The three elders clearly weren’t pleased with Chi You’s refusal.
“This is your duty as a direct descendant. Handling yin spirits for the family is your responsibility!”
“You’re only eighteen—what backlash are you afraid of? Even if it does backfire, it’s not like you’ll die. Get on with it!”
“You—what kind of look is that?!”
One of the elders flinched in fear.
Chi You withdrew his gaze and walked slowly toward the red-dressed ghost. Jiang Luo craned his neck to look, and saw Chi You place a hand on the ghost’s body. The ghost tattoos spread from his neck down his arm, slithering over his hand to his fingertips.
The closer the tattoos got to the ghost, the more piercing her shrieks became. The black ghost patterns detached from Chi You’s body and oozed forward like thick black liquid, beginning to engulf the red-dressed ghost from the head down.
The ghost let out a bone-chilling scream, sharp enough to make Jiang Luo’s eardrums ache. Lifted off the ground by the ghost patterns choking her, her body disappeared bit by bit—from her upper torso to her swollen belly—into the darkness of the markings.
The Chi family elders finally looked relieved and nodded approvingly. “That’s more like it.”
But just as they finished speaking, a ghost fetus suddenly burst from the red-dressed ghost’s abdomen—a mangled, bloody lump of flesh that fell to the ground with a splat. Before the elders could react, it sprang up and sank its teeth deep into one of their throats!
The bitten elder screamed, “Aaaah!”
He desperately clawed at the creature clinging to his neck. His face turned purple from lack of air. The ghost infant clung on stubbornly with both hands and feet, like it had grown out of his neck. In terror, the elder shouted to the others, “Help me!”
But the other two had already fled into corners, trembling with fear.
The bitten elder’s expression darkened. Facing death, he finally yanked the ghost infant off—but in doing so, tore out a chunk of his own flesh. He gasped, letting out a hoarse wheeze as his vocal cords were damaged. Unable to even cry out anymore, his eyes rolled back and he collapsed to the floor.
Chi You let out a strange little smile.
Now with one person dead, the ghost infant’s hollow eyes fixed on the remaining two. They shivered as the thing leapt to the ceiling, then lunged at them.
It bounced across walls and beams with unnatural strength, swooping down again and again to bite and maul them. Before long, the remaining elders were covered in wounds, blood streaming down their bodies as they twitched and slumped to the floor.
Only then did Chi You finish swallowing the red-dressed ghost. He stepped forward and consumed the ghost infant with his tattoo as well. After everything was done, his face was pale and he coughed lightly.
“If there’s nothing else, I’ll go rest now.”
The elder lying on the ground—well past middle age—stared at him through bloodied eyes, fingers twitching, silently begging for help.
Chi You looked at him, his eyes flickering slightly, and said gently, “Don’t worry, I’ll call someone to help you. I definitely won’t let you die.”
“How could I let you die?” He turned, stepping out of the hall with a satisfied tone. “How could I let you die at someone else’s hands?”
Once Chi You’s figure disappeared, Jiang Luo silently slipped into the ancestral hall.
The three elders were barely clinging to life. Blood had pooled beneath them into a dark puddle. Two had already passed out—only one was still conscious.
Jiang Luo walked up to him, and only then did the old man notice someone was near. A flicker of hope lit up in his eyes—only to vanish the next moment as Jiang Luo crouched in front of him and precisely grasped him by the throat.
“Close your eyes,” the newcomer said coldly. “If I catch you opening them, I’ll gouge them out.”
The elder of the Chi family cried out in terror, “Who are you?!”
The man didn’t answer. Instead, his fingers kept tightening, and one hand even jabbed into the elder’s abdomen where a chunk of flesh had been bitten off by the ghost infant—nearly touching his intestines.
Panicking, the elder stammered, “Don’t kill me, don’t kill me! I’ll give you anything you want, just don’t kill me!”
“I’ll ask you a few questions. If you answer them well, I might spare your life,” the hand at his throat suddenly tightened, causing the elder to cough violently and uncontrollably. “Do you understand?”
“I’ll talk, I’ll tell you everything!”
“What is the ghost mark of the direct bloodline?”
The elder’s teeth chattered for a moment. “The ghost mark… the ghost mark is something every direct descendant has. When not in use, it’s sealed inside three moles. When activated, it crawls out from the moles. It’s the strongest trump card of the direct line!”
Jiang Luo asked, “What are the strengths and weaknesses of the ghost mark?”
“The ghost mark can devour anything! Every time it consumes a powerful vengeful spirit, it grows stronger. But it also backfires on the human body. The more it’s used, the stronger the backlash becomes. Eventually, it will consume the very host it inhabits. Every time a direct descendant uses the ghost mark, the backlash brings immense pain. After the backlash ends, they enter a period of extreme weakness.”
