Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 339 She is a ghost

Ran Jianfei's wailing was extremely piercing in the darkness.

At that moment, he was truly as helpless and pitiful as a child, crying with tears and snot streaming down his face.

But the group of pale, ghostly figures ignored him...

Even when Ran Jianfei rushed into the middle of the group of pale, ghostly figures, they seemed unable to see him.

This cold indifference was beyond Ran Qing's expectations.

He recalled that when his sixth aunt helped him deal with Li Hongye deep in the ghost realm of Wujiang, they accidentally stumbled upon this group of eerie, pale ghostly figures.

At that time, Ran Qing wasn't even a spirit medium, yet he had already been coldly watched by the pale, ghostly figures.

But now that Ran Qing has become a spirit medium, he is being ignored by the pale, ghostly figures...

"So they weren't looking at me at all back then," Ran Qing murmured, vaguely realizing something. "They were looking at my sixth aunt behind me!"

It was Aunt Liu who helped Ran Qing enter the Wujiang Ghost Realm. It was Aunt Liu's aura that attracted that group of pale ghosts.

If it were just Ran Qing, she wouldn't even qualify to enter the sight of these ghostly figures...

In the dark open space, Ran Jianfei's cries were hoarse and unpleasant.

He cried louder and louder until his voice cracked.

Ran Qing walked over at this moment, squatted down beside him, stared at him and said, "That thing that took your wife away... is the Ghost King's Coffin?"

Why did He take your Xia away?

Compared to Long Zongshu, who was too shocked to speak, and Mo Li, whose expression was complicated and sad, Ran Qing was actually the first of the three to regain her composure and rationality.

The moment he heard the keyword "Ghost King's Coffin," he immediately calmed down.

If it's the Ghost King's Coffin, then it's not that there's no target.

He still has a chance to find his mother's spirit, and he still has a chance to figure everything out.

Although the unusual events of his blood father becoming mentally impaired and his mother's spirit being abducted were enough to cause anyone's emotional breakdown.

But Ran Qing is no longer the weak boy who only knew how to run away and cry for help.

The departure of his sixth aunt took away his last bit of warmth in the world, and also his last bit of weakness.

Now, the only person he can rely on in this world is himself!

He keenly realized that Ran Jianfei might still have some lingering memories—memories related to his deceased wife.

These memories may be the clues to uncovering the truth.

Crouching beside Ran Jianfei, with her hands gripping his shoulders tightly, Ran Qing demanded fiercely, "Answer me! Why did the Ghost King Coffin take away your Xiaoxia?"

Ran Qing's fierce growl sounded like that of an enraged parent.

In an instant, Ran Jianfei, who was crying with tears and snot all over the ground, was stunned.

He stared blankly at his fierce-looking son, instinctively shutting his mouth and daring not to cry anymore, but the inertia of crying still made his body twitch.

The sobbing silence lasted for several seconds.

Ran Qing realized that her tone was a bit too fierce, so she softened it and said softly, as if coaxing a child, "I can find the Ghost King's Coffin and help you find your Xiaoxia... Can you tell me why the Ghost King's Coffin took your Xiaoxia away?"

Ran Qing asked for the reason.

But once Ran Jianfei calmed down and stopped crying and despairing, he reverted to his foolish state.

He stared blankly at Ran Qing, his lips moved slightly, and finally he said, "...Right, why did the Ghost King's Coffin take Xiaoxia away?"

Ran Jianfei stared blankly into the distance, his lips trembling, on the verge of tears again: "Why did the Ghost King's Coffin take Xiaoxia away! Xiaoxia did nothing wrong, why did they take her away!"

Ran Jianfei's voice was choked with sobs.

Seeing Ran Jianfei like this, Ran Qing fell silent.

He stared at the mentally challenged middle-aged man and asked him a few more questions.

But Ran Jianfei, who was indeed mentally impaired and couldn't remember anything, was indeed suffering from amnesia.

He only remembered that he had a wife named Xiaoxia, and he wanted to save Xiaoxia.

But he forgot everything else.

After asking several times without getting any results, Ran Qing had no choice but to get up and give up.

He glanced at his two companions beside him, his expression complex: "The trail has gone cold for now. This guy's really gone mad..."

Long Zongshu scratched his head and said cautiously, "Actually... the reason might not be that complicated? Do you remember what I said before? My family elders speculated that the opening of the Ghost Gate was because the evil spirits of the Ancient Luo Kingdom came out to catch ghosts and continue the heritage of the Ancient Luo Kingdom."

"Perhaps these pale, ghostly figures are also here to catch ghosts? It's just that the evil spirit that Auntie became after her death happened to come into their sights and become their target?"

Long Zongshu put forward this conjecture.

Mo Li suddenly shook his head and said, "...My wife's death and Aunt Ou being taken away, they actually have something in common, which may be related to their contact with the Ghost King's Coffin ten years ago."

Ten years ago, Ran Jianfei, his sixth aunt, and their group had already found the Ghost King's Coffin.

But for some unknown reason, they failed to open the Ghost King's coffin and gave up halfway.

Aunt Liu was indeed being chased by this group of pale, ghostly figures, and Ran Qing's mother was also taken away by this group of pale, ghostly figures.

