After listening to my master’s words, my gaze fell upon the mother and child ghosts.
Master was right, one had to take their own lamp oil.
These two foul things were never good, and they had almost caused my demise last night.
Keeping them around would only harm others in the future.
Now that they were injured by Master and trembling in the corner, it was the perfect opportunity to seize their ghostly lifespans.
And I, too, had come to understand Master’s intentions.
I was a person with a special fate, one whose "great luck" had been consumed by foul things.
If I wanted to live, I had to continuously seize the lifespans of ghosts, adding to my own lamp oil and gradually restoring my fortune.
Now that I had entered this line of work and taken up this bowl of food from the underworld,
My future was destined to involve dealing with foul things.
Master could not always help me or save me.
If I wanted to be independent, I had to face my fears, be ruthless, and grow on my own.
With this thought, a cold expression appeared on my face:
"Master, rest assured, I understand your intentions!"
Hearing my reply, Master smiled with satisfaction.
He said nothing, merely placed a hand on my shoulder, offering encouragement.
Then, holding his pipe, he uttered, "Hurry up," and turned to leave the room.
As soon as Master left, I pulled out the Eight Trigram Mirror and the fox claw from my pocket.
The mother and child ghosts feared my Master, but they did not fear me.
As soon as Master had left, the mother and child ghosts in the corner stopped trembling.
Their expressions once again became ferocious, their heads slightly bowed.
Their pair of pitch-black eyes stared fixedly at me.
Their mouths parted slightly, splitting towards their ears, revealing serrated teeth.
Their blood-red tongues slowly extended.
Making a "sizzling" licking sound.
Not only that, but the two ghosts began to move forward, emerging from the shadows of the corner.
The room grew even colder.
"If I eat you, I can reincarnate!"
The disfigured female ghost suddenly spoke.
Her tongue flicked back and forth, appearing ravenous.
The little female ghost beside her let out a piercing scream at me.
Opening a mouth full of sharp teeth, she lunged forward first, ferociously.
The disfigured female ghost followed closely behind.
Raising a pair of sharp ghost claws, she swiped at me.
In an instant, I felt a wave of icy chill wash over me.
Looking at their terrifying forms, although my heart was uneasy, I knew I had to walk this path myself.
My life had to be found by myself.
No matter how dangerous, I had to brave the storm.
With this conviction, I gritted my teeth and raised the Eight Trigram Mirror, shining it upon them.
The mirror’s surface flashed, and an invisible beam of Taoist light vibrated.
The little female ghost, startled, stopped abruptly and raised her hands to shield her face.
I kicked out, sending the little female ghost staggering back.
Seeing the mother ghost lunging, I dodged slightly.
With my other hand, I raised the fox claw and thrust it towards the disfigured female ghost’s arm.
Although the female ghost had been heavily injured by Master, she still possessed considerable attack power and speed.
Her claw swiped down.
With a "rip," a bloody gash appeared on my arm, my clothes torn.
She had narrowly missed my neck.
The tearing pain shot straight to my core.
To survive, I was willing to go all out.
Enduring the pain, I thrust the fox claw in my hand directly into the female ghost's arm.
"Ah!"
The female ghost cried out in pain, abruptly retracting her hand.
Clutching her arm, she stumbled backward repeatedly.
At this moment, I couldn't afford to worry about anything else. I moved forward swiftly.
Focusing on the female ghost, I prepared to deal with her first.
The remaining disfigured little female ghost was not a significant threat.
I chanted along: Guanshiyin Bodhisattva, practicing the profound Prajnaparamita...
Master had said I had a keen mind and a connection to Buddha.
The Buddhist scriptures I recited had a certain killing power.
The little female ghost, who had been about to pounce on me, felt her head split with pain.
Her body swayed, and she fell to the ground, writhing and screaming hoarsely:
"Ah! It hurts, my head hurts, it hurts..."
The disfigured female ghost also found it unbearable, her actions already affected.
Having witnessed the might of the fox claw earlier, she could only retreat and evade as I thrust again.
Besides the fox claw, I also shone the Eight Trigram Mirror at the female ghost.
As the Eight Trigram Mirror illuminated her face, it felt as if it were burning, emitting a "sizzling" sound and a wisp of black smoke.
The pain forced the female ghost to retreat further, trying to avoid the mirror’s gaze and began to dodge.
After two rounds, I had gained the upper hand.
Chanting Buddhist scriptures with one hand while continuously attacking with the Eight Trigram Mirror and the fox claw,
In a flash, I had cornered the female ghost.
With nowhere left to retreat, the female ghost could only open her mouth wide and let out a roar.
Enduring the illumination of the Eight Trigram Mirror,
She suddenly lunged at me, knocking me to the ground, and opened her mouth to bite my face.
Seeing those full of sharp teeth, if I were truly bitten on the head, my entire face could be torn off.
At this critical juncture, I raised the fox claw and thrust it upwards.
It directly pierced her neck.
The female ghost cried out in pain, raising her head in agony, letting out a mournful "woe woe."
She had come agonizingly close to biting my nose.
Only her red tongue flicked back and forth in her mouth, brushing against my face...
I pushed her away forcefully, knocking the female ghost down.
The female ghost clutched her wounded neck, groaning incessantly.
Chanting Buddhist scriptures, I directly counterattacked.
Raising the Eight Trigram Mirror, I slammed it onto the female ghost’s forehead, preparing to kill her.
But at this moment, the disfigured little female ghost, who had been rolling on the ground covering her ears, suddenly spat out a long tongue, entangling my hand holding the Eight Trigram Mirror.
Like a toad, she sprawled on the ground with all four limbs, pulling backward.
Her strength was immense, preventing me from bringing down the Eight Trigram Mirror.
My expression turned cold, and I used the fox claw to stab her tongue from behind, pulling downward.
With a "rip," her long tongue was cut in half by me.
The little female ghost screamed in terror, her mouth agape, as pain surged through her. She abruptly released her tongue from my arm.
As soon as the little female ghost’s tongue was released,
I turned my head, staring at the disfigured female ghost, who was still groaning "woe woe" and trying to get up while clutching her neck.
I brought the Eight Trigram Mirror down onto her forehead, forcing her back to the ground. Her forehead emitted a "sizzling" sound, as if frying, and wisps of black smoke billowed out.
The disfigured female ghost trembled violently, her face contorted with pain.
Her pitch-black eyeballs were almost bulging out, completely losing her ability to act.
Finally, with a "bang," she exploded before me, turning into a puff of black smoke...