Chapter 66: The Mark

Xia Wulei was forced to tilt her head back.
It was far too fast—not a speed attainable by any human being.
Clearly, she was just an NPC, devoid of any energy index.
Yet, someone of Old Mrs. Zhao's caliber could easily crush players simply through sheer physical prowess.

Cui Chengzhi began to channel his strength, but Old Mrs. Zhao merely glanced at him casually.
"Don't do anything rash. I can kill her much faster than you can lay a hand on me."
Cui Chengzhi's movements froze.

Old Mrs. Zhao squinted at Xia Wulei. "Little girl, playing these little tricks on me is useless. These are games I grew tired of long ago. If not for the restrictions, you wouldn't even have ashes left by now."

A surging wave of killing intent crept up Xia Wulei's spine. Even though she knew she currently looked rather disheveled, she still managed to laugh aloud.
"Then why haven't you killed me yet?"
"Asking for a death wish? I'll grant it to you!"

Old Mrs. Zhao's voice suddenly turned shrill. Her pupils dilated like pools of ink until they filled her entire eye sockets, and her wrinkled face grew even more withered and sunken, resembling nothing less than a skeleton.
"Oh no!"
Cui Chengzhi hesitated no longer, quickly casting a Five-Thunder Incantation. Yet, before the bolt of lightning could strike, Old Mrs. Zhao vanished with Xia Wulei to the other side of the rooftop.

Cui Chengzhi was frantic, but utterly helpless.
The pressure around her throat gradually tightened, as if all the air in her chest was being sucked dry. Involuntary tears welled up and spilled over her eyelids.

Old Mrs. Zhao said coldly, "Snuffing you out is as easy as crushing an ant, even if it brings a minor punishment at most. Using you as a warning to the others will do just fine."
*Well, looks like I pushed my luck too far.*
Still, it didn't matter. She still had the protective talisman she had previously looted from the system.

Xia Wulei clenched her teeth tightly to keep from crying out in pain, when suddenly she felt a searing heat on her left shoulder. It rapidly intensified and began to spread.
*What kind of trick is this now? Just choking me isn't enough?*
Xia Wulei managed to open her eyes slightly, turning her head to look at her shoulder. This abnormality also caught Old Mrs. Zhao's attention.

"Hm? This is—ah!"
As if touched by something scorching, Old Mrs. Zhao hastily released her grip on Xia Wulei's throat.
"Cough, cough..."
Xia Wulei rubbed her aching neck, finally gulping in fresh air while her chest burned like fire.

Cui Chengzhi hurriedly stepped forward to support her, standing slightly in front of her as he lowered his voice.
"Don't worry, I won't give her another chance to touch you."

However, Xia Wulei didn't hear him. She was still dizzy and her ears were ringing from the choking. The moment she was released, she hurriedly rummaged through her inventory for the protective talisman and let out a sigh of relief.
*Phew, it still has two charges left. I can still court death.*
The crops in her inventory's field hadn't even been harvested yet today; she couldn't just drop dead here.

That's right, on the verge of death, the very first thing Xia Wulei thought of was her farmland.

Meanwhile, after letting go of Xia Wulei, Old Mrs. Zhao watched in horror as her own hand began to turn charred black from the fingertips up.
A crimson-gold flame slowly consumed her arm. The burned hand reddened and blackened, turning to flying ashes in the air inch by inch, just like paper consumed by a blazing fire.

Old Mrs. Zhao was truly ruthless; without a moment's hesitation, she severed her entire arm to prevent the golden flames from spreading to the rest of her body.
Her dark pupils deep and unfathomable, Old Mrs. Zhao stared straight at Xia Wulei. "I never expected you to bear Xiuming's mark. So be it. Prey chosen by Xiuming will only suffer a fate far worse than death."

Xia Wulei frowned deeply, reaching up to touch her shoulder.
A black flower was blooming there. Seemingly sensing that the crisis had passed, the burning sensation gradually subsided.
This was left behind when Hu Wang killed her at the end of the previous instance.
Seeing how wary Old Mrs. Zhao was of it, could this Xiuming be an entity even more terrifying than her?

