bloodshot, nearly popping from their sockets, and his face turned a deep, bruised purple. He struggled to breathe, his peripheral vision scanning the surroundings in desperation. He prayed for someone to intervene, but Zhang Hao and Xiao Feng lay on the ground, unable to even crawl, let alone save him.

Pain! Pure pain!

The more he struggled, the tighter the grip became. Suddenly, the familiar, agonizing pain in his chest and abdomen flared up again, his internal organs twisting together until he was on the verge of shock.

It was that strange yet familiar flow of energy—cold enough to seep into his marrow—gathering in his chest and abdomen, endless and unstoppable. What confused Cui Yue was that as this icy current flowed through his body, he felt a strange sense of relief. The numbness in his limbs faded, and he actually felt comfortable!

Even more bizarre was that the aggressive Green-Clothed Ghost suddenly began to tremble, as if it had encountered something horrific, struggling to even stand steady.

What was happening? Had something gone wrong with this faceless creature?

The ghost shivered uncontrollably, its yin energy draining away at an alarming rate. At this pace, it would be reduced to an empty husk in no time. It struggled, but it could not break free, eventually losing the strength to fight back, forced to let Cui Yue drain it dry.

Finally, the ghost’s form blurred, turning back into a mass of white mist that expanded and contracted rapidly until—*whoosh*—it was sucked entirely into Cui Yue’s mouth, skin and all.

"Ah! Brother Cui just swallowed the ghost alive!"

Xiao Feng, who had just regained consciousness, caught the scene. She couldn't believe her eyes—Cui Yue had actually swallowed the ghost whole! Terrified out of her wits, she fainted again.

Cui Yue, feeling the spirit enter his body, thought it was some new trick of the ghost. He had no control over it, as if some force were manipulating his body against his will.

"I’m done for, this is the end of me!"

Cui Yue clawed at his own throat, eyes bulging as he coughed violently, wishing he could vomit the ghost back out. Suddenly, his vision went black, and he collapsed to the ground, his fate uncertain.

The bustling courtyard returned to silence, the mourning hall left in ruins. Strangely, despite the commotion, not a single neighbor came out to investigate or help; it seemed everyone knew exactly what was happening and chose to feign ignorance.

The candles before the altar had long since extinguished. The white mourning silks fluttered occasionally in the wind, and the courtyard was slowly swallowed by the darkness.

Everything had never happened, and yet, it had never truly ended.