Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts
Night Parade of a Hundred Ghosts | Chapter 45 – Missing Soul

“You two little bastards, how dare you two ruining my plans like that!” Zhao Chenyang’s face was dark with fury as he glared at me and Brother Xiang, the hatred in his eyes practically pouring out without restraint.

“And you, you old bastard, what are you gonna do about it? Come on, bite me if you’ve got the guts!” Brother Xiang shot back without missing a beat, his tone full of mockery. Then, as if it were nothing, he turned to me and said, “You take that male corpse; I’ll deal with the female one.”

Before I could even respond, he charged forward. I shook my head in exasperation. Not a single talisman on me—how the heck was I supposed to fight? Who would’ve thought a kidnapping case could escalate to running into Zhao Chenyang? Lesson learned: no matter where I go, I’ll carry some talismans from now on.

By the time I moved closer, Brother Xiang was already sparring with the female corpse. Honestly, fighting corpses or even ghosts isn’t as fancy as people might imagine.

From where I stood, Brother Xiang’s fight with the female corpse looked more like a brawl between street punks—punch, dodge, punch again. I stopped paying attention to him and turned my focus to the male corpse, heading toward it cautiously.

The closer I got, the more I regretted it—a putrid stench hit me like a freight train. I held my breath and avoided looking at its rotting face, aiming a kick straight at its stomach. To my surprise, the force actually sent the corpse stumbling back a few steps.

Seeing an opening, I didn’t hold back. Another kick went flying into its gut. But this time, the corpse didn’t just take it—its hands shot out and grabbed my right leg. Its jaw unhinged as it lunged to bite.

What is it with corpses and biting? Ghosts go for neck-grabs, and corpses just chomp on you—are they incapable of mixing it up a bit? But then again, considering the insane bite strength of human jaws, I guess it makes sense.

As its teeth closed in, I swung up my free leg and kicked it square in the head. Without my right leg for balance, I toppled to the ground along with it.

The next thing I knew, the corpse was on top of me, pinning me down like a pile of rotting meat. Disgust doesn’t even begin to cover it. Its face loomed closer, teeth ready to sink into mine.

With no other options, I bit down on the tip of my tongue, hard. A sharp pain and the taste of blood flooded my mouth as I spat a mouthful of blood right into the corpse’s face.

The moment my tongue blood touched its decaying skin, smoke sizzled up like acid on metal. The corpse let out a shriek, writhing in agony.

“Get off me!” I snarled, shoving it with a solid kick to the stomach. It rolled off to the side, and I scrambled to my feet, my entire body screaming in protest from the effort. Kneeling over it, I pressed my knee into its neck to keep it down, then spat a few more mouthfuls of blood onto its face.

The corpse convulsed violently for a few moments before going still. Only then did I realize the pain in my tongue. Note to self: biting your tongue is not a sustainable anti-ghost method. It’s dangerous as hell—miss the mark, and either no blood comes out, or you’re accidentally committing tongue-seppuku.

Breathing heavily, I surveyed my handiwork. The rotting stench clung to me like glue, courtesy of that corpse wrestling match. Every inch of me ached—from my earlier beating at the police station to the lingering sting in my tongue. Nothing about this was fun.

Turning my gaze to Brother Xiang, I saw him effortlessly luring the female corpse around the factory like it was a game. That guy had style, I’ll give him that. I wasn’t about to help, though—he could handle one corpse just fine. Worst case? He could bite his tongue too.

I looked over to Zhao Chenyang’s direction. Sure enough, he had a knife pressed against Li Shanshan’s neck, slowly retreating toward the factory doors, probably hoping to make a run for it.

“Zhao Chenyang, you can’t escape. The net of justice is inescapable. Surrender now, and I guarantee you won’t face the death penalty. At worst, it’s life in prison,” Li Qingshan was still trying to negotiate.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. Life imprisonment? Spending your days suffering in jail is probably worse than a quick death. Li Qingshan’s negotiating skills were seriously lacking. If I were the kidnapper, I’d probably be tempted to kill the hostage just to end the conversation.

“Go to hell! You and Jin Jianguo are both scumbags. Mark my words, I’ll have both your lives!” Zhao Chenyang barked as he reached the door. He suddenly turned and stabbed Li Shanshan in the back, pushing her forward before making a run for it.

“After him! Don’t let him escape!” Li Qingshan yelled, scooping his daughter into his arms and bolting down the hill toward the waiting police cars. The officers sprinted after Zhao Chenyang with everything they had, no doubt dreaming of a big promotion for catching him.

As for me? I stayed put. My body was a mess—there was no way I could keep up with the chase. Turning to Brother Xiang, I saw him finishing off the female corpse in style. Pulling out an exquisitely carved peachwood dagger from who-knows-where, he plunged it into the corpse’s chest. It twitched twice before going completely still.

With the action over, we both headed down the hill. By the time we arrived, some of the police cars had already left, probably to rush Li Shanshan to the hospital. We hitched a ride back to Chongqing, heading straight to the city hospital.

Standing outside the emergency room, we found Li Qingshan, Jin Jianguo, and a group of officers waiting anxiously. It was the same scene as before—only this time, the roles were reversed.

I walked up to them and asked, “How’s Li Shanshan?”

“No idea,” Li Qingshan replied, his face etched with worry. Jin Jianguo stood by, doing his best to comfort him.

Suddenly, I saw someone emerge—not through the door, but directly through the emergency room wall. My eyes widened. It was Li Shanshan’s soul.

“Brother Xiang! Li Shanshan’s soul is standing right there!” I shouted, panic setting in. Did this mean she wasn’t going to make it?

Li Qingshan froze in terror, but Jin Jianguo clapped a hand on his shoulder and pointed at the lit-up emergency room sign. “The light’s still on—she’s not gone yet.”

“Xiao Hui, Xiang, can you two do something?” Jin Jianguo asked urgently.

Brother Xiang nodded. “I’ll need to check on her condition before I can say for sure.”

With Jin Jianguo and Li Qingshan pulling strings, we got permission to enter the operating room, albeit reluctantly. The doctor made us wear masks and warned us to stay silent so we wouldn’t disturb the medical team.

We stood at a distance, watching quietly as Brother Xiang pulled out some paper and started making calculations. After a few minutes, he frowned and whispered, “Not good. Li Shanshan’s lost one soul and five spirits!”

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