Chapter 21: The Ghostly Shadow Reappears

Xuanqing Zhenren was feeling quite pleased with himself, ready to continue bragging when suddenly, a cold gust of wind swept through the underground passage. The wind carried the scent of damp decay and a faint, sickly stench, sending an involuntary shiver down the spines of the three present.

"Hey, Shen Lu, what was that just now?" Chen Jing asked warily, her hand instinctively reaching for the peachwood sword at her waist.

Lucifer's expression darkened. The black flames in his eyes flickered ominously as he muttered, "This isn't an ordinary wind… Something is coming."

Xuanqing Zhenren, on the other hand, merely shrugged, munching on a piece of spicy dried tofu. "Tsk, maybe my 'little friends' from earlier want to come back and play? No worries, no worries. Big Brother Xuanqing ain't scared of a few ghosts."

Before his words had fully landed, twisted faces started emerging from the walls of the underground passage. Their mouths stretched open in eerie, ghastly grins, and a cacophony of whispered voices overlapped—

"…The seal is broken… Repay the price…"

A chill crawled up Chen Jing's spine as she stared in horror. "Wait, wait, wait—are these the sealed spirits?! Did you just accidentally set them free?!"

Xuanqing Zhenren's smirk stiffened. He hastily shoved the rest of his dried tofu into his pocket and coughed awkwardly. "Uh… well… maybe… possibly… a slight miscalculation?"

"A SLIGHT MISCALCULATION MY ASS!!" Chen Jing roared, then spun to Lucifer. "Now what?!"

Lucifer didn't answer immediately. His hands rose slowly, black flames crackling at his fingertips. His gaze remained locked on the emerging spirits as he uttered coldly—

"No more delays. Exterminate them."

The moment his voice fell, black flames erupted, their scorching heat momentarily dispelling the damp coldness of the passage.

But the spirits did not retreat. Instead, they peeled off the walls, forming solid figures one after another, their twisted bodies manifesting with ghostly howls. More and more shadows appeared, surrounding the three in a suffocating, oppressive tide of malevolent energy.

Xuanqing Zhenren clicked his tongue. "Ooooh, now this is what I call a serious haunting."

Chen Jing shot him an exasperated glare. "Uncle, less talking, more problem-solving!"

Just then, the ghostly figures convulsed violently, as if sensing the presence of something even more powerful approaching. A chilling pressure flooded the passage, and the distant echoes of a deep growl carried through the wind—

"…Intruders… Blood… Sacrifice…"

The ground rumbled faintly as a pale, withered hand slowly emerged from the darkness, its fingernails black as ink, absorbing all traces of light.

Xuanqing Zhenren's eyes widened. "Holy crap! Look at the size of that hand! Guys, uh… should we be running?!"

Lucifer's gaze remained ice-cold as he muttered, "Too late."

From within the shadows, a figure began to take shape—

A monstrous entity, wreathed in black mist, its hollow eye sockets sunken deep, its mouth stretched into an unnatural grin that reached its ears, revealing rows of serrated teeth. Its distorted body writhed as if bound by countless suffering souls, the very air around it reeking of death and decay.

"…Blood… Repay… The seal… is shattered…" the creature rasped in a broken, cursed whisper, its voice so chilling it seemed to drain the warmth from the passage entirely.

Chen Jing sucked in a breath. "Tell me this thing isn't stronger than anything we've fought before…"

Lucifer said nothing. Black flames swirled in his palm as he raised a hand—then, without hesitation, he launched a jet of hellfire straight at the creature!

But—

The instant the flames made contact, they were swallowed whole by the dense black mist surrounding the entity.

Lucifer's eyes narrowed. "…Ineffective?"

Xuanqing Zhenren let out a low whistle. "Ohoho~ Now that's interesting. Alright, let's see if I can get a reaction out of it!"

From his bag, he pulled out a black obsidian prayer bead necklace and flicked it forward. The beads spun rapidly, forming a golden ring of light as he chanted, "Heaven and earth! Yin and yang! Suppress!"

The golden ring shot toward the monster—

Only to be instantly devoured the moment it touched the black mist.

"Eh?" Xuanqing blinked. "Well, that's just rude."

The creature let out a low snarl, and suddenly—the black mist exploded outward, engulfing everything in complete darkness!

"Shit!" Chen Jing cursed. "Now what?!"

"Don't move!" Lucifer's voice rang out through the dark. "It's trying to disrupt our senses. Stay together!"

Xuanqing stroked his chin thoughtfully, then smirked. From his robe, he pulled out—

A Feng Shui compass.

"Girl, do you know how to use one of these?" he asked casually.

"…WHAT?" Chen Jing stared at him in disbelief. "Are you seriously using a Feng Shui tool for a ghost attack?!"

"Hey, doesn't matter if it makes sense, as long as it works." Xuanqing Zhenren flung the compass toward the monster—

BOOM!

The compass exploded.

Chen Jing: "…"

Lucifer: "…"

Xuanqing: "Uh… well… that wasn't supposed to happen."

At that moment, a deep, guttural laugh echoed through the black mist, sending chills down their spines—

"…You should not have come… Now, you must pay the price…"

The black mist twisted violently, the monster's form distorting even further as it prepared to consume them.

Chen Jing gritted her teeth. "This is getting out of hand!"

Lucifer's flames flared again, his voice calm but sharp: "It ends now."

Meanwhile, Xuanqing Zhenren grinned, completely unfazed by the growing threat.

"Alright, alright~ Time to bring out the big guns."

