Humans are humans, ghosts are ghosts

All the students held their breath, staring blankly at Jiang Chen.

He had just strolled forward, casually picked up a bottle of water, and crushed it. With his palm loosely cupped, the splashing water had flowed backward and gathered into a sphere. Then he had killed the Ghost Infant with a single slap.

The entire sequence had flowed seamlessly, all in one breath!

His calm yet domineering manner set the girls' hearts fluttering and filled the boys' eyes with longing.

Zhao Erhu took a deep breath, and the pale golden light around him slowly faded.

He walked over and glanced at Jiang Chen's left forearm, his expression darkening slightly. "My fault for not warning you in time. Ghost Refining Sect members spend years nurturing ghosts with their own bodies, so they're even frailer than ordinary people. You've landed yourself in serious trouble!"

"Trouble?" Jiang Chen asked, glancing at the students nearby.

Knowing too much about certain things would do them no good.

Zhao Erhu understood and nodded. The two walked to the lakeside.

The female ghost was still bound in midair by streams of water, held in a humiliating pose.

"Ahem, Amitabha Buddha!" Zhao Erhu was a hot-blooded young man. The sight left his mouth a little dry, and he hurriedly invoked the Buddha's name and looked away.

At the same time, he gave Jiang Chen a strange look. Could this friend of mine be some kind of evil practitioner? Why were his methods so twisted and risqué?

"Do you know about the Dark Alliance?" Zhao Erhu asked.

Jiang Chen nodded. "I read a post about it yesterday, but I don't know much."

Some Unusual Persons believed that those with great power should stand completely above ordinary people.

To satisfy their desires, they relied on their supernatural abilities to commit crimes-rape, robbery, murder. There was no evil they would not commit.

Wanted by the Dao Alliance and the Netherworld, these people had spent a long time being hunted like vermin. To protect themselves, evil Unusual Persons from various countries had banded together to form the Dark Alliance.

The post Jiang Chen had read also mentioned that the Dark Alliance even had ties to a Ghost King. That crossed the lowest moral boundary of humanity.

Every few years, the official forces of various countries would join together for a major purge of the Dark Alliance.

Yet it had stubbornly survived.

For an ordinary Unusual Person, provoking the Dark Alliance was almost certain doom.

"It seems you've heard of the Dark Alliance, but you don't know about the Dark Alliance Blood Talisman. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been so impulsive." Zhao Erhu shook his head. "The talismans are issued by the Dark Alliance's headquarters to protect its valuable members."

"That includes promising talents, Unusual Persons with special abilities..."

"Zhang Xianhai was old, but he actually managed to refine a Ghost Infant. That kind of ghost slave is extremely powerful and has enormous potential. That's probably why he qualified for a blood talisman."

"So that's how it works." Jiang Chen nodded.

He knew Zhao Erhu was right.

Both were at the half-step vengeful ghost level, but the female water ghost had been too intimidated by Zhao Erhu to come ashore earlier. That meant his strength was exceptional for that level.

The Ghost Infant had fought him to a standstill. It really was far more vicious than an ordinary ghost.

"I've heard the elders at the temple say that the Dark Alliance Blood Talisman draws its power from a Ghost King. Below King level, it's almost impossible to erase!"

"Anyone marked by a blood talisman goes on the Dark Alliance's Hunting List. When a member kills someone on that list, they receive ten times the points. Dark Alliance Points are worth about as much as Underworld App points."

Zhao Erhu looked at Jiang Chen with worry in his eyes. "You're the same age as me, and you're already this strong. Killing you would probably be worth around three thousand Dark Alliance Points. Multiply that by ten, and it's thirty thousand."

"That's as much as a pseudo-B-rank expert is worth. Dark Alliance members below B rank will go crazy over it!"

"When you get back, seek protection from the family backing you as soon as possible."

Jiang Chen frowned after hearing that.

He wanted to seek protection too, but the problem was, he didn't have a damned powerful family behind him.

Jiang Che's only relative left in this world was probably Old Zhang. But he was just a body carrier at a funeral home, doing the most exhausting work that nobody wanted. What kind of backing could he possibly have?

Still, at least the price on my head isn't too high. Pseudo-B rank-that's half-step blood garment... Jiang Chen estimated that the power of a Two-Star Monster Transformation Card was at least at the vengeful ghost level.

Once he used Demon Transformation a few more times, or drew a Three-Star Monster Transformation Card, he would no longer have to fear the Dark Alliance hunting him down.

After all, anyone who would come to kill him for thirty thousand points couldn't be too powerful.

"Anyway, be careful when you go out for a while." With that, Zhao Erhu looked at the female ghost ahead. "She had a miserable life too."

"What do you mean?" Jiang Che could tell Zhao Erhu seemed to know something.

"Zhang Xianhai was using a forbidden method to help Zheng Shaoming erase the resentment clinging to him. If he needed that method, it means this female ghost died a horrible death at Zheng Shaoming's hands."

Jiang Che's pupils contracted slightly.

He had only thought Zheng Shaoming was arrogant and overbearing. He had never imagined that Zheng Shaoming had actually done something like this.

"Heh. Human nature can always sink lower than you imagine." Zhao Erhu patted Jiang Chen's shoulder, speaking like someone who had been through it all.

"Then how should we deal with her? Kill her outright, or let her get revenge first?" Jiang Chen asked.

At that, Zhao Erhu opened his mouth, looking stunned. "I thought you'd get all compassionate and want to let her go."

"And then you'd teach me another lesson?" Jiang Chen sneered.

"That was the idea." Zhao Erhu chuckled and scratched his head.

From their conversation, he had guessed that Jiang Chen had only recently entered the Unusual Person World. On a sudden impulse, he had wanted to show him the cruelty of the Ghost-Driving World.

But he hadn't expected Jiang Chen's thinking to be far more ruthless than his own!

"Back then, I was the one who failed to understand that." Zhao Erhu sighed, sounding wistful. "Jiang Chen, you must remember this: humans are humans, ghosts are ghosts!"

"Except in a few extremely unusual cases, if a ghost doesn't harm anyone within seven days, its soul will dissipate."

"And once it harms its first victim, no matter how kind or innocent it was in life, it's already become a monster."

"It sounds cruel, but this is a truth every Unusual Person must remember. If you don't, one day you'll pay for it in blood!"

Jiang Chen rarely saw Zhao Erhu this serious. He was usually quiet and simplehearted, but now he looked like a wounded lone wolf, his reddened eyes fixed on Jiang Chen as he spoke each word with deliberate emphasis.

"Erhu, you..."

Zhao Erhu waved a hand. "It's nothing. I failed to remember those words back then, and a senior fellow disciple paid the price for me-with his life."