There is a trick

Chapter 144: The Devil in the Ghost Grave (8K, 1/1)

The woman sitting on the edge of the bed glared at Zhou Chang, still scolding him for breaking into a private residence.

Zhou Chang glanced at the woman sitting on the edge of the bed, then looked away and continued to look at the furnishings in the room.

He saw a tablet on the wooden table. He removed the black cloth covering the tablet, revealing the words on it: The tablet of my late husband...

The names on the tablets were only vaguely written.

Each stroke gradually became clearer.

The woman seemed to have sensed something at this time and stretched her neck to look out the window.

Zhou Chang felt this in his heart and glanced down at the sports watch on his wrist.

The watch screen showed that his antibodies to the "Sad Plague" and "Spring Plague" were increasing faster at this time.

Cui Ai, who is carrying the "plague of sorrow", should be approaching Zhou Chang now.

The Fig Village outside the window was still desolate and in ruins.

There was no one outside.

But the woman seemed to have seen her husband returning from the window. She showed joy on her face, turned back, stared at Zhou Chang sternly, and scolded: "My man is coming back!
If you don't leave, you will be in trouble!"

"Where is Cui Ai?" Zhou Chang believed that what the woman said was not just to scare him.

But when he looked out the window, he did not see any trace of Cui Ai.

However, the woman seemed not to hear him.

After scolding Zhou Chang, the woman in the headscarf lowered her head, stretched out her feet and picked up a pair of cloth shoes on the ground.

She was wearing cloth shoes, her eyes full of bright spring light, and she walked happily past Zhou Chang and approached the door of the house.

The woman unbolted the door.

The sound of rain suddenly poured into the house.

"Wow..."

At this time, Zhou Chang also saw that in the unchanging desolate scene outside the window, a dark rain suddenly began to fall.

In the rain, Cui Ai, with a glowing white face and dressed in black, stood silently.

He looked at the woman waving at him at the door with sad eyes: "Madam, you are already dead...

You are dead, ma’am..."

As Cui Ai spoke, a damp vapor seemed to surge in the house.

A musty smell wafted out of the house, which was kept simple and tidy.

The tables and chairs began to rot and collapse, and the beds became dilapidated and infested with termites.

The beams and rafters on the roof began to shake.

——In an instant it became clean and simple, as if a house that had been lived in and taken care of all year round. But after Cui Ai said a few words, it began to return to its original shabby and decayed appearance!
Along with the tablet on the table, the name 'Cui Ai' is gradually becoming blurred.

Zhou Chang himself already had very strong 'antibodies to the spring plague', so if he walked into any house in the Widow Village, the 'spring plague ghosts' he met would certainly not regard him as a target that could be infected with the spring plague.

Therefore, the spring plague ghost in the house would scold Zhou Chang repeatedly instead of treating Zhou Chang as her husband.

But 'Cui Ai' is different from Zhou Chang.

As soon as he stepped into the widow village, he was targeted by the many widows and "spring plague ghosts" here!
When Cui Ai approached the house, the ghost in the house treated him as its man!

"Wow!"

Let the black rain pour down!

In the rain, there were still dense red lines extending from the dilapidated houses in all directions, entwining around Cui Ai.

At the other end of every red line of epidemic, there is a spring plague ghost!

The woman whom Cui Ai looked at sadly and said was dead - the spring plague ghost guarding the door of the house, no longer had the bright spring light in her eyes. Her hair was disheveled and her clothes were covered with filth.

Its face was obscured by its messy hair.

All one could hear was its mournful cry, carried through the rain: "I, I am dead..."

Along with its wailing, foul-smelling corpse water began to flow out from under its clothes.

It gradually died in endless sorrow.

Compared to this spring plague ghost, the "sad plague spirit" brought by Cui Ai is really hard to resist.

So at this moment, the spring plague ghost was unable to resist the erosion of the sad plague energy and gradually died in the black rain.

Zhou Chang watched this scene, then he turned his gaze and handed the tablet with the name 'Cui Ai' on it on the collapsed wooden table to the 'Spring Plague Ghost' that was gradually melting and emitting a strong stench.

On that tablet, the name 'Cui Ai' was gradually becoming blurred.

Cui Ai tried to break free from the infection of the spring plague here.

