Chapter 36: Back to the Television Station

Seeing Xie Sui dodge, the head did not continue its pursuit. Instead, it dragged its cluster of internal organs and flew toward Lin Zixin’s hospital bed.

The intestines hanging at the very bottom shot straight toward Lin Zixin’s neck, just as they had when attacking Xie Sui.

At that moment, black mist suddenly manifested, instantly filling the entire ward and suppressing the white mist.

A red fox the size of a bull calf tore through space, hovering above Lin Zixin’s bed. With a single swipe of its paw, it sent the head flying.

In the direction the head was thrown, a pitch-black monster as tall as an adult slowly appeared. It stood upright, opened its mouth wide, and used sharp fangs to bite down on the incoming head.

An expression of extreme terror appeared on the middle-aged man’s dark face. He seemed completely unable to comprehend how these two monsters had appeared.

The red fox stepped from the air down to the floor, beginning to tear at the internal organs dangling beneath the head.

Seeing the head restrained, Xie Sui finally approached slowly.

His left hand, hanging at his side, trembled slightly. On that blood-mangled hand, over a dozen lines of blood extended from his fingertips, connecting to the red fox and Yawu-po.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that both the red fox and Yawu-po were in a dull, lifeless state. They were like two marionettes being manipulated by Xie Sui.

Walking closer, Xie Sui looked at the mess on the floor, his brow furrowing deeper.

Even the fangs of Yawu-po and the Fox Immortal could not bite through this head and its organs.

What on earth was this thing? A Hitobashira¹? No, Hitobashira weren’t this disgusting; they didn’t fly around with a bunch of internal organs. Furthermore, this head appeared to be conscious and was clearly capable of thought.

Zenabu was also shocked. He never expected that someone would be able to restrain him while he was in the state of the Flying Head Curse².

From its form and name, the Flying Head Curse was very similar to a monster called the Hitobashira, but there were significant differences between the two.

The Hitobashira were monsters that could take human form. They first appeared during the Three Kingdoms period and were known as the Luotou Clan.

In their human form, they were unaware that they were monsters. Their heads would automatically leave their bodies every night to fly out and eat insects. To them, the head leaving the body was like a human sleeping; they remained unconscious while the head was detached. Furthermore, these monsters were extremely fragile. If one simply covered the neck so the head could not return to the body, they would naturally weaken and die once dawn broke.

Aside from their frightening appearance, the Hitobashira posed no danger. Because their appearance was so horrifying and their bodies so fragile, they were almost always killed upon discovery. By modern times, they were nearly extinct.

The Flying Head Curse was different. It was a highly dangerous form of evil sorcery cultivated through practice. It required a Curse Master to cast a curse upon themselves to allow their head to detach from their body.

During the cultivation stages, the Curse Master’s head would fly away from the body every night, dragging its digestive organs along to suck the blood of animals or humans to strengthen itself.

The further the cultivation progressed, the more demanding the blood requirements became. To satisfy the final stages of cultivation, they could not even use animal blood; they had to consume the blood of fetuses still in the womb.

This was because a fetus in a mother’s womb was a chaotic entity of balanced Yin and Yang, situated at the intersection of humanity and the soul, the very start of reincarnation. A fetus possessed both Yin Energy and Yang Energy, and the Yang Energy within them was harmless and easily digested. This was also why many evil cultivators chose unborn fetuses as materials for refining artifacts or drawing talismans.

Once the Flying Head Curse was cultivated to the point where the internal organs could not be cut by sharp blades, the practitioner no longer needed to fly out every night to consume blood. They only needed to feed twice a month.

At this stage, the only weakness while the head was detached was the immobile physical body. To completely destroy the practitioner, one had to find the headless body and destroy the heart.

Legend had it that reaching the final stage of the Flying Head Curse granted immortality, where one would not die even if the physical body sustained a fatal injury. However, this was merely a legend; it was unlikely that anyone had ever truly reached that level.

After all, the mere mention of the Flying Head Curse caused fear throughout Southeast Asia. When residents discovered animals nearby that had been drained of blood, the entire village or town would mobilize, digging three feet into the ground to find the Curse Master practicing the Flying Head Curse and kill them immediately. Consequently, very few Curse Masters in Southeast Asia managed to successfully complete the cultivation.

Zenabu’s success in cultivating the Flying Head Curse was a matter of chance. He was a wanted man in Siam, so he had smuggled himself into the country of Hua. In Rongcheng, he happened to meet a businessman who appreciated his sorcery. This man not only provided a large number of living people to help him finish his cultivation within six months but also helped him find many ghostly entities.

