Under the shade of a tree stood a small child, dressed in a red bellyband. Its skin was as white as porcelain—except it had no head.
"Uncle, my head fell off. Can I borrow yours to play with?" The headless child asked in a sweet, innocent voice. Despite the soft tone, everyone felt a chill rise from deep within.
"How could something like this appear inside the Eastern Capital?" Zhao Laoba shivered as he spoke, feeling as if that ghostly creature was staring right at him.
No one answered. Jiang Ming's heartbeat quickened, though he couldn't tell if it was from fear or excitement—or maybe both. The corpse demon that had attacked him last time was terrifying, but this headless child was on another level. Was it a demon or a ghost?
Suddenly, the severed head near Zhao Laoba's feet sprang up, lunging at his throat.
"Ah—!" Zhao Laoba's scream tore through the air as the others scattered in terror, abandoning him.
"Help me!" he cried, his voice filled with agony. Blood sprayed everywhere.
Jiang Ming, carrying his gourd, also sprinted toward the city with Chong Heihu. A wise man knows not to stand under a collapsing wall—when danger strikes, run if you can. Charging headfirst without thinking just leads to an early death.
Aside from Ahu, who had reached the ninth rank in cultivation, the rest of the guards from Yinsheng Casino were ordinary people. As they lagged behind, their screams echoed out one by one.
Ahu's eyes flashed with a savage light. He reached for Jiang Ming, but Jiang was ready and quickly dodged to the side.
Turning his head with a grin, Jiang Ming said, "Back when I was in sixth grade and got chased by a pack of wild dogs, I learned one important lesson..."
Ahu couldn't help but feel a strange joy rise in his heart when Jiang Ming smiled at him. Thankfully, the screams from behind shook him out of that confusing feeling.
Damn it, why am I feeling this way toward a man?
Although in the Great Jin Dynasty, enjoying the company of men was considered quite refined, Ahu was not inclined that way.
Jiang Ming continued, "That is, when you're being chased by a beast, you don't have to outrun it. You just need to outrun your companions."
With that, Jiang Ming leaped onto Chong Heihu's back, increasing his speed and leaving Ahu behind.
"Damn it!"
Ahu channeled his inner strength into his legs, propelling himself faster to keep up.
Jiang Ming glanced back and didn't see the headless child. He let out a sigh of relief, but in the next moment, his heart nearly stopped.
The headless child was clinging to Ahu's back, completely unnoticed. Blood dripped from its neck, and though it had no head, Jiang Ming could feel it smiling.
The child extended its hands, placing them on Ahu's head, and gently twisted.
Splat!
Ahu's head popped off, blood gushing like a fountain from his neck. His body collapsed, revealing the tiger-head emblem stitched onto his arm.
The headless child then placed Ahu's head on its own neck, blinking its new eyes before looking at Jiang Ming and, in Ahu's voice, said, "Brother, I think your head looks better than his."
In an instant, it darted forward like lightning.
Jiang Ming didn't hesitate. He muttered a spell and opened his gourd.
A thick black smoke burst forth, spreading like a net. Within it, seven or eight iron-beaked eagles shot toward the ghostly child.
The headless child—no, now it had a head—was caught in the smoke, unable to see clearly. The iron-beaked eagles swooped down with talons and beaks, aiming for its eyes.
"Ah…!"
The eagles loved to peck at eyes. Ahu's head, now worn by the ghost child, had its eyes gouged out in an instant.
In a fit of rage, the child ripped off Ahu's head and smashed it to the ground.
"Jiang Ming, give me your head!" The child let out a blood-curdling scream, its voice shaking the air and scattering the eagles and smoke.
Hearing the ghost call his name sent a shiver down Jiang Ming's spine. Was it specifically after him?
In reality, the child had gained some of Ahu's memories after taking his head, which is how it knew Jiang Ming's name.
The iron-beaked eagles continued attacking, but there weren't enough of them to form a proper formation, and the ghost child quickly broke through.
It moved too fast. Running was useless—it would only waste energy. Jiang Ming had no choice but to recall the eagles and stand his ground with Chong Heihu.
Drip... drip…
Black blood oozed from the ghost child's neck, and its once pale skin began to form blood-red lines.
"Jiang Ming! Jiang Ming!"
The child's figure flickered in and out. Chong Heihu shouted, "What kind of ghost dares to cause trouble here?"
Whoosh!
"Young Master, be careful!" Chong Heihu suddenly blocked Jiang Ming, but sharp claws dug into his hands.
The two clashed fiercely, but Chong Heihu, drained of his strength, was no match for the ghost child, who was clearly stronger than a ninth-rank fighter.
"Young Master, run! I'll hold it off!" Chong Heihu roared.
Jiang Ming furrowed his brows and pulled out a card from his sleeve. This will be my debut battle as a summoner.
"Daji, come out!"
With a gust of black wind, a beautiful woman appeared, covering her mouth as she yawned, "What is it, my lord? I was sleeping."
Jiang Ming grabbed her sleeve, "Sister, this is no time to be lazy! We've got a fight on our hands!"
Daji rolled her eyes and shook off his hand, stepping forward gracefully.
"If my powers had fully recovered, Chong Heihu could've handled this himself," she said before charging into battle.
Jiang Ming made a mental note to ask Uncle Fu for martial training techniques for Chong Heihu.
Daji, being of the demon race, was naturally stronger than Chong Heihu, especially with her innate charm ability, which made her even more formidable in certain situations.
The ghost child's attack missed Daji, and Chong Heihu took the chance to swing his axe.
Boom!
Jiang Ming observed as a layer of protective energy appeared around the ghost child, stopping Chong Heihu's axe.
Eighth rank, body-protecting qi!
"That hurts!" The ghost child shrieked, its red lines growing even brighter.
What a strange creature, Jiang Ming thought.
Chong Heihu pulled back, but the ghost child, clearly understanding the art of picking on the weak, suddenly leaped toward Jiang Ming.
"I want your head!"
As it flew toward him, Jiang Ming didn't panic, because behind him, he saw Daji's white tails unfurling like a storm.
In a flash, the ghost child was wrapped in Daji's soft, furry tails, which pierced its body like needles.
"It hurts… it hurts…"
With a loud rip, the ghost child tore itself free, its body shredded and leaking blood as it fled toward the city.
Jiang Ming was about to call for a chase when Daji turned into a flash of light and returned to his hand.
"My lord, I'm out of power for now. I won't be able to help for a while," Daji's voice echoed in his ear.
"Alright, take some time to rest."
Putting away the card, Jiang Ming turned to Chong Heihu and said, "Let's go after it."
Believing that the creature was targeting him, Jiang Ming noticed it was fleeing toward the city and figured the demon-hunting bureau could help corner it.
The two of them pursued the creature, following its trail until they entered an abandoned mansion.
"Young Master, the trail's gone cold," Chong Heihu said.
As they searched, torches suddenly flared up around them.
A group of demon hunters in black uniforms surrounded them.
"Who are you?"
Jiang Ming frowned and quickly explained what had happened.
"A headless ghost child? Ridiculous! Our commander and I have been stationed here. If a demon appeared, we would've known."
A rat-faced demon hunter sneered, eyeing them with disdain.
"Besides, neither of you is even a ranked cultivator, yet you claim to have hunted a demon? Some of you, go check it out. As for you two, you're not going anywhere."