Chapter 50 Breaking the Rules of Death

"It's all your fault! If you hadn't turned her into a Spectre, the master wouldn't be facing such danger."

Xiao Ba came running over furiously, pointing straight at the Takeout Spectre and letting out a barrage of insults.

The other shop assistants were a step slower, but soon surrounded the scene, stepping in front of Xia Tianqiong. While protecting their master, they joined in denouncing the Takeout Spectre.

Huang Yu had been created by it. If Huang Yu were to kill the master, all the Spectres bound by the Human-Master Contract would perish alongside him. Therefore, they resented the Takeout Spectre and directed all their grievances toward it.

The Mirror Spectre, which had been watching coldly from the sidelines, also hurriedly duplicated a dozen mirror clones to guard Xia Tianqiong's surroundings.

"What are you all so nervous about?"

Xia Tianqiong wasn't panicked at all. "She just turned into a Spectre, at most a Wild Spectre rank. Isn't it easy to kill her?"

After a Spectre initiates its Death Rule, regardless of whether the condition has been triggered or not, as long as the Spectre is killed before it begins its killing spree, the rule naturally lifts.

In truth, the shop assistants knew this situation well and also realized that Huang Yu posed no real threat to their master. The reason they put on such a show was twofold: first, to smear the Takeout Spectre, as such a rare opportunity was hard to come by; and second, to win Xia Tianqiong's favor in hopes of earning a reward.

Although they were Spectres, they were just as cunning as humans.

"I'll go finish her off, don't fight me for it!"

Xiao Ba was the most enthusiastic, hopping on one foot and rushing forward. It certainly didn't want to hand over such an easily earned merit to the other Spectres.

"What's the rush? Nobody moves without my command."

Xia Tianqiong quickly barked a command to stop Xiao Ba and the other eager, contracted Spectres.

It was rare to witness a human being transform into a Spectre firsthand. To just kill her off like that would be quite a pity. He wanted to try cracking Huang Yu's Death Rule, and then study her slowly to see if he could help her recover her sanity.

Huang Yu's question, "Am I pretty?", seemed like a simple Death Rule that only required a "pretty" or "not pretty" response. Yet, the simpler the rule, the harder it was to deduce.

The exact same phrase, spoken by different Spectres, might result in completely different Death Rules. For instance, the Bride Spectre's "Will you be my groom?", and other female Spectres using that same line to execute Death Rules.

Some people answered "I will," triggering the Death Rule and becoming bound as the female Spectre's servant. Others answered "I won't," also triggering the rule and being directly killed by the female Spectre. The Bride Spectre was the most ruthless of all—regardless of whether the answer was yes or no, she would consume them anyway.

Therefore, how one should answer varied entirely from Spectre to Spectre.

Huang Yu had originally been exceptionally beautiful, comparable to a female celebrity, but at this moment her appearance was utterly ghastly. Half of her body was torn apart, missing an arm and a leg, with her internal organs spilling out and hanging from her frame. Right now, she was practically a zombie—ugly and terrifying.

If he answered "pretty," that would be a lie, potentially triggering the rule for dishonesty. If he answered "not pretty," it would carry a tone of disgust, which might also trigger the rule. In short, whichever answer he chose, there was a risk of triggering the rule.

In a situation like this, one had to analyze it based on her personal character and temperament.

After spending a few hours with her, Xia Tianqiong's impression of this woman was that she was gentle in appearance, ruthless at heart, and extremely decisive in her actions. Such a person probably despised being lied to and preferred straightforwardness.

Thus, after a moment of contemplation, he gave his answer:

"You're not pretty, you're very ugly, ugly!"

Hearing these words, the red glow in Huang Yu's eyes dimming slightly, she made no aggressive move and instead continued with her questioning: "Are you willing to stay with me?"

Xia Tianqiong let out a sigh of relief.

The first Death Rule had been successfully bypassed, and now came the second. Some Death Rules consisted of only a single question, while others might involve a chain of them. Different answers would lead to different questions and trigger different rules.

"I am not willing."

This time his answer was extremely crisp and decisive. Xia Tianqiong could now basically confirm that Huang Yu disliked being lied to.

Sure enough, the moment his voice fell, a look of disappointment appeared in Huang Yu's eyes. Simultaneously, the force of the rule surrounding Xia Tianqiong dissipated.

The Death Rule had ended here.

For some reason, Huang Yu's eyes flickered between confusion, madness, and cold detachment. She was still lacking in sanity and unable to communicate properly. At this moment, she floated in mid-air, looking around blankly as if she herself didn't know what she was supposed to do.

Xia Tianqiong looked up at her, his brow tightly furrowed. "What's her current condition?"

The Takeout Spectre quickly lowered its head like a child who had done something wrong. "I'm not sure either. Perhaps her physical injuries were too severe beforehand, causing an anomaly during the transformation process."

