Chapter Sixty-three: Fierce Battle (Please keep reading, please keep reading)

Ding!

With a crisp sound, the malevolent ghost that had just been knocked aside reeled in dizziness and stood motionless. But in the next instant, Chen Yushu clearly saw the spiritual light atop the bell quickly dim, as if its power had been drained after a single use.

“Is this an old relic bell? Judging by its effect, it’s far more potent than the one Uncle Zhong wielded back then,” Chen Yushu mused, his thoughts racing. Then he saw Wu Hong pull another item from a cloth bag—a rusted fish-cutting knife, missing even its handle, with a chipped tip at the front.

Without hesitation, Wu Hong raised the knife and brought it down fiercely upon the ghost.

A piercing, mournful scream followed. The cry was so sharp that not only Chen Yushu, but all the apprentices nearby, heard it clearly, each face contorted in shock and terror.

Chen Yushu watched as the specter’s figure rapidly blurred, the malignant aura dissipating by half. Yet it didn’t vanish completely. Struck by the blade, it broke free from the bell’s influence and, like a phantom, swiftly floated away from Wu Hong.

Just then, Wu Hong opened his mouth wide and spat forth a blaze of light, striking the ghost and swiftly reducing it to ashes. This was none other than the Sunfire Sword—Heavenly Flame Spew. Compared to Chen Yushu’s own Sunfire Sword, Wu Hong’s display was clearly much stronger. A single blast killed the ghost outright.

“That’s two already,” Chen Yushu’s eyes widened in astonishment at their methods. He had always believed the agents of the Bureau of Shadows were formidable, but he hadn’t expected them to be so powerful. Two malevolent ghosts, both possessing hosts, dispatched with such ease.

He knew that when a ghost possessed someone, many techniques became unusable for fear of harming the host; they had to force the ghost out first before employing their means. Yet the middle-aged Daoist’s whisk was uncannily precise, driving both ghosts out directly.

“Continue!” the Daoist barked. Manager Su seemed to anticipate the order and grabbed hold of Qian Qian. But the ghost possessing Qian Qian, having observed the unfolding events, suddenly flashed a red light across its pale face and rammed hard into Qian Qian’s skull.

In the same moment, its heel pressed tightly against Qian Qian’s own.

From an outsider’s perspective, it appeared as if Qian Qian had suddenly raised his heels and was tiptoeing along, maintaining the peculiar pose. The ghost had fully possessed him.

With a violent jerk, Qian Qian flung Manager Su’s hand aside and crashed forward.

“Humph!” Manager Su was startled but quickly regained composure, pressing himself against Qian Qian’s body. Qian Qian was knocked aside, and Manager Su rushed forward, pulling him back and kicking his heel with lightning speed.

Bang!

Qian Qian was slammed to the ground. Manager Su promptly hoisted him up again.

At this point, the Daoist finally swung his whisk.

Slap!

A muffled groan escaped Qian Qian’s lips. Though the ghost was knocked aside for a moment, it quickly latched on again, grabbing the whisk with force.

“Hm? Courting death!” The Daoist’s face darkened with anger. He swiftly wove his fingers, forming a spell and stamped it hard onto Qian Qian’s forehead.

Bang!

Chen Yushu watched as the ghost was expelled, tumbling twice on the floor.

“Thank you, Manager Su and Master Daoist, for saving me,” Qian Qian said, releasing the whisk, his expression one of relief after surviving the ordeal.

Moments earlier, as the ghost possessed him, Qian Qian’s mind remained clear, but his body was out of his control—a terrifying sensation. He feared the ghost might force him to kill himself, as it had done with ‘Little Ma’ before.

Neither Manager Su nor the Daoist had time to answer. For just as the ghost was expelled, the last two ghosts still possessing their hosts suddenly ‘awoke’ and instantly merged with their original bodies.

Full possession was achieved.

The man whom Manager Zhou had just subdued jerked violently, sprang up, and with a swift motion ripped the front of Manager Zhou’s shirt.

Manager Zhou recoiled in surprise, but the possessed man lunged forward even faster, gripping his arm with terrifying strength that sent a sharp pain through him.

Fortunately, Manager Zhou had trained in martial arts; his muscles and skin were tough. He raised his leg and kicked the man hard, finally breaking free.

Yet his arm bore several bloody scratches, and beneath them, the flesh was already bruised and blue.

Meanwhile, another possessed man sprang up and charged straight at the nearest person, his hands clamping fiercely around the victim’s neck.

“Help! Save me…” cried the man—a martial artist who had only just escaped danger. His injured leg made him slower, and he was caught.

Luckily, Manager Su intervened in time, gripping the possessed man’s arm, wrenching it free, then swinging his own arm and shaking his body slightly.

The man was knocked back, stumbling four or five steps and crashing into a medicine cabinet.

The Daoist rushed forward, swinging his whisk.

Slap!

The ghost was flung from the man’s body.

Then he unleashed the Sunfire Sword, spitting a column of light that sizzled as it struck the ghost.

At last, everyone present saw a faint figure materializing in the air.

“A ghost! That’s a ghost…” an apprentice exclaimed.

But a single blast of Sunfire Sword was not enough to kill the ghost. It darted to another person, pressing its foot against theirs, leaning its head close, and possessing them once more.

This time, it chose Qian Qian.

His luck was truly dreadful. Having barely escaped, he was targeted by another ghost.

The ghost, controlling his body, charged straight behind Wu Hong, who was still struggling with the specter that had possessed him earlier. Qian Qian’s fist slammed into Wu Hong.

Wu Hong coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Seizing the moment, the ghost’s dark face flashed with black light. It exhaled a blast of black mist, which enveloped Wu Hong.