Myriad Heavens: Who Let Him Into the Horror Movie?-Chapter 46 : What Right Do You Have to Negotiate With Me?

Chapter 46: What Right Do You Have to Negotiate With Me?
Inside a spacious, luxurious villa.
He Mei led Chen Zhibang to the ritual altar she had set up.
Her altar was arranged very simply, with offerings consisting mainly of brightly colored flowers.
In front of the altar table sat many small bamboo baskets — a rough count showed at least a dozen.
Each bamboo basket was covered with an opaque lid.
The moment He Mei entered, all of the baskets began to tremble simultaneously.
“Mommy… Mommy…”
From within each small bamboo basket came childish, excited cries.
“These are all the Little Ghosts I’ve raised. They can help us find Nai Mi.” He Mei picked up the fruits and vegetables from the plate of offerings on the table and tossed them, one by one, into the shaking bamboo baskets.
Although Chen Zhibang and Amei had never seen real Head-Descending curses before, they had heard countless tales about raising Little Ghosts.
This kind of sorcery was quite famous on Hong Kong Island — almost everyone had heard of it.
There were always tabloids full of rumors about actresses raising Little Ghosts.
So the two of them were not particularly surprised.
They simply confirmed in their hearts that He Mei truly was a Head-Descending Master.
After feeding every basket, He Mei whispered a few words under her breath.
The lids of the bamboo baskets were suddenly lifted by some unseen force.
Amei was so startled she clung tightly to Chen Zhibang’s hand.
Chen Zhibang patted her shoulder reassuringly.
A gust of cold wind swept through, as if something had rushed out of the room.
He Mei said, “A Head-Descending Master carries a very strong aura. My Little Ghosts can trace Nai Mi through that aura.”
“The premise, of course, is that Hong Kong Island isn’t very big. If he’s too far away, they won’t find him.”
“So now we just wait?” Amei asked.
He Mei nodded. “Yes. We wait.”
Time passed quickly. Just as Chen Zhibang and Amei were beginning to grow anxious, the composed He Mei suddenly tilted her head, as if listening to something unseen.
Both Chen Zhibang and Amei looked toward her.
Soon, He Mei lifted her gaze and said, “Found him. I’ll go meet Nai Mi alone. You two wait here for me to return.”
Seeing that He Mei was about to leave decisively, Chen Zhibang quickly asked, “Sister Mei, could I borrow the phone to contact Ah Nan?”
He Mei glanced at him. “The phone’s in the living room. Use it as you please.”
Amei ran after her, clutching He Mei’s arm gratefully. “This really has nothing to do with you, Sister Mei, yet you’re taking such a risk for us. I don’t even know how to thank you.”
He Mei laughed. “Do my hair for free sometime later.”
…
Zheng Nan was following Li Zhen’s instructions, setting up a different kind of ritual altar in the living room.
The altar was easy enough to arrange — simply placing the table and offerings in a certain order.
The difficult part was dealing with the things Li Zhen had conjured in the room.
The fresh organs Zheng Nan had personally bought now looked as though they had been left for several days, releasing a thick, putrid stench.
The frogs he had purchased earlier were now hopping over the rotting entrails.
The scene wasn’t exactly gory, but it made his skin crawl.
The whole house reeked of decay.
His wife and son had been sent to their room — only he was busying himself here.
After hanging up a call, Wu Mingjiang turned and said to Zheng Nan, “It’s settled. They’ve found seven or eight vans and are heading out. Master Chen said if I don’t pay up, he’ll call upon Lord Guan himself to chop me to death.”
Pinching his nose, Zheng Nan muttered gruffly, “Just pay him. Nai Mi’s no damn human. Playing around in the red-light district one moment and trying to kill us the next.”
The message they’d just received from Chen Zhibang said that Nai Mi was holed up just a few streets away.
It was an area they all knew well — full of small, discreet motels.
From Zheng Nan’s house, they could even see that street.
“His sister’s death wasn’t even our fault. We were framed! We didn’t know anything that night — just woke up and got attacked!” Wu Mingjiang complained as he peered toward the door. “Why isn’t Ah Ken here yet? That useless bastard didn’t run off, did he?”
