The Legend of the Demon Cat

-----

Could you drop some reviews? It helps to get this fic a rating.

------

Ever since Wei Changhui became a Mandrill, he never expected to have such an embarrassing day. It wasn't clear to him how he had gone from ancient China to the United States on the other side of the ocean. However, this didn't stop him from acting on his instincts - consuming the living and pursuing power.

Each time he absorbed the life force of a living person, he felt a surge in strength, a sensation that left him utterly obsessed. As for the souls of those he devoured, he turned them into his ghosts. It might be a trivial matter, but he liked it, just as he enjoyed stacking the corpses of those whose life force he had devoured deep within his cave.

For no particular reason, he just enjoyed it.

Unbeknownst to him, he had consumed the lives of hundreds of people, making him more powerful than any Mandrill he had ever seen. He believed he would remain free until...

"I have a way to help you become a mountain god"

He couldn't believe that a foreigner could possess such secret knowledge, but the aspiration to make Mandrills into mountain gods had existed since the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom era. He listened intently and fell for the bait.

"Movies allow people to willingly offer their fears to you, and with enough offerings, you will naturally become a mountain god."

It sounded like a promising idea.

With the assistance of a foreigner named Christian, they made a movie. When the movie was released, Wei Changhui genuinely felt the fear people had offered to him, but...

"Who taught this foreigner the magic of wall painting?"

Even as he was trapped by his adversary's cinnabar fire, Wei Changhui couldn't fathom how the long-forgotten wall painting magic had resurfaced, and he was being used against himself.

He couldn't escape this world. The powerful sealing magic of the wall painting prevented him from leaving easily, as it was created to deal with monsters like him.

He couldn't summon his horde of ghosts because, in this world, only his soul and consciousness were present, while his body remained elsewhere with the ghosts. Here, he existed as a stronger consciousness.

He couldn't extinguish the cinnabar fire burning on his body, as cinnabar was used for sealing in living beings, but for creatures hovering between life and death, it possessed potent magic. The flames were akin to the judgment of the Yama.

Fortunately, a cinnabar fire of this scale couldn't consume him within a matter of days. Also, the wall painting spell wasn't designed to last that long, even though Wei Changhui had barely seen a movie and learned from the memories of his ghosts that movies couldn't exceed a day.

He had the power to break through the other side and dismantle the wall painting spell, but he chose not to.

What if he did break free?

In the world constructed specifically to imprison him, his power had significantly weakened. Even if he escaped, he couldn't guarantee victory against his adversary, who had the home-field advantage and probably set numerous traps.

"I'll stay put for now, but when this wall painting magic wears off, you'll see how formidable I am"

Of course, he worried about the possibility of the female ghost stealing his power, but he never believed that the other party could snatch decades of accumulated power in just a matter of minutes.

"Wait, what if the other party's goal is..."

Wei Changhui suddenly pondered a possibility. While the ghosts were his subordinates and didn't possess complete consciousness, they weren't complete fools. They retained some memories and emotions from their past lives, including not only a longing for life but also resentment toward the one who killed them.

"What if the ghosts rebel while my consciousness is sealed..."

The ghosts were frail, and even if they banded together, they wouldn't pose a threat to Wei Changhui's physical body. However, if their commotion attracted someone nearby...

****

Kate had a strong desire to witness the premiere of "Wrong Turn," but her duties as a dedicated FBI agent took precedence. At this moment, she had to confront the chilling night winds of Vinales Valley and give her best to search.

"Don't let me find out who made the call, or I will sent him to see God" she muttered to herself.

Even in the dead of night, large-scale searches weren't significantly more efficient. After hours of fruitless searching, Kate began to feel like she was being played.

"Agent Kate, what's that?" her assistant suddenly called out, pointing to the sky. In the distance, a strange light seemed to reflect off the sky.

"Mountain fire?" Kate exclaimed. Though she wasn't a forest ranger, she knew better than to underestimate a wildfire. She hurried with her team toward the direction of the fire, trying to assess the situation. However, what she saw left her in disbelief.

A large fire did indeed burn ahead, but the flames were pale white, with little green lights scattered within them. The heat was barely noticeable. The flames clung to the grass and trees, appearing to burn, yet also as if they were waiting to be extinguished.

"This is... a ghost fire?" an agent behind her trembled and provided an answer no one wanted to hear.

In European and American legends, ghost fires were known. However, in many cases, they were regarded romantically, believing the brilliant aurora borealis was a result of souls burning. However, romance often crumbled in the face of reality.

Kate, who had never believed in ghosts, found herself trembling as she stared at the pale, cool flames. She rubbed her eyes in disbelief, but the flames vanished before her eyes.

So, was it all an illusion?

Though she wanted to draw that conclusion, her eyes didn't follow her wishes. She spotted a faint flicker from the corner of her eye.

Even as most of the pale flames disappeared, a small portion remained.

"Follow it" Kate commanded, and she chased after the elusive sight. Confronted with the inexplicable, Kate firmly believed that behind any strange occurrence, there was a logical explanation. Therefore, the best way to deal with the unusual was not to ignore it but to confront it head-on.

Then, at the spot where the white flames had finally vanished, Kate discovered a concealed dark cave. The entrance was narrow and well-hidden amidst the surrounding vegetation. Were it not for the unusual flames, she believed the cave would have remained undiscovered.

"This scent..." Kate's brows furrowed as a breeze wafted from deep within the cave. After a moment, her expression shifted dramatically, and she swiftly raised her gun.

A dark shadow suddenly leaped at her from the cave's entrance.

"Boom! Bang! Bang!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to support me check out my patréon at

https://www.patreon.com/Dark_sym

I tend to upload drafts of early chapters on there to get people's opinions of them so you can read up to 10 chapters ahead as a bonus.

Thank you guys for your support in these hard times.