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

Chapter 28 A Century in Retrospect: The End of Love and Hate

Hei Yan's words were like a bolt of lightning, instantly cleaving through the fog of despair that shrouded everyone's hearts.

"A fatal weakness?" An Mu asked Lan Ce quickly, while suppressing a root that was trying to sneak up with firepower. "Lan Ce, can you pinpoint the exact location of that 'anchor'?"

"No!" Lan Ce's voice was urgent and firm. "The opponent's core is enveloped by an immeasurable amount of resentment energy; any probe will be instantly assimilated. But... Hei Yan's theory holds true! This primordial concept, Nightmare, is an outsider; it must rely on a strong, native 'emotional coordinate' to descend and maintain its form. Lin Sheng's resentment is that coordinate!"

"In other words, as long as we can deal with Lin Sheng's resentment, we can shake its foundation!" An Mu made a decision immediately, his voice without the slightest hesitation, full of the decisiveness of a commander, "Mo Fei, Lan Ce, the three of us will cover for them! Create an opportunity for Bai Yu and Hei Yan, no matter what the cost!"

"Received!" Lan Ce and Mo Fei, who had just caught their breath, replied in unison.

The tactics changed abruptly.

"Come on! You inhuman monster!" Mo Fei roared, abandoning all defense and unleashing all the remaining power within him, charging towards the altar once more. He used himself as the most conspicuous bait to attract the "Mountain God's" attention.

Anmu and Lanze also acted simultaneously, launching the fiercest attack from two different directions, unleashing all their ammunition and various attack devices on the outer roots of the "Mountain God," creating a tremendous spectacle.

"Foolish insects!" The Mountain God was enraged by their actions, and most of its roots and eyes turned to the three of them, launching a fierce and relentless attack.

An Mu and his two companions were instantly engulfed in the torrent of energy and the wildly dancing roots, but they used their own flesh and blood to tear open a gap on the main battlefield that lasted only a few seconds.

"Now!" Hei Yan shouted, and the nameless book in his hand flipped automatically to the center page. On that page was a door emitting a ghostly light.

"In my name, open the gate to the 'heart'!" Hei Yan placed his hand on the door, and the door seemed to come alive, slowly emerging from the pages of the book, forming a real gate of light in front of them.

"Let's go!" Hei Yan grabbed Bai Yu's hand and stepped into the portal without hesitation.

The moment they passed through the portal of light, all the noise and fierce battles outside vanished.

Bai Yu found himself standing in an endless corridor made up of countless fragmented memories. The scene here was even more despairing than the memory corridor in the cave. An unyielding hatred permeated the air.

"This is Lin Sheng's corrupted sea of ​​consciousness," Hei Yan's voice rang out from the side. "'Mountain God' has woven an eternal nightmare for him here, to continuously extract his resentment."

They saw scenes replaying on the walls of the corridor. Every smile of Awan was twisted into the most vicious mockery; every act of care was interpreted as the most callous charity. The villagers' pointing fingers were magnified countless times, turning into sharp knives that repeatedly slashed at the phantom figure kneeling on the ground, burying her face in her hands and weeping.

That was Lin Sheng's remaining consciousness.

He was trapped here, experiencing pain magnified a thousandfold, over and over again.

"Lin Sheng!" Bai Yu shouted loudly, holding a wooden ladle.

But the phantom did not react at all, and was only immersed in its own sorrow and resentment.

“It’s no use.” Hei Yan shook his head. “He can no longer distinguish between reality and falsehood. To awaken him, we must first shatter this cage built of lies.”

Hei Yan stepped forward and, facing the distorted scene that kept repeating itself, said in a completely emotionless tone: "According to my records, this woman named Awan's love for you is 98.7% pure, with no element of deception or betrayal. What you see is all a fabrication."

With each word he spoke, the distorted images shook violently, as if the lie was being shaken by the truth.

"The ridicule you heard is a lie. The villagers' ignorance and xenophobia are real, but their intensity has been maliciously amplified 173 times. The harm they have done to you is far less than one ten-thousandth of what you feel right now."

"Your death is also a lie. Awan was not sacrificed to the mountain god, but was the embodiment of the resentment of this land, the 'mountain god' in your eyes, who orchestrated this tragedy in order to find a perfect 'container'."

Black Words' voice sliced ​​open the festering sores surrounding Lin Sheng's consciousness, one cut at a time. The distorted images began to crack, emitting a shattering sound as they succumbed to the unbearable weight.

Lin Sheng's illusory figure finally reacted, slowly raising his head with a hint of confusion in his empty eyes.

"Now, Baiyu!" Heiyan shouted.

Bai Yu immediately stepped forward, raising the wooden ladle that emitted a soft glow high in his hand. He stopped shouting and poured all his faith, and the love he felt for A-Wan, into it without reservation.

