Chapter 150: Chasing Souls
Guo Yu was indeed scared to death by the Skin-Borrowing Ghost. At that time, the Skin-Borrowing Ghost had not yet reached the Half-step Evil Spirit level, so it could only take revenge on Guo Yu by scaring her.
The reason the Skin-Borrowing Ghost sought revenge on Guo Yu was, naturally, because of Guo Yu's actions at the hospital entrance that day.
After scaring Guo Yu to death, the resentment in the Skin-Borrowing Ghost's heart not only failed to dissipate but intensified. He returned to the hospital and began to target new victims. Not just living people, but also the departed souls became his prey.
Yang Haoran's guess was correct. Due to the immense resentment before its death, the Skin-Borrowing Ghost's soul, after coalescing into a Spirit, formed a Spirit Body significantly stronger than that of an ordinary departed soul. Thus, the newly formed departed souls at Tianhe Hospital during that period suffered a devastating blow. Except for a few that successfully escaped Tianhe Hospital, all the others were devoured and refined by it.
Because it had devoured many departed souls, and its own Spirit Body was already strong, the Skin-Borrowing Ghost advanced from a departed soul to the Half-step Evil Spirit level in a short amount of time.
As for Guo Yu, after being scared to death by the Skin-Borrowing Ghost, her soul also coalesced into a Spirit. She was not a good-tempered person to begin with, and she hated the Skin-Borrowing Ghost who caused her death. So, she returned to Tianhe Hospital, preparing to settle accounts with the Skin-Borrowing Ghost.
Her idea was simple: the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was a ghost, and now she was also a ghost. Since they were both ghosts, there was no need to fear each other. She guessed the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was probably still in the hospital, and as long as she found it, she would surely be able to exact her revenge.
And so, the scene just now unfolded. Her guess was correct; the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was indeed at Tianhe Hospital, and she successfully found it.
However, she had guessed the beginning but not the end. Not only did she fail to exact her revenge, but she was completely devoured by the Skin-Borrowing Ghost.
When she appeared just now, although the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was severely injured, it was still not something she could handle. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse; the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was the camel, and she wasn't even a horse. How could she possibly be the Skin-Borrowing Ghost's opponent?
As a result, she rushed over impetuously, but instead of exacting her revenge, she ended up with her soul scattered.
The reason Yang Haoran was trembling with rage was also because of this Guo Yu.
In the Skin-Borrowing Ghost's eyes, a departed soul like Guo Yu was a great tonic. Guo Yu foolishly running in front of the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was effectively offering herself up as a meal.
Just as he was about to capture the Skin-Borrowing Ghost, Guo Yu used her own Spirit Body to give the Skin-Borrowing Ghost a power boost. How could Yang Haoran not be angry?
Seeing the Soul-Gathering Bead miss its target, Yang Haoran sighed, then helped the Child Tong up from the ground. After a quick check, he found that Child Tong had only fainted and was unharmed, so he handed him over to Wang Yiming.
At this moment, Wang Yiming also wore a look of regret. Seeing that Yang Haoran made no further moves after the Skin-Borrowing Ghost merged into the wall, he knew that the Skin-Borrowing Ghost had escaped.
"You take care of him. I'm going after the Skin-Borrowing Ghost."
Hearing Yang Haoran's words, Wang Yiming's expression became anxious, and he quickly said, "Can you manage alone? Wait a moment, I'll report the situation here right away and ask the organization to send more people. I thought it was just a powerful departed soul, but I didn't expect it to be a Half-step Evil Spirit!"
"No need. There's no time to wait for your Spirit Police reinforcements. The Skin-Borrowing Ghost headed straight out of the hospital after escaping from here. If I don't go after him immediately, I won't be able to track him using his Yin Qi anymore!"
As his voice trailed off, Yang Haoran waved a hand, recalling the Soul-Gathering Bead. Without waiting for Wang Yiming's reply, he sprinted directly towards the floor's entrance.
Wang Yiming was still worried. He really wanted to follow Yang Haoran and pursue the Skin-Borrowing Ghost, but the Child Tong in his arms needed treatment, and he couldn't just leave him there.
Furthermore, he no longer had any Ghost-Slaying Talismans in his Talisman Pouch, so even if he went along, he wouldn't be of much help.
Watching Yang Haoran's retreating figure as he ran out of the floor, Wang Yiming suddenly felt incredibly weak at that moment.
In the past, he hadn't realized this, and had even felt proud of becoming a Talisman Master at such a young age. But now, the pride in his heart was utterly shattered, and that shred of arrogance at being a Talisman Master was mercilessly crashed onto the beach by the waves of reality.
Clenching his fists, he picked up Child Tong and also ran towards the floor's entrance.
Outside the floor, Chen Ying saw Yang Haoran emerge and quickly rushed to meet him. Earlier, she had heard the Skin-Borrowing Ghost's mournful wails from inside the floor and really wanted to go in and check. However, due to Wang Yiming's repeated instructions, and the fact that the screams weren't his, she held back. Now that Yang Haoran had run out, she naturally wanted to know the situation inside immediately.
