After My Cross-dressing Cover Was Blown, the Movie Star Became My Accomplice - Chapter 24

Chapter 24

◎ Why are you appearing here? ◎

The Village Chief let out a thunderous roar, his eyes filled with a frenzied light. Countless figures materialized around him—it was the ghost children who had been standing silently in the house just moments ago.

Now, these ghost children looked insane, their eyes gleaming with a vicious light as they surged forward one after another, attempting to tear Mu Yao and the Rakshasa into shreds.

Both men were well-prepared for the sudden appearance of the ghost children. Mu Yao moved swiftly, unwinding the Soul-Hooking Chain from his wrist; the pitch-black chain transformed rapidly, flying toward the attacking ghost children.

The chain parried the majority of the ghost children’s strikes. Seizing the opportunity, the Rakshasa struck his prayer beads toward the female ghost. Having been wounded by the beads before, she had anticipated his attack; her form blurred as she evaded the flying beads, rushing toward the Rakshasa with a piercing shriek.

As the leader of the Ninth Group of the Supernatural Investigation Bureau, the Rakshasa naturally had more than one trick up his sleeve. He drew a small, exquisite dagger from his waist.

There was a barely noticeable groove along the side. Gripping the hilt with his left hand, the Rakshasa slid the blade across his palm, letting his blood flow into the groove.

The moment the blood entered the slot, the dagger erupted in a crimson glow, with faint red flames flickering within the light.

The Rakshasa charged at the female ghost with the dagger. Sensing something wrong with the weapon, she dodged his strikes while looking for an opening to counterattack.

For a moment, the scene fell into a stalemate. Mu Yao used his Soul-Hooking Chain to entangle the numerous ghost children, while the Rakshasa kept the female ghost occupied. The Village Chief originally intended to take this chance to flee, but he found the exit cleverly blocked by the two men; no matter which way he ran, he would be caught in the crossfire of their battle.

Unable to escape, the Village Chief began to curse in a fit of exasperated rage.

“D*mn it! You’re all useless! How can you still not deal with two living people even after becoming vengeful spirits! As expected, this village should never have had too much contact with the outside world. If it weren’t for the decrease in tourists and the lack of sacrifices, why would I have collaborated with the production team? As soon as the crew came in, these strange people appeared as well. It must be the production team’s fault!”

“If I get a chance to get out of here, I’ll make those people pay! But before that, I’m going to deal with you two first!”

The Village Chief cursed while glaring venomously at Mu Yao and the Rakshasa. The attacks from the ghost children and the red-clothed ghost became even more frenzied and violent.

“Tsk, we can’t let the Village Chief stay over there alone, or he’ll eventually run. Rakshasa, bring her over here, I’ll find a way.”

Hearing that the Village Chief intended to harm the production crew if he left, Mu Yao didn’t want him wandering outside the battle, waiting for an opening to escape. As long as either he or the Rakshasa could break free from the fight, they could stop the Village Chief from fleeing and hurting the crew.

“Fine.”

The Rakshasa didn’t say much. He shifted his position bit by bit while fighting the female ghost.

Under the Village Chief’s control, the female ghost inevitably sustained some injuries during her fight with the Rakshasa. The flames on the dagger scorched her soul through the wounds. Dazed, she followed the Rakshasa’s movements.

The Village Chief was also blinded by rage. He continued to curse, unaware of Mu Yao and the Rakshasa’s plan.

Once the Rakshasa brought the ghost within range of the Soul-Hooking Chain, Mu Yao timed it perfectly and whipped the chain out. The moment the chain hooked her, the female ghost froze in place.

Mu Yao intended to use the female ghost as the starting point for the chain to form a circle, binding her and all the ghost children together.

Just as he was about to execute the move, the Soul-Hooking Chain started acting up.

“Hey? Not that way! Who are you going to trap over there?!”

The Soul-Hooking Chain formed a loop to the ghost’s left—but of course, there was nothing to her left, so it caught nothing. Mu Yao finally managed to get the chain to undo the loop, only for it to start moving in a serpentine pattern, dragging the immobile female ghost along with it.

“Hey, don’t drop the ball halfway!”

Mu Yao was helpless. He tried his best to control the chain in his hand to make it act according to his plan, but unfortunately, the chain seemed to be working against him; no matter how hard he pulled, it went in the opposite direction.

“Little Impermanence, your professional skills are lacking. How can your dharma tool be so disobedient?”

