Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 108 The Road to the Underworld, the Red Spider Lily

Huangquan.

When these two ominous and death-inducing Chinese characters, like two still-weathered bloody wounds, were fiercely imprinted on Bai Yu's retina, even his heart, which had long been accustomed to coldness and despair, couldn't help but contract violently.

A chill originating from the most primal instincts of living beings, like a venomous snake with life, silently climbed upwards from his tailbone, instantly seizing his soul and freezing his blood, which had just calmed down slightly after escaping the pursuit, once again.

He stood quietly on the gray-white beach, gazing at the massive, dark red torii gate that resembled a mountain.

That is not just a simple building.

It seemed to be alive.

Bai Yu could clearly feel the immense, suffocating pressure emanating from the two enormous pillars made of unknown wood, a pressure filled with an ancient and decaying aura.

The oppressive force was so heavy that even the air around it, which should have been eternally still, seemed to distort slightly under its weight.

Behind the torii gate is a path made up of countless stone lanterns emitting a ghostly green light. The path winds upwards like the spine of a dragon, stretching all the way to the mountaintop shrouded in even deeper darkness.

In the darkness atop the mountain, the outline of an ancient shrine, full of Japanese style, appeared faintly, like a silent beast lurking in the darkness, scrutinizing him, the uninvited "intruder," with its unseen eyes.

Is this... the source of that distant, melodious bell?
This... is the end of this desolate world forgotten by time?
Bai Yu did not act immediately.

His deep, ancient eyes calmly scanned the surroundings, his brain working at an unprecedented speed, analyzing the bizarre and impactful scene before him.

In Japanese mythology, the torii gate is a "gate" connecting the divine realm and the secular world.

Once you cross it, you've entered a completely new realm governed by entirely different rules.

And this torii gate bearing the name "Yomi" (the underworld) is undoubtedly a one-way ticket to hell.

Is it better to stop here, return to that station which, although equally full of unknowns, is at least "safe," and passively wait for a "miracle" that doesn't even exist?
Or should we choose to pass through this "door" filled with death and ominousness, and actively throw our fate into that deeper and more dangerous unknown?
Bai Yu hesitated for less than a second.

Familiar faces involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

There was Anmu's face, always bearing the responsibility on his own shoulders.

There was Mo Fei's face, always sporting a cheerful smile, but always the first to shield him in the most dangerous moments.

There's Lan Ce's face, hidden behind thick glasses, that speaks the most sarcastic words yet calculates the optimal route for him.

And then there's Lu Yueqi's face, which often carried a hint of timidity, yet at crucial moments it could unleash a brilliance more courageous than anyone else's.

They... must still be waiting for me.

They must be using every method at their disposal to try to find the "coordinates" that can bring them back home in that stagnant sea filled with chaos and danger.

I can't... let them down.

A flame, brimming with warmth and power, quietly ignited in his icy sea of ​​soul.

Bai Yu slowly exhaled a breath of stale air.

In those deep eyes, all hesitation and confusion receded like the tide, leaving only an unwavering determination and resolve, as firm as a rock.

He took a step, one after another, and walked resolutely toward the huge torii gate that exuded an endless ominous aura.

Every step was taken with such composure and strength.

It was as if he was about to step into not some hell filled with death and danger, but a brand new battlefield waiting for him to conquer.

Just as his foot was about to step over the invisible threshold formed by the torii gate, he subconsciously stopped.

He bent down and picked up a gray pebble, no bigger than a thumb, from the ground.

Then, with extremely gentle force, he threw the pebble into the space behind the torii gate.

There is no sound.

The pebble, the moment it passed through the torii gate, was like an ice cube being dripped with concentrated sulfuric acid; it was silently and completely "swallowed" by that space, leaving not even a trace of its existence.

Bai Yu's eyes narrowed slightly.

really.

Behind this "door" lies a realm of rules with a higher "status".

Anything that doesn't belong to that domain will be completely assimilated and erased by its rules once it enters.

He did not make any further attempts.

Because he knew he had no way out.

He took a deep breath, and then, under the immense pressure that could freeze one's soul, he resolutely took that fateful step.

The moment he passed through the torii gate, a strong sense of tearing and detachment, like countless red-hot steel needles, pierced into every corner of his soul!
He felt as if his consciousness had been forcibly pulled out of his exhausted body by an invisible giant hand, and then roughly stuffed into a completely unfamiliar container!

