Chapter Nine: Song Wan

Song Wan intended to warn those around her, but the moment she turned her head, she nearly screamed.

To her right, the middle-aged man’s neck was twisted like a braided rope, his head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees to face backward. It was a grotesque sight—the man was running, his every movement perfectly normal, except for his head.

Seeming to sense Song Wan’s gaze, the man’s head trembled slightly, then snapped to the left with the mechanical, geared motion of a machine, locking eyes with her in silence.

"What's wrong? Is something the matter?"

He was even speaking to her normally, as if completely unaware of his own abnormality. Song Wan suppressed the scream clawing at her throat, covering her mouth and shaking her head incessantly. She dared not make a sound, nor did she dare to respond. An instinctual fear told her that if she spoke, she would surely die.

The next moment, the man leaned in abruptly, a bizarre smile plastered on his face as he hovered near her. Song Wan could clearly see the blue veins bulging on his head, the result of blood pooling due to the unnatural shape of his neck.

*Don't speak. Absolutely do not speak.*

The older generation spoke of terrifying hauntings—that if you suddenly startled someone who didn't know they were already dead, it would lead to horrific consequences.

*Whoosh!*

The face drew closer. Overcome by fear, Song Wan, who had been running, collapsed to the ground. She could feel that strange, chilling aura. Her intuition screamed at her to run, but her right leg cramped from the fall, and she lost her balance, struggling in vain to stand.

*Is this it?* Song Wan thought.

She gave up, facing the situation with resignation. Just as her legs, which she had been struggling to steady, went limp again, a powerful force lifted her up the moment she hit the ground. In an instant, the scene before her shifted like a film, and when it stabilized, she found herself on the roof of an unknown building.

"Can you still speak?" the man asked.

"Yes," Song Wan managed.

She suppressed her scream and everything else, forcing herself to answer. Her intellect, sharper than that of the average person, kept reminding her that the creature before her was strange and not to be provoked.

"How long have you been with those things?" Shen Lin shifted his gaze, looking down at the strange crowd below.

"A... a long time." Song Wan knew he was asking how long she had been with that strange man—or, judging by his tone, that perhaps more than just that man were problematic.

"Forget it. You aren't in a state to be questioned right now. Calm yourself for a moment. I’ll deal with these ghosts first, to avoid trouble later."

Song Wan wanted to say more, but she saw a flash of pale gray light, and the man was gone.

Shen Lin reappeared in the middle of the street, observing the peculiar crowd. Most of them could no longer be considered living human beings.

*Ghost Slaves!*

Where there is a Ghost Domain, there are Ghost Slaves. Unlike the Ghost Master, the Ghost Slaves are different. They are bound to the Ghost Master and highly dependent on both the master and the domain; if the master is affected or killed, they perish as well.

Using the Ghost Image, Shen Lin naturally understood the Matriarch Ghost's capabilities in this regard. Her conversion of Ghost Slaves relied on this thick fog. Originally, due to the conflict between Zhang Ming and the entity, there had been a few safe zones left for the living, but as the fog thickened, those within it were gradually branded and began to undergo conversion.

The process was insidious; the victims didn't even know it was happening, and by the time they realized, it was already too late. This small group no longer held any living people; only the woman he had just saved was worth salvaging.

"Ghost Slaves rely on the Ghost Domain, and conflicts within the domain cause them to become unstable. So, if I compress the Ghost Domain into a single space, what will happen to you all?"

Ghost Slaves are not like Ghost Masters; they are transformed from all sorts of strange things and do not possess the trait of immortality. As Shen Lin condensed his own Ghost Domain to a specific range, he could clearly feel the repulsion from the Matriarch Ghost's domain surrounding him.

*Interesting. Repulsion between domains due to the law of like-repelling-like?*

Logically, Ghost Domains only suppress one another, with higher-level domains suppressing lower-level ones. But the Ghost Image was different; strictly speaking, its domain originated from the Matriarch Ghost—they shared the same root. If Shen Lin’s domain were stronger, he might be able to break the blockade and escape.

But in reality, there are no "ifs."

Under the lockdown of the Ghost Domain, the people running below stopped in unison. Their eyes, like those of dead fish, turned white in an instant, the pupils appearing to bulge out of their sockets. Dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on Shen Lin’s position with a numb, zombie-like expression.

Then, most of the Ghost Slaves began to mutate from the head down, dissolving into wisps of gray smoke until only piles of unrecognizable residue remained.

