Yin Shou Shu

Chapter 404 Mountain Ghost
Ran Qing stared at the thick fog outside and said, "The Evil Lord told me that ancient Luo ghost soldiers are constantly gathering this way, and there are many of them..."

Ran Qing spoke of it casually.

In reality, the restless and ferocious evil lords all started shouting like madmen, demanding that Ran Qing open the Yin Altar and let the ghost soldiers in for a good feast.

But when the demon soldiers rush in, some of them might be eaten by the evil lords, filling their bellies.

But the few living people in the Yin Altar are absolutely doomed to die.

Ran Qing ignored the roars and urgings of the evil lords in her ears and told her companions about the situation in the fog.

Hearing that there were even more ghost soldiers outside, Mo Li and Zong Shu were both startled.

The corpse-driving Taoist Liu Fang sat up abruptly and rushed to the side of the ghostly figure in the mist, staring intently at the ancient evil spirit.

"...They're all here for this old ghost, aren't they?"

The corpse-driving Taoist priest said with a sinister look, "I roughly understand. That tragically deceased female ghost has a grudge against your group of ghost-raising people, so she's targeting you to kill you."

"Now you're the only one left, which is why that female ghost is fixated on you and sent so many ghost soldiers to hunt you down."

As the corpse-driving Taoist spoke, he glanced at Ran Qing and the other two not far away and said, "Kid, if we throw this old ghost out to feed the ghosts, those ghost soldiers might retreat. Then we can take advantage of the chaos to escape and leave this city as soon as possible."

The corpse-driving Taoist priest promptly offered his suggestion.

This suggestion was also Ran Qing's idea just now.

Li Hongye harbored deep resentment towards the ghost keeper. Now, the ghost keeper only had this old ghost, Gu Luo, left. Killing it would settle the grudges of Li Hongye's family.

—At least that's how it seems.

But the ghostly figure in the fog coldly said, "My mission has failed, and there is no point in me staying in the human world any longer."

"I couldn't save my sister back then, and now I can't save my people."

"I am a failure."

“But child, you are a descendant of the High Priest’s lineage.”

The ghostly figure, which had been speaking haltingly, suddenly began to speak fluently.

It stared intently at Ran Qing and said, "Your lineage has always been the high priest of our ancient Luo Kingdom."

“In the capital, there is a secret door that is open for you.”

"Go through the main gate, find a house with a golden roof, inside which is a stone door with a ghost face; it can take you wherever you want to go..."

"I beg you, go and stop that girl named Li Hongye."

"She has gone mad. Not only does she want to drag this city into the underworld, but she also wants to use the method of nurturing evil spirits with a red coffin lid to refine the corpse of a ghost king."

"If my sister's body is truly transformed into a blood corpse, not only will my sister's wandering soul be dragged back into the blood corpse to suffer, but that blood corpse will also become more powerful than ever before."

"At that time, many people will die..."

After the ghostly figure in the mist finished speaking, his gaze suddenly swept across the faces of everyone present.

The corpse-driving Taoist Liu Fang, Mo Li, Long Zongshu, and even Little Cotton... its gaze swept across everyone's faces, as if searching for something.

But in the end, it clearly didn't find what it was looking for.

The ghostly figure in the mist murmured, "If any of you see my sister, please convey this message for me—I'm sorry I didn't save her back then..."

After saying that, the old ghost in the fog turned around and walked straight out of the fog.

Its actions clearly indicate that it deliberately went out to let the wandering ghost soldiers kill it.

Everyone was shocked by this sudden change.

Mo Li called out urgently, "Uso..."

Ran Qing immediately put on a mask: "Stop!"

He and Mo Li spoke at almost the same time, trying to stop the ghostly figure in the fog from leaving.

After Ran Qing put on the mask, many bloated, transparent, strange hands suddenly stretched out from the Yin Altar behind her, all reaching out to grab the ghostly figure in the mist.

But the ghostly figure moved too fast.

It was originally standing at the edge of the altar, but now it suddenly retreated and almost instantly walked out of the altar's area.

The transparent, strange hands that stretched out from the main room behind Ran Qing wriggled through the people on the cement courtyard and crashed heavily into the edge of the Yin Altar at the edge of the cement courtyard, coming within arm's length of the ghostly figure in the mist.

But this short distance has become an insurmountable chasm.

The tentacles of the evil lords cannot extend beyond the altar of darkness.

The ghostly figure in the fog completely left the Yin Altar, walking alone into the depths of the thick fog to face the pale, ghostly figures wandering outside.

The piercing sound of suona horns, the booming sound of war drums, the eerie sound of cymbals, the strange sound of erhu... The once quiet cement courtyard was suddenly filled with countless noisy and sinister death notes.

Amidst the jarring, eerie music, one could vaguely see the fog churning within, as if many enormous things were writhing in the mist.

Ran Qing heard the angry curses of the evil lords.

