The Otherworldly God I Serve Is Actually a Demon - Chapter 13

A damp liquid trickled onto Ruan Jiao’s hand, it was Xiang You’s tears. She had been scared to the point of crying.

For an ordinary person encountering a ghost for the first time and witnessing such hellish scenes, not screaming in terror was already quite an achievement.

Ruan Jiao wasn’t doing well either. Her heart was racing, but she forced herself to stay calm.

The name “Starving Ghost” surfaced in her mind once again.

The strange feelings she had when first watching its livestream were now confirmed. This ghost was definitely dangerous, it intended to devour everyone in the mall.

If she had encountered it first, she might have already been digested by now.

Compared to this ghost, the Peeping Ghost was nothing but a little sister.

Bad luck, bad luck, bad luck. Jiangcheng was so big, yet this ghost had to come here and work as a staff member at a crab stew restaurant.

At this moment, Ruan Jiao missed Jun Gongyu immensely. Only by Jun Gongyu’s side was it safe; the moment she left her, she encountered ghosts.

But she didn’t immediately call for Jun Gongyu’s help. First, because she had already used up a significant portion of today’s fifteen-minute allowance and didn’t dare to use it recklessly again. Second, she wasn’t the only one in the mall, and she felt that too many people shouldn’t know about Jun Gongyu’s existence.

Third, she needed to be stronger.

The world was changing too fast. Ghosts could appear even in broad daylight, and who knew what would happen in the future. If she didn’t dare to face ghosts head-on during the early stages of supernatural occurrences, she would surely die the moment she left Jun Gongyu’s side.

Compared to others who were helpless, she was incredibly lucky. She had Jun Gongyu as her safety net, allowing her to interact with ghosts, understand them, and even find ways to repel them within the limits of safety.

Ruan Jiao quietly pondered: What would this Starving Ghost’s weakness be?

Think fast. Recall its every move, its words and actions. Its weakness must lie within them.

She slowed her breathing and slowly moved backward with Xiang You, planning to take advantage of the Starving Ghost still eating to leave this dangerous spot.

Eat a little longer.

Don’t notice them.

As if hearing her thoughts, the Starving Ghost raised its head and looked directly at the spot where the two were hiding. Its blood-stained lips split into a terrifying grin.

“Miss Xiangxiang.”

“I can smell you.”

“Wait for me. I’ll come for you soon.”

666, this ghost is cheating.

It seemed highly sensitive to her scent. Why? Was there something about her that attracted it?

Ruan Jiao couldn’t figure it out, so she decided not to hide anymore. Since the ghost could smell her no matter what, there was no need for her to cower.

She extended her hand and gave a big, contemptuous middle finger to the blood-drenched Starving Ghost below.

The Starving Ghost seemed to have never encountered such a bold human before. A rare look of bewilderment appeared on its sinister face, followed by a maniacal, twisted laugh. Its eating speed visibly increased.

Ruan Jiao wasn’t foolish enough to stay put and wait to be caught. She grabbed Xiang You and started running.

Meanwhile, outside the mall.

A young woman in a bright yellow Taoist robe stood tall and graceful at the entrance. Behind her, members of the Special Case Department, who had rushed to the scene, were setting up a perimeter with caution tape.

Passersby were being forcibly evacuated.

“There is a violent perpetrator inside the mall with explosives, holding hostages. Unrelated personnel must leave immediately. Interfering with the rescue operation will be dealt with according to criminal law!”

The onlookers, hearing this, were even more eager to witness the drama. They gathered not far from the police line, holding up their phones to snap photos.

They had no idea what terrifying entity lurked inside the mall, only that a major incident was rare in Jiangcheng. Everyone wanted a front-row seat, thinking they might even make the headlines.

Several black official vehicles were parked outside the mall, surrounded by a circle of staff.

A woman in a black overcoat stepped out of one of the cars, her entire demeanor cold and sharp. Her face was stern and composed, her hair tied up in a neat, high ponytail. She didn’t even spare a glance at the bystanders.

She spoke decisively: “Anyone obstructing law enforcement on the scene is to be apprehended immediately, and their tools confiscated.”

Several armed officers immediately moved toward those holding up their phones. They had been told to leave earlier but refused, now they were headed to the station for questioning, and their phones would be seized.

All roads leading to the mall from every direction were completely sealed off. The remaining curious onlookers could only watch from a distance of 500 meters away.

These measures minimized the impact caused by the ghost.

“Master Zhong, are you confident you can handle the ghost in the mall?” the woman in black asked as she approached the woman in Taoist robes.

“The ghost’s domain is so vast, this entity is likely extremely vicious. I can only do my best,” the Taoist-robed woman replied, shaking her head.

Upon hearing this, Shangguan Yun’s delicate brows furrowed, her expression grave.

She was the head of Jiangcheng’s Special Management and Investigation Department. While she herself had no ability to exorcise ghosts, she was responsible for assisting the masters in their work.

“Thank you for your efforts.” Shangguan Yun said politely to the Taoist-robed woman.

This woman was the only hope for the survivors trapped inside the mall.

“My Zhong family has passed down the art of exorcism through generations. My mother placed great expectations on me, to turn the tide and save all living beings.”

