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

Chapter 118 Midnight
Xicheng Old Street, antique area.

This is the oldest, most chaotic, and most filthy place in the city. On the surface, it's an elegant place selling antiques, calligraphy, paintings, jade, and emeralds, but those in the know understand that it's the gateway to the underground black market.

You can buy anything here, as long as you can afford it.

This includes funerary objects tainted with malevolent energy, and even... materials stripped from the corpses of nightmares.

Bai Yu, wearing a long black trench coat, strolled along the slightly gloomy street with her hands in her pockets. Although it was daytime, the buildings here were mostly tall and densely packed, like rows of tombstones, cutting the sunlight into fragments.

"What terrible taste."

In his mind, Hei Yan's voice was full of disgust: "Everything here is tainted with the stench of mortal greed, it's an insult to the word 'antique'."

"Be patient."

Bai Yu responded in his mind, his gaze sweeping across the stalls on both sides like radar. "The standard weapons in the bureau are useful, but they are too 'orthodox.' What I need now is a vicious weapon that can bear the power of nothingness, and even contain your abnormal power of rules."

While "Severing Thoughts" is powerful, it's a specialized weapon against spiritual entities. Against monsters like the "Abyss Watcher," which possess physical attack capabilities, it proves somewhat inadequate.

He needs a purer, more violent knife.

hum.

A faint purple-gold light flickered in the depths of his eyes, signaling the activation of "True Vision".

The once dazzling array of antique stalls instantly transformed.

Those "Song Dynasty porcelains" priced at hundreds of thousands of yuan are nothing more than a pile of garbage reeking of modern industrial glue in Bai Yu's eyes; those jade pendants that are touted as "consecrated ritual objects" are not surrounded by spiritual energy, but by the weak magnetic field left by the saliva of swindlers.

Rubbish.

It's all garbage.

Bai Yu shook her head and quickened her pace.

He stopped abruptly in front of a small, run-down shop at the end of the street, a shop without even a sign.

An extremely subtle yet sharp aura emanated from deep within the shop, causing a slight stinging sensation on his skin.

"Oh?" Hei Yan's voice suddenly rose an octave. "Interesting. This smell... is the smell of 'killing'. And it seems to be sealing something interesting inside."

Bai Yu smiled slightly and pushed open the door to enter.

The shop was dimly lit, and the air was filled with a musty and rusty smell. An old man with one eye was lying in a rocking chair listening to the radio. When he saw Bai Yu enter, he merely raised his eyelids slightly without saying a word.

Without wasting any words, Bai Yu walked straight to a pile of broken copper and scrap iron in the corner.

There were piles of rusty ironware and broken sword hilts, which looked like they had been collected from a scrap yard.

Without hesitation, he reached out and brushed aside the debris, pulling out a long, thin object without even a sheath.

That's a knife.

Or rather, it was a long, narrow strip of iron covered in dark red rust. The handle was half rotten, and the blade was pitted and uneven, looking as if it would break in two with the slightest force.

"Young man, that's scrap metal."

The blind old man suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, "It was dug out from an ancient battlefield site ten years ago. It's very hard; you can't melt it. It's just been sitting there ever since. If you want it, take it for five hundred yuan."

"five hundred?"

Bai Yu smiled, took out five red bills from his pocket and placed them on the table. "Deal."

He grasped the "scrap metal," his fingertips gently stroking the rough rust on it.

In "realistic vision," this knife is nothing but scrap metal.

Those dark red rust marks are actually layers of blood scabs that have dried for thousands of years. They act like seals, tightly locking away the extremely violent black evil energy inside the blade.

This is a peerless, deadly weapon that has killed tens of thousands and drunk the blood of ghosts and gods!
"Hey, Black Words, do me a favor."

"Happy to oblige."

hum!
An invisible spiritual wave surged from Bai Yu's palm and instantly entered the blade.

Click!Click!
With a series of fine cracking sounds, large chunks of rust began to flake off the blade.

The blind old man sat up abruptly, a look of horror flashing in his single eye.

boom!
A surge of malevolent energy erupted instantly, and the temperature in the entire shop plummeted to freezing!
The rust has faded, revealing the true form of the knife.

The knife was three feet seven inches long, entirely black as ink, with a straight blade that curved slightly upwards at the tip, presenting a sharp, geometric beauty. Most eerie of all, the blade was not silver-white, but a scarlet red, as if it were constantly flowing with blood.

On the hilt, two ancient seal characters are engraved—

【ember】.

"Good knife."

Bai Yu waved his hand gently.

laugh!
The air was easily sliced ​​open, producing a sharp whistling sound.

This knife doesn't have the special properties of "Severing Thoughts" that target the soul; it only has one characteristic—extreme sharpness and extreme hardness.

