"You... Are you a human or a ghost?"
Fu Qingfeng's voice trembled slightly as she stared at the man five meters away. The eerie scarlet glow from Leo's eyes pierced the darkness like twin rubies of fire, unnatural and chilling. Her nerves were taut.
After all, encountering a man alone in a desolate forest was unsettling enough. But a man with glowing red eyes, dressed in a black robe, and an air of unshakable calm? That was something out of legend.
They were only brave because of their numbers. Had she encountered Leo alone, she likely would've run without a second thought.
Leo folded his arms and chuckled, his tone laced with sarcasm. "How amusing. You play tricks on me, pretending to be ghosts, and then ask if I'm the ghost? Hilarious."
One of the masked men beside Fu Qingfeng stepped forward, his grip tightening on the bow in his hands. "Miss Qingfeng, I say we shoot him. His eyes—those cursed eyes! Even if he's not a spirit, he's clearly something sinister!"
Fu Qingfeng raised her hand and shook her head firmly. "No. We don't know who he is or what he is. If he's not a ghost or a monster, we'd be taking an innocent life. We can't act recklessly."
She stepped forward and gave Leo a respectful bow.
"Sir, we were only pretending to be ghosts to scare away outsiders. We had no true malicious intent. Please forgive us."
Her voice was steady, neither fearful nor defiant, and carried a grace born from nobility.
Leo remained silent, his glowing Sharingan scanning every face before him. His expression betrayed nothing.
Fu Qingfeng caught his gaze and, understanding the pressure it imposed, turned to her group. "Everyone, lower your weapons."
"Miss Qingfeng..." one of them protested.
"Do as she says," Fu Yuechi, her younger sister, added gently.
Reluctantly, the group lowered their crossbows, tension still thick in the air.
Leo smirked. "You've just saved your lives."
His voice was calm but carried an unmistakable undercurrent of dominance. The masked men scowled, but none dared defy him.
At that moment, Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi removed their ghostly masks.
Leo's eyes widened ever so slightly. "Huh?" he muttered to himself, a flicker of confusion crossing his face.
He recognized those features—or so he thought. His mind instantly recalled Wang Zhuxian and Li Jiaxin, two famous actresses from the world he once knew. But no, that couldn't be.
"This isn't Earth," he reminded himself. "This is a new world. They just look familiar."
Leo mentally called out:
'System!'
[Current World: A Huxia Ghost Story 2: The Human World...]
He blinked. It was true. He wasn't dreaming.
'So this is the second world in the series... Just like I remembered, Li Jiaxin's character only appears in part two.'
Before him stood Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi—elegant, beautiful, and clearly skilled. Daughters of a noble house, no doubt.
Fu Qingfeng, noticing Leo's lingering stare, lowered her head slightly. "Your Mightiness..." she said softly, unsure of what to call him.
Fu Yuechi stood beside her, glancing nervously at Leo. Her hands gripped the long white silk she had used earlier in their failed ghost trick.
Just minutes ago, she had tried to restrain Leo with that silk. Not only had he effortlessly overpowered her, he had humiliated her with a single pull.
She was no weakling. As the youngest daughter of Court Minister Fu Tianchou, she had trained in martial arts since childhood. She and her sister were known across the region for their strength and agility.
Yet this man, this stranger, had toyed with her as if she were a child.
"Sister, let's leave him alone. I don't trust him," Fu Yuechi whispered, tugging gently at her elder sister's sleeve.
Leo grinned, catching her words. "You were pretending to be ghosts to scare me off? How cute."
He crossed his arms and added, "Well, I'm not leaving."
Fu Yuechi clenched her teeth. "You... You're really not a good person, are you?"
Leo tilted his head and smirked. "You're absolutely right."
The masked men, already on edge, once again raised their crossbows.
"Don't be rash," Fu Qingfeng warned them again, stepping forward to shield her sister and her group.
Her eyes met Leo's. His figure stood like an ink painting in the moonlight, his expression unreadable, and his gaze haunting.
"Your Mightiness..." she began, but was suddenly interrupted.
A screech echoed through the trees.
"Delicious!"
"Delicious!"
"DELICIOUS!!"
From the darkness, a shadow lunged toward Leo with terrifying speed, its monstrous voice causing chaos.
The sudden movement startled the group. One of the men panicked and loosed his arrow. The shaft shot straight past Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi—toward Leo.
But Leo was faster.
With a single graceful leap, he dodged both the shadow and the stray arrow.
His Sharingan caught every detail.
The arrow pierced the oncoming shadow creature's chest.
Yet there was no resistance. The arrow passed through as if the body were smoke.
"A real ghost?" Leo thought, intrigued.
His fingers twitched.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
The forest lit up in orange blaze as Leo unleashed a massive ball of fire into the onrushing darkness. Flames erupted in a roar, swallowing the ghostly figure whole.
A shriek tore through the night, and the burning specter disintegrated into ash.
The forest fell silent.
Everyone stared at Leo, dumbfounded.
Not only had he avoided their attacks, but he had also eliminated a real threat in mere seconds.
Fu Qingfeng and Fu Yuechi exchanged glances.
Who was this man?
A warrior?
A demon?
Or something else entirely?
Leo landed gently on the ground, dusting soot from his sleeve. He looked up at them and said calmly:
"Now... that was a real ghost."
---
To be continued...