The whole world underwent a dramatic transformation before his very eyes!

The surrounding gray-white beach and still ocean, like a giant piece of glass shattered, broke apart in a silent twist!
Instead, there was a vast, dark red wasteland filled with the atmosphere of death and sorrow.

The sky was no longer grayish-white, but instead took on a dark red color, like congealed blood.

A huge, crescent moon, radiating a pale white light, hung silently above the dark red sky like the eye of death, scrutinizing the land with its icy gaze.

The air was thick with an overwhelming stench of blood and decay.

Beneath Bai Yu's feet was no longer hard sand, but a road paved with countless white bones.

Ahead of that path of bones lay an enormous, almost exaggerated, river.

That was not a river in the true sense.

The river was not filled with clear water, but with a gray mist that churned like a thick soup.

Within that gray mist, countless pale arms could be vaguely seen, like tentacles reaching out from the depths of hell, waving wildly as if trying to grab any living thing that dared to approach them and drag it into that endless abyss.

Waves of agonizing and desperate howls and whispers, like living venomous snakes, emanated from the gray mist, relentlessly eroding his sanity.

Santu River.

In Japanese mythology, all the dead must cross a river filled with despair and suffering on their way to the underworld.

Bai Yu's expression turned extremely solemn.

He knew that he was facing his first and most fatal test since entering this field.

He slowly walked to the riverbank where gray mist was swirling.

He could clearly sense a terrifying power of rules emanating from that river, a power imbued with the concept of "devouring".

Any living thing possessing the breath of "life" will be completely devoured by that power, along with its soul, once it steps into it, becoming one of those countless waving arms.

How could he cross this river filled with death?

He subconsciously touched his pocket.

Clown cards?

No. This card is currently his most powerful and uncontrollable trump card. Using it here would be too wasteful and too dangerous.

Sextant?
Although this thing contains a huge amount of life energy, its main functions are "location" and "protection", and it does not seem to be able to help him cross the river in front of him, which is full of "devouring" rules.

His gaze slowly swept over the surrounding environment.

This is a desolate wasteland filled with death, where there are no materials available to make tools for crossing the river.

Just when his usually calm mind was about to fall into a desperate situation where he had no way out.

His fingertips inadvertently touched the old, yellowed newspaper he had found in his pocket.

A faint, almost negligible force of "obsession" flashed across the fragile piece of paper. Bai Yu's eyes suddenly lit up!
He thought of it!

He came up with an incredibly bold and crazy way to break the deadlock!

Since this world is made up of countless "forgotten obsessions".

Since this river is composed of countless "forgotten souls".

So……

If I were to use an entity that also comes from "forgotten memories" as a "boat," would I be able to safely cross this river filled with the rules of "devouring"?
This is a crazy gamble with absolutely no basis.

However, in this desperate world, he had no other choice.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately and carefully took out the old newspaper, bearing the marks of time, from his pocket.

Then, he squatted down and, with his skillful hands that had once been used to decipher countless complex rules, with a posture full of piety and focus, carefully folded the fragile newspaper into a childlike... paper boat.

The paper boat was so small and so fragile, as if it would shatter completely at the slightest touch.

Bai Yu looked at the paper boat in his hand, which carried all his hopes, and took a deep breath.

Then, he slowly bent down and gently placed the paper boat onto the surface of the river, which was churning with gray mist.

An incredible sight has occurred!
The fragile paper boat, which should have been completely swallowed up by the mist the moment it came into contact with it, actually seemed to have come to life, emitting a faint but incredibly tenacious power of "obsession"!
That force, like an invisible protective shield, ruthlessly repelled the gray mist that tried to approach it, as well as the waving arms within the mist!

It floated there quietly on that river filled with death and despair, like a ship of hope that would never sink in the midst of raging waves!

It worked!
Bai Yu's heart was ignited with an overwhelming joy at surviving a catastrophe!

Without further hesitation, he carefully placed his exhausted body onto the tiny paper boat, no bigger than the palm of his hand.

The moment he sat down, the paper boat seemed to sense his will, and without any wind, it carried him slowly towards the distant opposite shore.

……

The process of crossing the Sanzu River was much longer and more torturous than Bai Yu had imagined.

Although the paper boat beneath him shielded him from most of the direct erosion from the river water.

However, the spiritual pollution filled with negative emotions still surged towards his soul like an invisible tide from all directions.

