Chapter 38: Chapter 38: Demon Transformation Revisited
Believing that Wu Chang could genuinely communicate with vengeful spirits, Liu Wu decided to reveal everything that had happened.
The matter traces back to two and a half years ago, to that black-skinned foreign monk who enabled the escape of evil spirits.
They once sparred with the black-skinned monk, whose muscles were as hard as iron, impervious to blades and bullets, with extraordinary strength to easily suppress two people.
Yet, such a powerful black-skinned monk was easily slain by a demon in front of them.
From then on, the two brothers understood one thing: human power has its limits.
To defeat demons, one must become an existence beyond the ordinary.
Although the two brothers didn’t find a certain stone ghost mask, they did find a book of cultivation techniques more than a year ago while hunting a Dangling Eyes Fierce Tiger in the mountain.
Ghost-Controlling Technique.
This technique allows the practitioner to sacrifice a living person to turn them into a ghost servant, which the practitioner can then command.
The stronger the deceased, the stronger the ghost servant.
So the two attacked outsiders like Wu Chang, tying them up in Ghost Cry Forest to interrogate them for their cultivation techniques.
If they couldn’t explain their techniques or if their effects were inferior to the Ghost-Controlling Technique, they were cruelly killed and buried under the trees in the forest.
Before burying them, they extracted a drop of the victim’s heart blood, fusing it into a magical artifact, allowing them to control the victim-turned ghost servant.
The magical artifact is a mask divided in half vertically like a Tai Chi symbol, with Liu Wei and Liu Wu each holding half.
As long as they wore the mask, they could freely enter and exit Ghost Cry Forest and command the ghost servants within.
"Where is the book of techniques you found?" Wu Chang asked.
Having already confessed so much, Liu Wu saw no point in holding back and replied truthfully:
"My brother and I each have half a volume, and I keep mine in my chest."
Wu Chang took out half the book from Liu Wu’s chest, only glanced at it, and wore an expression one might have when looking at a senior citizen’s phone on the subway.
Pointing at the book full of ghost talisman-like scripts, he incredulously asked, "You can understand this stuff?"
He felt his intelligence was insulted; if there were just a few more pictures, he might’ve believed Liu Wu a little more.
Liu Wu said, "At first we didn’t understand, but after soaking the tiger’s heart in wine, my brother and I were able to read it."
Really tough to believe, even if Liu Wu wanted to lie to him, he wouldn’t make up something so absurdly outrageous, so he listened as if it were true.
Yet even so, there were still some points that didn’t make sense.
He continued to ask, "Then why did you dispatch ghost servants to attack Liu Ning?"
Liu Wu: "According to the book, only by combining the two mask halves into one can the technique reach completion. Merging the two halves requires a strong master ghost capable of embodying the complete magical artifact. Our initial target was the village’s evil spirit."
"Now, when the evil spirit is at its weakest, we can swallow it by holding the year-end sacrificial ceremony early. But if we delay another month, the evil spirit will fully recover, and the ghost servants will find it hard to win."
"Uncle Shan has been blocking us from holding the year-end ceremony early, so we must find a way to make him step aside."
Curious, Wu Chang asked, "If removing the evil spirit once and for all is possible, Liu Shan might agree. Haven’t you thought about negotiating with him?"
Liu Wu shook his head, "Some techniques are not passed on lightly, and the mask created by the technique is only in two halves."
Such a convincingly reasonable excuse.
Wu Chang looked Liu Wu up and down, "Judging by your appearance, you seem ready to go out. What are you planning to do?"
Liu Wu’s face showed a trace of embarrassment, "For the technique to reach completion, a strong master ghost is required; it could be an evil spirit, or it could be you."
"My brother is soft-hearted, thinking of the village and wanting to wait until after the year-end ceremony to act. I fear too many variables, so I’m prepared to act quietly on my own."
Wu Chang looked at the time in the sky, realizing it was getting late, so he hastened his inquiry.
"What exactly is the evil spirit?"
"I can’t say for sure; once you see the core of the year-end ceremony with your own eyes, you’ll naturally understand."
