CHAPTER 36

— Headless Ghosts —

"Se... Senior Brother... wh-what are those?" Tong Tong's voice trembled as she let go of Su Yan's sleeve, her hands flying up to cover her mouth—whether to stifle a scream or to keep herself from vomiting at the overwhelming sight and wasting the delicious custard buns and hot soy milk she'd had for breakfast.

Before them lay a circular, relatively spacious chamber connected to passageways on both ends, now occupied by a group of headless monsters blocking the only path forward. It seemed to declare: to pass through here, you must first pass this trial.

These monsters retained complete human bodies. Some wore armor forged from fine steel, wielding broad-bladed longswords, their burly frames resembling battlefield soldiers. Others were draped in silk gauze, their graceful postures reminiscent of courtesans from pleasure houses. There were also those in coarse hemp robes, long scholarly gowns, and Daoist robes—various styles and sizes, men and women, old and young, all represented. One even stood completely naked—and without exception, all had lost their heads.

At their necks was a neat, smooth cut, as if sliced by a sharp weapon, leaving only a bowl-sized scar caked with dark red bl0od. Against their agile, leaping movements, it looked particularly horrifying.

—Seriously, even the director of Resident Evil wouldn't be this cruel to double the zombie difficulty! Can't you just stick to the script?!

After staring for a long time, Tong Tong finally grew somewhat accustomed to the sight of these lively headless monsters. Her fear gradually receded, replaced by a sense of helplessness.

"Headless Ghosts." Just then, Su Yan's clear, bell-like voice rang beside her ear, startling her so much she shuddered.

"What are they?" Receiving a dissatisfied glare from Cookie she'd nearly knocked to the ground with her overreaction, Tong Tong steadied herself and asked.

"Ranked seventeenth in the Hundred Ghost Caves, monsters whose bodies are separated from their heads. They feel no pain, know no fatigue, and possess an instinct to replace their old torsos with newly seized ones." Su Yan recited as if reading from a textbook.

"What? What do you mean 'replace their old torsos'?" Tong Tong wondered if she was hallucinating—how else could such a familiar phrase appear? "Wait, how do you know all this in such detail?"

She turned to stare at Su Yan, who looked completely unfazed: since when had this guy become a walking encyclopedia?

"'Replacing the old with the new' means using newly seized torsos to replace the ones they currently use, in order to maintain their combat effectiveness—from the 'Abyssal Secret Realm Exploration Handbook,' a bonus gift from the sect before departure. Didn't you read it?" Su Yan glanced expressionlessly at Tong Tong, whose mouth twitched with embarrassment, and raised a thin, yellow-covered booklet in her hand. The open page displayed a bl0ody yet oddly comical illustration that unmistakably depicted the monsters before them. She concluded firmly, "You didn't read it."

—So they even gave out a beginner's guide before the trial? Well, for a gaming noob like her, having it or not made no difference.

"I...I didn't notice it..." Who could blame her? At the time, she'd been too excited, focused only on checking out the spirit pills and magical treasures. Seeing it was just a thin little booklet, she'd casually tossed it aside.

—Ah well, with the big iceberg here, it's fine anyway! Tong Tong shamelessly justified herself in her heart.

Once she made up her mind, she immediately cast aside that faint trace of shame and looked at Su Yan with a flattering gaze. "Senior Brother, you're so amazing—you must have a way to deal with these monsters, right?"

Su Yan shot her an exasperated glare—yet somehow, Tong Tong found it strangely captivating, even alluring, and couldn't help but stare blankly for a moment. With his left arm wrapped around her waist, he said in a low voice, "Stay close."

With a light tap of his toes, a crimson glow swept forward to clear the way, and they charged straight into the midst of the headless ghosts!

These agile monsters seemed bound by some kind of restriction, only able to circle in place without leaving the circular chamber. Yet they also formed a solid barrier blocking the path. To pass through, one had to confront them directly, with no way to avoid a fight.

Su Yan's charge was like a lamb leaping into a wolf pack, placing herself and Tong Tong right in the thick of the Headless Ghosts. As if catching the scent of fresh bl0od, the monsters grew excited, letting out several roars as they lunged toward them, claws bared.

"Ahhh—!" Tong Tong screamed, squeezing her eyes shut. Without a second thought, she leaped up and clung to Su Yan, wrapping her arms and legs around him like an octopus, completely forgetting she was still holding a sword and that Cookie was perched on her shoulder. She shrieked, "Help! What do we do? We're dead, we're dead..."

After screaming for what felt like an eternity, she realized that aside from her own cries, the surroundings were eerily quiet...

Instead of the stench of bl0od and decay, the air now carried the fresh scent of pine with a hint of mint. As she kept her eyes closed, this unique and pleasant aroma enveloped her, instantly calming her terrified heart. "Thump, thump, thump"—the sound of her heartbeat grew louder and louder, echoing distinctly in the quiet atmosphere, pulling her just-relaxed nerves back into another wave of tension.

As if sighing softly, Su Yan's cold voice carried a hint of helplessness. "It's fine. Get down now."

"Huh?" Tong Tong cautiously cracked open one eye, and Su Yan's flawless face gradually came into focus. She smiled faintly, a touch of sweetness in her expression. But as her gaze shifted past him, it suddenly froze—there was a human head!

No—not just one!

One, two... Oh my god! The entire wall—no, the entire circular wall of this chamber—was covered in nailed-up heads!

It was like a museum displaying masterpieces by renowned artists, except here, the "artworks" were terrifying human heads.

A quick glance revealed a burly man with a thick beard, a delicate young woman with willow-leaf eyebrows and cherry lips... and even an elderly man with white hair and deeply wrinkled skin. As Tong Tong, drenched in cold sweat, scanned each one, the pale, delicate face of the young woman suddenly opened a pair of beautiful eyes, glowing with an eerie green light like a hungry wolf in the forest. They fixed directly on her, and in the moment Tong Tong froze, the face gave her a coy, chilling smile...

