"If you want to save them, do it yourself. I'm not interested. If killing them is on the table, I might be more inclined to help," Ye Cha's icy tone made it clear she wasn't joking. She had no intention of saving Huang Lianfang and Zhang Jue and might even strike a killing blow if necessary.
Her blunt refusal left me momentarily stunned. Over the past few days, I'd almost forgotten that Ye Cha was a ruthless vengeful spirit—one that killed without hesitation.
"Fine, if you won't save them, I will!"
Before I could fully process my courage—or recklessness—I rushed into the flower field, heading straight for Huang Lianfang. I grabbed the vines wrapped around her, trying to tear them off. But the more I pulled, the tighter they became. Huang Lianfang's face started turning pale, and I quickly let go, terrified of making things worse.
In my moment of distraction, the vines coiled around my legs. "Ah—!" I felt myself being yanked upward, suspended in the air.
"Hahaha, I've never seen someone so foolish! You had the chance to escape, but you came running back. Do you really think you can save them?" The voice from earlier echoed around me again. I scanned my surroundings but couldn't see its source.
Suddenly, a blood-soaked face loomed in front of me, grotesquely magnified.
My instincts screamed at me to shriek, but at that critical moment, Ye Cha's voice interrupted: "Don't make a sound. Don't respond. Pretend you don't see it."
I desperately wanted to ignore the horrifying visage, but it was right in front of me. How could I possibly act as if it wasn't there?
Clenching my teeth to stop myself from crying out, I mentally pleaded with Ye Cha, "Miss Ye, help me!"
"Now you're asking for help? You didn't seem this scared when you charged in," she said, her voice dripping with schadenfreude.
"I knew you'd save me, that's why I dared to rush in! Otherwise, I'd have run faster than a rabbit!" I said hurriedly, trying to appease her. My life now depended on her goodwill.
"Hmph…" Ye Cha snorted arrogantly but explained, "This thing is a gaseous entity—a 'Sha'—and the people it has killed are merged into this flower field. Judging by its appearance, it's a Red Flower Sha. Against something like this, the only thing you can do is act like you can't see it. If you believe it doesn't exist, it won't be able to hurt you."
"Then how do I get out of here?" That was the only question on my mind. The old man who brought me here was nowhere to be found. Now, my only hope was Ye Cha.
"You've already stepped in. The only way out is to defeat it."
A thousand curses raced through my mind. If I could defeat it, why would I need her help?
"Is there any way to beat it? I don't have anything useful on me."
"Let me possess you."
If she had suggested anything else, I would have agreed without hesitation. But the thought of letting her take over my body made me hesitate. No matter how polite Ye Cha seemed now, she was still a vengeful ghost. She was only cooperative because I was useful to her. If I let her possess me, I had no idea what she might do.
What if she refused to leave afterward? Would I be trapped, forced to watch her use my body to kill?
Ye Cha didn't push for an answer, simply waiting with an air of certainty, as if she knew I would have no choice but to agree.
And she was right. I had no other options. Agreeing to her gave me a slim chance of survival; refusing her meant certain death.
The Red Flower Sha seemed to sense my indifference toward its attempts to frighten me. Abandoning its tactics, it momentarily loosened its hold on Mo Yun and Huang Lianfang. As they regained consciousness and realized what was entangling them, they screamed in terror.
"Brother Liu, help me! I don't want to die!" Mo Yun shouted in my direction.
The Red Flower Sha was right beside me, but they couldn't see it. Hearing Mo Yun's cries, I instinctively turned toward him, only to catch the ghastly face of the Sha pulling into a twisted, terrifying grin.
Panic surged through me. If I answered Mo Yun, I'd be acknowledging the Sha's existence, and it would attack me.
I shut my mouth just as I was about to speak, opting instead to signal Mo Yun with my eyes. But perhaps due to the dim light, he didn't notice.
"Brother Liu! What's happening? What are these things?" he kept yelling.
My frustration boiled over, and I snapped, "Can't you see the monster standing next to me? Shut up already!"
The moment I spoke, I knew I had made a mistake. Turning back, I saw the Red Flower Sha's mouth opening unnaturally wide, like a hippopotamus about to strike.
Under the shadow of imminent death, I didn't have time to think. "Fine! I agree!" I shouted.
Almost instantly, I felt a bone-chilling cold sweep through me, and then it was as if I had fallen into a bottomless abyss. Everything around me turned black. It was as if the entire world had disappeared, leaving only me in an endless void.
Then I felt movement—not mine, but Ye Cha's.
The Red Flower Sha had been ready to pounce, but as soon as my body's aura shifted, it hesitated. Before it could react, Ye Cha struck.
With one swift motion, she seized the Sha by its throat, forcing it backward and pinning it to the ground. Using my voice, but with her distinctive tone, she sneered, "A mere Red Flower Sha dares to act arrogant in front of me?"
When two malevolent forces clash, the stronger prevails.
It only took a few moves before the Sha lay motionless, utterly defeated.
Though Ye Cha was using my body, I could feel everything—every ounce of power she wielded, every action she took. For the first time, I experienced her overwhelming strength firsthand. She wasn't just a vengeful ghost in a blood-soaked dress. Her terrifying power had no boundaries. Even the oppressive aura I'd felt from other entities paled in comparison.
What is she?
"Spare me! Please, spare me, my lord! I didn't know this was your chosen prey. If I had known, I wouldn't have dared to touch them, even with ten lives to lose!" The Red Flower Sha groveled, its arrogance completely shattered.