Ghoul

About ten minutes later, he finally reached the place emitting that warm light. It turned out to be a towering lighthouse built of massive stone blocks, with a huge searchlight sweeping across the sea surface above. At the top of the lighthouse, a faint, dim yellow light flickered—it was this that had drawn him here.

"Finally found a place to take shelter from the rain." Li Shaolin wiped the rain from his face, straightened his back, and ran toward the lighthouse through the knee-deep shallow seawater, holding the Book of the Dead above his head with his right hand as a makeshift cover—better than nothing. The book, made of some unknown material, was impervious to both water and fire, so he wasn't worried about damaging it.

Hurrying up a slope, he put force into his steps and reached the wooden door in front of the lighthouse. Outside, lightning flashed and thunder roared, the wind howled, and the sound of waves crashing surged in waves. Li Shaolin couldn't help shivering from the cold. He quickly approached the wooden door of the stone tower and raised his hand to knock. Of course, to keep the skeletons from frightening anyone, he had cast Bone Armor on them all. The Black Skeleton had long since entered Stealth, so there was no worry about it being seen.

"Thump... thump..." The wooden door was oddly like a great bell, spreading the sound in waves that drifted away into the night sky.

He knocked a few more times, but there was still no response. As the heavy rain poured down, growing impatient, he unconsciously applied a bit more force. With a "creak," the wooden door seemed unable to withstand the push and swung open on its own.

Inside, it was pitch black. As the door opened, the wind and rain behind him surged violently in, causing a clatter of chaos within.

Li Shaolin couldn't help but chuckle wryly—it turned out to be an unmanned lighthouse. No wonder there was no response after all that knocking.

Not daring to be careless, he pulled the dagger from his belt with one hand while summoning three Bone Shields with the other, then stepped inside.

After just two steps, "thump," his foot kicked something. Startled, Li Shaolin stepped back, and at the same time, two skeletons brushed past him. Behind them, the Electric Skeleton and Fire Skeleton had already lit up their magic.

Thanks to the light from the Fire Skeleton's Fireball, he saw that it was just a broken wooden chair.

"Phew..." He let out a breath. By the faint glow of the Fireball, he noticed the place was covered in cobwebs and dust—it had been uninhabited for a long time.

He had the Fire Skeleton raise its hands and sweep the area. On the walls, he saw old, tarnished copper oil lamps, but since they had no fuel, they couldn't be lit.

"Oh, right—didn't I get a few bags of lamp oil from killing those Harvest Golems? This is just the time to use them." Li Shaolin suddenly remembered the lamp oil dropped by the Harvest Golems he'd killed at Jason's Farm. It should be burnable, right?

He searched his Storage Space and found the lamp oil there. He quickly took it out, poured it into the copper lamp, and had the Fire Skeleton's burning bone hand lightly touch it. With a "sizzle," it lit up.

Delighted, Li Shaolin stood up and lit the other oil lamps one by one, then went to close the somewhat worn wooden door before sitting down in relief.

After enduring that violent storm, he was now cold and hungry. He wanted to find something to eat, but then realized misfortune never comes alone—he had left all his food and water in the storage belt, which he'd handed over entirely to Sulonna. Sigh, what a tragedy. He'd have to wait until the rain stopped tomorrow to catch some fish and roast them.

"Forget it, I'm exhausted. I'll just sleep first." The wooden staircase in the lighthouse had long since broken, making it impossible to go up. The ground floor had nothing but a few wooden chairs and some strange stone tables. Li Shaolin had to take out bedding from his Storage Space, change out of his wet clothes, and lie down. He also summoned the Clay Golem from the Book of the Dead. With all these summons around, he wasn't worried about safety.

So, he drifted off into a dazed sleep.

"Adventurer, please save me! Save me! My body has been stolen and turned into a demon, my soul defiled and imprisoned—you must help me!" Suddenly, a series of miserable, desperate cries for help echoed in his dream, lingering around his ears!

"What's that sound?" It felt like someone was calling out in his consciousness. He tried to open his eyes, but his eyelids were as heavy as lead. Vaguely, a shadow appeared before him, then vanished in an instant.

As the cries grew louder, countless illusions surged into his mind. Somehow, he inexplicably found himself back on Earth, sitting in his office. A blurry figure drew closer, like that girl he once liked, or like his first love. But when it turned around, it became Sulonna, and he found himself on a storm-tossed, crumbling Sunken Ship.

"Who are you, really?" Li Shaolin shouted hysterically. The figure smiled faintly, its face twisting, then turned into the female Skinner outside Goldshire who loved peeling people's skin, walking toward him with a grin!

Panicked, he tried to cast a spell, but it was as if he'd forgotten the incantation—he couldn't recall it at all. Suddenly remembering the dagger at his waist, he reached for it, but grabbed nothing. The woman sneered, "Are you looking for this?" With a flick of her fingers, the gleaming dagger stood upright on her fingertip!

Her figure shifted, and with her long hair flowing, she was right in front of him!

Before she could get any closer, a flash of blood burst from his body. A bloody skull, ferocious and screeching, flew out, its mouth opening wider and wider, and swallowed the woman whole! Black mist filled the air, and it seemed the massive head even chewed a few times!

"Ah!" With a cry, Li Shaolin woke up. His whole body was drenched in cold sweat, and his forehead was soaked!

