### Chapter 158: Tonight, a Hefty Reward!
The Burning Heart Goddess was feeling a bit flustered. To her, Bai Yu wrestling for control of Zhao Mingyue’s body was like asking for a d*ath wish! Even if she hadn’t fully recovered from her injuries and hadn’t unleashed her curse, she wasn’t one ghost to be trifled with.
Yes, she admitted that Bai Yu was not your average ghost; her strength was among the stronger ones. So she reluctantly decided to let the two of them bounce around for now, holding off on any direct confrontation until she had regained a bit of her power.
This was quite generous of her. If it were any other ghost, the Burning Heart Goddess would have jumped right in, clearing Zhao Mingyue’s “ghostly roommate” out in a jiffy.
After all, she was an Evil God! Sharing a body with a mere ghost would be something to laugh about if her three sisters found out.
Considering she was injured and that this ghost was not as weak as she had imagined, she thought to tolerate the situation for a bit. But when Bai Yu proactively tried to drive her out, she was truly furious.
It was like living with a cockroach – not ideal, but you could bear it while casting a disdainful glance at its antics, occasionally mocking its futile attempts to shake the foundations of your life.
But then, one fine day, that cockroach went berserk, determined to evict her from her own home!
Up until she arrived at Eternal Life Village, she had always looked down on Bai Yu, believing that the dignity of an Evil God meant she shouldn’t descend to squabbling with a mere ghost.
But now…
The whole scene shifted as countless threads of bl**d completely enveloped Zhao Mingyue’s body, and Bai Yu let go of control, allowing the Burning Heart Goddess to seize the initiative.
Just as the goddess was about to relish her newfound dominance, she found herself rigid with shock!
The bl**d threads were contracting, not strangling Zhao Mingyue but rather suppressing the Burning Heart Goddess’s power, locking all her usable strength inside Zhao’s body to prevent her from engaging in any self-harm.
The sheer numbers and potency of those bl**d threads astonished the goddess. She had faced Bai Yu in her dreams before but had never witnessed such capability in reality.
How could a ghost possess such power?!
This was utterly impossible!
Yet, as she stood there, the terrifying reality forced her to accept it.
If that wasn’t enough, the Burning Heart Goddess realized that Bai Yu’s relinquishing control over Zhao Mingyue had a purpose: the massive clouds of bl**d were seeping through every pore, attacking Zhao’s very soul with pure murderous intent and resentment.
Ordinarily, resentment is black, but once it reaches a critical mass, it transforms into a terrifying shade of red.
Top-tier “Red Clothes” are usually just a hint of red on a black background.
The Burning Heart Goddess felt her fading consciousness buzz as whispers filled her ears, entangled in the most venomous curses and intentions – something she’d never encountered before. Only one thought remained in her mind.
How many people has this ghost killed?
These resentments weren’t merely dramatic but had reached such a quantity that they triggered a qualitative change.
So, the question remained: how vast a number was necessary to reach this level?
Murderous intent and resentment were gnawing away at Zhao Mingyue’s soul, causing the Burning Heart Goddess unimaginable pain.
Resentment was her weapon for controlling ghosts; compared to curse power, it was comically weak.
Now, these resentments were slowly consuming her.
She was trapped, bl**d threads locking her down tight while the influence of Eternal Life Village pressed down on her.
If she could just expand her power, she might have a fighting chance to control ghosts or even the living, since anywhere her curse spread would be a place to exert her dominance. The wider the spread, the stronger her influence became.
At that point, Bai Yu’s power would drain, while her own would grow, leading to a certain victory.
Curses and malice travel rapidly through the ether, especially with her own essence so close.
“If this keeps up, she’s doomed!”
“Coexistence, I’m willing to share this body with you!”
“We can both have her!”
“Are you really trying to drag us both down with you?”
The Burning Heart Goddess was genuinely terrified. She hadn’t realized Bai Yu had such tricks up her sleeve.
