A Bumper Harvest

He picked up the old man's head and saw the shock on his face. Xiao Ran had meant to toss it into Micheng Space.

But a notification informed him that conscious entities could not be put inside.

That left Xiao Ran with little choice. He tied the old man's hair into a knot, hung the head from his waist, and tossed the body into the space.

Once he had dealt with the old man, he turned around.

Zhao Jiguang and the beggar were locked in a fierce struggle.

The beggar's body had completely changed shape. Its flesh had swollen all over, making it look like a giant ball. A pair of eyes after pair of eyes lurked in its shadow behind its enormous body.

Zhao Jiguang might not have been able to see them, but Xiao Ran could see them clearly. They were unmistakably hundreds of ghosts standing behind the beggar, all opening their mouths and blowing hard at Zhao Jiguang.

Every time they blew, a layer of black mist settled over Zhao Jiguang.

"This guy's seriously badass!"

Seeing this, Xiao Ran silently gave him a thumbs-up. Everyone had heard the saying that people lit lamps while ghosts blew out candles, but few knew ghosts could do more than blow out candles. One breath at a person could blow them to death, too.

They said that when a person died, their light went out.

That was because a person had three flames on their shoulders and three on their head. Ghosts were beings of Yin, so blowing on those flames was like splashing them with water.

Once the flames went out, the person was done for.

Last time, in the pavilion at Cuiyun Park, Xiao Ran had been frozen stiff after summoning so many wandering ghosts.

But those wandering ghosts were in a completely different league from the ones here.

With so many Yin Souls blowing at him from behind, Xiao Ran reckoned he'd be dead by now if he were in Zhao Jiguang's place. The guy in front of him had managed to hold on this long—he was one hell of a tough cookie.

But Zhao Jiguang had clearly fallen behind.

Even with his vigorous life force, he couldn't withstand so many ghosts blowing on him nonstop.

He swayed unsteadily, and his face was turning paler by the second. Xiao Ran weighed his options. No, I can't let him die here. If I do, that beggar will probably come after me next.

Still... the beggar's so strong that I might not even be able to make a difference if I step in.

With that thought, Xiao Ran took out the white banner he had snatched earlier. This seems to be the beggar's treasure. Maybe it'll come in handy.

[An F-class Cursed Object, [Soul Summoning Banner], has been discovered. Activate it?]

When the beggar had taken the gourd earlier, it had opened both hands, giving Xiao Ran the chance to swipe the banner. He had immediately tossed it into Micheng Space to keep the beggar from noticing. He hadn't expected it to be a Cursed Object.

"Activate!"

Xiao Ran dispelled the Ghost Cloak, then combined the [Trainee] curse pattern with the [Soul Summoning Banner].

[Soul Summoning Banner · Trainee]

Soul Power: 73

If you don't study hard today, you'll be brothers in the Soul Summoning Banner.

Privilege 1: Summon Soul

Use Summon Soul on a target to collect its soul. For every soul added to the Soul Summoning Banner, gain 1 Soul Power. The greater your Soul Power, the better the effect.

(Note: The stronger the target's vital essence, energy, and spirit, the worse the effect.)

Privilege 2: Deathly Wail

Command the souls inside the Soul Summoning Banner to launch a soul attack against a target. The greater your Soul Power, the greater the damage.

Each use consumes half the souls inside the banner.

(Note: Damage to evil and ghostly entities is halved.)

Taking in the information conveyed by the Soul Summoning Banner, Xiao Ran nodded. "Not bad. It's even stronger than I expected."

Though it was only an F-class Cursed Object, in theory, its damage had almost no upper limit as long as it collected enough souls.

Xiao Ran also noticed a problem. The [Trainee] curse pattern was weak, but it was more like an all-purpose tool. Other than a few Cursed Objects with special requirements, it could handle most of them.

A curse pattern like [Corpse Stitcher], on the other hand, was powerful but heavily specialized. Any Cursed Object combined with Corpse Stitcher would be influenced by it, no matter how powerful the object's original properties were.

It was no exaggeration to say that even if the [Cursed Object] was a toilet, once combined with [Corpse Stitcher], you'd have to put a corpse on it before it could show its true potential.

So whenever Xiao Ran got a [Cursed Object], he usually activated it with [Trainee] first.

Only if [Trainee] wasn't suitable would he use [Corpse Stitcher].

Weighing the banner in his hand, Xiao Ran immediately came up with a plan.

