Otherworldly Desert Dust

Yinzhou,

A bald man holding a pistol kicked open the door of a house.

His face was covered in blood, his eyes were bloodshot, and he was searching the stove area of the house.

At the stove was a black-haired girl, throwing some clothes into the fire as if she were merely cooking a meal.

"Don’t blame me, girl, blame the laws set by the Lord of Yin State. Only when the living are reduced to one-fifth will this Hundred Demons Night come to an end. So, the weaker ones like you have to die so others have a better chance of surviving!"

With that, the man raised his pistol and pulled the trigger at the girl by the stove!

"Bang!!" n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

A single shot pierced through the girl’s face, blurring her once delicate features...

However, something eerie happened. Despite her face being blown apart, the girl did not fall. Instead, she looked "innocently" at the murderous man holding the gun and slowly asked: "Why did you kill me?"

The man was shocked; he realized he might have made a terrible mistake!

This girl was not an Awakener but a native of Yinzhou!!

The man felt a chill throughout his body. He turned to escape, but the sound of the gunfire had already drawn the attention of nearby ghosts. They quickly surrounded the house, sealing off all exits.

With bloodshot eyes, the enraged ghosts pounced on the man.

He didn’t stand a chance. Soon, the neighbors of the stove girl had devoured him completely, not leaving even a drop of blood on the ground.

After wiping their mouths, the neighbors dispersed quickly, returning to their ordinary tasks of burning fire, cooking, and doing laundry...

After everything settled, another girl slowly crawled out from under the stove.

Covered in soot and with her cheeks smeared with ash, her eyes remained strikingly clear and bright.

She walked out of the house, calmly picked up the pistol from the ground, and said, "Pretending to be ghosts worked well..."

"But trying to acquire Yuan You can get one noticed and targeted."

"Next time, I’ll have to be more careful when getting Yuan You. With the stove girl’s face ruined, I can’t use her for my traps anymore."

Yu Yu took out a Yuan You from her chest and quickly absorbed the energy contained within it.

The first time Yu Yu entered Otherworldly Dust, she woke up in a peculiar Yin City.

She discovered not only Yin Ghosts roaming about, hunting for people, but also humans involved in deceit and mutual slaughter.

Having understood everything about this place, Yu Yu began her hiding and fleeing.

"Hmm, that scent... It’s my brother’s scent..."

With her enhanced sense of smell after absorbing Yuan You, she turned towards a direction in Yinzhou, feeling a familiar scent.

It wasn’t her brother’s sweat, but the scent of the creature he called Little Yi, meaning he shouldn’t be far away!

Yu Yu’s eyes brightened, filled with excitement.

"It really is my brother!!"

"No doubt, it’s this direction!"

Yu Yu knew that her brother had exceptional hearing. If she called his name now, he would definitely hear her voice.

But Yu Yu didn’t understand why she couldn’t speak in Otherworldly Dust.

She was still a mute.

"The Butcher reeks of waste oil..."

"Don’t cross the bridge, there are stinking hanged ghosts."

"More people killing each other, all I smell is blood..."

"Lamp oil? What could the smell of lamp oil be?"

Yu Yu ran toward Wu Hen’s direction, analyzing the surrounding scents as she went.

The lamp oil smell was strong, about two streets away. But Yu Yu’s heart grew uneasy.

Suddenly, the lamp oil scent shattered, spreading into different streets and alleys...

"Ahhhh!!!!!!"

Screams echoed from the intersecting streets and alleys. Although many people were hiding there, the concentrated lamp oil creatures split into dozens, killing everyone in mere moments!

Yu Yu cautiously moved forward, avoiding the strange lamp oil scent.

Suddenly, the lamp oil scent converged. Instinctively, Yu Yu glanced towards the buildings and saw a series of blood-red dragon lamps piecing together into a lifelike dragon body...

All the blood-red dragon lamps finally connected, and the dragon lamps came to life, turning into a horrifying Yin Dragon!!!

Yu Yu bit her lip in terror, blood seeping from her lips.

Not daring to look back, she ran toward the familiar scent...

It was terrifying. The Yin Dragon must have devoured countless humans, as the lanterns were covered in layers of blood!

Stumbling, she finally made her way through the residential buildings.

Avoiding a patrolling ghost, she encountered a Long Boot Ghost.

The Long Boot Ghost was invisible; only its boot steps could be heard.