In return, the businessman only asked him to do one thing: help kill all the younger generation of the Lin Family in Rongcheng.

He hadn’t expected such a disastrous start. Based on the information provided by his boss, he had specifically targeted a lone Lin Zixin far away from Rongcheng to start things off with a win. Instead, he had suffered setback after setback. Not only had he lost contact with all the ghosts he raised, but he had even been captured himself.

Looking at the two beasts tearing at his organs, Zenabu had a rough idea of what kind of person was opposing his boss.

It was obvious. Looking at these two ‘Wild Immortals’ who possessed no reason and were shrouded in a murderous aura, this person was definitely from the Northeast. They were likely a renegade disciple of the Ma Family.

The Xuanmen of the Northeast was dominated by Chuma Xian³, commonly known as ‘Dancing to the Gods’ among the people.

The Northeast Ma Family took Wild Immortals as masters. Every disciple had a specific shrine in their home to worship a Guardian Immortal. They could use special incantations to invite a titled Wild Immortal to possess their body.

However, as far as Zenabu knew, orthodox Wild Immortals and Chuma disciples never crossed the Shanhai Pass⁴ and never left the Northeast region.

Furthermore, the way this person drove the Wild Immortals did not look like the normal method of inviting an immortal to possess them; it looked more like total control.

Therefore, this person was definitely a traitor to the Ma Family. He must have stolen the physical remains of Wild Immortals, wiped out their consciousness, and fled to the South.

Just wait. Once he escaped, he would report this to his boss. If the people of the Xuanmen found out the Lin Family had hired an evil cultivator for help, those self-righteous ‘orthodox’ figures would definitely cut ties with the Lin Family to protect their own reputations. When that happened, dealing with the Lin Family would be much simpler.

At this thought, Zenabu struggled even harder. He wrapped his intestines around the red fox, trying to drag it away.

Zenabu could sense that compared to the pitch-black monster behind him whose form he couldn’t identify, this Wild Immortal in the shape of a red fox had a weaker bite. If he broke through at the weakest point, escape might be possible.

Seeing Xie Sui drawing closer, Zenabu broke out in a cold sweat of desperation. Finally, he gritted his teeth and used the Ghost Drop technique to forcibly manifest two Daolao Ghosts that had been hiding in a concealed state.

The Daolao Ghosts were his final hidden trump card, originally intended to ambush Xie Sui, but in this dire situation, escape was the priority.

Sensing the summons of the technique, two thin, ape-like figures emerged from behind the ward door.

One was greenish-blue and the other blood-red. They were completely hairless and lacked any facial features except for a massive mouth that took up their entire face. Sensing Zenabu’s instructions, they swung their sickle-like forelimbs and let out a roar at the red fox and Yawu-po.

As the sound rang out, two needles as thin as cow hair flew toward Yawu-po and the red fox at extreme speed, and then… they fell to the floor.

Zenabu was stunned.

These two monsters had no physical form? Then how were they biting him?!

However, he was destined never to receive an answer to that question, as Xie Sui had already arrived before him.

Xie Sui crouched down and looked down at Zenabu. The blood-red color in his eyes condensed, and his pupils gradually split into a pair of Double Pupils.

Since this head was alive, rational, and capable of thought, it meant there was a soul inside the skull.

As long as there was a soul, things were easy to handle.

Looking up at the blood-colored Double Pupils looking down at him, Zenabu fell into a strange trance. He felt as if a massive amount of blood was being poured over his head. He was submerged in an endless crimson, nearly suffocating, as all the memories of his life flashed by like a revolving lantern.

Withdrawing from Zenabu’s memories, Xie Sui’s expression was complicated.

Just like Zhang Dadao, a portion of Zenabu’s memories had been blurred. The person who hired him was very cautious.

Moreover, this Curse Master named Zenabu usually communicated with his boss in Thai. Xie Sui couldn’t understand a word they were saying, nor did he know what actions the man had planned next against the Lin Family.

Tsk, it would be great if he could use a real-time translation app. Xie Sui was terrible at foreign languages; back in the day, it took him two tries to pass his College English Test⁵. Furthermore, Thai was spoken too fast and the pronunciation was strange; even if Xie Sui wanted to repeat it, he couldn’t.

