My Companions Don't Matter as Long as I Stay Alive

The towering figure was now only one step away from Fan Daoyi.

Just as the bone cleaver rose over his head, he ignored his target and continued chasing after the others.

"Butcher." Fan Daoyi called him to a halt.

Butcher slammed on the brakes mid-step and stood silently in the corridor.

In an instant, Butcher heard a cane tapping against the floor.

His body shuddered. He immediately went on alert, turned smoothly, and slid onto his knees. With both hands on the floor, he lowered his head and kowtowed.

When he raised his head again, not a trace of viciousness remained on his face. Instead, he looked rather ingratiating. "Welcome back, Lord Dao Yi."

He was so loyal that Fan Daoyi didn't even know what fault to pick with him.

Fan Daoyi gazed coldly at the subordinate before him, a trace of chill and dissatisfaction in his eyes.

He simply stood there in silence, saying nothing more and remaining motionless.

A fine sheen of sweat appeared on Butcher's temples. He lowered his head even further, making himself less conspicuous.

Fan Daoyi had created everything in Guixu, and he greatly admired his work. So he cast it into the present world, using irresistible wishes to lure humans into Guixu and harvest their fear.

It was just that he was a little lazy. He didn't much like handling things himself, so he dumped the entirety of Guixu on his subordinates.

They had been obedient enough and had managed Guixu well. They were just too obedient: the Guixu instances had never changed from beginning to end.

Armed with the experience of those who came before them, people followed in their footsteps. Guixu no longer frightened humans; instead, it had become what they called a freebie game.

"With the Barrier Ghost blocking their way, they can't leave that place." Fan Daoyi turned his back and instructed him in a calm voice. "Since you like putting on a show, then do it properly. Don't rush things. Squeeze them for all they're worth and snuff out their last sliver of hope."

Butcher pressed his face flat against the floor and gave a sleazy grin. "Hehehe, yes, yes."

His subordinate was so humble and devout before him that he didn't feel like deliberately picking a fight. He waved Butcher away to continue the game.

Maintaining Guixu, resurrecting his subordinates, and granting the wishes he gave away all consumed his Origin Source. As his Origin Source dwindled, the delirious murmurs of countless flies constantly urged him to die while he was slacking off.

As for that Origin Source, it was all formed from fear.

His subordinates had managed the game into such a state that the Origin Source he absorbed was out of proportion to what he lost, forcing him to step in personally.

Now, he was in urgent need of some fear.

He walked toward Butcher's room, only to run into a head of long hair as soon as he reached the door.

The head of long hair turned stiffly through 180 degrees, revealing a gaunt, sunken face that faced Fan Daoyi. Its throat uttered unintelligible words.

Fan Daoyi was rather speechless. He struck the head with the back of his hand.

The head spun several times through the air before tumbling and rolling across the floor.

He entered the room. In the corner was the blond guy who had been the first to leave the group.

"Don't die too early." Fan Daoyi met his still-shaken gaze.

The blond guy realized that Fan Daoyi had been pretending to be blind, but he couldn't worry about that now.

"You, hurry up and help me."

There was no hint of a request in his words. If anything, his tone was commanding.

Fan Daoyi simply watched him calmly.

He listened to the man's curses without taking any action.

"If that monster comes back, we'll both die! Help me, and I'll get you out of the game!"

Seeing the guy grow increasingly anxious, Fan Daoyi finally responded. "I can help you stay alive, and I won't even ask for payment."

The blond guy was overjoyed to hear this. "Good, good."

Clearly, he didn't know one thing.

There was no such thing as a free lunch.

"Vase Woman."

Fan Daoyi called softly.

At that moment, a vase suddenly appeared. It stirred, and a head emerged from it.

The blond guy was stunned at the sight. "A ghost tamer! You're with the authorities!"

He had mistaken Vase Woman for a ghost under Fan Daoyi's control.

"Ghost taming? The authorities?" Fan Daoyi was somewhat puzzled.

Because of this identity, the blond guy quickly changed his attitude.

He put away his arrogance and rudeness and frantically declared his position to Fan Daoyi.

He said that he had never made any remarks belittling Huaxia, that he loved the country, and that he begged Fan Daoyi to take him out. Once they were out, he would offer him a certain sum of Huaxia currency.

Fan Daoyi couldn't help laughing. "You seem to have misunderstood something."

The blond guy was somewhat confused.

