Starting from the folklore forum, making up town objects

Chapter 475 Re-entry, The World Outside the Courtyard

Chen Xin looked at the wooden frame around his neck, then glanced at the millstone, and fell silent.

This feeling of being pulled was something he hadn't experienced before, when he first encountered the Blood Disaster and summoned Chicken Brother back.

He hadn't felt this way about wanting to leave but being unable to because it was a long time ago.

While Chen Xin had his illusory body continue pulling the millstone, he had his main body use the Imprinting Netherworld Seal.

If ten times isn't enough, then twenty times will do!

Soon, the illusionary body activated the Netherworld Seal again, and this time, the illusionary body ascended much faster!

Upon reaching the invisible barrier above the courtyard, there was only a slight feeling of stagnation before the illusory body passed through it.

At the same time, the millstone that had been resting on the phantom's neck also disappeared.

The moment the illusionary body fully emerged, it vanished into the seventh floor.

……

Looking at the illusory body that had returned to his side, Chen Xin examined it briefly, and then he saw a dark mark on the back of the illusory body's neck.

"Was this left over from when you were grinding grain?"

Chen Xin sensed a chilling, lingering presence within it.

The power of Qi and blood emerged from the palm of the hand and covered the dark spots.

A hissing sound rang out as Chen Xin's internal energy was being depleted, yet the black spots showed no signs of fading.

"It seems that my blood and qi are still a bit weak."

Withdrawing his qi and blood power, Chen Xin opened his palm, revealing a short brass rod, twenty centimeters long and three centimeters thick.

Immediately afterwards, he placed the brass short rod against the back of Huan's neck.

The same hissing sound rang out, and this time, black smoke billowed out, but very slowly.

A minute passed, and the dark spot had shrunk by only one-tenth.

Chen Xin put away the copper rod, took out the "Complete Book of Suppressing Objects" and condensed a copper pillar seal, then pressed it onto the location of the copper pillar seal on his body.

One after another, the bronze pillar seals were condensed and printed by Chen Xin.

Thus, when Chen Xin condensed the brass rod again and placed it on Huan's neck, the black smoke appeared much faster.

Within a minute, the black smoke stopped coming out.

Remove the short stick, and the black spots have completely disappeared.

"It seems that after entering the seventh level, I will need to make at least ten imprints of the seal to barely be enough. Twenty imprints will probably be enough to get rid of the problem. But how many imprints will it take before I can solve the problem without using the abilities of the 'Complete Collection of Suppressing Objects' and just relying on the seal?"

Chen Xin fell into deep thought.

Based on the situation on the seventh floor, it is not feasible for the main body to enter and touch those turbid ghosts.

If even the illusory form is like this, it's impossible to risk it with the real body.

Therefore, the best way to deal with the turbid ghost on the seventh floor is to find the turbid ghost on the sixth floor that corresponds to the seventh floor, just like we did in the Xia family ancestral land before.

However, Chen Xin still doesn't understand why the seventh floor is related to the turbid ghosts of the sixth floor, and why the turbid ghosts that roam freely on the sixth floor change their form on the seventh floor.

When the paper sedan chair was on the seventh floor, it was located outside a house.

Based on the situation of the donkey pulling the millstone we just experienced, if he enters the area where the paper sedan chair is located, will he become a sedan chair carrier?
Also, why does the surrounding environment change so drastically after entering that courtyard?

It was as if Chen Xin had suddenly opened a door to another world, and that door was the courtyard on the seventh floor!
"If I had been able to leave that courtyard back then, would I have seen what was happening outside?"

Chen Xin suddenly felt a strong desire to explore the world outside the courtyard.

Looking at the illusionary body, Chen Xin thought for a moment and then made twenty more rubbings of the scissor print and the seam print.

After doing all this, Chen Xin once again sent his illusory body into the seventh floor.

When he arrived above that courtyard again and saw the empty courtyard once more, Chen Xin seemed to hear the cracking sound of a whip striking his buttocks again.

Shaking his head, Chen Xin did not enter directly, but instead descended to the top of the invisible barrier and stopped.

Immediately, Chen Xin began to observe the courtyard below closely, bit by bit.

Because of his previous experience, Chen Xin understood much more when he looked at the yard this time.

For example, in one of those three rooms, the old man makes tofu.

Then there's the location of the courtyard gate, the height of the courtyard wall, the size of the donkey shed, and so on.

After observing, Chen Xin still did not enter, but instead began to wander around the area where the courtyard was located, following the barrier.

It took Chen Xin a full ten minutes to confirm one thing.