Shen Lin looked at the few remaining Ghost Slaves. They were still staring at him, a truly bone-chilling sight.

"Interesting. Ghost Slaves that haven't fully converted, retaining lingering consciousness and flesh, yet no longer human."

Since mastering the Ghost Image, Shen Lin had begun to understand everything about the Matriarch Ghost. He walked slowly toward the nearest slave, a flash of gray light appearing on his right hand as he reached out. It was like a spatial incision; the slave's head vanished as his hand passed through. The remaining body collapsed silently. The banishment from the Ghost Domain had limited effects on true ghosts, but against humans or non-human entities with specific traits, it was a lethal weapon.

"The gap between Ghost Slaves and a Ghost Master or Ghost Controller is still too large. But this confirms the conversion ability of the Ghost Image. If not for encountering that Matriarch Ghost, he would have been safe enough in this area."

Shen Lin waved his hand. This initial attempt was just to adapt to his abilities; he couldn't be too reckless. A ghost's abilities would gradually "resurrect" with use. For someone like him, who had just become a Ghost Controller or mastered a ghost, the golden rule was to avoid using it unless necessary, effectively extending one's lifespan.

"Experiment over. I’m bored. You lot can disappear now." Shen Lin scanned his surroundings with indifference.

He released the condensed Ghost Domain, letting it expand from him as the center. As the pale gray domain spread, the Ghost Slaves had nowhere to hide and dissolved into smoke. The process was swift; in mere seconds, the overwhelming power of his domain banished them all.

Shen Lin’s figure flickered and reappeared on the rooftop.

Song Wan had finally accepted the impossible. Having experienced life and death, she could calmly accept even the most shattering collapse of her worldview.

"Calm now?" Shen Lin asked.

Song Wan nodded vigorously. Any notions of elite poise or intellectual superiority were discarded; when faced with such incomprehensible horror, if you cannot fight it, compromise is the best choice.

"I’ll be blunt: I saved you only because it was convenient. Your body has been eroded by ghosts in ways you can't see. I can't tell if you're still a normal person, but I will give you a chance at survival." Shen Lin watched her with burning eyes.

He had a bold plan in mind: an opportunity to contain the Matriarch Ghost, but it required the cooperation of an outsider.

Song Wan was stunned. When she heard she might no longer be "normal," tears began to fall uncontrollably. She gritted her teeth and asked firmly, "Why should I trust you?"

"That is your choice. I’m just stating my requirements. Whether you agree or not is up to you, but I must warn you: while there aren't many people left in this residential complex, there are certainly enough. You are not my only option," Shen Lin said calmly.

He was no saint. With the Matriarch Ghost looming and the Ghost Image slowly consuming him from within, he could barely save himself, let alone others.

"Can—can you not save me?" Song Wan asked, biting her lip.

Shen Lin’s eyes flickered. "A fair trade. You provide value for me, and I help you gain a new life. It’s reasonable. You can refuse; you aren't essential."

Shen Lin’s expression grew impatient. He didn't have much time; he couldn't afford delays. The Matriarch Ghost was still hunting, and he needed to locate both it and the gold coffin. Only gold could contain that thing, and he currently lacked sufficient supplies.

Weighing pros and cons? Life and death? Game theory only works under equal or comparable conditions. When the gap between the two sides becomes a crushing disparity, game theory is a joke. Song Wan firmly extinguished her own petty thoughts and stood up.

"I know you want me to do something terrifying—something so dangerous you might not even risk yourself. But I have one condition: you must guarantee my safety."

Shen Lin nodded. A smart woman. He needed someone willing to take risks and cooperate. In the process of dealing with ghosts, he had to minimize errors; he could not afford a useless partner.

"Fine. It's reasonable. As long as you don't do anything stupid, I will guarantee your safety. That is fair."

The agreement was struck. Shen Lin placed his right hand on her head.

"Do not resist. I am going to place a brand on you. It will slow your body's current deterioration. Because of this mark, you will have a certain connection to me and even gain some resistance to these horrors."

His father had said: use magic to fight magic. If the Matriarch Ghost’s brand had already begun to erode her, he would simply place a new one. Fighting poison with poison was a classic trope. It wouldn't free her from the curse of becoming a Ghost Slave, but with Shen Lin around, Song Wan would at least not become a walking corpse.

Light glowed from Shen Lin’s hand. Simultaneously, a faint, lifelike image of the Ghost Image appeared on Song Wan’s back.

"As long as I don't die, you won't have any major problems."