Chapter Sixty-Nine: Battle with the Beast Demon

This wolf-lion beast ghost was truly vicious—not only did it kill innocent prison ghosts without reason, but it even devoured their corpses. Wei Xiaoping thought to himself, “I never imagined such things could happen in the underworld. In the world of the living, I’d only ever heard that after death, people turned into ghosts, then sought out new lives or reincarnation. Never had I heard of ghosts eating other ghosts. Yet here in the Black River Prison, it’s happening right before my eyes. How bizarre!”

“If these wolf-lion beast ghosts devour other prison ghosts, who knows how many have died unjustly at their hands? We must find a way to destroy them. Not only would that save the ghosts they might eat in the future, it would also clear a path for our return to the world of the living.” Such were Wei Xiaoping’s thoughts.

With fury in his eyes, Wei Xiaoping raised the Demon-Slaying Sword Spirit and charged down at the wolf-lion beast ghost below.

“Boss Ma, let’s take care of these wolf-lion beast ghosts—either subdue them or kill them! If we let them be, more innocent prison ghosts will die. Besides, if we don’t kill them, they’ll kill us first. They certainly won’t let us pass out of kindness!” Wei Xiaoping declared.

“Understood!” Boss Ma and Niu Dahua called out in response, leaping toward the wolf-lion beast ghost that had just surfaced from the water.

“You two deal with this one here; I’ll take care of the other three,” Wei Xiaoping said, bounding toward the remaining wolf-lion beast ghosts.

Without waiting for Wei Xiaoping to finish, Boss Ma and Niu Dahua sprang at the beast ghost that had just floated up from the river.

Pausing at either side of the wolf-lion beast ghost, Boss Ma and Niu Dahua began to circle it, watching for an opening.

The wolf-lion beast, seeing two hellhounds with three heads apiece circling it, realized they were seeking a weakness. It snarled, baring its fangs, ears pricked and eyes glinting fiercely as it turned left and right, alert for an attack. Inwardly, it thought: “Each of those dogs has three heads and three mouths. If they bite me, that’s three bites at once! If all three latch on, I’ll be wounded in three places at once. That could be fatal.”

Noticing the beast ghost’s heightened vigilance, Boss Ma whispered to Niu Dahua, “This one’s too alert. Let’s strike together—then it can’t defend both sides at once. We need to move quickly. When it turns its head to one of us, the other should seize the opportunity to bite and hold on. Once we have it clamped from both sides, it’ll be under our control.”

“Right! All six heads and mouths will attack at once, and we’ll use the chains around our necks too. Let’s see how it can fend off all six bites. Even if one of us gets bitten, the other five can still latch on!” Niu Dahua replied, pacing in readiness.

With that, Niu Dahua lunged, his three mouths snapping at the wolf-lion beast ghost’s right flank.

The wolf-lion beast saw Niu Dahua’s three mouths coming for its side and whipped around to counterattack, jaws gaping. Simultaneously, its tail—like an iron chain—lashed at Boss Ma on the left.

As the wolf-lion beast ghost turned toward Niu Dahua, Boss Ma was ready to strike at its left side. But seeing the tail sweep his way, he quickly abandoned the attempt to bite its side, instead leaping onto the beast ghost’s back, aiming to tear at its spine from above.

Niu Dahua, about to land a bite, saw the wolf-lion beast ghost turn on him and immediately leaped back to avoid its jaws.

With Niu Dahua out of reach, the beast ghost sensed another hellhound land on its back. It swung its tail up, trying to dislodge Boss Ma. But Boss Ma had landed too far forward for the short tail to reach.

Switching tactics, the wolf-lion beast ghost tried to shake Boss Ma off by thrashing its head left, right, and upward, but its thick, short neck rendered the effort futile.

By then, Boss Ma’s three mouths had sunk deep into the back and sides of the beast ghost’s neck, holding fast.

Seeing Boss Ma secure on the beast ghost’s back, while all attempts to shake him off failed, Niu Dahua seized the moment. He charged in, aiming his jaws at the beast ghost’s throat from below.

The wolf-lion beast ghost, unable to turn its neck, saw another hellhound closing in from the side. To avoid being bitten, it crouched suddenly, then leaped high into the air with all four legs.

Niu Dahua, unable to halt his momentum, barreled past and crashed into a cluster of nearby prison ghosts.

Perched atop the beast ghost, Boss Ma bit down with all three mouths, tearing viciously in different directions.

In the blink of an eye, the wolf-lion beast ghost’s neck was ripped open in three large, ragged gashes, and it let out a pitiful howl midair. Then both Boss Ma and the wolf-lion beast ghost plunged into the Black River.

The beast ghost, with its neck shredded, hung head down in the water, thick black blood oozing like soy sauce. Its body and limbs twitched a few more times before gradually growing still.

Boss Ma quickly surfaced, standing atop the water. Seeing the wolf-lion beast ghost was dead, he looked for Niu Dahua.

Niu Dahua, seeing the wolf-lion beast ghost slain, called out, “This one’s finished! Let’s hurry and help the General!” He shoved aside the prison ghosts clustering near and leaped onto their heads, sprinting toward Wei Xiaoping, who was battling the remaining three wolf-lion beast ghosts.

Boss Ma followed close behind, heading toward the melee.

Near the center of Black River Prison, Wei Xiaoping darted up and down, brandishing the Demon-Slaying Sword Spirit as he tangled with the three remaining wolf-lion beast ghosts.

After leaving Boss Ma and Niu Dahua, Wei Xiaoping had rushed straight for the remaining three wolf-lion beast ghosts in the river’s center.

“You hybrid wolf-lion beast ghosts, cease your rampage at once! Why slaughter so many innocent ghosts? Your actions are so despicable that even Hell itself cannot tolerate you!” Wei Xiaoping shouted, glaring at the nearest wolf-lion beast ghost.

The rebuked beast ghost, busy devouring other prison ghosts, heard the outcry and turned. Seeing the speaker was a new ghost on his way back to the world of the living, it howled fiercely and charged toward Wei Xiaoping.

Halting near Wei Xiaoping, it began sniffing him intently, as if trying to ascertain whether this new ghost’s flesh was appetizing. It circled Wei Xiaoping, scrutinizing him, then suddenly leaped at him with a furious roar.