"..."
Chu Qingjiu was speechless. He knew Qi Wu had an unusual constitution, but he had never imagined it was this unusual. They had barely been inside for any time at all, yet even the yin energy of the Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost and Ghost City itself could not conceal his abundant yang energy.
Now the measure he had planned to save until Wang Peiling's ghost appeared would have to be used early.
Chu Qingjiu's expression turned icy. "I never should have brought you."
"Big brother... you can't blame me for this."
Qi Wu blinked innocently as he slipped his fingers into his coat pocket.
The Red-Robed Vengeful Ghost looked entirely unconcerned. She was more than strong enough to deal with a Fiend Ghost; after all, she was one of the best among evil ghosts.
But there was really no reason for her to risk becoming a wanted fugitive in Ghost City just to clean up these two humans' mess.
If Chu Qingjiu was smart enough, he could abandon the boy radiating yang energy right now and be perfectly fine.
Chu Qingjiu had so much yin energy that even if he claimed to be alive, no ghost would believe him. He was only clinging to life by his last trace of yang energy.
Seeing a handsome male ghost with an extremely faint aura beside the living human, the Fiend Ghost warned him, "You, ghost. I'm in a good mood today, so hurry up and get away from that living human. Otherwise, I'll eat you too."
Chu Qingjiu did want to let go and leave, but Qi Wu had a tight grip on his hand. To make matters worse, Qi Wu gave him a deeply touched look and declared theatrically:
"Big brother, I'm so touched I could die! I never thought you'd refuse to let go even in a situation like this. I love you even more now, boo-hoo!"
"..."
His face cold, Chu Qingjiu struggled in vain. All he could do was move his right hand, which Qi Wu was not holding, and flick it backward.
When the Fiend Ghost saw that the handsome male ghost had no intention of leaving and was still holding the living human's hand tightly, it seemed to understand something. It snorted.
"So your love transcends life and death? Then I'll grant your wish and eat you both. You can reunite in my belly!"
With that, it lunged at Chu Qingjiu and Qi Wu, bringing a powerful gust of chilling wind that whipped their hair around.
Qi Wu sneered and drew a paper talisman from his pocket, holding it between his fingers.
He flung the talisman out, and it ignited in midair. When the scattered flames touched the Fiend Ghost's yin energy, they blazed even more fiercely, as though oil had been poured onto them.
"You know how to use talismans?"
Chu Qingjiu asked in puzzlement at the sight.
Talismans were exceedingly rare. Few people left in the world could write them, and there were probably even fewer who could control them.
If Qi Wu had entered this instance under his real identity and used talismans, Chu Qingjiu would not have found it strange. After all, Qi Wu was the Top-Ranked Player on the Player Rankings.
But Qi Wu's current identity was "Wu Qi," a player who had only completed four instances. Unless Qi Wu was revealing his true abilities, this had to be a skill "Wu Qi" already possessed.
And pulling that off was extremely difficult.
If Qi Wu also knew how to use talismans and had used them before, people would soon compare his movements and behavior with Wu Qi's. Unless Qi Wu had a split personality, it would be extremely easy to recognize them as the same person.
The instance's checks did not rely on faces. In effect, players were allowed to run instances on alternate accounts. After all, the more times an instance was cleared, the more energy it could obtain.
Besides, running instances on alternate accounts could improve new players' survival rates. That benefited the instance, so it usually turned a blind eye.
An instance would not allow two different identities to share the same distinctive trait. As far as it was concerned, an alternate identity was a real, separate person.
Just as no two people in the world were completely identical in every way.
But Qi Wu merely gave Chu Qingjiu an innocent smile and said matter-of-factly, "I know how to do plenty of things."
Chu Qingjiu glanced at Qi Wu, then looked away, turning his attention to the Fiend Ghost engulfed in flames.
The flames could not kill the Fiend Ghost, however. They could only hold it back for a while.
The wings on its back suddenly beat, stirring fierce gusts all around it. The flames were soon blown out.
It snorted two streams of foul air, its gaze growing even more vicious as it stared at the two figures.
It charged at Qi Wu like a maddened beast, intent on teaching him a lesson.
Qi Wu released Chu Qingjiu's hand and said gently, "Wait off to the side. I don't want you getting hurt."
Chu Qingjiu obligingly stepped back and became a spectator to Qi Wu's battle with the Fiend Ghost.
Qi Wu formed a hand seal, his brows drawn sharply together and his expression cold and stern. As he murmured something, the paper talismans in his hand obediently flew in front of him, forming an impenetrable shield that stopped the charging Fiend Ghost.
Watching Qi Wu stand still and let the talismans exorcise the ghost for him with nothing more than a few words and hand seals, Chu Qingjiu actually felt a little envious.
He also liked things that let him do anything with just a motion of his hand. After all, his body was weak, and he did not particularly want to move around.
"Make way for the Underworld Soldiers! Clear the road!"
The sound of hoofbeats suddenly came from afar, followed by a noisy commotion.
The Underworld Soldiers had come to arrest them.
Ghost City naturally had its own rules. Fighting and brawling were forbidden, and if anyone reported them to the Underworld Soldiers, they would have to serve time in Ghost City's prison.
"Qi Wu, the Underworld Soldiers are coming. Hurry, let's go."
He called out a warning to Qi Wu and turned to leave, only for his heart to give a sudden jolt. He realized he had called Qi Wu by his real name rather than his alias.
As a newcomer entering an instance for the first time, Chu Qingjiu should not have known that Qi Wu existed unless an experienced player had told him about his name and exploits.
Was his cover about to be blown?
Chu Qingjiu frowned at the thought.
"Big brother, what did you just say? The wind was too loud. I didn't hear you."
Only after trapping the Fiend Ghost with several talismans did Qi Wu ask.
The Fiend Ghost's wind howled fiercely, sweeping the stalls along the surrounding streets into the air and scattering them everywhere. They crashed to the ground in a chaotic heap, making an enormous racket.
"I said, let's leave first. The Underworld Soldiers are coming."
Chu Qingjiu readily answered.
The scene had been chaotic, and the approaching Underworld Soldiers' heavy hoofbeats added to the noise. His voice had not been particularly loud, so Qi Wu probably really had not heard him.
Qi Wu quickly returned to Chu Qingjiu's side, took his hand, and ran in the opposite direction from the approaching Underworld Soldiers. They would leave the Fiend Ghost as a gift for the soldiers to report as a job well done.
Rumble-
After they left, the Underworld Soldiers rode their tall, imposing ghost horses into the street the Fiend Ghost had wrecked. Looking at the Fiend Ghost trapped by the talismans, the underworld officer leading them said coldly:
"You have deliberately caused trouble in Ghost City, disregarded its laws, disrupted its order, and willfully blasphemed the gods. Cast this offender into Knife Mountain Hell to atone for these sins."
Before you continue