Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 601: Chapter 508: Backlash

"Thud!"

Through the copper mirror, Yang Xiao fell into the water, the bitter seawater crazily rushing into his nose and mouth, confirming that there was indeed something wrong with the water, as if it were alive.

Struggling to stand up, the water reached up to his waist. At this moment, the female ghost had already netted the old man numbered 189. As the net tightened, the old man’s remaining bones snapped one by one, turning him into a blood-soaked gourd, dead beyond any doubt. A thick hemp rope tied around the female ghost’s waist trailed behind her, floating on the water, bobbing slightly, partly visible and partly concealed.

"Now’s the time!"

Not wanting to miss the opportunity, Yang Xiao lunged for the rope, losing his balance and toppling back into the water. The female ghost, sensing Yang Xiao’s sudden movement, dragged the net as her bloated body slowly turned.

But ultimately, Yang Xiao was a step faster; before the female ghost could fully turn, he had already grabbed the cut piece of rope. As his fingers rubbed against it, Yang Xiao discovered that the cut end was very smooth, not worn or torn, but cut.

Indeed, this female ghost was a Sea Girl in her lifetime, a pearl diver who died tragically at sea due to being heartlessly abandoned by her husband. Her unresolved resentment led her back to seek revenge on the fishing village.

After seizing this lifeline, the scene before him shifted. The female ghost’s movements halted, the seawater receded and the nearby fog slowly dissipated.

Simultaneously, the figure of the female ghost gradually faded until she vanished completely, but Yang Xiao still held the rope in his hand, the other end connected to that old fishing net.

The decrepit fishing net lay on the damp ground, looking utterly neglected. Yet Yang Xiao was aware that this net was the Resentful Eye, the source of the supernatural incidents in the village.

Beneath the net was the old man’s twisted and ragged corpse. Had Yang Xiao not acted swiftly to dispense with the ghost, the old man’s body would have been segmented into chunks of flesh, just like the previous two victims.

The girl collapsed on the ground, tying a knot with her clothes around the spot where her leg was severed, but it barely helped; the extensive blood loss had already left her delirious.

Yang Xiao ran to her, checking her injuries. Half of the girl’s lower leg had been severed, a grievous wound indeed, but after a simple treatment, Yang Xiao lacked a better solution. He tried to heal the girl with the Ghost Lantern, but to minimal effect.

The Ghost Lantern was good for dispelling negative states, but was of little help in stopping bleeding or healing wounds. Yang Xiao looked up towards the wooden house just behind the broken wall.

If he neglected the girl, her death was certain. Inside the hut was a strange bluish-green stone that might save her life.

But as he dragged the girl toward the courtyard, the girl, already close to death, pressed Yang Xiao’s hand, slowly shaking her head, "Don’t..."

"At a time like this, you’re still thinking about the competition?!" Yang Xiao didn’t want her to die there, finding her a decent person.

The girl continued to shake her head, squeezing Yang Xiao’s hand tighter, her voice intermittent: "My mother, she...she’s very ill, I must...I must find a way to save her. I heard...heard...that only here might there be a chance..." freёwebnoѵel.com

People often have no choice, and this was the girl’s own decision. Yang Xiao had no right to interfere, just as he himself had unavoidable reasons for participating in the competition.

Gently releasing her hand, Yang Xiao looked down at the girl lying on the ground, who had helped him hold back the female ghost while he dealt with the old man. Although the girl did it for her own reasons, she had nonetheless assisted him.

Yang Xiao decided to make a bold attempt to save the girl’s life; if it worked, that would be great, and if not, there was no harm done.

Kneeling down, he leaned close to the girl’s face, whispering: "I have a method that might save you, but it has a low chance of success and it will be very painful. Are you willing?"

The girl nodded her chin, struggling to say, "Willing."

"Good." Wrapping his sleeve around the wound where his finger was severed, Yang Xiao quickly stopped the bleeding, retrieved the Soul-Capturing Mirror, and reached for the Ghost Duster with his other hand.

"Bear with the pain." Yang Xiao warned in a low voice. The next second, he used his faint spiritual power to control the Ghost Duster, gently stroking the girl’s bloody wound. The flesh around the wound immediately disintegrated, causing her to scream and bend over like a shrimp, her body trembling continuously.

Yang Xiao panicked; it was his first time using this tool to stop bleeding, and he was not yet skilled. "Sorry, that was...that was a bit too forceful, let me try again."

Yang Xiao took off his clothes, tightly tied them around the girl’s thigh by the severed leg, constricting the vessels, and continued trying. If he failed once, he would try twice, and if twice didn’t work, then three times. Eventually, the girl couldn’t bear the pain anymore and pleaded with Yang Xiao to just kill her.

"No, you have to take care of your mother, give me one more chance, I’ve figured out how this works, please believe me!" Yang Xiao, his hands covered in blood, had great confidence in himself.

Seeing she couldn’t dissuade Yang Xiao, the girl began dragging herself across the ground toward the courtyard. Fortunately, Yang Xiao quickly stopped her and dragged her back. "Don’t give up, bear with it, think of something happy. I...I will try one more time, just once!"

"Are you an Evil Cultivator?!" the girl burst into tears, only then realizing that among these teammates, the most terrifying, the most twisted, the most unfathomable was the man before her.

Hearing the term Evil Cultivator, Yang Xiao reflexively looked up, seriously at the girl, "Madam, I am with the Patrol Defense Bureau. I absolutely oppose the Evil Cultivator!"

After the seventh attempt, Yang Xiao finally revealed a relieved smile; he had succeeded. The girl’s severed leg stopped bleeding, though her left leg was now gone.