【Gui Yi】stumbled and staggered down from the sixth floor, his palms covered in a thin layer of sweat, yet he still tightly gripped the axe in his hand.

Then his legs gave out, and he fell down in an utterly pathetic manner. Unfortunately, this time no one grabbed him by the collar, so he rolled down two steps before stopping, the axe slipping right out of his grasp.

His body trembled as he lowered his head slightly, seemingly engaged in some kind of internal struggle.

After several breaths, Xiao Gui'an slowly raised his head. He could feel his wildly beating heart and the fear that hadn't yet subsided.

This was what it felt like to be completely immersed in role-playing.

Xiao Gui'an pressed down his trembling fingertips and went to pick up the axe that had been thrown aside.

He actually—

He really swung it down!

If he hadn't asked the System whether Xu Zisheng's own items could harm him, Xiao Gui'an wouldn't have been able to strike so precisely.

Although each floor was only a few meters apart, every level seemed to be an independent space. At least from where Xiao Gui'an stood at the fourth-floor corner, he couldn't hear any commotion from the sixth floor at all.

The ghostly old woman blocking the way on the sixth floor was something Xiao Gui'an hadn't anticipated. He didn't know if Xu Zisheng could handle her alone and make it to the top floor before the countdown ended.

That ghostly old woman looked terrifyingly eerie and had some tricks up her sleeve.

Xu Zisheng couldn't afford to get hurt.

He would transform right now and go up to save the situation! He needed to boost his acting proficiency.

Xiao Gui'an swiftly got up, grabbed the axe, turned the corner, and ran upstairs. With each step he took up the staircase, his face began to change.

Thick death energy swirled around him, gradually consuming his originally healthy skin. His dark, rounded eyes were stained with a terrifying, deep crimson. The flesh on his face tore open, revealing sharp teeth within.

Incomplete black stitches densely covered both sides of his cheeks, ruining his original appearance. His curly black hair seemed to lose its original luster, becoming like withered grass as it hung down.

A blood-red hue dyed his clothes, making his shirt and pants appear aged and tattered, barely recognizable from their original form. It was as if this was his true appearance all along—a walking corpse that had long been dead.

He ran up the stairs step by step, as if burning his life force, rushing toward hell without hesitation.

Sixth floor.

The ghostly old woman was clearly accustomed to this kind of situation. In this hellish place, betrayal was the most common occurrence.

But seeing it often didn't mean she wouldn't mock it.

"It seems your companion abandoned you and ran away. But don't worry too much—my precious children would be happy to have company."

"As for wanting to go upstairs, don't even think about it until you return what belongs to this old woman!"

The blood-red paper figures, their faces adorned with eerie curved smiles, closed in on Xu Zisheng from all directions.

Xu Zisheng's expression seemed unnaturally calm. Behind him, his clothes showed a faint mark where they had been cut, torn open by a slash.

A sharp, mocking laugh echoed in Xu Zisheng's ears, coming from the Blood-Red Book within his Sealed Space. "Hahahaha, I never thought you'd be tricked by someone one day!"

"Really misjudged him, didn't you?"

This was a D-class ghost that had made a temporary deal with Xu Zisheng, bound by the Blood Book's contract. When Xu Zisheng didn't summon them, they mostly slept within the Blood-Red Book.

"You should remember—our deal is far more reliable than human trust—"

How ironic! Isn't this just how utterly terrible humans are?

"Shut up!" Xu Zisheng said coldly.

Without his most reliable tool at hand, Xu Zisheng summoned the bone whip once more—the weapon that burned his flesh every time he used it.

"Run now. I can't beat the one in front of us." The Blood-Red Book in the Sealed Space slowly opened, flipping to a page depicting a D-class ghost pattern. Despair-level ghost energy poured out, swirling around Xu Zisheng.

"But that kid... if you're upset, I can definitely help you deal with him..." The D-class ghost chuckled maliciously, its vaguely human-shaped shadow revealing greed and malice through its eye sockets.

"Another brat who isn't afraid to die..." The ghostly old woman snorted coldly. With a light wave of her hand, the blood-red paper figures lunged at Xu Zisheng.

The air hissed with the sound of the bone whip cutting through space as many red paper figures were swept aside.

Some paper figures were intercepted by the black shadow. They clung tightly to the D-class ghost's condensed form, their scissor-cut curved mouths biting into it as if sucking blood and flesh.

The D-class ghost grimaced and yelled, "These disgusting things..."

Xu Zisheng didn't respond. Moving agilely, he swung the bone whip, leaped up, and kicked off the handrail, clearly intending to bypass the ghostly old woman and break through to the seventh floor.

"You're truly insane! Those things are right there—how do you expect to get past them?!" The D-class ghost clearly couldn't understand Xu Zisheng's thought process. He was betting his life every time!

The ghostly old woman hadn't expected Xu Zisheng to have some tricks up his sleeve. But when she saw him heading toward the sealed red threads on the staircase, her wrinkled face couldn't help but show a mocking expression. He really wouldn't turn back until he hit the wall.

"Swish—"

Sensing Xu Zisheng's approach, the small silver bells hanging from the red threads began to sway. The ghost energy instantly intensified, and the taut red threads seemed to come alive, writhing gently.

When Xu Zisheng tried to bind them with his bone whip, they immediately branched out into more threads, attacking him.

Thread after thread slashed viciously, leaving no room to breathe. They broke through the ghost energy covering his surface, and deep wounds immediately appeared all over his body.

If he tried to break through directly, he would likely be sliced into minced meat by those steel-wire-like red threads.

Xu Zisheng had no choice but to land. But in that brief moment, the red paper figures that had been lurking in the shadows seized the opportunity and latched onto his legs. Instantly, Xu Zisheng felt as if he were sinking into quicksand.

Countless small red paper figures saw their chance and swarmed him. Xu Zisheng lost control of his posture, his knees buckling.

The ghostly old woman chuckled softly, seemingly confident that Xu Zisheng was already within her grasp.

If all else failed, he would have to use that move—

A flicker of madness and ferocity flashed in Xu Zisheng's eyes as the black moon mark on his wrist began to slowly split apart.

At this critical moment, urgent footsteps suddenly echoed from the stairwell.

They were only audible when close, but who could be coming at a time like this?

He could sense it—

It was his own axe—

Xu Zisheng widened his eyes slightly in surprise. His eyes, which were about to turn completely black, returned to normal, and the Cursed Child's mark faded.

The axe in the newcomer's hand cut through the threads in the stairwell. Enduring the pain of being sliced, the person tore down all the red threads and finally reached the sixth floor.

Xu Zisheng turned his head slightly and met a pair of blood-red eyes that seemed to intertwine pain and struggle, hovering between clarity and corruption.

The other opened his mouth, stitched with black thread, tearing the flesh on both sides of his face. His half-severed tongue trembled lightly as a low, guttural voice emerged from deep within his layered throat.

Issuing a command to the ghostly old woman.

"Don't move—"