The gradually decaying woman held the tablet in her arms, still sobbing softly: "I have been a widow for you for twenty years, and I will remain faithful to you even in my death...

Now you are finally back, Cui Ai...

We live together, sleep together, and die together...

My husband, if we die together, we will be a pair of intertwined branches on the earth..."

The 'woman' used her fingers to copy the name 'Cui Ai' over and over again on the tablet.

As its fingers copied over and over again, the flesh on them wore away, revealing the bones.

On the tablet, the two characters "Cui Ai" originally written with ink have gradually formed deep marks.

The rain pouring down from the sky became heavier.

From all directions, the cries of countless women were heard in the black rain.

Among the collapsed houses, wherever the red line of the epidemic was, there was a woman holding the tablet of "Cui Ai" and constantly copying the name of "Cui Ai" with her knuckles showing their white bones.

The red lines extending from them and wrapping around Cui Ai gradually turned into a pale green!

All the spring plague ghosts in the village gathered in this black rain!

They finally carved the name 'Cui Ai' on the tablet, then started to howl and slammed their heads against the wooden tablet in their hands!
The tablet that looked like just a thin layer of wood now seemed like solid iron!
No matter how hard the strange woman hit it, the tablet remained intact!

On the contrary, the skin and flesh of the strange women's heads were torn and their bones were broken!

The sound of flesh and bones breaking was endless!
All the strange women smashed their heads on the tablets and fell to the ground and died!

Zhou Chang stood at the door of the dilapidated house, looking at Cui Ai, whose body was tangled in green threads in the rain.

Cui Ai looked even sadder. He stammered, stared at Zhou Chang at the door, and said, "I have no grudge against you. Why do you want to hurt me like this the first time we meet?"

As he spoke, two long tears flowed from Cui Ai's eyes.

"Don't we really have any grudges against each other?" Zhou Chang laughed.

On the sports watch on his wrist, the 'resistance to plague' was soaring.

Zhou Chang smiled and asked Cui Ai, "Have you forgotten? When I visited your village, I didn't offend you, but you wanted to harm me as soon as we met?"

The words of "Dapin Xindan Jing" kept trembling in Zhou Chang's left eye.

They tried to discover the secrets of Cui Ai and explore what kind of alien existence he was.

"Our village is isolated from the outside world and we don't want outsiders to disturb us.

You disturbed us, and I just investigated you a little bit, how can I say I want to kill you?" Cui Ai was even more sad, he hunched his back, and the green lines wrapped around his body turned into boiling smoke.

In the billowing smoke, strange women reappeared one after another.

They competed to pull Cui Ai's hands and feet, and clung to various parts of Cui Ai's body, as if they wanted to tear Cui Ai into pieces on the spot and eat them one by one!

Cui Ai shook his body and let them tear him apart.

There were shadows swaying around him——

Cui Quanhe, Cui Zaiyu, Cui Qiusheng and other spirits who were incarnated into gods of sorrow and plague were all dragged away by the strange women.

The strange woman took the arms of each of the gods and left with satisfaction.

The green line wrapped around Cui Ai disappeared at this moment!
The raindrops falling from the sky gradually became sparse.

The rain stopped soon.

A hazy fog rose up in the Widow Village.

Cui Ai stood in the fog, looking at Zhou Chang who walked out of the door of the dilapidated house.

The expression on his face was no longer sad, and he curled his lips, looking a little playful: "I have already neutralized the spring plague here. Where are you going to escape to now?"

"Why should I run away?" Zhou Chang shook his head and looked at Cui Ai.

With the help of the "Dapin Xindan Sutra" and Bai Xiu'e, Zhou Chang has not forgotten anything for a long time.

The 'Forgotten Ghost' seemed to have quietly left.

But Zhou Chang would never think that it would really leave and give up infecting living people.

He suspected that the 'Forgotten Ghost' had temporarily given up on infecting itself and shifted its target to someone else.

When he got off the court, there were only him and Cui Ai.

If 'Cui Ai' could still be considered a living being, 'Forgotten Ghost' might have already set its 'target' on him.

Zhou Chang continued, "You must have consumed a lot of energy to counteract the infection of the spring plague, right? And when I walk here, no matter which of the three plagues, they can no longer cause me any harm.

