Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 349 She has always been
Two rough, massive stone pillars stand silently on the mountain road ahead.

The two stone pillars were carved with extremely ugly and rough-lined bas-reliefs.

A glimpse into the style of indigenous tribes from a primitive era.

Upon seeing the two stone pillars, Little Cotton shrank its neck.

Although he saw through Ran Qing's little scheme and successfully caught up with her, he was very proud and boasted that he was Ran Qing's older sister and would take care of her.

But now that she actually saw the ruins of the ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom, this timid little girl, who was afraid of death and ghosts, still tucked her tail between her legs.

Ran Qing was speechless.

—If you're afraid of dying, why come here and try to be brave?

In the end, he just sighed, reached out and patted Little Cotton's head, reassuring her, "Don't be nervous, there's no danger here."

The two stone pillars in front were eerie and sinister, their bas-reliefs grotesque and crude, carrying a chillingly unsettling aura. But among these ugly and ferocious reliefs, there were two strikingly large gaps, as if what was originally carved there had been removed.

"...It's time to go to the human world."

Ran Qing murmured to herself, but did not let her guard down, still watching her surroundings warily.

On these two stone pillars, two fierce evil spirits should have been perched on the left and right, guarding the road leading to the gate of the ghost kingdom.

But perhaps because the red gate recently opened, these two ferocious demons left.

As a result, important parts of the stone pillars were missing, allowing Ran Qing to pass unimpeded through the path guarded by the two stone pillars.

As they passed the two stone pillars, the relief patterns on the pillars seemed to struggle and writhe, as if trying to leap out of the pillars and pounce on Ran Qing.

But they weren't the real deal. When Ran Qing passed by, he merely sprinkled two handfuls of incense ash, and the reliefs on the stone pillars froze.

These two stone pillars are a good omen.

After the red gate opened, the evil spirits of the ancient ghost kingdom truly flooded into the human world.

Little Cotton's fear subsided somewhat.

They continued on their way in the darkness for a while, and soon they saw a group of ancient buildings that were faintly visible in the moonlight in the valley ahead.

They resemble palaces.

Wait... moonlight? Where would moonlight come from in the Ghost Realm of Wujiang?
Ran Qing's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly looked up.

Only then did they notice a huge, pale eyeball floating in the night sky above the mountain hollow ahead.

In those pale eyeballs, there was almost no black pupil, but behind the eyeballs dragged many thick, writhing blood vessels.

The strange eyeball that emits a faint white light is this very eye.

It wriggled in the dark night sky, wandering and swimming as if it were alive.

As the giant eyeball seemed to sense something and its tendril-like blood vessels trembled as it looked this way, Ran Qing had already dragged Xiao Mianhua into the roadside woods and hid under the dense canopy.

The group of writhing, dead faces then followed Ran Qing's footsteps and also hid under the tree.

After passing through the two stone pillars, the dead faces fell silent.

They were no longer manic, but rather constantly and anxiously watching their surroundings, though their faces moved too quickly and too chaotically.

Instead, it makes their wriggling rise and fall like waves, making them look more like boiling noodle soup.

Little Cotton nestled uneasily at Ran Qing's feet, cautiously watching the faintly visible buildings in the distant mountain valley and the giant eyeball floating in the sky.

Little Cotton murmured, "...There are still ghosts who haven't gone to the human world."

But that enormous eyeball didn't look like a demon at all.

It looks more like... some kind of powerful evil lord.

Ran Qing said in a low voice, "Even if the Red Gate is wide open, it's impossible for all the ghosts to flood into the human world."

"It's not just the living who covet the Ghost King's Coffin."

The evil lords of the Wujiang Ghost Realm seem to crave the Ghost King's Coffin even more.

Most of the unorthodox practitioners in the human world come to the Ghost King's Coffin seeking the elixir of immortality, which is still elusive and whose authenticity is yet to be confirmed.

However, the evil lords in the same ghost realm of Wujiang seemed to have some kind of memorial tablet in the Ghost King's coffin. When Ran Qing opened the Yin Altar and became a Yin Walker, the strongest of the evil lords behind the Nuo opera mask came to see him in person and reached an agreement with him that he would not force him to fulfill it.

—If Ran Qing opens the Ghost King's Coffin in the future, please destroy one of the memorial tablets inside.

Not long ago, Ran Qing also ran into Ghost Eye Sheep God, who asked him to help destroy the memorial tablet in Ghost King's coffin.

These are the two types of evil lords who were able to negotiate with Ran Qing. There are countless other evil lords who covet the Ghost King's Coffin.

It's impossible for all the evil spirits of the ancient Luo Kingdom to come out; they must leave some to guard the Ghost King's coffin.

That's why this strange coffin has remained unopened for thousands of years.

Ran Qing hid in the dark woods, looking up at the giant eyeball in the sky, trying to find a gap in the eyeball's scanning.

But those eyes seemed to be fixed on this side; after turning their pale eyes around, they remained facing this direction and never looked away.

The cold, pale light also fell on the mountain forest where Ran Qing was, illuminating the desolate mountain path and the sea of ​​trees above the forest in a pale white light.

Little Cotton said in a trembling voice, "...Could it have seen us?"

A girl's soft voice suddenly rang out from the side.

"...If I saw you, I wouldn't just float there motionless."

The sudden sound of a young girl's voice startled Ran Qing and Xiaomianhua.

The two turned around abruptly and saw a pale, lifeless face lying listlessly on Ran Qing's back.

She was wearing the school uniform of Yue Zhao No. 3 Middle School, with hollow eyes and a blank expression; she was clearly a ghost.

The little cotton ball was so frightened that its fur stood on end.

"Li...Li Hongye!"

The ghost clinging to Ran Qing's back is clearly Li Hongye!
But wasn't Li Hongye trapped by her parents' blood-soaked corpses and unable to leave? How did she end up on Ran Qing's back?

Ran Qing's heart skipped a beat. He tilted his head in disbelief, looking at the dead face lying on his back, almost inches away from his own.

It was still that same pale, lifeless face, no longer the playful and bright one it had in life.

Even his voice sounded weak and tired, as if he might stop breathing at any moment.

But she did indeed climb onto Ran Qing's back, and appeared abruptly...

Ran Qing stared incredulously at the dead face so close to her, unsure of what to say.

Li Hongye's face was already weak, her bluish lips twitching as she struggled to make a sound, sounding exhausted and weak.

"...Pretending to be a ghost might fool that eye, but be careful..."

She seemed to have more to say.

But before she could finish speaking, Ran Qing faintly heard two venomous, angry, and blood-soaked wails.

The next second, Li Hongye's face and body were forcibly torn off his back by an invisible force.

It vanished into thin air.

At the last moment, Ran Qing heard Li Hongye's anxious shouts.

"……quick!"

Then came the blood-soaked corpse's venomous roar, and... the girl's wailing that quickly faded away.

She was like a disobedient child who was dragged home by her parents and subjected to some kind of terrible punishment.

In the dark woods, only Xiao Mianhua and Ran Qing remained, looking at each other in bewilderment.

After staring at each other for a while, Xiao Mianhua murmured, "...So she was on her back the whole time? That's why she was able to call you to remind you?"

"But how did she do it! She was on your back without you noticing. She must have needed some kind of medium."

"You didn't bring any of her belongings with you... How did she manage that?"

The little cotton ball was bewildered.

(End of this chapter)