The Otherworldly God I Serve Is Actually a Demon - Chapter 20

Five days ago, my mother, who had passed away a month ago, appeared at home as if nothing had happened and cooked a table full of dishes for me.

The terrifying part was that neither my dad nor I found it strange, as if her coming back to life was a normal occurrence.

The dishes on the table were all meat, but the seasonings smelled delicious. I took a bite of the meat and found it incredibly flavorful, quickly devouring two large bowls of rice.

Mom told me she had arranged for me to commute to school so I wouldn’t have to stay on campus anymore. Instead, I could stay at home and keep her company.

So that night, I went back to my bedroom to sleep, while Dad and Mom entered the master bedroom together. In the middle of the night, I heard the sound of a kitchen knife chopping on a cutting board coming from the kitchen, but I was too tired and simply turned over and fell back asleep.

The next day, Dad was gone. I asked Mom in confusion why Dad had disappeared as soon as I woke up, nowhere to be found.

Mom smiled and said, “Didn’t your dad pass away a long time ago? You don’t have a dad. Isn’t having just Mom enough?”

My mind felt foggy, as if my consciousness was trapped in a haze. It seemed like I had forgotten something, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember.

Right, I don’t have a dad. I only have Mom.

Mom cooked a lot more meat dishes, filling the table with them. I ate three meals a day, but no matter how much I ate, the food never seemed to run out.

I didn’t have to go to school either, because Mom said all I needed to do was stay at home and be her daughter.

Alright, I thought, but why don’t I have to go to school, while Mom goes out looking exactly like me?

Ah, my head hurts so much. Right, right, Mom can transform into my appearance. Isn’t that perfectly normal?

I felt very sleepy, so I went back to my bedroom to sleep.

I had a nightmare. I dreamed that Mom was standing in front of me, covered in dirt. Beside her was a humanoid figure that looked as if it had been deep-fried, its body coated in grease.

They chased after me anxiously, shouting something loudly.

I was so scared that I kept running forward. Just as I was about to be caught, I woke up.

The clock on the wall ticked steadily, and the bedroom was quiet. Mom stood by my bedside, smiling as she looked at me.

“Did you have a nightmare, my good daughter?” she asked.

“Yes, Mom. I dreamed you were covered in dirt,” I replied uneasily, hugging her.

Mom patted my back to comfort me. “It’s okay. It was just a nightmare. Let Mom sleep with you, so you won’t have any more nightmares.”

I agreed because I was truly scared. But for some reason, Mom didn’t close her eyes when she slept at night. She said she never needed to close her eyes to sleep.

My head hurts. I should just sleep. Why think about so many strange things?

Mom’s embrace was so cold, and it carried the smell of blood, but I felt at ease because it was Mom.

Breakfast was still meat, and it seemed a bit spoiled. I took a bite and immediately spat it out. When Mom saw me spit it out, she became very angry. She said I was disobedient, not listening at all, and wasting the food she had worked so hard to prepare.

Her appearance turned terrifying, sharp teeth, covered in blood, eyes wide open as if she wanted to devour me.

The gentle figure in my memory was nothing like the person before me. I started crying, and suddenly, I remembered what Mom in last night’s dream had been shouting as she chased me.

She and Dad were shouting together:

“Mom is not Mom!”

“Mom is not Mom!”

“Mom is not Mom!”

My head hurts so much, ah! That’s right, it’s not my mom. I remember now, my mom is already dead.

What about Dad?

My eyes uncontrollably drifted to the meat on the table, the plates of fried meat. Looking closely, I could still see traces of blood that hadn’t been properly cleaned.

“Ugh…”

My stomach churned violently, and I vomited uncontrollably, as if trying to expel everything inside me. But the thought that this meat was my dad, that I had eaten my dad, made me wish I were dead.

It grew angry, frantically smashing the furniture in the room.

“You… you’re not my mom.”

Seeing its terrifying appearance, I screamed those words in fear.

Those words seemed to flip a switch, igniting it completely. It shrieked, tearing off its own face, and lunged at me.

But I didn’t die. I saw a transparent shadow appear in front of me, shielding me.

I scrambled and crawled into the bedroom, locking the door behind me. Outside, its furious roars echoed, and soon it was at my bedroom door, frantically clawing at the wooden panel. But it couldn’t open the door.

I didn’t dare go out, didn’t dare think, didn’t dare sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, hellish scenes flashed through my mind.

I lay on the bed like that, without eating or drinking, for a whole day. Then, the will to survive forced me to get up and seek help. But I couldn’t call the police, and no matter who I tried to message about what was happening, the messages wouldn’t go through.

With no other choice, I tried to trick others into coming to my house using indirect methods.

But everyone who came was sent away by it. Relatives and friends didn’t even notice anything unusual about it. Some heard my cries for help, but they soon fell silent.

After three days without food or water, I finally lost the strength to scream. My phone was about to die from lack of charge, and the power switch had been turned off by it, so I couldn’t recharge it.

I felt the door was about to give way. It clawed at it frantically every day, and without food or water, I felt like I was dying too…

After Li Fang finished recounting her experiences over the past few days, Ruan Jiao couldn’t help but feel a chill run down her spine.