If that is the case, why should I escape? Wang Ai. "

"You are relying on the protection of a certain 'foreign god' to offset the infection of the three plagues.

Otherwise, with your own strength, even if you were to get close to us ‘plague masters’, you would already be covered in plague and die in agony.” Cui Ai did not notice anything wrong in Zhou Chang’s words.

He still smiled leisurely: "As long as the plague is concentrated enough and full enough, it will definitely break through the protection of the 'foreign gods' on you!

What will you do then?
You only have one chance to escape - before.

It's a pity that you are indifferent and have wasted the opportunity..."

As Cui Ai spoke, a pool of black water overflowed from under his feet towards Zhou Chang.

The pool of black water expanded into a black river in a flash, emitting a cold and desperate emotion, and rushed towards Zhou Chang in an instant!

From the dark river, pale arms stretched out and grabbed Zhou Chang's ankles!

On Zhou Chang's wrist, the 'resistance to plague' in the sports watch suddenly jumped and grew wildly!

But after it grew to an incredible value, it suddenly began to fall!
——It was just as Cui Ai said, as long as the plague energy was condensed and substantial enough, it would be able to break Zhou Chang's own antibodies and break his defense against the three plague energies!

However, Zhou Chang stood where he was, allowing the arms that stretched out from the dark river to grab his body!
He looked indifferent, and was not at all moved by the fact that the 'River of Sorrow and Plague' was infecting him.

Even if the water from the Sorrowful Plague River wanted to infect him, it would require his own "Sorrowful Plague Resistance" to drop completely to zero before he could be infected and harmed by the Sorrowful Plague.

However, the 'plague antibody' value displayed on Zhou Chang's sports watch is still at an extremely high level.

Even if the sad plague energy attacked him violently, it would take some time to clear the 'sad plague antibodies' in his body.

This period of time is enough for Zhou Chang to do something that may turn the situation around!
A pale arm stretched out from the dark river water and clung to all parts of Zhou Chang's body, as if forming a cocoon of flesh and blood on Zhou Chang's body surface.

Zhou Chang sneered as he looked at Cui Ai opposite him, and suddenly pointed to the 'Black Wasteland Mountain' in the distance, and said, "What kind of 'Demon of Desire' is buried in the ghost grave in that mountain? You must know better than me, right?
What you don't know is that I haven't always been hanging around in this widow village...

I successfully escaped from that haunted graveyard!
By the way, I also brought out the ghosts from the grave...

What should you do?

You actually have only one chance to escape - before you bumped into me, if you had known better and not provoked me, the demon attached to me would not have targeted you...

It's a pity that you are indifferent and have wasted the opportunity..."

Zhou Chang almost returned to Cui Ai what Cui Ai had said to him.

When Cui Ai heard Zhou Chang's words, he managed to remain calm, and even had a faint smile on his face.

It's just that this smile lasted too long, so it looked a lot stiffer.

"Don't try to bluff me...

I know better than you how terrifying the demon in the ghost tomb is.

With your weak abilities, even with the 'protection of the outer gods', it is impossible for you to pass through the valley filled with the three plagues and get close to the ghost tomb.

Even if you really escape into the ghost tomb, there is no way you can escape from it.

You have no idea what’s inside…” Cui Ai spoke slowly, and the more he spoke, the more certain he became.

The doubts that Zhou Chang had raised because of his words were swept away from his heart.

He had been to a haunted graveyard and knew the horror of that place even better.

That's why he wanted to cooperate with Hu Asi to explore the ghost tomb.

The man in front of him was just a little clever and had the protection of the 'foreign god' - when he went down to the ghost tomb, the power emitted by the clay statue left behind by the 'foreign god' was already shaky. Now, under the continuous erosion of the demon in the ghost tomb, it must be even more unbearable!
This little bit of protection was suppressed by the demon in the ghost tomb at that time, and now it is useless for big things!

That's why Cui Ai was confident that a sudden attack of the 'sad plague energy' he condensed could break the 'protection of the foreign gods' on Zhou Chang!
Cui Ai had indeed predicted many things, but Zhou Chang also exceeded his expectations.

Zhou Chang actually went to the ghost tomb and opened a way back and forth.

The throne of the 'God of Plague' was blessed with his own blood, and can now be maintained with some effort.

