Chapter 10: A Head for a Head

“Selling goods, selling goods.”

Before Ding Ren could even start his introduction, a call reached them from afar.

“Looks like we really aren’t far from the county town; there’s actually a peddler here. I wonder if he has any food on him,” Zhang Qingyuan said excitedly.

But his smile quickly faded when he saw the solemn expression on Ding Ren’s face.

“Stay alert. Something is wrong.”

Fang Jianbo and the others were startled and immediately took up defensive positions.

Rounding a patch of forest, they saw a peddler carrying a shoulder pole.

However, the peddler’s neck was a stump with a bowl-sized bloody scar; he had no head. Instead, there was a head resting in each of the bamboo baskets hanging from either side of his pole.

The peddler stopped exactly ten meters away from them.

“Hi there, brothers. Buying a head? Selling them cheap,” called out the head in the left basket.

“No, we aren’t buying,” Ding Ren said directly.

[Sequence 6: Animosity Class. This is a very tough ingredient to chew. A suggestion: since it’s hard to chew, you’d better run.]

“Move,” Ding Ren whispered.

He sensed a lethal aura from the Head-Swapping Ghost; this ghost was extremely dangerous. He could only fight with peace of mind once he had safely escorted Xi Yu and the others to Shilu County.

The group carefully circled around the peddler, who surprisingly didn’t try to stop them.

“Even if the deal fails, the friendship remains. If we meet again, you brothers must patronize my business,” the ghost chuckled.

“Selling goods, selling goods…” The calls gradually faded into the distance.

But no one relaxed; everyone increased their pace, having felt the terror of this peddler. If nothing else, the fact that it could speak was enough to make their skin crawl.

“That was an Oddity. Everyone, be careful from here on,” Xi Yu said.

“An Oddity?” Zhang Qingyuan asked quickly. “What is an Oddity?”

“An Oddity is a powerful ghost whose mutation traits have been functionalized, resulting in the birth of a Food Sacrifice ability,” Xi Yu explained as they moved.

“What is a Food Sacrifice ability?” Qin Wei couldn’t help but ask, feeling a bit embarrassed since he had never heard the term before.

“It’s what the Middle Continent calls a superpower.”

With that explanation, Fang Jianbo and the others instantly realized the gravity of the situation. Superpowers were extremely rare—there were only a few in the entire Middle Continent—and they had only heard of B-class giants possessing them. For a ghost to have a superpower was truly terrifying.

Xi Yu knew that using “superpower” to explain a Food Sacrifice ability wasn’t entirely accurate.

A Food Sacrifice ability was the materialization of the mutation traits contained within a living being.

While every living being possessed unique mutation traits, for most, it wasn’t until they reached B-class that they had a chance to perceive and use them. At that point, the mutation traits finally underwent a qualitative change, manifesting as all sorts of bizarre abilities.

The number of B-class beings that could manifest a Food Sacrifice ability was small, and among C-class beings, it was even rarer.

[I Can See the Quality of Ingredients] was actually a Food Sacrifice ability, albeit the lowest grade—an Extraordinary Food Sacrifice. It was this ability that warned Xi Yu that the peddler definitely possessed a Food Sacrifice ability.

He hoped the peddler’s ability was only at the Extraordinary level; otherwise, things would be truly troublesome.

Every Food Sacrifice ability was inherently useful; even the lowest grade was not to be underestimated. Generally, any being with such an ability would become exceptionally eerie and difficult to deal with.

At that moment, Ding Ren shared a piece of information that made the hearts of Zhang Qingyuan’s team sink even further.

Xincheng City had suddenly come under attack ten days ago by numerous powerful ghosts. Among them were six top-tier C-class ghosts that had caused massive losses, leaving everyone helpless.

The peddler they had just encountered was the Head-Swapping Ghost, one of those six horrific C-class ghosts from Xincheng. Already, two C-class experts from Xincheng had died at its hands.

It had left Xincheng only a few days ago and was currently rampaging through the surrounding counties.

Originally, the First Realm Guard had hoped Ding Ren could find a way to eliminate the Head-Swapping Ghost before reaching Xincheng, but he hadn’t expected them to run into it here so soon.

