Chapter 10: The Little Ghost Empress

The meal was quickly finished, and from Old Xie’s words, I learned about the situation regarding the Little Ghost Lady. The name “Little Ghost Lady” was given to her by outsiders because she specialized in crafting little ghosts to harm people. Over twenty years ago, she gained notoriety throughout the land for her mastery of corpse control, but she was met with exclusion and suppression by her peers.

After all, corpse control is a dark and forbidden art, one that righteous practitioners could never tolerate existing in the world. Then, something happened— the Little Ghost Lady disappeared.

Around the same time, a group of righteous masters occasionally caught wind of her whereabouts. They assembled a team of more than a dozen formidable figures from the righteous sects, intending to besiege her.

When this group arrived at her hideout, they found two or three dozen corpses arranged inside. Most were heavily decayed, with only a few recently deceased.

Seeing this, the righteous group immediately launched an assault on the Little Ghost Lady inside. A fierce battle erupted between the sides. To everyone’s astonishment, she single-handedly controlled thirty corpses simultaneously, fighting off more than a dozen righteous warriors without faltering.

These righteous warriors were elite practitioners from various disciplines—yin-yang agents, corpse drivers, yin-yang masters, Maoshan Taoists, and more. Despite their combined strength, they found themselves struggling against her. The battle turned out to be far more grueling than they had anticipated, leaving them stunned and impressed by her formidable power.

Yet, being only one person, she could not physically match more than a dozen opponents indefinitely. After a whole night of combat, she gradually lost the upper hand. However, none among the righteous emerged unscathed; several were barely clinging to life, all battered and exhausted.

“After that great battle, the Little Ghost Lady vanished. The community believed she was dead. But to everyone’s surprise, after more than twenty years, she has reappeared,” Old Xie said, then suddenly stopped and stood up, heading outside the restaurant.

Hearing this, I was stunned, watching him leave without reacting.

Back home, I was seized by a deep unease. If Old Xie’s guess was correct—that old woman who appeared that night in the old district was indeed the Little Ghost Lady—then I had truly provoked someone I ought not to have.

But how had I drawn her ire? I was utterly baffled.

Wait—the Little Ghost Lady was known for creating little ghosts. Could it be connected to the matter involving Miss Chen’s husband’s family?

The ancestral hall door of Miss Chen’s husband’s house was sealed with two little ghosts, which caused their family line to be cut off. And that day, I had released those two little ghosts. If these ghosts do not consume the ashes, they will turn against their master.

Realizing this, a chill struck my heart. So, the person who framed Miss Chen’s husband’s family—the one who died mysteriously the day after I released the little ghosts—was none other than the Little Ghost Lady’s husband?

Thinking this over filled me with both anger and unease. Crafting such harmful little ghosts and then dying at their hands was clearly his own doing. How could he then blame others?

In the days that followed, I was deeply unsettled, fearing the Little Ghost Lady’s revenge. I urged my parents repeatedly to move away. But having lived here for decades, convincing them to relocate without cause was nearly impossible.

My parents refused to move, and fearing the Little Ghost Lady’s sudden return, I remained constantly vigilant, not daring to leave the house.

But unexpectedly, half a month passed after that night’s incident, and the Little Ghost Lady never reappeared. I breathed a sigh of relief, hoping that perhaps she had died after her confrontation with Old Xie.

Two weeks later, my college acceptance letter arrived—from a reputable second-tier university in another province. Thrilled, I eagerly called my good friend Zhao Yong.

Zhao Yong was my high school classmate. We had shared a dorm room since middle school. Strangely enough, when we entered high school, we were again in the same class and dorm, naturally becoming close brothers.

We ate together, went to school, skipped classes, chased girls—everything was done side by side. After the college entrance exams, we hadn’t contacted each other for about a month.

The phone rang.

“Zhao Yong, brother, I got my acceptance letter! A second-tier university, haha!” I said excitedly.

“Congratulations,” Zhao Yong’s voice came weakly, sounding unlike his usual cheerful self.

I was puzzled. He was normally so lively. What was wrong?

“Is that all you wanted to say? If not, I’m hanging up,” he said before I could respond.

Instantly, I was furious. I shouted into the phone, “Are you crazy? You said one sentence and then hung up!”

“I just don’t want to talk, okay?”

“What’s wrong with you? You don’t consider me your brother anymore? Damn it, if there’s something wrong, tell me—I’ll fix it for you!”

Zhao Yong sighed on the other end. “Nothing you can help with. I broke up with my girlfriend yesterday. Today she climbed onto the rooftop threatening to jump. Please don’t bother me, alright?”

The line went dead.

I was stunned for a moment, then called again. The phone rang twice before cutting off once more.

Angry, I texted, “Where’s your girlfriend jumping from? I’m coming over now.”

Zhao Yong replied, “Coming to watch the show?”

Damn it. I was furious. I’d always treated him like a brother, and now he was speaking to me like this.

Without hesitation, I left and hailed a taxi to Zhao Yong’s house.

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped. I rushed inside—no one was there.

Growing anxious, I called Zhao Yong again, but he didn’t answer. I texted, “I’m at your place. Where the hell are you guys?”

No reply.

Frustrated, I spun around and kicked his door hard.

Suddenly, a piercing scream echoed from somewhere nearby. I ran out and saw a crowd gathered down the street. Near them, on the side of a tall building, a girl in red had already leapt, falling freely through the air.

That was—

Zhao Yong’s girlfriend.