Yet Old Mrs. Zhao had no intention of enlightening Xia Wulei. Having spoken her piece, a wisp of purple smoke emerged from the top of her head and drifted away without a shred of reluctance.
The moment the smoke vanished, Cui Chengzhi's rigid posture relaxed significantly.

Old Mrs. Zhao's eyes returned to their normal appearance, and her expression grew dazed, as if she had reverted to being nothing more than a senile, demented old woman.
She slowly clutched her severed left hand, pain painting her face.
"It hurts, it hurts so much..."
Turbid tears slipped from the corners of Old Mrs. Zhao's eyes as she slowly sank to her knees, curling up into a ball.
"So painful... A-cui..."

Old Mrs. Zhao gradually lost consciousness, and before long, her pupils completely dilated.
"The vessel of an NPC possessed by a powerful ghost cannot survive much longer. Let's go. The rooftop has been inscribed with a soul-devouring formation; it's not safe to linger."
Cui Chengzhi scooped up the still-unconscious Shao Hua and said to Xia Wulei.

As they headed downstairs, Xia Wulei called out to stop him.
"Mr. Cui, how much do you know about the lower tier of the Under-Realm?"
Cui Chengzhi was momentarily taken aback, more than a little surprised.
Xia Wulei had only entered her second instance, yet she had already caught a glimpse of so much information regarding the lower tier?

"Countless ghosts exist within the lower tier. Players and these ghosts acquire resources within the instances; players need clearance points, while ghosts need energy. That energy can be the players' fear, or it can be... their lives."
Saying this, Cui Chengzhi paused for a moment.
"Sometimes ghosts even prey upon one another. Just like that old woman—she was clearly possessed by a powerful ghost from the lower tier, and her goal was obvious: to absorb the energy of this instance's Boss for herself."

From Cui Chengzhi's explanation, she learned that such occurrences were actually quite rare. After all, the instances imposed numerous restrictions on lower-tier ghosts; even with the right background conditions, Old Mrs. Zhao could only resort to enticing players into helping her.

This was intelligence Cui Chengzhi had pieced together through three years of groping in the dark here. He had encountered his fair share of ferocious ghosts, each time brushing shoulders with death.
"Regarding the mark... I once heard seniors speak of it." Cui Chengzhi's expression turned grave.

Hampered by instance restrictions, ghosts entering from the lower tier had their powers heavily suppressed. The stronger they were, the greater the restriction.
That was why Hu Wang had only been able to launch his attack against Xia Wulei in the split second *after* the instance concluded.
Some ghosts relished feasting on the flesh and souls of players, and would brand them with a mark to claim ownership, warning other ghosts not to compete for their prize.

Xia Wulei had never expected that this very mark would end up saving her life.
As for the ghost named Xiuming, Xia Wulei didn't dwell on it too much; after all, it hadn't happened yet, and she had no way of knowing when he might show up.

Cui Chengzhi, on the other hand, was far more worried, chattering endlessly about helping her find some life-saving items.
Xia Wulei possessed profound self-awareness: against high-level ghosts, she currently stood zero chance of winning. In the face of absolute strength, extra items wouldn't even buy her enough time to delay the inevitable.
If she wanted to survive, she had no choice but to grow stronger.

A long-dormant fighting spirit ignited within Xia Wulei's heart. In this lifetime, she could swallow any grievance except a disadvantage.
She had clawed her way up from nothing, relying on an unyielding stubbornness to desperately fight her way forward.
She had finally died and just wanted to lie flat, yet a bunch of ghosts insisted on treating her like an ant, kneading and squishing her at will.

Even a clay Buddha had a temper; how could Xia Wulei simply let herself be slaughtered like a lamb?
She could accept her own death, but demanding her death? Absolutely not!
That old hag, and whatever this Xiuming was, they could both just wait!
Xia Wulei secretly ground her back molars.

Of course, given the unique nature of the farming system, her path to strength looked boundlessly long.
Yet, this tiny spark had already sprouted its first green shoot, awaiting only a chance to grow.