Whenever someone looked back, the Long Boot Ghost would hide instantly behind trees, walls, statues, or stalls. It was impossible to catch its true form with the eyes.

But Yu Yu could smell the boots!

So, to deal with a Long Boot Ghost, one had to keep their eyes on where it was, then walk backward along a long, straight path until it was far enough away to lose it completely.

Yu Yu knew it was dangerous to walk on a long street, but she had to shake off the Long Boot Ghost to survive.

Finally, after walking backward down the long street, Yu Yu sensed she was just one courtyard away from her brother!

She carefully climbed up the courtyard wall. Once she got over the yard, she thought she could finally relax by Wu Hen’s side.

"Hehe, impressive, girl. As an Awakener, not only have you survived this hour, but you also absorbed a Yuan You!" Suddenly, a figure emerged from the side of the yard.

He wore light armor, wielded a crossbow, and had no hair on his head, resembling a monk. However, his face lacked any blood color and his skin was pale, giving off a sinister, vulture-like vibe!

This man had used something to disguise his scent, as Yu Yu didn’t detect him before climbing in. Apparently, some cunning Spirit Awakeners could use tools to mask their presence!

"What’s the matter... Don’t like talking? Or are you just too scared?" The vulture man drew a poisoned arrow and slowly loaded it onto his Feather Crossbow, saying,

"That’s not like your previous performance. You should know that even some Spirit Awakeners of Night Ghost level haven’t survived until now."

"You quickly found the laws of Yinzhou, cleverly hid yourself, avoided the ghosts wisely, and even set a trap to kill my companion..."

"Honestly, I admire you a bit. If I take you back and train you well, you’d make an excellent team leader in the future."

The vulture man aimed his crossbow at Yu Yu, his gaze turning sinister.

Yu Yu glanced beyond the wall and then at the cruel vulture assassin before her. She raised her hands, starting to communicate with sign language.

"Begging for mercy?" The vulture man laughed.

He was actually hesitating whether to take the girl or kill her on the spot.

But as she moved her hands, signaling something continuously, the vulture man suddenly realized.

A mute!

So, the girl was a mute.

"Ah, what a pity. Since you’re a mute, you can’t give any strategies to our team. No one would listen to a mute anyway!" The vulture man sneered.

As he laughed, Yu Yu’s soot-covered cheeks also revealed a smile.

The vulture man was puzzled.

Why was she smiling?

Especially when he mentioned the word "mute," she seemed victorious almost.

What power did the word "mute" hold?

The vulture man had no time for further thought and pulled the trigger!

"Click, click~"

The crossbow jammed. No matter how hard he pulled the trigger, it wouldn’t fire.

At the same time, he felt a strange shadow envelop him, as if a powerful ghost from the underworld had opened its terrifying Ghost Realm!

This Ghost Realm appeared hollow and black. When the vulture man looked down, he realized the crossbow hadn’t jammed. His fingers had become rigid in the black void!

His hand, arm, and eventually his entire body went numb, a bone-chilling cold seeping into his soul. He suddenly knew that behind him might stand a Yama from the underworld!!!!

He finally gathered the courage to turn around.

He saw a face that looked entirely human, though it was icy cold, with eyes like crimson flames. The aura it emitted was more horrifying and menacing than any ghost in Yinzhou!

Who, or what, was he?

"You... who... are..." the vulture man stammered.

Wu Hen exuded rage from his entire being, the Black Divine Material within him nearly bursting out of his physique.

Fortunately, he didn’t need to use the Black Divine Death Sword on such a worthless creature. He forcibly suppressed the cataclysmic fury in his chest, seized the vulture man’s throat with a black jade claw, and lifted him slowly!

The vulture man never imagined that the word "mute" could indeed summon a demon!

Ever since childhood, whenever anyone mocked her as a mute, a demonic boy would appear and beat the offender until they couldn’t even cry for mercy!

For a while, Yu Yu had suspected she possessed some kind of magic; otherwise, why would those who mocked her end up in the hospital or mysteriously disappear on her path to growing up...

But what moved Yu Yu to tears now was that even in Otherworldly Dust, this magic still worked!

"Little Yu Yu?" Wu Hen, with one hand around the vulture man’s throat, watched the filthy, soot-covered girl.

The soot-covered girl nodded vigorously, tears uncontrollably streaming down her face!