Though the pure Yin Power Ghost Tamers absorbed from ghost creatures was not utterly incompatible with daoist magic power, it was still worlds apart.
Yet a Tea Egg and a cup of soy milk could both enhance the consumer according to their constitution, making Chen Tianhua take them all the more seriously.
“These foods are like universal chargers,” Xia Tian remarked.
Chen Tianhua’s face twitched, but he could not bring himself to argue. What Xia Tian said was a fitting description of what these foods could do.
Xia Ling then said, “Why not let the buddhists and confucians, as well as the Demon Tamers, try them? If they really are universal, then this Shopkeeper will be even more valuable.”
Chen Tianhua nodded. “Let’s head back first. We need to discuss this further.”
He had never expected that a routine investigation would reveal a target far more valuable than he had anticipated.
Liu Feng had only seen the surface of things.
Inside the Snack Shop, the last stray Vengeful Soul had been ground into a cabbage—not too big, not too small.
With Ingredients on hand, Song Yu got busy too.
It was an hour later before he finally rested, brewed a cup of tea, and looked out at the Alley.
The Alley was indeed quite deep; he could not see the main road from here.
There were several snack shops along it, each selling different things, as well as two barbecue restaurants.
Aside from the shops on the first and second floors, the buildings on both sides were mostly residential.
Only the few places at the far end were like holdouts, still standing as two- or three-story buildings.
Song Yu’s own two-story shop was one of them.
“Should I come up with a name for the place? Aside from the big signs on the door advertising Steamed Buns and soy milk, the shop doesn’t even have a proper signboard.”
Song Yu looked up.
But for the moment, he really couldn’t think of a good name.
Vengeful Ghost Snack Shop?
If he put that up today, it would probably be shut down by tomorrow.
Feather Snack Shop?
That sounded kind of cutesy.
Half an hour later, Song Yu slapped his thigh.
“I’ll call it Song’s Snack Shop.”
Proud of the name he had come up with after exhausting countless brain cells, Song Yu immediately headed out to the advertising shop at the entrance to the Alley.
After a round of haggling and settling the details with the Boss, Song Yu was about to head back to his shop.
“Wooo… wooo…”
Suddenly, a series of shrill alarms rang out over the Alley.
“Why is the air-raid siren going off? I think the last time was last year, when a Grade A, Level Two supernatural incident broke out.”
“Exactly. Even if it’s not that serious, the alarm only sounds to warn us of a supernatural incident at Grade B, Level Two or higher.”
“This is bad! Hurry home and stay inside!”
Voices filled with confusion and then panic rang out one after another, leaving Song Yu stunned.
A Grade A, Level Two supernatural incident breaking out?
After standing there dazed for two seconds, he remembered the consequences of that supernatural incident he had read about online.
It had happened in Jingzhou City. The Special Affairs Bureau branches in Jingzhou and the surrounding cities had all sent reinforcements. Since the beginning of the Supernatural Revival, that incident had caused the greatest losses in Xia Nation.
Could a supernatural incident of that level happen in Liangcheng too?
If he had his timing right, Chen Tianhua and the other two had only just returned, hadn’t they?
Once he came to his senses, Song Yu turned and ran for his shop. Who knew how large this supernatural incident would be? His shop was the only safe place.
Thud…
A muffled grunt sounded. Song Yu’s nose throbbed, and his head swam, forcing him to stop.
He had run into someone.
But just a second ago, the space in front of him had been completely empty. There hadn’t been anyone there at all.
Dazed, Song Yu looked up at the person blocking his way. The moment he recognized him, his expression changed drastically.
“Grandpa?”
He stared blankly at the stooped old man before him. His hair was white, and he was looking at Song Yu with a kindly smile—so familiar.
It was the Grandpa he had depended on for survival before crossing over.
Had Grandpa crossed over too?
No, he hadn’t crossed over at all. Everything before this had been a delusion.
The familiar surroundings around him—the old rural home of his family, right in front of the gate.
Looking at that familiar face, Song Yu felt a wave of sorrow well up inside him.
He had spent two months in this ghost world without knowing a single person. Every day, he had to stay on guard for fear of being targeted by a ghost creature. He had nearly suffered a mental breakdown.