"Yang Haoran, Yiming, he—"
Before she could finish, Yang Haoran's words cut her off. It wasn't that Yang Haoran was being impolite; it was simply that, in the current urgent situation, he had no time for pleasantries.
"Yiming is fine. You can go in."
As his words fell, Yang Haoran had already opened the window, then jumped out under Chen Ying's incredulous gaze.
This scene terrified Chen Ying, making her cover her mouth. Her first thought was whether Yang Haoran had also met the same fate as that gentleman before.
The floor they were on was the ninth floor. Jumping from such a height, let alone a person, even a beast would be smashed into a pulp.
Yet Yang Haoran didn't hesitate for a second. Speaking, opening the window, his words falling, and then leaping directly—it was all done in one smooth motion.
Chen Ying was, after all, just an ordinary person. Even if she knew a bit more than most ordinary people now, it didn't change the fact that she was still fundamentally ordinary. Her perspective and understanding mostly remained at the level of a common person.
From an ordinary person's perspective, witnessing Yang Haoran jumping out the window, it was already quite remarkable that she hadn't screamed aloud in shock.
"Don't mind him; if he dares to jump, he won't die. Child Tong is injured, hurry and help me!"
Wang Yiming's voice came from behind. Hearing it, the surprised Chen Ying finally snapped back to reality.
Yang Haoran had always considered himself a low-key person, but in the current circumstances, he had no choice but to be conspicuous.
The floor he had just been on was the ninth. Waiting for an elevator or running down the stairs were both unrealistic, as he didn't have that much time to waste. The simplest and most effective method was to jump.
While such an act might shock the world, he believed the authorities were fully capable of explaining away this phenomenon, easily labeling it as a magic trick with no issues.
His jump certainly attracted a lot of attention. Although the area below had been cordoned off by the police, there were still people on other floors of the hospital building. A young patient was leaning against the window, gazing out and contemplating his poetry and distant horizons, when a shadowy mass suddenly plummeted from an upper floor, giving him a fright.
"Mom, I think someone just jumped from a building again!"
As soon as he spoke, the entire ward erupted. Patients rushed to the windows, eager to see what was happening.
This wasn't just happening on their floor; the same scene was unfolding on multiple floors throughout the hospital building.
Even the police officers sealing off the scene downstairs witnessed this, their faces all changing dramatically. The previous jumping incident hadn't even been fully dealt with, and now another one had appeared. The shock in their hearts was imaginable.
However, when they ran towards the supposed landing spot, they found nothing. No corpse, no person, no object whatsoever, as if everything they had just seen was merely an illusion.
Collective hallucination?
Of course, that was impossible, and no one would believe such a claim. Yet, the facts were right before their eyes: they genuinely found nothing. Even if they refused to believe that everything they had just seen was an illusion, what could they do?
Yang Haoran's leap from the window had indeed caused some impact and chaos, but at this moment, he had no mind to care about any of that. He had already gotten into his car and was chasing after the Skin-Borrowing Ghost, following his spiritual sense.
The reason he didn't die when he jumped from the ninth floor earlier was because he had wrapped Spirit Power around his body, forcefully making himself float at the moment of impact, thus avoiding any injury.
Of course, it was still quite frightening. If the situation hadn't been so urgent, he wouldn't have chosen to do it. If he hadn't executed it perfectly, he would undoubtedly have been smashed to smithereens.
The reason he knew Spirit Power had such a use was because of Xu Meijing. Back in the mountain cave, Xu Meijing could even make her body hover and fly.
Yang Haoran could also do that, but the prerequisite was that he had to be willing to expend the limited Spirit Power within his body.
It was already past lunchtime. Although the sun wasn't particularly scorching this season, it was indeed the brightest part of the day. The Skin-Borrowing Ghost choosing to rush out of Tianhe Hospital at this time inflicted considerable damage upon it.
Even if it tried to hide in dark corners along the way, it couldn't avoid being scorched by the sunlight. But it still chose to do so in the end, and Yang Haoran didn't find it strange.
In Yang Haoran's view, the Skin-Borrowing Ghost was truly terrified. The reason it didn't want to hide in Tianhe Hospital was perhaps out of fear that the previous scene would repeat itself. If another powerful character were to appear and forcibly summon its Spirit Body with some technique, given its current state, it would surely die.
Therefore, it preferred to rush out of Tianhe Hospital at that moment. Even if it had to endure the scorching sunlight, it had to escape Tianhe Hospital. Perhaps, in its view, only by doing so could it find a sliver of hope.
Although these were merely Yang Haoran's speculations, he felt that his conjectures shouldn't deviate much from the truth.
Following the spiritual sense in his heart, Yang Haoran drove furiously down the road. The Skin-Borrowing Ghost had chosen a route not within the city, but outside it.
This was a good thing for Yang Haoran, but the Skin-Borrowing Ghost choosing such a route naturally had its own reasoning.
However, how could one on the ground catch up to something flying through the air? Slowly, Yang Haoran found his spiritual sense of the Skin-Borrowing Ghost growing weaker and weaker, which forced him to press harder on the accelerator.
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