“Lin Sheng, look at this…feel it…this is the last thing she left for you…” Bai Yu’s voice was gentle and sorrowful.

At this moment, the wooden ladle shone with unprecedented brilliance.

The light shone on Lin Sheng's illusory figure, neither purifying nor dispelling it, but only offering the gentlest comfort.

Lin Sheng's gaze finally focused on the familiar wooden ladle. He had made it for her himself, and the initials of her name were engraved on it. A century had passed, and resentment had eroded his memory; he had almost forgotten everything, but this wooden ladle was imprinted on the deepest part of his soul.

A sliver of clarity finally returned to his eyes.

“Ah… Wan…” he uttered in a hoarse voice.

The moment he uttered the name, the wooden ladle's light suddenly surged! A gentle, water-like female phantom slowly materialized from the light. She wore simple clothes, a decayed wooden hairpin tucked into her hair, and her face bore a trace of guilt and sadness, but even more so, overflowing love.

She didn't speak, but simply looked at him quietly, giving him a gentle smile as gentle as the one she had given him under the moonlight a hundred years ago.

Lin Sheng was completely stunned the moment he saw that smile.

A century of resentment and a thousand generations of torment seemed to lose all meaning at this moment.

He remembered, he remembered everything. He remembered her kindness, her smile, her focused gaze as she mended his clothes, and their shared dreams for the future.

Those precious memories, obscured by resentment, burst forth like a flood, instantly shattering the wall of lies that the "mountain god" had built for him.

“Ah Wan…” Two lines of bloody tears slid down Lin Sheng’s cheeks. He reached out his hand, wanting to touch the lover who was so close yet so far away.

Awan's illusory figure also smiled and reached out her hand to him.

Just as their fingertips were about to touch, the entire space of consciousness collapsed!
Outside, the towering "mountain god" let out a scream of extreme terror!
"No—this can't be! Love? This boring and fake emotion...how could it be...ahhhhh!"

Pure love is the most potent poison in the world to a creature that feeds on resentment!
Its body, that enormous form made of countless roots and flesh, began to crumble uncontrollably! Countless eyeballs burst open, oozing black pus and blood, and the roots anchored to the earth began to wither.

Its false god facade was utterly shattered at this moment! It was not a god at all; it was merely a pathetic parasite that stole other people's emotions and amplified their suffering!
"Opportunity!" From outside, An Mu, covered in blood, issued his final command, "Everyone! Give your power to Bai Yu!"

An Mu, Lan Ce, and Mo Fei transformed their last will, courage, and belief into three streams of light, which entered Bai Yu's body, who had just returned to reality.

Bai Yu felt as if his body was about to burst into flames, but his eyes remained perfectly clear. He looked at Hei Yan beside him, who was also smiling at him.

“It’s time to see them off,” Hei Yan said.

"Yes." Bai Yu nodded heavily.

The two of them slowly stretched out their hands.

The white light of holiness and the black light of reason intertwined perfectly in their hands, transforming into a chaotic power that transcended light and darkness. This power carried the trust of the investigation team members, the love and relief that Ah Wan and Lin Sheng shared across a century, and the last hope of all the deceased on this land.

"In the name of humanity, the final judgment shall be made." The voices of Bai Yu and Hei Yan overlapped at this moment, as if they were the voice of a single person.

"Things that do not belong to this world, return to your homeland!"

They slammed the sphere of light, which had fused all the power, into the collapsing core of the "Mountain God"!
The moment the sphere of light touched the "Mountain God," it didn't explode; instead, it tore space itself apart. A colossal, pitch-black rift, leading to a chaotic world filled with indescribable things, was forcibly opened behind the "Mountain God."

A powerful suction force emanated from the crevice, gradually dragging the massive, teetering body of the "Mountain God" inside.

"No... I will return... As long as there is fear... I will... never perish..."

With a final, resentful curse, the "Mountain God" was completely swallowed into the rift. Then, the rift slowly closed, eventually disappearing without a trace.

The entire cave fell silent.

The evil altar, built of bones, crumbled inch by inch and eventually turned to dust.

In the center of the altar ruins, two skeletons were found tightly embracing each other. In the hand of one of the skeletons, a long-rotted wooden hairpin was still tightly clutched.

Lin Sheng and A Wan finally found eternal peace a century later.

“It’s over…” Bai Yu said softly. He felt everything in front of him begin to spin, and all the strength in his body was drained away.

Hei Yan's figure had quietly disappeared, and the wooden ladle in his hand had returned to its ancient appearance, lying quietly in his palm.

The immense exertion caused him to collapse, his body went limp, and he fell backward.

A pair of strong arms caught him steadily.

It's Anmu.

Bai Yu looked up and saw An Mu, Lan Ce, and Mo Fei. Although they were all injured and in a sorry state, they all had relieved smiles on their faces.

He smiled, then closed his eyes peacefully and fell into a deep sleep.

(End of this chapter)