Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 245 Night Talk
Ran Qing's expression was somewhat stiff.

He stared intently at the old house in front of him, gazing at the open red door.

He found himself back at the door of the old house in his sleep...

Was something inside the red gate tempting him?
Without the slightest hesitation, Ran Qing turned and ran, heading towards the edge of the village.

During the run, he quickly checked his condition.

The canvas bag containing incense ash, red rope figurines, and other items was still hanging on his body; he hadn't taken it off because he thought it was too heavy, so he brought it in.

But the staff with the severed head was gone.

The three paper figures have also disappeared.

Ran Qing was the only one lured to the door of the old house.

It was now past midnight, the red gate was wide open, and the village had become deathly silent and eerie.

According to the warning from the corpse-driving woman of Longchang Street, after the red gate opens in the middle of the night, the thing inside will come out and kill the nearby unorthodox Taoist practitioners.

Now that Ran Qing has returned to the village, what happened to the things inside the red gate?

Has it come out yet?

Ran Qing cautiously looked around as she put the Nuo opera mask on the back of her head.

In that dazed, sleepwalking state, he almost walked into the red gate.

It was the evil lords behind the masks who roared and shouted, startling him awake.

And that man who is suspected to be his father, Ran Jianfei...

Ran Jianfei actually appeared in his dream?
Ran Qing recalled the situation in her dream, her expression confused and puzzled.

The feeling of having his wrist grabbed was so real; it seemed that Ran Jianfei wasn't just appearing in a dream.

The warmth and touch of the other person's body still seemed to linger on my wrist.

...Could it be that he wasn't the only one drawn to this old house, and Ran Jianfei was also attracted here?

Is the old house of the Ran family attracting the living people who once lived there to return?
Ran Qing ran quickly, but could not see Ran Jianfei's figure in the darkness.

In the empty village and the dark, dense Huangguoshu forest, he was the only one running desperately.

Ran Qing ran all the way out of the village before she finally put her hands on her knees and caught her breath.

But they dared not linger or rest.

After catching her breath, Ran Qing continued running into the distance.

The sky wasn't dark tonight; in the latter half of the night, the outline of the road could still be vaguely discerned in the mountains and forests.

Ran Qing ran along the road for a while, and then ran for more than ten minutes until she was covered in sweat.

They then returned to the sheltered, roundabout earthen embankment, where the fire burned quietly.

Mo Li, leaning against the earthen embankment, was fast asleep with his eyes closed; Long Zongshu, wrapped in a blanket, was fast asleep on the ground; and Xiao Mianhua was sleeping soundly by the fire...

The sound of Ran Qing running towards them startled the three people from their sleep.

They opened their eyes in horror and saw Ran Qing running alone from the foot of the mountain.

Mo Li was immediately confused: "Ran Qing? Where did you go?"

Ran Qing plopped down beside the fire, panting heavily for a while before speaking.

"I'm back from the village..."

He slowly recounted what had just happened.

In my sleep, I was unknowingly drawn to the door of the old house and almost went through that red door.

This is absolutely terrifying.

Mo Li and Long Zongshu were also terrified after hearing this.

They quickly stood up and looked around warily: "Nothing followed you, did it..."

The red door is open; what's inside may have already come out.

They might even come back with Ran Qing.

But Ran Qing must reunite with her companions to retrieve her new staff of human heads. This newly acquired staff of human heads is incredibly useful for fighting ghosts and exorcising evil spirits.

Ran Qing shook her head and said, "Nothing should have followed us."

On his way here, he secretly sprinkled some fine incense ash on the ground behind him.

If something is following him, the person who walks the path of the dead will sense it.

Ran Qing took out two ancient copper coins from the canvas bag. The Guiluo ancient coins, which had been restored to normal before, still had messy lines on them and had not turned into some kind of scary sketch.

This ancient coin has a certain ability to warn of danger.

Ran Qing said, "It seems that the Red Gate has only attracted me there, but hasn't really set its sights on me yet."

If he had really been targeted by something inside the Red Gate, he wouldn't have been able to return so easily.

Ancient coins can also be omens.

In that case...

"It seems that the Red Gate not only attracts the dead from the surrounding area back, but also lures the unorthodox cultivators living in this village back as if they were dead..."

The dead, drawn back, stepped through the red gate, forgetting their own deaths, and continued to live like the living.

However, if a living Zuo Daoxuan cultivator enters the Red Gate, he will truly die.

"We need to leave this village as soon as possible."

Ran Qing's eyes were incredibly complicated.

I originally planned to stay in my hometown for a few more days. After catching the ghost cursed by the life master's talisman, I wanted to rest for a couple more days and tidy up the area around the house.

But now it seems we have to leave as soon as possible.

Only by leaving this village can one escape the influence of the Red Gate.

Ran Qing didn't believe that the Red Gate was so evil; he had traveled over a hundred kilometers to Moonlit City, and the Red Gate had managed to bring him back.

—It's so far, you can't get there on foot.

Mo Li and Long Zongshu also sat down, and the three of them sat around the fire, chatting carefully about Ran Qing's experience.

Mo Li said, "It's a pity we don't know what's inside the Red Gate. It would be great if we could catch one to study."

Mo Li's words were startling.

Ran Qing glanced at her silently and said, "Most likely a demon from the Ancient Luo Kingdom, not someone to be trifled with..."

The three chatted for a while longer, and the atmosphere gradually eased.

Soon, Long Zongshu's muffled snoring could be heard from below the earthen embankment. Exhausted from a day's work, Long Zongshu quickly fell asleep.

Mo Li and Ran Qing, however, couldn't sleep.

The two sat by the fire, looking down at the dark village below.

Mo Li said, "Those things in the Ghost Realm of Wujiang are indeed very troublesome."

"The unique terrain and conditions of this land have made the whole of Zangke a mess."

Mo Li sighed and said softly, "Actually, it is said that there are underworld officials and Black and White Impermanence in the outside world."

"I have seen ghost messengers claiming lives, heard of reincarnation, and seen people being reborn."

"But in Zangke, none of these exist."

"After a person dies, there is nowhere else to go except to become a wandering ghost and disappear into the depths of the ghost realm of the Wujiang River."

"And even now, no one knows what those wandering ghosts will encounter when they enter the depths of the Wujiang Ghost Realm."

As Mo Li spoke, he sighed again: "But this very land, fraught with danger and crisis, attracted many unorthodox cultivators decades ago."

"Besides seeking refuge here, they seem to be attracted by some kind of benefit."

"I suspect that those unorthodox practitioners are also searching for the so-called Ghost King's Coffin."

Mo Li looked at Ran Qing, his eyes flashing with a strange light: "If you continue down this path, you will encounter more unorthodox and heretical cultivators in the future."

"By then, it may not only be evil spirits and demons that want to harm you."

(End of this chapter)