Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 251 Lair
After Ran Qing finished speaking, Xiaomianhua sighed.

"Wouldn't it be even more dangerous if there were more monsters like the mountain demon and the hag..."

Ran Qing, however, gazed at the mountains and forests and said, "These monsters won't be able to roam around for long."

"As technology becomes more advanced and the population grows, roads and electricity will be built everywhere, people will go to more and more places, and there will be fewer and fewer deep mountains and forests."

"Monsters like the mountain demon will become increasingly rare."

Just like in the mountains and forests near Ran Qing's village, the number of wild animals is much less than when his parents' generation was young.

My mother said that when they were young, there were many rabbits and foxes in the mountains. It was easy to catch wild rabbits in winter, and the old people often went to the mountains to catch pheasants to eat.

But by Ran Qing's generation, not to mention rabbits, foxes, and pheasants, even the monkeys that liked to steal corn by the river were becoming increasingly rare.

If ordinary wild animals are in such a predicament, the living space for evil monsters will only become worse and worse.

"In the future, it may be difficult to find mountain monsters and evil spirits."

"However, an increase in population might lead to an increase in evil spirits as well..."

The large concentration of urban populations creates a breeding ground for ghosts and the dead.

In a sense, the changing times and technological advancements have benefited those who practice the Yin-Yang ritual.

With more people, more people will die, and more ghosts will appear.

People like Ran Qing, who practice the art of divination, are more likely to find business.

The three chatted about the impact of the changing times, and Mo Li said with a grin, "That's right, the more people there are, the easier it is to encounter ghosts."

"Hong Kong is an international metropolis, and there are many ghost stories there."

"Some haunted houses are even located in the city center, and no one dares to mess with them."

Mo Li continued to seize every opportunity to whisper sweet nothings in his ear, praising the benefits of heading south.

Ran Qing smiled but remained silent.

The three chatted for a while longer. As it grew dark, they set up an iron pot in the woods, gathered firewood, and started a fire. Soon, the aroma of food wafted out.

Little Cotton happily circled the iron pot, completely forgetting that tonight's mission was to catch ghosts, as if they were having a picnic.

After filling their stomachs, the three returned to the cat temple and began their long wait.

The sunlight in the sky gradually dimmed, and night slowly enveloped this desolate pine forest.

As night fell, a cold wind blew through the pine forest.

The "Demon-Suppressing Incantation" that Ran Qing wrote on the outer wall of the Cat Temple with goat's blood seemed to shimmer with a strange, eerie light in the darkness.

Outside the cat temple, the temperature dropped rapidly after nightfall.

A faint mist, almost imperceptible, appeared silently in the pine forest as darkness fell.

During the day, the barren ground, which was nothing but yellow earth, was covered with wisps of withered leaves blown by the wind—even though there were only pine trees nearby.

From the depths of the fog came faint human voices, as if many people were whispering among themselves in the thick fog.

This bizarre situation made Xiao Mianhua immediately bristle, and she shrank back to Ran Qing's feet in terror.

"There really is an evil spirit!"

Little Cotton is as timid as ever.

Ran Qing and the other two remained silent as they waited inside the cat temple, only to discover a damp, rotten smell permeating the stone temple.

The Cat Temple, which was empty during the day, was unexpectedly covered with moss and lush green ivy after nightfall.

Dense green leaves and moss covered the entire outer and inner walls of the stone temple.

The demon-suppressing incantations that Ran Qing had written on the stone temple beforehand were all covered by moss and ivy.

Seeing this, Long Zongshu became somewhat uneasy and asked in a low voice, "...The incantation is covered up, will it still have any effect?" Ran Qing nodded, "It will not be affected."

Being covered up is actually a good thing. With these moss and ivy covering it, it will be more difficult for evil spirits and monsters to break the spell.

Thus, the strange occurrences inside and outside the stone temple were not the work of ghosts or spirits in the area.

Rather, it's the natural changes that occur in this pine forest after dark.

Mo Li stared in astonishment at the drastically changed pine forest before him, and whispered, "Was this done by an evil spirit? I've never heard of any ghost this powerful..."

Ran Qing, however, was not surprised.

He stood at the entrance of the stone temple and said, "We've accidentally stumbled into the lair of mountain spirits."

In "The Legend of Sister Shen Er's Demon Extermination", Sister Shen Er once led her young aunt Liu into the lair of a group of weasels in the wilderness.

The group of weasels hid in an old tomb that was hundreds of years old, and made a nest there by taking advantage of the tomb's unique feng shui.

During the day, the tomb is an old grave with a broken entrance, looted by grave robbers. But as soon as it gets dark, the grave transforms into a large courtyard with five entrances and exits. The courtyard is decorated with lanterns and colorful decorations and is inhabited by a powerful weasel spirit and its descendants.

Ran Qing said, "The feng shui of this cat temple must be very special, and it has been turned into a nest by the mountain spirits..."

Ran Qing explained the situation, and the three of them stood in the temple, not daring to go out rashly.

In the fog outside, it seemed as if many eyes were watching them.

Three flames ignited on Long Zongshu's shoulder.

The blazing flames instantly dispelled the dampness inside the cat temple, bringing with them a wave of heat.

Long Zongshu said, "I've come to negotiate with these monsters."

The Long family, a clan specializing in exorcising evil spirits, has been dedicated to dealing with these mountain demons and monsters for hundreds of years.

They're here tonight to catch ghosts, not to kill monsters; it would be best if they could avoid conflict with the evil spirits in the mountains.

But just as Long Zongshu stepped out, a sound of gongs and drums suddenly came from within the thick fog.

The festive sound of suona horns, accompanied by the beating of gongs and drums, drew near.

As Ran Qing and the other three watched in astonishment, a group of dark figures carrying a bamboo chair floated out of the mist.

Then came the second one, the third one...

Three bamboo chairs were carried outside the Cat Temple by those stiff, unsteady shadowy figures.

Ran Qing raised her flashlight and shone it over, only to see that the shadowy figures all had pale faces and black features, and were clearly a group of paper figures with faces drawn with ink.

Long Zongshu stared in disbelief, then subconsciously looked at Ran Qing, because there were also three paper figures standing behind Ran Qing.

Those who travel to the underworld are most skilled at controlling paper figures.

Ran Qing stared at the paper figures in front of her and shook her head: "They're very fake; they can only scare people."

Controlling paper figures is actually the skill that evil spirits excel at.

Most ghostly entities use black magic like paper figures. But these paper figures are only good for scaring living people with weak yang energy or doing odd jobs; they're completely useless for anything serious.

In the shady business world, the paper figures made by spirit mediums can be used as accomplices to ghosts, and they are different from the paper figures made by evil spirits.

As soon as Ran Qing finished speaking, a weak, dry laugh suddenly rang out from the pile of paper figures.

"...The master is right. These paper figures in my house are just for show. My great-grandmother sent me here to pick up the three masters. She has no ill intentions."

A sound suddenly came from the pile of paper figures, startling the four people in the Cat Temple, who quickly looked down to investigate.

Soon, a fox with scraggly fur and a dirty appearance was seen cautiously huddled among the pile of paper figures; it was this fox that was speaking.

(End of this chapter)