Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 334 The Mountain Spirit Steals the Soul
Inside the black and white earthen fortress, Ran Qing stared in astonishment at the congratulatory couplets posted and hung inside.

The families here who marry off their daughters are surnamed Ou.

The surname is Ou...

This extremely rare surname, coupled with the mother's mysterious appearance here after her death, almost clearly indicates a fact.

That's the ghost here, related to my mother by blood.

Based on the timeline, she is likely from the generation of her mother's grandmother.

Recalling her experiences of being summoned by vengeful ghosts and becoming a ghost herself after entering the ghost city, Ran Qing seemed to understand something.

"...Do the ghosts here harm their own descendants through blood ties?"

Ran Qing's expression changed slightly.

There is a saying that ghosts have a lifespan in the underworld. If you calculate the time, from the Republic of China era several decades ago to now, as we approach the millennium, ghosts with short lifespans are about to leave.

And the mother happened to die at this sensitive time, becoming a ghost in this ghost town after her death...

"Ran Jianfei was lying to me after all!" Ran Qing murmured.

The death of my mother ten years ago was not as lightly described by Ran Jianfei. It was definitely not because my mother was seriously ill and incurable, which led to her despair and suicide.

Something must have happened ten years ago that led to my mother's suicide by hanging, and she became a ghost in this Raro mine ghost town after her death.

Ran Jianfei also left home after his wife's death to join his sixth aunt's team searching for the Ghost King's Coffin.

Although Ran Jianfei was selfish, he was also very realistic. He was clearly not interested in the Ran family's corpse refining technique or anything unorthodox; he just wanted to live a peaceful life.

What was he after when he went to find the Ghost King's Coffin?
In Ran Qing's childhood memories, her father always lived honestly in the village of Laowangshan and taught at a primary school in a town not far from Laowangshan.

After Ran Jianfei left home for the city and remarried, he only used connections to find a job and did not contact any unorthodox people.

So much so that the ghost-raiser had no way of finding Ran Jianfei and couldn't find any clues.

Ran Jianfei, the sole inheritor of the Ran family's corpse-refining technique, only ventured into the Yin-Yang path ten years ago during the Ghost King Coffin turmoil in his life of more than ten years.

At other times, he was content with the ordinary.

Why would someone like this suddenly get involved in matters of Yin and Yang, and become interested in something like the Ghost King's Coffin? Even at the risk of their life...?

Ran Qing stared at the black and white earthen fortress in front of her without saying a word.

He had vaguely suspected these points before, but was not quite sure.

Only at this moment, when all the clues came together, was the cause and effect determined.

"...Ran Jianfei is indeed a devoted lover."

Ran Qing's feelings were sad and complicated.

This man, who was his father, had undeniably deep and sincere feelings for his mother; he could be described as a devoted and loving man.

But not a single bit of this burning passion fell upon him…

Ran Qing shook her head abruptly and looked at the bridal chamber in front of her.

The door to the bridal chamber was rickety and ajar, as if a strong wind would blow it open.

But if I'm not mistaken, this bridal chamber became the foundation of the entire tomb.

The ghost of the house stays here.

After all, the vengeful ghost is the bride, so where should the bride stay after her wedding...? Do we even need to think about that?
Ran Qing took out incense sticks, candles, and a small straw figure from the canvas bag.

For him at this moment, catching the ghost was secondary. The most important thing was to rescue Ran Jianfei.

If we can rescue Ran Jianfei, we can work together to fight the evil spirit.

It's definitely much easier than if he did it alone.

He risked everything to venture deep into the ghost realm of Wujiang and personally enter this haunted place, all to save people.

Meanwhile, Ran Jianfei in the haunted house was clearly also trying to delay and stop the ghost in the house, otherwise the ghost would have rushed out to find Ran Qing.

At this moment, the estranged father and son cooperated silently in perfect unison... Ran Qing lit the candles and arranged them on the ground in a triangular shape.

A burning incense stick is inserted directly into the center of the triangularly arranged candles.

Then, I laid the straw figure flat on the ground and took out the small drum from the canvas bag.

As Ran Qing struck the small drum, gusts of cold wind blew in from all directions around the Black and White Earth Fortress.

The candlelight in front of Ran Qing was deathly white and colorless against the black and white earthen fortress.

Having stayed in this black and white earthen fortress for so long, even the colors on his body, as an outsider, were gradually fading.

Ran Qing's canvas bag and its contents were all changed to a black and white color scheme.

Fortunately, it doesn't have any impact.

He planted the staff with the human head in the ground and stood it upright in front of him.

Then he sat cross-legged in front of the staff made of human heads and began to beat the small drum.

dong dong dong-

The dull drumbeats rose rhythmically.

This is not just random drumming; the rhythm Ran Qing is playing is called "Mountain Spirit Snatching Soul," a traditional Nuo opera piece.

In the old days, operas included not only performances for the living, but also ghost plays performed for the dead.

Nuo opera was used in the old days to worship ghosts and gods and to worship heaven and earth.

The rhythmic drumbeats continued, and a sinister, eerie roar drifted faintly from the cold wind blowing through the air.

It sounded like many vengeful ghosts howling mournfully in the wind.

It was like a troupe performing a grand opera in a murky manner.

The once empty courtyard suddenly became lively.

Although only Ran Qing was sitting in front of the cane with the severed head, the courtyard, which was filled with a chilling wind, seemed to be crowded with people.

The scarecrow lying flat on the ground was suddenly pulled up by an invisible force and stood up stiffly.

As the drumbeats of Ran Qing rose and fell, the scarecrow leaped and danced like a mountain spirit on a stage, waving its hands as if to chop...

The scarecrow's stiff limbs prevented it from moving fully, making its movements appear extremely awkward.

But this awkward movement inexplicably appears eerie and terrifying.

Several times, the eerie scarecrow even tried to jump onto Ran Qing's face, its stiff limbs attempting to touch Ran Qing's body.

An undisguised malice blew towards Ran Qing, making the hairs on her body stand on end and raising a fine layer of goosebumps on her exposed skin.

However, Ran Qing remained indifferent to his cold and malicious demeanor.

He stared coldly at the scarecrow in front of him, and kept banging on the small drum.

The rhythmic drumbeats never stopped, constantly controlling the scarecrow's every move.

Finally, the eerie scarecrow suddenly came to life and leaped toward the black and white wedding room in front of it.

Ran Qing remained silent, her face cold.

But on the staff of human heads standing in front of him, the head that looked exactly like him suddenly opened its mouth and emitted a sharp sound.

"...On the road to the underworld, my heart aches; at the Bridge of Helplessness, wild ghosts weep."

"Ran Jianfei! Return to the soul!"

"Three cups of wine to appease the spirits, two candles to illuminate the grave!"

The sharp, eerie howl of the man-headed staff instantly chilled the eerie wind in the courtyard.

The next second, the eerie scarecrow jumped directly into the shaky door of the bridal chamber and dragged out a transparent, middle-aged man's phantom.

(End of this chapter)