FCRCG Chapter 6

When Nan Deng woke up, he noticed that the rabbit head’s condition was different from before he fell asleep.

It had eaten two little paper people the night before and had been extremely happy with its stomach at least somewhat full.

But now, the rabbit head looked listless, as if it hadn’t slept all night, and had returned to its previous hungry state.

Nan Deng felt concerned. “Did you eat something bad?”

The rabbit head couldn’t speak, but Nan Deng had been with it the longest and could usually sense its emotional fluctuations, like whether something was bothering it.

He gently cradled the rabbit head in his hands, and it half-closed its eyes, tilting slightly as if unwilling to admit anything.

Nan Deng sighed. “Are you hungry again?”

At the word “hungry”, the rabbit head’s ears immediately perked up and its eyes widened.

“Alright…” Nan Deng mumbled softly, slowly emerging from the iron barrel.

Even if the rabbit head wasn’t hungry, he still had to find food. It had been several days and he still didn’t know when the mark on the rabbit head’s ears would take effect.

Thinking back to the fog-shrouded specter whose form he couldn’t quite make out, Nan Deng felt a bit scared.

“Meow meow…”

Just as Nan Deng left the iron barrel, a cat’s meow grew closer. He turned his head and saw a black cat running toward him.

He froze for a moment, then recognized it as the little black cat from earlier.

It had grown a bit larger, now resembling an adult cat.

This time, the black cat wasn’t carrying anything. It just circled Nan Deng, seemingly wanting to reconnect with him and get closer.

Nan Deng crouched down and petted its back fur. “You’ve grown so fast…”

The rabbit head never grew bigger, no matter how much it ate. It stayed the same size.

The black cat lay down, skillfully wagging its tail.

It was then that Nan Deng noticed one of its hind legs was injured. It looked like it had been scratched by something sharp. Fortunately, the wound wasn’t deep and it had already scabbed over.

Nan Deng’s heart ached. “You have to be careful out there, too.”

The black cat seemed to understand his words. It didn’t mind, licking its wound, then rubbed against Nan Deng’s hand before hurrying off.

Nan Deng watched its retreating figure and thought for a moment. The little black cat had grown so quickly and the small injury didn’t seem to bother it. Maybe it was stronger than he, a ghost, and would have no trouble finding food.

The rabbit head remained quietly perched on top of Nan Deng’s head until the black cat disappeared into the night. Nan Deng stood up, deciding to check that familiar house again.

For safety’s sake, the iron barrel was placed far from the residential area. Nan Deng looked toward the lights that had just turned on and quickened his pace.

As he passed a trash bin on the side of the street, he stopped.

Next to the trash bin was a bag and its contents had spilled out, faintly glowing in the moonlight.

Nan Deng approached and saw that it was a fountain pen.

He didn’t know its exact purpose or name, but he thought it looked quite nice.

The suburban residents were few and far between and most of them chose to live near the edge of the city. This trash had been thrown out at some unknown time and hadn’t been collected yet.

Nan Deng picked up the fountain pen, brushed off the dust, and put it into his pocket.

Perfect. Now he had something to deliver tonight.

Just as he was about to leave, a faint voice sounded in his ear. “Hey… little ghost.”

Nan Deng was startled and stepped back a few paces, looking warily in the direction of the sound.

Rustle… rustle…

Several large trash bins were placed along the roadside and a male ghost slowly crawled out from behind them.

To Nan Deng’s shock, the ghost had no lower body; his waist was severed in the middle. Nan Deng quickly averted his gaze after seeing this.

The male ghost found his reaction strange. “I’m not going to eat you. Why are you so scared?”

His appearance was indeed frightening. But as a ghost, Nan Deng wasn’t supposed to be afraid of the looks of his kind.

Nan Deng didn’t respond, and the male ghost asked again, “Do you live here?”

“No,” Nan Deng lied. “I came to find food. I’ll leave soon.”

“Oh,” the male ghost scrutinized him for a few moments and then asked, “Have you seen the Ghost King around here?”

Nan Deng was confused. “…Ghost King?”

“Yeah. Didn’t you feel it last night?” The male ghost’s tone grew agitated. “Such a strong evil energy, it pierced through half the city! Everyone’s been looking for it…”

He didn’t seem to have any ill intentions. Nan Deng relaxed a little. “Why are they looking for it?”

“Of course, to follow the Ghost King!” The male ghost’s eyes gleamed and he clenched his fist, slamming it into the ground. “Those damn Celestial Masters have been hunting us all night long. I’m fed up!”

