Chapter 237: The Fate Ghost Leads the Way

Just as I was about to close the stream to focus entirely on the murderer, Half-Immortal Liu's comments suddenly popped up in the chat.

"Holy shit! The Half-immortal is here!"

"Streamer, let a professional analyze this for you."

"Half-immortal of Qingcheng, boundless in magic power! Spanning generations, unifying the martial world!"

Half-Immortal Liu was now a celebrity in my stream. The moment he showed up, the livestream viewers exploded in excitement.

Half-immortal Liu from Qingcheng Mountain: "Did I enter the wrong room, or did you all take the wrong meds? The vibe in this stream never used to be like this."

"Half-immortal, you're treating us like strangers! We were just jealous of your majestic bearing and peerless Daoist arts. The Streamer is in trouble this time, and I reckon only an elder like you can save the day."

"So mean! The Half-immortal is the most awesome person in our hearts. I just want to pound your chest with my little pink fists."

"Half-immortal, honestly, I've always wanted to join Qingcheng and wholeheartedly seek the Dao under your guidance."

"Master! Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother have been captured by monsters!"

The livestream viewers' elaborate flattery went straight to Half-Immortal Liu's head. "It seems the Streamer has indeed run into some difficulties. Explain in detail. With this Daoist holding the line, there is absolutely no need to panic."

Seeing Half-Immortal Liu's comments, I dismissed the thought of ending the stream. I laid everything out—the entire sequence of events, Tie Ningxiang's disappearance, my encounters in the maze, and even the grudges from five years ago.

"This broadcast is an opportunity for me. I've been looking for him for five whole years."

Half-immortal Liu from Qingcheng Mountain: "Streamer, you must not be impulsive. Acting recklessly will only harm yourself and others. Don't end up dragging that beautiful policewoman down with you before you can even get your revenge."

"I'm not being impulsive; there really just isn't much time left. Starting the stream early this time seems to have triggered a series of bad events. I have to do my best to salvage the situation before things escalate." I had my reasons for saying this. Tie Ningxiang was the main subject of tonight's broadcast, so I couldn't complain about her getting involved, but the one I truly felt guilty about was Yi Yi.

There was another reason for my growing anxiety: the Underworld Live Show broadcast task required me to find Tie Ningxiang before midnight. Yet here I was, completely in the dark after wasting too much time in the maze. With only six or seven minutes left until midnight, I hadn't even figured out Tie Ningxiang's general location, let alone found her.

If the broadcast task failed, things would likely become even worse for me. The Underworld Live Show was no charity. It had its own set of rules; people or objects within those rules would be protected, but anyone who tried to step outside them would be ruthlessly erased.

Half-immortal Liu from Qingcheng Mountain: "Streamer, you can't rush this. The other party has been setting this up for five years, so going up against them now puts you at a massive disadvantage. Furthermore, look at these Soul Bewitching Dolls on the table. Souls have been painted into their features. Whoever painted them has a profound mastery of the evil arts. Their level is far higher than yours."

"Soul Bewitching Dolls?" I noticed the unfamiliar term in Half-Immortal Liu's comment. "Is there something special about these cloth dolls? Are they born from the same source as the Mirror Ghosts I encountered in the maze?"

"The Soul Bewitching Doll is an evil curse native to Huaxia. It's similar to the voodoo dolls of foreign lands, as both require the hair or organs of the victim to cast the spell. The difference, however, is that voodoo dolls take the hair of the living, while Soul Bewitching Dolls use the remains of the dead."

"Souls are divided into two categories: the yin soul and the yang soul. A yin soul is the spirit of someone who has died. A yang soul refers to a spirit that has somehow left the body while a person's yang lifespan has not yet ended."

"The most vicious thing about a Soul Bewitching Doll is that it imprisons a dead person's yin soul inside the doll, preventing it from entering reincarnation so it can be commanded day and night."

After reading Half-Immortal Liu's comments, I was still somewhat confused. "Then how are Mirror Ghosts created? Why can they take on my exact appearance?"

Half-immortal Liu from Qingcheng Mountain: "What you call Mirror Ghosts are actually just yin souls that have undergone a special refinement process, allowing them to travel through mirror surfaces."

"Among all magical artifacts, mirrors are the most unique. A righteous mirror can gather light and channel energy, forcing demons and evil entities to reveal their true forms, scattering and destroying foulness. An evil mirror, however, can absorb yin energy and nurture ghosts, harvesting vitality. The mirror you encountered in the maze must have undergone special refinement specifically to capture souls and usurp memories."

