"Haha! Where do you think you're going? It took me long enough to find a ghost. If I let you get away now, how could I still call myself a Ghost Sorcerer?"
Beneath the night sky, Shu Yunwen rode his trusty steed—a secondhand little scooter—racing along the sidewalk after it.
On either side of the sidewalk, beneath the bright streetlights, Shu Yunwen wore a smile. But paired with his appearance—he was clearly in his early twenties, yet looked like a middle-aged man in his fifties—it came off as rather sleazy. If a little girl from kindergarten happened to walk by, she would surely shrink behind her mother in fear and yell, "There's a pervert!"
That was right. Shu Yunwen looked just like those sleazy middle-aged men who were a staple of movies and TV dramas. And that was exactly why he had remained a sorcerer all this time.
There were a few pedestrians on the sidewalk. Shu Yunwen carefully avoided them, and they avoided him in turn.
Up ahead, in Shu Yunwen's eyes, a hazy, smoke-like mass was drifting along. Every so often, it would coalesce into a face that glanced back in panic.
That smoky thing up ahead was Shu Yunwen's target.
A ghost.
A newly born ghost, just killed moments ago.
Shu Yunwen was a sorcerer, part of a Ghost Sorcerer lineage passed down through his family.
The Ghost Sorcerers of his line focused their cultivation and spells on ghosts. And the best "tools" for their cultivation were newly born ghosts of people who had been killed.
When they encountered a newly born ghost like this, Shu Yunwen's family had a Sorcerous Curse called "Judgment." Through Judgment, the souls of evil ghosts were annihilated, while good ghosts were purified. Then they could obtain a mysterious, wondrous energy to nourish themselves and grow stronger, while also gathering some Sorcerous Power to cast simple spells.
Of course, after becoming a Ghost Sorcerer, if one went too long without being nourished by the mysterious energy of newly born ghosts, one would suffer the backlash of a curse, and one's appearance would grow increasingly old.
That was the main reason Shu Yunwen, despite being only in his early twenties, looked like a man in his fifties.
Besides newly born ghosts, Shu Yunwen could also absorb ordinary ghosts who had died of illness, as well as ghosts formed from dead animals. But the side effect was still the same: he would grow older and older. That was why Shu Yunwen was chasing this newly born ghost so relentlessly.
Looking like a fifty-year-old man... he'd had more than enough!
If he didn't absorb a newly born ghost soon, he figured he'd start looking like someone's grandpa.
Apparently, this newly born ghost had been an online fugitive. While committing a robbery, he'd been spotted by a passing police officer. He was eventually cornered in a small alley, where he took a hostage and confronted the police. Then a SWAT officer shot him in the head...
Shu Yunwen liked ghosts formed from the deaths of evil people best!
The ghosts of evil people held twice as much energy as those of good people.
The little scooter sped up again. The distance between Shu Yunwen and the "smoke" ahead had shrunk to less than ten meters—close enough for him to cast a curse and pull the ghost over.
He chanted the Sorcerous Curse. About five or six seconds later, the "smoke" let out a scream. The pedestrians nearby heard it and instinctively turned to look around, trying to find out who was yelling like that.
The "smoke" drifted slowly toward Shu Yunwen, a smile on his face.
Just then, a car by the roadside suddenly barreled toward him and slammed straight into Shu Yunwen and his little scooter. In an instant, both man and scooter were sent flying. They traveled more than twenty meters through the air before Shu Yunwen hit the ground first, followed by the scooter crashing down on top of him and falling over to one side. Even the scooter's footrest went flying.
The car continued hurtling forward before crashing into a utility pole beside Shu Yunwen and finally coming to a stop.
"So I really was flying just now..." Shu Yunwen coughed blood from his mouth. His injuries were too severe, and his consciousness was already beginning to blur. Though he had caught the "smoke" in his hand, it seemed on the verge of slipping away. "...Too bad I didn't get to fly for long. I'd hoped to experience what it really felt like to fly through the air once my sorcery reached its full potential..."
The airbags in the BMW had deployed. Three young men with flushed faces and reeking of alcohol climbed out of the back seat and dragged out the people from the driver's and front passenger's seats—two more drunks.
