Substitute Death Ghost

The Magpie, having breathed its last, plummeted straight down from the branches of the Pomelo Tree, transforming into a man in a suit and leather shoes who hit the ground with a dull thud.

It was Zhang Yangxu.

Ning Zhe's consciousness felt slightly dazed, but he immediately understood what had just happened.

--The Ghost had killed the Magpie.

But hadn't the world where He Family Village resided shattered along with the death of the Snake God? Even if it hadn't shattered, why was that Magpie still alive?

A person who has already died cannot die a second time; otherwise, Ning Zhe would have arrived here directly in the identity of Zhang Yangxu.

But the fact that the Magpie had just taken a death in his stead—did this mean... it was still alive?

"Run."

After a momentary doubt, Ning Zhe quickly abandoned the line of thought that would yield no results in the short term; he could not afford to waste any more living identities that could be used for Substitute Death.

Ning Zhe's body transformed back into a bird that had already breathed its last, passing through the tree-lined path and flying into a lush garden filled with blooming Hydrangea.

The Ghost wandering through Bishuiwan Manor was far more ferocious than Ning Zhe had anticipated. Unlike Taiyi, who lacked the ability to kill, or the Snake God Zhaoyou, who specialized in Averting Bad Luck, the Ghost in the manor was essentially killing indiscriminately. Ning Zhe had lost a life just by getting close to it.

Fortunately, after killing the Magpie, the Ghost did not continue to pursue Ning Zhe. Sharp, piercing screams erupted from the distance behind him; the Ghost seemed to have gone off to hunt down others who were closer.

"Is the Killing Rule of the Ghost related to distance? Is it a direct or indirect relationship?"

Ning Zhe didn't have time to ponder further. He reverted to his original form and returned to the pavilion, grabbing Feng Yushu by the hand: "Let's go. We have to leave this place."

The Ghost in the manor was too vicious; merely approaching it had cost Ning Zhe a life. Ning Zhe was not a reckless man; he would only gamble his life and go all out when he was backed into a corner or truly had a plan he was confident in. Clearly, the current situation was neither.

With the rules of Taiyi at his disposal, he had plenty of ways to retreat.

"There is no need for me to fight this Ghost to the death here. Even if I truly must crack its secret, the more rational approach would be to first return to Ancient Tablet Town to acquire enough living identities to serve as substitutes. Only then can I test its Killing Rule without any worries."

Ning Zhe's mind was clear; he knew exactly what he needed to do now.

But Feng Yushu was far from being as rational as he was.

The manor was brightly lit, and the screams and cries had faded into the distance, leaving behind a mess of corpses scattered everywhere. Feng Yushu bit her lip, her eyes rimmed with red: "My, my daughter is still inside... I can't leave."

"What can you do if you stay here?" Ning Zhe let go of Feng Yushu's hand: "Become the next corpse killed by the Ghost?"

"...You're right, Ning Zhe. I am both cowardly and slow-witted; even if I stay here, I can't do anything." Feng Yushu's legs went weak, and she actually knelt down before Ning Zhe, her trembling hands clutching the hem of his clothes: "But you can do it, right? Ning Zhe, you must have a way, don't you... I beg you, please help me, will you? Help me save Azhi. You can ask me to do anything, anything I have, I will give it to you. Please... I really can't lose her..."

You haven't said a single word about your husband, have you...

Ning Zhe pried Feng Yushu's fingers, which were gripping his hem tightly, off his clothes and let out a breath: "In the past, you might have been able to move me with money, but I have no interest in money anymore."

To him now, so-called money was nothing more than a string of numbers.

Seeing Feng Yushu tremblingly reach her hand toward her own chest, he added: "The same goes for you."

Having said that, Ning Zhe didn't bother to argue with her any further. The youngster's body transformed into a Magpie once more, exiting the pavilion and flying toward the perimeter wall.

Until he acquired enough living identities, he would never put himself in danger again.

Watching Ning Zhe's figure disappear into the night, Feng Yushu covered her face with her hands, kneeling on the ground in despair and sobbing uncontrollably. Yet, after the breakdown, she used her hands to steady herself against the pavilion's pillar, forcing herself to stand up. She wiped away her tears and began walking back into the manor.

She had to reach her daughter no matter what, even if she died on the way.

But before she had taken more than a few steps, a nimble figure descended from the sky and landed beside her.

"Ning Zhe?!" Feng Yushu cried out with joy: "Did you come back to help me?"

"In a way, because I can't get out," Ning Zhe said nonchalantly: "This manor has been sealed."

The moment the Magpie Ning Zhe had transformed into flew toward the perimeter wall, it had struck an obstacle—an invisible wall, like a massive hemispherical dome inverted over the entire Bishuiwan Manor, trapping everything inside.

"I flew over the wall, but I didn't see the rushing Tao River outside the manor. There was only a brightly lit European-style castle flickering ahead—it was as if I had just walked in from the outside," Ning Zhe said softly: "You can interpret it as some kind of bizarre phenomenon similar to space folding. There is no way out of this manor anymore."

He stepped toward the Tao River outside the gate, only to find himself facing the Welcoming Avenue inside the gate the next moment. The space at the boundary of the manor had been folded; any movement "outward" was automatically bent back "inward."

"Let's go. We'll go find your daughter. Since she was able to dream of the scenes in He Family Village without ever having been to Ancient Tablet Town, perhaps she knows some information about this current situation," Ning Zhe said, transforming back into a Magpie and perching on Feng Yushu's shoulder: "Let's go."

"...Okay." Feng Yushu nodded quickly.

She could certainly see that Ning Zhe's actions were treating her as a scout, using her life to clear the path for him, but Feng Yushu gladly accepted Ning Zhe's cold and ruthless exploitation.

As long as it increased the hope of saving her daughter, she was willing to be used by Ning Zhe for anything, just as she had been in He Family Village.

Bishuiwan Manor was quite large, covering about one hectare. There were not many residents inside—only the family of Bai Fugui, some executives from the New Homeland Group, and the cleaning staff responsible for daily plant maintenance and trash removal.

Most of these people had been terrified out of their wits by the bizarre sight of the Evil Ghost killing and the corpses littering the ground, scattering in all directions. Most of them had fled to the other side of the manor, and according to Ning Zhe's previous observations, the Ghost seemed to have been drawn toward that side by the crowd.

"Hurry, while those people haven't been wiped out by the Ghost yet. You don't have much time left," Ning Zhe reminded her.

"Okay." Feng Yushu supported the Magpie standing on her shoulder with one hand and jogged along the wall, entering the European-style castle at the center of the manor.

"No need to support me, I can stand steady," Ning Zhe reminded her again.

"Okay!" Feng Yushu quickly let go, took off her high heels, carried them in her hand, and continued running forward with her bare feet.