The man was clearly the boss, so why was he catering to a foreign Curse Master’s language? Show some managerial authority! You hired him, he didn’t hire you. Shouldn’t you speak Mandarin in the country of Hua?

Dammit. Aside from knowing where Zenabu lived and knowing that he was the only one targeting Lin Zixin this time, he hadn’t gained any useful information.

Coming up empty-handed made him a bit annoyed.

Xie Sui grabbed Zenabu’s hair and lifted the now-catatonic Siamese Sorcerer in his hand.

The red fox and Yawu-po finished their task and were tossed back into the Yin-Yang Gap by Xie Sui.

After releasing the control over the two Daolao Ghosts, Xie Sui stuffed them into his shadow as well.

If his shadow harbored too many ghosts, Xie Sui would feel fatigued. He would have to make a trip to Linchuan City in a few days to throw the One-Eyed Five Gentlemen and the Daolao Ghosts back onto the mountain.

As Zenabu lost consciousness, the feeling of the ward being isolated from the world gradually faded.

Xie Sui quickly sped up his movements. He jogged over to the bed next to Lin Zixin, tore off the bedsheet, and prepared to wrap Zenabu up.

After all, this grape-like configuration of a head with a string of internal organs hanging beneath it was quite terrifying. If the hospital’s surveillance caught him carrying this mass of things, it would be impossible to explain.

Lin Zixin slowly woke up for the second time.

He looked at the dark, quiet ward and let out a soft sigh of relief.

Everything that just happened really was a dream. Only dreams could be so chaotic and illogical.

How could Mr. Xie be a ghost? Mr. Xie was the expert who helped their Lin Family resolve the ancestral hall incident. He must have been so scared by Yawu-po and the Fox Immortal that he hallucinated.

Lin Zixin scratched his head and sat up from the hospital bed.

Then he turned around and locked eyes with Xie Sui, who was currently packaging a human head on the neighboring bed.

Lin Zixin looked at Xie Sui’s bloody left hand, then at the human head Xie Sui was holding up by the hair, and finally at the various internal organs hanging at different lengths beneath the neck. He blinked slowly.

The head in Xie Sui’s hand also blinked slowly.

Lin Zixin silently clutched his chest and fainted back onto the bed.

That’s great. Mr. Xie isn’t a ghost; he’s probably just a serial killer.

Seeing Lin Zixin faint again, Xie Sui hurried his packaging work.

He swore he didn’t mean to scare Lin Zixin on purpose. It was just that this unlucky guy’s timing for waking up was too coincidental. If he had woken up just thirty seconds later, the packaging would have been finished.

After Xie Sui shoved the white bedsheet containing the head under the bed, the ward returned to normal.

Xie Sui quickly pressed the call button, and the nurses stationed at the desk rushed in once more.

This time, Xie Sui didn’t even need to say anything before the head nurse pushed him out, looking somewhat speechless. “Look at the patient’s abnormal heart rate fluctuations. For the sake of his health, could you please hire a caregiver? The patient cannot handle another scare.”

Xie Sui followed her lead and nodded. “Alright. Please give me the contact information for a caregiver.”

He soon found a caregiver auntie to watch over Lin Zixin. To prevent the auntie from being too diligent and cleaning under the bed, Xie Sui left a Little Ghost under Lin Zixin’s bed, asking it to use Ghost Blinding⁶ to hide the white bedsheet containing the head.

After that, Xie Sui left the hospital with peace of mind and headed toward the place Zenabu was renting.

Now that the head was under control, dealing with the headless body would be easy.

The house Zenabu rented was in an urban village. Coincidentally, the place he rented was only one building away from Xie Sui’s own rental. Xie Sui had recognized it immediately while flipping through his memories.

Xie Sui controlled a Little Ghost to phase through the door and unlock it for him.

After entering the room, Xie Sui didn’t touch Zenabu’s luggage or other belongings. To avoid leaving too many traces in the room, he used a Blood Curse to dissolve the headless body directly, wiping away and removing even the residual fluids.

It was perfectly normal for someone to go missing in an urban village; no one except the landlord would care.

Some tenants would slip away secretly when they couldn’t afford the rent any longer. Others would flee overnight when creditors came knocking. There had even been a case where a homeless man broke into an unrented house and lived there for several years as if it were his own; when the landlord asked him to move out, the man actually demanded renovation fees from the landlord.

Incidents like these were countless. Furthermore, the flow of people in urban villages was massive, and those who rented here never cared when their neighbors changed.