It felt as if someone had grabbed her by the throat. Overwhelming terror surged over her like a tidal wave. Tong Tong tried to scream but found she couldn't make a sound. Desperation reddened her eyes as she frantically patted Su Yan's back, trying to get his attention.

"Don't move! Lower your head," Su Yan scolded softly. With one hand steadying Tong Tong's waist, she used her free hand to take Cookie from her shoulder, gently patting the little creature twice to soothe it after its owner's high-pitched screams had left it startled and bristling.

Tong Tong, her mind in disarray, followed Su Yan's instruction and looked down. Yet the even more terrifying sight that met her eyes somehow pulled her nearly departed soul back into her body—as they say, extremes meet, and being frightened to the extreme might make one fearless... or not!

The reason Tong Tong had no mind left for fear was a hand resting on her waist—even through layers of fabric, she could feel the soft, smooth, and delicate palm, completely unlike the hand of a man accustomed to wielding a long sword.

The hand was not particularly warm, yet it seemed to send a soothing heat from her waist all the way to her heart, making her palms and forehead break out in sweat. Her heart pumped bl0od fiercely, flushing her face and even the back of her ears... If a medical professional were present, they would surely advise her: "Miss, your adrenaline levels are too high. Please calm down!"

In short, because Su Yan had wrapped an arm around her waist, she was blushing.

It turned out that while she had closed her eyes, Su Yan had already carried her onto the Changhong Sword, hovering several zhang above the leaping headless ghosts. By sheer coincidence, they had discovered the secret to eliminating these headless creatures—the heads embedded in the walls.

Yes, the true central organs controlling the movements of these headless ghosts were the heads with open eyes, as if alive. They were magically nailed to the walls of this empty chamber, looking down upon the intruders, remotely controlling their own bodies to fight, and then using this method to seize new bodies, turning them into new headless ghosts. It had to be said, though this art was sinister, it was a highly profitable trade.

"You mean, to deal with the monsters below, we must shatter these... human heads?" Tong Tong swallowed hard, furrowing her brows to avoid directly looking at the heads glowing with green light, unable to overcome the moral hurdle. "They... were once human too."

"They're already dead," Su Yan replied coldly, hurling three ice spikes that struck three heads squarely. With a series of "puff-puff" sounds, they exploded like shattered watermelons, releasing bursts of dark purple bl0od mist, followed by the clattering sound of crystals hitting the ground.

Just as she was feeling nauseated, Tong Tong glanced over and saw several crystal-clear, square gemstones lying amidst the shattered, flesh-like debris, unstained by bl0od, emitting an eerie yet beautiful green light that caught her eye.

Good stuff!

Tong Tong felt the nausea in her heart find an outlet, easing considerably.

"Are these... soul stones?" Su Yan shattered a few more "heads" with a wave of her hand, her tightly pursed lips relaxing slightly, and her tense voice softening. "If so, these headless ghosts are merely puppets, not real flesh-and-bl0od bodies."

"Really? That's great..." Hearing this, Tong Tong let out a long sigh of relief, feeling as if the clouds had parted to reveal the sun, instantly lifting the heavy stone weighing on her heart.

And so—

"Senior Brother, is this right?" Her voice could hardly conceal her excitement.

"Hmm, a bit more to the side, yes, just like that," Su Yan pondered for a moment before replying seriously.

"Alrighty! Go, Biling Sword!" Tong Tong shouted excitedly, and with another "puff—" came the sound of smashing watermelons.

"Not bad, you're improving," Su Yan praised lightly, her voice half a tone softer than before. "Keep going."

"Mhm, I'll do my best!" Tong Tong nodded with full determination, silently reciting the sword incantation as she withdrew the Biling Sword, then directed it to strike in another direction—only to hear the continuous clinking sound of dark green soul stones falling to the ground, while on the other side, a pile of headless ghosts lay motionless—like discarded machines with their batteries removed, never to stir again.

Guided by the principle that waste is shameful and thrift is a virtue, after recovering from their heart-stopping fright, Tong Tong and Su Yan enthusiastically embarked on a tireless sword-control training session, faced with an abundance of free experimental materials and high-quality soul stones valued at ten premium spirit stones each on the market.

After nearly half an hour, the two stepped off the steadily descending Changhong Sword and surveyed the empty chamber now littered with the remains of headless ghosts. A creeping sense of unease washed over them—truth be told, these puppets were crafted with startling realism. While the heads were artificial, the torsos were unmistakably human, explaining the source of the bl0od and decay. They couldn't help but wonder how many trial disciples had lost their lives here, becoming the next generation of "headless ghosts."

Having had their fill of the sword-targeting game and gathered all the soul stones scattered across the floor, Su Yan led Tong Tong deeper into the passageway.

Long after they had left, far beyond the reach of their spiritual senses, the empty chamber suddenly split open down the middle like a giant black maw, devouring the discarded torsos and leaving not a single trace behind.

Moments later, the chamber returned to silence, truly living up to its name as the "empty chamber."

Mentally calculating the profits she could make by reselling the soul stones, Tong Tong absentmindedly tugged at Su Yan's sleeve, letting herself be led along. The corners of her mouth curled upward, and she even began to chuckle unconsciously.

"Heh heh..." A coarse, saw-like laugh sent chills down their spines.

"Huh? Does my voice sound that hoarse?" Tong Tong paused, muttering softly, "That can't be right! I was definitely laughing with a 'hee hee'..."

"Silly girl," Su Yan chided, a mix of exasperation and amusement in her tone. She pointed the Changhong Sword forward, her expression instantly turning stern.

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