I don't talk about love with my Martial Sister

Chapter 44

The surrounding world and the person before her shattered into countless particles of dust. After what felt like a long, solitary experience of time, Shang Can finally regained consciousness.

As her mind began to clear, she sensed an extremely cold, ghostly energy rushing toward her face. Instinctively, she held her breath and quickly rolled to the side to dodge it.

Only then did she open her eyes.

Shang Can found herself standing on the ground, facing the dark red world belonging to the Ghost Realm—this sight surprisingly offered her a slight sense of relief.

However, this was not the time to relax and let her guard down in order to escape the illusion.

Just where she had dodged, there were two vaguely outlined figures. Their ominous aura and hideous faces clearly revealed their identity as ghosts.

"...Was that illusion just now your doing?"

Shang Can did not rush to attack; after all, she had just awakened, and her mind was still a bit muddled, filled with countless unresolved matters. But the ghosts before her showed no intention of conversing calmly. Upon seeing their prey suddenly awake and dodge, their faces grew even more ferocious as they lunged at her without hesitation.

Shang Can clicked her tongue in annoyance, instinctively wanting to summon the Heavenly Fire to defend herself, but the moment she used her spiritual energy, an agonizing pain shot through her body, causing her vision to darken. Almost immediately, an inexplicable chill surged through her meridians, catching her off guard, and she spat out a mouthful of black blood.

The blood of the living further provoked the ferocity of the ghosts. Shang Can barely managed to evade their attacks, feeling an unprecedented heaviness and stiffness throughout her body, her internal condition remarkably poor.

She had no time to ponder why she had sustained such severe injuries. In a rush of thought, she reached for her waist, only to grasp empty air.

Looking down, she noticed that the sword and pouch she had originally worn at her waist were nowhere to be found.

...What terrible luck, just when it rains, it pours. Shang Can felt she had no strength left to even manage a bitter smile and decisively shifted her stance, clenching her fists.

With no way to use spiritual power or wield a sword, facing off against them alone was the worst scenario imaginable.

"But just the two of you ghosts," she murmured, the lingering gloom in her chest morphing into a surge of defiance, "won't be able to take my life."

A moment later, she exhaled a breath of stale air, slowly wiping the blood from the corner of her lips.

The two ghosts that had just been menacing were now lying on the ground, their humanoid forms gradually disintegrating, dissipating into a cloud of black mist.

This encounter was different from her previous skirmishes with ghosts in the cultivation world. At that time, they had disguised themselves as monsters, but now they were appearing in their original humanoid forms—presumably how they looked in life.

Shang Can coldly observed the ghosts' dissolution, recalling the sensation of penetrating their bodies moments ago. A wave of nauseating sweetness surged in her throat, which she barely suppressed.

...It felt unsettling, akin to killing someone. Yet, with her entire body in discomfort, she couldn't afford to dwell on it.

Even though she had just resolved the immediate crisis, Shang Can had little time to pause and recuperate. The noise from her earlier struggle had drawn the attention of other ghosts, and she could now hear indistinct sounds of movement in the distance.