Ghosts didn’t like being around their kind, but the Ghost King was different. A resentful spirit of such a level represented unmatched power and it made all the ghosts willing to submit to it.

The Celestial Masters had their teams, companions, and hierarchy, while the ghosts were like a scattered group. If they could have the protection and leadership of the Ghost King, what would they have to fear from the Celestial Masters?

The male ghost continued speaking, his face becoming increasingly twisted as he imagined how he would torment the Celestial Masters once they captured them.

Nan Deng felt a chill run down his spine. He silently took a step back.

In reality, the male ghost’s level was very low—at most a level two. He had survived so far by hiding and evading danger.

Weak ghosts like him longed for the protection of the Ghost King.

He told Nan Deng that he hadn’t rested during the day, braving risks to come looking for the Ghost King but had found no useful information at all.

“Forget it. I’ll try somewhere else,” the male ghost said, glancing around. “Are there any other ghosts living here?”

Nan Deng hesitated before shaking his head. “I’m not sure.”

There shouldn’t be any, right? He had been living in the iron barrel for several days and hadn’t seen a single ghost nearby.

The male ghost looked in a certain direction and a flicker of fear appeared on his dark, ashen face. “It feels like malicious energy… but also not. Didn’t you feel it? That place is definitely not safe.”

He stopped paying attention to Nan Deng and turned, slowly crawling away.

The rabbit head remained quietly perched on top of Nan Deng’s head, not even blinking.

Nan Deng stood there, feeling confused. He didn’t understand what the male ghost meant, but his words had put him on edge.

He followed the direction the male ghost had been looking toward—the house with the lights on.

Nan Deng hesitated for a moment, then decided to stick to his original plan.

He felt the fountain pen in his pocket and cautiously walked toward the house.

—

The news of the Ghost King suddenly appearing was also sent to Lian Yi by Lin Jiu.

The inner courtyard was preparing to send more personnel, but they couldn’t find any trace of the Ghost King, so they couldn’t proceed with the next step.

Lin Jiu glanced at the still unanswered communicator, about to put it away.

At that moment, a new transmission came through, from the Celestial Master squad out on mission tonight.

“Suspected new regional earth spirit appeared in the southeast direction, assisting in capturing the resentful spirits.”

Lin Jiu immediately pressed for more details. “Are you sure? Did you confirm it?”

The regional earth spirit in this area had died and they had confirmed this multiple times.

Without an earth spirit, the evil energy naturally intensified and resentful spirits ran rampant. Under such circumstances, it would be impossible for a new earth spirit to emerge.

“Sure. It’s a black cat.”

“However, it didn’t want to interact with us and left quickly. We don’t know where it went now.”

Regional earth spirits were considered semi-spiritual and semi-divine beings, and they never liked humans. Although Celestial Masters could practice spiritual arts and would become ghosts after death, regional earth spirits similarly disliked Celestial Masters, so this reaction was normal.

Lin Jiu clenched the communicator tightly. “Send me the coordinates. I’ll come and check it out.”

He didn’t understand the true reason for the birth of the new regional earth spirit, but it felt unusual. This matter might be just as important as the Ghost King who appeared last night.

He immediately reported it to the inner court. After hesitating for a moment, he also sent a transmission to Lian Yi.

After all, Lian Yi was a higher-ranking chief Celestial Master. If Lian Yi wanted to take over this area, all he needed to do was say so.

Ding—

The communicator in the drawer made a sound, but Lian Yi, sitting on the other side of the sofa, seemed not to have heard it.

On the coffee table in front of him, the glass jar containing a black object was taken out again, and it was speaking intermittently, accompanied by suppressed groans of pain.

“Give it up. I won’t tell you,” the black object spoke with a tone full of hatred. “No one will help you. Your end will be worse than mine.”

“You’re a natural freak. Do you think you’re worthy of being a Celestial Master? I truly regret not killing you outright back then.”

The ghost was filled with resentment, with all its past malice magnified, almost unrecognizable from its living form.

The black object cursed for a while before it could no longer speak, overcome by pain.

Through the small glass jar, Lian Yi realized he seemed to be spacing out, completely unaware of what the object was saying.

The study was lit by a single wall lamp, its light dim and yellow. The window was half open, with the night wind blowing in.

Lian Yi sat at the edge of the sofa, most of his body hidden in the darkness, his indifferent profile unreadable.

After an unknown amount of time, Lian Yi’s fingers subtly lifted, and the glass jar on the coffee table flew up into the air, returning to the drawer on its own, where it was sealed away.

He stood up and walked alone to the living room.

Meanwhile, Nan Deng was climbing through a window.

