Chapter 581: Lucky Audience
Er Lengzi had no idea that everything he had seen earlier was nothing but an illusion.
The bar he frequented indeed existed, but it wasn't as the woman described it; it was a normal bar, and its patrons were normal patrons — he, of course, being an exception.
Inside the entire bar, no one saw the woman except for him. After he spotted her, infatuated and with a lecherous grin, he strode towards the booth where the woman was sitting.
The waitstaff had found it strange precisely because there was no one at that booth, yet Er Lengzi's reaction was as if he had discovered someone there, which naturally puzzled them.
However, the waitstaff knew Er Lengzi was a drunkard, and to prevent him from causing trouble, letting him stay in a corner booth seemed like a good idea, so they didn't think much of it at the time.
As for the subsequent events, they were all illusions conjured by the woman. Er Lengzi was just an ordinary person; how could he know such a thing as illusions existed? It was even more impossible for him to break free from the illusion, so he was led by the nose by the woman.
The street outside the bar was originally one of Cloud River City's more vibrant nightlife areas. When he frantically fled the bar, the street was actually quite lively, with many shops on both sides still open for business.
However, deeply ensnared in the illusion, his eyes were deceived, seeing only an empty street and shops with tightly shut doors.
The driver who hit him was equally drunk that night. Under the influence of alcohol, not only was his mind muddled and his vision blurry, but his speed was also much faster than when sober. The moment he crashed into Er Lengzi, he only vaguely saw a shadow rush out from the side of the road. In that situation, he had no time to react, and the car sent that shadow flying.
After hitting something, the driver sobered up considerably. Still shaken, he initially thought he had run over a stray dog, so he got out to check, primarily wanting to see if his new car was badly damaged.
But after getting out of the car, when he discovered that what he had hit was not a stray dog but a person, he felt as if the sky had collapsed, his mind instantly going blank!
Coming to his senses, he immediately wanted to rush back into his car and flee the scene, but with so many eyes watching him, not only would he be unable to escape, but his crime would only worsen.
Ultimately, he did not choose to run. Instead, he slumped powerlessly onto the ground, his heart filled with regret and despair. Yet, everything was irreversible; he had to pay a painful price for his actions.
Suffering a violent impact, Er Lengzi instantly lost his life. Standing beside his corpse was a beautiful young woman.
This woman was none other than the one who had just terrified Er Lengzi into rushing onto the road.
The woman's head, which had been crooked on her shoulder, straightened back up. Her bloodied body, previously peeled of human skin, also returned to normal.
However, compared to before, the woman's body now appeared quite illusory, giving off an unreal sensation.
This state was her true form, for she was not human to begin with, and thus this was her Spirit Body.
However, she had not intentionally revealed her Spirit Body, so ordinary people could not see her presence at all.
As for why Er Lengzi had seen her as no different from a real person, even experiencing touch when interacting with her, all of that was due to the influence of the illusion, not actual reality.
At this moment, a sinister and terrifying smile spread across the woman's face, her eyes faintly red. Gazing at Er Lengzi lying in a pool of blood, a satisfied expression appeared on her face, as if she were admiring a work of art — a work of art she had created.
"I told you I would solve your problems, and I wouldn't go back on my word. Now that you're dead, all your problems are solved. Heh, isn't that a thorough solution?"
The woman spoke in a strange, taunting tone, her once beautiful face now appearing exceptionally distorted and fierce.
As her voice faded, she slowly crouched down, drawing close to Er Lengzi's bloody, unseeing face. Then, she opened her mouth and fiercely inhaled, as wisps of white smoke emerged from Er Lengzi's seven orifices, all being swallowed by the woman.
These wisps of white smoke were, in fact, the soul hidden within Er Lengzi's corpse. However, this soul had not yet coalesced into a Spirit before being forcibly absorbed and devoured by the woman.
The devouring of his soul meant that Er Lengzi had completely undergone Soul Transformation, losing even the qualification for reincarnation or entering the ghost path. From this moment on, there would be no Er Lengzi in this world, not for all eternity.
The woman wore an expression of pure enjoyment. After devouring Er Lengzi's soul, a lingering, unfulfilled look appeared on her face. She slowly stood up, her gaze sweeping over the onlookers present, searching for her next target. She decided to randomly select a "lucky audience member" from among those gathered to watch the spectacle.
As it was late at night, coupled with the lightning, thunder, and torrential downpour, there weren't as many onlookers as there would be during the day. However, finding a next target for herself was absolutely no problem.
Yet, the woman soon changed her mind.
She felt that targeting individuals one by one was too slow. An ordinary person's soul had very limited use to her at her current stage. If she couldn't compensate with quantity, then her progress in strength would become incredibly sluggish. Thus, she wanted to strike at multiple people simultaneously—for example, all these onlookers who loved to revel in others' misfortunes.
Doing so would entail a certain expenditure for her, but the efficiency would be evident, as she could obtain more souls in the same amount of time.
She had actually considered this idea before, but she had never dared to act on it. Because once she did, she would have to exert more power, and then a massive release of Yin Qi and resentment would inevitably attract powerful ghost hunters, whether they be Underworld Officials, Spirit Police, or Exorcists; any of them could be drawn to her.
At that point, her situation would become extremely passive, which was why she had never dared to do it, instead carefully seeking out single targets and trying her best not to emit too much Yin Qi.
However, at this very moment, in order to gain greater benefits, that idea within her heart began to stir again.
"Now that Cloud River City is in such chaos, many ghosts more powerful than me have also emerged. Even if I do this, they might be too preoccupied to deal with me."
Thinking this, the woman looked at the onlookers with a cruel smile on her face.
"What's the fun in just watching? Isn't it better to experience it personally?"
The woman said with a laugh. Subsequently, a surge of Yin Qi rose from her Spirit Body, and her red eyes gleamed with a faint bloody light.
The people watching the scene had no idea they had been targeted by an Evil Spirit (evil Spirit). They were pointing and whispering to each other about Er Lengzi's corpse and the driver slumped in the rain, completely unaware that death was rapidly approaching them!
The low murmurs suddenly ceased in an instant. These people froze, then, as if bewitched or like puppets controlled by someone, they uniformly began walking towards the middle of the road.
Since there had already been a car accident here, the vehicles passing by were not moving fast to prevent secondary accidents.
Logically, in such a situation, even if these onlookers were lost in an illusion and walked into the middle of the road, they shouldn't have been harmed by the slowing vehicles.
However, the reality was entirely contrary.
As these onlookers walked towards the middle of the road, a large truck suddenly came hurtling from a distance. The truck driver noticed something ahead, seemingly an accident, and saw many people walking into the middle of the road, so he decisively tried to step on the brakes to slow the truck down.
But to his horror, his body seemed to no longer belong to him. His foot, which he intended to use on the brake, became disobedient at that moment. Instead of pressing the brake, it stomped hard on the accelerator!
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