Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 262 Ghost Feast

The three of them quickly left the backyard and headed back to the front yard.

In the desolate and dilapidated old house, broken bricks and tiles are scattered on the ground from time to time.

The three of them glanced at the room that housed the altar for all the ghosts as they passed by; the room was still empty.

The ghost seemed completely unconcerned that Ran Qing and the others would destroy the Ghost Platform.

Ran Qing said, "There is a way to lure out the ghost, which may be the most accurate way to do so."

There are many ways to summon ghosts.

Offering altars to invite ghosts, wearing funerary clothes to invite ghosts, playing hide-and-seek to lure ghosts... but the most troublesome, the most dangerous, but also the most accurate method is definitely inviting ghosts to a banquet.

"Prepare a table of food and wine, invite it out, invite it to a ghost feast."

Ran Qing said, "I can definitely summon it by using the life master tablet as a medium."

"But at the dinner table, the three of us have to accompany the dishes."

“Once the ghost is brought out, no one at the table can move. We are all trapped at the table, just like the ghost.”

Ran Qing stood outside the front hall with a gloomy expression, looking at the empty shrine and large vat inside, and said, "Please stay in this room; the yin energy is heaviest here."

"Once I summon the ghost out, it will definitely try to harm us at the dinner table."

"You can't talk nonsense, but you also can't remain silent."

"This ghostly feast is two-way; once we're seated, we can use it to capture it. But it can also use it to harm us."

“The situation at each ghost banquet is different, and I can’t predict what will happen. I can only adapt to the situation…”

Ran Qing's expression was somewhat gloomy.

This is an extremely risky ghost-summoning technique from the "Witchcraft and Ghostly Arts".

Those who practice spirit mediumship fear most situations that are beyond their control and unpredictable.

However, what happens at a ghost feast is completely unpredictable, and the situation is completely different after each ghost arrives.

This is a ghost feast that requires extensive experience in catching ghosts to organize.

The book "Witchcraft and Spiritual Arts" says that one should not hold a ghost feast unless absolutely necessary.

Ran Qing briefly explained the situation to her companions.

Little Cotton suddenly spoke up, saying, "A ghost banquet...no way! Even Sixth Aunt doesn't dare to hold a ghost banquet, the risk is too great!"

Little Cotton, who had been dazed and confused, following behind the three of them, suddenly regained her human rationality and consciousness.

Upon hearing that Ran Qing was going to hold a ghost banquet, she immediately became anxious.

Even someone as experienced as Aunt Liu, a seasoned spirit medium, had never held a ghost feast...

Ran Qing sighed and said, "That's because Sixth Aunt doesn't need to hold a ghost banquet at all."

With Aunt Liu's strength, she could easily crush most ghosts. As for the few more troublesome ghosts, she could deal with them using the endless stream of evil spells in "Witchcraft and Ghostly Arts".

Holding a ghost banquet is a risky move only taken when there is no other choice.

Ran Qing and his group sensed the danger and were forced into a corner, with no other choice but to act.

If it were Aunt Liu... who could drive her to such a desperate situation?

But not all spirit mediums are as outstanding and powerful as Aunt Liu.

In fact, among all those who practiced spirit mediumship throughout history, the half-baked skills of someone like Auntie Er were the norm.

Ran Qing sighed, walked to the edge of the dark hall, and together with Long Zongshu, moved the tables and chairs piled up in the corner.

The tables and chairs that had been piled up in the corner for who knows how many years had not accumulated any dust or decayed.

They moved the cold, gloomy tables and chairs to the center of the hall, facing the open door, and arranged the tables according to Ran Qing's instructions, placing five chairs around the five corners of the tables.

A feast requires food, drinks, and dishes, but luckily they had a picnic at the Cat Temple during the day and brought disposable bowls and chopsticks in their backpacks.

Disposable plastic bowls were placed on the table, along with chopsticks. Everyone took out the only snacks, instant noodles, and biscuits they had. With these simple modern snacks, they prepared a snack feast.

The initially nervous and uneasy Little Cotton couldn't help but ask when she saw the snacks on the table, "Do ghosts eat snacks too?"

She had never seen a ghost feast before when she was with her sixth aunt; this was the first time she had ever seen such a scene.

Ran Qing said, "As long as there is food, we can lure it over."

After arranging the snacks, Ran Qing placed two candles on either side of the open entrance and lit them, then inserted an incense stick between the candles.

He then returned to his seat.

The old house was deserted and gloomy, dilapidated and decaying.

The cold moonlight dappled through the broken tiles on the roof above, casting dappled patterns on the room.

Ran Qing and the other two sat scattered around the small table, leaving only one seat facing the main entrance empty.

Three paper figures stood guard to one side, standing behind Ran Qing.

But Ran Qing had already put the corpse-driving bell in his canvas bag.

The three paper figures in straw raincoats will not be of any use at the upcoming ghost feast.

After taking a final deep breath, Ran Qing and her companions confirmed, "...Are you ready?"

Even the usually calm and rational Ran Qing couldn't help but feel a little nervous at this moment.

After receiving confirmation from his companion, he took a deep breath, took out the small drum from his canvas bag, and gently struck it.

dong dong dong-

The dull drumbeats echoed through the abandoned mansion, and a strange resonance seemed to emanate from the ruins of the courtyard.

In the dark and eerie ghost realm of the Wujiang River, a strange drumbeat suddenly rang out, summoning ghosts and evil spirits...

In an instant, Ran Qing, who was sitting in the host's seat next to the empty chair, felt as if several gazes were being cast from the dark sky outside.

It seemed like some kind of evil spirit that just happened to be passing by, or a vengeful ghost wandering nearby.

Fortunately, this is the haunted house of a vengeful ghost, so even if a vengeful ghost or evil spirit were to approach, it would be unable to enter.

Ran Qing continued to tap the small drum, muttering a toast inviting ghosts to a banquet.

The awkward and unpleasant toasts to the ghosts sounded strangely eerie amidst the drumbeats.

But as Ran Qing recited his toast, gusts of cold wind drifted in from outside.

In this altar where spirits once worshipped past masters, the air was filled with a chilling aura, and the temperature seemed to have dropped several degrees.

Mo Li and Long Zongshu were sitting far apart in their chairs. The table was a bit big, so everyone was forced to separate, giving them the illusion of fighting alone.

Although dressed in a dog skin, Little Cotton, as a living person present, had to take her seat and squat on the chair like a human. She looked around nervously and anxiously, her dog head looking around in a panic.

As Ran Qing murmured her toast, a dark shadow flickered and gradually lengthened in the candlelight outside the door.

Finally, under everyone's watchful eyes, the shadow gradually lengthened and flowed into the room like water.

Finally, it flowed over the threshold, across the dining table floor, and onto the empty head seat.

On the main seat directly opposite the entrance, there was now a dark, ghostly figure whose face was obscured.

It sat there ominously, having been invited.

The moment the ghost entered the room, everyone present felt their bodies stiffen, and an invisible force spread from the dining table, trapping everyone in their chairs.

Ran Qing's body was stiff and he couldn't move, but as the main companion, his throat was blocked by some kind of cold force, as if he had swallowed a whole block of ice.

He moved his lips, his voice becoming ghostly hoarse and low.

"...The host and guests took their seats."

(End of this chapter)