The Young Lady Whose Ambitions Outstripped Her Abilities

Cui Xueyan's expression visibly darkened. Had her embarrassment turned to anger?

Fortunately, none of the others showed the slightest emotion.

"Waiting passively like this won't work! Yue Renchun, try to lure out the source ghost in a moment. We'll take the initiative and contain the Fierce Ghost!" Cui Xueyan suddenly said, though it was unclear whether she was trying to move past the awkwardness or maintain her authority.

Yue Renchun's handsome young face finally lost its composure, as if asking, Lady, are you kidding me?

"When headquarters surveyed the village with a drone before, they filmed a birthday banquet. Now they're holding another one. It's very likely connected to the supernatural incident in the village and could trigger some unknown change. Once it happens, it'll be too late!" The more Cui Xueyan spoke, the more convinced she was that she was right, and she immediately decided to act.

Zou Cong looked at her as if she were an idiot, his gaze a mixture of exasperation and contempt, and signaled Yue Renchun and Hu Jiu to talk her out of it.

To his surprise, Hu Jiu not only failed to stop her, but added fuel to the fire. "You're experienced, and from the looks of it, you're confident. We'll follow your lead."

Yue Renchun was taken aback, then also showed his agreement. It was rare for someone to volunteer to be cannon fodder and scout the way.

Seeing this, Cui Xueyan walked out with an air of reserve and found a suitable place to attract a ghost.

Zou Cong stared in disbelief, then warned them in a low voice, "She's no ordinary person. I don't care what you two are thinking, but we have to keep her safe, or all three of us will pay for it afterward!"

Yue Renchun remained expressionless, as if he hadn't heard a thing. He glanced at Hu Jiu out of the corner of his eye, but couldn't tell what he was thinking.

Cui Xueyan led the three men to a secluded path. "This is the spot. Once the ghost arrives, the three of you play it by ear and give me a chance to contain the Fierce Ghost!"

Zou Cong desperately made signals with his eyes, but Yue Renchun pretended not to see. "Get ready. I'm starting!"

As soon as he finished speaking, he activated the Fierce Ghost inside him.

Buzz—!—!—!

The light seemed to warp at that moment, as if a strange filter had been applied, tinting everything between heaven and earth a seductive pink.

Zou Cong and Cui Xueyan nearly lost control of themselves. Even Hu Jiu stared with morbid curiosity at the humanoid aphrodisiac indiscriminately radiating sex appeal before him.

Suddenly, a strange noise reached their ears. It seemed to come from the sky, yet also from deep underground. When they listened closely, it sounded more like it was playing inside their cochleae. It was like the hoarse, indistinct wailing of vengeful souls swept along as a chill wind passed through a rift in hell...

"The ghost is here!" Yue Renchun withdrew his supernatural power and quickly retreated.

Cui Xueyan looked around and soon spotted the target. It was a strange "person" with graying hair, sagging skin, and a gray, lifeless face covered in wrinkles, yet it wore a set of fashionable, trendy clothes.

Something was very wrong.

"Is that the source ghost? Why does it look like a Ghost Tamer whose ghost has revived?" Cui Xueyan said softly.

As the strange figure approached, the noise grew louder, sweeping over them from every direction.

"Ah!" A scream rang out. Hu Jiu recognized Zou Cong's voice, but ignored it and ran dozens of meters away.

As for Zou Cong, blood was flowing from all seven of his orifices for some reason as he scrambled desperately away. But the strange figure stayed on his heels. It appeared to move slowly, yet each step covered a great distance, and within a few breaths it was in front of him.

Zou Cong immediately raised his hand to cover his eyes, activating Ghost-Covered Eyes. The strange figure seemed to lose its bearings and walked in circles around him.

"What's its killing mechanism? I didn't do anything, and it targeted me!" Zou Cong gasped for breath, blood still seeping from the corners of his mouth.

Cui Xueyan remained unhurried. The nails on her right hand suddenly grew three inches long and gave off a faint white glow. The light spread through the surroundings at incredible speed, enveloping Zou Cong in the blink of an eye and carrying him far away to the other side.