That invisible barrier existed on all sides of that courtyard.

If the barrier were revealed, the courtyard would resemble a landscape locked inside a crystal ball.

This discovery made Chen Xin even more curious.

"What exactly is going on on this seventh floor?"

Chen Xin immediately chose to enter through the main gate of the courtyard.

After passing through the barrier, the illusion transformed back into a donkey's body.

This time, however, the donkey that the illusion had transformed into was located at the entrance of the courtyard.

Without the slightest hesitation, Chen Xin turned and walked towards the tightly closed courtyard gate.

The four hooves swung around as if they were still inexperienced.

But when we got to the gate, a problem arose.

How do I open the door bolt?

Chen Xin tried to stand up and open the door with his hooves, but found he couldn't.

After thinking for a moment, he walked over, bared his big white teeth, and bit at the door bolt.

Fortunately, he has a big mouth and good teeth.

After it bit the door latch, Chen Xin felt it move.

Immediately, he shook his head from side to side, clenching and unclenching his teeth, repeatedly pulling out the bolt.

Click!

The door bolt that was tightly inserted into the door has been pulled out.

Immediately, Chen Xin gritted his teeth, pulled the door shut, and backed away.

crunch~
The sound of wooden bearings rubbing together rang out. Chen Xin backed away while peering through the gradually opening crack in the door.

Just as they were about to see it, a rough hand slammed down on the door, slamming it shut.

"You son of a bitch, instead of working properly, you think you can run away?"

Chen Xin turned his head and saw the old man slapping him across the face.

Snapped!
The donkey's head was hit, but Chen Xin didn't care and just stared at the old man.

He felt that if he wanted to get out, this old man was an obstacle he absolutely couldn't get past.

He immediately ducked and crashed into it.

This was one of the few tricks he could think of that a donkey could use. The other two tricks were rolling around and kicking.

Chen Xin planned to first knock the old man back with his head, then turn around and kick him over, before opening the door.

As for the Zhenyin seal, he doesn't plan to use it now.

He always felt that once the seal appeared, unpredictable changes would occur.

The plan was well-thought-out, but it got stuck at the very first step.

Despite its seemingly frail body, it didn't even sway when Chen Xin rammed it with all four hooves.

Chen Xin's current posture resembled resting her head on the old man's chest... acting coquettishly!
"Snapped!"

The slap was quite forceful, and the donkey's head was turned towards the yard.

Next, the force is applied to the buttocks.

"Hurry up and go grind the grain!"

Chen Xin did not resist and obediently walked over, then placed the millstone frame on his neck.

Seeing this, the old man's furrowed brows relaxed.

"At least I was clever this time."

Next comes grinding.

Chen Xin wanted to see what would happen after the millstone was finished. Since it was grinding soybeans to make tofu, would the old man leave the yard after the tofu was made?

He wanted to see what would happen if he participated and played the role of a donkey.
And so, Chen Xin's consciousness withdrew from the illusory body, leaving the illusory body to silently grind the millstone.

Meanwhile, as he was turning the millstone in his illusory form, he kept observing the surroundings and watching the old man's behavior.

They watched for two hours straight.

Throughout the process, the phantom kept grinding the soybeans, while the old man kept repeating the action of bringing the full container of soy milk into the room until the soybeans were used up.

"You did well today."

The old man removed the brace from the illusionary body, then took out a carrot and held it to the illusionary body's mouth.

"Eat up, what are you staring at?"

The phantom glanced at the old man, opened its mouth, and bit the carrot.

Crunch and crisp!
To be honest, Chen Xin had never thought carrots could taste this good before.

Could it be that turning into a donkey changes your taste too?

What if one time it turns into a dog...?

Chen Xin didn't dare to think too much about it.

While eating radishes, Chen Xin was led into the shed by the old man and tied to a wooden stake.

After that, the old man went back to his room, presumably to make tofu.

The phantom body, with a radish in its mouth, looked at the simple rope tied to the post but did not untie it.

Another hour passed before Chen Xin finally heard a sound.

Looking up, the old man was loading a large basket of things onto a wooden cart. After some more fuss, he finally walked towards Chen Xin.

The rope was untied, and Chen Xin was led to the position of the wooden cart shaft and stood still.

The old man lifted the cart shaft, letting the load fall onto Chen Xin's shoulders.

He then clapped his hands and led Chen Xin toward the courtyard gate.

Chen Xin watched as the old man opened the courtyard gate himself and led him out.

Stepping out of the courtyard gate, Chen Xin saw everything outside.

