Chapter 14: Escape from Death

A Bicycle?!

Mi Shihong stared at the old bicycle, probably sold and resold countless times. Ever since he made it big, he hadn't touched one of these in years.

He got on, took Lin Feng along, and pedaled hard.

"If you still want to survive around here, clear out of the way for Mi!"

Once Mi Shihong determined the western direction, he sped off, carrying an injured and barely conscious Lin Feng.

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh—"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh—!"

"Ahhhhhhhhhhh—!!!"

"Master Lin, how's my speed? My legs are about to be ground to dust here!"

Mi Shihong pedaled at a pace almost rivaling a sports car, while Lin Feng clung to the back, terrified. The area was a series of connected courtyards with complex, winding roads. Mi Shihong took every corner like a pro, determined to escape Ning Yan's relentless pursuit.

After half an hour of wild pedaling, they left Green Willow Manor. Outside, the road was bumpy and uneven. Lin Feng could sense Ning Yan's ghostly energy drawing closer from within the manor and quickly warned, "She's recharged her energy and is catching up!"

"Damn! Master Lin, hold on! Shifting gears now!"

Terrified, Mi Shihong pushed harder. At this speed, he felt his legs would indeed disintegrate, and Lin Feng wasn't faring much better. After forty minutes, they finally saw a towering pagoda tree in the distance.

"Master Lin, we're almost there! If I make it out, I probably won't last long in the living world. Once I'm gone, my gang will scatter, but my good-for-nothing son still needs someone to look after him. If you could help him out, I'd be in your debt."

Lin Feng felt a pang of emotion. A request with a favor attached—classic.

But seeing how much Mi Shihong had helped him, Lin Feng agreed. "Don't worry about it."

Behind them, Ning Yan screeched in frustration as she watched them nearing the tree. Just before they reached it, Lin Feng and Mi Shihong felt a lightness, a flash of white, and then everything went dark.

In a haze, Lin Feng awoke to a voice in his head.

"Congratulations on completing the mission: Escape Green Willow Manor."

"Reward: Level +2, Merit +200, Escape Talisman +1, Skill Book Phantom Chant."

Lin Feng awoke fully, seeing Mi Shihong's ghost essence resting within his urn. The bicycle had returned to his elastic storage space.

"Where am I?"

Lin Feng rubbed his shoulder. The shoulder blade that Ning Yan had crushed was now intact, although still sore. The abdominal wound had also healed, but it felt as though it had been strained.

He sat down beside the pagoda tree and noticed a few weed-covered graves nearby.

"Phew—finally made it out!"

Relief washed over him. The sky was just beginning to lighten, signaling the morning. His phone had been vibrating in his pocket, with over sixty missed calls accumulated from the time he was cut off from the outside.

Among the calls were five or six from Niu Meng, a few from Director Wang, and the rest all from Nie Chuxia.

The sun was about to rise, and Niu Meng was likely off to sleep by now. Lin Feng called Nie Chuxia back.

As soon as she answered, her voice came at him in a rapid stream, quite unlike her usual cool demeanor.

"Lin Feng! Where did you go? I turned around, and you were gone!"

"You asked me to come help you, and then you just disappear for a whole day and night? Don't expect me to help you ever again!"

Lin Feng sat dumbfounded. A whole day and night? Damn… no wonder even Director Wang called me! They'll probably mark me down as absent!

"Miss Nie, Madam Nie, Big Sis Nie! Enough, please! I got dragged away by a ghost right before your eyes, nearly died there, and you have the nerve to tell me you're from the Candle Sect?"

Lin Feng's shout brought Nie Chuxia to a stop. After a pause, she exclaimed, "That's impossible!"

"Believe it or not! If you still want to help, come to the back of Yuetan Mountain. I don't know where I am exactly—just look for a patch of willows and a graveyard. I can't move anymore."

Lin Feng hung up and sat back, shaking slightly from exhaustion.

Forty minutes later, Nie Chuxia appeared on the mountainside with two muscular men in sunglasses, likely her bodyguards.

Lin Feng looked a bit worse for wear, covered in dust and dirt, with a battered bike beside him. The pedals had been worn down, and his clothes were torn in several places, even stained with blood, though he bore no visible injuries.

"You really were taken by a ghost?" Nie Chuxia still looked doubtful.

"Or could it have been a female mountain spirit?"

A rare smile crossed Nie Chuxia's usually stoic face as she pointed at the bike. "You escaped on this thing?"

Lin Feng rolled his eyes. "Madam, is now the time for questions? I've been starving for a whole day and night, only had a bowl of talisman water, and I feel like my stomach's about to implode."

"You're disgusting."

Nie Chuxia scrunched her nose in disgust and signaled for her two bodyguards to help carry him away.

...

Five days later, at the Nanyang City Crematorium, Lin Feng and Nie Chuxia stood amidst the crowd watching a group of underworld types pay their respects to Mi Shihong. Among the crowd, some relatives and friends of the wealthy businessman Chen Qi had come to stir up trouble. A teenage boy held Mi Shihong's portrait, dressed in garish, non-mainstream clothing, standing silent in the face of the jeering.

"Lin Feng, are you really not going to tell the police the truth about the murder case? Mi Shihong was, after all, innocent."

