Eating Zhong Kui, Live Eating Ghost

"You're Zhong Kui?" Chen Luo circled around him several times. Good heavens, this was a deity—he'd summoned one just by writing an essay...

Zhong Kui stood calmly, bowed once more, and said, "To answer my lord, this one is not the true Lord Zhong Kui, but the book spirit of the Brief Biography of Zhong Kui you wrote, also named Zhong Kui."

"A book spirit?" Chen Luo frowned slightly. "Can you catch ghosts?"

Zhong Kui nodded. "My lord wrote in the essay that this one can eat ghosts, and the Heavenly Dao here recognizes that claim, so this one can indeed eat ghosts. However..."

"However what?"

Zhong Kui continued, "A book spirit's abilities are tied to its author, and this one is no exception. This one has a natural advantage over ghostly beings, but at most, I can only handle ghosts two realms above my lord."

Chen Luo nodded. "Two realms above?"

Chen Luo recalled the realm system of this world. Wandering souls and wild ghosts were the first tier, capable of affecting the weak-bodied. Vicious ghosts that killed through dreams were the second tier.

Just as Chen Luo and Zhong Kui were exchanging questions and answers, a sudden cry came from outside the house. Almost simultaneously, Zhong Kui's nose twitched, and he said in a low voice, "There's ghostly qi!"

Chen Luo froze, then snapped back to reality. Remembering that Chen Xuan was still outside, he rushed out, with Zhong Kui following like a gust of wind.

Because of the consecutive deaths in Chen Manor, Chen Xuan had dismissed many household retainers and servants, leaving the vast manor somewhat empty. Chen Luo ran out to the back courtyard and saw the young maid who had earlier shouted about him rising from the dead collapsed by the garden, a thin blanket scattered beside her hand. This maid was named Xiao Huan, Chen Xuan's personal attendant.

Chen Luo hurried over, helped Xiao Huan up, and asked, "Where's the young lady?"

Seeing it was Chen Luo, Xiao Huan said frantically, "We saw a ghost! The young lady chased after it... She..."

Before Xiao Huan could finish, the moon emerged from behind dark clouds, its light falling on Zhong Kui's face behind Chen Luo. Xiao Huan froze, pointed a trembling finger at Zhong Kui, and stammered, "Young Master Luo, run—there's a ghost..." With that, she fainted.

Chen Luo glanced back at Zhong Kui, who gave an awkward smile—one that looked especially eerie in the moonlight. Chen Luo checked Xiao Huan's breath, found she had only fainted, and draped the thin blanket over her. He asked Zhong Kui, "Can you sense it?"

Zhong Kui nodded and led the way, with Chen Luo quickly catching up.

Chen Luo knew that Chen Xuan practiced cultivation. It wasn't orthodox from the Three Teachings, but rather a heterodox path called the "Thirteen Needles of the Heavenly Gate." This wasn't the acupuncture of medicine but a set of killing techniques using silver needles to defeat enemies. It was fine against ordinary people, but against ghosts, it was a stretch.

"This woman—too reckless!" Chen Luo muttered as he chased after her. Just as they neared the main gate of Chen Manor, Zhong Kui abruptly stopped. Chen Luo was about to ask why when he suddenly saw Chen Xuan sitting cross-legged not far from the gate.

"Are you okay? Why chase a ghost? What if something happened..." Chen Luo said as he approached Chen Xuan, but then his steps faltered, and his face twisted.

He saw five silver needles stuck in Chen Xuan's head.

"Silver Needle Soul Crossing!" Chen Luo forced the words through gritted teeth. Having absorbed his predecessor's memories, he knew exactly what was happening.

This was a forbidden technique of the "Thirteen Needles of the Heavenly Gate," using silver needles to seal the five sensory orifices of the human body, allowing the soul to temporarily leave. Compared to the orthodox Daoist path of cultivating the Yang God, this method of soul departure was short-lived and fraught with risks. The most common consequence was the random loss of one sense—hearing, sight, touch, taste, or smell—upon the soul's return.

Chen Luo turned to look at Zhong Kui. Zhong Kui waved his sleeve, and a chill shot toward Chen Luo's eyes. His eyes went cold, and after a blink, they returned to normal. Then, following Zhong Kui, he looked up and saw Chen Xuan's soul battling a long-limbed, green-faced, fanged ghost on the roof of the main hall.

"Zhong Kui!" Chen Luo barked. Zhong Kui moved and flew toward the roof.