"A Ghost Domain!" Yue Renchun finally understood. No wonder Cui Xueyan had dared to talk so big. She really did have something to back it up.

However, she seemed to have only recently developed the ability and could not yet control it freely. A moment's carelessness caused the Ghost Domain to spread too far, affecting the houses in the distance. The previously tidy-looking homes abruptly revealed their true appearance: desolate and dilapidated, overgrown with weeds, with traces of dried blood faintly visible among them.

The sight made Cui Xueyan's expression turn extremely ugly. Could the whole village be inside a Ghost Domain? Can I only see through the illusion from inside my own Ghost Domain?

Yue Renchun walked over to Cui Xueyan and looked at the frightened Zou Cong. "When the ghost was chasing you just now, did you notice how it killed?"

Cold sweat poured down Zou Cong's face. "Damn it, you hear a strange sound when you get close to that ghost. The closer you get, the louder it gets. The vibrations made me cough up blood. If I'd listened a little longer, I'm afraid my organs and bones would have been shattered! But that ghost's level of terror isn't particularly high. It didn't kill me instantly, and I can still fight back."

Although he had been the first one targeted, his mind remained calm. He had assumed the ghost would go after whoever had lured it out first, but unexpectedly... it hadn't followed the usual script.

Zou Cong discreetly studied Yue Renchun, a strong sense of wariness rising in his heart.

Cui Xueyan enveloped both Zou Cong and Yue Renchun in her Ghost Domain. The two of them also noticed the desolate, dilapidated surroundings, and neither looked pleased.

"I didn't expect you to have a Ghost Domain," Zou Cong said, somewhat surprised. Had this sheltered young lady also learned to play the pig to eat the tiger?

"I only developed it recently. If you were willing to work a little harder, you might have a chance too." Cui Xueyan answered casually, but the upturn of her lips and her lecturing tone were impossible to ignore.

What else could Zou Cong say? He could only respond with a hollow chuckle.

"Where's Hu Jiu? Why has he disappeared?" Cui Xueyan said as she extended her Ghost Domain. "The situation in this village is a little complicated. There may be more than one ghost. Let's hurry and contain the one in front of us first."

As she spoke, the Noise Ghost broke free of Ghost-Covered Eyes and immediately targeted them, moving extremely fast.

Cui Xueyan's formerly confident expression suddenly changed. She had discovered that her Ghost Domain could not block the invading noise, and the ghost was actually trying to force its way inside!

"How is that possible?"

Cui Xueyan's nails grew much longer, and she clawed at the Noise Ghost. The blow drove it back several steps, but it soon charged wildly at her again.

Gunshots rang out as Yue Renchun fired gold bullet after gold bullet. Every shot hit its mark, but they were fucking useless. Instead, they seemed to trigger some mechanism, and the noise surged in an instant.

Cui Xueyan's expression changed drastically. She had underestimated the ghost's level of terror. The white Ghost Domain she had spread out was now being severely eroded, and a terrifying force seemed to be descending.

The next second, a crack was shaken into her Ghost Domain. The Noise Ghost instantly moved in front of her, opened its mouth wide, and released a wave of sound.

Fortunately, Cui Xueyan was inside her own Ghost Domain. Although startled, she reacted in time and quickly dodged.

The ghost's attack missed, and even the space around them seemed to tremble. Cui Xueyan grew deeply grave. She had never encountered a situation like this before, and for a moment she was at a loss.

Unfortunately, she had no time to think about the situation. When she saw the ghost appear in front of her yet again, her face turned green. Why wouldn't it stop targeting her?

The woman and the ghost traded blows, locked in an evenly matched fight.

But ghosts were immortal, and humans could not withstand a battle of attrition.

Fortunately, Zou Cong activated Ghost-Covered Eyes in time. At the same moment, countless strips of White Sash descended from the sky, gathering into a vast sheet that quickly wrapped around the ghost's neck. The Noise Ghost immediately froze in place.