He reached into his bag and dramatically pulled out—

A small yellow bottle.

Chen Jing frowned. "What the hell is that?"

Xuanqing popped the cap and flung the liquid at the monster.

"Behold! The ultimate weapon! My family's aged pickled mustard greens!"

The ghostly entity: "???"

Lucifer & Chen Jing: "???"

As soon as the liquid splashed onto the misty figure—

The monster shuddered violently.

A second later—

"BLERGH—!!"

The creature let out a soul-piercing shriek, its form convulsing wildly as the black mist began disintegrating!

Chen Jing's jaw dropped. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST THROW AT IT?!"

Xuanqing grinned, waving the bottle. "Homemade pickled mustard greens! But not just any kind! I soaked them in realgar, black dog's blood, forty-nine different Chinese herbs, and my family's special—"

Lucifer's eyebrow twitched. "Special what?"

Xuanqing leaned in conspiratorially.

"…My old foot bath water."

"..."

Lucifer's face darkened instantly. Very, very dark.

Chen Jing gagged. "I CAN'T BELIEVE I'M FIGHTING FOR MY LIFE ALONGSIDE A SCAM ARTIST WHO USES FOOT WATER FOR EXORCISMS—"

Lucifer sighed, raised his hand, and unleashed one final burst of hellfire.

The creature let out a final, agonized howl before being consumed completely.

And just like that, silence returned.

Chen Jing, out of breath, muttered, "It's finally over…"

Xuanqing Zhenren dusted off his robes, smirking. "Well! Who would've thought mustard greens would save the day, huh?"

Lucifer cracked his knuckles. "I am reconsidering sealing you inside a coffin."

Xuanqing Zhenren immediately shut his mouth, awkwardly chuckling as he stepped back. "Heh heh, just a joke, no need to be so serious."

Chen Jing rubbed her temples, completely giving up on trying to reason with these two lunatics. She glanced around and frowned. "Even though that thing is gone, this place still feels off. We should leave now."

Lucifer gave a slight nod, just as he was about to speak—his expression suddenly changed. He lifted his head and turned toward the depths of the underground tunnel.

"…Something is wrong."

Chen Jing and Xuanqing Zhenren instantly tensed up.

"What do you mean?" Chen Jing asked cautiously.

Lucifer's black flames flickered ominously in his eyes. His voice was calm yet chilling.

"The battle just now… seems to have drawn the attention of something else."

The moment his words fell, a crushing pressure swept through the tunnel. A deep, rhythmic thudding sound echoed from the darkness—footsteps.

But they didn't belong to anything human.

Xuanqing Zhenren's smirk faltered slightly. His hands twitched toward his bag. "Oof. Feels like we've got ourselves a big one coming."

The footsteps quickened. A deep, guttural growl rumbled through the air, shaking the very walls of the tunnel. A freezing aura surged forward, thick and suffocating.

Xuanqing Zhenren's smirk vanished completely. His face stiffened. "…Okay. Uh. This—this ain't normal."

Then—a pair of crimson eyes ignited in the darkness.

Not the flickering glow of ghostly will-o'-wisps. Not the eerie glimmer of a lost soul.

No—these were the eyes of a predator.

The air distorted around it. The space itself warped under its oppressive presence, as if reality struggled to contain its form.

The unseen entity took another thundering step forward, and the ground trembled beneath them.

Chen Jing felt her breath hitch in her throat. Her grip tightened around the peachwood sword. "Oh, hell no—this thing is NOT just a regular ghost!"

Lucifer's expression remained unreadable, but his fingers curled ever so slightly—a battle stance.

Meanwhile, Xuanqing Zhenren inhaled deeply—then his expression shifted abruptly.

His eyes darted to the side. His lips quirked up in an eerily calm smile.

Then—

He slapped Chen Jing's shoulder so hard she nearly fell forward.

"OH NO!!" he suddenly shouted, voice filled with exaggerated horror. "I FORGOT TO COVER MY PICKLED VEGETABLE JAR AT HOME!!"

"???"

Chen Jing turned in confusion—only to see nothing but a fading blur where Xuanqing Zhenren had just been standing.

"WHOOSH—"

Like a bolt of lightning, Xuanqing had already taken off at full speed down the tunnel.

"HEY, YOU LYING COWARD! GET BACK HERE!" Chen Jing yelled, eyes burning with fury.

"WHAT?!" Xuanqing's voice echoed from the distance as he continued sprinting away at an impossible speed. "Even demon-hunters need to evaluate the risk-to-reward ratio! If the risk is too high—retreat is also a strategy!"

Chen Jing nearly lost it.

"YOU'RE JUST RUNNING FOR YOUR DAMN LIFE!!"

Lucifer pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling slowly as if trying very, very hard to contain his patience.

Meanwhile, the creature in the darkness growled again.

A deafening, low snarl that sent a tremor through the air. The shackles around its unseen form rattled loudly, like the sound of a thousand rusted chains scraping together.

Then, it lurched forward.

Fast.

Faster than anything that size should be able to move.

The ground quaked as it charged toward them!

"Shit, shit, shit!" Chen Jing swore, gripping her sword tightly. "We're actually fighting this thing?!"

Lucifer's eyes glowed with a dangerous, icy glint. His hand rose, black flames roaring to life in his palm.

"We're not running. We're finishing this."

Chen Jing let out a breath. Her knuckles whitened around her sword handle.

"Alright. Let's do this."

As the crimson eyes in the darkness burned brighter, the rattling of chains grew deafening. The air turned frigid.

Then—

The monster lunged.