Chapter 148: Survival of the Fittest

“The most dangerous?”
Cui Yue paused in surprise—could there be anything more terrifying than going to hell?
Old Yang chuckled nervously and poured himself another glass of wine.
“This world has always been about big fish eating small fish, small fish eating shrimp—nothing to make a fuss about.”
“You mean…”
Cui Yue seemed to grasp the idea but not fully. Could it be that big ghosts eat little ghosts, and little ghosts eat what?
“Come on, let’s not talk about such gloomy things tonight; we’re in good spirits.”
Old Yang waved his hand dismissively.
“You young fellow, you’ve got a pair of Yin-Yang eyes—are you a Yin-Yang master?”
“Uh… sort of.”
Cui Yue replied vaguely.
“Heh, you’re not!”
Old Yang winked mysteriously.
“How do you know that?”
Cui Yue asked curiously.
“First, if you really were a master, you would have caught me and handed me over to the ghost envoys by now. Second, although you have Yin-Yang eyes, the ghostly aura around you is even stronger than mine. Actually, I was drawn here by your ghostly energy.”
Cui Yue was momentarily speechless, feeling somewhat at a loss.
“Heh, don’t be nervous, I’m just saying this casually.”
Cui Yue quickly changed the subject, wary of Old Yang digging deeper.
The two exchanged words back and forth, drinking late into the night until the bottles were empty.
“Madam, bring another bottle of wine!”
Cui Yue pushed his cup and called out to the back hall.
After a while, strangely, no one answered.
Turning around, the entire hall was empty—not a soul in sight.
“Young fellow, no more drinks tonight; we shall meet again!”
Old Yang hurriedly stopped Cui Yue, standing up swiftly and preparing to leave.
“Huh? Leaving just like that? The wine will be here soon.”
Cui Yue was puzzled—Old Yang had seemed normal moments ago, but now his expression was strange as he hurried off.
Old Yang seemed to have urgent business and dashed toward the door.
*Bang!*
Outside, a strong gust slammed the wooden doors shut, and no matter how they tried, they couldn’t be opened.
Old Yang’s complexion changed; his eyes darted toward the nearby windows.

*Snap snap…*
The windows all slammed shut tightly.
With the surroundings sealed off, there was nowhere to escape.
Old Yang shuddered violently, then began frantically darting around the inner hall like a headless fly, but no matter how he turned, he couldn’t get out!
“What’s going on?”
Cui Yue sensed something was wrong and stood up.
“It’s coming! It’s coming!”
Old Yang panicked like an ant on a hot pan, unable to escape.
Cui Yue vaguely felt something rapidly approaching—definitely no good.
Suddenly, Old Yang shrank, his ghostly form wavering as he tried to slip through the door crack.
Unexpectedly, a slender, sharp claw appeared out of nowhere, grasping Old Yang’s neck and yanking hard!
Old Yang cried out in shock as his form expanded again and obediently crawled back through the door’s gap.
Just as feared—the visitor was hostile.
Cui Yue tried to stand but, drunk and unsteady, nearly fell under the table.
Old Yang’s face turned ghastly pale, revealing his true form: his chin and cheeks were devoid of flesh, and one arm had become a bare, skeletal limb.
“Old man, you’re quite the runner; you’re the first to escape my grasp!”
A chilling voice echoed from the ceiling.
*Creak creak!*
A grating sound came from above.
Cui Yue looked up quickly.
A man in a long robe, his face a bluish-purple hue, hung from the ceiling fan, swaying back and forth.
“Ghost Lord, spare me! Spare me! This old man still has unfinished business—please!”
Old Yang knelt, repeatedly kowtowing.
The robed man showed no expression, clearly unmoved.
“Tell me where that place is, or I won’t give you a chance to speak once I start.”
“Where? I truly don’t know!”
Old Yang’s face turned ghastly, his teeth chattering uncontrollably.
The robed man snorted coldly.
“I guess you won’t cry until you see your coffin! Even if you don’t speak, I’ll swallow your soul and body soon enough and find out everything.”
Terrified, Old Yang sank to the floor, inching backward.
The robed man floated down silently from the ceiling.
He let out a ghostly laugh, then suddenly his jaw unhinged grotesquely, stretching to the size of half a basin, emitting a piercing shriek.
Old Yang barely struggled before half his body was pulled forward, his head about to be devoured entirely.
*Clang!*
A wooden sword suddenly appeared, blocking the two ghosts.
Old Yang felt lighter, freed, and collapsed trembling on the ground.
Cui Yue drew the wooden sword, shielding Old Yang, but still swayed unsteadily, clutching the table.
“You—you don’t come any closer…”
The robed man’s jaw snapped back to normal, but his face remained bluish-purple, radiating sinister coldness.
Cui Yue, still drunk, slurred his words and felt weak all over.
“Oh! A rare sight nowadays—cats saving mice, huh?”
The robed man laughed wickedly.
“I’m no master! Do whatever you want—you can’t stop me!”
Cui Yue regretted his words immediately. By admitting he wasn’t a master, he essentially confessed to being a fraud, giving the ghost no hesitation.
“Even better! I’ll swallow your soul and body together—an unexpected bonus!”
With that, a ghostly claw shot forward like a black shadow.
Cui Yue couldn’t block the strike; instinctively, he reached out and grabbed the claw!
*Whoosh!*
The ghostly energy on the claw was instantly absorbed into Cui Yue’s palm, revealing a section of white bone.
“Ah!”
The robed man cried out in shock and quickly withdrew, staring at his hand with a troubled expression.
“Who—who are you?”
Cui Yue himself was puzzled. Had he mastered some star-absorbing technique? Every time he touched an evil spirit, their ghostly energy was drawn into him endlessly.
This was bad! The ghostly energy inside him was already abundant. Old Master Huo had warned him repeatedly to be cautious.
If this continued, he might become a corpse demon himself.
Then he and those two wouldn’t be much different.
“I’m your grandpa!”
The thought made Cui Yue angrier, and his fury boiled over, all directed at the ghost before him.
Gripping the wooden sword, he charged forward, reckless of technique, hacking wildly under the influence of wine, forcing the robed man to retreat step by step.