The ghost outside the door had taken on Li Fang’s appearance and attended school for several days, but no one had noticed.

It also had the ability to alter people’s perceptions. On the night of the Ghost Festival, it had lured Xiang You into telling ghost stories with it to scare Ruan Jiao.

The fact that ghosts could cooperate with each other was what truly sent shivers down her spine.

Fortunately, ghosts didn’t seem to share their prey, or else Ruan Jiao would have encountered two ghosts that day.

Moreover, the peeping ghost had hidden the truth about Ruan Jiao’s constitution from “Mom,” indicating that while ghosts might cooperate, their alliances were often shallow and fragile.

Having obtained the information she needed, Ruan Jiao left Li Fang in Xiang You’s care and sat on Li Fang’s bed, lost in thought.

Throughout this, “Mom” continued to ram against the door, the wooden panel shaking as if it were about to break at any moment.

This door had let them in but kept “Mom” out, with only one purpose: to protect Li Fang.

Ruan Jiao’s gaze fell on the bedroom door. It looked ordinary, nothing out of the ordinary. But since it had the power to deal with ghosts, there must be a ghost dwelling within it.

In Li Fang’s memories, she also mentioned that when she was about to be caught by “Mom,” a transparent figure blocked her path. Moreover, she was awakened by her parents in the nightmare.

If she wasn’t mistaken, Li Fang’s mother was residing within this door, while the transparent shadow that blocked “Mom” was her father. The father died later, so he was weaker, while the mother was stronger and could inhabit the door itself.

But both were weaker than “Mom” and dared not reveal themselves directly, only offering subtle reminders and protection to their daughter. The father, having shielded Li Fang from “Mom,” had likely sacrificed himself. Judging by the state of the door, the mother was probably not far behind.

It was pitiful that the daughter they protected still didn’t know they had been by her side all along.

Ruan Jiao had already deduced “Mom’s” weakness, but it required Li Fang’s cooperation.

“Li Fang, do you know that your parents have always been by your side?” she asked gently.

Li Fang was taken aback, as if pondering for a moment, but she couldn’t have been completely unaware. Soon, she understood what Ruan Jiao was implying.

“Are my parents… ghosts now, and then…”

Ruan Jiao nodded, quietly sharing her speculation with Li Fang. Her purpose in revealing this wasn’t out of pity for the parents’ heartfelt efforts, but to ignite Li Fang’s fighting spirit.

Even the most timid person can find courage for the sake of those they hold dearest. And next, she needed Li Fang to act with courage.

After hearing Ruan Jiao’s words, Li Fang stared at the bedroom door and burst into loud sobs. But her body was dehydrated, and she couldn’t even shed tears, she could only wail. Her pitiful appearance moved Xiang You beside her to wipe away tears as well.

“I hate it! It killed my family, it ruined my life. I hate it so much!” Li Fang’s eyes were filled with resentment.

Naturally, she was referring to the “Mom” outside the door.

Seeing that the groundwork was laid and the ghost outside was growing fiercer, Ruan Jiao shared her guess with Li Fang.

“Will this really work?” Li Fang asked fearfully.

What Ruan Jiao was asking her to do was akin to dancing on the ghost’s face, it was fraught with danger.

“I can’t guarantee my guess is correct, but if we do nothing, we’ll all die here. And your parents will suffer even more, since they’ve already died once, they’ll only face soul-shattering destruction.”

Ruan Jiao wasn’t overly concerned with whether Li Fang was willing to act. She had no intention of dying here. But Li Fang’s fate was uncertain. If she chose to hide like a coward, Ruan Jiao would prioritize abandoning her to escape.

She had been tricked into this danger because of Li Fang. She wouldn’t forgive her just because she was pitiful.

The mention of soul-shattering destruction seemed to strike a nerve in Li Fang. With a pained expression, she made her decision, gaining a surge of strength. Trembling, she managed to stand up from the floor.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” she said.

Ruan Jiao pulled Xiang You to the far wall, keeping a distance from Li Fang, then signaled for her to proceed.

Li Fang took a deep breath and opened the bedroom door.

Outside stood “Mom,” covered in blood. Seeing the door open, she let out a shriek and lunged forward.

But Li Fang’s words stopped her in her tracks.

“Mom,” she called out.

The ghost’s pale face shifted with unpredictable emotions, and her movements indeed came to a halt.

Li Fang steeled herself and called out once more, “Mom.”

It slowly lowered its sharp claws, its terrifying face reverting to the appearance it had when it opened the door for Ruan Jiao and the others. Though its expression remained stiff, it was clear it was trying hard to mimic a human.

Ruan Jiao’s heart settled, it seemed her guess was correct.

Though she didn’t understand why this ghost was going to such lengths to impersonate Li Fang’s mother, its obsession was unmistakable: to become Li Fang’s true mother.

That was why it had broken down when its identity was exposed, but by exploiting this very point, it could be controlled.

“Fangfang,” it gazed at Li Fang with resentment, “you’ve made Mom so sad.”