"The cloth doll is the vessel housing the yin soul, and the mirror is the artifact the mastermind specifically prepared for you. Only when the two are combined can they produce their maximum effect. Does that make sense?"

"I understand now." I nodded. According to what Half-Immortal Liu said, the maze shouldn't be too dangerous. Refining all the mirror surfaces would require a massive investment of time and precious materials.

I also gleaned another piece of information from his words: these cloth dolls were the key to the murderer's control over the yin souls. Destroying them would continuously whittle away the murderer's power.

"I found a room full of cloth dolls on the second floor of the Haunted House. If they are all yin souls, that number would be terrifying."

Half-immortal Liu from Qingcheng Mountain: "A solitary yin soul isn't scary. You can even treat it as a wisp of yin energy, completely insignificant."

"For yin souls to amount to anything, one must either commit boundless slaughter or spend an agonizing amount of time around a graveyard, capturing them one by one."

"I cast a divination for you earlier. The place you are at is surrounded by black water, beneath falling heavenly stars. It should be a mass grave strewn with corpses, so it's not surprising that there are a large number of yin souls."

I took out my phone to snap photos of the room, then pulled out my lighter and set all the half-finished dolls ablaze. "Half-immortal, if I rush out now, what are my chances of winning?"

The Soul Bewitching Dolls in this room were just a drop in the bucket compared to what was in the Haunted House. I was terrified of being besieged by ghosts the moment I stepped outside.

"No matter. You don't need to worry about this. These yin souls were refined to gain the ability to enter mirrors. The mirrors of the human body are the eyes. If you close your eyes—seeing nothing, hearing nothing, smelling nothing—those evil entities won't be able to harm you."

"Close my eyes? It's a maze out there! How could I possibly find my way out with my eyes closed? Besides, it's getting closer and closer to midnight. I'm afraid other accidents might happen."

Half-immortal Liu from Qingcheng Mountain: "Fear is useless. Isn't there a Fate Ghost standing behind you? Once you enter the maze, let it lead the way. Just follow its guidance."

"Let a ghost lead the way?" It wasn't that I didn't trust the Fate Ghost, but the idea sounded incredibly unreliable.

"A Fate Ghost is manifested from an extreme Fate Pattern. Different Fate Patterns and eight characters will form different Fate Ghosts. Ordinary people only know that a Fate Ghost can die in place of its master, but in reality, a Fate Ghost can also live by usurping fate. Your Fate Ghost shows similar signs. Its aura is mixed and unstable, and a ghost eye has opened between its brows. It seems to have devoured a reincarnated ghost soldier."

"Of course, none of this is important. What matters is that any Fate Ghost exhibiting such signs cannot be judged by common sense. They develop their own thoughts. If you have never wronged it, it has no reason to harm you. What's the harm in trusting it this once?"

Reading between the lines, Half-Immortal Liu's words revealed the mindset of an enlightened cultivator viewing all creation. Humans, ghosts, birds, and beasts; flowers, grass, fish, and insects—none of these possessed innate good or evil. All things began from nothingness and only changed under the entanglement of karma and consequence.

Compared to me or Blind Liu, this state of mind was clearly superior. Thinking back to when Blind Liu and I discussed exchanging for a Fate Ghost Monument to prevent the Fate Ghost from betraying me, we seemed narrow-minded and petty.

"Even if it's a ghost, so what? If you have never wronged it, why not openly and honestly trust it for once?"

"Fine, I'll do as you say." Time was slipping away. Without hesitation, I burned all the cloth dolls in the room, then tore off half of my sleeve.

"Fate Ghost, I am trapped here today. If you can lead me out, I will ensure your peace for a lifetime." I didn't know if the Fate Ghost could understand me. It showed no expression and didn't speak. It merely wrapped its black hair around my arms and began walking out on its own.

'Am I really going to entrust my fate to a ghost?' I looked at the Fate Ghost in front of me, then glanced at the Girl in Red who had crawled onto my shoulder at some unknown point. At a time like this, I really didn't have many choices.

Climbing the ladder, I pushed open the secret passage leading outside and climbed out with my eyes closed.

Shrill laughter seemed to echo in my ears. It felt like something was standing right next to me.

'Focus your mind. Absolutely do not open your eyes.' I covered my eyes with the folded half-sleeve, then raised my hands, letting the black hair pull me forward.