Chapter 22: Death Seeker? Life Buyer?

"What on earth?"

Behind Chu Tian, Li Weiwei’s eyes were blood-red. Her entire demeanor had shifted, as if she had been possessed by another entity, a stark contrast to her previous self. If the original Li Weiwei had been a delicate white lily, she now felt like a seductive poppy. Ghostly energy swirled around her, and her long hair drifted as if caught in an unseen breeze. Beneath the skin of her face, faint, thread-like crimson cracks began to emerge, leaking a subtle, red glow.

"You actually dared to possess her right in front of me?" Chu Tian squinted at the "Li Weiwei" before him.

He was a ghost messenger; Chen Meng was a fox spirit. Although Chu Meng'er was a Ghost King, she lived in the mortal world and had to suppress her true power, otherwise, let alone Chu Tian, the lesser spirits in the haunted house would be unable to withstand her presence. Because of this, the Life-Snatching Ghost, despite its diminished power, was unaware of the true terror Chu Tian and his companions possessed.

"Why wouldn't I dare possess her? She accepted my money, so naturally, she owes me her body!" the entity said, manipulating Li Weiwei’s voice. It stood up from the recliner and added, "Little Taoist, you have some skill, but I advise you not to meddle in affairs that don't concern you! The contract is sealed. She took the money, and I gave her enough time. Her body belongs to me now. Forget a little Taoist like you; even a Heavenly Master couldn't undo this!"

"Li Weiwei" wore a wild, arrogant smile. Her face gradually returned to normal, and the red glow in her pupils dissipated. Apart from the change in her temperament, it was as if nothing had happened.

"Young man," Li Weiwei said, looking at Chu Tian, "the contract is binding. From now on, I am Li Weiwei, and Li Weiwei is me. Don't worry, I know the rules. I won't cause trouble for society. No one will die, no one will go missing, and no one will be harmed. The world will simply lose a ghost no one believes in and gain a person with a slightly changed personality."

As she spoke, she walked toward the glass door of the haunted house, ready to leave. "She" was confident. Having completed every step of the ritual, she believed the outcome was irreversible.

"There are two souls in her body," Chu Meng'er said from the counter, her eyes locked onto Li Weiwei. "The two souls have begun to merge. Forcing either one out will cause irreparable damage to the remaining soul. To save the person by force is to kill them!" She turned to her father. "Dad, this might actually be tricky."

"You have a Ghost King with you?" Hearing Chu Meng'er, Li Weiwei finally realized the girl's true nature. A strange smile appeared on her face. "I truly underestimated you, little Taoist. But it doesn't matter. Since you know, I don't need to explain further. Don't worry, I have inherited this body. Once the souls fully merge, I will also inherit her memories. I will take over all her work and social relationships in this world. And, of course, I will enjoy the rest of her life for her!"

The entity seemed quite pleased with itself, its tone filled with anticipation as it pushed the door open to leave. However, just as it stepped out, a chain shimmering with blue light coiled tightly around Li Weiwei’s body.

"What do you think you're doing?" Li Weiwei spun around, glaring at Chu Tian.

Chu Tian held the Soul-Locking Chain in his right hand and looked at her. "Who told you... I was a Taoist?"

"What do you mean?" Li Weiwei frowned. "Even if you’ve caught me, what good will it do? You can't stop me!"

"It means that if I want to detain your soul, I will!" Chu Tian let out a cold laugh and yanked the chain. A soul was ripped out from within Li Weiwei’s body. The entity tried to drag Li Weiwei’s soul out along with it, but the moment it emerged, the chain bound it tight. It fell to Chu Tian’s feet like a trapped, wriggling insect.

Chen Meng and Chu Meng'er stared in wide-eyed astonishment, their mouths slightly agape as they looked at Chu Tian. "You can extract a soul that has already begun to merge?"

"That’s nothing. If Meng'er had a Soul-Locking Chain, she could do it too," Chu Tian said. After all, Chu Meng'er was a spirit soldier he had recruited for the first level of the Eighteen-Layer Soul-Detention Tower; she possessed the power of a ghost messenger as well.

"Really? I want to learn, I want to learn!" Chu Meng'er stomped her feet excitedly.

With the foreign soul extracted, Li Weiwei’s own soul regained control of her body. She looked at Chu Tian with terror. "Chu Tian, this is..."

"That was the Life-Snatching Ghost," Chu Tian said, looking down at the entity, which was glaring at him with resentment. Because the soul had been pulled out, Li Weiwei was now able to see the spirit that had revealed itself.

The Life-Snatching Ghost, now bound by the chain, appeared as a strikingly beautiful woman. She was dressed in professional office attire, black stockings, and high heels, wearing a pair of glasses. She looked like the quintessential corporate elite. No one would have guessed this was the true form of such a malicious spirit.

However, the way she looked at Chu Tian now, she clearly wanted to devour him whole.

Three cups of hot tea were placed on the table. Chu Tian, Chen Meng, and Li Weiwei sat on three sides, while the female ghost sat on the fourth.

"Explain yourself! Why were you harming people?" Chu Tian asked, sipping his tea, the chain still wrapped around the ghost.

The ghost glared back at him viciously. Normally, Chu Tian would never show mercy to a malevolent spirit; he would have "physically enlightened" them on the spot. But this ghost was intriguing.

Her cultivation had been at the peak of a Ghost General—a Level 5 spirit. Usually, a ghost of that level would have dozens or hundreds of human lives on their hands; they wouldn't be ashamed to show their faces otherwise. Even Chu Meng'er, though she didn't harm humans, was a Ghost King formed from the fusion of thousands of infant spirits.

Before this ghost appeared, Chu Tian had never imagined she could have zero human lives to her name. Yet, sitting before him, he clearly sensed that there was absolutely no karmic debt on her.

This was utterly bizarre. What kind of ghost had no karmic debt? It meant she had never killed anyone, and perhaps not a single person even hated her.

This made no sense. Take Li Weiwei, for example—if the ghost had succeeded, would Li Weiwei not have hated her? How was this reasonable? How was this scientific?

Well, it wasn't scientific at all. But precisely because of that, Chu Tian was intrigued.