Thanks to the airbag, the driver hadn't been hurt. But the scare had sobered him up considerably. Seeing Shu Yunwen lying on the ground not far away, he started yelling, "What the hell are you doing lying there? Faking it to scam me? Not a chance! My dad is XXX! I've got people at the police station and the traffic bureau. What the hell are you pretending for? Get up! Hurry up and get lost!"
The onlookers gathered at a distance, pointing and whispering.
Someone took out a phone and started recording.
Blood kept pouring from Shu Yunwen's mouth, but suddenly he felt a surge of strength in his body.
It was the death throes.
The abilities of a Ghost Sorcerer kept him from dying while unconscious. At least he could remain clearheaded before his death.
Opening his eyes, Shu Yunwen looked at the arrogant, drunken young man a few meters away and asked coldly, "You act so tough. Does your family know?"
"Ha! I knew you were faking it!" The drunk young man was still swaggering. "You all saw it! There's nothing wrong with him!"
"Exactly! Exactly! He's perfectly fine!"
"That's ketchup you're spitting up, right? Quit acting, you idiot!"
"Get up and get lost! If you don't, you'd better believe I'll find someone to deal with your whole family!"
"..."
The four other young men beside the drunk were just as intoxicated. They joined in with the threats and insults, not feeling the slightest bit that they had done anything wrong.
Shu Yunwen coolly looked over their faces one by one, then said softly, "Has no one ever told you never to mess with a sorcerer, especially one who's about to die?"
As his words fell, Shu Yunwen suddenly spoke again. "Ghost Sorcery—Ghost Claw!"
In an instant, a cold wind seemed to sweep through the area. The "smoke" in Shu Yunwen's hand shot free, wrapped around the utility pole that had been knocked loose by the car, and suddenly swung it toward the five drunken young men who were still shouting.
The utility pole seemed to be taking aim. It bounced back and forth, striking all five men on the head in succession before crushing them beneath it. Current surged through the snapped wires. Sparks burst from all five bodies, turning them into charred husks.
The onlookers were all left staring in shock.
Some of the quicker ones had already edited their videos and posted them to their social media feeds.
News of rich brats drunk-driving into someone, mouthing off, then immediately getting crushed and electrocuted by a utility pole would attract plenty of attention.
As for Shu Yunwen, once he saw that all five men were dead, he chanted a Sorcerous Curse and crushed all five of their souls. His consciousness began to blur again.
"This time, I really am going to die..."
His eyes slowly closed. Darkness filled his vision.
"His hand moved! It moved! He's breathing! He's alive! Prepare for surgery, now!"
In a daze, Shu Yunwen seemed to hear someone speaking. They weren't speaking Chinese, but he could understand them.
And hadn't he already died? Was someone... operating on him?
"The operation was a success. Now it depends on his will to live. If he wakes up within three days, everything should be all right. It's a pity. We only managed to save one of the family of three..."
What family of three?
He'd been the only one who got hit, hadn't he?
"It's been two days. There's very little activity in his brain, and he may never wake up. So please prepare yourselves."
"It's the eighth day. Are you sure you want to keep caring for him? It will seriously affect your lives..."
"The patient's condition is very poor. He needs a second operation. Honestly, it's remarkable that he's survived for two years. We'll do everything we can."
"I'm very sorry. We've done everything we can. Multiple organs have failed, and his life is coming to an end. He should die within the next half hour. Of course, perhaps that would be better for all of you—and for him..."
Dead?
Who was dead?
Shu Yunwen used every ounce of his strength to open his eyes and see what was around him.
Through the haze, he saw a man in pale green, two nurses in white uniforms, a square-faced man with big eyes, a chubby woman sobbing, and a chubby little kid... And blinding lights.
They were still talking, while Shu Yunwen's hoarse voice came out in a rasp:
"I... didn't... die..."
Everyone turned to look at Shu Yunwen. After a moment of silence—
"Get the adrenaline ready! Prepare for surgery again! He's awake! He's awake!"
Then all hell broke loose.
Before you continue