But then he saw that the head that had originally been hanging upside down by the door had rolled to Fan Daoyi's feet and made no further move.

An absurd thought sprang into his mind.

Fan Daoyi stood before him, watching him with a smile. "I said I'd keep you alive without asking for a single cent. Naturally, I'll keep my word."

"F***"

An inexplicable sense of fear welled up inside him.

Something was wrong. This was very wrong!

That head had been in the room all along. It couldn't possibly be a ghost controlled by the man before him!

He tried to use his ability to escape, but once again failed.

In an instant, his expression and body twisted and contorted before Fan Daoyi's eyes.

His head and body bent as he gnawed on himself!

"I told you, don't die too early." Fan Daoyi spoke those words again.

He was still facing the blond guy, facing the wall behind him.

"! No, no, no, no, no."

A dark figure quickly emerged from behind the wall and dropped to his knees with a thud.

"How could I possibly kill him? I don't have that kind of power. It's just an illusion, really, you know that!"

"He can escape, but the illusion tells him he can't leave. It guides his thoughts, making him mistakenly believe he's standing on the brink of life and death, fighting a ghost."

"Him gnawing on himself is only what others see. It's so bizarre that it harvests twice the fear."

"It's fake, all fake!"

The dark figure explained the current situation, belittling his own abilities. He seemed to be distancing himself from something, unwilling to be given important responsibilities.

Just then, Butcher returned. He looked cheerful, a pair of eyeballs clutched in his hand.

"Lord Dao Yi, the job's done."

Hearing Butcher's voice, an idea Fan Daoyi thought rather good came to mind.

"Vase Woman, Butcher."

The two ghosts he had named felt their hearts suddenly sink. They opened their mouths to say something, but it was too late to stop him.

Fan Daoyi stated his request. "You two figure something out. I want to grow flowers."

The two instantly wilted and gave the blond guy somewhat resentful looks.

"As for you..."

He called the dark figure over, bent down, and whispered a few words in his ear.

The dark figure's expression changed, then returned to normal.

"Yes, Lord Dao Yi. I will be loyal to your ideas and take care of everything for you."

He understood a little why the dark figure had such an attitude. The more capable a person was, the more work they got; he simply didn't want to work.

But how could he let him have his way?

For the time being, he would leave matters here to the three of them. Next came the other two players.

After Fan Daoyi left, the dark figure looked rather as though he had nothing left to live for.

"Work, overtime... boo-hoo, that sudden meeting and gathering were already annoying enough..."

As he complained tearfully, Fan Daoyi, who had deliberately waited behind the wall, poked his head in and watched him with a smile.

The dark figure fell silent, then quickly said with devotion and sincerity, "What I mean is, thank you for recognizing me. I'll do my utmost to complete every task."

Fan Daoyi took back a warning.

Drip.

It was the familiar sound of dripping water again. The Barrier Ghost was leading the way.

"How are they doing now?"

"They're arguing at the moment. Hang a head to open the way to life, and the Barrier Ghost lets them pass. One of them tried to trick the other into going to his death, but who knew he'd studied this and didn't fall for it at all?"

Listening to the Barrier Ghost, Fan Daoyi frowned. "Do you have a rule like that?"

The Barrier Ghost realized it had misspoken. It had made up that condition so it could get off work early, and now it had blurted it out without thinking.

It silently shut its mouth. Water stains spread across the wall as it focused on leading the way.

"Fine, fine. It seems you don't just get off work on time; you even leave early."

Fan Daoyi was keeping track of every last offense now.

The Barrier Ghost knew it couldn't escape, so it shut its eyes and decided to let the broken pot smash. "Lord Dao Yi, can making a report offset my wrongdoing?"

"That depends on the value of what you provide."

The Barrier Ghost chattered to Fan Daoyi all along the way, distancing itself from the matter, saying nothing but bad things about the others in its line of work, and naming a ringleader.

"So that guy was behind all of it. You must punish it properly!" The more the Barrier Ghost spoke, the more worked up it became, spilling everything.

"Is that so?" Fan Daoyi listened while recording and saving it. "What else did it say?"

"It also said, 'Even the boss is slacking off, so why should we subordinates work ourselves to the bone? If we don't slack off now, when will we?'"

"You did very well." Fan Daoyi commended it verbally. "I'll allow your contribution to offset your wrongdoing. I won't punish you."

He smiled calmly and gave it his guarantee, word by word.

"I keep my word."