Spirit Reaper - Chapter 19

Chapter 19: Let’s Play a Game—The Spirit of the Saucer

“Is that… Liu Shu?” Wuyi recognized the voice from behind her.

“Listen to me, now is not the time for nonsense. You can’t stay here!” With a knife still pressed against her neck, Wuyi stared at the three ghoulish figures by the window—disheveled hair, only their lower faces visible, lips curled into eerie grins. Her tone was urgent. “The things in this room are not something you can handle.”

To her surprise, the person behind her didn’t show a hint of fear. Instead, she let out a loud, manic laugh. “Hearing you say that only makes me want to stay more.”

“Wuyi, we’re roommates after all. Help me out today.”

“What exactly are you trying to do? Don’t be impulsive!”

“Shut up! Sit still!”

Restricted by her situation and unable to use lethal force against a defenseless mortal, Wuyi could only watch as Liu Shu tied her to a chair, leaving only her right hand free.

“Don’t worry. If you cooperate, I won’t hurt you,” Liu Shu said, pulling a paper covered in characters from her backpack and smoothing it out on the desk.

“I heard everything you and Xie Yunqing talked about.”

“Seeing how you’ve acted the last few days, I knew the legend of the Senior Sister in Red must be true.”

“So, just help me this once. I need the Senior Sister’s help…”

Even in the darkness, Wuyi could feel the fanaticism and longing radiating from Liu Shu. Though they hadn’t known each other long, she knew Liu Shu wasn’t naturally this extreme. Her current behavior was clearly fueled by the thick ghostly aura in the room.

Ghostly energy is the essence of Yin; even a sliver of it can distort a mortal’s mind over time. In Room 419, the aura was heavy enough to swallow a person whole. If Liu Shu were possessed, Wuyi would have a way to fix it—but the girl was merely “heart-fogged,” her desires and extreme emotions amplified. She was still a normal human, which meant Wuyi’s spiritual weapons were useless against her. If she used the Soul-Hooking Whip or the Soul-Summoning Banner, the shock might turn Liu Shu into a mindless vegetable.

Wuyi looked at the grinning Liu Shu, then at the pale-eyed spirits by the window, and sighed helplessly. Playing along was the only option for now.

“Fine, Liu Shu. I’ll cooperate. But you have to tell me what we’re doing first. And look, these ropes are tight—can’t you loosen them a bit?”

“Why the sudden change of heart?” Liu Shu didn’t take the bait. She placed a porcelain saucer upside down in the center of the paper. Then, she pricked her finger, letting beads of blood drip onto the base of the saucer.

Liu Shu seemed oblivious to the pain, flashing a grim smile at Wuyi. “Whatever. Let’s just play a game, shall we?”

At that moment, the three ghosts on the windowsill became restless. They drifted behind Liu Shu. A sudden icy wind kicked up, making the dilapidated windows rattle with a sound like a woman’s shrill crying.

Wuyi’s right hand rose uncontrollably. An invisible force straightened her index finger and slammed it onto the base of the saucer. The blood splashed against the white paper, stark and jarring.

The Red Spirit is pulling the strings!

Liu Shu, a mere mortal, didn’t have this kind of power. The puppeteer was the grinning woman in red behind her.

“Spirit of the Saucer, Spirit of the Saucer, please hear my call,” Liu Shu began, closing her eyes and chanting.

The three spirits dispersed. The Red Spirit vanished into thin air, while the two White Spirits moved to the empty sides of the table. They extended their long-nailed index fingers, resting them on the saucer.

“Spirit of the Saucer, are you here? If so, please move the dish.”

Screech— The saucer began to slide rapidly across the table. Liu Shu was blind to the truth, but Wuyi saw it clearly: the two White Spirits had the glint of predators in their eyes.

“Great! You’re really here! Senior Sister, is that you?” Liu Shu screamed, her voice cracking with excitement. “If it’s you, give me a sign.”

The saucer slid slowly to the top-left corner, stopping firmly on the character for “YES.”