After hearing this, the group was filled with fury.

The birth of every C-class expert in the Middle Continent was incredibly difficult, yet two had fallen at once to this ghost. Even Ding Ren had considered retreating upon seeing it, having no certainty of victory. No wonder a B-class expert from the Middle Continent had to be called in.

“Boss?” Zhang Qingyuan wanted to suggest that Ding Ren take Xi Yu and leave first, but his voice faltered as soon as he spoke.

“Selling goods, selling goods. Fresh heads, does anyone need one?”

In less than ten minutes, the headless peddler ghost appeared before them again. The difference this time was that it was exactly seven meters away.

“Little brothers, are you buying a head?” This time, the head in the right basket spoke enthusiastically.

“Protect Xi Yu. You guys head to Shilu County first.”

Ding Ren knew there was no avoiding this. He no longer hesitated and launched a decisive strike. He moved like a released arrow, appearing instantly before the ghost and slashing down with his blade. He wanted to test the ghost’s strength first; if he wasn’t its match, he still had the nuclear weapon. He might still be able to kill it.

But Xi Yu and the others had to leave first.

Pshhh.

To his surprise, the Head-Swapping Ghost’s body was easily split in two, and the heads in the baskets instantly tumbled to the ground.

“Ahhh!” both heads shrieked simultaneously. “If you aren’t buying, then forget it, but why must you kill? Retribution will come for you!”

Amidst the wailing, the ghost’s body and heads turned into black mist and dissipated into the air.

However, no one believed the ghost was dead. On the contrary, its ability felt exceptionally bizarre, leaving them with no way to strike at it. They all had a very bad premonition.

“Captain Ding, wait. Let me try,” Xi Yu spoke up.

“Alright.” Ding Ren hesitated for a few seconds before agreeing.

“Boss!” Zhang Qingyuan and the others were frantic, not wanting Xi Yu to take the risk.

“Don’t worry, I have a plan. Besides, I am a divine dragon; there is no one in this world who can kill me yet,” Xi Yu said with a smile to Zhang Qingyuan and the others. “On the contrary, you guys must protect yourselves. I would be very upset if something happened to you.”

“Mhm,” Fang Jianbo blurted out, suddenly feeling an uncontrollable surge of emotion. Xi Yu was worried about them; he truly cared for them.

“Xi Yu, can I touch you?” Ding Ren suddenly asked, looking at Xi Yu.

Xi Yu was stunned for a moment. In truth, the influence of the dragon lust had dissipated a great deal; the light radiating from Ding Ren had dimmed to just a faint trace.

He wasn’t sure if touching Ding Ren would trigger the dragon lust again. But seeing the urgency in Ding Ren’s eyes, he couldn’t help but say, “Hold out your hand.”

Regardless, Xi Yu was prepared to try; he also wanted to know the current state of the dragon lust.

Ding Ren decisively held out his hand, and Xi Yu took it.

Ding Ren’s palm was significantly larger than his; once gripped, Xi Yu felt his hand was completely enveloped. Ding Ren’s hand was warm and a bit rough, but the feeling of their fingers interlaced was very comfortable. Although Xi Yu felt a slight craving for the sensation, he could be certain this time that it wasn’t the influence of the dragon lust.

“I’m fine.” As soon as the words left his mouth, Xi Yu felt Ding Ren’s arm wrap around his waist, lifting him into the air.

‘Next time, just holding my hand will be enough,’ Xi Yu thought, feeling mentally exhausted.

Regardless, Ding Ren still wanted to get Xi Yu and the others to Shilu County first; he believed Xi Yu should be fine. But thinking of the massive wound on the dragon’s true form, he didn’t want Xi Yu to be forced to act unless it was absolutely necessary. At the very least, he wanted to try one more time.

Zhang Qingyuan and the others quickly chased after Ding Ren.

Running at full tilt, the group’s speed increased instantly.

Although his waist was being held, Xi Yu wasn’t distracted. The dragon lust hadn’t completely vanished, and Ding Ren still appeared charming to him, but fortunately, it could no longer influence his actions.

Xi Yu now had an idea of how to deal with the Head-Swapping Ghost; he just needed to test it.