"Do you still remember your name?" The 'sadness resistance value' on Zhou Chang's watch dropped like a waterfall, but his face became more and more smiling. He looked at Cui Ai and suddenly asked him a question.

When Cui Ai heard this, there was a moment of confusion on his face that he couldn't hide at all.

After a moment, he looked at Zhou Chang firmly: "Cui Ai, my name is Cui Ai!"

Zhou Chang's smile became more unbridled: "Is your name really Cui Ai? Think about it carefully, think about it carefully - I will definitely find clues about your name...

Recall the memories forward.

Ask yourself, is your last name Cui, or…"

The killing pattern of the 'Forgotten Ghost' has been revealed in Cui Ai.

Just now when Zhou Chang asked about his life, his expression was confused for a moment, which was a clear proof.

However, Cui Ai's character is also quite good.

After a moment of forgetfulness, he recovered his name from his lost memory - but at this time, he was no longer as determined as before.

Zhou Chang knew that the other party did not say the wrong name, he was just saying it on purpose.

It's just bluffing the other party.

It is to make the other party salvage another seemingly insignificant "name" from past memories.

That 'name' was a trap set by Zhou Chang for Cui Ai.

"If I ask you this, you should be able to understand - I have indeed been to the ghost tomb and had contact with the thought demon.

I brought it to you...

Is there any grudge between you? Has it ever brought you any unforgettable pain?
When enemies meet, they are extremely jealous of each other and should draw their swords against each other.

You must not be a coward..." Zhou Chang watched Cui Ai's expression change, and he suddenly spoke repeatedly.

At this moment, every word sounded like devilish music in Cui Ai's ears!
Because of these words, Cui Ai couldn't help but recall some taboo past events -

Once he touches the door of forbidden memories, more of his own memories will be lost!

Just as Zhou Chang said, there is a deep hatred between him and that demon!
But he didn't dare to touch this hatred at all!
The contact with the demon in the ghost tomb was the root cause of his current appearance!
Cui Ai unknowingly followed Zhou Chang's instructions and tried desperately to recall himself - searching his memory over and over again, asking himself what his real name was.
After all, under the influence of the killing pattern of that demon, one's own memory may even "deceive" oneself!
Those memories were "polluted" by the killing patterns of this demon!

In order to prevent the memory from being polluted and to prevent this demon from following the memory and attaching to it, the only thing to do is to isolate that part of the memory forever!

After searching over and over again, Cui Ai finally got something!
He remembered!
The person in front of him had called his name before!

He captured this inadvertent detail!
"Wang Ai!" Cui Ai shouted, "My name is Wang Ai, I am not Cui Ai, my name is Wang Ai!"

At this time, Cui Ai was extremely sure that his name was Wang Ai!

He felt that he had grasped the key to breaking the deadlock!
“People often say that after being bitten by a poisonous snake, there must be an antidote within three steps!

This sentence may be absurd if used to deal with poisonous snakes, but it is golden advice when used to illustrate ghosts and gods!

After being contaminated by the taboos of ghosts and gods, there must be ways to deal with the taboos around and even above oneself - this is the mercy of heaven, leaving a ray of hope for all living beings." Cui Ai regained his confident smile, "I also want to thank you, if you hadn't mentioned my name just now...

How could I remember my real name so quickly?

Next, I just need to erase your existence from my memory.

That demon is about to attack you..."

As Cui Ai spoke, he actually began to back away.

The surging black river under his feet no longer entangled Zhou Chang in an instant, slowly converged under his feet, and gradually disappeared.

Zhou Chang stared at Cui Ai who was slowly retreating and nodded: "I only remember the name 'Wang Ai' now..."

He reminded himself again and again in his heart that Wang Ai was the real name of the person in front of him.

But all the memories pointing to this real name are nothing!
He began to force himself to only remember 'Wang Ai' and forget the name 'Cui Ai'!
So, at this moment, an illusory smell rose up in the deserted village. This smell was simply indescribable. It was like a breath from something opposite, passing through one's nostrils. Along with this breath, Zhou Chang smelled a faint fragrance.

But what Cui Ai smelled was the strong stench of a corpse!
This illusory "breathing" is called "Strange Exhalation".

Once the thinking demons that have surpassed the level of "sneaky" reveal themselves, the living will be able to sense their "weird breath".

