Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 213 Swaggering through the market
Ran Qing looked at Mo Li's suggestion, and then at the four paper figures standing motionless against the wall not far away.

He shook his head and wrote on the paper: "Try something else first."

Ran Qing walked to the corner of the general store, picked up a weight from the ground, and threw the dark, heavy weight away.

Boom!
The heavy, solid weight slammed down into the concrete courtyard outside, making a piercing sound and sending concrete fragments flying everywhere.

The sound echoed through the deathly silent town, utterly jarring.

Ran Qing and the other two hid in the darkness and observed for a while, but the road outside was still as normal as ever, and the group of ghostly figures did not return.

Ran Qing then took out the bell and shook it gently.

He shook it very gently, and the sound only echoed softly within the grocery store.

A paper figure leaning against the wall immediately emerged; it was the incomplete paper figure with its right arm missing.

It floated lightly to the outside of the grocery store and onto the dark road.

The bell in Ran Qing's hand continued to shake, and the tattered paper figure staggered away.

Ran Qing, on the other hand, kept her eyes closed and sweat began to pour from her forehead.

Controlling the paper figure within your field of vision is easy, but once it's out of sight, the difficulty increases dramatically.

Ran Qing closed her eyes and shook the bell, and the paper figure with the severed arm walked further and further away in the darkness.

Five minutes later, Ran Qing opened her eyes in astonishment and looked at Mo Li and Long Zongshu.

"Those ghosts are gone..."

Ran Qing finally dared to speak.

But his expression was full of confusion.

The group of ghostly figures hurried back to Longchang Street, as if they were about to return to their respective places and homes to continue playing the role of living people.

The paper figure walked all the way to the end of Longchang Street without encountering a single ghost.

A bunch of ghosts just passed by, but now I can't see a single one.

The ghosts seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Ran Qing subconsciously glanced at the time: 8:49 PM, more than three hours before midnight.

It couldn't be the red door that opened either.

The three people hiding in the darkness exchanged glances. Long Zongshu said in a low voice, "Since those ghosts are gone, let's continue looking for that female ghost. Once we find her, we'll leave immediately."

The primary objective is to capture the female ghost shrouded in mist.

Ran Qing then flipped over the Fate Master Token, which indicated the direction: just turn left after going out.

Although the female ghost concealed her mist and hid, her hiding made it easier for the fortune teller to locate her.

At this moment, all the ghostly figures on Longchang Street had vanished without a trace, clearly a good opportunity to rush over and catch the ghosts.

But after thinking for a few seconds, Ran Qing said, "No, let's go back to Xiao Sanyong's house and go see that old lady..."

Ran Qing was very curious about the state of the old woman who could see whether others were alive or dead and whose existence was extremely special. What was her existence like in the strange Longchang Street at this moment?

The old woman did not appear when the ghostly figures surrounded Ran Qing and the others.

At this moment, all the living people on Longchang Street were frozen in place, and the ghosts all disappeared into thin air. Did the old lady disappear or remain still?

Ran Qing's intuition told her to go find the old lady first, as she might be able to get some useful information.

Going directly to that female ghost now feels like a trap.

Ran Qing shared her thoughts, and Mo Li nodded in agreement: "I also think we should go back and take a look."

Long Zongshu hesitated for a moment: "What if it's the most hidden ghost on this street...?"

Long Zongshu was filled with fear and unease towards that mysterious and strange old woman.

But since Ran Qing and Mo Li both agreed to go, he went along with the majority.

After carefully observing the situation outside and confirming that there was nothing guarding them, the three of them walked out of the dark general store one after another. The one-armed paper figure that had been sent out earlier had already returned, and the remaining three paper figures followed Ran Qing out of the general store.

The three of them carried the paper figure towards Xiao Sanyong's house.

Two paper figures led the way, two more brought up the rear, and Ran Qing walked in the middle, gently shaking a bell.

Jingle bell—jingle bell—

The clear sound of the bell rang softly in the darkness, even though Ran Qing had tried to keep her movements as subtle as possible.

Even in the deathly silence of the night, the clear sound of the bell still inevitably traveled far.

Little Cotton felt a chill run down her spine and looked around in fear and unease.

She murmured to herself, "I hope this ringing won't attract some evil spirits..."

In the empty, desolate, and haunted streets, the three of them not only walked through the streets openly, but even rang bells as they went, as if afraid that the ghosts in the town would not know that they had come.

Mo Li glanced at Xiao Mianhua speechlessly and said, "Sister Mianhua, don't say things like that..."

At times like these, people are already uneasy, and the ringing of the bell in the night seemed to echo in their hearts, sending chills down their spines.

However, the paper figures have already been possessed by spirits and cannot be moved by physical contact. The only way to drive them away is by using the method of corpse driving.

Ran Qing and the others had no choice but to grit their teeth and continue forward. At least they had already tried it and found that the sound would not attract attacks, and all the ghosts on Longchang Street had disappeared without a trace.

Finally, they retraced their steps and arrived back at Xiao Sanyong's grocery store, which sold all kinds of cigarettes and drinks.

There was a doorway left open on the door panel that wasn't completely closed.

In the rural towns and villages of that era, people couldn't afford roller shutters. Shops along the street used wooden planks inserted into grooves in the cement ground to form their doors.

These old-fashioned wooden planks made it difficult to open or close the doors, so after the shops closed at night, a small, separate door would be left on one side.

At this moment, a kerosene lamp emitted a dim light from inside the small, separate door.

There was light and sound in the room.

That was the sound of a radio playing Zangke mountain songs.

Ran Qing and the other two exchanged glances, and Mo Li murmured, "Just as I thought..."

Finally, Ran Qing went in first and saw the old man's body sitting on the sofa next to the stove behind the shelf, with a radio on the cold iron plate of the stove in front of him.

It neither disappeared like other ghosts, nor remained stiff like a living person.

This strange old woman is exactly the same as she was during the day.

Hearing footsteps at the door, the old woman quickly opened her eyes: "Xiao Sanyong..."

It called out its grandson's name, but saw only Ran Qing and the other two; its grandson was nowhere to be seen.

The old woman was stunned for a moment, then quickly stood up: "Where is my grandson?"

The old man looked at the four people with unease and vigilance.

Ran Qing was silent for a few seconds, then said, "It was controlled by that female ghost, and it deliberately led us astray, leading us to the back of the school."

"After I chased that female ghost away, it disappeared along with the other ghosts on the street, and I don't know where it went..."

After Ran Qing finished speaking quietly, she observed the old man's expression.

The old woman visibly relaxed, knowing that her grandson hadn't been taken by the ghost hunter in front of her.

"Don't worry about them, they'll be back in a bit. They do this every night."

The old woman was not surprised by what Ran Qing said, and said, "As soon as it gets dark, the ghosts on this street will disappear in waves, running off to who knows where."

As she spoke, the old woman looked at Ran Qing and the other two with some anticipation: "Are you leaving? You couldn't catch that ghost, right?"

The old man clearly thought that Ran Qing and the other two were going to give up.

Ran Qing shook her head and said, "No, I came back to ask for directions. If we can't catch this female ghost, we won't leave tonight."

(End of this chapter)