Li Fang’s face twisted in disgust. She wanted nothing more than to lunge forward and tear the face off the thing before her. A disgusting monster, daring to wear her mother’s face and call her by her childhood name.

But remembering what Ruan Jiao had said earlier, she forcibly suppressed the impulse and forced a smile onto her face.

“Mom, I’m hungry. Could you go buy groceries and cook for me?”

“Mom’s” eyes rolled in their sockets, its greedy gaze lingering reluctantly on Ruan Jiao, who stood not far behind Li Fang.

“Alright, I’ll prepare the ingredients and cook for you right now,” it said, though its steps carried it toward Ruan Jiao instead.

It likely intended to turn Ruan Jiao into a meal.

“Mom, what are you doing to my friend? Shouldn’t you go to the market if you’re preparing ingredients?” Li Fang’s voice cut in sharply from behind.

“Mom” paused, its expression conflicted as it muttered, “But this one is delicious. You’ll feel better after eating it too.”

Ruan Jiao was speechless. Why did it sound like she was some sort of “Tang Monk meat,” granting immortality to anyone who took a bite?

“Enough,” Li Fang cried out, her eyes wide with horror as if recalling her father, whom she had been forced to consume. Her emotions teetered on the edge of collapse. “That’s my friend. She’s human, just like me, not food. Can’t you make something normal for me?”

“Mom” glanced back at the distraught Li Fang, then turned its gaze toward Ruan Jiao in the distance.

It seemed to hesitate, to ponder, to weigh its options.

The ghost’s instincts screamed at it to devour this fragrant human at all costs, but another, nearly maddening obsession tugged at it relentlessly.

That obsession whispered that it shouldn’t make its daughter sad, it needed to be a good mother.

“Ugh… ahhhh!”

It clutched its head and let out a crazed scream, its eyes burning crimson as it stared at Ruan Jiao.

“Mom,” Li Fang collapsed to the floor, staring at it in terror.

She had done everything an ordinary person could muster in the face of a ghost, now, only helpless fear remained in her heart.

“Mom’s” internal turmoil didn’t last long. It quickly solidified its resolve. Born from resentment and distortion, the ghost’s malice and destructive urges toward humans would always overpower the faint remnants of human emotion it retained.

Tears of blood streamed from its eyes as it straightened up and moved toward Ruan Jiao, its voice soft and murmuring.

“Fangfang, Mom loves you. Once Mom eats her, I can focus on being with you…”

“What do we do, Jiaojiao? It still wants to kill us,” Xiang You whispered, her face pale with fear.

Ruan Jiao remained outwardly calm. Even as the terrifying, blood-streaked ghost face drew within a meter of her, she didn’t flinch.

Xiang You’s legs trembled uncontrollably, and she collapsed to her knees on the floor.

Sharp, blood-stained nails caked with grime reached toward the girl. There was no doubt that in the next second, she would be torn to shreds by those claws. But it didn’t happen. The hand stopped right in front of her, unable to advance even half an inch further.

The “mother’s” wide, bulging eyes suddenly filled with terror. Its arm began to tremble, as if seized by some horrifying force in the air, its wrist bending upward at an eerie, unnatural angle.

Xiang You only heard Ruan Jiao utter three strange syllables, but she couldn’t make out what they were.

Yet, in that very instant, she saw the air around the vengeful ghost, which had been just a step away from Ruan Jiao, suddenly twist and distort.

As if compressed by some heavy, invisible force, its entire body began to shrink and crumple, like a soda can being crushed, collapsing inward relentlessly.

Crack, crack…

The sickening sound of bones snapping.

The “mother” was squeezed tight by an unseen power, twisted like a braided rope, floating helplessly in midair, unable to move.

The terror that had filled the room moments before instantly lost its threat, but Xiang You and Li Fang didn’t feel saved. On the contrary, compared to their earlier fear of the “mother,” they now felt even more panicked and horrified.

In the air, something hundreds of times more terrifying seemed to have appeared. Just sensing that faint, chilling presence made them tremble uncontrollably.

It was an instinctive, primal fear of the unknown, urging them to flee this place immediately.

But they couldn’t. They couldn’t even move, let alone lift their heads to look at the figure that had materialized out of thin air. They remained kneeling on the ground, unable to raise their eyes.

What kind of being was this? Merely sensing its presence was enough to nearly shatter their nerves.

Yet, they heard something, the unknown, powerful entity actually leaned down before a girl, whispering softly like a lover.

“Jiaojiao…”

A cold breath brushed against Ruan Jiao’s ear, sending a shiver of tingling numbness through her. She was pulled into an icy embrace, and a damp, sticky chill seeped into the hidden parts of her body.

The coldness prickled her skin, itching faintly, as if an electric current were passing through, making her want to push away the restless hands on her.

But when her gaze met those pitch-black eyes filled with frost, she felt a pang of guilt and fear. Because the other seemed to be in a very bad mood.

“Why did you only call for me now?” Jun Gongyu’s voice was tinged with resentment, yet her hands tightened around Ruan Jiao’s slender waist.

At the first sign of danger, she had tried to handle it herself, when she could have simply relied on her.

So disobedient.