"What's going on? Is this place haunted?" He shook his head, flinging off the sweat. Before he could react, he glanced around in the dim light and saw two monsters with half-rotted bodies, crawling on all fours, with huge mouths, fangs, and long tongues!

"What are those?" He quickly sat up and drew his dagger. In front of him, several skeletons had formed a circle, guarding him.

The wind howled.

Looking up, he saw that the wooden lattice window was already broken. Outside, some kind of raptor seemed to be circling!

"Caw! Caw!" With the cries, three large birds crashed through the window and landed in the hall with the wind!

Carrion Birds!

"Click, click," came the sound of bones snapping. The three birds shook off their feathers, rolled, and transformed into three creatures identical to those monsters, opening their huge mouths and staring at them. But they didn't attack.

"I remember now—these are Ghouls!" Li Shaolin suddenly recalled that in the Scourge Alchemy Book he'd casually flipped through, there was a record of such creatures. They roamed graveyards, feeding on the flesh of the dead or children, and their mouths carried plague and disease. In alchemy, everything about them—their Fangs, hearts, hair—was considered essential material for certain concoctions.

"Carrion Birds turning into Ghouls?" This transformation made him gape in astonishment. It was incredible.

"Hah..." A sound like an old man panting came from one of the Ghouls in front of him. It seemed to sense the presence of a living person. It pushed off with its hind legs, leaped into the air, and lunged at Li Shaolin! Right behind it, the other four also sprang up, pouncing through the air!

The wind in the hall stirred and swirled! The oil lamps went out one after another!

"Looking for death!" Li Shaolin shouted, reaching out to grab the air. Three Bone Shields began to spin and whirl. In front, the Bronze Skeleton stepped forward with its side shield, blocking him. At the same time, the Black Skeleton leaped, soaring four or five meters into the air to meet the first Ghoul!

"Plop!" Sticky liquid dripped from the creature's mouth onto the hall floor.

The Black Skeleton's curved blade flowed smoothly, easily slicing through the rotten muscle, but no blood came out. The Ghoul struck down with both claws, forcing the airborne Black Skeleton back to the ground. The others had already arrived!

"This is going to be a tough fight!" The Black Skeleton was the strongest of his servants, yet it had been at a disadvantage against the Ghoul's strength. This wouldn't be easy.

"Sizzle, sizzle"—mud flew from the Clay Golem as a Ghoul's claws raked across it, leaving deep gouges.

On the other side, the Bronze Skeleton held off two with its large shield, the sound of claws scraping against it grating in the air. Luckily, the shield was bronze, so it wasn't damaged. The Bone Skeleton barely held off one, being forced back step by step.

A bolt of electricity shot out first, hitting the Clay Golem's opponent. The Ghoul shuddered, its movements slowing slightly. Then, a massive, scorching Fireball struck it head-on. With a "boom," it burst into flames!

The Ghoul, unable to keep attacking the Clay Golem, rolled on the ground, but the fire only grew fiercer. Its agonized screams rang out, and after a few cries, it stopped moving.

"Could it be... their saliva? It helps the fire spread?" Li Shaolin guessed. Knowing the weakness made things easier.

He launched another Fireball, but after seeing their comrade's gruesome end, the remaining Ghouls grew cautious. They swatted the Fireball away with their claws and refused to show themselves.

"Lesser Blindness!" Li Shaolin cast the spell, blinding one Ghoul. The Bone Skeleton followed up, its Bone Blade slicing down at the shoulder tendon, severing it. But the tendon still held, leaving the Ghoul with a dangling arm.

Just then, the Black Skeleton went berserk.

Seeming inspired by the Bone Skeleton, it whirled its curved blade, its movements becoming fluid. Instead of attacking fiercely, it used precise cuts and hooks, like an artful dance. With a "clatter," it severed all the tendons connecting the joints of its opponent Ghoul, which collapsed to the ground, unable to rise.

"Great, that's exactly the effect I wanted." Li Shaolin was overjoyed. Ever since he obtained the Scourge Alchemy Book, he hadn't had a chance to test it out. Now, with ready materials right in front of him, it was the perfect opportunity to experiment.

With two of the five Ghouls taken out in an instant, the pressure eased significantly. The Bronze Skeleton loosened its grip, and its Bronze Blade swung wide and fierce, slashing down! When its opponent failed to block, it thrust hard, driving the blade into the Ghoul's heart! As it pulled the blade out, another one fell.

The remaining two saw the tide turning against them. Suddenly, they bent over, curling their bodies into balls, and charged toward the wooden door!

"Boom!" The Fire Skeleton's fireball struck one of their bodies, but it only sparked a few flames before fizzling out.

"Bang!" Too late to stop them, splinters flew everywhere as the two Ghouls burst through and fled, vanishing into the pitch-black night. Outside, the rain was still pouring—how could anyone catch up?

"I wonder what these things are?" Li Shaolin crouched down, using the light from the Fire Skeleton's flames to examine them for a while. Aside from feeling a bit nauseated and creeped out, he couldn't make heads or tails of it.

He stood up, about to relight the extinguished oil lamp, when suddenly, a sigh came from above!

"Who's there?" Not daring to be careless, he quickly looked up.

A translucent figure appeared on the broken staircase, flickering in and out of sight!