Although Ran Qing's mother had never been in contact with the Ghost King's Coffin, Ran Jianfei had! And even though he was mentally impaired, he was still shouting about saving Xiaoxia.

Ran Qing's mother hanged herself ten years ago. How can you save someone who has hanged herself?
Ran Qing's expression changed slightly, and she said, "...Could it be that Ran Jianfei believes that the Ghost King Coffin has the ability to bring the dead back to life? That's why he went to find the Ghost King Coffin? But this led to my mother's ghost being targeted by the Ghost King Coffin?"

This conjecture explains why Ran Jianfei was interested in the Ghost King's Coffin ten years ago!

That's very possible!

If that's the case, then a lot of things make sense!

Mo Li nodded and looked at Ran Qing, saying, "This is the most likely guess, but it's just a guess. Perhaps the truth will only come out when we find the Ghost King's Coffin."

Ran Qing is only one step away from finding the Ghost King's Coffin.

But this final step led to failure at the crucial moment.

The spirit of his mother, who was supposed to be the final key to the Ghost King's Coffin, was taken away by the Ghost King's Coffin.

Next, he'll have to find other evil spirits to capture...

But having a goal is always better than knowing nothing at all.

At least Ran Qing had already guessed about many things and seen clues!

As the three people recounted their conversation, the environment around them gradually changed.

As the evil spirits that formed the foundation of the ghost city were taken away, the ghost city gradually crumbled.

When Ran Qing and the others returned along the way they came, they quickly found themselves back in the dark and gloomy government building.

But the dark and gloomy government building, the tree-lined path outside the building, the dilapidated factory buildings, the old staff dormitories, the broken basketball court... these buildings in the ghost town are collapsing and disintegrating little by little, turning into black mist and dissipating.

Ran Qing and the others quickly left the ghost city and arrived at the place outside the ghost city where they had taken the minibus before.

But even the minibus that carried them there turned into black mist and gradually dissipated in the darkness.

Finally, the entire ghost town of Raro disappeared.

When Ran Qing and the other two came to their senses, they found themselves standing in the middle of a dark wasteland, with a dirt road just a few meters ahead.

At this time, the sky was beginning to lighten with the first hint of dawn.

That strange old man, Kawamasu Tanikichi, has disappeared somewhere; perhaps he has long since vanished without a trace.

He didn't appear when Ran Qing broke through the Demonic Ground, so it's even less likely that he'll show up later.

The power of the spirit tablets of the deceased's ancestors is enough to deter such heretical and evil practitioners who are afraid of death.

Ran Qing and the other two, along with the mentally challenged Ran Jianfei, walked along the dirt road, stopping and resting from time to time. Shortly after dawn, they boarded the first minibus into the city.

After arriving in Moonlit City, they transferred to a minibus and went to the headless intersection on the outskirts of the city.

Their motorcycles were parked there.

Moreover, the mentally challenged Ran Jianfei will be handed over to his current family—his wife and daughter.

That Aunt Luo, at least in her dealings with people, is very considerate and not a mean-spirited woman.

She should have a general understanding of Ran Jianfei's identity and what he did. The couple's relationship also seems very deep.

There's no problem entrusting Ran Jianfei to her care.

Once Ran Qing finds the Ghost King's Coffin, he might be able to retrieve Ran Jianfei's remnant soul, which would allow this selfish middle-aged man to return to normal.

—That's what Ran Qing planned.

This suggestion was naturally the most appropriate, and no one objected.

The three of them, along with Ran Jianfei, who looked like a child with mental disabilities, returned to the headless road and found two motorcycles parked by the roadside, soaked with dew.

They had planned to ride their motorcycles back to the city, but to their surprise, the tent was still there behind the pine forest bend at the end of the road.

Inside the tent, a little girl was fast asleep, hugging an adorable doll. Her fair and delicate skin was so smooth and delicate that it looked like a porcelain doll, even cuter than the doll in her arms.

Her mother, Luo Xuefang, who had said she was leaving the night before, sat blankly outside the tent, staring into the distance, lost in thought.

She did not react when Ran Qing and the other two approached.

She only woke up with a start when Ran Qing called out to her.

After briefly explaining the situation, Ran Qing was about to hand Ran Jianfei over to this stepmother.

Luo Xuefang, her face calm, looked at her husband, who was standing behind Ran Qing in a dazed and confused state, with a hint of sadness in her expression. But as if she had expected this, she took a deep breath and nodded, saying, "Thank you, Ran Qing."

The woman's gratitude was sincere and heartfelt.

She walked toward her mentally challenged husband, her eyes slightly red.

Just as the loving couple was about to reunite, Ran Jianfei, who had been dull-witted and only knew how to obediently follow behind Ran Qing, saw his wife walking towards him.

The dazed fool suddenly froze.

The next second, he jumped away in terror and hid behind Ran Qing.

Caught off guard and staring in astonishment, Ran Jianfei grabbed Ran Qing's hand in terror, crying out, "She's a ghost! She's a ghost! I don't want to go with her! I don't want to go with her!"

The road to the execution ground, bathed in the morning sunlight, fell into a deathly silence.

(End of this chapter)