Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hua Yuling and Jiang Haoyan still had no idea what was going on, but instinct took over and they followed me, sprinting madly ahead.

Almost the second we moved, every vine on both sides moved with us.

“Swish, swish, swish-”

Sand Ghost kept crawling out of the vines, chasing after us.

Some wore baseball caps, their entire bodies rotting away. Some were missing a leg and hopped along on one foot. There were also a few tall, skinny women in high heels who looked like they might have been part of a nearby photo shoot convoy that had accidentally gone over the edge.

None of us dared let up. Holding one desperate breath in our lungs, we ran for our lives. After a stretch, the back of my head suddenly prickled.

Almost on instinct, I ducked.

A curved blade skimmed right over my scalp, spun through the air, and whirled back behind me.

I looked over my shoulder. One Sand Ghost was especially huge, dressed in Tibetan clothing, a curved knife with a silver hilt gripped in its hand.

At the same time, Hua Yuling cried out in terror, “Qiao Moyu, there’s no road ahead!”

The mountain path was already narrow to begin with, and the section ahead was packed tight with abandoned vehicles, piled as high as a small hill, blocking the entire road completely.

This had to be the place where the Sand Ghost lured cars over the edge. Their nest.

Damn it. We’d run the wrong way!

Jiang Haoyan was drenched in sweat. He grabbed a rusty iron rod from the side of the road and raised it high.

“What are we afraid of? Let’s take them on!”

The words had barely left his mouth when the curved blade flew over with a clang, slicing the iron rod in his hand clean into two pieces.

“Take on what, exactly?”

Jiang Haoyan’s face went deathly pale. He threw away the broken rod.

“Qiao Moyu, was that fortune you told me before accurate? Can I really live to ninety?”

“Hide first. Sand Ghost have terrible eyesight. If we don’t move, they won’t find us.”

I didn’t slow down. I went straight into a sliding tackle and slipped into the gap between two flattened cars. Jiang Haoyan and Hua Yuling hurriedly found places to hide as well.

I lay on the ground, not moving a muscle, watching as the Sand Ghost chased right up to us. They scattered onto the wreckage, hopping over the piles of cars as they searched for our traces.

The Tibetan Sand Ghost dragged its long curved blade behind it. The blade scraped back and forth across the cars’ metal shells, producing an ear-piercing screech.

I clenched the Thunderstruck Wood Talisman in my hand, my heart pounding wildly.

Lightning didn’t have much effect on Sand Ghost. Water and fire were no good either. In terms of the Five Elements, the Peach Wood Sword was somewhat more effective-but only if it struck the heart directly. If it hit their limbs, it would only make them stronger.

But there was only one Peach Wood Sword, and there were at least dozens of Sand Ghost here. Especially that Tibetan one. It was huge, probably around two meters tall. Even one-on-one, it would be hard to beat, let alone with the whole pack swarming us.

What the hell was I supposed to do?

I was deep in thought when I suddenly sensed something was wrong.

The grating scrape had vanished. The air around me was dead silent.

Stiffly, I lifted my head.

The Tibetan Sand Ghost was crouched right above me, its neck tilted as it peered down through the gap. And across from me was another Sand Ghost, a female one in a leopard-print miniskirt.

To my left, right, and behind me were all car wrecks. There was no way out.

The Sand Ghost above me let out a shriek, raised the curved blade in its hand, and stabbed it down hard at my head.

If I weren’t the heroine, I would’ve been dead for sure.

At the critical moment, I threw myself forward, barely dodging the blade overhead-only to slam straight into the female Sand Ghost’s arms.

The female Sand Ghost didn’t hesitate. Her nails shot out, growing long as she stabbed them hard toward my chest.

I twisted my waist. I could have avoided her completely, but the image from earlier flashed through my mind. I deliberately hesitated, offering an opening, and let her slash open my shoulder.

I rolled away, clutching my shoulder as I dropped to one knee.

The female Sand Ghost let out a few shrill, cackling laughs. Then she stretched out her long tongue and licked her nails as if showing off.

And then, there was no then.

Sand Ghost, dead.