"...Open the altar of the dead!"

"Bring them in!"

"How dare you make a scene here..."

"Eat them!"

"Eat them!"

The evil lords were furious and resentful, as if they had been greatly insulted.

The pale, ghostly figures crowding and wandering outside the altar drove them into a frenzy, like wild beasts whose territory had been trampled.

Ran Qing's face bore a vivid demon mask, its eyes bloodshot and its expression ferocious. The wooden mask seemed completely fused with flesh and blood, truly transforming into a ghost.

A strong sense of violence and rage surged within Ran Qing's body.

But he calmly and composedly suppressed this fierce emotion, slowly but firmly tearing off the mask from his face.

“…He’s dead.”

Ran Qing looked at her companions beside her, then at the Corpse-Driving Taoist, Long Zongshu, and Mo Li…

He said, "I saw it being torn to shreds by the ancient demon soldiers."

In the thick fog, the noisy and jarring music reached its peak of frenzy, sharp and piercing.

The loud music masked some terrifying noises.

But Ran Qing's ghost eyes, after putting on the Nuo opera mask, could see very clearly through the eyes of the evil lords.

In the thick fog outside, about ten meters away on the road, the greatest warrior of the ancient Luo Kingdom from thousands of years ago was being torn apart, chewed, and devoured by pale, ghostly figures.

The terrifying scene was chilling.

The demon, being torn apart and chewed up, screamed in agony, watching itself being dismembered repeatedly.

Ran Qing's account concealed the gruesome nature of her death, only stating that the evil spirit was torn to pieces, not wanting to upset her companion.

The corpse-driving Taoist priest showed no reaction, and hurriedly said, "Since things have come to this, let's quickly prepare to run away."

"That ghost has been torn to pieces, and Li Hongye's revenge has been completed. Once the ghost soldiers outside disperse, we should quickly escape Moonlit City."

"Damn it, I'm never coming back to this godforsaken place again."

The corpse-driving Taoist was extremely anxious, wishing he could immediately grow wings and fly out of Moonlit City.

Long Zongshu looked at him curiously and asked, "Daoist Master, are you just leaving like this? Aren't you going to stay and stop Li Hongye from refining the Blood Corpse?"

Long Zongshu scratched his head habitually, somewhat puzzled: "The Ghost King's corpse was cursed and possessed strange and powerful abilities. How terrifying would it be if such a body were refined into a blood corpse... I don't even want to think about it."

"If Li Hongye really succeeds in refining it, once this blood corpse is released, many people in Zangke will definitely die."

"It doesn't matter if the three of us run away, we're just ordinary people. But you're an investigator from Bureau 769. If you just run away like this, won't you be punished when you get back?"

Long Zongshu looked doubtful. Upon hearing this, the corpse-driving Taoist became furious.

"What nonsense are you spouting, kid!"

The corpse-driving Taoist priest jumped up and cursed, "I'm just an investigator. My job here is simply to investigate and record things. Do you expect me to exorcise ghosts and slay evil spirits?"

"Besides, that Li Hongye is so terrifying, what else can I do if I stay here except die?"

"At this time, we must preserve our strength, send messages out, and notify someone more powerful to stop her!"

The corpse-driving Taoist priest spoke with great conviction.

But I must say, what he said makes a lot of sense.

Long Zongshu hesitated, then asked, "...Would it be useful to send out the message?"

"Once the blood corpse is completed, it will wreak havoc on the land of Zangke... Who will stop it?"

“No matter how powerful you are, the mystical cultivators outside Zangke will have to be diminished when they come to this land of Zangke.”

Long Zongshu raised his own questions.

The corpse-driving Taoist stared at the three young people in front of him and said, "...What? Do you intend to stay and deal with that crazy girl?"

"She's hiding deep within the ghost realm of the Wujiang River!"

"You three kids, barely out of your teens, planning to rush into the ghost realm of the Wujiang River, become heroes, and slay ghosts and evil spirits?"

After the corpse-driving Taoist finished speaking, his eyes darted around, and he quickly changed his words, saying, "It's not impossible, you can stay here and stop the female ghost from getting involved."

"I ran out to get help."

"Let's work together to nip that female ghost in the bud and prevent her conspiracy from succeeding!"

The corpse-driving Taoist priest spoke with great passion and fervor.

But after he finished speaking, he found that Long Zongshu was looking at him with a disdainful look.

Mo Li, on the other hand, seemed dazed, lost in thought.

Ran Qing stared at the thick fog outside, remaining silent as well.

Seeing that Long Zongshu was not easy to talk to, the corpse-driving Taoist immediately looked at Ran Qing and said, "Boy, you are a spirit medium, this is your territory, what do you think we should do?"

"Are you really going to listen to that ancient evil spirit and go to the Wujiang Ghost Realm to die?"

"In the capital of that ancient Luo Kingdom, who knows how many evil spirits and demons there are!"

