114. The Master and Disciple Constantly Switch Roles

At an age when she did not yet understand the true nature of death, she lost her life to an instrument of torture. Confused as to why her whole family lay still when she woke up, and bewildered by her own transformation into a greyish-white phantom, she stumbled innocently into the realm known as the "Void."

Back then, due to the almost non-existent malice she possessed, the small "territory" granted to her by the Void could not be maintained. Fortunately, she had acquired a strange, cursed object whose corrupting influence was suppressed, which saved her from being enslaved by other spirits. Even so, she could only manage to protect herself; whenever she encountered powerful ghosts, she would flee, never daring to contest anything, living a life of timid caution and walking on eggshells.

When she finally managed to land a job, if her colleagues were spirits of status, she was forced to do their work for them without a single word of complaint. Thus, decades passed. Relying on that cursed object to bolster her malice, she learned from other spirits to project an old building from the human world into the Void, forming a "foundation." Step by step, she encroached upon others' territory, carving out a large domain for herself. Yet, because that very building in the human world was inexplicably destroyed by fire, the foundation she had built collapsed, and her territory was subsequently carved up and seized by several of her enemies.

Although a well-meaning rebellious apprentice eventually helped her find another old building to serve as a foundation for a new projection, her new territory collapsed again before she could even begin to "work hard" toward solidifying it and expanding her domain. This time, she was even more unfortunate than during the fire: she had run straight into the "Mist of Loss."

Had she not abandoned this new territory quickly enough after hearing a warning from Chen Sheng, she might have been forcibly dragged away by the Mist of Loss itself. The most terrifying aspect of the Mist of Loss was precisely this: a single moment of connection was enough to span the nothingness of the underworld, pulling one away instantly, even from within the Void.

Chen Sheng shook his leg vigorously, trying to dislodge the little ghost girl. When his efforts failed, he grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and hoisted her up.

The little ghost girl, caught by the scruff like a kitten meeting its fate, froze: Σ(゜ロ゜;)

She pondered for a moment, then turned to Chen Sheng and said, "Apprentice, can we discuss something? It’s not a big deal, but could you please stop grabbing me by the scruff of my neck in the future?" It gave her the constant, disorienting feeling that she had turned into a cat.

"Sure, no problem," Chen Sheng agreed, releasing his grip and dropping her onto the ground. He hadn't really intended to hold her that way; he had just been trying to shake her off his leg.

The little ghost girl, dazed by her sudden fall to the ground, blinked: …（⊙＿⊙；）… Somehow, she felt this was even worse than being treated like a cat.

"Master, speaking of which, how did your territory disappear this time?" Chen Sheng asked casually. It was just a passing thought, but it happened to strike a chord with the little ghost girl. Feeling aggrieved, she quickly recounted the sequence of events.

"Is the foundation projected here really that flimsy? Are there no other places to serve as a core?" Chen Sheng asked, feeling rather baffled. It sounded like a shoddy construction job.

"There are," the little ghost girl replied immediately. "The small piece of land originally given by the Void was very sturdy and didn't suffer from the drawbacks of a projected foundation."

"Then what happened to the one the Void gave you?"

"It was snatched away..." The little ghost girl hugged her knees, resting her chin upon them. Every time she spoke of this, she couldn't help but feel sad.

"Master, that is where you were in the wrong!"

"Huh? My fault?" The little ghost girl was naturally baffled. How could it be her fault?

"If it was snatched, you should have snatched it back!" Chen Sheng looked at her with incomprehension. Wasn't this little girl supposed to be a malicious spirit? Why was she so inflexible?

The little ghost girl understood what he meant, but she began to stammer, "But, but..."

"Is there some hidden story here?"

"Well, do you remember when I told you about how that place was snatched away?" she asked shyly.

"I remember," Chen Sheng said, eyes narrowing. He didn't understand why this "useful Master NPC" was suddenly asking this.

"There are two ways to snatch a territory," she said weakly. "One is through direct force, and the other is by tricking the owner into handing it over themselves."

"So, one is pure violence, and the second is violence mixed with 'civility'?"

The little ghost girl nodded repeatedly.

"And you encountered the second kind?" Chen Sheng asked.

She nodded again.

"How did they get you to hand it over?" Chen Sheng asked, curious. He had a premonition that the devious developers of this healing game were up to their old tricks again.

"I... I was greedy and couldn't control my appetite. I ate too much, and since I didn't have any ghost coins to pay the bill, I had to mortgage the land the Void gave me."

Chen Sheng, feeling a strange sense of familiarity, went silent. Deciding not to dwell on it, he said, "Master, that is where you were in the wrong!"

The little ghost girl: *Huh? Haven't I heard that before?* "Why is it my fault?" she asked, no longer confused, but immediately defensive.

"Never mind how they made you hand it over—you should have snatched it back! Master, you are a malicious spirit! Since when do malicious spirits care about logic?" Chen Sheng spoke with a tone of frustrated disappointment. If this "Master NPC" weren't so useful and full of benefits, he would have disowned her already. Moreover, as the guiding light on his path to "hard work," how could she be so cowardly? Did she not care about the territory she had accumulated through her own "tireless effort and struggle"?

The stunned little ghost girl: Σ(⊙▽⊙“a. Is she the malicious spirit, or is this rebellious apprentice the malicious spirit? Oh, right, she nearly forgot—this apprentice is a human world maniac...

Thinking of this, she had to confess her predicament: "But I don't dare go... they can summon instruments of torture..."

"What kind of instruments are so powerful?" Chen Sheng asked instinctively. In his subconscious, torture instruments were equivalent to equipment. He quickly filled in the blanks—was this a quest involving high-level gear? He immediately declared, "Master, leave this to me. I guarantee I’ll help you snatch your land back."

"Waaah!" The little ghost girl burst into tears—this time, tears of being moved. In her excitement, she tried to hug Chen Sheng’s leg to express her gratitude.

But she missed. Even though they were in the "game world," Chen Sheng didn't want to be covered in her snot and tears, so he zipped away the moment she lunged.

*Thump!*

The little ghost girl, having lunged too hard and lost her footing, slammed face-first into the ground. Although the floor of the Void was a vast, endless expanse of white, it was solid ground—and it seemed specifically designed to suppress spirits, as falling on it felt exactly like a living person hitting solid concrete.

"Woooo..."

The little ghost girl started crying again. It was still out of sadness, but this time, it was purely because it hurt.