Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 278 The Gates of Hell Open
Ran Qing didn't care what Ran Jianfei's intention was in moving the tent to the other side of the mountain.

They didn't stop; the motorcycle continued towards Moonlit City.

The rugged dirt road was frequently riddled with potholes and puddles.

After dark, the three returned to Moonlit City.

After saying goodbye to Zong Shu at the intersection of Changba Road, Ran Qing and Mo Li gave him the cured meat, sausages, and live chicken, and then headed towards the old sheepskin paper shop.

Under the dark night sky, a chilling wind blew outside the old sheepskin paper shop.

Two paper figures, painted in red and green, hung eerily at the entrance, looking rather sinister.

Under the dim light of the bulb, Old Sheepskin, wearing short sleeves, sat under the eaves, weaving a paper horse frame with bamboo strips.

Old Sheepskin paused for a moment, somewhat surprised, when he saw Mo Li's motorcycle drive in.

"Hey? Boss Ran," Old Sheepskin quickly stood up and asked, "Have you eaten?"

Old Sheepskin invited the two to sit down and brought over two bamboo stools.

Ran Qing didn't waste any words and stated her request directly.

"I need your help to find someone named Xiong Dacheng, who raises ghosts," Ran Qing briefly described Xiong Dacheng's appearance and personality traits.

He then added, "This person is a bit dangerous, so be careful when you look for him, and notify me as soon as you find him."

"Remember, this person is dangerous. You must not let him find out that you are looking for him."

Judging from the phantom's behavior, Xiong Dacheng is crazy and violent.

If he discovers that Old Sheepskin is looking for him, Ran Qing is worried about Old Sheepskin's personal safety.

Moreover, if the ghost-raising master discovers that Ran Qing is secretly targeting them, they will be in big trouble...

Ran Qing gave his instructions carefully, while Old Sheepskin chuckled and said, "Don't worry, I'm very afraid of dying, I definitely won't do anything reckless."

"Moonlight City is only so big, it's not difficult to find a ghost raiser."

"By the way, Mr. Ran, I couldn't sleep well last night. I felt like there was a chill in the house... If you have time, could you go and take a look at my house?"

Old Sheepskin made a cautious request.

Ran Qing naturally wouldn't refuse such a request.

He was also worried about Old Sheepskin's safety, so Old Sheepskin quickly closed the door of the paper-making shop, put the things in front of the door into the shop, and took Ran Qing and the other person to his house.

Old Sheepskin's family lived in an alley next to the paper-making shop, in a six-story walk-up building.

There are two small flower beds at the bottom of the staircase, planted with blooming purple hydrangeas.

In this day and age, this is already a very nice neighborhood.

In particular, there is a courtyard wall and a large iron gate, which only residents of the community can enter.

After passing through the central courtyard of the residential area, they followed Old Sheepskin up the stairs.

The old-style walk-up building has ventilation holes all over the walls of the stairwell facing outwards.

In the middle of each square ventilation hole, there is a bird made of cement.

The dim light from outside shone through these ventilation holes into the stairwell, casting shadows of small flying birds.

Old Sheepskin, shining a flashlight, said, "The motion-activated lights in this hallway are broken, and no matter what we do, we can't fix them. It's really weird..."

Old Sheepskin was somewhat of a heretic, and was no stranger to these evil spirits and ghosts.

What makes him feel uneasy is definitely not psychological; something abnormal must have happened.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway were one such sign.

After the three of them climbed to the fifth floor and arrived at the door of Old Sheepskin's house, Ran Qing immediately grabbed Old Sheepskin, who was about to go forward to open the door.

Once you get here, it's all clear at a glance.

There is no need to continue searching.

—Next to the tin door of Old Sheepskin's house, on the blank wall between the two doors, a strange red door has appeared.

The slightly ajar, unclosed red door stood out starkly in the darkness of the stairwell. Even though the flashlight beam wasn't shining on it, Ran Qing's yin-yang eyes spotted the red door instantly in the darkness.

A faint, eerie chill permeated the air.

Old Sheepskin was completely unaware of the red door.

But the bright red color of the red gate was clearly visible to Ran Qing.

He stared silently at the red door and slowly backed away.

He pulled the old sheepskin downstairs.

The three of them remained silent, tacitly keeping quiet.

After going downstairs, Ran Qing did not stop and kept walking out.

Only after leaving the residential area and reaching the crossroads outside, standing under the dim streetlights, did Ran Qing say to Old Sheepskin with a gloomy expression, "There is a ghost door in front of your house. What's behind the door will come out after midnight."

"Your feeling is right, something did happen to your family. But the good news is that the thing that came out of the Ghost Gate is not attacking the living so far."

"They only attack those who practice unorthodox cultivation..."

Ran Jianfei's warning during the day came true; a ghost gate actually appeared in Moonlit City.

According to Old Sheepskin, he felt a chill and something was wrong last night.

Last night, Old Sheepskin was suddenly awakened in the middle of the night. He felt that something was walking around outside the door, and he even felt that there was a shadow moving outside his window.

But his home is on the fifth floor...

Out of this unease, Old Sheepskin asked Ran Qing to come to his house to check on things—he was worried that they might have attracted some evil spirits.

Seeing the sudden change in Old Sheepskin's expression, Ran Qing said, "You should be fine going back to sleep tonight, but if possible, the whole family should move out and stay at your paper-making shop for a few days."

The paper-making shop was crowded, but there was no red gate nearby.

We'll continue living next to this gate of hell. Although the evil spirits within aren't harming the living for now, what if they do...?

After Ran Qing finished speaking, Old Sheepskin hurriedly said, "I'll go and call my wife and children out right away."

Old Sheepskin was extremely anxious.

But Ran Qing suddenly grabbed him and said, "You can just call back, you don't need to go back."

Although Old Sheepskin is not a heretical practitioner, he should not be targeted by evil spirits.

However, he had been dealing with spirit mediums for many years and had become somewhat tainted by the spirit world, which made his spiritual senses extraordinary. He was able to detect the gusts of cold wind outside the door and the shadows of people walking past the window... His feelings last night were probably not hallucinations.

"Just to be on the safe side, you should stay away from that gate of hell for now."

After Ran Qing finished giving her instructions, she watched as Old Sheepskin ran to a roadside phone booth to make a call home. She then stood under a streetlamp with Mo Li, their eyes meeting.

The expressions of the young boy and girl were complex and gloomy.

The residential complex behind them was lit up with many lights in the night.

Behind each lit window lies a happy and fulfilling family home.

Unbeknownst to these residents, a ghostly gate was wide open in their own community, and even within their own building, where evil spirits would crawl out every night and roam the neighborhood…

Mo Li murmured, "Although Uncle Ran has already said it, the Ghost Gate really has opened everywhere."

"Could there be a ghost gate opening near our house on Park Road?"

Within the area where the Ghost Gate is open, those practicing metaphysics or unorthodox methods must not approach, otherwise the ghosts behind the gate will come looking for them.

So how many of these red doors are open in Moonlit City today?
Ran Qing said with a gloomy expression, "There won't be any Red Gates near Park Road. That's my Yin Altar, where evil lords are stationed."

At least in the vicinity of Park Road, it is safe.

“I’ll call Zongshu and ask him to come to Gongyuan Road.”

In the present-day Moonlit City, countless red doors have opened in hidden and secluded corners, making it a place fraught with danger.

At this point, the only place that seemed to guarantee safety was the cement house on Park Road where Ran Qing was located.

(End of this chapter)