False evidence

Chapter 504 Kunlun Moves, Fourth Master Arrives (Part 1)
Before I could even see what was behind me, I smelled a burnt odor, like meat that had been roasted over a fire.

My heart skipped a beat, my whole body tensed, and I glanced at Lü Xin, ready to deal with any unexpected situation. But seeing Lü Xin's increasingly grim expression, my heart pounded even harder. I gritted my teeth and suddenly turned my head back.

In an instant, I felt my blood run cold, and my heart stopped beating. Right on my shoulder, a pitch-black head was perched!

That must be a human head, completely charred black. You could barely make out two holes in the nose area. The upper and lower lips were burned away, and the teeth, along with the gums, were exposed, making it look extremely grotesque.

This strange thing, however, stared at me with two eyeballs that had no eyelids, right next to my face.

It was so close to me that I could even see clearly that its bloodshot eyes were covered with a dense network of blood vessels, like a spider web!
I was terrified. My first instinct was to throw the guy behind me off and run forward. But Lu Xin's hand was gripping my chest tightly, hindering the most crucial step in my escape plan.

"You blind monster, get out of here if you know what's good for you, or I'll spare your life!" Lu Xin shouted in a low voice, while making a strange hand gesture with one hand.

"Come on if you dare!" the monster said, its voice full of provocation, yet its eyes remained fixed on me, unwavering.

A sudden jolt went through me. That voice… it sounded familiar… It seemed like… I suddenly realized and blurted out, “You’re Xiao Hong!”

Last night felt like a dream, a bizarre encounter that left me unable to distinguish reality from illusion. But as a key figure, I was particularly struck by the image of Little Red with her ponytail. The charred corpse monster's female voice was exactly like hers!
At the same time, I noticed a detail that made my hand, which had already quietly reached into my backpack, stop moving.

The monster's cheek was pressed against mine. My nose was filled with the stench of burning flesh, but I couldn't feel her skin scraping against me. Upon closer inspection, it felt incredibly smooth and delicate, like being pressed against a baby's cheek.

When the monster spoke, a warm breath gently sprayed into my ear as it opened its mouth. My ear tingled, and I instinctively wanted to avoid it, causing most of my body to move as well.

The consequence was that I realized I had initially used the backpack straps to tie Fang Ling to me. Even if Fang Ling turned into a monster, I wouldn't be able to shake her off in a short time because of the straps.

Thank goodness that's how it is... When I finally realized what was happening, I almost slapped myself hard.

If the burning monster were a ghost, it would at most bewitch people, leading them astray through terrifying scenes or illusions until they were killed. However, most ghosts are incorporeal and cannot directly cause substantial physical harm. It's even less likely that it could switch places with Fang Ling and climb onto my back.

Fang Ling was still being carried on my back, as evidenced by the elasticity I could feel in my palms.

The two legs I held in each hand felt neither brittle nor dead, but rather the legs of a living person, a woman, full of elasticity, and I could feel her body temperature and beautiful curves.

Fang Ling was not replaced; she's still here!

So what I saw, that terrifying face perched on my shoulder, was...

I looked at Lü Xin again. Lü Xin met my gaze only once, and then whispered, "Jiawen... no, it's Fang Ling's body that has been possessed by a ghost!"

He quickly added, "It's a fire ghost. Unlike Jiawen, it doesn't know its limits. If it stays for even a minute longer, Fang Ling's lifespan will be shortened."

"Damn it!" I roared in anger, then growled at the dark-faced man on my shoulder, "Get lost! Or you'll regret it!"

A hint of panic flickered in the monster's blood-red eyes. It leaned on my shoulder and shook its head rapidly and slightly: "No! If I leave her, I'll truly be annihilated and never have a chance to be reborn!"

The monster's urgent voice was exactly the same as Xiao Hong's last night; she was anxious, and I was even more anxious. Fang Ling might say she was only mentally impaired, but her body was relatively healthy—that was only in comparison to the physical standards of an average woman. Ultimately, she was just an ordinary woman, her body possessed by a common malevolent spirit; every minute that passed meant more damage to herself.

"Get out!" I couldn't bear to see Fang Ling hurt, I gritted my teeth, "If you stay even a second longer, I'll make you suffer terribly!"

My words were harsh enough, but the 'monster' I was carrying calmed down, its tone even carrying a hint of sarcasm and indifference: "Heh, you think you can do that? I'd like to try."

"You!" Her words were like adding fuel to the fire for me. Although I was as fierce as a tiger, I had no way to deal with this 'stubborn mule'.

Whether intentionally reminding me or out of sheer helplessness, Lü Xin slowly said, "When a fire ghost possesses a living person, the yin energy steals the life force from the yang energy of the living person, making it far more urgent than other ghosts."

He raised his head slightly, stared at the dark face on my shoulder, and said, word by word, "Do not harm the disabled, otherwise, heaven and earth will not tolerate it!"

"I'll forgive myself! That's enough!" The dark-faced man was somewhat agitated and hysterical, suddenly shrilly, "Just because I'm kind, I should be unable to reincarnate for hundreds of years? Ha, I've had enough of the suffering of being a good person, I've had enough! This time, I will fight for a sliver of life for myself no matter what! I know that if I possess her body for a little longer, she will lose ten days of her lifespan, but so what?! Has anyone considered what would happen to me if I were to leave her body in this situation? Heh... haha, I will die, I will die again! I will be reduced to ashes, never to be redeemed again!"

The more I listened, the more alarmed I became. My right hand, inside my bag, was tightly clutching something utterly bizarre. I had no idea how to use it, or if it even served the purpose I needed. I was afraid that acting rashly would backfire, so I dared not try it.

"Are you Xiao Hong?"

The safest thing I can do is play mind games: "Little Red from last night? What's your real name?"

While I was asking the questions, my mind raced, but I couldn't come up with a solution.

Xiao Hong is not human; as an anomaly, she possesses Fang Ling's body.

At this moment, Fang Ling, without Tong Jiawen guarding her, was like an empty city.

With the possession of an evil spirit, my understanding of ghosts is superficial. Lu Xin, who has always been good at using women, also revealed that he only has a superficial understanding of everything else except women, and has no countermeasures at all.

I have no concerns about myself so far, but what about Fang Ling? Should I just let her lifespan slip away little by little?

The monster seemed to know I was powerless against it, and laughed wildly: "I've figured it out, everyone looks out for themselves..."

"That's the truth."

A voice suddenly sounded.

The most obvious chain reaction caused by this sound was that I watched as Lü Xin in front of me suddenly shuddered as if avoiding a plague, then withdrew his hands, leaped away to a distance of five steps from me, and stared at me with a face full of terror.

"Every man for himself, or the world will destroy him..." The same hoarse voice slowly spoke, with a hint of evil laughter, "Girl, saying this to your Grandpa Yin Si? Are you trying to humiliate me? Or... are you trying to humiliate me?"

As soon as I finished speaking, my right hand was seized by a strange and powerful force that suddenly arose from my very bones. I abruptly turned my hand back and covered the 'monster's' face with my five fingers...

(End of this chapter)