[Name: None]
[Race: Malevolent Soul]
[Alignment: Chaotic Evil]
[Level: 7 (Wandering Soul Level)]
[Introduction: A malevolent soul stripped from the body of a dead ghoul through certain methods. Whether in life or after death, its chaotic evil nature cannot be changed.]
Shaking her head hard, Bai Tang was certain the attack from just now had definitely been some kind of direct assault on the spiritual level.
It was truly impossible to guard against. If it had been her from a month ago—still a complete ordinary person—experiencing that spiritual attack would most likely have driven her insane at best.
Feeling a gaze land on her from the side, she quickly pulled herself together. She couldn’t show any weakness!
“Haha, gotta say! This little thing has quite a unique voice,” Bai Tang said, awkwardly scratching her head.
The Pig-Head Man was speechless.
“You’re the first one I’ve ever heard say that.”
The Pig-Head Man shook his hand. The iron hook drove in even deeper, piercing straight through the malevolent soul’s entire head from the crown of the skull and out through its throat.
“Eeeuh—!”
Another sharp shriek laced with spiritual attack. This time Bai Tang was ready, and her spirit remained completely unaffected.
The two shrieks seemed to have exhausted every last bit of the malevolent soul’s strength. From its current state it looked listless and drained, the particles swirling around its transparent soul body appearing ready to scatter and vanish.
“According to slaughterhouse rules, malevolent souls aren’t sold separately—they can only come as a bonus. Want to pick out some other items too?”
The Pig-Head Man licked his lips and eagerly recommended options to Bai Tang.
“The whole pig head is perfect for soup. Heh… Just drop the entire thing straight into the pot. You don’t need to add anything. Wait until the scalp stews soft and slides right off by itself…”
“Stop, stop, stop!”
Bai Tang cut off the Pig-Head Man’s sales pitch, frowning in clear disgust.
“No need to bother. Anything is fine.”
All Bai Tang wanted was one fresh soul. She couldn’t care less about anything else. Not only her—even the Witch teacher probably wouldn’t touch anything this disgusting.
“Fine. I’ll pack it up for you.”
The Pig-Head Man tied two thin ropes around the ghoul’s pale, swollen head like it was a watermelon and brought over an iron scale to weigh it.
“10.14 pounds, 100 Ghost Coins.”
One hundred Ghost Coins wasn’t too expensive, especially since it came with the malevolent soul Bai Tang needed. After paying the 100 Ghost Coins, the girl was about to ask the Pig-Head Man for the soul.
Unexpectedly, the Pig-Head Man spoke up in a teasing tone.
“Heh, I only said malevolent souls aren’t sold separately. Being included as a bonus doesn’t mean it’s free.”
Bai Tang froze. The other party continued:
“Same price as the pork, but it has to be weighed first.”
The Pig-Head Man hung the iron hook—with the semi-transparent malevolent soul that looked weightless—onto the iron scale.
The next moment, as if bearing an enormous weight, the scale beam lost balance at once. The counterweight shot toward the scale head at blinding speed.
Greed filled the Pig-Head Man’s eyes as he grinned. He kept dragging the counterweight backward until it was nearly sliding off the end before stopping, just barely reaching equilibrium.
“172.4 pounds, 1,700 Ghost Coins.”
“W-what? How much?!”
Bai Tang’s eyes nearly bulged out of her head. A ghost scale was one thing, but wasn’t this a little too outrageous? The soul body that looked lighter than a feather had just clocked in at a straight 172.4 pounds?
“This is the mass a soul is supposed to have,” the Pig-Head Man said calmly.
Bai Tang frowned. Her hand holding the money hesitated again and again.
This reminded her of certain religious sayings she had heard back on Earth: after death, the mass of one’s soul decided whether it ascended to heaven or fell into hell. The more good deeds done in life, the lighter the soul, and the greater the chance of reaching heaven.
Conversely, all the evil committed would turn into heavy karmic burdens, dragging the wicked soul straight down into hell.
Clearly, as a standard evil creature like a ghoul in life, the weight of its malevolent soul after death was destined to be anything but light.
“Can I switch it for another one?”
“No,” the Pig-Head Man refused outright.
Glancing at the color of the sky outside, she had to get back to the general store before Long Night. Bai Tang had no time to argue.
She could only swallow the loss in silence.
At least she had brought enough money; otherwise the whole trip would have been for nothing.
……
After handing over the remaining 1,700 Ghost Coins, Bai Tang received a round, rope-tied ghoul head from the Pig-Head Man’s hands, along with the malevolent soul hooked on the iron hook.
The moment she stepped out of the slaughterhouse gate, she tossed the ghoul head onto the roadside. Looking at the malevolent soul, it already looked on the verge of death.
“Oh no, you’re not about to die, are you? If you die my money’s wasted!”
The malevolent soul glared at Bai Tang with eyes full of venom. Realizing its attacks could no longer harm her, it stared for a moment longer before finally expiring.
“Dammit! You really are dying!”
Bai Tang was already sprinting back toward the blacksmith shop at top speed, but she still couldn’t outrun the soul’s dissipation. When she finally stopped, panting, in front of the blacksmith shop, she was left holding nothing but an empty iron hook.
“The Demon Hunter who came yesterday was just as clueless as you. Ghoul souls are too weak. The malevolent soul left behind after death doesn’t last long.”
The Blacksmith Ghost saw Bai Tang’s embarrassed state and showed no surprise. Clearly the Pig-Head Man had pulled this trick more than once.
“Demon Hunter?!”
Bai Tang’s sharp ears caught the key word. She gasped, and for a moment the fact that she had been scammed no longer seemed important.
Was the Demon Hunter the Blacksmith Ghost mentioned Theresa?
“That one didn’t have a weapon, so she chose another way to pay in the end and left a message for you,” the Blacksmith Ghost said expressionlessly. “Tell the human girl who comes later to teach the guy at the slaughterhouse a lesson. Consider it… a test.”
“A test… So you deliberately pointed me toward the slaughterhouse?”
Bai Tang gritted her teeth.
From the Blacksmith Ghost’s words, it sounded like the Demon Hunter lady had guessed she would come to the blacksmith shop for the Demon Hunter Revolver and had left behind some kind of test.
“I never said I wanted to join the Demon Hunters!”
The Blacksmith Ghost ignored Bai Tang’s grumbling and simply added in a flat tone.
“The soul of that guy from the slaughterhouse will make perfect fuel for forging the bullets.”
Was he telling her to go take down the Pig-Head Man? Was this for real?!
[Your friend the Demon Hunter ‘Theresa Delina’ seems to have noticed certain secrets on Undead Street connected to you over the past two days. She is hesitating on whether to invite you to join her next action. To verify your strength, she has issued the quest ‘Test.’]
[Quest Rewards: Experience +100, Ghost Coins ×300, Demon Hunter lady’s favor, Demon Hunter lady’s approval, Demon Hunter lady’s oral account of secrets.]
The quest had arrived. What else could she do?
And what did it mean by “secrets connected to her”? Who had she provoked this time?!
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