The gentle nurse applied medicine to the injured policemen and soothed their nervous minds. A faint burnt smell still hung in the air, a trace left by Zhang Luo burning talismans. Though the battle had ended, unease still hung heavy over everyone.
Lin Yuan stood in the center of the room, gazing at the shattered evil spirit mask on the floor. Zhang Luo panted slightly, wiping sweat from her forehead as she studied the remains with a grave expression.
Lin Yuan squinted, deep in thought, then asked, "What do you think about this?"
Zhang Luo frowned and shook her head. "Not sure… I'll try calling my dad."
"Wait," Lin Yuan hesitated, his tone cautious. "Before you do, can you also ask about the Blood Altar? I suspect it's linked to these deaths—maybe even mine."
Zhang Luo glanced at him and nodded. "Alright, I'll ask."
She stepped aside to make the call. Lin Yuan stood quietly, sensing the residual yin energy in the air. It felt like he was piecing together a missing puzzle—the truth was within reach, yet still out of grasp.
Minutes later, Zhang Luo hung up and returned, her expression graver.
"…Thirty years ago, some evil sorcerers tried a cruel ritual for immortality," she said gravely.
"Immortality?" Lin Yuan arched an eyebrow.
She nodded. "They needed a 'Four Yin Woman'—born in the yin year, month, day, and hour. Such a person has extremely dense yin energy but a unique fate. To make the ritual work, she must suffer endless despair—the more desperate she is, the purer her malicious thoughts become. At her lowest moment, they'd set up a Blood Altar, kill her, and let her blood flow along the altar's grooves into bowls around it."
"And then?" Lin Yuan pressed.
"Legend has it that drinking the blood and lying in a special coffin for seven days turns them into half-corpses. They can live forever as long as their bodies remain intact," Zhang Luo explained.
Lin Yuan's frown deepened. "Half-corpse?"
"Yes. Half-corpses are neither alive nor ghost—no longer human, but not fully spirits. Their bodies don't decay or age, yet they're not truly alive. Thirty years ago, Taoist masters and celestial masters stopped the ritual and killed all half-corpses, but many sorcerers escaped. That evil spirit mask was one of their dark arts."
Lin Yuan mused, "So they failed then, but now they're back?"
Zhang Luo paused, her eyes darkening. "Likely. Why else would this thing show up now?"
Just then, Jiuchong's voice echoed in Lin Yuan's mind.
[Host, want to grow stronger?] It carried a hint of temptation.
Lin Yuan rolled his eyes, wary. "What do you want this time?"
[Ask Zhang Luo for as many fragments of that evil spirit mask as possible,] Jiuchong said calmly. [Absorb their yin dark energy, and you can evolve from an evil ghost to a Ghost General.]
Lin Yuan startled. Ghost General?
He knew the hierarchy: ordinary ghosts were "wandering spirits," the weakest. Above them were "evil ghosts," stronger but still constrained by mortal laws. "Ghost Generals" were the elite, far more powerful, capable of manipulating yin malevolence and even briefly resisting talismans. Such an evolution would be a massive leap in strength.
But he didn't agree immediately. "…Will this affect my mind? Make me bloodthirsty? I don't want to become like those monsters."
Jiuchong chuckled confidently. [Don't worry, host. The yin virtues and merits you've accumulated across realms are enough to purify the yin dark energy. A hundred more masks are just a side dish—easy to cleanse.]
[Yin dark energy is just energy, neither good nor evil. Your heart decides how to use it. Just absorb it and refine it with your merits to break through.]
Lin Yuan fell silent, remembering his deeds across realms: protecting the innocent, punishing the wicked, even leaving a mark in some worlds. As Jiuchong said, his yin virtues should protect him from corruption.
After a moment, he smirked. "Alright… Though I didn't know you spoke Cantonese now."
Noticing his long silence, Zhang Luo asked, "What are you thinking?"
He snapped back, smiling. "Nothing… I'm just curious about the mask. Can you give me the fragments?"
She tensed, eyeing him warily. "What for?"
" I have some… special methods. I want to see if I can use them to boost my strength," he said casually.
Despite her skepticism, Zhang Luo nodded, recalling their teamwork. "Alright, but don't do anything foolish."
She gathered most of the fragments and gave them to him. Lin Yuan felt the dense yin dark energy swirling inside, his eyes shining with determination.
==================
护士小姐姐温柔地为受伤的警察们涂药,安抚着他们紧绷的情绪.空气中还残留着淡淡的焦糊味,似乎是张洛燃烧符纸时留下的痕迹.尽管战斗已经结束,众人心中的不安却久久未能平息.
林远站在房间中央,目光落在地上那破碎的恶灵面具上.张洛微微喘息,擦了擦额头的汗珠,脸色凝重地看着面具的残骸.
林远微微眯眼,沉思片刻后问道:"你怎么看?"
