The Ghost Hunt
Around them, specters began to materialize.
The shadows of these ghosts filled the doorway, crowding the already cramped restaurant.
What was once a modest dining establishment now felt overwhelming, its space packed with spirits.
"One… two… four… five… seven…"
Feng Mingyu casually counted, her eyes scanning.
At least a dozen ghosts filled the room.
If they were regular, everyday spirits, she wouldn't have been so concerned.
But these, these were all dangerous, second-tier ghosts—known as the "Perilous-level" variety.
Feng Mingyu herself was a second-tier Ghost Tamer, and the sheer number of these Perilous-level spirits made her furrow her brow.
Instinctively, she inched closer to Mo Lin.
"You're not afraid of ghosts, are you?" Mo Lin asked, his tone tinged with confusion.
"I'm not," Feng Mingyu replied, puffing her chest out in an attempt to appear unshaken. She stood tall, proud.
Suddenly, a shiver coursed through her.
What unfolded before her eyes sent a chill through her entire being.
An eyeball rolled across the floor, and a blood-soaked arm slowly retrieved it.
The arm brought the eyeball to its mouth and chewed it with a sickening crunch.
A woman's ghost, her hair disheveled and dripping with blood, appeared, hovering in the air.
At the mere sight of her, Feng Mingyu's mind was flooded with alien memories—horrific visions of violent deaths, unbidden and overwhelming.
"Ugh..." The intensity of the mental assault was too much to bear.
She sank to her knees, vomiting violently.
All the food she had consumed earlier spilled out of her.
Her pupils dilated in terror, her body shaking uncontrollably.
Her face twisted in a silent scream.
The fear she felt was not physical but entirely mental, an overwhelming terror beyond her control.
"A Nightmare-tier..."
Indeed, the ghost before her was a Nightmare-tier spirit.
Feng Mingyu never thought she would encounter such a formidable entity.
A Nightmare-tier ghost…
Dead... we're dead... doomed…
She whispered to herself, her voice laced with hopelessness.
Mo Lin, however, remained unfazed, his response eerily calm.
Ghosts were nothing new to him.
Without a word, he grabbed Feng Mingyu by the collar and roughly flung her aside.
"You..." Feng Mingyu was about to protest when she saw the deep pit where Mo Lin had been crouching moments ago.
The Nightmare-tier ghost had launched its attack during her brief lapse.
If Mo Lin had not acted in time, she would never have reacted in time. She would have been gravely injured.
"This... this…" Feng Mingyu gasped.
The environment around them shifted violently.
What was once the warm, cozy restaurant transformed into an open cemetery.
A terrifying wind howled, swirling the earth.
Suddenly, tombs cracked open, and skeletal arms shot out from the soil.
Corpses rose from their graves, the stench of decay overwhelming the air.
Feng Mingyu could only feel disgust.
This sight was beyond terrifying.
"Don't panic… these are just illusions, probably caused by the ghost's abilities," Mo Lin explained calmly.
"I know… I'm not afraid," Feng Mingyu replied, though her voice quivered.
"You're not afraid? Then why are you clutching my sleeve? You've nearly torn it off," Mo Lin teased.
"Ah… oh..." Feng Mingyu unconsciously stepped back, her unease palpable.
"It's coming… the corpse is coming…"
A decaying body, reeking with the stench of rot, walked toward her, stopping just in front of her.
The foul smell assaulted her senses, and the sensation felt all too real.
Feng Mingyu couldn't reconcile what was happening with the idea that it might just be an illusion.
It seemed Mo Lin was preparing to summon his contracted spirit.
His hand rested on her shoulder, a quiet warning in his voice. "Don't summon your contracted ghost. If it emerges, it will be devoured."
Feng Mingyu froze in fear, instantly suppressing any thought of summoning her spirit.
Mo Lin sensed the ghost's intention: to scare her into summoning her contracted spirit, only to consume it once it appeared.
"If you're too scared, just close your eyes. It's alright," Mo Lin said softly.
"Mm…" Feng Mingyu squeezed her eyes shut, pressing herself tightly against Mo Lin, too afraid to move.
The Nightmare-tier ghost, seeing Feng Mingyu not summon her spirit, howled in frustration.
"Name: Hong Ye
Level: Nightmare-tier
Ghost Technique: Illusion (Creates illusions based on the target's deepest fears to terrorize them.)"
The cemetery before her was likely the deepest terror hidden in Feng Mingyu's heart.
The power of this Nightmare-tier ghost was impressive, and sealing it in the Ghost Record would certainly add a valuable asset to Mo Lin's collection.