Neighbors on the left and right, bluestone roads, small bridges over flowing water, green trees along the river...

Everything outside felt even more real than the courtyard where Chen Xin had just been.

Chen Xin even saw passersby talking and greeting the old man. Not far away, by the stream, a woman was beating clothes with a wooden mallet, and in the shallower part of the water, a child of about ten years old was catching fish with his trousers and sleeves rolled up.

Occasionally, a kid would run past the donkey and stick out his tongue to tease it, only to be scared away by the donkey's spit.

"This illusion is too real, and too vast."

Looking into the distance, Chen Xin could even see someone hoeing the ground halfway up the mountain!
Everything in sight seemed real.

Coming to his senses, Chen Xin turned his gaze back to the roadside.

By this time, the old man had already led the donkey into the town.

The houses on both sides gradually became more densely packed.

Looking at the houses, Chen Xin suddenly wondered if there was a turbid ghost in each of these houses, just like the stone mill.

Chen Xin wanted to go and see, but he held back.

After being driven by the old man for more than ten minutes, they stopped in front of a three-story building.

Judging from the name 'Zui Xian Ju', it should be a restaurant.

The old man left Chen Xin outside and went inside alone.

Soon, a slightly overweight middleman followed the old man out. After inspecting the quality of the tofu, he had it moved inside.

The old man followed the middle-aged man with a smile to collect his money.

Upon seeing this, Chen Xin immediately took a step back, loosened the load stuck on his body, and then rolled off the wooden cart.

Once he stood up again, Chen Xin took off running.

After a few turns, he could no longer see the restaurant he had just seen.

Now that the old man was no longer holding him back, Chen Xin wanted to see what this place was like and how big it really was!
Before he even left the town, as he passed through a small alley, a shifty-looking man grabbed him by the collar around his neck.

Chen Xin had already spotted this man and had been following him for two or three minutes.

It seems that seeing no one was following the donkey, they decided to take the illusion away.

Chen Xin did not resist and soon arrived at the man's house.

"Wife, wife, look what I brought back!"

As soon as the man entered the house, he closed the door and shouted into the inner room.

A short while later, a woman came out.

"What are you shouting for... Hey, where did that donkey come from?"

"Hehe, I picked it up on the street!"

After the man explained the situation, the woman smiled and immediately said, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's take the donkey and sell it!"

"Are you stupid? They just lost their donkey, so they'll definitely be looking for it everywhere. If we keep it for ten days or half a month, then we can sell it without anyone knowing."

"That's true... but what should we feed it?"

"Just eat whatever you can, as long as you don't starve."

While the two were discussing how to deal with the donkey, Chen Xin's gaze swept across the room.

He wanted to see if there was another corrupted ghost here.

But he couldn't judge with just his eyes.

Then, a thread with a needle through it spread out from the phantom's hooves and began to weave through various suspicious objects in the room.

But just then, Chen Xin suddenly sensed something was wrong.

Why are those two people not saying anything?

Turning his head, two pairs of faces pressed together were only five centimeters away from his donkey-like eyes.

On those two faces were four bulging, bloodshot eyeballs.

"What are you doing?"

The two of them uttered the same sentence, one after the other.

As the two skins began to merge and their faces became indistinguishable, Chen Xin suddenly understood where the turbid ghost in the courtyard was.

"Uh... ah!"

With a wide-open mouth, a pair of paper scissors shot out from Chen Xin's mouth towards the two of them.

There was a click.

The two people who had merged were cut in half.

Before Chen Xin could make a few more moves, he suddenly felt a chilling sensation of being watched spread through his body.

Turning his head, he saw those heads perched on the courtyard wall, with only their eyes and above showing.

They were densely packed, one after another, and they kept increasing.

A rustling sound began to rise, like someone whispering.

Without hesitation, Chen Xin immediately had his illusory body use the Netherworld Seal.

The donkey soared into the air once more, and the body below, cut in two, leaped up and lunged at it.

But it was too late; the donkey had already reached the barrier.

But just as Chen Xin was about to pass through the barrier, the feeling of obstruction returned!

The brief obstruction allowed the two half-bodied figures to grab the donkey's four hooves and pull it down.

Chen Xin didn't understand why he still felt a sense of stagnation when he broke through the barrier this time.

He wouldn't have acted like this when he walked out of that courtyard before.

Suddenly, Chen Xin froze.

The courtyard, the courtyard!
Yes, this is not the same courtyard as before!

Could it be that the thickness of the barrier varies in different places?
……

(End of this chapter)