Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 50 The Ghost Walker (Bonus Chapter, Requesting Monthly Tickets)

In the darkness outside the door, it was as if an invisible giant bell was slowly tolling, making their eardrums numb and the bricks under their feet tremble.

Chen Dingkun's spirit trembled slightly, yet it seemed to be the only unshakable fulcrum in the entire ancestral hall.

The surrounding space was distorted, yet it always avoided him by half an inch.

Ah Zhe pressed his hand tightly against the back of his hand, his nails almost digging into his flesh. He swore he could hear something "sucking" from between his bones, slowly dragging his soul out.

The outline of the ancestral hall is still there, but all the colors have been lost, leaving only gray, black and a chilling dark red.

The air was cold and sticky, carrying the smell of ashes from burning paper money and a deeper, earthy odor, like that of the depths of a grave.

Occasionally, extremely faint sounds, like countless whispers or the hissing of wind passing through the gaps in the bones, would penetrate directly into the depths of the brain.

“Master…Master? What is this…” Xu Yan’s voice was dry. The fragment of “Abyss” in his right arm no longer throbbed, but instead exuded an almost lazy sense of satisfaction, as if he had returned to some kind of hometown, which made him feel a chill from the depths of his soul.

Chen Dingkun's spirit slowly turned around, his gaze first sweeping over the fire marks on A Zhe's hand, flashing a barely perceptible cold light, before finally landing on Xu Yan.

“The Gap.” Chen Dingkun’s voice sounded distant and weary here, no longer possessing the absolute pressure of the ancestral hall. “You used the ‘key’ and the brute force of the Blood Moon to break open a path that should not have existed. Did you really think that key was a bridge? Wrong. It’s more like a hook. If you’re lucky, you might be able to cross the river with it; if you’re unlucky, you’ll just be hooked away.”

His gaze, deep and unfathomable, fell upon the chaotic expanse outside the door:

“This place rejects the living. You are fortunate, yet it is also a calamity, that you were able to enter. This rift is unstable. If you cannot find your way back before the power of the blood moon weakens, then stay here and keep them company.” He flicked his sleeves slightly, pointing to the eerie shadows that slid past the window.

Xu Yan's heart trembled violently. The way home?
He subconsciously looked at Chen Zhiwei, who was barely breathing in the halo of light, and a huge panic gripped him.

If she can't find her way, won't she be doomed to perish here forever with him?
Just then, Chen Dingkun's soul shadow suddenly twitched slightly, as if listening to a sound coming from afar.

His graying brows gradually furrowed, and a deep sense of disgust and... a knowing solemnity flashed in his eyes.

“So that’s how it is… to choose this time…” he muttered to himself, then his gaze shot towards Xu Yan like a bolt of lightning.

"Xu Yan".

Xu Yan looked up abruptly when his master suddenly called his name.

“A ‘ghost marriage’ is about to take place here. A living person is married to a dead son-in-law, and the lifespan of the living is used to pay off the debts of the dead. It’s absurd and outrageous, yet there are always people who see it as filial piety and righteousness!” His words were laced with a kind of sarcasm that was almost like gritting his teeth.

Chen Dingkun's tone was quick and deep: "I heard that tonight's groom... is a young man whose lifespan has not yet ended, surnamed Xu."

As soon as the word "Xu" was uttered, Xu Yan's heart felt as if it had been suddenly gripped by an icy hand, and it skipped a beat for no apparent reason.

"I need to do everything I can to keep Zhiwei's soul fire burning, so I cannot leave the ancestral hall even for a moment."

His ghostly presence seemed to dim further, proving that what he said was true.

"Since you are here and possess the artifact that seals souls, this is the karmic entanglement you must sever."

Xu Yan's breath hitched.

He's not here on a mission! He's here to rescue Zhiwei!
The hidden danger in his right arm and the loss of his memory gnawed at his confidence like venomous snakes. He only wanted to escape from here with her. He had no energy left to care about other people's ghost marriages.

"Master, I..."

He wanted to say that he was not in a stable condition and that the most important thing was to leave, but when his eyes fell on Chen Zhiwei's pale face, all the words of excuses stuck in his throat.

He suddenly realized that if he forgot her name and appearance the next time he used the camera, what would be the point of his struggle now? A fear deeper than any ghost seized his heart in an instant.

Chen Dingkun seemed to see through his struggle, and his voice suddenly became stern:
"You think you can save her with elixirs? Ridiculous! Her soul flame is already flickering. If you don't accumulate some good karma for her, just wait and watch her crumble away bit by bit! This matter is no different from your efforts to save her!"

These words, though half true and half false, struck Xu Yan like a hammer blow, shattering his hesitation.

Upon hearing this, Ah Zhe suddenly looked up, his lips trembling, almost blurting out, "I'm just a temporary worker with a contract, why should I go with you guys to do this kind of weird stuff?!"

He gritted his teeth, cursing inwardly: Are these master and apprentice using me as a scapegoat? When we get out, I'll tear this contract to shreds in their faces.

But a sudden, sharp pain shot through the brand on the back of his hand, silencing his protest and leaving only a deathly pale expression of despair and resignation.

But when his gaze swept over Chen Zhiwei's lifeless profile, his resentment vanished abruptly.

"However, I am willing to make the trip to save Zhiwei."

Chen Dingkun's eyes seemed to show a hint of goodwill towards this young man.

Chen Dingkun said no more, and pointed to the path outside the door, hidden in the dark red:

"Follow this path, where joyful and sorrowful cries intertwine, that is the scene. Destroy the ritual, save the living person—if that person dies, their resentment may surge into this crevice, attracting something even more terrifying, at which point your journey home will be cut off!"

He paused, glanced at Xu Yan one last time, and said in a deep, resolute voice, "Use the power of your hand with caution. Here, it is both your shield and an anchor that can easily drag you into the abyss."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Dingkun's spirit retreated back into the halo of light in front of the offering table, as if merging into the shadows of the ancestral hall, and no longer glancing at them.

Xu Yan stood rooted to the spot, feeling as if a boulder was pressing on his chest. His master's words were like a fog, but he grasped the key point: this matter was related to saving Zhiwei and to the way home.

He glanced at the unconscious Chen Zhiwei, then at A Zhe, whose face was ashen but whose eyes were resolute. Finally, his gaze settled on his own hands, which were wreathed in an ominous power. He reached out and touched Chen Zhiwei's drooping fingertips very lightly and quickly. The moment his fingers touched Zhiwei's cold fingertips, he couldn't help but tremble.

A chill ran through him. If even Zhiwei was wiped out, what would he have left?
It felt like a hole had been punched in my chest, all reason was torn to shreds, and only one thought remained: I can't lose her.

He gritted his teeth and forced out a single word:

"Walk."

After saying that, he turned around first, resolutely stepped out of the ancestral hall, and entered that writhing, dark red unknown.

Ah Zhe felt the cold, burning pain on the back of his hand. In despair, he closed his eyes and could only grit his teeth and follow.

Their figures were quickly swallowed up by the distorted mist.

"The 'ghost marriage' over there... just happened to be chosen when the 'key' was restless and the 'abyss' was overflowing... Is it really just a coincidence?"

Chen Dingkun murmured softly, this time with a rare hint of wariness in his voice:

"'They'... actually predicted your arrival... can even 'forgetting' itself be used?"

The lights in the ancestral hall suddenly dimmed, as if swept by some invisible gaze.

That gaze was cold and ancient, as if it came from the deepest part of a dark red abyss. With just one glance, all the whispering portraits in the ancestral hall instantly fell into deathly silence.

(End of this chapter)