There are many forms of 'strange exhalation'.

Some appear directly in the form of smell, some may be hallucinations that envelope a person, or some continuous "signs" that appear in reality.

Now, as Cui Ai sniffed the familiar corpse stench that came over like his breath, his whole body began to tremble!
He could no longer restrain himself from touching the forbidden door of memories between his heart and soul!
The door to forbidden memories burst open!

Tears of sadness kept flowing from Cui Ai's eyes!
And the black water under his feet stopped converging at this moment.

The black water was like a mirror, and the surface became uneven.

A young man, about fourteen or fifteen years old, gradually emerged from the black mirror.

The young man, who was about fourteen or fifteen years old, had pale blue skin all over his body. The stench of corpse that Cui Ai smelled came from this young man.

The young man stood up from the black water. He looked up at Cui Ai, who was leaning over and crying. Cui Ai’s face was reflected in his dark eye sockets. He called out to Cui Ai, “Dad…”

It looked cold and indifferent, without a trace of humanity.

But the sound that came out of its mouth was so sad and desperate that Cui Ai shed tears: "Dad - don't abandon me, save me, Dad - don't forget me, don't forget me!"

Along with these mournful cries, all the memories related to himself in Cui Ai's mind began to gradually fade away.

The pale-skinned corpse of the young man stretched out his hands and gently pinched Cui Ai's neck.

It didn't use much force with its palms, but the vitality on Cui Ai's face was fading at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Forgetting is the greatest betrayal.

Everyone in the three villages forgot that Cui Ai had a son. They only thought that Cui Ai was using the pain of losing his son to generate the "plague of sorrow". Cui Ai always remembered that he had a son.

He sealed all the memories about his son in that forbidden door.

Once touched, it will attract the demon from the ghost tomb!

As a result, he did not remember why his son died, nor did he remember his son's name, birthday, or age. The only thing he remembered was that he had such a son.

Everyone had their memories of Cui Ai's son wiped out by the 'Forgotten Ghost'. Only Cui Ai, with the help of the plague of sorrow, retained some memories that he once had a son.

Now, with Zhou Chang summoning the Forgotten Ghost, Cui Ai can no longer maintain a balance between the sad plague and the characteristics of the Forgotten Ghost.

The forgotten ghost gradually revived from him!

After killing Cui Ai, this terrifying demon is likely to escape from the ghost tomb and return to the human world!

Cui Ai's face quickly turned pale.

He looked at the young man in front of him, his eyes full of regret and remorse.

Zhou Chang frowned at this time.

"If the person in front of me is killed, the 'Forgotten Ghost' will be completely revived.

It is useless to revive a demon and continue to release killing patterns. It is better to let this demon and Cui Ai restrain each other... Moreover, after this demon is fully revived, the variables it brings will be beyond my control..."

As soon as Zhou Chang thought about it, he had already made up his mind.

He asked Bai Xiu'e with the help of his mind, "Xiu'e, who is Cui Ai?"

He had already forgotten the person named Cui Ai in his heart, but when he heard the thought demon that had transformed into a young man's corpse constantly calling Cui Ai's name, he instinctively realized that this name must be extremely important.

At the same time, Zhou Chang also asked the same question to the "Dapin Xindan Jing".

In his left eye, twisted and incomplete words began to jump, forming lines of handwriting that brushed away from Zhou Chang's sight.

Bai Xiu'e's reminder sounded——

The two of them alternated and repeatedly reminded Zhou Chang.

Those memories that were forgotten by Zhou Chang due to his self-suggestion and the influence of the 'Forgetfulness Trick' killing law, are now returning one after another!

He remembered 'Cui Ai' again!
As he began to remember Cui Ai again and the various interactions between him and him, the killing pattern of the Forgotten Ghost was instantly broken!
The 'Forgotten Ghost' emerged from the Black River of Sorrow and Plague, and slowly withdrew its hand that was pinching Cui Ai's neck. It stared at the person in front of it with cold eyes, and its body melted into the dark river water.

The water surface is like a mirror.

The young man's pale face appeared above the water, and his eyes looked grimly at Cui Ai and Zhou Chang on the water.

Cui Ai's pale face suddenly turned red.

He opened his eyes wide, staring at the "Forgotten Ghost" under the black water for a moment, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Zhou Chang.

