Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 353 Reunion
Here, it remains that eerie and magnificent stone hall.

But the ghost city outside the stone palace seemed to have undergone a completely different transformation.

Ran Qing, a practitioner of Yin-Yang cultivation, could not sense any of the cold, deathly aura of the Wujiang Ghost Realm.

It was as if he had unknowingly returned to the land of the living.

Little Cotton looked at Ran Qing with a blank expression and asked, "...What's going on?"

Little Cotton was completely bewildered.

I never expected that after passing through the ghost town and arriving at its very center, I would encounter such a scene.

Ran Qing frowned and remained silent, unaware of the current situation.

But the commotion outside was too great, so Ran Qing couldn't help but walk to the edge of the stone hall and stand behind the tall doorway, cautiously looking down at the scene outside.

Under the night sky, the mountain valley was brightly lit, and the buildings and streets were filled with people.

It looks like some kind of celebration is taking place here.

The pale, ghostly figures that had been floating around the eerie platform had vanished without a trace.

Ran Qing and the others felt as if they had entered a city of living people. The lively scene they saw was no different from a human celebration.

The only thing that seemed odd was the people in the city below.

Even Ran Qing, who didn't know much about ancient times, could tell that people in the crowded celebration were wearing clothes from different dynasties and periods.

But what they had in common was that they were all celebrating and dancing with torches held high through the long street.

There were also many song and dance performances, including dragon dances, lion dances, fire-breathing, and acrobatics, making it a truly lively and exciting event.

Ran Qing stared intently at the bustling city below, then looked back at the empty stone palace behind her.

The stone hall was empty; there was nothing inside.

The coffin of the Ghost King that he had expected was not there.

Little Cotton's body then moved closer to Ran Qing's feet, cautiously imitating Ran Qing's posture as she peered down at the city below.

The next second, Little Cotton's eyes widened in disbelief as she exclaimed, "Ran Qing, down there... there are so many..."

"So many people?" Ran Qing glanced at her, not surprised.

But Xiao Mianhua's answer made Ran Qing's heart tremble.

"No, there are so many dogs!" Little Cotton exclaimed incredulously. "There are dogs everywhere down there! They're running around all over the place! Like they're celebrating something!"

"No...no!"

Little Cotton suddenly realized something, her body trembled like a leaf, and her eyes were filled with fear.

"Those aren't dogs, they're people! People like me!"

"They're all just dogs in disguise!"

Little Cotton looked at Ran Qing in horror and said, "Why are so many people here being mutilated and harmed by the 'harvesting' technique?"

Although she's silly all the time, the memory of being tortured by Caisheng is definitely the psychological trauma that Xiao Mianhua fears the most.

Now she saw dogs all over the city, and they were all like her, victims of harpooning and mutilation...

Ran Qing lowered her head again, looking down at the city below.

These living people in the city are not dogs at all.

But Little Cotton saw dogs all over the city...

“Sometimes, we can’t trust what we see with our own eyes,” Ran Qing said slowly. “The eyes are the most easily misled organ in the body.”

It seems that the things in this eerie city can reflect the corresponding species based on the observer's identity?
Ran Qing was still pondering, frowning as she warily surveyed the city below.

Just then, a familiar girl's voice suddenly rang out from the side, startling Ran Qing.

"...Hey? Ran Qing, why are you standing here in a daze?"

The girl's clear, crisp voice rang out.

Ran Qing subconsciously turned her head to look at her back.

But the back of Ran Qing was empty; Li Hongye, whose tragic death had not occurred, was not on Ran Qing's back.

Li Hongye's voice, tinged with confusion, continued: "...Why are you looking at your back? Is there something on your back?"

Ran Qing stiffly turned his head and saw a figure standing a few meters away, a figure he knew all too well. A playful, smiling face, the familiar Yue Zhao City No. 3 Middle School uniform, and jet-black hair tied into a neat single ponytail with a pink hair tie... Li Hongye, his dearly familiar classmate from the next class.

A girl who harbors secret feelings for him, understands him implicitly, and is only one step away from becoming his lover.

The girl stood prettily in front of Ran Qing, smiling at him.

It's as if he never died.

Ran Qing was suddenly stunned by the sight of this incredibly vibrant and endearing girl.

He instinctively took a step back, feeling horrified.

But the person who walked the path of the dead did not sense any deathly aura or threat.

All he could feel was a warm intimacy and a vague intuition.

Is the girl in front of me really alive?

Ran Qing's brain was struggling to process the information in front of her.

But the girl who looked like Li Hongye had already stepped forward with a smile and taken his hand, saying, "What are you still standing there for? Hurry up and come home with me."

"Your aunt and grandma are waiting for you at home! You haven't seen them in so long, you must miss them."

Li Hongye smiled and pulled Ran Qing towards the outside of the stone hall.

After stepping out of the stone hall, Ran Qing suddenly noticed that Xiao Mianhua was walking in the opposite direction from him.

He blurted out instinctively, "Little Cotton..."

But Little Cotton wagged its tail happily and continued running in that direction, calling out, "Auntie!"

Little Cotton's eyes were full of tears; she cried tears of joy.

In the blink of an eye, she ran out of the stone hall from another direction and disappeared from Ran Qing's sight.

Ran Qing felt a chill run down her spine and instinctively wanted to chase after Xiao Mianhua to call her back—Xiao Mianhua had actually seen Aunt Liu?
Just as Ran Qing was about to lift her foot, her wrist was suddenly tightened.

The girl, who was clinging tightly to him, said with a grin, "Everyone has to go home... Ran Qing, we want to go home to you."

"Hurry up, don't delay, your aunt and grandma are waiting for you!"

The girl smiled and emphasized this point again.

"Oh, right, your sixth aunt is also waiting for you."

However, all the people she mentioned were already dead.

Ran Qing frowned as he looked at the girl in front of him, watching her pull him down from the high platform and drag him down to the brightly lit city below.

The city remained unchanged.

It still has that strange look of mixing and matching buildings from different eras.

But as the girl pulled Ran Qing along the street, everyone they saw cheered and laughed at them, especially Ran Qing, who was given friendly looks.

Occasionally, a few familiar, aged faces would appear, smiling and speaking.

"Long time no see, Ran Qing."

"How have you been these past few years, Little Stone?"

Those who came out to speak were all elderly people who had passed away in Ranqing Village.

They only smiled and exchanged a few words before standing by the roadside and watching Ran Qing leave, their eyes filled with envy as they watched Li Hongye pull Ran Qing away.

These familiar faces, along with the friendly attitude of the passersby, made Ran Qing have a vague idea.

At this moment, Ran Qing was dragged by Li Hongye through a large door.

In the courtyard inside the gate, I saw my mother sitting under the eaves, and my grandmother smiling kindly.

When the two relatives met again, they were just as vibrant as Li Hongye, standing beside her, looking exactly like living people, with no trace of inanimate objects.

The smiling mother sighed and stroked Ran Qing's head, saying, "...My little stone has grown up."

At this moment, even Ran Qing, who clearly understood that her mother had already died, was still deeply moved.

She could smell the exact same scent as her mother, hear the exact same voice, and have her head gently stroked.

Despite trying to remain calm, Ran Qing still felt a lump in her throat.

(End of this chapter)