It can cut through steel, cut through rock, and even... cut through the physical carriers of rules.

"From today onwards, you will follow me."

Bai Yu casually wrapped the murderous knife, named "Ember," in a black cloth, slung it over his shoulder, and walked out of the shop.

The blind old man behind him stared at his back for a long time without moving until Bai Yu completely disappeared, at which point he trembled and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

"Monster... that's a sword only a madman could wield..."

……

By the time we left the old street, it was completely dark.

The fog is very thick tonight.

Bai Yu drove his black SUV, modified by Lan Ce, on the ring road back to headquarters.

For some reason, there are fewer and fewer cars on the road.

The once bustling city noise gradually disappeared, replaced by a chilling stillness.

"Something's wrong."

Bai Yu slammed on the brakes.

The SUV left a long skid mark on the empty highway and came to a steady stop.

By this time, the surrounding fog was so thick that visibility was less than five meters. And from the depths of that fog, a strange sound could be faintly heard.

tick tock...tick tock...

That's the sound of a suona horn.

High-pitched and shrill, yet carrying an indescribable sense of desolation and gloom. Rather than festive, it sounded more like a funeral dirge.

Immediately following was a series of synchronized footsteps.

Boom, boom, boom.

Every step felt like stepping on someone's heartbeat.

"coming."

Bai Yu narrowed his eyes and placed his left hand on the hilt of the "Ember" knife on the passenger seat.

Thick fog rolled in.

A dazzlingly red procession slowly emerged from the fog.

Leading the way were two "children" dressed in bright red mandarin jackets, their faces covered in thick white powder, and their cheeks painted with blood-red circles. They carried two pale white lanterns with large "happiness" characters written on them.

Following behind were eight paper figures playing suona horns, their bodies stiff and their movements mechanical.

Further on was a large red sedan chair carried by eight people. The sedan chair was decorated in the most luxurious way, but instead of dragons and phoenixes symbolizing good fortune, it was embroidered with a picture of a hundred ghosts walking at night.

This is a wedding procession.

But encountering such a group at this time and place can only mean one thing—

It was a fatal accident.

"Hehe...hehehe..."

The two lantern-bearing boys suddenly stopped, their necks twisting 180 degrees at an eerie angle as they stared intently at Bai Yu inside the carriage.

Their mouths split open to their ears, revealing a mouthful of sharp, serrated teeth.

"Great joy... great joy..."

"The groom... has come to pick up the bride..."

The sound was high-pitched and shrill, like scratching a blackboard with fingernails.

As they spoke, an invisible wave of rules instantly enveloped the entire vehicle.

[Rule triggered: On this joyous day, everyone who sees it will receive a share.]

Rule 1: When encountering a wedding procession, you must greet them with a smile, not a frown.

[Rule Two: You must accept the wedding candy and eat it.]

Rule 3: Blocking the way is prohibited; otherwise, it will be considered kidnapping.

Bai Yu felt his facial muscles begin to twitch uncontrollably, and the corners of his mouth tried to force a smile upwards.

"Another one of those low-level rules that forcibly distorts will." Hei Yan sneered. "Rules of this caliber aren't even worthy of carrying my shoes. Do you need me to break them for you?"

"Need not."

Bai Yu's eyes were icy, and he forcibly suppressed the twitching at the corner of his mouth.

"I just bought some new knives, let's test them out!"

He abruptly pushed open the car door and got out.

Seeing someone get off the bus, the red light in the eyes of the two boys intensified. They pulled out a handful of red and green things from their pockets and threw them at Bai Yu.

"Have some wedding candy... have some wedding candy..."

That's not wedding candy at all.

They were clearly segments of blackened severed fingers, and even eyeballs!
"Eat your uncle!"

Bai Yu let out a low shout, and his figure instantly disappeared from the spot.

Phase step!

The next second, he appeared directly in front of the two boys.

No nonsense, no frills.

Draw the knife!

Clang——! ! !
A jet-black blade of light traced a perfect crescent arc through the thick fog.

The moment "Ember" was unsheathed, the malevolent energy that had been suppressed for thousands of years was released like a volcanic eruption, even shattering the surrounding rules field!
puff!puff!
Two heads painted with white powder shot into the sky.

Before the two boys could even react, their bodies were severed in two. There was no blood at the cuts, only black ash drifting in the air.

This is the power of "Ember".

It not only severs the physical body, but also burns the spirit!

"what--!!!"

Upon seeing the boy being killed, the suona band behind them instantly fell into chaos.

The paper figures let out shrill screams, threw away their suonas, pulled out gleaming daggers from their sleeves, and pounced on Bai Yu.

"Murder... Bride kidnapping..."

"act recklessly."