"Floating around like this is no solution. I'll pull her down in a moment, you guys be careful and don't let her hurt me."

Xia Tianqiong drew out the Heaven-Connecting Rope tied around his waist, flicked his wrist, and lashed the other end like a whip into the air, wrapping it securely around Huang Yu's waist. Then he gave a hard tug, dragging her down from the sky.

Much like an airplane losing balance, she crashed heavily onto the ground with a loud thud. Her already ruined body splattered even more fresh blood.

When a human actively attacks a Spectre, the Spectre can ignore the rules and retaliate to its heart's content. Fearing that she might wield some ghostly arts and injure him, Xia Tianqiong was very cautious, hiding behind the mirror clones and the shop assistants.

To everyone's surprise, the heavy fall to her head seemed to have shaken Huang Yu awake.

She stood up unsteadily on her single remaining leg. The confusion and madness in her eyes vanished completely, replaced by clarity and a hint of joy.

"Did it succeed? Am I still alive?"

At this moment, Huang Yu's body remained broken and battered, but it radiated an unmistakable vitality and life force.

Xia Tianqiong slowly walked over and tested the waters. "Do you remember me?"

Seeing him, Huang Yu immediately averted her gaze, turning her head away with a very strange expression. However, her speech was completely normal.

"Of course I remember you. You're the one who saved me."

"It seems her sanity has recovered," Xia Tianqiong muttered to himself, walking around Huang Yu to examine her closely. "Why don't you dare look at me?"

"Whenever I look at you, I just want to... I want to..."

Huang Yu kept her head down, stammering and hesitating, not daring to finish the sentence.

The Takeout Spectre suddenly realized something. "She just turned into a Spectre, and human flesh is a tonic to her. Seeing the master, she can't help but want to eat people."

"So that's how it is."

Xia Tianqiong understood instantly, and casually produced a bar of gold. "Try absorbing this."

Huang Yu's eyes widened sharply. Almost by instinct, she snatched the gold away.

The gold rapidly shrunk in her hands, quickly being absorbed entirely until it turned into fine dust. Her expression turned blissful, as though she had just taken a stimulant.

However, when she looked back up at Xia Tianqiong, the uncontrollable urge to devour humans had drastically diminished.

"Thank you. I feel much better, that sensation has faded a lot."

"Having turned into a Spectre, how do you feel?" Xia Tianqiong was extremely curious about the psychological and physiological changes a human underwent upon transforming into a Spectre.

"It feels very strange. I want to eat... eat people, I want to raise my rank, I want to become stronger. In short, my head is filled with a lot of extra memories and thoughts, it's all a mess."

"What are those extra memories about?"

"Mostly introductions to Spectres, giving me a general understanding of how Spectres survive and the laws of heaven and earth that must be obeyed."

As she spoke, Huang Yu's mood suddenly grew somewhat dejected. From now on, she would no longer be human; she could no longer enjoy human life, let alone reproduce.

"Don't think too much about it. Things have come to this, and being alive is better than being dead. Besides, Spectres don't experience birth, aging, illness, or death. As long as you don't encounter any accidents, you basically won't die."

Seeing the desolation on the half of her face that remained intact, Xia Tianqiong softened for once and offered a word of comfort.

"Tell me, besides the Death Rule you just used on me, what else have you comprehended?"

"I've comprehended two ghostly arts. One allows my body to levitate in mid-air, though not too high, and the movement speed isn't fast—about the same as an ordinary person walking. The other ghostly art allows me to tear objects apart from a distance. Like this, for instance."

Huang Yu waved her remaining right hand through empty space, and a visible spatial tear ripped open in the air a dozen meters away.

The Mirror Spectre's expression changed drastically.

The Mirror Space was something it had duplicated; it was the most sensitive to any changes in space. Huang Yu's casual wave had actually torn a fissure right through the Mirror Space. Although it healed itself automatically almost instantly, the sheer destructive power was enough to shock it.

"Master, her ghostly art contains a trace of spatial energy! Don't let her use it here, otherwise the Mirror Space might collapse, and it will cost a lot of nether gold to repair!"

Xia Tianqiong was simultaneously astonished and delighted, never expecting Huang Yu to comprehend such a powerful ghostly art. This was precisely the offensive ghostly art he was currently in urgent need of!

"What are the names of these two ghostly arts?"

"I haven't given them names yet."

"Then let's call them Floating Art and Space-Rending Art!"

Without seeking Huang Yu's opinion, Xia Tianqiong named them directly.

Huang Yu didn't mind either, nodding in agreement. "Alright, I'll listen to you."

Looking at Huang Yu—half human face and half withered skeleton—Xia Tianqiong found her more pleasing to the eye the more he looked. It wasn't the affection between a man and a woman, but rather a fondness for her unconditional trust and absolute obedience.

"Contract with me. Follow me from now on, and I guarantee..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was abruptly interrupted by Huang Yu.