"I sent an anonymous letter, thank you. And they've dug up Ning Yan's remains from Yuetan Mountain. But it looks like the police won't make it public. Mi Shihong was guilty of other sins; he had no complaints about taking this blame, and he accepted it."

Over the past few days, Lin Feng had shared his ordeal with Nie Chuxia, deepening their rapport. It turned out that although she was a disciple of the Southern Sect, her family was wealthy. Her skills were passed down from her grandfather, while her father built their fortune by investing in prime land thanks to her grandfather's feng shui knowledge. Now their business was thriving in another province.

Learning about Nie Chuxia's background, Lin Feng couldn't help but lament his own useless skills. If only he had learned feng shui instead—he might be rolling in wealth by now.

When Mi Shihong's body was cremated, Lin Feng also managed to refine his soul into a shadow candle, just in time to burn it as an offering to the City God to help Mi pass smoothly to the underworld. This task had finally come to a satisfying end.

This mission came out of nowhere, catching Lin Feng off guard. It was a reminder that not only were the system's missions peculiar and dangerous, but they could also be sudden. Lin Feng decided to put missions aside for the time being and focus on learning more skills to protect himself.

Later that night, when Lin Feng returned home, he found Niu Meng silently watching a show about love between humans and ghosts on his computer, while he sorted through his spoils.

Lin Feng was now level 12, with a single "Disaster Dispelling Talisman," a scroll of the "Phantom Soul Spell," 400 merit points, and a mysterious item called the "Trinity Furnace."

Disaster Dispelling Talisman

Description: A talisman for dispelling disasters and warding off evil.

Effect: Carrying it can ensure safety, and if faced with a powerful ghost, a divine protector will emerge to defend the wearer.

Note: One-time use only.

(Overall Rating: Basic Dao Talisman, though long lost. Available in the marketplace—feel free to purchase!)

Phantom Soul Spell

Description: A skill passed down from the underworld, said to have been derived by the King of Hell from an ancient mystical creature, the Mirage Phantom.

Effect: Creates a mirage-like space akin to a ghostly maze. The stronger the spirit power, the more potent the mirage.

Note: Learned.

(Overall Rating: Rare illusion skill)

Trinity Furnace

Description: Appears to be a lost artifact of a ghost general. Unusable for now, but filled with dark energy.

Effect: Incense burning???

Note: Seems useless, or maybe not.

(Overall Rating: Discover its potential, young one! Judging by the name, it should be powerful!)

The Disaster Dispelling Talisman sells for 1200 merit points in the marketplace. Overjoyed, Lin Feng stashed it in a brocade pouch for safekeeping.

The Phantom Soul Spell, he learned directly.

As for the Trinity Furnace, it left him puzzled. The object resembled an incense burner, held up by five little spirits, with a tarnished bronze color and soil inside that wouldn't come out. With no clear instructions, he decided to store it away.

"This Phantom Soul Spell seems pretty good! Niu Meng, have you ever heard of this skill? Is it really created by the King of Hell?"

Currently, Lin Feng had two skills—one to create illusions and one to break through them, which complemented each other. But he still longed for an offensive skill; the power of his Illusion Piercing Eyes was limited and not especially strong.

"Never heard of it."

At the computer, Niu Meng grunted, "Feng, did you find my brother?"

Lin Feng took a deep breath.

Niu Meng, haven't you noticed I've been avoiding this topic? But it's not my fault—back then, I was too busy trying to survive. Where was I supposed to find a Horseface for you?

The "Special Mission" already showed as failed, meaning hiring Horseface wasn't happening.

"I have a good lead. Based on my observations, there's an uprooted locust tree behind Moon Altar Mountain. You might want to check it out?"

Lin Feng's suggestion was mere perfunctory, but Niu Meng perked up, his bull-like eyes widening. "Really?"

Lin Feng nodded.

Since the mission failed, Lin Feng hadn't revisited the tree or dared to take Niu Meng there, fearing Ning Yan might pull some spell on him, sending him straight to the funeral parlor. It was Lin Feng's anonymous letter that tipped off the authorities to exhume Ning Yan's body.

Now that Ning Yan was gone, it was safe for Niu Meng to take a look.

"Then I'm off!"

"Wait, take this." Lin Feng suddenly remembered he had a dried corpse of a shaman ghost.

"Huh? What is this? Such dark energy—it could be refined as a vessel, couldn't it?!"

Lin Feng explained, "This is a shaman ghost, and it can indeed be refined as a vessel. Once you do, it'll stay with you. Plus, it gathers dark energy, so you'll have a place to cultivate."

Excited, Niu Meng accepted it and left.

After he left, Lin Feng stretched.

The night was long, and he felt a stiff ache down below. He suddenly remembered he hadn't seen Li Xi in a while. She had called him a few times recently, but he had been a bit weak after the Green Willow Manor mission. Finally, he felt himself recovering.

"Hello, thinking of me tonight?"

Li Xi's voice was sweet and sultry on the other end. Lin Feng replied seriously, "Been practicing lately. Just finished up."

"Practicing? What kind of practice?"

"A towering technique! Care for a demonstration later?"

Li Xi giggled seductively, "Honey, come on over. I've missed you so much…"

"Where have you missed me?"

"Everywhere…"