Bai Yu stood under a streetlamp, holding a knife in one hand, his black trench coat fluttering in the night wind.

His gaze was eerily calm, as if he were looking at a flock of lambs to the slaughter.

"Heiyan, dinner's ready."

Even though it's all trash, every little bit helps.

boom!
A layer of black, ethereal flames suddenly ignited on Bai Yu's body.

Instead of retreating, he charged forward and rushed into the pile of paper figures.

This is a massacre.

The "Ember" knife seemed to come alive in his hands, each swing precisely slicing through the throat or heart of a paper figure. Those paper figures appeared ferocious, but faced with the combat skills and overwhelming power of an S-class investigator, they were as fragile as real paper toys.

Just half a minute.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of paper scraps and ashes.

Only the large red sedan chair remained, standing alone in the middle of the road.

The sedan curtains were tightly closed, and there was no sound from inside.

Bai Yu shook the ashes off his knife and walked step by step toward the bridal sedan chair.

"Stop playing dead, come out."

he said coldly.

no respond.

Bai Yu sneered and raised his hand to strike with a knife!

boom!
A black blade of energy slammed directly into the sedan chair door, blasting the luxurious sedan chair into pieces.

However, there was no bride inside the sedan chair.

There was only one redwood altar placed in the very center.

On the altar was a black memorial tablet, and in front of it was a bright red invitation card.

"Ok?"

Bai Yu frowned slightly and stepped forward.

Instead of taking it with his hands, he used the tip of his knife to pry open the invitation.

The invitation was opened, revealing several lines of delicate handwriting written in gold powder:
[We cordially invite Mr. Bai Yu from the Nightmare Investigation Bureau]

Attending my sister's ghost marriage ceremony

[Time: The night of the Ghost Festival, July 15th]

Location: Xilezhuang, Huai Shuling, Western Suburbs

And in the bride's section, there was a name that made Bai Yu's pupils shrink in shock—

Bride: Lu Yueqi

"court death!"

A violent killing intent erupted from Bai Yu instantly, and the surrounding temperature dropped a few degrees again.

He grabbed the invitation and crumpled it into a ball.

Lu Yueqi had just been rescued, and now she's being targeted again?

And it was a ghost marriage?

"It seems some people are tired of living."

Bai Yu took out a communicator from his pocket and dialed An Mu's number directly.

"Hey, Captain."

"Bai Yu? What's up so late?" An Mu's calm voice came from the other end of the communicator, with the sound of keyboard typing in the background, indicating that he was still working overtime.

"I just encountered a wedding procession made up of nightmares on the ring road, but I've already dealt with it."

Bai Yu's voice was icy, "But I found an invitation. The sender specifically asked Lu Yueqi to attend a ghost marriage."

"what?!"

An Mu's voice rose instantly, "Lu Yueqi is in the station's safe house right now, how could this be..."

"Captain, check Xilezhuang in Huai Shuling, in the western suburbs." Bai Yu interrupted him. "Also, have Lan Ce locate Lu Yueqi immediately. I suspect this is more than just a simple intimidation."

"Understood. Lan Ce! Initiate a city-wide scan immediately! Level One alert!"

A series of noisy commands came through the communicator.

A few seconds later, Lance's calm voice cut in:

"Bai Yu, something's wrong. According to energy monitoring, a huge field of rules has indeed appeared in the western suburbs and is expanding rapidly. The code name for that field is... 'Joyful Ghost'. It's an A+ level high-risk nightmare, and its characteristic is... forced assimilation."

“Moreover…” Lan Ce paused, his tone becoming somewhat serious, “I just checked the recent missing persons files. In the past week, twelve young women have gone missing in the West District, and their birth dates and times… are all purely Yin.”

"A person with a pure Yin destiny will have a ghost marriage ceremony."

Bai Yu sneered, "Are they trying to create a ghost king?"

"Baiyu, don't be impulsive. Come back and join us so we can devise a strategy," Anmu shouted in the channel.

"It's too late, Captain."

Bai Yu looked at the faint crimson light rising in the western suburbs and slowly sheathed the "Ember" sword on his back.

"Since they've already sent me the invitations, wouldn't it be incredibly disrespectful if I didn't go and give them a gift?"

"I'd like to see who dares to touch my people."

Snapped.

Hang up communication.

Bai Yu turned around, got into the car, and floored the accelerator.

boom--!
The black SUV roared, like an angry beast, tearing through the fog and speeding towards the western suburbs.

The car headlights pierced the darkness, illuminating the road ahead that led to the abyss.

In the reflection of the car window, Bai Yu's eyes had turned completely purple-gold.

"Hey, tonight might be quite lively."

"Of course. Weddings are all about being lively. I haven't tasted wedding wine in a long time either."

(End of this chapter)