At this, the Taoist-robed woman turned slightly and smiled. “Director Shangguan, please rest assured. Even if I, Zhong Wanlan, die here today, I will do everything in my power to save everyone.”

With that, without waiting for Shangguan Yun’s response, she resolutely walked through the door that resembled a dark abyss, leaving behind only a bold and unhesitating silhouette.

“Xiang You, hide here. The ghost is likely after me, I’ll go draw it away,” Ruan Jiao said, hiding Xiang You in a fitting room of a clothing store.

“Jiaojiao, you can’t go, it’s too dangerous,” Xiang You pleaded, her face tear-stricken as she held onto her.

“Calm down, Xiang You. I’ll be fine,” Ruan Jiao patted her cheek. “Remember that post by the user ‘First Person of the Supernatural Revival Era’? Everything in that post is true. Stay here and try to recall the contents completely, it might save our lives.”

Xiang You nodded, trembling. She clutched her bag, took out her phone, and searched through her album for the screenshots. She knew that following Ruan Jiao now would only be a burden, so she tried her best to think of something she could do to help.

Seeing that Xiang You had successfully channeled her fear into the power of thought, Ruan Jiao felt reassured. She closed the fitting room door and stepped out of the clothing store.

She had hidden Xiang You on the fifth floor, the mall’s highest level, while she herself stayed outside, observing the Starving Ghost and trying to discern its patterns of movement.

While making her way up to find Ruan Jiao, the Starving Ghost had captured two more people. It seemed incapable of teleporting vertically between floors, it could only teleport on flat ground, covering about two meters at a time.

Moreover, whenever it encountered anyone on its path, it would stop to devour them before continuing on its way.

Ruan Jiao followed its movement patterns, wandering through the mall and playing a game of hide-and-seek with it.

Whenever the Starving Ghost came within three meters of her, the hairband on her wrist would send a sharp, stinging sensation, allowing her to escape just in time.

After this happened repeatedly, the ghost noticed her peculiar behavior and, with great interest, stopped just outside the three-meter range.

“You always seem to know where I am, is it because of that thing on your wrist? Let me take a closer sniff… I do seem to detect a familiar scent on you, but I can’t quite place it. It must be someone I encountered a long time ago.” The Starving Ghost twitched its nose, sniffing carefully.

A familiar scent, could this ghost have met Jun Gongyu before? Ruan Jiao pondered this as she continued to step back, searching for an opportunity to flee.

“It’s useless. I won’t let you keep using the same trick against me.” The Starving Ghost vanished from its spot.

In just two seconds, it reappeared right in front of Ruan Jiao, grinning maliciously as it reached out toward her.

Startled, Ruan Jiao instinctively raised her wrist to block it. To her surprise, the Starving Ghost’s movements froze completely at her gesture.

Seizing the opportunity, she turned and ran.

The ghost, left standing in place, stared blankly for a moment before looking toward the direction Ruan Jiao had fled, visibly shaken.

In that brief moment, it had glimpsed a chilling, frosty figure emanating from this human. Just a single glance had paralyzed it with fear, leaving it unable to move.

It was a terror rooted deep in its memories…

“So, it’s you.”

The ghost stood there as if lost in thought, then suddenly burst into a bizarre, almost hysterical laugh.

“But you haven’t fully awakened yet… Hahaha, what a perfect opportunity to devour you!”

Cackling madly, the Starving Ghost vanished once more, moving even faster than before. It raced through the mall like a radar, heading straight for every hiding spot where people were concealed, grabbing and devouring them without discrimination.

“Don’t eat me, don’t eat me! Go eat someone else, there are others over there! Why do you have to eat me?!”

A woman caught by the Starving Ghost screamed in despair.

“Because I see you now, you fool,” the Starving Ghost replied with a laugh before piercing her skull.

It stuck a finger into the woman’s head, twisted it around a few times, and pulled it out, coated with a thick, white substance. Then, it placed the finger in its mouth and began sucking on it with relish.

Ruan Jiao felt her stomach churn at the sight, but she also caught the key detail in the ghost’s words.

It said it ate the woman because it saw her.

If it sees someone, it eats them. But what if it can’t see them?

Ruan Jiao felt she was onto something, but she quickly dismissed the idea. Simply hiding well wasn’t enough, all those people had been hiding in various places, only to be dragged out by the passing Starving Ghost.

Unless someone could become completely invisible, the ghost’s keen sense of smell would sniff them out no matter where they hid.

As the Starving Ghost continued its rampage, the number of people in its path dwindled. It had already reached the fourth floor, while Ruan Jiao stood just one floor above on the fifth.

The hairband on her wrist stabbed into her skin with a sharp, intense pain. But unless she spoke that name, Jun Gongyu could not appear.

This made her feel that the hairband was not a vessel, but a seal. The name was the incantation to break the seal.

Just as she was about to call for help, the Starving Ghost found another person hiding on the fourth floor in the trash can.

As soon as it dragged the person out, a cold, clear voice sounded behind it.

“Ghost, release the human in your hands.”

The Starving Ghost paused, turning its head to look back, its crimson eyes filled with confusion. When had this person appeared behind it? It hadn’t sensed anything at all.