Jiang Luo suddenly understood.
No wonder Chi You had appeared significantly weaker after helping him kill the faceless monster in the trainee dormitory.
That must have been the ghost mark’s backlash period.
“Why did you feed Chi You vengeful spirits?”
The elder flinched. “Our Chi family made its name by eradicating vengeful spirits. Since Chi You is of the direct line, he bears the responsibility of revitalizing the family. Every vengeful spirit we capture is handed over to him to deal with. Every generation of the direct line has done the same. Worst case, we ensure they produce an heir before they die. After all, the ghost mark will always reside in the body of a direct descendant…”
Jiang Luo said with dawning realization, “So you’re treating the direct line like garbage bins. You people are truly scum.”
They fed the direct descendants vengeful spirits, forcing their ghost marks into repeated backlashes, pushing them toward death. If that’s not being treated like trash, what is?
He lit a cigarette with one hand and casually sat down to continue, “How did the direct line’s ghost mark come into existence?”
“H-hundreds of years ago,” the elder trembled as he spoke, “the Chi family’s direct line saved a man… that man gave the ghost mark to the direct bloodline as a reward. The original ancestor of the direct line merged with the ghost mark, greatly enhancing his power and leading the Chi family to greatness. Since then, the ghost mark has been reincarnated generation after generation within the direct line, making every descendant a once-in-a-generation genius—spiritually gifted! Only they are able to learn the art of puppet soul refinement…”
“Who was that man?”
“He wa—”
The elder opened his mouth, seemingly trying to speak, but after several attempts, no sound came. His head suddenly tilted to the side—dead.
Jiang Luo frowned and placed his hand near the elder’s nose. No breath.
So the identity of that man was a forbidden secret too?
In truth, Jiang Luo didn’t fully believe everything the man had said. After all, this was the mirror world, and behind it, there was someone pulling the strings.
The secrets of this world might not all be true. Who knew if the man was saying all this just to mislead him and divert his attention?
Jiang Luo stood up and left the ancestral hall.
But as soon as he stepped outside, he saw Chi You standing at the door.
Chi You stood only about three meters away. Jiang Luo didn’t know when he had arrived, or how much he had heard. Shadows from the trees cloaked his figure as he smiled with interest and said, “If you have any questions, you can ask me directly.”
Jiang Luo’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his expression steady and replied smoothly, “Alright. Then tell me—why do all the women who marry into the direct line die before the age of thirty?”
“Because they get pregnant. They give birth to the children of the direct line,” Chi You stepped forward, the shadows slipping away from him. Jiang Luo remained where he was as Chi You approached, until he stood right in front of him. “Children born of the direct line are part human, part ghost. The ghost mark’s power is immense—during pregnancy, it gradually saps the mother’s life force. By the time the child is born, the mother dies.”
“The direct line doesn’t want their offspring to suffer under the ghost mark, but the collateral lines don’t care. To them, the direct line is their greatest weapon for holding power. To hide their viciousness, they conduct astrological readings and deliberately select short-lived women willing to bear children for the direct line. Then, they blame the ‘dies-before-thirty’ curse on the direct descendants, making their reputation stink.”
Chi You lowered his head to meet Jiang Luo’s gaze at close range. His eyes were ghostly and chilling, yet he smiled and said pleasantly, “Young Master Jiang, anything else you’d like to ask?”
A faint scent of smoke lingered in Jiang Luo’s breath as he exhaled steadily. “Plenty.”
A silent confrontation surged beneath the surface—neither side willing to yield. Just then, a servant came rushing over from a distance, “Young Master! Someone’s come to investigate the deaths in our manor!”
Chi You straightened up and took a step back, smiling faintly. “Young Master Jiang, come with me and have a look.”
Jiang Luo shrugged and followed him toward the front gate.
At the gate of the Chi residence, two people stood at a distance, dressed in military uniforms.
The one in front wore a dark gray uniform tailored to fit, a dust-blocking cape draped over his shoulders, and a leather belt cinched around his waist, from which hung a whip studded with barbs. He was reading a newspaper with his head lowered. His pant legs were sharply pressed, his tall riding boots wrapped powerful calves, and his imposing figure completely blocked the entrance. The man looked like a cold, ruthless dagger—sharp and dangerous.
Jiang Luo and Chi You walked all the way to the front. The adjutant standing behind the man glanced at them, then softly reminded, “Young Master, they’re here.”
The military-clad young master lifted his head from the newspaper. The brim of his cap obscured his eyes, revealing only the sharp line of his jaw and the ambiguous curve of his thin lips.
Wearing white gloves, he gently folded the newspaper. “The heads of the Chi family… are just two kids?”