Besides, Zenabu was an illegal immigrant and a wanted criminal with no connection to Xie Sui whatsoever. Even if the landlord called the police, the Law Enforcement Team would never trace it back to him.

Afterward, Xie Sui returned to the hospital to continue looking after Lin Zixin.

After Zenabu’s body died, his head also dissolved into a pool of bloody water. The bedsheets soaked in that blood couldn’t be cleaned, so Xie Sui simply paid to buy all the bedding from the neighboring hospital bed.

Lin Zixin didn’t wake up until noon the next day. As soon as he regained consciousness, Xie Sui immediately asked for his friend’s number and had the friend drive that terrifyingly expensive luxury sports car back to the city from the outskirts.

Once Lin Zixin was awake this time, no further accidents occurred.

Although there was a professional caregiver, Xie Sui remained dutifully by Lin Zixin’s side, spending most of the day at the hospital with him… even though Lin Zixin had tactfully mentioned that he didn’t need the company.

During his hospitalization, Lin Zixin often looked at Xie Sui as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

He stared at Xie Sui’s left hand, which was smooth and undamaged. It was impossible for a human hand to heal within a week after having a layer of skin peeled off, and even more impossible for it to leave no scars… therefore, it had all been a hallucination.

That was right, it was all just his imagination.

Lin Zixin tried his best to hypnotize himself.

He hadn’t offended Xie Sui, nor had he harmed Xie Sui’s interests, so Mr. Xie would definitely not hurt him.

Lin Zixin swore that from now on, he would study hard, maintain a healthy routine, never watch livestreams again, and never touch anything related to the supernatural. He would strive to be a polite person who contributed to society.

Experiencing the thrill of close contact with the supernatural once was enough; he had absolutely no desire for a second round.

During his week in the hospital, Lin Zixin lost a significant amount of weight. Spending day and night with Xie Sui was a dual torment for his mind and body. Right up until his discharge, he never dared to ask what had happened with that human head.

Xie Sui was unaware of Lin Zixin’s complex psychological state over the past week. He didn’t know that after this baptism, his top donor was planning to uninstall the livestream app and turn over a new leaf as a serious student… Xie Sui was currently feeling anxious about a sudden invitation text.

It was the invitation for the supernatural exploration variety show.

With only half a month left before filming began, Xie Sui received a text from Yayun Entertainment while he was accompanying Lin Zixin during his discharge today.

The content of the text told him to go to the Zhaoping City Television Station.

Before the official filming, he needed to get acquainted with the other guests in advance. The program director would explain the general process of the variety show and the items they needed to bring before departure, and then they would record a short self-introduction video.

Although Xie Sui suffered from slight social anxiety, he wasn’t anxious about the process of meeting other guests or recording an introduction. He was anxious about “returning to Zhaoping City Television Station.”

He used to be a host at Zhaoping City Television Station.

Not long ago, just after the Lunar New Year, he had only been back at his post for two days when he received news of the crisis at home. Right then, the television station had suddenly and inexplicably fired him.

The reason for his dismissal was absurd. According to his colleagues, a young man with connections was being parachuted into the station. It just so happened that Xie Sui’s boss disliked him, so he was told to clear out his spot.

Xie Sui had considered labor arbitration, but seeing his boss’s “I have people at the top” expression and knowing he would likely be targeted even if he stayed, he silently swallowed his pride and left with his severance pay.

Although being fired by the station was what prompted him to start livestreaming, allowing him to raise the medical fees in just a few days, Xie Sui still felt very uncomfortable about it.

He really didn’t want to go back to the station, and he especially didn’t want to see his balding supervisor.

That balding supervisor had practically become a psychological shadow for him. Xie Sui truly loathed that kind of greasy middle-aged man who spoke in a bureaucratic tone and was always ready to lecture people on principles. Such men always adopted a superior stance, loved to preach, were experts at making empty promises, and frequently used phrases like “it’s for your own good” or “to train you” to exploit their subordinates.

Xie Sui never expected that Yayun Entertainment would choose to collaborate with Zhaoping City Television Station for this season of the supernatural exploration show. After all, Zhaoping was just a small, run-down local station; he had assumed they would collaborate with the Minjiang Provincial Television Station.

Sigh… money is hard to earn, but I have to go.

He hoped he wouldn’t run into his former boss during this trip back. Now that there was no professional hierarchy to restrain him, if that dead bald man dared to be sarcastic, Xie Sui might truly be unable to control the urge to curse him out. If that happened, things would get ugly.

Translator’s Notes