“You saved me…

what do you want to do?"

Cui Ai looked at Zhou Chang with a complicated expression.

There was an indelible fear in his eyes, as well as a hint of gratitude.

The other party is also under the influence of the killing rules of the 'Forgetful Ghost', during which all the memories related to his 'Cui Ai' will inevitably be forgotten.

The fact that this person was able to recover his memory in a short period of time and saved his life showed that he did have special means to deal with the demon.

This kind of means is not even possessed by Cui Ai today.

This method demonstrates the opponent's ability, and is also the main reason why Cui Ai is afraid of him now.

"When I save you, I am also saving myself.

If this demon is released, no one will be spared."

Zhou Chang looked at the 'Forgotten Ghost' that was looming in the black water and said, "Lost son, lost son... Actually, it was you, Cui Ai, who forgot your child, which eventually led to his death.

The so-called loss of a son is actually forgetting a son.

As for the fact that you really had a child, even the plague dumplings in Da'an Village didn't know it.

——He might have known it before, but under the influence of the killing pattern of this demon, he had forgotten about it.

From this we can see that this demon should not be underestimated.

Now that you are alive, it will never be able to use your death to completely escape from the ghost tomb.

Your being alive can keep it in check, so it is in my best interest for you to be alive now.

But since you want to repay me, I won't refuse...

That plague-like meat dumpling, why did it come to you? "

Being under Zhou Chang's gaze at this moment, Cui Ai had a feeling that he was fully visible to the other party and nothing could escape his gaze.

It was clear that he was in control of the "sad plague" and he had the upper hand in terms of power from beginning to end.

However, now facing Zhou Chang, he felt that he had no place to use his strength.

The opponent's plan was closely linked - just as Zhou Chang said before, when he met Zhou Chang, he should have escaped first, but he chose to stop the opponent, and thus decided the following outcome...

And the question Zhou Chang suddenly asked at that moment also hit the nail on the head.

Cui Ai took a few deep breaths and understood the reason why he was so afraid of Zhou Chang.

"The pestilent rice dumpling you are talking about must be the blind Hu Ah Si from Da'an Village." Cui Ai said, "It came to me to ask for the curse of the 'curse'.

Only with this courage can it recite the complete mantra of raising the flag.

For hundreds of years, there has been an altar dedicated to a plague flag called the "Fa Zao Banner". According to legend, the three plagues originated from the Fa Zao Banner.

The Hu family, to which Hu Asi belonged, together with the Li family, the Ren family and other four families, worshipped together at the altar until something strange happened on the altar and a strange wind blew out from it, sweeping away the four families, forcing them to travel thousands of miles from the Miao border area in western Hunan to the foot of the Black Desert Mountain and settle down here.

During the following hundred years, the four families suffered from the "strange wind that blinded their eyes" and everyone became blind.

Until you walked into this place, Hu Asi first acquired a pair of good eyes. He gathered four families in Da'an Village and obtained the flag-raising spell that could awaken the divine flag from them.

The mantra has five parts: the beginning, the eyes, the heart, the tail and the body.

The four families control the four sections except the curse bone.

The Ren family originally possessed the 'Cursed Gallbladder', which was a 'sick gallbladder' inherited from their bloodline and would always attack their family members, causing them unbearable pain.

Only with the blessing of this disease curse gallbladder can the chanted flag-raising mantra communicate with the divine flag.

But Ren's family had been suffering from a diseased gallbladder for a long time. I wanted to use this gallbladder to save my son, so I promised his family a lot of treasures and helped his grandfather cut out the diseased gallbladder, so Hu Ah Si would come to find me in the end. "

"It seems that you two have reached a cooperation?" Zhou Chang asked Cui Ai again, "Even so, you two together only have four parts of the banner spell. Isn't the 'curse bone' still missing?"

"There's no need to look for the curse bone, it's in the ghost grave." Cui Ai shook his head and replied.

At this point, he no longer wanted to engage in verbal exchanges with Zhou Chang or deliberately hide anything from him.

The opponent's wisdom is beyond his reach.

Since we can't win, we might as well surrender early and cooperate with the other side.

However, although he did not set an ambush with his words, he still wanted to test Zhou Chang vaguely between his words.

(End of this chapter)