Perhaps fearing that readers wouldn't understand, the poster added a dynamic emoji of "Wu Wu Kai Ah Ah screaming" after stating, "Don't show off, you'll die."
Reading the post up to this point.
Zhang Wei almost laughed out loud, then continued reading:
The story goes like this.
I went to Luxia City because a client wanted me to exorcise a ghost. After helping the client, I didn't leave. It was my first time in Luxia City, and I planned to stay for a few more days.
And wasn't I feeling a bit cocky?
So, while planning to stay longer, I decided to get some ghost-exorcising tasks from the local Exorcism Department as usual, to earn money and also to show off and expand my reputation.
At that time.
I accepted a mission to kill a red-clothed vengeful spirit.
That red-clothed vengeful spirit was very powerful, comparable to the little red-clothed girl from Bent Province. However, I was more formidable. No matter how powerful the ghost was, it wasn't as powerful as me, and I chased it relentlessly.
Then, as I was chasing the red-clothed vengeful spirit, I arrived at a haunted house in Luxia City.
I remember it very clearly.
At that time, it was 7:30 in the evening.
The haunted house was still open, but the red-clothed vengeful spirit had hidden inside. I had no choice but to book the entire place to prevent outsiders from entering. I'm telling you, this was absolutely the best decision I ever made, and it saved my life.
After booking the place, I used the excuse that I didn't like haunted houses with NPCs and asked all the staff to leave the haunted house so I could go in and find the red-clothed vengeful spirit myself.
After that.
I started searching for the ghost in the haunted house. Since there were no outsiders, I let loose and searched for the ghost with abandon inside the haunted house.
However, before I could find the red-clothed vengeful spirit, I heard its screams.
You have no idea.
At that moment, the red-clothed vengeful spirit was screaming terribly.
How terrible? It was like when you're using the restroom and zip up too quickly, accidentally pinching your private parts, and you cry out in pain.
As soon as I heard the scream.
I rushed over immediately.
Then, guess what I saw? I saw a scene I will never forget.
I saw the red-clothed vengeful spirit I was chasing, its entire body bound by willow branches, except for its head, and it was suspended in the air. The willow branches connected to all sides of the room, like a spider web.
And as the binding willow branches tightened, the red-clothed vengeful spirit screamed its lungs out, its entire body like a juicer, with blood seeping out from the gaps in the bound branches.
But this wasn't what shocked me.
What shocked me was that in front of the bound red-clothed vengeful spirit stood a ghost that looked like an old man.
He was just quietly watching the red-clothed vengeful spirit being squeezed.
That old man ghost was very strong.
Even just standing there, I knew it was strong, so I didn't dare to be careless and immediately used my most powerful ghost-exorcising technique.
And guess what happened?
Damn it!
With just one move!
The old man ghost merely glanced at me, and my ghost-exorcising technique was broken.
My ghost-exorcising technique was very special; once it was broken, I would suffer a backlash.
I immediately collapsed, spitting blood, and lay on the ground like a dead dog.
Really.
That was the first time in my life, besides collapsing like a dead dog on a woman's bed, that I had ever been so miserable outside. I was terrified at that moment, thinking I was finished. That old man ghost was simply too strong, someone I couldn't possibly fight.
The old man ghost was at least a top-tier red-clothed vengeful spirit, definitely beyond the capabilities of a Tiger Guard, and at least a Qilin Guard.
Then the old man ghost walked towards me and said something as soon as he opened his mouth.
He said, "Little one, you're a bit impolite. Attacking right away isn't a good habit."
I know, by the time you read this, you must think I begged for mercy.
But that's not the case.
Even though I thought I was going to die, I didn't beg for mercy. After all, I am a ghost exorcist. How could I beg for mercy from an evil spirit? Of course, if I had known beforehand that the old man ghost was a good ghost, I would have definitely begged for mercy. Hehe, after all, a true man knows when to yield and when to stand firm.
Sorry, I got sidetracked. Let's get back to the main topic.
After the old man ghost said that, he saw that I didn't beg for mercy and was quite appreciative, saying I had some backbone.
Then he used his ghostly power to help me up.
While healing me, he told me.
He said he had no ill intentions and that I didn't need to rush to deal with him. He also said he would deal with the red-clothed vengeful spirit because he could tell the red-clothed vengeful spirit had heavy malevolent energy, indicating it was an evil spirit that had killed many people. Now that it had trespassed on his territory, he had taken action to kill it.
According to the old man ghost.
He never let any evil spirits or bad people who dared to enter his territory go.
The reason he didn't kill me was that he had perceived me as soon as I entered. Seeing that I had booked the place and driven away the staff to prevent danger, he knew I was a good person.
Originally.
He had planned to explain the situation to me after killing the red-clothed vengeful spirit. Who knew I was so aggressive and attacked as soon as we met.
I'm sure you all must be very curious.
What exactly is the origin of this old man ghost?
I asked about this afterward.
It turns out that the old man ghost was actually a willow tree spirit that became a ghost after accidentally dying. Since the haunted house was once his willow tree's location, he became the guardian spirit and earth-bound spirit of that place, having lived for three to four hundred years.
Damn it, three to four hundred years!
I actually fought with a three to four hundred-year-old monster. Even now, as I type this, my hands are trembling. I really don't know what was in my head back then to be so impulsive.
That's the end of the story.
From that day on, I never dared to show off again, knowing that there's always someone better and higher mountains beyond the mountains.
The reason I'm posting this today.
Besides warning everyone not to show off when they are out and about, there's another point: have any of my colleagues encountered that old man ghost? Oh, no, now I should call him senior Old Willow Ghost.
...
After reading the post.
Zhang Wei glanced at the post's publication date, which was a year ago.
And the post had considerable popularity.
There were over a thousand comments.
He skimmed through the most liked comments and found that many, like the original poster, had encountered the Old Willow Ghost in Luxia City.
Without exception.
The commenters in these floors all had the same evaluation of the Old Willow Ghost... Powerful!
"After the comic convention, I'll go to that haunted house."
Zhang Wei muttered, his gaze reflecting the comments on the webpage.
The identity and strength of the Old Willow Ghost piqued his interest.
However.
This wasn't the reason he wanted to go to the haunted house. He wasn't so idle as to go and spectate forcefully. After all, the Old Willow Ghost was powerful, but he wasn't an animal in a zoo. Going specifically to spectate him might get him killed if the ghost found out.
The reason he wanted to go.
Was because of... his Ghost Back Tattoo.
The Ghost Back Tattoo could form a contract with a ghost, making the ghost its companion and helper.
And such a powerful and friendly ghost as the Old Willow Ghost.
Wasn't he the perfect contract target for the Ghost Back Tattoo!
...