Glancing sideways, he saw that the beggar had completely overpowered Zhao Jiguang. Its huge body was covered in fat, and Zhao Jiguang's knife could do no more than cut through a thick layer of blubber.

The beggar, on the other hand, only had to swing a fist to force Zhao Jiguang to dodge with all his might.

Things were looking worse by the second. Sweat covered Zhao Jiguang's forehead. He wanted to run, but the beggar seemed to have learned from past experience. It swung its massive body sideways, blocking the stairwell like a wall.

At the same time, it kept driving Zhao Jiguang toward a dead end.

Seeing that Zhao Jiguang was nearly at his limit, Xiao Ran stopped hiding around the corner. He raised his hand and activated the [Mourning Ring], which flashed with dazzling red light.

The Red Skeleton appeared again at Xiao Ran's summons.

Xiao Ran pointed at the beggar. "Get him!"

The Red Skeleton glanced at the dense mass of ghosts behind the beggar, then tilted its head toward Xiao Ran. Though it had no expression, Xiao Ran could still clearly sense the confusion and helplessness radiating from it.

The beggar's ability was clearly far beyond that of the Embroidered Shoes. The Red Skeleton had no desire to risk provoking it.

Xiao Ran could only say helplessly, "Just keep him occupied. I'll handle the rest."

This time, the Red Skeleton didn't hesitate. Red light flashed around it as it charged at the beggar.

The beggar had nearly crushed the air out of Zhao Jiguang, but then a surprise attacker came out of nowhere. A flash of red filled its vision, and before it could react, the Red Skeleton's punch sent it stumbling into the hallway wall.

When it turned around and saw the Red Skeleton, its face showed a trace of confusion. But it quickly scrambled to its feet, let out a shrill roar, and swung its arms, ready to fight to the death.

The Red Skeleton was clearly weaker than the beggar, but it wasn't stupid. It refused to fight head-on, darting around the beggar and occasionally landing a punch before backing away again.

Seeing the Red Skeleton attack, Xiao Ran stopped wasting time. He raised the Soul Summoning Banner, and a faint blue glow flickered over his body.

He opened his mouth and murmured a tongue-twisting incantation. As he chanted, his will spread through the hallway.

This was the awakened ability of a Night Ghost: [Ghost Language].

The Yin Souls on the beggar's back suddenly seemed dazed. Then six or seven of them appeared to be drawn by some force, peeling away from its back and drifting toward Xiao Ran.

They were all Yin Souls, so Xiao Ran's Ghost Language worked extremely well. He could even control quite a few at once.

As soon as the Yin Souls reached him, he raised the [Soul Summoning Banner] and swept it toward them, drawing them inside.

"Pretty effective!"

With his Night Ghost ability and the [Soul Summoning Banner], he could easily lure the Yin Souls from the beggar's back.

Using the beggar's own power against it gave Xiao Ran the feeling that the tables had completely turned.

While the beggar was tied up with the Red Skeleton, Xiao Ran stayed back and repeatedly used Ghost Language with the [Soul Summoning Banner] to lure away the Yin Souls on its back.

The beggar seemed to sense something was wrong, but the Red Skeleton kept provoking it, leaving no time to think. Meanwhile, Zhao Jiguang had caught his breath.

Seeing the Red Skeleton attack the beggar again and again, Zhao Jiguang realized someone was helping him.

He immediately took a plastic package out of Micheng Space and tore it open. Inside was a dark red grease, bright as chili oil.

Zhao Jiguang drank it all in one gulp. Soon, he felt a spark ignite in his abdomen, and the chill in his body began to recede.

"You have consumed a special ingredient: Chao Tian La. For the next five minutes, you are immune to pain and gain the special enhancement [Boiling Blood]."

Only after swallowing all the chili oil did Zhao Jiguang feel warmth returning to his body.

Still, he couldn't help feeling a little pained.

This seasoning had been specially prepared by a D-class beginner, the [Hundred Flavors Chef]. Zhao Jiguang had spent thirty Nether Coins to buy it.

He had meant to save it as an ingredient for his own advancement to [Iron Body]. Using it now was a waste, and the aftereffects would be terrifying.

But at this point, he had no choice.

The chill soon vanished completely. Zhao Jiguang raised his broadsword and charged at the beggar.

His blood was now surging, and flames flickered along the blade. It was nothing like before. A single swing cut a huge gash into the beggar as easily as slicing tofu.