Zhong Kui's appearance startled both Chen Xuan and the ghost. Chen Xuan spotted Chen Luo below, her face showing panic as she shouted, "Xiao Luo, go back!" But Chen Luo yelled, "Chen Xuan, return to your body now!"

The ghost also saw Chen Luo, looked surprised, and made as if to pounce on him. Chen Xuan moved to block it, but a black shadow flashed, and Zhong Kui stood before the ghost.

Seeing Zhong Kui, the ghost roared, sending a ghostly sound wave at him. Zhong Kui paid it no mind, just stared at the ghost, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, and unconsciously stuck out his tongue to lick his lips.

The ghost felt an inexplicable panic, turned, and fled. In an instant, it was three meters away, but Zhong Kui waved his hand, and an iron hook flew from his sleeve, precisely catching the ghost's collarbone. Zhong Kui yanked the chain back, and the ghost flew backward. At the same time, Zhong Kui's other hand shot forward, wiping across the ghost's face. The ghost let out a pained wail, and in Zhong Kui's hand appeared two egg-sized orbs—the ghost's eyeballs!

Zhong Kui swallowed the eyeballs in one gulp, chewing them in his mouth. Then he reached out again, grabbed the ghost's arm, twisted and pulled it in the opposite direction, and tore the arm clean off. The ghost tried to struggle, but Zhong Kui stomped on its back, pinning it to the ground, unable to move.

Like eating a candy stick, Zhong Kui rapidly chewed and swallowed the ghost's arm, skin and bone. Then he sat on the ghost, grabbed one of its feet, and without pulling it off, began tearing and biting directly. The ghost's wails grew loud. Zhong Kui frowned, let go of the thigh, grabbed the ghost's throat, and dug in. A clump of green qi gathered in his hand, and he drank it down like water. With a gaping hole in its throat, the ghost opened its mouth but could make no sound...

Watching Zhong Kui feast, Chen Xuan was stunned. Only when Chen Luo called out again did she snap out of it, drifting down gracefully. She looked back at Zhong Kui, still devouring, with some unease, and asked, "Who is that?"

Chen Luo was burning with anxiety. "Return to your body now. I'll tell you about him later..."

But Chen Xuan didn't immediately return. Instead, she gazed at Chen Luo with a hint of reluctance. "Let me look at you a little longer. In case I can't see later..."

Chen Luo's heart sank. He quickly shook his head. "Don't say such unlucky things. Maybe it'll just be your sense of smell—like getting a stuffy nose..."

"Stuffy nose? What's that?"

"Never mind. Just go back. If you wait too long, your soul might dissipate, and you won't be able to return..."

Chen Xuan nodded, walked to her body, and in an instant merged with it. She opened her eyes.

Chen Luo hurried over. "How is it? Something wrong?"

Chen Xuan sensed herself and smiled. "You were right. It's my sense of smell that's gone..."

Chen Luo felt relieved but scolded, "You're a mortal. Why fight a ghost head-on? Don't you know how dangerous it is?"

Chen Xuan shook her head slightly. "I was afraid it would come to harm you again..."

Chen Luo's heart trembled. He was about to speak when he suddenly saw Chen Xuan's pupils rapidly turn white. He froze. Slowly, he raised a hand and waved it in front of her eyes. Chen Xuan didn't react at all!

For some reason, though this was only the second time he'd seen this woman, a fire seemed to ignite in Chen Luo's chest. His nose stung, and his eyes instantly grew wet.

"By the way, who is that expert?" Chen Xuan, completely unaware of Chen Luo's distress, looked up as if watching Zhong Kui eat the ghost and asked with a smile.

"His name is Zhong Kui. He's..." Chen Luo suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and continued, "The book spirit I summoned!"

"A book spirit?" Chen Xuan reached out and grabbed Chen Luo's arm. "He's a book spirit?"

Before Chen Luo could answer, Zhong Kui had already swallowed the entire ghost. He drifted down from the roof, cupped his hands to Chen Luo, and said, "My lord, this one has subdued the ghost. However... this ghost is not the true mastermind!"

Chen Luo and Chen Xuan's faces changed drastically. Chen Luo asked, "What's going on?"

Zhong Kui cupped his hands again. "This ghost is no ordinary one—it is a tamed ghost. A tamed ghost is born when a tiger devours a human. It cannot control itself and must act on the tiger's orders... So the one truly plotting against my lord's family is the tiger demon behind this tamed ghost!"

"A tiger demon?" Chen Luo turned his head, looking at Chen Xuan, whose pupils had turned snow-white, and clenched his fists. "What a tiger demon!"

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