"You three kids going in is practically suicide."

"Why don't we listen to me and hurry up and escape from Moonlight to get help from outside?"

The corpse-driving Taoist priest spoke earnestly and anxiously.

He didn't want to die in this remote mountain town in the southwest.

Ran Qing, who had been silent in the fog for a long time, finally looked up when the corpse-driving Taoist spoke to her.

He looked at his two companions and Liu Fang, the corpse-driving Taoist priest.

After a few seconds of silence, Ran Qing said, "...Master Liu's words make a lot of sense. Let's act together."

“I’m going into the Wujiang Ghost Realm to get involved with Li Hongye. You guys take this opportunity to leave and go outside to get reinforcements.”

Seeing that Long Zongshu was about to speak, Ran Qing stopped him.

"Zongshu, once you leave the city, go to the stone courtyard immediately and rescue Grandpa and Grandma."

“The stone courtyard is too close to Moonlit City. Even if it is not dragged into the Netherworld, once the Ancient Luo Kingdom is destroyed, my grandparents who stayed in the stone courtyard will be in danger.”

Ran Qing carried out her grandparents and tried to call her companion away.

He didn't intend to leave. Besides having some questions to ask Li Hongye and some things to settle with her, he also didn't want the Ghost King's corpse to be turned into a blood corpse.

When Ran Qing unleashed this trump card, which was almost a form of moral blackmail, the reactions of her two companions were quite subtle.

Long Zongshu's expression was sad and complicated. Mo Li also woke up from his daze and glanced awkwardly at Ran Qing.

Then, Mo Li said in a low voice, "...While you were asleep, Old Sheepskin called and said that Zong Shu's grandparents had been dead for half a month."

Ran Qing was taken aback by Mo Li's words.

He looked at Zong Shu in disbelief, somewhat bewildered: "Grandpa and Grandma have been dead... for half a month?"

They just came back from the stone courtyard a few days ago!

Mo Li said quietly, "When Old Sheepskin was fleeing, he took a slightly detour, intending to go to the Stone Courtyard to pick up Zongshu's grandparents as well."

"But when he arrived at the stone courtyard, there were only two coffins buried in the main room of the Long family's old house. The coffins were not covered with soil, and inside were two rotting corpses. It was estimated that they had been dead for more than half a month."

"Judging from their appearance, they are Zongshu's grandparents."

"Old Sheepskin went to ask the people in the village, but no one knew that someone in the Long family had died. The other Long family members living in the stone courtyard said that the old man showed up half a month ago and warned everyone not to go to his house, and then no one had seen him since..."

The situation described by Mo Li was extremely bizarre.

Ran Qing looked at Zong Shu in surprise, only to see that Zong Shu looked sad.

He murmured, "...It's a secret technique passed down through the Long family, which allows people to become mountain spirits after death and linger in the human world for a period of time."

"The grandparents we saw when we went to the stone courtyard a few days ago were already ghosts..."

Ran Qing was speechless upon hearing Zong Shu's words.

At this moment, he instinctively recalled the mysterious and eerie voice of Zong Shu's grandfather that had rang in his ears when he left the stone courtyard.

At the time, Ran Qing thought it was some kind of secret technique of the Long family.

But now it seems that Grandpa Zongshu from that time has become a ghost, and may be following in the fog.

And there were also Grandpa Zongshu's warnings to Ran Qing: Be careful of women...

At the time, Ran Qing didn't understand why Grandpa Zongshu said that.

But now it seems that Grandpa Zongshu was probably referring to Li Hongye, right?

Grandpa Zongshu, who has become a mountain spirit, may have already left the stone courtyard and is wandering around the moonlit land.

Moreover, the mountain spirit he transformed into was extremely mysterious; even Ran Qing, a practitioner of spirit communication, could not sense anything unusual about it.

Perhaps the old man, through this secrecy, secretly investigated and discovered many truths.

He probably knew about Li Hongye's problem a long time ago...

He might even know that Li Hongye had someone on Ran Qing's side, which is why the old man deliberately played the riddle and didn't directly reveal Li Hongye's name.

At that time, Ran Qing's greatest enemy was still the ghost raiser and the ghost behind him.

He never imagined that Li Hongye would become the ultimate mastermind...

Ran Qing, lost in thought and silent, was thinking at a rapid pace.

I finally understood the old man's unusual behavior when I visited the stone courtyard last time.

But why was the old man unwilling to appear as a ghost?

Is the old man wary of Ran Qing, who is a spirit medium...?

Ran Qing, who was speechless, looked up at Zong Shu. At this moment, Ran Qing was more clumsy than ever before and did not know how to comfort her companion.

The corpse-driving Taoist priest, who was waiting on the side, was so impatient that he couldn't help but interrupt the three of them.

"...So when are we leaving?"

"If this drags on any longer, who knows when Moonlit City will be dragged into the Netherworld!"

(End of this chapter)