Chapter Seventy-One: Seeking the King of the Underworld

As the ghostly wolf-lion beast raised its head and howled in sorrow, Wei Xiaoping seized the moment, brandishing the Demon-Slaying Sword Soul and slashing toward it. The blade emitted a fierce, spectral blue glow as it struck. The wolf-lion beast ghost, startled by the intense blue light piercing its eyes, swiftly turned its gaze upon Wei Xiaoping. Seeing the luminous sword descending toward it, the creature leapt aside just before the blade could strike. Its paws barely touched the water’s surface before it sprang again, lunging at Wei Xiaoping.

Wei Xiaoping saw his attack deftly evaded and prepared to recover his sword for another strike. He had not expected the beast, having dodged, to retaliate so quickly. Before he could fully retrieve his blade, the wolf-lion beast ghost was already upon him, its forepaw less than a meter away. There was no time to counter with another hand or foot; he could only throw himself backward.

Wei Xiaoping bent backward just as the beast ghost soared past, missing him by barely half a foot. Landing on the water, the creature dashed like lightning toward Ma the Elder, Niu Dahua, and another companion locked in combat nearby. Wei Xiaoping quickly rolled over, turning to pursue the beast, intent on striking it with the Demon-Slaying Sword Soul. Yet he saw it had already raced far toward Ma the Elder and the others.

“This is bad—the beast ghost must be trying to revive the one Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua killed! I can’t let it succeed!” Wei Xiaoping thought.

He pushed off with both legs, sprinting after the wolf-lion beast ghost. Just as he suspected, the creature, upon nearing Ma the Elder and his group, did not join its comrade in battle. Instead, it frantically darted about, shaking its head and scanning the area, as if searching for something.

“It’s looking for its dead companion, hoping to revive it with its tongue! I must stop it! These vicious, ruthless beasts—if we don’t destroy them, who knows how many innocent prison ghosts they’ll devour in the future! The King of Hell has locked these ghosts in the Black River Prison forever; not killing them shows the King of Hell acknowledges their right to live. Therefore, these wolf-lion beast ghosts, who prey on the innocent, must not remain here to cause more harm!” Wei Xiaoping thought as he raced toward the creature seeking its companion’s corpse.

Wei Xiaoping arrived just as the beast ghost found the body. It used its jaws to overturn the corpse, then turned and howled loudly to its companion fighting Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua. Without hesitation, it grasped the corpse in its mouth and charged into the river, quickly vanishing beneath the water.

The beast ghost battling Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua, upon hearing its comrade’s call, began to fight with wild ferocity, lunging and biting with renewed speed. The struggle, which had previously been evenly matched for about fifteen minutes, suddenly intensified. Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua found this beast ghost much harder to subdue than the first; several times, Niu Dahua narrowly avoided its jaws.

During the fight, Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua constantly sought weaknesses in the beast’s defense, hoping to kill it quickly and aid Wei Xiaoping. But whenever they spotted a flaw and moved to exploit it, the beast ghost would instantly shift its stance or change tactics, closing the gap.

After about fifteen minutes, they realized this beast ghost was far more cunning than the one they’d slain—it seemed to understand battle strategy. Whenever Ma the Elder or Niu Dahua attacked its weak points, the beast ghost would immediately turn, opening its jaws to counterattack, nearly biting them several times.

The battle continued, neither side gaining the upper hand. When the beast ghost heard its companion’s howl, it suddenly launched a frenzied assault, charging and biting with incredible speed, darting between Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua in the blink of an eye. Its viciousness, as if fighting for its life, filled the two spectral hounds with dread. They kept their distance, searching for an opening.

After several rapid attacks, the beast ghost suddenly plunged into the Black River. Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua realized too late that its wild attacks had been a ploy for escape. They rushed to intercept it but arrived just as it disappeared beneath the water, leaving no trace.

Determined, Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua dove into the river, hoping to catch a glimpse of the beast ghost. Yet the water was so dark they could not even see their own hands, much less the creature.

They surfaced, resigned. By this time, Wei Xiaoping had joined them.

“Master, we failed. The wolf-lion beast ghost got away!” Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua said with shame.

“You needn’t feel guilty. I let two escape myself,” Wei Xiaoping replied.

“But General Wei, didn’t you kill one? And we killed one, too. There are only four wolf-lion beast ghosts—how did three escape?” Ma the Elder asked.

“The one that escaped just now took the corpse of the one you killed. So, it became three,” Wei Xiaoping explained with a sigh.

“General Wei, does the corpse of the wolf-lion beast ghost serve some purpose for them? Can they really revive it?” Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua wondered, suspecting Wei Xiaoping had discovered something.

“The tongue of these beasts can revive wounded or even dead companions. Once, I killed a wolf-lion beast ghost, only for another to lick its wounds with its tongue, bringing it back to life almost instantly!” Wei Xiaoping revealed.

Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua were stunned.

“General, did the revived one escape as well?” they asked, alarmed at such a power. If these beasts could revive each other, how could they ever be truly defeated?

“The revived one, I later cut in two with the Demon-Slaying Sword Soul and kicked the halves in opposite directions. I doubt it could be saved, as I saw no attempt to recover its body,” Wei Xiaoping replied.

“You mean, only by severing these beasts in two can we ensure they cannot be revived?” Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua asked.

“I think so. After I split the revived one, its comrade howled in grief and never sought the remains,” Wei Xiaoping said.

Now, the prison ghosts who had scattered at the appearance of the wolf-lion beast ghosts began to gather once more around Wei Xiaoping and his companions.

“General, the prison ghosts are closing in again. What should we do—keep fighting?” Ma the Elder and Niu Dahua asked, stepping to Wei Xiaoping’s side.

“What else can we do? We don’t know where the wardens are! If we did, we could call for their help and try to find a way out,” Wei Xiaoping replied.

“Exactly! Or, if we knew who the leader of this Black River Prison was, we could negotiate or subdue them. Isn’t there always a boss in every prison?” Ma the Elder added.

“That’s right! In the world of the living, the strong always vie to become prison king. Surely the Black River Prison is no exception,” Niu Dahua said.

Wei Xiaoping nodded, “Well said. Such a vast prison, filled with so many ghosts—without a king to rule, they’d slaughter each other. Look at these ghosts gathering around us: they come close, but there’s little infighting.”

“That proves there must be a king governing the Black River Prison!” Ma the Elder declared.