Chapter 42: Possession by a Spirit

Lying on the ground was the very same simple-minded ghost they had encountered at the internet café the day before.

In Yan Yu’s eyes, this kind of muddled ghost posed little threat, so he hadn’t paid it much heed before. Yet just as he prepared to subdue the simple-minded ghost, something unexpected happened.

A swirl of sinister energy in the room suddenly whipped into a whirlwind, shoving Yan Yu aside and plunging straight into the simple-minded ghost’s body! Immediately after, the ghost, who had appeared so feeble just moments before, underwent a dramatic change—its aura swelling as if it were on the verge of transforming into a fierce specter.

“What’s going on?!” Master Cao cried out in terror, scrambling to hide behind Su Han.

Yan Yu clambered up from the floor, his face grim. “We arrived at the perfect moment—just past midnight. This simple-minded ghost has passed its seventh day.”

After passing the seventh day, a ghost would no longer fear sunlight; its sinister energy would increase, and its strength would become extraordinary.

Fortunately, this simple-minded ghost still seemed confused, its resentment weak and without murderous intent. Yan Yu was still confident he could control it.

The ghost shot up from the floor, a ferocious light flashing in its eyes, and charged at Yan Yu again. “For Noxus!”

“Noxus my foot!” Yan Yu retorted, speechless. Without hesitation, he bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of blood onto the ghost. Instantly, several holes sizzled open in the ghost’s body, forcing it to retreat with a shriek.

This ghost was, without question, the most bizarre one Yan Yu and Su Han had ever encountered. It possessed great power, but seemed utterly clueless about how to use it. Every time it acted, it would shout something about Demacia or Noxus, just like a severely addicted, delusional gamer.

Having subdued the ghost in one move, Yan Yu stepped forward, ready to bind it with a red string soaked in dog’s blood. But just as he reached the ghost, its body dissolved into black smoke, slipping past him in an instant and heading straight for Su Han!

“Watch out, Teacher Su!” Yan Yu’s expression shifted.

Su Han reacted swiftly. As the ghost was about to reach her, she bent at the waist, dodging nimbly—leaving Master Cao, who was cowering behind her, completely exposed.

Master Cao let out a terrified shout. As soon as he opened his mouth, the black smoke plunged straight in. His eyes went wide, and with a gulp, he swallowed it down.

“Hic—” Master Cao burped long and loud.

“You swallowed it?!” Yan Yu exclaimed in shock.

Master Cao nodded miserably.

Su Han asked, “How do you feel?”

“A bit salty…”

“We’re asking about your body!” Yan Yu roared.

“Oh… my body… wait, I…” Before he could finish, Master Cao’s eyes rolled back. His whole body convulsed, and then, under Yan Yu and Su Han’s gaze, he slowly rose onto his tiptoes.

When possessed by a ghost, a person’s heels must not touch the ground.

“Woof! Woof! Woof!” Dahei started barking furiously at Master Cao.

This was Su Han’s first encounter with ghostly possession. In her eyes, Master Cao’s face had fused with the ghost’s, forming a twisted, unnerving expression.

“Computer… computer… where’s my computer?!” Master Cao suddenly opened his eyes—now nothing but whites, no pupils in sight. He shoved Yan Yu and Su Han aside and rushed into the bedroom.

The two hurried after him, only to see Master Cao seated at the computer, frantically pounding the keyboard and mouse. “My teammates are waiting. I can’t go AFK…”

Seeing the ghost in this state, Yan Yu and Su Han were more amused than alarmed.

Su Han sighed. “Have you ever seen anything like this before?”

Yan Yu shook his head, exasperated. “Never. As you said, this ghost is the simpleton among ghosts. Even with some power, it doesn’t seem capable of truly causing harm.”

Back at the internet café, the ghost had seemed to latch onto the fat man only because it wanted to watch him play games.

“Looks like this little ghost was an internet-addicted youth in life… Played too many games and lost his mind?” Su Han wondered aloud.