张洛摇了摇头,蹙眉道:"不清楚... 我试试看问我爸."
"那个..." 林远顿了顿,语气中透着几分慎重, "在你问你爸之前,能不能顺便打听一下血色祭坛是用来干嘛的?我怀疑这和这些人的死,甚至和我的死,都有关系."
张洛侧头看了他一眼,点了点头:"嗯,我问问看."
她拿出手机,走到一旁拨通了电话.林远静静地站着,感受着空气中残存的阴气.他总觉得自己在拼凑一块缺失的拼图,真相就在眼前,却始终无法完全抓住.
几分钟后,张洛挂断电话,转身走回林远身旁,神色略显凝重.
"... 三十年前,有几位邪道术士,为了追求长生,曾尝试过一种极其残忍的仪式." 她沉声说道.
"长生?" 林远微微一挑眉.
张洛点头:"必须要找到一位 '四阴之女' ,也就是阴年,阴月,阴日,阴时出生的女孩.这种人的阴气极重,但命格极为特殊.为了成功进行仪式,她必须经历无数绝望,内心越绝望,所散发出的恶念就越纯粹.在她最绝望的那一瞬间,他们会摆出血色祭坛,将她杀死放血.她的血会沿着祭坛的纹路流向四周的碗里."
"然后呢?" 林远问.
"据说,喝下碗里的血,再躺进特制的棺材里七天,就能成为半尸.只要身体不被彻底摧毁,便能长生不死." 张洛缓缓道.
林远的眉头皱得更紧:"... 半尸?"
"对." 张洛点头,"半尸介于活人与鬼之间,不再是普通的生灵,也不会彻底变成鬼.他们的肉身不会腐烂,也不会老去,但同时,他们也无法算是真正的活人.三十年前,这场仪式曾被几位道尊和天师阻止,所有的 '半尸' 都被斩杀,但那些邪道术士逃了不少.刚才的恶灵面具,正是他们曾使用的邪术之一."
听到这里,林远若有所思:"... 当年他们失败了,那现在他们卷土重来了?"
张洛沉默了一会儿,目光微微一沉:"很有可能.否则,也不会突然出现这种东西."
就在这时,林远脑海中突然响起了九重的声音.
[宿主,想不想变强?]九重的声音带着一丝诱惑的意味.
林远翻了个白眼,语气带着一丝警惕:"你这次又想干嘛?"
[和张洛要那些破碎的恶灵面具,越多越好.]九重悠悠说道,[吸收它们的阴煞之气,就能让你从恶鬼进化成鬼将.]
林远微微一愣,鬼将?
他不是对这个东西完全没有概念.按照鬼道的划分,普通鬼魂只能算是 "游魂",实力最弱.再往上是 "恶鬼" ,比普通鬼魂强,但仍旧被阳间秩序所压制.而 "鬼将" 则是一种特殊的存在,相当于鬼道中的精英,拥有远超普通鬼魂的力量,还能调动阴煞之气,甚至短暂对抗某些符咒.
如果他能进化成鬼将,那实力的提升将是质的飞跃.
但林远没有立刻答应,他反而皱起眉头,语气谨慎:"... 对我的心灵会不会有影响?会不会变得嗜血之类的?我可不想变成刚才那些怪物."
九重轻笑了一声,语气带着一丝自信:[宿主放心,以你在前几个位面所积累的阴德和功德,足以净化那些阴煞之气了.再来百多个恶灵面具,也就是夜宵里加个蛋罢了,净化起来 "洒洒水啦" .]
[阴煞之气本质上只是一种能量,并没有固定的善恶属性,真正决定它如何运用的,是你的本心.你只需要吞噬它们,再用你的功德之力进行炼化,就能顺利突破.]
林远沉默了一瞬.
他想起自己在前几个位面所做的事,保护无辜者,惩治恶人,甚至在某些世界留下了自己的名声.确实,如九重所说,他的阴德应该足够庇护他,不至于被阴煞之气侵蚀心智.
思索片刻后,他嘴角微微上扬,露出一抹略带深意的笑容.
"...行吧.话说,我都还不知道,你现在会说广东话了." 他低声道.
张洛见林远沉思良久,忽然说道:"你在想什么?"
林远回过神,笑了笑:"没什么... 就是突然对这个恶灵面具感兴趣了.你能把这些残片都给我吗?"
张洛一愣,警惕地看着他:"你要这些做什么?"
林远不动声色地回道:"我有一些特殊的手段,想看看能不能利用它们,来提升一下自己的实力."
张洛皱了皱眉,虽然心存疑虑,但想到之前的并肩作战,她最终还是点了点头:"... 行吧,但你最好别乱来."
她将大部份的面具碎片收集起来,交给了林远.林远接过后,感受着那股浓郁的阴煞之气,眼底闪过一抹异色.