“Grandpa…”
His voice trembling with excitement, Song Yu walked toward the old man.
The old man’s smile grew even kinder.
He slowly held out his hand, as if welcoming his grandson home.
Song Yu hurried forward, his arms swinging awkwardly with excitement.
When he reached the old man, he suddenly reached beneath his jacket and pulled out a Cleaver.
Whoosh…
A flash of Blade Light gleamed. The smile froze on the old man’s face, then his entire body split open, from neck to waist.
Black mist tinged with crimson swirled around the gash, seemingly trying to repair the body.
But the wound left by the Cleaver showed no sign of healing.
And the Cleaver’s owner had no intention of standing there and watching it recover.
Whoosh, whoosh…
After several more slashes, the old man’s body was reduced to chunks, yet not a drop of blood spilled.
The body dissipated, leaving behind a mass of mist that twisted frantically. Terrifying roars came from within, but it could not coalesce into a proper form.
“This ghost creature really is hard to kill. An ordinary weapon probably wouldn’t even be able to hurt it.”
Song Yu studied the roaring Black Mist before him and sighed.
If he hadn’t been quick-witted and brought the Cleaver with him when he went out, he’d be in serious trouble now.
As he spoke, he took out a spatula and the Flour Bag.
It was perfectly normal for a cook to carry a few kitchen utensils around, wasn’t it?
The only reason he hadn’t strapped the big wok to himself was that it was too conspicuous.
Song Yu smacked the Black Mist before him several times with the spatula, scattering it before it slowly gathered again. Its screams weakened a little.
As he smacked it, he kept cursing.
“You think you can pretend to be my Grandpa, you bastard?”
“Who do you think you are, standing on the same street as me?”
He figured that if he stayed here and kept smacking it, after dozens of hits he might even beat its soul out of existence.
But what good would it do him to beat it out of existence?
Holding the Flour Bag, he spread its opening over the mass of Black Mist.
The screams cut off abruptly. Song Yu tucked the Flour Bag back into his pocket.
He had discovered that once a ghost creature was inside, it couldn’t get out, even if the bag was left open—unless he deliberately tipped it out.
And this ghost felt much stronger than a Vengeful Soul.
It might even be an Evil Ghost. That would be worth twenty times the points of a Vengeful Soul.
And the thing had pretended to be his Grandpa.
The person dearest to him.
But Grandpa had already been dead for more than two years before Song Yu crossed over. The sudden chill of the Cleaver just now had stopped him from falling into a wild delusion.
As he pondered, he was startled to find that his surroundings still looked like his Hometown.
“I suppose I should thank you for letting me see Grandpa and my Hometown again. This must be some kind of Illusory Realm, right?”
Song Yu muttered to himself, then could only steel himself and walk forward.
Since the surroundings hadn’t changed after he captured this ghost creature, that meant it wasn’t the key.
His vision seemed restricted; he couldn’t see very far. After walking for a while, he noticed the surroundings grow hazy and change.
It was as if he had passed through some kind of boundary. The surroundings suddenly became clear, but he had no time to take them in. He only saw a vehicle: a small pickup with two rows of seats, its bed loaded with fresh vegetables.
“Honey, don’t be afraid. I’ll protect you.”
Uncle Li from the vegetable shop next door stood by the car door, looking at the middle-aged woman in front of him and speaking with an excited expression.
The woman said nothing. She nodded and opened her arms.
Uncle Li slowly walked over and opened his arms too. They embraced.
“Ah…”
Just as they were about to touch, a piercing scream suddenly rang out, and they both drew back.
Uncle Li stumbled backward several steps and fell to the ground. He stared at the sudden change before him, stunned.
The middle-aged woman, however, was covered in cracks. Her skin vanished, and Black Mist streamed out, gradually forming a gigantic Ghostly Shadow over two meters tall. Four eyes lined its flattened head, glowing crimson as it looked at the woman’s phantom before it.
The woman’s phantom looked exactly like she had before.
“Roar…”
It let out a roar, spread its claws, and pounced.
“Honey, run!” Uncle Li came to his senses and charged toward the woman’s phantom.