Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 350 Yin Shou
Some sinister and evil spirits can indeed cling to living people for a long time, slowly harming and tormenting them.

But as a spirit medium, if Ran Qing really had a ghost crawling on his back, he might not feel it for a minute or two, but he would definitely realize something was wrong after a while.

If Li Hongye really wanted to hide on him, there was only one possibility: that Ran Qing carried some kind of relic that was very important to Li Hongye, which was necessary to carry her spiritual medium and prevent Ran Qing from discovering it.

but……

Ran Qing was certain that she did not have any of Li Hongye's belongings on her.

Frowning as she stared at the enormous eyeball in the dark sky, Ran Qing pondered as she reached into her canvas bag.

He grabbed some incense ash and smeared it on the cotton ball and his own face with the ash from the spirit medium.

Li Hongye said that as long as she disguised herself as a ghost, she wouldn't be targeted by that eyeball.

Coincidentally, the book "Witchcraft and Ghostly Arts" by those who practice Yin-Yang magic contains similar techniques.

The dry incense ash felt cool on my face.

After the incense ash was applied, Ran Qing's face turned deathly pale, truly resembling a ghost.

But simply wiping away the incense ash is not enough; the three burning flames on the shoulders must also be extinguished.

A person has three flames on their body, which are invisible to ordinary people, but are very conspicuous to ghosts.

Zong Shu's family's skills are related to these three fires.

Ran Qing took out a pen and paper, dipped it in some goat's blood, and quickly wrote two crooked and ugly characters on the paper.

This is a [Yin Qi Talisman].

It can be used to attract ghosts, to disguise or conceal one's yang energy... There are a total of eight uses.

Ran Qing quickly wrote down the [Yin Qi Talisman] and affixed it to both Xiao Mianhua and herself.

He then muttered incantations under his breath, pressing one hand on the talisman to draw upon the Yin energy within his body.

"...On the road to the underworld, ghosts howl; at the Bridge of Helplessness, wine floats in the water."

"Today we have invited a guest from the underworld... Lights out! Lights out immediately!"

Ran Qing murmured incantations, accompanied by the yin energy spreading across the paper talisman. His face grew paler and paler, and the aura of a living person on his body quickly disappeared.

Soon, hiding in the shade of the tree, he exuded an aura of death and coldness, resembling a real ghost.

Little Cotton shrank her neck, frightened by Ran Qing's strange change—her fear of ghosts had almost become a conditioned reflex.

But Ran Qing's hand pressed down on the paper talisman stuck to her head without saying a word.

Then came the same incantation, the same technique...

The yang energy in Xiao Mianhua's body also quickly dimmed.

Although dogs don't have pale faces, her eyes glowed with an eerie green light, as if two will-o'-the-wisps were rising from her pupils.

The sickly dog's body also appeared eerie and ferocious.

After taking a deep breath, Ran Qing carefully stepped out of the shade of the tree.

This time, however, the giant eyeball floating in the distant sky ignored him.

Although the eyeball kept staring in that direction, Ran Qing and Xiao Mianhua, who were both filled with deathly aura, were clearly ignored by the giant eyeball.

—Li Hongye's method is correct!

But how did she know how to deal with this eyeball?
Ran Qing's discomfort intensified.

This is the ruins of the ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom, where evil spirits roam. If it weren't for the Red Gate opening once every few decades, it wouldn't be so desolate and empty.

Even the evil lords deep within the ghost realm of Wujiang are unwilling to approach this place.

How did Li Hongye know about the weakness of this eyeball?
Ran Qing seemed to be deep in thought as she carefully led Xiao Mianhua inside.

Those writhing, dead faces were crawling at his feet.

As Ran Qing walked out of the woods, the dead faces seemed to regain their courage and dared to wriggle out.

But actually, once you get here, you don't need these dead faces; Ran Qing should be able to find the Ghost King's Coffin on her own.

According to ancient legend, the Ghost King's coffin was buried in the very center of the ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom. And the massive complex of buildings before us, nestled in a mountain valley and forest, is the most conspicuous and largest building in the forest... utterly eye-catching.

It was a high platform built of stones.

It is rough and unrefined, crudely crafted, made of stacked stones, with a square, pale stone house at the very top.

Almost from the moment Ran Qing saw that eerie platform, his intuition told him that it was the end.

But Ran Qing still followed these writhing dead faces cautiously, slowly making her way through the ruins.

In the empty, desolate ruins, there seemed to be no evil spirits left.

Along the roadside, some ancient buildings can be vaguely seen.

But these buildings are strangely shaped, including incredibly old thatched huts that seem to date back to the primitive era.

Some of them look exquisite and beautiful, like houses from the Qin and Han dynasties.

There are even small palaces in styles from a thousand years ago.

The most unusual thing was that Ran Qing saw a small earthen fort in the distance in the woods, which was strikingly similar to the earthen fort he had seen in his mother's tomb...

In this eerie ancient kingdom of ghosts, there are surprisingly buildings from different eras.

In a daze, Ran Qing remembered the conjecture that Zong Shu had told him.

"...Every few decades, the Red Gate opens, and the evil spirits of the Ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom surge out to seize people, taking the living inside to become ghosts!"

"Because ghosts also have a lifespan in the underworld! It's impossible for a ghost to have lived from thousands of years ago to the present!"

This is a conjecture by the Long clan.

But Ran Qing calmly observed her surroundings and discovered even more clues.

Although there are buildings of different eras and styles, most of them are still the earthen houses from the primitive era.

For some reason, he thought of the old man who could steal people's lifespan.

Then I thought of the ghost from my mother's ancestors, which could steal the lifespan of future generations...

It's possible that the evil spirits of the ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom flood into the human world every few decades.

But they may not actually be dead...

Ran Qing remained cautiously on guard, unsure how many evil spirits remained in this ghost kingdom.

But at least as he walked among these writhing, dead faces, he didn't encounter any evil spirits.

Everything in sight was empty.

It was as if the entire ghost kingdom had been emptied out.

At that moment, Little Cotton gently tugged at the corner of his clothes.

Ran Qing looked down and saw Xiao Mianhua trembling with unease as she said, "Ran Qing, there's... there's something following us!"

Little Cotton's reminder made Ran Qing's heart skip a beat.

He didn't turn around immediately, but instead listened quietly to the sounds behind him.

But the road behind them was completely silent, as if nothing was following them.

But after Xiao Mianhua's reminder, Ran Qing slowed down and tried to sense it, and sure enough, he noticed a strange aura that seemed to be there but not there.

But this cold and eerie aura doesn't seem like that of an evil spirit.

More like some kind of...

"Evil spirits and mountain monsters?" Ran Qing frowned.

The evil spirits and mountain monsters are all living beings; they could not possibly enter the Wujiang Ghost Realm, let alone penetrate this ancient Luo Ghost Kingdom.

What exactly is that thing following behind?

Ran Qing quietly took out her sixth aunt's bronze mirror and secretly glanced behind her.

(End of this chapter)