In fact, he was already certain that the ghost’s ability was an Extraordinary Food Sacrifice—and likely a special one that possessed great power but came with certain defects.

Otherwise, it would have attacked directly during their first encounter.

Above the Extraordinary grade was the Morbid Food Sacrifice, and at the very top was the Divine Food Sacrifice. The latter had never appeared and likely only existed within the Food Sequence Lords.

But a Morbid Food Sacrifice’s ability would already be terrifying and without defects, so the ghost’s ability definitely wasn’t that.

Common Extraordinary Food Sacrifices were the same; they weren’t this troublesome to use.

Only special Extraordinary Food Sacrifices, which could potentially unleash power on the level of a Morbid Food Sacrifice, were this complicated. While such abilities were horrific, they had to be paired with a corresponding ritual to succeed; that was the limitation of the power.

Now, Xi Yu suspected that the Head-Swapping Ghost was performing a ritual on them, which would then allow it to use its Extraordinary Food Sacrifice ability.

If he could disrupt the ritual, he might not have to transform into the white dragon.

As expected, the Head-Swapping Ghost was about to appear again.

“Selling goods, selling goods.”

Sure enough, they hadn’t run far before the ghost appeared in front of them again. This time, it arrived exactly three meters away.

Fang Jianbo almost collided with it before Zhang Qingyuan grabbed him.

“Little ones, do you want to buy a head? There will be fresh heads very soon. Very delicious,” the peddler’s head in the basket asked with a grin.

The way the ghost addressed them kept changing, as if it already viewed them as fish on a cutting board.

“Master, how much are you selling those heads for?”

After being carefully set down by Ding Ren, Xi Yu stepped forward with a smile, showing not a hint of fear toward the ghost.

Since he had already agreed, Ding Ren didn’t stop him but stayed close behind him. Zhang Qingyuan and the others watched with worry but didn’t intervene.

“To buy a head, you naturally use a head,” the ghost paused. “But your head is too fair and tender, not enough to chew on. It has to be bought with his head.”

The peddler pointed at Zhang Qingyuan.

Despite the inappropriate timing, Zhang Qingyuan nearly went mad with rage. ‘Even if I look a bit mature for my age, I’m not that old! What do you mean “enough to chew on”?!’

“A head for a head is fair, but I have something better than a head here. I’ll trade you this instead.”

Xi Yu reached into his cloak, tore the dragon scale soft armor from his back, and waved it in his hand.

“This treasure of mine should be enough to trade for two of your heads, shouldn’t it?”

The armor, which had looked ordinary, began to radiate a strange light as he waved it, emitting a powerful and terrifying aura.

The ghost was stunned by the sight of the dragon scale armor. Though it didn’t understand what the armor was, it could see its value, and both of its heads were instantly filled with greed.

“No, only heads can be traded.” The ghost resisted the temptation.

It possessed a powerful ability: as long as a target refused to trade heads three times, it could likely cut off their head regardless of who they were. Even if the target was much stronger, they would likely fall victim.

As long as it could take a head, it could inherit all of that person’s memories—this was why it could speak human languages.

But this ability had its limits: it had to be head-for-head.

Furthermore, once the other party agreed to the trade, even the ghost itself could not terminate the process; otherwise, the ability would eventually backfire on itself.

So, although the ghost coveted the treasure in Xi Yu’s hand, it was powerless right now; it had to follow the ritual of its ability step by step. But it didn’t matter; once the ability concluded, those treasures would belong to it anyway. There was no need to rush.

Xi Yu pulled dozens of ghost heads containing dragon aura from his glove space. “Heads? I have plenty. I’ll trade for as many as you have.”

The verification was complete; Xi Yu was certain.

The ghost’s ability indeed required a ritual, and the content of the ritual could not be changed. As for the ability itself, it was likely head-swapping.

Whether it was fate or not, he happened to be able to dismantle the ghost’s ritual.

“Come, come. One hand for payment, one hand for goods.”

The ghost’s four eyes bulged out; it began to question its ghostly life. ‘How can a human be carrying so many heads around?’ It was going crazy—this human was the real devil.

“What’s wrong? Hurry up and bring out all your heads. Or are you saying you don’t have the stock but still dare to come out and do business?”

