I Went Crazy Killing in the World of Gods and Demons - Chapter 48

Chapter 48

People tend to forget themselves in moments of triumph, and once they lose composure, they become easy to manipulate.

The same holds true for ghosts.

Look how wretched Xie Qingling appears now.

Clad in Three-Inch Golden Lilies, she flees in panic under the curse of the Red Wedding Dress. Though the world is vast enough to embrace all, she finds no refuge like a fledgling bird separated from its mother, only by retreating to a warm nest can she grasp a moment’s peace.

But the Red Wedding Dress intends to claim her life before she even reaches the office! The gates of hell are about to swing open for Xie Qingling; the perennial chill and mist of the River of Forgetfulness will envelop her tightly.

Watching as it closes in to reap her soul, watching as she nears becoming another victim of its curse, watching as she is poised to become its first bridal offering…

How could the Red Wedding Dress not give chase?

It will surely “press its advantage,” pursuing her relentlessly to the bitter end.

Thus, this is Xie Qingling’s opportunity her chance to turn the tables, to secure a decisive and lasting victory.

Ling Fang’s method isn’t unreliable or unsuitable, but it’s far too slow.

Speed is crucial in warfare don’t give the Red Wedding Dress time to calm down and strategize. Unconventional tactics thrive on unpredictability; the more your opponent fails to anticipate your moves, the greater your odds of success.

The wind howls violently in her ears as Xie Qingling dashes forward at a speed unattainable by ordinary human flesh.

She transforms into a gust of swift wind, a flash of lightning so fast that from her perspective, the shimmering city lights blur into chaotic streaks of color, and surrounding objects streak past as mere lines in her vision.

Abruptly, the wind stills. The world, once reduced to lines, restores its original form. Everything settles into stillness as Xie Qingling completes her first Swift Ghost dash, landing at her chosen vantage point.

She didn’t overreach. The location she selected isn’t far but it’s high enough to command a sweeping view: the lofty peak of the television tower.

From here, she overlooks the vicinity of the tower and the entire city veiled in night.

A sharp, piercing pain shoots through her feet as they touch the ground. Her face pales with agony, yet she maintains her balance. Her eyes, reflecting the distant glimmer of lights, immediately scan the horizon.

[Unexpected Psychic, your surprise move has enraged the Red Wedding Dress, driving it to curse aloud. But do not grow overconfident the same trick can only work once. It has already reconnected with the call of its curse and is hastening toward you.]

[The Red Wedding Dress, moving through the night, is faster and more terrifying than you imagined.]

[Having discerned your strategy, the Red Wedding Dress will next seize your shoulders with its blackened nails, leaving you no escape.]

In an instant, that eerie chill, thick with the mist of the River of Forgetfulness, converges upon Xie Qingling once more, shrouded in moonlight.

Xie Qingling knows the Red Wedding Dress is coming.

Unhurried, she grips the Enslaved Ghost clay figurine of the Swift Ghost and commands firmly, “Swift Ghost, dash!”

In an instant, Xie Qingling transformed into a blur of motion and vanished from the television tower.

This time, she traveled a considerable distance.

She arrived directly at the outer ring road of the city, the Changying Road section.

Continuing forward from here would soon lead out of the urban area, nearly reaching the outskirts.

At this moment, Xie Qingling still had three chances left for swift movement.

There was still some distance to the place she intended to reach.

She couldn’t afford to waste any of her swift movements; she had to plan her next destination carefully before using it.

This time, when Xie Qingling came to a stop, the pain in her toes was even more intense and harder to endure.

Moreover, along with the stinging sensation, her feet felt as if they were soaked in icy water, a bone-chilling cold seeping deep into her bones.

Xie Qingling looked down and noticed that the asphalt road had, without her realizing, become covered in a layer of pure white frost.

The surrounding Yin energy grew denser, as if winter had abruptly descended.

[The icy cold formed by the Yin energy of the Red Wedding Dress can penetrate even the warmest cotton coats humans use for protection. This frigid energy, originating from the banks of the River of Oblivion, is utterly bone-chilling, and a human body is fundamentally incapable of resisting it. The Red Wedding Dress is already impatient to claim the life of the Psychic, deciding to end this cat-and-mouse game here.]

[This malevolent Yin energy alone is enough to overwhelm any Psychic. Without protective spells, you will be frozen by this parasitic cold, numbing all your senses.]

[…The Red Wedding Dress has underestimated you. It does not know that you are a Devotee of Houtu. Mere Yin energy from the River of Oblivion is insufficient to claim your life. The Red Wedding Dress reevaluates its opponent, realizing you are more precious than it initially thought. It finds that using only your blood to dye a wedding gown red seems somewhat wasteful.]

[It decides to fashion your bones into a lute, to play it daily, using its melodious and enchanting tunes to please its beloved.]

While the Red Wedding Dress was contemplating how to deal with Xie Qingling, she wasn’t idle either.

She walked across the frost-covered ground, and after the initial piercing cold and pain subsided, her toes gradually grew numb, making the discomfort fade away.