The Rakshasa cocked an eyebrow, flicking his prayer beads to strike at the attacking ghost children. Regardless of whether Mu Yao’s chain was behaving, his own tool was perfectly obedient. The ghost children were gradually being corralled by the Rakshasa toward the side of the frozen female ghost.

Seeing how obedient the other’s tool was, Mu Yao was both angry and anxious. He stopped trying to wrestle with the stubborn chain and simply started running while yanking the chain along.

The chain remained hooked to the female ghost. Because of Mu Yao’s movement, the chain gradually came into contact with the other ghost children. With the Rakshasa’s attacks driving them and Mu Yao’s movement catching them, more and more ghost children came into contact with the chain until they were finally all bundled together.

“As long as the goal is achieved, it doesn’t matter if the tool is obedient or not.”

Mu Yao’s blurred face turned toward the Rakshasa. He was actually quite nervous inside; after all, the chain’s disobedience almost ruined everything. If it had detached from the female ghost, he truly wouldn’t have achieved his goal.

“Heh.”

How could the Rakshasa not see the embarrassment of the Little Impermanence in front of him? He gave a light chuckle, choosing not to push Mu Yao’s buttons at such a critical moment.

He turned his head to look at the shocked Village Chief in the distance. A cold light flashed in his pupils, and he threw a dharma tool toward the man.

Just a moment before the tool was about to strike the Village Chief’s knee, the female ghost suddenly let out a piercing scream.

“AHHHHH!!!”

The shrill cry snapped the Village Chief back to his senses. Almost instinctively, he leaned to the side, narrowly evading the flying tool. Seeing the Rakshasa suddenly close in, he raised his hands and began flailing wildly.

The Rakshasa sensed flashes of silver in the man’s hands, but given the dim light of the cave, he couldn’t see clearly what the object was; he could only dodge and counterattack based on instinct.

No matter what the Village Chief was holding, he just needed to knock it down.

The Rakshasa’s skills were superb. Even though the Village Chief had lost his mind and was swinging his arms without any pattern, the Rakshasa was able to find a way to neutralize him in one move, knocking the weapon from his hand and pinning him against the platform.

During the struggle, they had moved next to the platform. Seeing the Rakshasa restrain the Village Chief, Mu Yao walked over, dragging the Soul-Hooking Chain and the bundle of ghost children attached to it.

On this square platform lay a small, mummified corpse. The mummy was wearing a beautiful red dress. It was incomplete—the bare arms lay at its sides, but there were no hands below the wrists, only faintly blood-red skin.

“Is this a sacrificial altar?”

Mu Yao was an amateur, after all. He didn’t know much about these bizarre occurrences and had encountered even fewer of them. Since there was an expert acting as his temporary partner right there, he naturally had to ask.

“Mm. This is the female ghost’s physical body, and also the sacrifice. You heard what that man said earlier—the ritual to reverse time requires a living sacrifice that meets specific criteria. It’s only because he failed that the subsequent killings occurred.”

While pinning the Village Chief, the Rakshasa fixed his gaze on the altar.

“Is there really a ritual to reverse time? It wouldn’t actually work, would it?”

Hearing the black-robed man’s words earlier had shaken Mu Yao. He couldn’t help but think that if this ritual could succeed, could he use it to go back to before his parents’ accident? If he could change the past where his father died and his mother became gravely ill, that would be wonderful.

Of course, he knew it was impossible and forbidden, but he couldn’t help but wonder.

“The past cannot be chased. That saying isn’t for nothing. What has happened has become an established fact; there is no room for change. You cannot try it. If you dare to try it recklessly…”

The eyes behind the Rakshasa’s mask held a chill—an iciness Mu Yao had never seen in his life. This made him profoundly realize that this Group Leader of the Ninth Group of the Supernatural Investigation Bureau was dangerous!

“Hehe, what are you thinking? I… I’m a living Impermanence. Don’t I know the rules?”

Mu Yao instinctively took two steps away from the Rakshasa and turned to look at the Village Chief, who was pinned down with a look of utter resentment.

“How do you plan to deal with him?”

“According to the rules.”

Mu Yao rolled his eyes. He obviously knew the other would handle it according to the Bureau’s rules. The problem was, he wasn’t a member of the Bureau—he didn’t know what their rules were!

“Then…”

Just as Mu Yao was about to press further, a ringtone sounded from the Rakshasa’s pocket.

“Come help me hold him. Bind him a couple of times with your chain.”

“My chain only works on ghosts; it has no effect on living people!”