"Roar..."
A loud, spine-chilling scream filled the air as Chen Xi appeared mid-flight.
She swung her arm, tearing apart the surrounding illusions with ease.
Mo Lin hadn't summoned her, but she must have sensed the ghost's provocation and intervened.
"Master, wait a moment, I'll deal with this pest for you."
Chen Xi charged into battle with another Nightmare-tier ghost, the sounds of their struggle echoing through the air.
The restaurant's walls cracked open, and deep gouges appeared on the floor.
The building's structure collapsed, falling into ruin.
"We should leave…" Mo Lin tugged Feng Mingyu's hand, pulling her from the wreckage of the collapsing restaurant.
As she opened her eyes, she saw two Nightmare-tier ghosts battling above them.
"Why is there another Nightmare-tier ghost?"
"Your contracted ghost?" Feng Mingyu asked, glancing at Mo Lin.
"Yes," Mo Lin nodded.
They had barely stepped out of the restaurant when it collapsed behind them. The two Nightmare-tier ghosts continued their violent battle in midair.
Mo Lin, unbothered, darted forward, quickly grabbing a Perilous-level ghost by the neck.
The Soul Scatter Ghost Capture Technique, Twelfth Form: Seal Ghost.
Mo Lin sealed the ghost into a fist-sized orb, tucking it into his pocket.
Without pausing, he moved on to the next ghost, repeating the process with precision.
Though these ghosts were weak, they were not to be left alive.
Sealing them now might prove useful later.
Mo Lin had no intention of placing them into the Ghost Record—they weren't worth the effort.
These low-level spirits lacked valuable abilities.
Two of them had ghost techniques, but they were rudimentary and insignificant.
Sealing them was the best option.
Feng Mingyu stood frozen, wide-eyed as she watched the Nightmare-tier ghost battle above them.
Meanwhile, Mo Lin was calmly sealing lesser ghosts, completely unconcerned about his own contracted spirit.
How could he be so composed?
Feng Mingyu, anxious and breathless, couldn't tear her eyes away from the fight, terrified that Mo Lin's spirit might be defeated.
Chen Xi, undeterred, became more fierce as the battle raged on.
With a piercing screech, she slammed the other Nightmare-tier ghost into the ground.
Chen Xi's hand plunged through the other ghost's chest, lifting it toward Mo Lin.
The ghost's expression twisted, its face morphing from a featureless, bone-free visage to one drenched in blood, clearly in agony.
Feng Mingyu's heart raced.
Despite knowing both were ghosts, the sight was still unsettling.
Chen Xi marched toward Mo Lin, dragging the defeated ghost with her, her hand thrust through the ghost's chest.
With one swift motion, she tore the ghost free from her arm and slammed it to the ground.
"Master, the ghost that dared to offend you has been captured."
Chen Xi stepped on the ghost's body, pinning it to the ground to prevent escape.
Mo Lin raised his hand, sealing the ghost into the Ghost Record.
Ding! Congratulations, you've acquired the ghost technique: Illusion.
A new line appeared in the Ghost Record.
"Name: Hong Ye
Level: Nightmare-tier
Ghost Technique: Illusion
Daily Hell Coin Income: 80 coins."
Mo Lin's Hell Coin income had increased again.
The higher the tier of the ghosts, the greater the Hell Coin yield.
Mo Lin quickly calculated—his Hell Coin income had roughly doubled.
After his earlier ghost equipment purchases, the additional 80 Hell Coins per day felt like a drop in the ocean.
But still, it was better than nothing.
Then, a new line of text appeared, glowing in gold on the first page of the Ghost Record.
"Capture five more ghosts… After capturing five more, all Hell Coin income will increase by tenfold."
The bright, golden text stood out boldly.
At that moment, Mo Lin was reinvigorated by the prospect of ghost hunting.
The Ghost Record had surprised him once again.
Tenfold earnings meant that his daily Hell Coin income would rise to 800 coins per Nightmare-tier ghost.
With three Nightmare-tier ghosts in his collection, he would earn 2,400 Hell Coins daily.
Good heavens...
This was a fortune in the making.
Mo Lin couldn't help but think how close he was to financial freedom—without lifting a finger.
Hell Coins were essential, practically as vital as food for the ghosts.
Capturing just one ghost had resulted in an unexpected windfall.
Mo Lin's spirits were high.
...
At Qi Dao Temple...
"Master Brother, the Nightmare-tier ghost in the west is fighting," the plump disciple reported breathlessly, having just returned from buying talisman paper.