He could clearly hear, within that gray mist, countless souls filled with pain and despair, wailed and cursed in his ears without end.

"...It's so cold...I'm so cold..."

"...Mom...where are you...I miss you so much..."

"...I don't want to die...I don't want to die!..."

"...Why...why can only you go over there!...Come down! Come down and join us!..."

The voice was so real, so infectious, as if it wanted to drag him into that abyss of despair and make him one of them.

Bai Yu could only bite her lip tightly, using the intense pain to barely maintain the last shred of clarity in her mind.

He knew that if his will wavered even slightly, he would be trapped in this river of suffering forever, never to be reborn.

I do not know how long it has been.

Just as his nerves, stretched to their limit by excessive mental pollution, were about to snap completely.

The paper boat that had been carrying him forward finally, after a slight tremor, slowly approached the unknown shore on the other side.

Bai Yu felt as if he had been granted a pardon. He tumbled and scrambled off the paper boat, crashing heavily onto the cold, hard ground.

He gasped for breath, like a fish on the verge of dying of thirst, greedily inhaling the air that, while still filled with the scent of death, at least no longer contained that suffocating mental pollution.

The paper boat behind him, after completing its final mission, finally exhausted the power of "obsession" contained within it.

In a silent twist, it transformed back into that old newspaper, bearing the marks of time, before being completely swallowed by the surging gray mist and disappearing.

Bai Yu did not turn back.

He simply faced the river filled with despair and sorrow, and slowly lowered his head.

"Thank you, Mr. Suzuki."

He spoke softly, in a voice only he could hear.

……

After resting for nearly ten minutes, Bai Yu's soul, which had been almost exhausted from overexertion, finally regained a faint glimmer of life.

He struggled to lift his leaden body from the cold ground and began to calmly observe this new area.

This is behind that huge torii gate, and also the only way to the shrine on the mountaintop.

An ancient path, paved with countless bluestone slabs of varying sizes, winds its way up like the spine of a dragon, disappearing into the mountaintop shrouded in even deeper darkness.

Along the approach to the temple, rows of stone lanterns carved from unidentified black rocks stand.

The stone lanterns were shaped with a rustic and eerie beauty, and their surfaces were carved with ancient runes that he couldn't understand.

Inside the lantern, clusters of eerie green flames, like will-o'-the-wisps, burned silently, emitting an unsettling glow that provided the only light source for this path leading to the unknown.

Beyond those areas shrouded in eerie green light lay an endless sea of ​​red flowers, filled with an eerie and deathly aura.

Countless spider lilies, existing only in legends, bloom wildly on this land shrouded in death, like flames stained with blood.

Their eerie red petals, illuminated by the ghostly green light, appeared even more sinister and ominous.

Bai Yu could clearly sense that within that seemingly beautiful sea of ​​flowers, countless pairs of malicious eyes were silently watching him, the only "living being."

He knew he could not leave the path paved with bluestone slabs.

Once he steps into that sea of ​​flowers, he will immediately become food for those unknown beings.

Without further hesitation, he took a step and embarked on the ancient path leading to the summit.

However, the moment his foot stepped onto the first bluestone slab, his pupils contracted sharply once again!
He saw that, illuminated by the eerie green light cast by the stone lantern in front of him, his shadow seemed to come alive, violently twisting and elongating on the ground!
In the end, it transformed into a terrifying monster with long limbs, resembling a spider!

The monster, formed from his own shadow, slowly rose from the ground. Then, it turned its blurry face and stared intently at him with eyes made of pure darkness.

Shadowwalker.

A terrifying monster that only exists in Japanese urban legends.

It will reside in a person's shadow, and then, in some unexpected moment, replace the existence of the original person.

At this moment, Bai Yu's heart sank into an endless abyss.

He finally understood the rules of this path.

The light from those stone lanterns was not for illumination.

It is used to "summon" shadows.

Any "living thing" touched by that eerie green light will have its shadow completely distorted and assimilated by the rules of this land, turning it into a "shadow ghost" full of malice!
The shadow ghost, formed from his own shadow, stared at him for a few seconds, then slowly grinned, revealing a smile identical to his own, filled with coldness and mockery.

Then, it extended its black claws, which were like sharp blades, and gestured to him as if to say "please".

It's as if it's saying—

Come on, let's play a... deadly game of chasing and being chased.

(End of this chapter)