Chapter 44: That Is Not How You Kill a Ghost

Only the footsteps of Yang Sheng echoed empty and solitary through the dimly lit second-floor hallway.

The motion-sensor lights flickered on and off, casting a pathetic, barely perceptible glow that was little better than pitch black.

Consequently, Yang Sheng had to keep his flashlight on to clearly see his surroundings.

According to Uncle Shui's explanation, the tenants in the building had fallen so far behind on their property management fees that, as an electricity-saving measure, the property management company had replaced even the motion-sensor bulbs with the most energy-efficient ones available.

This kind of silent, deserted, hollow environment is the most fertile breeding ground for fear.

What human beings fear most is not actually concrete manifestations like ghosts, monsters, or corpses, but rather the unknown.

Just like the dark corridor before your eyes; you never know what might emerge in the next second.

However, Yang Sheng's state of mind remained remarkably calm.

Between life and death lies a profound terror, yet for someone who had once harbored a desire to die, there seemed to be nothing left that could truly cause him fear.

At that moment, a human figure suddenly glided across the beam of the flashlight.

Yang Sheng abruptly swept the flashlight back, and the person opposite him instinctively covered their eyes.

It was a woman dressed in plain clothing, in her early thirties, with delicate features, though her complexion was somewhat pale.

She was pushing a baby stroller, seemingly waiting for the elevator.

"Are you the security guard taking over the night shift from Uncle Shui?" the woman asked in a soft, delicate voice.

Yang Sheng lowered the flashlight and said, "Apologies, ma'am. Is there anything you need help with?"

The woman did not take offense; she shook her head and said, "I just wanted to take my baby out for a breath of fresh air."

As Yang Sheng walked past her, he asked, "Going for a walk at eleven o'clock at night?"

"I have to work during the day, so I only have time at night. You young people have no idea how difficult it is to raise a child."

Passing by the woman's side, Yang Sheng instinctively glanced toward the stroller, but his footsteps came to an instant halt.

The woman turned her head, a slightly eerie smile blooming on her pale face: "Is the baby cute?"

Was there any baby in that stroller? It was unmistakably a ball of shriveled, mummified remains huddled together, even exuding a faint stench of decay!

Yang Sheng took a deep breath and said, "Cute, very cute."

"Ding!"

The elevator arrived on the second floor, its doors slowly sliding open.

"The baby is so cute, don't you want to hold it?"

The woman stared directly at Yang Sheng, her gaze fixed and unblinking.

Simultaneously, the mummified corpse in the stroller abruptly opened its eyes!

Cloudy, withered, and leaking thick, yellowish-brown viscous fluid.

***

Yang Sheng let out a long breath, gently shook his head, and looking at the woman, said, "To be honest, your son is practically ready to be tossed into a soup pot."

The woman's expression instantly darkened into utter gloom, and the mummified corpse in the stroller opened its mouth to reveal a mouthful of razor-sharp, shark-like teeth. With a sharp screech, it lunged straight at Yang Sheng!

A thought flickered through his mind, and the Imperial Guard saber instantly appeared in his hand.

Drawing the blade with a counter-slash, the biting, razor-sharp edge collided directly with the ghost infant, producing a tremendous crash like the clashing of gold and iron.

Yang Sheng instantly felt a tremendous force slam into him, sending his entire body flying backward through the air!

It must be known that after his enhancement in vital energy and blood, Yang Sheng's physical strength far exceeded the limits of an ordinary person—killing a man with a single punch was no mere boast.

Yet how could something as tiny as this freakish thing possess such immense strength?

Watching the ghost infant charge at him once more with a piercing shriek, Yang Sheng's internal blood and vital energy boiled, surging powerful force into every meridian of his body.

Pledge in Blood!

The Imperial Guard saber swept horizontally, kicking up a harsh, whistling gale. The piercing howl echoed through the corridor with razor-sharp intensity.

Activating Pledge in Blood granted Yang Sheng at least a multi-fold increase in strength. The ghost infant was sent flying straight back with a single slash, letting out a mournful wail as its shriveled head was split open by the blow.

"My baby!"

The woman shrieked mournfully, throwing herself over the ghost infant. Faint threads of blood unexpectedly emerged from her entire body, merging into the ghost infant's form.

The next moment, dense black fog surged around the ghost infant, its eyes turning scarlet red as it once again shrieked and charged at Yang Sheng.

The bone-chilling black mist rushed over him, causing goosebumps to erupt across Yang Sheng's entire body.

Just then, a golden glow manifested around Yang Sheng. The passive effect of the City God's Golden Body activated, successfully shielding him against this frigid, ghostly fog.

It was just that the inheritance level of the City God's divine office was somewhat low; the golden body manifested passively and could not be used to actively attack enemies, serving only to defend against such dark and evil forces.

The Imperial Guard saber slashed repeatedly, moving so fast that even faint afterimages could be seen.

Under the explosive power of Pledge in Blood, not only did Yang Sheng's strength surge, but his abundant vital energy and blood also allowed his speed to increase dramatically.