She was a part of Zhao Mingyue’s soul—without releasing her curse power, letting Bai Yu exhaust herself wouldn’t affect her. After all, she didn’t have the strength to exert herself.
But you’d have to find something to push out, right?
She was Zhao Mingyue’s soul, and Zhao Mingyue was her! How could a ghost exert influence?
If Zhao Mingyue’s soul was a jelly, then right now, her little body was trembling, as the bl**d mist gnawed at her soul like ants at sugar, slowly consuming her, and that included fragments of the Burning Heart Goddess herself.
Her power was formidable, having reached the point where consciousness and malice could separate.
Most Evil Gods embodied their curses; if the cursed died or were suppressed to a certain level, the Evil God would automatically dissipate.
The Burning Heart Goddess was a step ahead—her consciousness remained even if she had no followers, much like an evil spirit.
As long as she was alive, there was hope for a comeback.
Now, her consciousness ironically became the very source of her binding and attack.
Before her stood two options: either detach from Zhao Mingyue’s soul or force her to reject Bai Yu herself.
The former was doable—she’d even had a small boost just a while ago. The only issue was that if she abandoned Zhao’s body, where would she go? She’d end up sunk in a new host’s consciousness, right back to sleep.
Besides, not everyone’s body could be as perfect as Zhao Mingyue’s.
Hence, she was trying the latter.
—
The campfire crackled, the scent of burnt offerings mixed with bl**d wafting through the air. Zhao Mingyue crouched in a corner, hugging her knees, shivering in fear at only eight years old. She was too scared to even lift her head.
Around her were people jumping and skipping about with sacrificial implements in hand.
These people were bare from the waist up, their bodies smeared with distorted scriptures, black worms wriggling on their skin. A closer look revealed the scriptures were not uniform but divided into four types.
But it wasn’t the scriptures that distinguished the four types of followers – it was their faces!
One kind had their eyes sewn shut, while another had their mouths wax-sealed, the black stitches marking their skin. Then there were the earless, their ear positions mere fleshy lumps, and the last type, well, their face was fine, but a sharp black spike pierced through their chest directly where their heart lay.
Men and women alike danced around the fire without a sound.
The ritual had begun.
As the dancing ceased, all the followers froze in place, their expressions blank as they turned away, evidently stiff and cold.
“I want to go home, mom… where are you?”
Zhao Mingyue hugged her head when suddenly, someone grabbed her wrist. She looked up startled to see a follower standing on each side of her: one with their eyes sewn shut, the other with a gaping mouth.
“Let me go!” she struggled, but it was futile.
She was far too small, only eight.
The two followers’ hands were ice-cold, like frozen steel pincers.
As a goddess, Zhao Mingyue knew her fate. She had seen the tragedy of the last goddess.
Eyes gouged out, ears severed, and tongues cut off, leading to an end where her heart was ripped out.
All for the sacrifices to the four goddesses, leaving the goddess in a state of dismemberment.
There were too many people around, all watching her with cold eyes.
The village was engulfed in darkness, and the fire in the center provided no warmth.
Dragged away, Zhao Mingyue’s voice was hoarse from crying. No one said a word.
In her sorrowful weeping, her cheeks were soaked in tears— that feeling of helplessness and terror rendered her breathless.
Who would come to save her…
“No, please don’t k*ll me! I beg you!”
Cuffed to the ritual table, through her blurry tears, she faintly saw four giant dark shadows enveloping the village, sinking it into an impenetrable night.
“Great Mother…”
“Please, spare me.”
Zhao Mingyue kicked her legs wildly, and then suddenly, something caught her eye.
On the sacrificial table, a slightly ragged rooster with a few stray feathers stuck out like a sore thumb.
“Feather…”
Her eyes, previously swollen from crying, widened as a name flashed through her mind.
“Bai Yu…”
Memories flooded back, the word “Feather” acting as a key, her inner security gradually emerging, a light shining within, the feeling of hope blossoming.
“Am I dreaming right now?”
