Chapter Five: The Headless Ghost

“Ahahaha hehehe~~~~~~”
A sinister, chilling laughter startled Song Nianqiang out of his sleep. “Hey, Fatty, did you hear that?” He stood up and walked to the big guy’s bed.
“Nonsense, how could I not hear such a loud noise? What do you take me for?” The big guy was clearly annoyed, his temper flaring as much as his size.
He suffered from a bit of low blood sugar, and anyone who dared wake him up from a deep sleep would inevitably face his wrath—anyone except Song Nianqiang, of course.
“Damn it! I’m going out to see what’s going on!” He grabbed a new flashlight and stormed out the door. Song Nianqiang couldn’t rest easy letting him go alone, so he snatched another flashlight and followed.
“Crap! A headless ghost!”
The moment they stepped outside, Song Nianqiang was nearly scared out of his wits. Headless ghosts were terrifying creatures; having died with incomplete bodies, they would seek out the living to make themselves whole again before they could reincarnate. At that moment, both Song Nianqiang and the big guy felt a chill around their necks—after all, this ghost had no head.
The term “headless ghost” here didn’t just refer to those without a head; any ghost missing a body part was called a headless ghost, as there was no word for “mutilated ghost” in ancient times.
But the big guy was too furious to care whether it was a headless or mutilated ghost. He glanced at the ground, picked up a sturdy wooden plank, and charged, yelling, “You dare disturb my sleep!” He swung the plank down hard on the ghost. Amazingly, the plank didn’t break.
Yet, despite his rage, the plank had no effect at all on the ghost. Now the big guy was truly frightened; he darted behind Song Nianqiang, shouting, “Hit it with the Five Thunders Spell!” With that, he shoved Song Nianqiang forward and dashed back into the house.
“Seriously? That’s not even fair!”
Seeing the big guy make a run for it, Song Nianqiang quickly retreated inside as well. The place was decrepit, but the talisman pasted on the door gave them peace of mind—it was a golden talisman, the work of a true master. Against a mere headless ghost, even a basic yellow talisman would suffice, let alone a golden one.
Now thoroughly awake, both of them had lost any desire for sleep. “Fatty, practice drawing talismans, quick!” The room was well stocked with yellow paper, talisman water, and brushes. Song Nianqiang swept last night’s leftover food off the table to make space for the big guy’s practice.
“No problem! Watch the master at work!” The big guy pulled out his “Compendium of Talismans” from his backpack and got to work, while Song Nianqiang began practicing the Five Thunders Spell. Unfortunately, Song Nianqiang’s control was so poor that he kept shocking himself—or the big guy, who was trying to draw talismans.

“Can’t you keep it down? Look at what you’ve done to my talismans!” The big guy was frustrated, and it showed in his work. He picked up the newly drawn talisman to show Song Nianqiang—it looked nothing like a proper talisman, more like a worm had crawled across the paper.
“Alright, keep going. I’m going back to sleep!” It was only four in the morning. Since it was perpetually dark here, they relied on Song Nianqiang’s brick of a phone to check the time. Yawning, he glanced at his beloved phone then lay down.
He soon drifted into a hazy sleep, not waking until ten thirty. The big guy had fallen asleep at the table at some point. Song Nianqiang got up, checked the big guy’s efforts from last night, and found only one talisman that barely resembled the illustrations in the book—the rest were a mess.
“Wake up, Fatty!” Song Nianqiang kicked him. The big guy grumbled, “What is it? Let me sleep a bit more!”
Shaking his head, Song Nianqiang walked to the door. Suddenly, a thunderclap startled the big guy awake, and he rushed to Song Nianqiang’s side.
“When did it get here? And where’s the golden talisman from the door?”
The headless ghost was now pressed right up against the door, one claw already reaching inside.
“Watch me!” The big guy hurried to the table, grabbed last night’s talisman, and slapped it onto the ghost.
To their surprise, it worked—somewhat. The ghost, though headless, let out a shriek as white smoke rose from where the talisman struck. But the talisman was used up in the process.
The pain enraged the ghost, unleashing its ferocity as it lunged for Song Nianqiang’s neck.
“Five Thunders Spell!” In the nick of time, Song Nianqiang unleashed the spell, striking the ghost dead on.
Still, the ghost’s momentum didn’t slow. Song Nianqiang was too late to dodge and was seized by the spectral claws. Seeing his friend in danger, the big guy grabbed all the talismans he’d drawn and hurled them at the ghost, not caring if they were any good.
Most were faulty, but sheer numbers made up for their quality. White smoke billowed from the ghost’s form as it released Song Nianqiang’s throat, retreating with a howl. Seizing the moment, Song Nianqiang cast the Five Thunders Spell twice more, both hitting the ghost.
Casting the spell three times in a row was his limit, and though the ghost survived, it was now badly scorched by the barrage of talismans.
Seeing the ghost beginning to recover, Song Nianqiang shouted, “Draw a prison circle!”
The big guy understood immediately, quickly pulling a blue talisman from his pocket—one their old master had given them, a tier above the yellow ones. He sprinted in front of the ghost and threw it down.
The talisman didn’t stick to the ghost, but landed on the ground nearby. That was enough—a yellow line appeared around the ghost, forming a circle. The effect would last a full day, and for that day, the ghost would be trapped.

At first, the ghost raged around the circle, but after a few sharp lessons, it resigned itself to staying put.
“Ha! Now you can just wait for your end!” The big guy gleefully dragged the table outside, along with all his talisman supplies.

Three hours later.

The big guy drew talismans while chatting with Song Nianqiang, tossing each finished one into the circle. Song Nianqiang, meanwhile, fired off the Five Thunders Spell at intervals. The poor ghost suffered their torment, trapped inside the magical ring.
“This headless ghost is pretty tough. Nothing seems to finish it off!” grumbled the big guy as he tossed yet another talisman into the circle without even looking. By now, the small space was blanketed with yellow talisman papers, and the ghost had to stand perfectly still to avoid touching them.
“That’s true. I’ve hit it three times, and it’s still not dead!” Song Nianqiang agreed.
After checking the door where the golden talisman had vanished, Song Nianqiang guessed, with his sharp mind, that someone must be watching them—so he and the big guy were venting their frustration on the ghost.
The poor ghost had no idea what was happening, becoming their unwitting punching bag.
“Hey, this one looks good!” the big guy suddenly exclaimed. Song Nianqiang glanced at the freshly drawn talisman and saw it was a perfect match for the illustration in the book.
“Let’s see how powerful it is!” Song Nianqiang picked it up and tossed it at the ghost.
The big guy watched intently, curious about the effect. The talisman didn’t disappoint—striking the ghost, it instantly turned what was left of the battered spirit into a wisp of blue smoke, which vanished without a sound.
“Impressive!” Song Nianqiang nodded in approval.
“Haha, with this skill, we’ll never have to worry about food or drink again!” The big guy was ecstatic, while the old man watching their antics on the big screen nearly coughed up blood at his words.