The beggar clearly hadn't expected Zhao Jiguang to suddenly spring back to peak condition as if he'd been injected with adrenaline. It let out a low, pained groan as Zhao Jiguang's broadsword drove it back again and again.

At the same time, Xiao Ran had already drawn a good number of Yin Souls from the beggar with the [Soul Summoning Banner]. The absorbed Yin Souls were converted into Soul Power, steadily strengthening the banner. Its Soul Power shot from the original 73 to 130 in the blink of an eye.

He was also getting more adept at using it. He no longer needed to use [Ghost Language] to help. Even from a distance, he could keep drawing Yin Souls from the beggar by waving the [Soul Summoning Banner].

As the Yin Souls dwindled, the beggar's body began to change. Its skin was no longer as oily as before, and its taut flesh started to sag.

Even the Red Skeleton could sense the beggar's strength plummeting. Its pupils flashed with crimson light as it stepped up its attacks, harassing the beggar from every side.

"Die!"

This time, Zhao Jiguang's blade cut straight through the beggar's belly. Blood and fat poured out, leaving a horrifying wound.

The beggar let out a bloodcurdling scream and tried to fight back, but with the Red Skeleton keeping it occupied, its movements had grown sluggish.

Meanwhile, Xiao Ran kept using the Soul Summoning Banner to absorb the Yin Souls from the beggar, steadily weakening it.

The beggar's body shrank, and its swelling Yin Qi gradually dissipated.

Zhao Jiguang seized the opportunity and stabbed the beggar in the heart once more. This time, its enormous body collapsed like a punctured ball, crumpling to the ground and rapidly shrinking until it was back to its original, gaunt form.

Zhao Jiguang was relieved to see it, but he looked at the Red Skeleton in front of him with even greater caution.

Though the other party had helped him, it was hard to say whether they were friend or foe. Even among fellow beginners, there were plenty of cases of people taking advantage of an opportunity to attack from behind.

Just then, the Red Skeleton seemed to receive an order. It turned around and looked toward the corner where Xiao Ran was hiding, standing guard.

Zhao Jiguang froze. He turned around and saw Xiao Ran walking out, holding the white banner, with the old man's head hanging from his waist.

Zhao Jiguang's scalp went numb.

The beggar had already left him severely weakened. Now another Night Ghost—one that seemed to be at least third tier—had appeared. Even he no longer had the confidence to keep fighting.

He instinctively reached for his walkie-talkie, only to remember that he had no idea where he'd dropped it.

The Red Skeleton stepped in front of Zhao Jiguang and waved at him.

"You're letting me go?"

Zhao Jiguang was stunned for a moment, then quickly understood what the Red Skeleton meant. After a brief hesitation, he clasped his hands toward it. "Thanks, brother. If you ever need anything, come find me on the sixth floor. I owe you big for this."

With that, Zhao Jiguang didn't dare linger. He turned and ran.

The Red Skeleton was clearly a summoned creature. There was no way to know how long it could hold the others off. If he ran too slowly, he might lose his life here.

Watching Zhao Jiguang disappear, Xiao Ran smiled in satisfaction. He quickly put the beggar's corpse into the space and recalled the Red Skeleton into the ring. After making sure he hadn't left anything behind, he hurried away and returned to his room on the second floor.

He shut and locked the door, then lay back down in the coffin.

A few minutes later, Xiao Ran sat up in the coffin again, his body restored to its original appearance.

"This time, I've made a killing. Never mind the [Soul Summoning Banner]—just the beggar's and the old man's bodies will be enough to raise my strength quite a bit."

With that thought, Xiao Ran began taking out everything he had collected that night.

That included the walkie-talkie Zhao Jiguang had lost.

First, he put the old man's head and body back together. Then he took out a sesame flatbread he had tossed into Micheng Space earlier and started chewing. His trip into Micheng had come unexpectedly, and he hadn't had time to prepare enough food.

Learning his lesson, he decided that once he returned to the real world, he would go on a grocery store shopping spree no matter what.

After eating the flatbread and regaining some strength, Xiao Ran turned around with a broad smile. He looked at the two corpses lying on the bed, and his smile grew wider and wider...

This chapter is nearly 4,000 characters long. It's a bit late, but at least there are enough words. Someone also reminded me not to let the story turn into a simplistic power fantasy as I wrote. Yes, I'll keep that in mind. This is a large instance, so the early part will stay lighthearted as things move along. The story will gradually get more tense as the instance progresses.