Chapter 55: Substitution Jutsu

"If you don't give me a reasonable explanation tonight, none of you are leaving here!" the lame old man said coldly.

As his words fell, the corpses stopped moving. Zhang Xiaofan quickly said, "I can explain."

"Speak!" No sooner had the lame old man finished than four incredibly sturdy corpses lunged from the crowd, each throwing a punch directly at the four of them.

*Thud! Thud!*

The four were instantly knocked to the ground. Zhang Xiaofan considered using fire, ready to fight for his life; after all, this old man was a lunatic, and there was no telling what might happen if they fell into his hands.

However, just as he began to channel his spiritual energy, a copper coin flicked from the old man's hand and slammed into Zhang Xiaofan's chest. Zhang clutched his stomach, his face twisted in agony.

"Cough, cough... stop, we surrender," Zhang Xiaofan gasped.

"Yes, yes, don't kill us, we'll confess everything," Hu Xiaotian shouted in a panic.

"You, speak!" the lame old man pointed at Hu Xiaotian and barked.

Hu Xiaotian stammered, "We came here because a female ghost named Li Ting told us to."

"Li Ting!" Upon hearing the name, the old man’s expression shifted dramatically, a flicker of terror flashing in his eyes.

"That's her name," Zhang Xiaofan replied helplessly.

"Hundred Flower Village!" The old man stumbled back a step.

"I think it's called Fallen Leaf Village now," Zhang Xiaofan corrected.

Hearing this, the old man slapped his thigh and cried out, "You went to the morgue upstairs? You... you found the female corpse?"

"That's right," Zhang Xiaofan responded. "Li Ting told us to remove the red cloth from her corpse's stomach, so we..."

"You already took it out?" the old man asked, his face turning grim.

The four of them nodded.

The old man sank to the ground and pointed at them, cursing, "You fools, you actually..." He scrambled back up, pacing anxiously. "It's over, it's all over. That evil spirit has been unleashed. We are all doomed."

"What exactly is going on?" Zhang Xiaofan asked, deeply confused.

The old man roared, "Never mind that now! Where is the red cloth? We have to put it back, or that evil spirit will fully manifest!"

As he spoke, the heavy door upstairs burst open with a loud *boom*, and the bright lights suddenly extinguished. A chilling wind began to howl.

"It's too late. She's out. Stay together and don't move," the old man commanded.

Zhang Xiaofan and his companions didn't need to be told twice; they knew the terror of ghosts. They were stunned—what was happening?

Before Zhang could ask, footsteps echoed from the stairs. By the pale moonlight filtering through the window, they saw the corpse of Li Ting. She moved like a zombie, her gait slow and her body twitching as she descended.

"Excellent. You have finally completed the task I gave you," Li Ting said suddenly.

"What... what do you want?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.

"What do I want? She’s going to kill you. Attack!" The old man didn't waste a second. Several talismans flew from his hands, erupting into flames as they drifted toward her. Li Ting let out a high-pitched, mocking cackle, and the seemingly powerful talismans turned to ash before they could even reach her.

"I was no match for you before, but now, you cannot hope to harm me," Li Ting said, her voice sounding metallic.

"Um... the task is done, so we'll be going now," Hu Xiaotian gulped.

"Don't be in such a rush. Come and play in my village," Li Ting said, her eyes bulging.

Zhang Xiaofan and the others felt their hearts sink. She intended to keep them here.

Suddenly, the old man produced four small paper dolls. He handed them out, whispering, "Prick your fingers, draw blood, and drip it on them. Quickly!"

Though they didn't know his motive, they knew the enemy of their enemy was their friend. Zhang Xiaofan acted decisively, pricking his middle finger. *The middle finger is for contempt, so it must have the most offensive power!* he reasoned.

He dripped his blood onto the paper doll, and the others followed suit. The old man took the dolls back and quickly stuck one onto each of the four corpses standing nearby.

He signaled to the group, and they quickly dove into the thicket of corpses. Zhang didn't know the old man's plan, but they trusted him. Though the corpses were repulsive, they were far better than the terrifying Li Ting.

As Li Ting descended, black whirlwinds swirled around her.

The old man muttered something under his breath, then suddenly widened his eyes and roared, "Go!"

The four corpses marked with the paper dolls suddenly opened their eyes and lunged at Li Ting. She drove her arms into the chests of two, tearing them open, and savagely ripped the heads off the other two.

It all happened in a heartbeat, leaving the group stunned. They couldn't understand why Li Ting was killing these corpses.

Fortunately, after destroying the four, Li Ting shattered the window and vanished into the night.

Seeing she was gone, the old man emerged from the crowd, his face full of regret. "It's finished. That demoness has escaped. This city will never know peace again."

Zhang Xiaofan felt a sense of unease. "What is the situation? Why is it like this?"

Hu Xiaotian added suspiciously, "Why did she kill those four corpses?"

"It was a substitution spell," the old man explained. "I used your blood on the dolls to represent you and attached them to the corpses. She mistook them for you and killed them thinking she had finished you off."

"Does that mean she won't bother us anymore?" Zhang Xiaofan asked.

The old man shot him a cold look. "Do you think an evil spirit that powerful is an idiot? Her physical form has only just recovered; her senses aren't fully sharp yet. Once she merges with her soul, this trick won't work on her."

"What is this all about? Why were you suppressing her corpse? And why is she in the ghost village?" Zhang Xiaofan asked in one breath.

The old man sighed heavily. "You are all high school students from eight kilometers away, aren't you? Many people died at that school. Li Ting's story began there... and this time, you were deceived by her."

"What do you mean?"

"Alas, that red cloth... I was the one who sealed it inside her corpse years ago, in order to..."