The elusive Hu Jiu appeared and stepped in to help. Cui Xueyan breathed a sigh of relief. Keeping her Ghost Domain active was more than she could bear, so while the ghost was temporarily restrained, she hurriedly took two test tubes filled with a murky, pale-blue liquid from her clothes and drank them down.

On the other side, the vast sheet of White Sash wrapped around the ghost kept breaking apart and falling away, seemingly unable to withstand the tremendous vibrations of the noise it emitted.

"Stop dawdling! I can't hold on much longer!" Zou Cong shouted. "This ghost's level of terror is increasing!"

With that, he collapsed to the ground, blood spurting from all seven orifices, and lost consciousness.

With Zou Cong out of the fight, the White Sash abruptly loosened as well. The Noise Ghost regained its freedom and walked straight toward Cui Xueyan.

Having just recovered, Cui Xueyan looked on in disbelief. If she had known, she wouldn't have wasted time drinking the Longevity Potions just now. She should have tried to contain it instead!

Just as Zou Cong had said, the ghost's level of terror had soared, seemingly because the noise kept reverberating and building upon itself. Cui Xueyan had previously been able to trade blows with it thanks to her Ghost Domain, but now she was struggling more and more.

For a moment, she panicked too.

Zou Cong, the only one willing to take the initiative to help her, was now either dead or alive. Yue Renchun and Hu Jiu watched from a distance. They had assumed that, since she had a Ghost Domain, she was an expert at handling supernatural incidents. Who would have thought she would prove so useless?

Her Ghost Domain had failed to do what it should have in her hands. There was no sign of her extensive experience, only a frantic mess!

Fortunately, Zou Cong soon regained consciousness and climbed to his feet. He immediately assessed the situation and shouted to Cui Xueyan, "If you can't beat it, retreat now!"

Cui Xueyan's face was full of unwillingness. She held on for a while, but ultimately withdrew her Ghost Domain and fled.

Hu Jiu had long since vanished, and Yue Renchun retreated just as quickly. Zou Cong cursed his bad luck and covered his eyes again. This time, Ghost-Covered Eyes only made the Noise Ghost pause for a moment. He had no choice but to activate it repeatedly to ensure the ghost wouldn't catch up before turning to leave.

The group retraced their route to the guesthouse. The village looked just as it always had, with nothing out of the ordinary, but they all knew it was only an illusion. Only by activating a Ghost Domain could they see the truth.

Zou Cong was the last to return. As soon as he entered, he saw Cui Xueyan sitting in a chair, breathing heavily. Dark red blood seeped from beneath her nails, an aftereffect of overusing her ghost. Her fingertips hurt, as though countless ants were tearing at them.

She had always handled supernatural incidents with ease before. She had never suffered such humiliation!

After catching her breath, she hurriedly took out another Longevity Potion and drank it, then dialed her satellite phone to contact her operator.

The complicated situation in this village far exceeded her expectations. She needed backup. She needed the teammates she had worked seamlessly with before, not these pig teammates!

But the satellite phone was being jammed. The call wouldn't go through, and it only emitted static.

Cui Xueyan froze. "How could this happen? The wireless satellite phone has no signal?"

Headquarters had originally claimed the satellite phones were made of special materials and could be used even inside a Ghost Domain. What was going on now?

She looked up at her three teammates, only to find that none of them seemed surprised. "You already knew the phone couldn't contact the outside world?"

"That's common knowledge. Did you really need someone to point it out?" Zou Cong was irritated. Frequent use of his ghost's power had left him feeling awful, and he had no mind to spare for the young lady's feelings.

You were the loudest one before. I thought you were capable, but it turns out you're just an embroidered pillow. He didn't say it aloud, but his indescribable expression said it all.

Cui Xueyan choked, feeling as though a breath had lodged in her chest, unable to go up or down. Unwilling to admit she was a jumping clown, she glared fiercely at Yue Renchun. "Why did that ghost keep after me just now? Did you do something when you lured it here?"