Mu Yao glanced at the chain in his hand; it rattled twice as if on cue.

“It doesn’t need an ‘effect.’ It’s a physical object that can tie someone up. Let me take this call.”

“Wait, what call is so important you must take it right now?!”

Seeing that the Rakshasa was about to let go, Mu Yao hurriedly stepped forward, binding the man’s hands regardless of anything else. Just as he finished, the Rakshasa answered the phone.

“It’s solved. Someone just escaped; strengthen the perimeter patrols. Send a squad over here and send the data on the children to them so they can verify the ghost children’s identities once they arrive. Move fast.”

So he does have help. Then why didn’t he bring them in with him?

Hearing the conversation, Mu Yao knew the person on the other end was one of the Rakshasa’s subordinates. Knowing that backup was coming made him relax significantly.

I wonder how these victimized ghost children will be handled?

While Mu Yao was thinking, the Rakshasa hung up and walked back.

“I checked his past. His time studying away was not smooth. He faced a lot of discrimination and bullying in his first year, and life only got easier after the people bullying him met with successive accidents.”

Hearing the Rakshasa’s words, Mu Yao suddenly understood.

“Are you saying he might have started dabbling in secret arts during his school years? That he was the one behind those ‘accidents’?”

“Highly likely, but there’s no evidence yet; it needs a detailed investigation. However, he truly was miserable. Not only was he bullied abroad, but his lover was forced to marry someone else. He must have desperately wanted to return to his high school days—after all, that was the happiest time for him.”

The Rakshasa looked at the bound Village Chief. The man’s face held resentment and a mocking smile, as if he were laughing at his own naivety.

“Even if Auntie Zhou married another while he was away, by the time they reunited, her husband had already died in an accident. They could have rekindled their—wait, Auntie Zhou’s husband’s accident… couldn’t be?”

Mu Yao was about to say that even if Auntie Zhou had a child, they could have rekindled their relationship after reuniting; there was no need to reverse time. But then he remembered what the Rakshasa just said about the “accidents” involving the bullies.

From the information he had heard, the Village Chief only found out Auntie Zhou had married after returning to the village. What if he hadn’t just found out? What if he had known all along?

This village wasn’t completely cut off from the world. The Village Chief might have stayed in touch with some classmates. What if those people told him that Auntie Zhou had married and had a child, and that her life was becoming more and more stable?

Would the Village Chief feel that Auntie Zhou had betrayed him? Would he harbor a desire for revenge?

Thinking this way, Mu Yao suddenly had a guess: the accidental death of Auntie Zhou’s husband might have been the Village Chief’s doing.

“Hahahaha! Reunite? Rekindle our relationship? I gave her the chance to rekindle it! Unfortunately, she didn’t take it!”

The Village Chief suddenly burst into laughter, the whites of his eyes bloodshot.

“After I killed that husband of hers, if she had just accepted my proposal and lived a good life with me, I could have tolerated that child she had with that dog of a man. It would have just been an extra pair of chopsticks at the table.”

“But she was so stupid! Not only did she reject me, she kept doting on that child who shouldn’t have been born! She… she promised to wait for me to return! Since she betrayed me, she can’t blame me for being heartless!”

“Using her daughter as a sacrifice and making her the foundation for me to reverse time was only fitting. It’s just a shame the ritual didn’t succeed. If it had, I could have killed her parents, let her take the exams with me, and we could have faced that discrimination and bullying together outside. The two of us would have made it through, and then we would have gotten better and better!”

Mu Yao looked at the Village Chief, whose eyes were becoming increasingly red and insane, and instinctively took a step back.

“She… she’s the person you like, and you destroyed her life like this? You wanted her to face discrimination and bullying with you? Are you even human?!”

“That was the future she was supposed to have! Her life was just twisted by her parents! I was just setting things right! What did I do wrong? How am I not human?!”

The Village Chief suddenly stood up, his arms struggling incessantly to break free from the Soul-Hooking Chain.

“If she were with me, she would only have been better off. She wouldn’t have been forced by her parents, wouldn’t have met that dog man, wouldn’t have had to give birth to that worthless girl, and wouldn’t have gone mad because of that brat and become my bur—”

The Village Chief’s words were cut short. A figure lunged out from the darkness, and a flash of cold light struck the Village Chief square in the abdomen.

“It’s you?!”

“Why are you appearing here?”

Mu Yao and the Rakshasa looked at the sudden figure and couldn’t help but cry out in shock!