“I only have six heads,” the ghost said viciously. “Wait a moment, I’ll summon them over.”

It sensed something was wrong, but it was already too late. Its ability was only for head-swapping; there was no rule stating Xi Yu and the others had to cut off their own heads to trade.

Fortunately, while it could force a sale or purchase, the other party could not. It didn’t have to worry about being decapitated by its own ability for failing to produce a head.

But it still had to bring out all the heads it owned.

Zhang Qingyuan and the others watched with surprise and joy; no one would have thought that the ghost remains Xi Yu collected would serve such an unexpected purpose at this time.

“Selling goods, selling goods.”

At that moment, everyone saw two more Head-Swapping Ghosts approaching from the distance, each carrying two heads.

Upon arrival, the two new ghosts merged directly with the one before Xi Yu. Ultimately, the body of the newly formed ghost more than doubled in size, its height ballooning to three meters, and four more heads appeared in the baskets on its sides.

“The heads are yours.”

The ghost tossed all of its heads to Xi Yu, then let him pick six heads at random to give in return.

“The trade is complete.”

The ghost, having received its six new heads, suddenly let out a monstrous laugh. It could even speak from the chest of its headless body. “So what if we swapped heads? I can still eat you.”

The glove space from earlier had nearly made it drool.

So what if its ability was spent? Its true strength was by no means weak. It would kill this human, cut off his head, and steal his treasures. If it could get that space glove used for storing heads, its ability would be invincible. From the moment it saw him, the ghost had decided it would cut off their heads today.

The ghost suddenly attacked, but Ding Ren, who was prepared, pulled Xi Yu behind him.

But before Ding Ren could strike, the sudden transformation occurred.

The six new heads the ghost had just received suddenly let out a shrill, miserable shriek simultaneously. In the eyes of Zhang Qingyuan and the others, a faint white light was radiating from each head.

Once the head-swap was successful, the new heads became a part of the ghost’s body. Consequently, the dragon aura Xi Yu had left in the ghost heads immediately took effect. The white dragon’s aura was an aggregate of a higher-order mutation trait power, acting as a poison to any existence; now, that aura exploded within the ghost’s heads.

The ghost’s headless body went into a frenzy, roaring wildly, “My heads! What have you done to my heads?!”

It shook its baskets frantically, trying to shake off the white light from the heads, but it was a futile effort. On the contrary, the heads spilled out and rolled all over the ground.

The dragon aura had become a terrifying weapon at this moment.

“It was you! You plotted against me! Despicable, shameless! I’ll kill you!” The ghost’s massive headless body tossed aside the baskets and shoulder pole and charged at Xi Yu.

Ding Ren drew his blade and met it head-on.

BOOM!

A sound like a sonic boom erupted, and both Ding Ren and the headless ghost were forced back several steps.

Zhang Qingyuan and the others were horrified; this ghost was truly too powerful. Even though it appeared heavily injured, it could still match Ding Ren’s strength. While this was partly because Ding Ren’s injuries hadn’t healed, it was still terrifying.

Fortunately, Xi Yu was there; otherwise, they would have been in grave danger this time.

“Ahhh! Dammit! I’m going to cut all your heads off!”

The headless body roared, and the shoulder pole in its hand was filled with horrific power. As it swept across, it destroyed everything in its path, leaving Zhang Qingyuan and the others with no way to intervene.

But just then, Ding Ren’s eyes suddenly glowed with a red light.

The ghost’s headless body stiffened for a split second, and in that flash, Ding Ren struck with incredible speed, cutting the ghost’s left arm.

Crr-ack. A piercing sound of friction rang out, as if Ding Ren’s blade had struck stone, but the ghost’s left arm eventually severed and fell.

“Quick, grab it!” Xi Yu shouted.

Zhang Qingyuan lunged forward, pinning down the severed arm. Ping Feng plunged his blade into the palm of the arm, but it failed to penetrate. Ji Yunbing and Gao Jie stepped on the wrist and elbow respectively. But the severed arm throbbed violently; even the combined strength of the four couldn’t suppress it.

Xi Yu rushed over and grabbed the arm. “Let go!”