Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 348 I'm the Older Sister

He had planned to walk this final leg of the journey alone.

You can only go alone.

As the dead face writhed on her body and the anxious figure of the girl faded from her sight, the world before Ran Qing's eyes began to blur.

That feeling of time and space being reversed, my mind going blank, and my body seemingly falling wildly in endless darkness resurfaced once again.

But this time, he fell extremely fast and deeply.

It seemed as if we had fallen into a place we had never been before.

In the darkness, many sharp and eerie hisses echoed in my ears, strange and gloomy howls, as if passing through the lairs of terrifying and evil monsters.

The moment Ran Qing stood firmly on his feet once again, he paused, looked down and saw the little cotton ball standing at his feet.

A large, sickly dog, dressed in a dog skin, was affectionately rubbing its head against his feet, as if happily showing off—you didn't expect that, did you? I caught up with you!
Ran Qing originally didn't even plan to bring Xiao Mianhua along.

Although Little Cotton, as a spirit medium, was an important guide for him, this final journey was too dangerous, and Ran Qing ultimately decided to go alone.

Since I have no ties to anyone, even if I die in the ghost realm of Wujiang, it won't be a loss.

But he never expected that the usually silly little cotton would be so clever at this moment, anticipating his actions and following him.

Ran Qing's attention was so focused on Mo Li that she forgot to be wary of this silly girl.

Standing in the darkness, looking at Xiao Mianhua's smug eyes, Ran Qing smiled wryly: "...What are you doing here?"

And this silly cotton can actually predict that he will leave alone?
Even the quirky Mo Li was kept in check by Ran Qing's tactics of deception over the past two days, never expecting that Ran Qing would shake her off at the last moment.

That brat Xiao Mianhua is smarter than usual!

When Ran Qing asked her a question, Little Cotton wagged her tail proudly and said, "I'm your older sister! Now that Aunt Liu is gone, I have to take good care of you so you won't have to go on adventures alone."

Although he has the temperament of a child who never grows up, he is usually a bit silly and dull.

But Xiao Mianhua is indeed older than both Mo Li and Ran Qing. According to age and seniority, Ran Qing and Mo Li should both call her "Sister Mianhua".

Deep within the dark ghost realm of the Wujiang River, a chilling wind howls and an aura of death pervades.

For a living person, this is as bitter as the cold wind of winter.

If a living person stays in this gloomy and deathly atmosphere, their blood and energy will be constantly depleted, and they will die suddenly if they do not leave in time.

But Ran Qing, a person who walks the underworld, felt completely at ease in this dark and deathly underworld, without the slightest discomfort.

He looked around at the dark ground and barren forest, and said quietly, "It seems we've gone directly into the back of Wuzhai Pass..."

Normally, to cross the underworld, one must first enter the outer perimeter of the Wujiang Ghost Realm, and then walk through the Ghost Gate on foot. Only after passing through the Wuzhai Pass behind the Ghost Gate can one reach the depths of the Wujiang Ghost Realm.

This time, however, Ran Qing passed directly through the Wuzhai Pass and landed deep in the eerie and dark depths of the Wujiang Ghost Realm.

The dead face that emerged from the vat may have taken him to a dark and mysterious place he had never been before.

In the darkness, writhing, dead faces howled excitedly as they writhed forward, like a giant, flowing pool of jelly.

Ran Qing stood amidst the writhing, lifeless faces, not daring to pause for a moment, and quickly followed.

Normally, these dead faces were under his command, surrounding him and at his feet.

However, once the technique of refining ghosts in the vat was completed, these dead faces were no longer under Ran Qing's control.

They simply howled excitedly and crawled on their own toward the dark depths of the Wujiang Ghost Realm, in search of the Ghost King's Coffin.

If Ran Qing didn't keep up, she would soon be left behind by these dead faces. Fortunately, although these dead faces were excited and manic, they weren't moving very fast.

Ran Qing moved as if she were taking a walk in the dark.

Little red rope figures crawled out of his canvas bag, jumping and wriggling at his feet, forming a flowing red carpet.

Upon entering the ghost realm of Wujiang, these little red-rope figures also came to life.

However, the little red rope figures did not escape Ran Qing's control; they continued to surround Ran Qing.

Little Cotton followed closely behind, curiously observing the desolate land in the darkness.

At first glance, the depths of the Wujiang Ghost Realm seem no different from the Zangke region in the human world.

The rugged mountains, the dense and gloomy forests that appear from time to time, and the mountain trails that can be seen occasionally in the mountains and forests.

If it weren't for the chilling winds and the fact that the two hadn't encountered any evil spirits along the way, they would have almost doubted whether this place was the underworld.

Little Cotton said somewhat warily, "Ran Qing, are we really on the right track? How come we haven't seen a single ghost..."

The "little cotton ball" refers to a dark, gloomy dwelling.

Deep within the ghost realm of the Wujiang River, there exist the yin dwellings of those vengeful ghosts from the human world.

Whenever Ran Qing ventured deep into the Wujiang Ghost Realm, she would occasionally encounter strange objects and dwellings in the darkness—these were the haunted houses of vengeful ghosts in the underworld.

But this time, all Ran Qing and Xiaomian saw along the way was a desolate and barren landscape. There were no strange objects or houses, and no evil spirits or ghosts wandering around.

This dark mountain area is like a deserted forbidden zone, with no trace of any vengeful ghosts.

Even the legendary evil lords who supposedly roamed the depths of the ghost realm of the Wujiang River have vanished without a trace...

Ran Qing frowned as she looked at the dark forest before her, which was almost identical to the human world, recalling the sounds she had vaguely heard when she fell.

He said slowly, "...We may have already reached the ruins of the ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom."

After entering Wuzhai Pass, the first place you pass through is undoubtedly the area filled with vengeful ghosts and haunted houses.

That area is riddled with yin dwellings, and occasionally evil spirits roam around, but they are rare.

According to the records in "Witchcraft and Ghostly Arts", there are countless evil lords wandering in the ghost realm of Wujiang.

In the primitive era, the people of Zangke worshipped their own evil lords in each tribe and village, and the number of those evil lords was astonishing.

This group of evil lords roams a specific area of ​​the Wujiang Ghost Realm.

According to Ran Qing's guess, it was located between the ruins of the ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom and the haunted house of the vengeful ghost.

Only after crossing the area where the evil lords roam can one truly enter the heart of the Wujiang Ghost Realm and approach the ruins of the Ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom.

This ancient kingdom, supposedly ruled by evil spirits, mysteriously perished thousands of years ago, seemingly falling from the human world into the ghost realm of the Wujiang River.

Some speculate that the entire Wujiang Ghost Realm was created due to the fall of the Ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom.

The method of refining ghosts in a vat by those who practice the Yin-Yang ritual is indeed powerful.

They quickly led Ran Qing through the two extremely dangerous and troublesome areas ahead, delivering him to the gates of the Ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom...

Just as this thought crossed Ran Qing's mind, two thick stone pillars suddenly appeared in the darkness ahead, flanking the mountain road on the left and right.

(End of this chapter)