Chapter 30: Believe in It

Li Ruoke and Qi Yan suffered a hard fall as "Cheng Ziyue" suddenly let go, and the force sent them crashing to the ground. Worse still, Qi Yan's hand landed directly on the shattered remains of the wine bottle, and a jagged shard pierced deeply into his palm. Warm blood immediately seeped out.

At that moment, Yang Han and Du Zhou, as if compelled by a sudden sense of conscience, rushed back into the chaos armed once more. Du Zhou grabbed a baseball bat, while Yang Han wielded a kitchen knife and an emergency spotlight, which, once switched on, illuminated most of the living room.

The scene was a complete mess, with broken items scattered everywhere.

"Where is she?!"

"Up... up there," Yang Han turned and caught sight of his beautiful and seductive girlfriend transformed into this horrific figure. No matter how much she resembled her old self, she now seemed like a monster, and his lips turned pale with shock.

Even Qi Yan and Li Ruoke hadn't anticipated what happened next. After a brief moment of stunned silence, Yang Han actually dared to raise the kitchen knife and shout at "Cheng Ziyue," "Get out of her body! Do you hear me?!"

Qi Yan gritted his teeth and painfully pulled the glass shard out of his palm, frowning slightly at Yang Han's words.

But there was no trace of humanity or consciousness left in "Cheng Ziyue." She paid Yang Han no mind, pressed her back against the wall, and with a mere wave of her hand, Yang Han was tossed into the air like a kite with its string cut. He slammed into a hanging painting and crashed down along with it.

Upon witnessing such a display of power, Du Zhou dared not charge forward. He had already wet himself in terror before even seeing the bloody corpse or ghost, and now his legs turned to jelly as he retreated into the hallway.

A continuous, guttural moan escaped "Cheng Ziyue's" throat. Her eyes bulged, her head twisted unnaturally, and she crawled toward Qi Yan, her limbs scraping lightly against the ceiling.

Li Ruoke stood, helping Qi Yan up with her, and extended her hand. "Give me the lighter."

"What for?"

"I'm going to burn her! What problem can't be solved with fire?"

Qi Yan pressed his wounded hand and retreated, shaking his head. "Don't do anything reckless! All the exits are sealed. If you light a fire now, it might not kill her, but we'll all suffocate first before she even needs to lift a finger."

"It's better than doing nothing. I'll try not to set the whole house ablaze." Without waiting for his consent, Li Ruoke reached for Qi Yan's pocket and quickly found the lighter.

She was swift, grabbing a cloth from the sofa, breaking another bottle and soaking it with alcohol, then igniting the end of the fabric, which immediately flared up.

Holding the unsoaked end gingerly, she swung the burning cloth in the air like a fiery whip. Whenever "Cheng Ziyue" approached, she lashed out fiercely.

Fortunately, the ghost seemed to fear fire, shrinking back like a beast threatened by a torch.

Yet, this only bought them a little time. Seeing she couldn't approach, "Cheng Ziyue" extended her hand and snatched at the air; Li Ruoke's body stiffened instantly, and the flaming cloth was flung aside, extinguished by a gust of cold wind before it even hit the ground.

"Cheng Ziyue" pounced from above, pinning Li Ruoke to the floor, and the two struggled desperately.

No matter how skilled Li Ruoke was, once caught up close, she was no match for it. In a few moves, "Cheng Ziyue" subdued her, repeating the technique she'd used against Qi Yan—pinning her head and squeezing her throat.

"Help... help me!" Li Ruoke screamed desperately as she fought back.

Qi Yan wanted to hit "Cheng Ziyue" with something, but the two women were grappling so fiercely, rolling back and forth in the poor lighting, he couldn't find a clear shot.

"Why... why hasn't it revealed itself yet? I've suffered so much already!" Qi Yan muttered anxiously to himself.

Li Ruoke understood what he meant. She struggled to pound "Cheng Ziyue's" head and managed to speak to him. "Qi Yan... listen to me... you..."

But "Cheng Ziyue's" attack was relentless, showing not the slightest mercy. It was as if she intended to tear Li Ruoke apart with her bare hands. Both women fought with everything they had.

"The amulet... you have to ask for its help... When it chose you, your fates became entwined. You have to petition it!" Li Ruoke gasped, fighting back. "It's easy to say, but you keep resisting it inside. No matter what, since fate has bound you, you must face reality. Stop rejecting it—accept it from the heart. Don't forget, even if it's a demon, you are the master! Even if you don't believe in anything else, you must believe in your own amulet!"

With that last word, "Cheng Ziyue" went completely berserk. She unleashed her full strength, grabbing both Li Ruoke and Qi Yan by the neck and hurling them against the wall, squeezing tightly.

The force was greater than before; neither Qi Yan nor Li Ruoke could utter a sound.

Dizziness clouded their minds, and in a few more seconds, they would lose consciousness entirely. Their limbs grew limp and finally dropped.

Qi Yan could barely keep his eyes open, unable to see anything clearly. His mouth hung open, expelling the last breath from his lungs.

In that moment, he heard nothing, recalled nothing, only felt endless cold.

Vaguely, he seemed to see the woman holding a baby, her face obscured, standing before him, but her figure gradually faded.

Deep within, the heaviest truth stirred. His resistance to faith wasn't just a product of upbringing, but another deeply buried reason...

"I'm someone without faith... but I wasn't always. I once wanted to believe in karma, but sadly... I gave up. Whether god or Buddha or anyone else... no one is truly trustworthy."

"I locked my heart away, hiding this shadow behind sharp words, only because I didn't want to be disappointed again. But if you truly chose me, then there's no turning back. No matter how unwilling, you won't let me go, will you?"

"Heh... who would have thought, when I finally choose to trust something completely, it turns out to be a ghost... a big ghost... I don't care what you went through in life, what evil grievances you harbor, why you inhabit a shadow amulet, or why you chose someone as ordinary as me. But... since you won't let go, maybe we can try to coexist peacefully?"

...

"Ahhh—haaa—!"

Qi Yan wasn't sure when he was released. Collapsed on the floor, he felt as groggy as if he'd drunk two bottles of strong spirits. Fresh air was more wonderful than anything else, and his blurry consciousness slowly cleared, though he needed a moment to recover.

Li Ruoke was freed at the same time.

After several minutes spent catching their breath and regaining composure, they saw "Cheng Ziyue" laying motionless on the floor, uncertain whether she was alive or dead.

Qi Yan coughed heavily, lifting his head to see, beside Cheng Ziyue, a dark-skinned monstrous infant with a head larger than its body, sitting there. Its mouth held a white "human face," like a mask, but with bright red lips.

Meanwhile, the shadow amulet, previously torn apart, now hung perfectly intact once more around Qi Yan's neck.