Chapter 50 : The Death of He Mei
Chapter 50: The Death of He Mei
The Little Ghost said cautiously, “Mommy used to be a strong woman, she had a real gift for doing business.”
“But Mommy had enemies in Nanyang. She was too obsessed with power, and that made her impatient—so when she did things, she was a bit… irrational.”
“Many of our brothers and sisters told Mommy not to act like that, but she wouldn’t listen. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ended up like this.”
Li Zhen glanced at the Little Ghost and suddenly said, “You ‘advised’ her? Not ‘bewitched’ her?”
The Little Ghost was startled, waving its hands repeatedly. “Mommy’s thoughts are our thoughts. How could we possibly bewitch her? Besides, Mommy was a Head-Descending Master—we don’t even have the ability to bewitch her!”
Li Zhen said nothing, just stared silently at the Little Ghost.
The Little Ghost licked its lips and squeezed out a pitiful, childlike expression. “We didn’t bewitch Mommy. At most, we just gave her some ideas—really, we only told her what we thought.”
Li Zhen said with a faint, mocking smile, “You can give ideas?”
The Little Ghost spoke eagerly, as though seeking praise. “We survive on Mommy’s blood. Her thoughts are our thoughts. We know her better than anyone. Whatever she wants to do, we can always think of ways to help her make it happen.”
Li Zhen asked, “How many Little Ghosts did He Mei raise?”
The Little Ghost answered honestly, “There were eighteen of us… Nai Mi caught one… now, counting me, there are sixteen left.”
Li Zhen nodded slightly, then asked suddenly, “Was it your idea to have He Mei kill me?”
The Little Ghost froze. “It was what Mommy wanted to do. We only thought of ways to help her achieve her—”
Li Zhen’s palm-leaf whip lashed down without warning.
The Little Ghost screamed in agony, its cries echoing like wailing souls.
“Don’t hit me, don’t hit me! It wasn’t our fault… stop, stop! I know a lot of things! I know Mommy’s secrets! I can help you—”
Li Zhen’s expression remained indifferent.
This creature’s words were half-truths at best. It thought it hid its malice well, but Li Zhen and the Red-Eyed Bat were both extremely sensitive to such emotions.
After more than ten lashes, the Little Ghost was on the verge of death, its form turning completely translucent.
“I’m useful…” it whimpered weakly.
“There are more than ten just like you. What use are you to me?”
The palm-leaf whip writhed like a root, burrowing into the Little Ghost’s body.
Amid its faint, despairing screams, the Little Ghost vanished completely.
A series of flickering images flashed across Li Zhen’s mind—mostly fragmented memories, though some were continuous enough to provide valuable information.
Moments later, Li Zhen opened his eyes and rubbed his brow, easing the assault of those resentful memories.
That Little Ghost’s words were far from the truth—simply the perfect example of “a ghost full of lies.”
Little Ghosts were refined from corpses, and during the process, their hearts had to be removed and placed in a jar to be nourished with blood. They were born filled with resentment and malice.
Orthodox Taoist sects regarded raising Little Ghosts as an evil art—not just because it was inhumane, but also because the resentment and yin energy of such ghosts severely affected a living person’s character and lifespan.
If one raised only one or two, a Head-Descending Master could suppress the ghost’s malice through constant vigilance, preventing it from corrupting their mind.
But He Mei had raised more than a dozen.
Who could say how much hidden malice and resentment lay beneath that seemingly affectionate “Mommy”?
This malice often had no direction—it was pure negativity. Ordinary people would suffer misfortune just from contact with it.
And He Mei, under the long-term influence of such resentment, had her nature subtly twisted without even realizing it.
Over the years, her mind became clouded, turning her into a puppet driven by the very Little Ghosts she thought she controlled—ghosts plotting to devour her in turn.
Had Li Zhen not appeared, those Little Ghosts would likely have succeeded, consuming the fallen He Mei until nothing remained.
Killing the wrong person—that was the sign of corruption.
Li Zhen considered himself one of those people who should not be killed.
“Evil Head-Descending Masters… all deserve to die!” He Mei growled in pain, glaring at Li Zhen. “Every one of them should die!”
Li Zhen, who had felt no sympathy for her before, now pitied her a little.
He walked up to her and looked into her eyes. “Your view is too extreme. How could someone like me, who has never harmed others, be an evil Head-Descending Master?”
He Mei let out a weak, derisive snort.
Li Zhen shook his head. “So many choices, yet you picked the worst one. If all you wanted was to kill Nai Mi, I might have even helped you.”
“Have you ever thought that you were blinded by your own mind—that’s why you made such a foolish choice?”
He Mei was taken aback, a flicker of struggle crossing her twisted face.
Watching her features contort further, Li Zhen said, “Do you have a mirror? Look at your face now—you might not even recognize yourself.”
The Red-Eyed Bat on his shoulder lifted its head, its crimson pupils shimmering.
He Mei’s expression instantly went blank.
She crawled stiffly toward a nearby stone.
With a dull thud, her head struck the rock hard.
Blood stained the stone deep red.
Li Zhen turned and started walking back the way he came.
The Red-Eyed Bat squeaked twice.
“We’ll see Nai Mi first. We’ll deal with her corpse later. You can drink the blood—and eat it once it’s congealed.”
In the darkness of the small grove, the sound of head-banging grew fainter and fainter.
Li Zhen stroked the Red-Eyed Bat’s head and sighed softly. “Head-Descending… is truly cruel.”
How could such a bloody, brutal, heretical sorcery ever be associated with “orthodoxy”?
Neither Nai Mi’s descent into madness nor this woman’s fate was coincidence.
The path of a Head-Descending Master was more brutal than walking a tightrope. Constant exposure to sinister, twisted forces almost guaranteed eventual corruption.
“A righteous Head-Descending Master… is just a potential evil one.”
“Nai Mi broke his own principles and ended up this way. This woman’s will was even weaker…”
“Head-Descending is far too dangerous… one must never take it lightly. Don’t squeak—it applies to you, too.”
…
On a street, a young man with bloodshot eyes swung an iron rod, wildly attacking several people around him.
The short man who looked like Big Tony was beaten the worst.
He wore a red apron, looking as if he’d just finished inviting a deity—but his face was swollen and bruised beyond recognition.
When Li Zhen arrived at the small inn where Nai Mi lived, that was the scene he saw.
He could tell at a glance that the crazed man was possessed by a Little Ghost.
Although Li Zhen’s naked eye couldn’t see the ghost, through the Red-Eyed Bat’s senses, he could feel the yin aura writhing inside the man’s body.
The Red-Eyed Bat grew excited immediately.
With a shrill cry, it leapt from Li Zhen’s shoulder.
But just as it moved, a sharp, clear scream rang out.
A tiny figure flashed past Li Zhen’s peripheral vision and vanished at the inn’s entrance in the blink of an eye.
Failing to catch the ghost, the Red-Eyed Bat silently returned to Li Zhen’s shoulder.
Li Zhen looked toward the direction where the Little Ghost had disappeared.
Was that the one Nai Mi had captured?