At first, he was reluctant to approach, fearing, as the male ghost had said, that something dangerous might be lurking inside.

The door hadn’t been re-sealed with new talismans, but the leaves that had been placed there were now gone.

Nan Deng cautiously checked for safety, placing the pen at the entrance, his gaze still lingering on the lit living room, feeling drawn to it.

He touched the rabbit head in his pocket, deciding to go in and take a look.

On the side of the living room, there was a window left open, the curtains not fully drawn. Nan Deng climbed onto the windowsill and happened to see someone walking into the living room.

He froze halfway through his action of climbing in, gripping the window edge and remaining completely still.

The homeowner was a very young man. He walked over to the couch, sat down, and picked up a book from the armrest, flipping through the pages.

The curtains swayed in the wind, but the man didn’t glance toward the window at all. Nan Deng, however, couldn’t shake the feeling of being caught in the act.

Ordinary humans who haven’t practiced spiritual arts can’t see ghosts, of course.

Nan Deng calmed his emotions, quietly exhaled, and continued climbing in.

He moved slowly into the house, staying alert and aware of his surroundings.

This was his first time approaching a human under normal circumstances.

Back at the amusement park, it was too dark, and he was too scared; he hadn’t even been able to clearly see what the Celestial Master looked like.

The entire house was very quiet. It seemed like there was only one person living there. The closer he got, the faster Nan Deng moved, hiding behind a corner between the living room and the hallway to continue observing.

From his vantage point, he could clearly see the homeowner sitting on the couch, slowly turning the pages of the book, the faint rustling sound accompanying his movements.

Even sitting, it was clear the man was tall, with a cold yet distinguished presence, probably around twenty-five years old.

Nan Deng watched him quietly, thinking to himself that this person was very good-looking.

The rabbit head peeked halfway out of Nan Deng’s pocket, only to be pressed back inside.

He was afraid the rabbit head might run off or eat something again. Since someone was in the house tonight, it wouldn’t be good if any noise was noticed.

After a while, Nan Deng left the living room and went to check the other rooms. He found no sign of a second person.

The bedroom door wasn’t fully closed, so Nan Deng gently pushed it open wider and slipped inside.

The room was dark, simple, and neatly furnished. Two pieces of clothing hung on the coat rack by the door, the most common, ordinary styles.

Nan Deng carefully checked again, but there didn’t seem to be any ghost-repelling items in the house.

This person had some guts.

Nan Deng went to the bedside and boldly sat down on the bed, reaching out to touch the soft fabric.

It seemed a bit more comfortable than the cold iron barrel. Nan Deng thought to himself that he might find some old cloth to line the barrel with next time.

The rabbit head poked out again, its dark eyes scanning the room. Not finding anything edible, it withdrew back into Nan Deng’s pocket.

Nan Deng stayed in the bedroom, patiently waiting.

He planned to wait until the homeowner fell asleep, then find a way to bite him. That way, the man would be unguarded in his sleep and wouldn’t have time to react if he noticed anything unusual.

Nan Deng had made his plans, but after waiting for a long time, the homeowner still hadn’t returned to the bedroom.

Is this person not going to sleep…?

Nan Deng waited and waited, but his patience began to wear thin.

He left the bedroom and returned to the corner of the living room.

Lian Yi was still reading, his posture unchanged, showing no signs of being tired.

Nan Deng looked up at the bright lights, gathering his courage to silently walk over.

He moved slowly, step by step, until he crouched down not far from Lian Yi and then settled onto the carpet.

The closer he got, Nan Deng noticed that Lian Yi’s pupils were of different colors.

Curious, he studied them a little longer, then inched a little closer, his gaze shifting to Lian Yi’s wrist.

The area wasn’t covered by clothing, and it would be easy to bite.

Nan Deng recalled the various ways spirits could consume humans and tentatively reached out to touch the back of Lian Yi’s hand.

His movements were careful, a brief touch before pulling away.

Lian Yi’s lowered eyelashes trembled slightly, but Nan Deng didn’t notice.

The warmth of a living body felt very peculiar, a strange sensation.

He probably hadn’t been detected—at most, Lian Yi might have felt that small patch of skin cool down for a moment or itch a little.

It would be easy to bite now, to consume a small chunk of the soul. Lian Yi wouldn’t feel a thing.

But Nan Deng hesitated, glancing at the position and feeling it wasn’t the most convenient.

So, he took out the rabbit head, held it, and gently placed it near Lian Yi’s hand.

The rabbit head remained still, its eyes unblinking, like a lifeless doll.

Nan Deng quietly urged, “Xia Tu, go ahead and eat a little.”