This actually made her feel much more at ease.

Xie Qingling attempted to climb onto the elevated bridge.

She wanted to gain a better vantage point from there to determine the direction and path for her next swift movement.

The frost-covered ground seemed almost alive, following her wherever she went, like a sentient entity waiting to devour her at any moment.

In the darkness, Xie Qingling spotted a flickering, bright flame.

…It looked like someone was burning paper offerings.

Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, Xie Qingling could detect the scent of burning joss paper and incense carried by the night breeze, blending into a strangely poignant sensation.

Amid the wavering, curling flames, Xie Qingling faintly made out three figures crouching at the intersection of Changying Road, steadily burning stacks of joss paper in a bronze basin. The leaping flames embodied their longing for the deceased.

Simultaneously, the chilling cold beneath Xie Qingling’s feet began to recede, the oppressive Yin energy dissipated, and the patches of white frost melted away.

【The living light incense and burn paper money for the deceased, mourning departed lives. This incense smoke possesses a mysterious power, drawing nearby spirits to linger here.】

【The Red Wedding Dress, long dormant by the River of Oblivion, has lost the offerings of incense. It too seems to fear this power of the living honoring the dead.】

【As frost recedes and ice melts, its Yin energy proves insufficient to resist the incense’s force. The Red Wedding Dress resolves to employ other means to harvest your life.】

Before the Red Wedding Dress could act, Xie Qingling summoned the Enslaved Ghost of Swiftness and commanded again: “Swiftness!”

Instantly, the surroundings dissolved into streaks of motion, receding rapidly backward as Xie Qingling vanished from her original location.

She had already chosen her next destination.

It was a cluster of low-rise buildings the site of a former paper mill before urban redevelopment.

Shut down for severe pollution, the owner opted for bankruptcy compensation over remediation, abandoning the operation entirely.

Beyond this factory complex lay the transitional zone between old and new city districts.

Perched on the rooftop beneath the suspended moon, Xie Qingling appeared as a stark silhouette against the lunar glow.

【The Red Wedding Dress has arrived unnoticed, its speed surpassing before. Though unfamiliar with this mortal realm, it has learned to navigate. Confident and relentless, it will grant you no chance to resist.】

【Its trailing hair is now woven into a taut noose around your neck, poised to sever your life at any moment.】

【One sharp tug, and the Red Wedding Dress’s black tresses will become your executioner’s rope.】

Feeling an icy, crawling sensation at her throat, Xie Qingling frowned and drew Blood Oath. With a firm slash across her neck, she encountered resistance like cutting through coarse hemp rope.

Eyes hardening, she forced the blade deeper into the hair coiled against her skin, then jerked outward.

A faint bloodline bloomed on her neck, but the Red Wedding Dress’s hair severed in response.

【Clutching the severed strands, the Red Wedding Dress howls in fury. It looms before you, its enlarged form blocking your vision, preventing any escape through swiftness.】

【This time, you hold no advantage.】

Trapped.

Xie Qingling’s expression remained placid.

She produced another Enslaved Ghost figurine and murmured: “Astray!”

This was the Crossroad Ghost’s ability to displace targets within a confined space, stranding them in unfamiliar paths where direction becomes meaningless.

Yet…

Xie Qingling did not use it on the Red Wedding Dress, but on herself.

In the next breath, she vanished from the entity’s sight.

Xie Qingling emerged on a desolate street, barren of life. Even the streetlamps exuded a twilight melancholy, as if untouched by human presence for years.

Silence. Emptiness. Soundlessness.

Once again, an icy, bone-chilling cold surged from behind. Xie Qingling could almost hear the furious roar of the Red Wedding Dress.

[You have mocked the Red Wedding Dress too many times. It has decided to spare no cost in harvesting your life this matter concerns the Red Wedding Dress’s pride and resolve.]

[Ducks frolic in pairs, a union blessed for a hundred years. The Red Wedding Dress removes the Red Veil that has accompanied it for years and drapes it over your face. Now, with Embroidered Shoes on your feet and the Red Veil over your head, you resemble a bride about to step into the Bridal Sedan.]

[When the gong sounds and the suona urges the procession, the newly departed bride will take her seat in the Bridal Sedan. At that moment, the Red Wedding Dress will appear before you and take your feet and your head.]

Xie Qingling’s vision was as if covered by a red filter no matter what she looked at, everything was tinged with a bloody hue.

In the night, this eerie crimson shadow flickered faintly, hazy and indistinct, as if it might at any moment bring news of death and misfortune.

Xie Qingling picked up two Enslaved Ghost clay statues and simultaneously activated “Swift Movement” and “Lost Path.”

The world seemed to twist into chaos. After a moment of disarray, her gaze steadied, fixing solely on the ancient locust tree before her, its canopy blotting out the sky.

“We’re here,” Xie Qingling said.

[The Psychic who walks on the edge of a blade has recklessly carved out another chance at survival. Meanwhile, the furious Red Wedding Dress remains unaware that the danger meant for it has already quietly arrived.]