“Nonsense. He’s probably on his way.”
Zheng Nan said, then looked toward Li Zhen, who was sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed in calm meditation. “Master, shouldn’t we go take a look?”
Li Zhen shook his head. “There are over a hundred men going there. Whether we’re present or not makes little difference.”
“So how long do we wait?” Zheng Nan asked again.
Li Zhen replied, “Until it’s our time to go.”
Wu Mingjiang rubbed his hands nervously. “Master, is it dangerous—going after Nai Mi?”
Li Zhen shook his head once more. “The Little Ghosts Nai Mi could directly use to kill are already gone. Once we find him, the danger won’t be great.”
“That’s a relief.” Wu Mingjiang sighed in relief. “Getting injured costs at least two hundred in medical bills. If a few people get hurt…”
Suddenly, strange footsteps sounded at the door.
It was as if someone were dragging their feet, the sound carrying an eerie rhythm.
Tap… tap… tap…
Then came knocking.
Wu Mingjiang and Zheng Nan exchanged a glance. Both saw the fear mirrored in each other’s eyes, then turned toward Li Zhen.
“Master…”
“Go open the door.”
Li Zhen opened his eyes and looked toward the entrance.
Trembling, Zheng Nan went to open the door — and suddenly cried out in horror, “Ah Ken?!”
Standing at the door was a young man, his face covered in blood.
The most terrifying part — several long needles were embedded in his face!
Fresh red blood streamed out from the dense needle holes.
His eyes had rolled white, his expression ferocious, more like an evil spirit than a living man.
…
Inside a dim little room.
Nai Mi sat trembling cross-legged before a ritual altar.
The altar’s centerpiece was an unfamiliar Buddha statue and a large jar.
The jar was roughly the size of a human head, filled with murky liquid.
Inside, one could see a tattered little heart soaked within.
In Nai Mi’s sect, the method of raising Little Ghosts required the master to feed the ghost’s heart daily with their own blood during the controlling ritual.
The Little Ghost that had followed Nai Mi for so many years, growing that fierce, had consumed an untold amount of his blood.
With the Little Ghost’s death, not only had years of cultivation gone to waste in an instant, but the backlash had also struck Nai Mi himself, leaving a constant, dull pain in his chest.
In theory, Nai Mi should have rested to recover from the backlash as soon as possible.
But driven by hatred, he couldn’t wait even a moment.
Taking a deep breath and suppressing the pain, Nai Mi opened the jar on the altar and reached into the murky liquid, pulling out the heart.
With a firm squeeze, the heart turned into sticky pulp that oozed between his fingers, leaving behind only a few drops of thick black slime.
That was the accumulated resentment of the Little Ghost he had raised for years.
Nai Mi opened his mouth and swallowed the slime.
In an instant, the veins on his forehead bulged hideously, making him look terrifying.
Feeling the pain in his chest fade gradually, Nai Mi grabbed a straw effigy from the altar.
A strand of hair was tied around its neck, and a photograph was pasted over its face.
If Zheng Nan were here, he would have recognized that it was Ah Ken.
This was Nai Mi’s second target.
He had collected this man’s hair two days ago, originally planning to deal with him after killing Zheng Nan’s family.
Since he couldn’t kill Zheng Nan for now, he would deal with this one first.
He worried that if he waited any longer, that Head-Descending Master might stop him again…
After resting for a moment, Nai Mi picked up a long needle and began piercing it into the straw effigy one by one.
Closing his eyes, Nai Mi’s consciousness followed his Head-Descending Curse to a nearby location.
At one moment, Nai Mi suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward the door.
There was no one there — but the sound of a lock turning echoed, as though someone were unlocking it.
With a creak, the door slowly opened.
“Nai Mi? I want to talk to you,” a woman’s voice came from the doorway — it was He Mei.
“Talk?”
Without even raising his head, Nai Mi let out a low, mocking laugh from his throat.
“With your level of mastery? What right do you have to talk to me?”
A terrifying, ghostlike aura exploded from his body.
He Mei was struck as if by a heavy blow and slammed hard into the opposite wall.