The Missing Page

It was Master's voice!

Zheng Que snapped back to his senses, immediately realizing that there was nothing wrong with his Ghost Controlling Technique; the problem lay in his own spiritual blood.

Thinking of this, he quickly turned around, bowed toward the dilapidated temple, and replied respectfully, "Thank you for your guidance, Master!"

After speaking, Zheng Que thought for a moment, raised the palm inscribed with the character, and aimed it once more at the Female Hanging Ghost. In a low voice, he commanded, "Return!"

The moment the words left his lips, he curled his five fingers into a cage. The Female Hanging Ghost instantly transformed into a beam of blood-red light and vanished into his palm.

Zheng Que felt as if he were clutching a wisp of freezing gas—intangible and formless, yet the chill seeped straight into his bones.

He nodded slightly. The incantation could recall the Resentful Soul, which meant his Ghost Controlling Technique had been executed successfully; it was just that this Resentful Soul, the Female Hanging Ghost, was too weak during the daylight hours.

Seeing that Master had no further instructions, Zheng Que bowed to the temple once more before taking his leave.

A short while later, he returned to his living quarters.

Just as before, Zheng Que quickly opened the door, stepped inside, and threw the bolt shut behind him.

The room was exactly as he had left it: the stove was cold, and the floor was littered with miscellaneous items that had been shoved aside to clear a path. The entire space was in a state of disarray.

Zheng Que paid no mind to this. He walked straight into the inner chamber, arranged his shoes neatly, and quickly sat cross-legged on the bed to begin his cultivation.

Master had just told him that his spiritual blood contained too much yang energy, which the Resentful Soul could not withstand during the day. If he wanted to capture another Resentful Soul to practice his Ghost Controlling Technique, he would have to operate at night.

Although many Lonely Ghost and Wild Spirits wandered this small town during the day, as long as one remained vigilant and kept their distance, they could generally avoid them without incident.

But once night fell...

Ghosts ran rampant, and all manner of evil spirits mingled among them. For an ordinary person, stepping outside meant death!

The survival wisdom passed down through generations in Changfu Town was simple: you must return home before dark! Furthermore, once home, you must bolt the doors and windows tight, make as little noise as possible, and no matter what sounds you hear in the night, you must never investigate. Pretend you know nothing, and even after dawn breaks, you must not utter a single word about it.

This was the reason why, even when the Call-Sound Ghost had practically tried to tear the house down, the neighbors had shown no reaction and had not even bothered to ask about it.

Although Zheng Que was now a cultivator in the Qi Refining Realm, going out at night remained extremely dangerous.

Therefore, he had to improve his cultivation and strength as much as possible.

While lost in thought, Zheng Que's mind sank into that chaotic space, focusing on capturing wisps of icy, frigid air...

Time ticked away. Half an hour later, Zheng Que seemed to sense something. He opened his eyes and saw that dilapidated Wide Hall once again.

It was just as before: he was sitting on a limping grandmaster chair, and the Life and Death Book lay open on the mottled long table.

At that moment, Zheng Que suddenly felt a strange sensation in the palm of the hand he had used to draw the character. Instinctively, he opened his palm, and the cold, soft sensation suddenly transformed into a beam of blood-red light that darted out from his hand.

Whoosh!

The blood-colored light moved as fast as lightning, instantly fleeing toward the main entrance of the Wide Hall.

However, at that very moment, new characters continuously appeared in the blank space of the Life and Death Book before Zheng Que: "...Qing Li. Place of origin: Tu Prefecture of the Great Li Dynasty... Lifespan: exactly sixteen years, died by hanging at the hour of the rat."

The next moment, the blood-colored light jerked to a halt, as if it had instantly lost all its strength, and fell directly to the ground, transforming into a slender girl in white with a graceful figure.

Her long hair remained disheveled, obscuring her face so that her features could not be seen clearly.

Watching this sudden turn of events, Zheng Que was slightly stunned, but he quickly realized that this dilapidated Wide Hall space had an effect similar to the night!

Resentful Souls could not withstand his spiritual blood during the day, but in this dilapidated Wide Hall space where cold winds swirled, they could.

Besides that...

Zheng Que looked at his palm. The pattern on his hand, which looked like a mix of an insect and a bird and carried an ancient aura, had seemed like a mere character in the real world that he couldn't identify. But in this space... it was the character for "Command"!

This character was of the same type as the special script on the Life and Death Book!

Thinking of this, Zheng Que looked at the girl in white. She lay weakly on the ground, her thin body appearing so frail that she couldn't even stand up.

Zheng Que did not hesitate. He flipped his palm toward the girl and shouted, "Du!"

The moment the Ghost Controlling Technique was unleashed, the Female Hanging Ghost, who had been unable to move on the ground, seemed to regain her strength and instantly leaped straight up!

A cold wind swept across the hall, blowing back her thick hair and revealing a pale, beautiful face. With arched brows, almond eyes, a delicate nose, and cherry lips, perhaps because she was too thin, her waist was slender enough to be encircled by a hand. Her entire frame was as thin as paper, and her furrowed brows gave her a poignant, graceful charm. However, her blood-red eyes were filled with intense killing intent and hatred.

After glancing around quickly, as if unable to find any target to attack, the Female Hanging Ghost slowly turned her head and looked at Zheng Que on the main seat with a bewildered expression.

The Ghost Controlling Technique could be used!

Observing the behavior of the Female Hanging Ghost, Zheng Que couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Going out at night was too dangerous. Since this Female Hanging Ghost was fine for now, he wouldn't have to go out tonight.

Thinking of this, Zheng Que shifted his gaze away from the Female Hanging Ghost and began to study the Life and Death Book before him.

The Life and Death Book was currently still on the first page. There were thirty-seven names in total; the first was his own, the last line was the name of the Female Hanging Ghost, Qing Li, and the remaining thirty-five were the resentful spirits that made up the Call-Sound Ghost.

Zheng Que reached out, turned the page, and looked at the second page.

The second page was blank; the slightly yellowed paper was empty, with nothing on it.

He flipped to the third page, the fourth page...

Soon, Zheng Que discovered that only the first page of the Life and Death Book had writing; all the other pages were empty.

Not only that, but when he flipped to the ninth page, he found that there was nothing left behind it. Only a few traces remained on the spine, and all the remaining pages had been torn out!

Seeing this, Zheng Que frowned. This Life and Death Book was an artifact of the underworld; if nothing else, it should have originally recorded the names and lifespans of all living beings in the world.

However, for reasons unknown, the Life and Death Book had become an empty volume, and countless pages had been torn from it...

While lost in thought, Zheng Que flipped the Life and Death Book back to the first page. His gaze settled on the thirty-five names that made up the Call-Sound Ghost.

If that Female Hanging Ghost from under the palace could appear in this dilapidated Wide Hall space, why couldn't these thirty-five resentful spirits?

Was it because the yin energy of the Call-Sound Ghost had already been scattered by him in the real world?

Just as he was pondering this, a voice filled with terror and a hint of sluggishness suddenly reached his ears: "M-my lord, this humble woman is innocent!"