The dark village was clearly the back of Eternal Life Village, and her small body had plummeted back into the terrors of her childhood memories.
“Dream…”
“I said I needed a sister Feather.”
Nothing stirred around her; Zhao Mingyue didn’t understand what was going wrong, especially when the followers carrying knives ascended the altar. So, she simply closed her eyes and desperately imagined one thing.
What if, at the time she was being sacrificed, a fully intact sister Feather appeared?
Turning her fantasy into reality, it actually came true.
Bang!
The kn*fe-wielding follower was hurled away, their body splitting into pieces mid-air.
Zhao Mingyue opened her eyes wide, and what greeted her was a small white leg before her.
Bai Yu had arrived, decked in magical girl attire complete with pink-and-white cat ears!
Zhao Mingyue blinked; this sister Feather’s style was a bit off, was it?
Okay, it was pretty much the style she often imagined for her sister Feather.
A high-cool magical girl wielding a blade!
“She really showed up! Does this mean I control my dreams?” Zhao Mingyue murmured to herself, her gaze brightening. She quickly closed her eyes again to conjure a new image.
When she opened them, Bai Yu had transitioned into a maid outfit, brandishing her blade defiantly in front of her.
“Darling~ Leave this to me!” Bai Yu’s cold demeanor vanished, replaced with an endlessly cute and energetic spirit.
With a little tap of her shoes, dozens of bl**d threads shot up, impaling the followers and clearing a huge section of the crowd.
Then Bai Yu shouted, “Hey!”
She leapt into the throng, slicing through with that long kn*fe, dismembering followers left and right, knocking over the sacrificial altar with a fierce kick, the blade pointing skywards as she declared:
“Hmph, Evil God, prepare to face Feather’s judgment!”
“Keep being punk, or I’ll chop you up!”
“I’ll clean out your spine, hollow your soul, slice you, and mince you to bits~ Hahahaha~”
On the sacrificial altar, Zhao Mingyue gazed at the hands-on-hips, gleefully laughing Bai Yu, blinking.
No, no, my sister Feather wouldn’t have this kind of vibe!
She shut her eyes again, straining to paint her fantasy completely.
After a while, when Zhao Mingyue opened her eyes, she found Bai Yu standing before her, the long kn*fe long gone.
Dark maid outfit with cat ears, expression aloof and proud.
Three meters, two meters, one meter; Bai Yu slowly closed the gap.
Zhao Mingyue was mesmerized at this sister Feather she had conjured, as she got closer, practically nose-to-nose.
Her heart raced as Bai Yu lifted a delicate hand, gently tilting her chin, her gaze dreamy and warm, their breaths almost mingling as she softly asked:
“Master, Feather has come to save you. Are you happy?”
“Today, how did Feather perform? Are you satisfied? If you are, can we…”
“Yes, yes, yes!!” Zhao Mingyue nodded fervently.
—
The Burning Heart Goddess was about to lose her mind.
She had no clue what Zhao Mingyue was trying to pull, having unearthed her deepest, most fearful memories.
At first, it worked. Zhao Mingyue was shaking like a leaf because of it.
But!
From three minutes ago, she could distinctly feel that Zhao Mingyue was no longer frightened. Though her body still trembled, it seemed more about excitement and shyness this time?
What the heck are you shy about?!
Where was she? In Eternal Life Village!
A land shrouded in darkness under the shadows of the four Evil Gods!
She simply couldn’t comprehend why Zhao Mingyue was feeling this way in her realm of terror.
Had she been scared silly?
Sadly, the Burning Heart Goddess was glued to her position with Bai Yu, unable to divert her attention, and all she could do was weave a dream for Zhao Mingyue.
Ever since the Burning Heart Goddess had chosen Zhao Mingyue as the goddess, she felt her luck had taken a nosedive, encountering a ghost vying for her body—one she hadn’t even seen before!
Bai Yu, at that moment, was also clueless about what was happening. All she knew was that Zhao Mingyue had not let her expectations down.
Indeed, Mingyue was a tough girl.