“It shouldn’t be related to gaming. If he had simply died from gaming, he wouldn’t have any lingering resentment,” Yan Yu replied.

“So what do we do now?”

“Bring the chopsticks from the living room. First, we need to get the ghost out of Old Cao’s body.”

This was no time for jokes. Su Han quickly fetched the chopsticks from the blue-and-white porcelain bowl in the living room.

“Chopsticks possess yang energy. Pinch Old Cao’s ‘life gate’—his middle finger—with them, and the ghost will be forced out,” Yan Yu explained. He then grabbed Master Cao by the collar, dragged him to the bed, and pinned him down with all his strength.

Master Cao began to struggle, even biting Yan Yu, who responded with a punch that sent two of Cao’s gold teeth flying.

“Stop standing there! Pinch his middle finger!” Yan Yu barked.

Su Han hurried over and pinched Master Cao’s middle finger with the chopsticks. Master Cao let out a bloodcurdling scream, and sure enough, a plume of black smoke poured from his mouth.

The smoke tried to escape, but Yan Yu was quick—he immediately wrapped the red string around the cloud, yanked hard, and pulled a ghostly figure out of the darkness.

The string, soaked in dog’s blood, hissed as it burned into the ghost’s neck, as if melting its very form. Realizing it couldn’t escape, the ghost stopped struggling and became much more obedient.

“Go on, run! Weren’t you so tough? You even bit me!” Yan Yu grumbled, giving the ghost a kick.

“No… I don’t dare run anymore… Uncle Yang, save me, please!” To Yan Yu’s surprise, the ghost burst into tears, knelt, and began kowtowing, then latched onto Yan Yu’s leg, clinging for dear life.

“Hmm? Repenting so thoroughly?” Yan Yu was dumbfounded.

At this moment, Master Cao slowly regained consciousness. Supporting his back, he stood up. “Ugh… why do I feel sore all over, like I’ve just been beaten up… Wait, where are my teeth?!”

“On the floor. Pick them up yourself,” Su Han said with a look of disdain.

Those gold teeth were Master Cao’s only valuables. He hurriedly crawled over, picked them up, blew on them, and stuck them back in.

“What the hell just happened?” Master Cao asked in confusion.

“You were possessed by a ghost.”

Master Cao’s face blanched. “Am I going to die?”

“Yes,” Yan Yu replied with a nod.

Master Cao’s face went from red to green to black. Tears of regret welled up in his clouded old eyes. “Had I known, I should’ve gone for the full 998 package last night…”

Yan Yu: “…”

Su Han: “???”

“Master, am I really going to die? Can’t I hang on for a few more years?” Master Cao asked.

“You’ll die, I’ll die, everyone will die—but not today.”

Master Cao stared blankly for a while, then realized he wasn’t in mortal danger. Overjoyed, he immediately began planning whether to reward himself with a full 998 package tonight for his bravery.

Yan Yu glanced at the ghost. “We’ve caught this one now. Let’s figure out what to do with him.”

“Can’t we just destroy him?” Su Han asked.

Yan Yu chuckled ruefully. “You can’t just destroy a soul like that. Randomly killing ghosts would damage your karmic virtue.”

“But we can’t keep him here, can we?”

Yan Yu sighed. “Let’s keep him for now. I only have one crossing talisman left, and I don’t want to waste it. Tomorrow night, I’ll take him myself to the City God’s Temple.”

Yan Yu had drawn the crossing talisman before leaving the mountain. While he could make more, the materials weren’t easy to come by in the city.

He had just arrived in Rongcheng, and planned to use this opportunity to meet the City God. If he could establish a connection, his future endeavors here would be much easier.

The simple-minded ghost finally released Yan Yu’s leg and stopped wailing. Yan Yu tied the other end of the red string to the window. The ghost curled up beneath it like a house dog, muttering over and over again:

“I was wrong… I was wrong… Please don’t send me to Room 13…”