However, after absorbing the blood threads from the woman, the ghost infant seemed to experience a simultaneous surge in strength and speed. Darting and leaping through the blurring shadows of Yang Sheng's blade, it closed the distance and was right in front of him in the blink of an eye!

Seeing the grotesque head less than a yard away from his chest, Yang Sheng stepped back, twisted his waist, and lifted his leg, delivering a rapid sequence of flying kicks directly into the ghost infant.

Jade-Ring Step! Mandarin Duck Kicks!

The ghost infant was kicked to a halt mid-air. In the next instant, a brilliant golden light burst forth behind Yang Sheng, coalescing into the phantom of a warrior in golden armor wielding an Imperial Guard saber, which chopped down with earth-shattering force!

Soldier Soul of the Five Fierce Spirits!

The Soldier Soul of the Five Fierce Spirits was also a spiritual entity. No matter how Yang Sheng had hacked and slashed at the ghostly fog previously, he could not chop it apart, but under this single strike from the soldier soul, it shattered explosively.

The ghost infant was likewise blown backward by the blow, a gruesome slash tearing across its chest.

Yet a moment later, the ghostly fog welled up around it once again, and the ghost infant charged back like an undying entity.

Yang Sheng frowned slightly.

***

What on earth is this freakish thing?

Before acquiring these bizarre abilities in the Samsara World, Yang Sheng's forte had always been burst-style combat.

Furthermore, the toll that Pledge in Blood and the Soldier Soul of the Five Fierce Spirits took on him was far from negligible.

Activating Pledge in Blood for a dozen seconds left Yang Sheng feeling only slightly fatigued, but if pushed to a full minute, it risked damaging his fundamental vital energy and blood.

The same applied to the Soldier Soul of the Five Fierce Spirits; once summoned, Yang Sheng's mental energy would be continuously drained, and a prolonged duration could easily cause him to pass out from mental exhaustion.

Therefore, Yang Sheng was still restricted to this burst-style combat method; once dragged into a protracted battle, it would prove somewhat disadvantageous for him.

This time, Yang Sheng did not rush to activate Pledge in Blood. Instead, he dodged repeatedly as the ghost infant lunged at him.

Spotting an opening, Yang Sheng grasped the saber with both hands and triggered Pledge in Blood.

Charging forward like a spearman, the blade drove in a straight line, plunging directly into the previously slashed fracture on the ghost infant's head and piercing it completely through!

Yet even with its skull impaled, the ghost infant did not die. Instead, it thrashed with its short limbs, lunging toward Yang Sheng completely indifferent to the Imperial Guard saber still wedged through its brain.

With a flick of his long saber, the ghost infant was flung aside.

At this point, a headache began to form for Yang Sheng: how was he supposed to deal with this thing?

The investigative permissions granted during the world-line shift seemed to have been rescinded upon entering this world, leaving him currently unable to access any data regarding this creature.

Just then, a voice rang out from behind Yang Sheng: "That's not how you kill ghosts! Relying purely on brute strength with no adaptability!"

A You, dressed in a bathrobe and sporting a bird's nest of messy hair, appeared behind Yang Sheng out of nowhere, radiating an aura of severe sleepiness and extreme impatience.

Seeing the ghost infant charge forward once again, A You reached straight into his bathrobe, grabbed a handful of glutinous rice, and flung it head-on at the ghost infant!

Upon contact with the ghostly fog, the glutinous rice erupted with a pale golden radiance, instantly dissipating the fog entirely and causing the ghost infant to open its mouth in a miserable shriek.

Seizing the opportunity, A You lunged forward with incredible agility, moving with a swiftness that was in no way inferior to Yang Sheng in his Pledge in Blood state.

Sweeping his hands outward, threads of black ink unspooled from A You's grasp, rapidly whipping through the air to entangle the ghost infant.

As the ink threads tightened, scorching black steam hissed across the ghost infant's entire body, forcing it to open its mouth in agonizing screams.

The ghost infant struggled violently, black fog condensing within its jaws as it spat out a heavily materialized black skull that lunged to bite A You.

A You casually pulled a purple talisman out of his bathrobe, formed a hand seal, and infused the talisman with a burst of concentrated essence. The talisman flashed brightly, batting the black skull away while simultaneously stamping itself onto the ghost infant's forehead, instantly freezing the creature in place and halting its struggles entirely.

"Hey! What are you still standing there for? Watching a show?!"

A You turned around and barked irritably at Yang Sheng.

Recovering his wits, Yang Sheng brought his Imperial Guard saber down in a direct slash upon the ghost infant.

This time, it felt like hacking through rotten leather. The ghost infant, which had previously seemed as invulnerable as vajra, was cleaved cleanly in two by the single blade stroke. Nonetheless, faint threads of blood continued to writhe and crawl outward from the corpse, though they lacked any real strength and ultimately dissolved into pools of black, festering pus.

Simultaneously, the woman let out a mournful wail, collapsing to the ground and convulsing as gouts of black, festering pus poured from her body until her entire form completely dissolved and vanished.