Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 321 The Corpse in Red
This ghost town of Laro is so ordinary and unremarkable.

It's not fundamentally different from the ghost market he knows and understands.

At first glance, this place doesn't seem particularly special; it's just an ordinary ghost market where vengeful spirits dwell and wandering souls gather.

But the midnight minibus on the headless road, and the strange sights they encountered along the way, all hinted at the eeriness and unusual nature of this place.

Ran Qing hadn't been able to figure out the details of this midnight minibus along the way; she only felt that it was strange and unpredictable.

Why did everything become so simple once we arrived at our destination?

Most obviously, ghost towns, these places with abnormal feng shui, only appear after nightfall when the yin energy gradually intensifies, affecting the mountains, forests, and wastelands where the ghost town is located.

But the minibus they were riding in had come from the outskirts of Yue Zhao City, dozens of kilometers away!
Could it be that the entire vast mountainous and forested land stretching for dozens of miles from the crossroads of the headless road all the way to this ghost town of Laro mine is the entire area of ​​the ghost town?

—Where in the mortal world is there such a huge ghost town!
Ran Qing instinctively sensed an ominous and dangerous atmosphere.

Having experienced the perilous and treacherous journey to the destination, the sudden simplicity and clarity upon arrival made Ran Qing disbelieve the apparent calm.

Beneath this seemingly ordinary ghost town, there must be something extremely dangerous and unpredictable.

"...Let's continue walking in and take a look."

Ran Qing spoke calmly and led her companions into the ghost city.

Logically speaking, the three living people, along with Xiao Mianhua, should have disguised themselves to some extent and conceal their yang energy in order to avoid being discovered by these wandering ghosts when entering the ghost city.

If a living person is discovered by wandering spirits in the ghost market, their fate will definitely be grim.

But after the three of them stepped into the dark mine and entered the ghost market, all the wandering ghosts and spirits around them ignored them.

That unusual indifference and neglect made it seem as if they were no longer being treated as one of their own.

It's more like—the three of them are nowhere to be seen!
It seems that the conspicuous combination of Ran Qing, the three living people, and Xiao Mianhua goes unnoticed by the wandering ghosts and spirits all over the streets.

The surrounding crowd completely ignored the presence of Ran Qing and his companions.

But the blind wandering spirit didn't directly crash into them or pass through their bodies.

These dazed and confused wandering spirits seemed to be under the influence of some strange force, subconsciously ignoring the three living people who had intruded.

After walking for a while, Mo Li and Long Zongshu also noticed something was wrong.

Little Cotton suddenly muttered, "Is this place really a ghost town?"

Xiao Mianhua, who had previously been to the Ghost Market with Ran Qing, was originally filled with fear of this place.

After walking for a while, she found that no ghosts or spirits were watching her, and this unusual neglect made Xiao Mianhua feel strange.

As Ran Qing and the other two continued to walk deeper into the ghost city, the entire scene became clearer and clearer.

The wandering spirits and ghosts here are indeed a mixture of different eras.

The oldest are those ghostly figures from decades ago, still wearing right-fastening blouses and tattered, dirty clothes.

The newest one was even a thug with a thick gold chain, tattoos on his arms, dyed blond hair, and wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He was clearly someone who had only come in in the last few years.

Besides the fact that the wandering spirits come from different eras, the buildings in this ghost town also come from different eras.

Wooden and tile houses from the folk era of decades ago, factory dormitories from the 1960s and 70s, motorcycles and cars from the most recent years... different styles and appearances from different eras are gathered together in the same place.

Mo Li muttered under his breath, "It's like strolling around a movie set..."

Little Cotton asked curiously, "Ran Qing, aren't you going to find your way?"

After entering the ghost town, they kept walking forward, but then changed their route.

They clearly seemed to be just wandering around, without a specific destination in mind.

Although there was no ruling talisman to guide them this time, the evil spirits in this place were not cursed by the ruling talisman.

But Ran Qing, being a spirit medium, had other ways of finding his way. He hadn't even tried the simplest and most practical method: asking for directions with a longan... This piqued Xiao Mianhua's curiosity.

Although the wandering ghosts in the ghost town ignored her, Little Cotton, who was afraid of ghosts, still hoped to leave this place full of eeriness as soon as possible.

Little Cotton's question also made Mo Li look at Ran Qing with curiosity.

But before Ran Qing could speak, Long Zongshu explained the reason in a low voice: "...that old man on the back caught up, and he brought other things with him."

Long Zongshu said in a low voice without turning his head.

As a descendant of an exorcist clan, he was even more skilled at dealing with mountain monsters and evil spirits.

Even the monster that followed them was first noticed by him, and he quietly signaled to Ran Qing to be careful.

Ran Qing continued wandering around the ghost town without turning her head, and lowered her voice as well: "Let's wait a bit and see what the things behind us are up to."

That old man, Mingming, didn't go into the ghost town; he left first.

Not long after Ran Qing and the others entered the ghost city, they discovered that Old Beibei had followed them.

And this time it wasn't just Old Man Backbone; it seems he was accompanied by other evil spirits as well.

Ran Qing suspected that the old man had his eye on them and had recruited other mountain monsters from the vicinity to help them.

Ran Qing was very confident in the power of the memorial tablets of past masters that the spirit medium had used.

But he also knew that the memorial tablets of past masters were not truly invincible.

And the evil spirit at the midnight minibus terminal is too eerie and mysterious.

To be on the safe side, Ran Qing did not want to face the evil spirit and the monster that followed behind at the same time.

He even considered whether he should leave this ghost town first, lure the evil spirits following him outside to deal with them, and then come back to catch the ghosts.

But while he was still pondering this, Mo Li suddenly let out a surprised sound.

"...Ran Qing! That window!"

The three of them walked along as if they were strolling leisurely in the street.

Mo Li suddenly grabbed Ran Qing's hand and anxiously pointed at a window by the roadside.

Following the direction Mo Li pointed, Ran Qing saw an old dormitory building with stairs. On the third floor, a figure flashed by the window.

He paused for a moment, unable to make out what the figure was, only noticing something red and that it seemed to be wearing red clothes.

Just as Ran Qing was about to ask, Mo Li lowered his voice and exclaimed in astonishment, "...That was the female corpse standing behind Uncle Ran during the Dharma assembly!"

"That woman in the wedding dress and red veil! She was just standing there! As if she was looking at us!"

"But I just saw her, and then she disappeared!"

Mo Li's reminder startled Ran Qing.

He looked at the window again, but there was no one behind the empty window.

It seems that no one has ever stood there.

But Mo Li couldn't be mistaken; if Ran Jianfei's female corpse was standing behind that window...

Ran Qing suddenly stopped walking.

He squinted and slowly surveyed the dormitory building in front of him.

Ran Jianfei...could he be in this building?

(End of this chapter)