Even as Liu Wu revealed his greatest secret without reservation, when it came to the evil spirit, his words were instead slightly evasive.
"I’ve said all I needed to say, now you should fulfill your promise."
Wu Chang removed Liu Wu’s mask, patted Liu Wu’s shoulder, and quietly said:
"I promised to let you go, and of course, I will keep my word, but how to convince them to let you go, that’s up to you to figure out."
Saying that, he walked away holding the mask towards the forest’s edge.
Without the mask’s shelter, Liu Wu only felt the surrounding temperature plummet, realizing something, he panicked instantly, shouting:
"Wait, you..."
Before the words were fully spoken, his tongue suddenly exploded, his intended words turning into pitiful sobbing.
The whole forest was filled with a gust of wind, with the howling seeming like cries and laughter, eerily haunting.
Half an hour later, the half mask in Wu Chang’s hand slightly moved, revealing its attribute panel as it became an ownerless item.
"Item Name: Demon Transformation - Human Face (Black)."
"Item Type: Dungeon Item."
"Artifact Level: D."
"Item Skills: Ghost-Controlling."
"By sacrificing one’s own essence blood, one can control the refined ghost servants within the mask."
"Item Description: Combining with Demon Transformation - Human Face (White) unlocks item combination skills."
Demon Transformation?
Wu Chang looked at the prefix of the mask’s name, his expression turning increasingly odd.
He remembered the Chen Family Village’s magical artifact that turned people into fog demons was also called Demon Transformation.
The artifact that Liu Wei and Liu Wu had been using was Demon Transformation, but when Liu Wu mentioned the artifact’s abilities, he only knew that combining the two halves would merge the artifact, granting the wielder its power, without realizing it would transform them into a demon.
Was it intentionally concealed, or did they truly have no clue?
Maybe Liu Wei would provide him with an answer.
He donned the mask, discovering the light red trails scattered across the forest, which turned into grotesquely blurred ghost servants.
The ghost servants gathered around with eager expressions, whispering as they had during their first meeting:
"Help me..."
"Liberate me..."
"Exorcise me..."
After finding the core of the grudge’s gathering, he saw their blood-colored wills.
The content was just as he had guessed, precisely what the blood-red meatball screamed last.
[Give it back to me!]
They wanted to reclaim their stolen heart blood, break free from being ghost servants, and restore their freedom.
He took off the mask, quietly saying, "Wait a bit longer, now is not the time."
Currently, he had only half the mask; the other half was still in Liu Wei’s possession.
God knows if tossing this half of the mask to the ghost servants would partially free them or lead to collective chaos.
Moreover, holding onto this half mask would be very useful in the future.
After disposing of the pixelated Liu Wu in Ghost Cry Forest and ensuring no trace was left, he returned to Spring Comes Mountain.
The village guard sat on a cushion, grinning foolishly at an old spring locust tree.
Seeing Wu Chang return, the village guard immediately stood up and retrieved half a roasted chicken served in bark from beneath the offering table.
Wu Chang patted the village guard’s head, saying, "It’s all yours."
"Things will get messy these days, lay low and don’t go back to the village. If there’s any trouble, ask your friends to find me."
As the sun set, the sky darkened, and torches and lanterns lit up within Huai Valley Village.
Liu Shan gathered some people in charge of the village, and as they were about to discuss how to prepare for the ceremony, in rushed Liu Jinfu, urgently saying:
"Uncle Shan, Hero Wu has returned!"
Everyone’s faces lit up with surprise, and Liu Shan asked first: "What happened, did Hero Wu encounter danger on the way? Don’t be in a rush to open the village gates, and make sure."
Liu Jinfu shook his head, "No, Hero Wu has returned with the palace lantern!"
"What?!"
Five minutes later, everyone followed Liu Jinfu, arriving to see a bright and splendid red flame moving swiftly through the darkness.
As the light spread, darkness and demons alike retreated simultaneously, the proximity filling them with dread.
Amidst the crowd, only Liu Wei’s face showed a range of emotions, as if contemplating the shocking truth of a heavenly star lord shattering the night.