“It’s true! She really exists!” Liu Shu’s eyes turned a bloodshot red as she looked at Wuyi. “Senior Sister, they say you can grant any wish. Is it true?”

“Liu Shu, wake up!” Wuyi shouted. “Do you have any idea what the price for a deal with a vengeful ghost is? It’s more than you can pay!”

Suddenly, Wuyi felt a chill like falling into an ice cellar. Her neck began to itch, as if a coarse hemp rope were being rubbed against her skin. Sensing disaster, she spoke faster: “Listen to me, end this now… mph!“

Her mouth was suddenly muffled by a clump of black hair. It was coarse, like dry grass or wire wool, smelling faintly of blood. The endless strands of hair began to wrap around her right arm, stripping her of the ability to resist.

But not entirely. Wuyi noticed that while the hair bound her arm, it steered clear of her wrist—it was afraid of the Soul-Hooking Whip. No matter how vengeful this spirit was, it was still just a relatively new wraith. It naturally feared a weapon made of thousand-year-old serpent bone.

Wuyi’s heart settled. Since the Red Spirit feared the whip, Wuyi still had a fighting chance. But first, she had to get Liu Shu out. Fighting ghosts was her job; involving civilians was a nightmare.

To avoid alerting them, Wuyi stopped struggling. She watched as the saucer moved back to “YES.”

“Wonderful! Wonderful!” Liu Shu was ecstatic. “Senior Sister, please give me endless wealth! I will offer you everything I have!”

Wuyi felt the saucer vibrate violently. A piercing, manic laughter rang out, stabbing at her eardrums. The hair binding her suddenly unraveled, and the two White Spirits vanished. Only she and Liu Shu remained in the room.

A thick fog began to roll in, reducing Wuyi’s vision to just the table in front of her. Suddenly, a pale, withered hand emerged from the mist and took control of the saucer. It spun the dish across the table at an uncontrollable speed, as if searching for something that wasn’t on the paper.

“Your wish… I can grant it…” A mournful female voice echoed from behind Liu Shu.

As the fog thinned, Wuyi’s pupils contracted. The three spirits were standing in a row behind Liu Shu. The Red Spirit’s hair was extending like sentient tentacles, slowly coiling around Liu Shu’s body.

Liu Shu, completely unaware, was lost in her frenzy. “Senior Sister, whatever you want, I’ll give it to you! Anything!”

“I want… your LIFE!!!”

“Hahahahahahaha!”

The Red Spirit shrieked, opening her mouth to reveal a long tongue that lashed out toward Liu Shu’s neck.

“Ngh—” As the tongue constricted, Liu Shu’s eyes finally cleared. She clawed at her throat, but the grip only tightened. “Wuyi, save me—”

“You really think I’m a pushover just because I haven’t bared my teeth?” Wuyi hissed. She formed a hand seal and chanted: “By the grace of the Ancestors—BREAK!”

Flames erupted from the ropes binding Wuyi. She wrenched herself free with ease. “I don’t care how much resentment you hold. If you take her life today, I’ll make sure you vanish forever!”

“You? Make me vanish?” The Red Spirit laughed as if it were the funniest joke in the world. “Try it. Even the ‘experts’ at the Daoist Academy didn’t dare interfere. What is a little brat like you going to do? Do you know what I’ve suffered? I hate everyone! They were all accomplices!”

Bloody tears tracked down her cheeks, but her expression shifted instantly back to a wicked grin. “You want to destroy me? On what grounds? These people make the deals willingly. Beauty, wealth, love—I give them the dream they desire, and they pay the price.”

“You’re beyond saving!”

“I’m a ghost! What kind of ‘fairness’ do you expect when dealing with a ghost?” As she spoke, the Red Spirit merged into Liu Shu’s body.

Instantly, Liu Shu’s eyes turned crimson. She twisted her neck with a sickening crack and smirked at Wuyi. “Initially, I only wanted her life. But now, I’m much more interested in you.”

“Let’s make a deal.”