"And you!" She pointed at Hu Jiu and roared, "Were you slacking off the whole time, showing up but not doing any work?"

When faced with criticism and mockery, she did not fall into the trap of trying to prove herself, much less exhaust herself emotionally. Instead, she immediately picked at other people's faults. Clearly, she had a strong mentality and was a master of verbal attacks. Unfortunately, this was the wrong occasion.

"You were the one who took everything on yourself, said you were experienced, and wanted to finish the fight quickly. Look at how you performed. You were worse than a rookie!" Zou Cong couldn't resist snapping back—though it hardly counted as snapping back, since he was only telling the truth.

Before Cui Xueyan could open her mouth to start spouting off again, Yue Renchun cut their argument short. "Enough. This isn't the time to argue. First, let's think about what to do in our current situation."

"What else can we do? Leaving is the best option!" Zou Cong said sharply. "You all saw it. There may be more than one ghost in the village, and we couldn't even handle one we lured out at random. If we drag this out, we might die here. Once we're dead, everything else is meaningless."

Yue Renchun shook his head. "Once we've entered Longevity Village, I'm afraid getting out won't be so easy. Don't forget, this supernatural incident started with people going missing after entering and never coming out. If the entire village is inside a large Ghost Domain, then the only way to escape is to rely on..."

His gaze turned to Cui Xueyan.

Cui Xueyan snorted and activated her Ghost Domain. White light spread toward the outskirts of the village, and she vanished in an instant.

Zou Cong was dumbfounded and furious. "She just ran off on her own?"

Yue Renchun was also somewhat surprised, but showed no sign of panic. "Don't worry. We still don't know whether people really can't leave Longevity Village once they enter. Maybe we can get out without a Ghost Domain?"

Zou Cong wasn't reassured.

Hu Jiu took the opportunity to ask, "Who exactly is she?"

Zou Cong kept his mouth shut.

Hu Jiu continued, "There's no need to keep it from us now. She's so high-profile that if I get out, I'll find out sooner or later. If I die here, it won't matter whether I know or not."

Zou Cong wavered, not because Hu Jiu had convinced him, but because he thought about their current situation. He had to maintain good relations with his teammates, and there was no need to create a rift over something minor. Besides, information about Cui Xueyan wasn't covered by his confidentiality agreement, so there was no harm in telling them.

"Cui Xueyan is the treasured daughter of a senior military official. She has indeed handled quite a few supernatural incidents, but given her status, you should understand. A whole group of people fawn over her and take care of the ghost for the most part, leaving the final blow for her. Afterward, she gets all the credit."

The more Zou Cong spoke, the angrier he became. "She's been praised for so long that she lacks the proper sensitivity and reverence toward the supernatural, and she has no fucking idea of her own abilities. She's tamed a powerful ghost, but the way she uses it is a complete waste."

Yue Renchun raised a question. "That doesn't add up. Going by what you've said, headquarters shouldn't have sent her somewhere with unknown risks like this, should they?"

Zou Cong pondered for a moment. "I'm just a bodyguard. I don't know the exact reason either. Maybe it's political infighting among the higher-ups?"

Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun exchanged glances. Zou Cong was holding something back, but the information he had revealed was enough.

At that very moment, Cui Xueyan's Ghost Domain was still moving outward. After a long time, her expression grew increasingly ugly.

In theory, she should have left Longevity Village long ago, but the distance between her and the stone at the village entrance seemed to remain constant. She seemed to be confined to this area.

Because she had used her Ghost Domain for too long, the pain in her fingers was unbearable, and blood kept dripping from them. She had no choice but to shut it down temporarily.

The familiar scenery still surrounded her. She was still inside Longevity Village. Cui Xueyan gritted her teeth. Although her ambitions outstripped her abilities, she had read many classified files and had broad knowledge. In this situation, she was most likely trapped in the Ghost Domain of an extremely powerful Fierce Ghost, one that an ordinary Ghost Tamer's Ghost Domain could hardly contend with...