Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 254 The Ghost Walkers Aren't That Scary

In the fog, Ran Qing and his three companions stood outside the stone temple, watching the fox den escape.

Although Ran Qing sensed the old fox's strange behavior, she said nothing.

Those four corpses were clearly the ghosts that the old fox had killed.

The old fox's claim that his family had never harmed anyone was utter nonsense, full of flaws.

But the old fox didn't really intend to hide it. It spoke nicely and adopted a humble attitude, but this casual attitude clearly indicated that it was prepared to join forces with the tree ghost if Ran Qing lost face.

Ran Qing even suspected that if it weren't for the spirit mediums who came tonight, or if the old fox hadn't witnessed the terror of spirit mediums, the three of them would have immediately encountered the old fox's family joining forces with the tree ghost upon entering...

In the thick fog, the four corpses of the old fox were carried into the Cat Temple.

In the last second before disappearing, the old fox's hoarse voice rang out softly.

"...Master, be careful of the flowers in the house."

The old fox's voice disappeared, and the thick fog dissipated within the stone temple.

All the foxes fled, leaving Ran Qing and his two companions inside.

As all the foxes left, the fog outside the stone temple gradually thinned out.

Ran Qing and the others could see a more distant view and vaguely make out a large old-fashioned mansion in the pine forest in front of them, like the kind of house of a wealthy family in a movie.

There was even a plaque hanging on the gate that read "Hu Mansion".

On either side of the plaque, there is a paper lantern hanging.

Outside the gate, on the left and right, stood two stone statues, but they were not the usual stone lions; instead, they were two stone tree carvings resembling bonsai.

Upon seeing the large mansion that was faintly visible in the mist, Ran Qing paused, holding the staff with the human head in her hand.

Suddenly, the eyes of the staff opened, and a ghastly green will-o'-the-wisp lit up within them.

Ran Qing pointed the staff at the mansion in front of him. He could vaguely see the mansion appearing and disappearing in the mist, looking like a house, or a giant tree.

“Just as the fox said, this house is indeed a tree,” Long Zongshu said with wide eyes in surprise.

Mo Li looked at the mansion and shook his head: "It's almost the 21st century, and they're still building this kind of old house from the feudal era."

"No television, no broadband, no lights... It would be torture to stay in this old house for even one more day."

After evaluating the foxes' dwelling, Mo Li looked at Ran Qing and asked, "What's the next step? Should we go straight in?"

Ran Qing walked at the very front, heading towards the mansion at the end of the pine forest, without any intention of stopping, as if she planned to go straight in.

Finally, the four of them stopped in front of the gate, which was lit up with lanterns.

Through the open gate, you can see a stone-carved screen wall. Although they are a den of foxes, the courtyard is quite elaborate and looks very real.

The screen wall blocked the view, making it impossible to see what was happening inside the courtyard.

But through the open door, a chilling aura wafted out.

Long Zongshu said, "Should we follow the same old rules and lure the ghost out?"

He began to look down, searching for a flat, sand-free spot where he could lie down.

Ran Qing shook her head and said, "It's not easy to lure..."

When we were in the Huaga sinkhole, the ghost was trapped in a coffin and had no other way out, so we were able to lure it out.

In the house on Longchang Street, the female ghost was able to lure the ghost out by playing hide-and-seek because she was close to them and had nowhere to retreat.

But this house is so big that neither of the two methods we used before can be used.

Such a large house, and it is suspected that many dead people are buried underground.

If you use the conventional methods to lure ghosts—who knows which ghost you'll attract?

Ran Qing had seen it clearly when the curse was placed on the Life Master's tablet. Many corpses were buried beneath this towering tree.

Moreover, conventional methods of summoning ghosts are less effective in places where monsters have lived. Ran Qing said, "Let's go straight in and find the tree's true form."

"The good news is that the foxes have made this place their den, so this tree will also be affected."

Although it's unclear how the foxes and the tree spirits managed to coexist peacefully.

But with so many foxes coming to build houses, even the most good-tempered person wouldn't agree, let alone ghosts full of negative emotions and resentment.

Since the foxes live inside the trees, they must have protected their dwellings to prevent the tree spirits from freely manifesting within them.

What if the foxes are halfway through their sleep and are wiped out by the tree ghosts?
So from a certain perspective, this house where foxes live is a natural barrier.

Even so, Ran Qing remained cautious.

Instead of entering the mansion first, he rang the corpse-driving bell, sending three paper figures into the house.

After the three paper figures went inside and found nothing amiss, Ran Qing and the other three followed closely behind and entered the large house where the foxes lived.

The moment I stepped through the gate, a strong, pungent smell of fox wafted towards me.

Although the mansion was beautifully decorated, resembling a real Jiangnan courtyard, a fox den is still a fox den. The strong, pungent animal stench made the three of them frown.

The little cotton ball had the most sensitive sense of smell and sneezed repeatedly.

"It stinks so bad, Ran Qing..."

Little Cotton complained pitifully, "Can I wait for you outside?"

The first time I saw Xiao Mianhua back down.

It's not because I'm afraid of ghosts, but because I'm afraid of the smell.

Hearing this, Ran Qing smiled and said, "I don't mind, but I'm afraid you won't see the sun tomorrow after you go out."

As she spoke, Ran Qing pointed behind her.

The three of them turned around and looked at the pine forest behind them.

But they discovered that in the pine forest where the fog had thinned, they could no longer see the cat temple they had come from.

The cat temple seemed to have disappeared into the pine forest.

Moreover, it seemed as if a pair of eyes were watching the four people in the house from the shadows under each pine tree.

The feeling of being stared at by unparalleled eyes is terrifying.

Little Cotton was so frightened that her fur stood on end: "A ghost is out?"

Ran Qing shook her head: "Not yet, they just cut off our escape route, or maybe they're trying to scare us away with this method."

It's quite amazing that the ghosts Ran Qing encounters become increasingly powerful as time goes on.

The more powerful the ghost, the more it prefers to hide and dares not come out directly to harm Ran Qing.

Even the female ghost on Longchang Street, whose side was clearly dominated by vengeful spirits and was cruel and sinister, only attacked Ran Qing after Ran Qing and the others came to her door.

The tree ghost in front of us is the same.

Ran Qing and the others walked right up to its face, but it was still acting strangely, seemingly trying to scare them away with this threatening method.

Ran Qing weighed the ancestral tablets of past masters in the canvas bag and let out a soft breath.

"It seems that Auntie Shen's misuse of the ancestral tablet has left a deep psychological scar on her fellow underworld figures..."

Although Ran Qing knew that the ancestral tablet was not omnipotent and that there were times when it would not work.

But in the forty years of her life, Auntie Shen frequently used the memorial tablet of her late teacher, and rumors, which were spread by word of mouth, became more and more outrageous.

To outsiders, a spirit medium carrying a memorial tablet of a revered master might be seen as a terrifying figure roaming the streets carrying a nuclear bomb...

(End of this chapter)