We were supposed to be doing horror movie guides, but what the heck is this "mysterious resurre

Chapter 179 He Liansheng, the Soul Summoner (5.8k)

Given the rarity of ghost money, three hundred yuan is an astronomical figure.

Lu Ming estimated that most shops probably couldn't afford that much money.

But this coffin shop is different.

The unseen, unscrupulous owner of the coffin shop has swindled countless amounts of money from ghosts over the years.

As long as he wants to keep the shop open, he will definitely spend the 300 yuan to avoid further trouble.

"..."

"Think carefully before you answer. You only have one chance. If you don't agree, I'll empty your coffin shop, and not just today, but every day thereafter."

Even Li Yang and the others didn't expect that Lu Ming would not only rob people on this ghost street, but now he was directly asking ghosts for money.

At this moment, Lu Ming was standing inside the coffin shop and was not attacked by any vengeful ghost.

After all, this coffin shop was run by a ghost, or rather, the coffin shop itself was a terrifying vengeful ghost.

Ghosts must follow certain rules.

The robbery of the coffin shop was something that happened last time. Lu Ming succeeded in the robbery and left the coffin shop. This time he returned as a customer, so the coffin shop naturally couldn't do anything to him.

"Robber...you're a robber..."

The voice, seemingly coming from nowhere, was hollow and mournful, as if it had encountered something very unfair.

Then, a cold breeze blew up, and many colorful paper money appeared out of nowhere. These paper money were very old and of a style never seen before. Some were three yuan and some were seven yuan. They flew around in the narrow coffin shop.

Lu Ming casually grabbed at the air, using some special techniques, and caught all the flying paper money in his hand.

After a rough count, it came to exactly three hundred yuan.

Lu Ming gave a stiff smile.

Including the fifty-seven yuan ghost money he received from headquarters, he now has a total of three hundred and fifty-seven yuan.

This money can not only be used to make deals with ghosts and buy supernatural items, but it can also be used to hand over a certain amount of ghost money to ghosts at critical moments to avoid being killed by them.

Li Yang, standing to the side, was quite shocked. Looking at the huge pile of ghost money, he didn't know what it was for, but he still admired it and said, "Captain Lu, as expected of you, I didn't expect you to actually give me the money."

"Although vengeful ghosts are dangerous, as long as you figure out the certain rules, they often produce unexpected results."

Lu Ming didn't forget to give some pointers to the newcomer, Li Yang.

"Alright, it's getting late. Let's stay here for the night and get down to business tomorrow."

In the mysterious world of resurrection, "six o'clock" is a mysterious number, just like "seven".

For most paranormal events, the nighttime doesn't start at midnight, but rather at 6 PM. For example, the Ghost Post Office turns off its lights at 6 PM, and in Whitewater Town, day and night are reversed at 6 PM, with reality and the supernatural alternating.

The same applies to Taiping Ancient Town.

Taking action after 6 PM is not a wise decision.

Moreover, Lu Ming currently has no direct way to find the eerie county town and the ghost stage.

If we still have no clue by tomorrow, then we'll have no choice but to risk venturing deep into Ghost Lake.

Lu Ming remembered that the strange county town was imprisoned deep in the Ghost Lake, and its true nature would only be revealed after the Ghost Lake incident broke out.

"The Ghost Lake is too uncertain. If we could find another way to enter the eerie county and find that strange stage, that would be even better."

···········
A certain ancestral hall in Taiping Ancient Town.

In the lobby.

The place was shrouded in smoke, and through the smoke, several people could be vaguely seen emerging from it.

These people stood there motionless, like rows of memorial tablets. The only thing they had in common was that their clothes were very old and didn't seem to belong to this era.

The strangest thing is that these ghostly figures can only be vaguely seen in places with smoke; in other places, everything is normal, and there is nothing unusual about them.

There were no tourists worshipping in the ancestral hall.

There was only one elderly man with one eye, holding an enamel cup, who looked slightly hunchbacked and was probably around sixty years old.

His expression was somewhat gloomy at this moment.

It was probably because of his emotional fluctuations that such a strange scene could be heard in this deserted old ancestral hall.

"The tailor shop in the ancient town is gone today..."

"If this continues, Taiping Ancient Town may really become deserted."

He simply uttered a sentence, yet it carried an immense sense of oppression.

It was as if the speaker was not a living person, but a vengeful ghost that had been dead for a long time.

After saying this, the one-eyed old man pondered for a moment and then walked out of the ancestral hall.

It's almost six o'clock, and the ancestral hall will close then, so he won't have to stay here anymore.

But just as the one-eyed old man left the ancestral hall and was about to go somewhere, a living person appeared out of nowhere in front of him and blocked his way.

The person who suddenly appeared was dressed in old-fashioned clothes and was very tall. What was creepy was that his face had no features, only a flat piece of skin.

These pieces of skin and flesh don't look scary on their own, but when placed on a living person's face, they look very strange.

This is a person without a face.

His face may have been stolen by a vengeful ghost in some supernatural event, so he has been searching for a face ever since.

The one-eyed old man slowly raised his head, glanced at the faceless man, and showed no surprise, as if he had long been accustomed to this strange person.

"You know what I want to do?"

The faceless man had no facial features and could not speak, so he could only nod.

The old man asked in a hoarse voice, "Why?"

The faceless man remained silent for a moment, standing still as if deep in thought.

Then, he raised his hand and gestured in the air.

If you pay attention to the trajectory of the faceless man writing in mid-air, you will find that all the words he writes can be connected to form a complete sentence.

"The reasons are complicated, but she did not die unjustly."

The one-eyed old man squinted his remaining eye and spoke again: "There is a saying that you should help your relatives, not those in the right. There are not many people left in Taiping Town. Although there are rules set by the older generation, that young man made the first move. It is perfectly reasonable for me to go and cause him trouble."

The faceless man fell silent once again.

Just as the old man named He Liansheng was about to leave, he gestured another sentence.

"You can't kill him."

"This young man is very strong, and he also has an opponent that you absolutely cannot deal with."

The faceless man seemed to know something about Lu Ming.

Although he didn't know everything, he clearly knew more information than the one-eyed old man, He Liansheng.

He continued gesturing in mid-air.

It's too troublesome not being able to speak, but there's no other way. Faceless people have no mouths and can't make a sound, so this is the only way they can communicate.

"The situation in that lake is very unstable. Many people have drowned there, and the water is showing signs of spreading. If we make a big fuss about it now, Taiping Town will be the first place to be flooded."

Seeing the faceless man say this, He Liansheng finally stopped walking forward.

His wrinkled face betrayed no change in emotion.

When the faceless man said that Ghost Lake was spreading and expanding, He Liansheng didn't seem to care much.

But when the faceless man mentioned that the Ghost Lake incident would expand and that Taiping Ancient Town would be the first place to be submerged, he was clearly stunned.

He Liansheng was clearly very concerned about this.

His idea is simple.

Even if the floodwaters outside Taiping Ancient Town are raging, it has nothing to do with him. His abilities are limited, and it's good enough if he can protect this small piece of land in Taiping Ancient Town. He can't care about what others do, nor does he want to.

"Oh, that's all."

"The older generation, even if nothing goes wrong, won't live much longer."

"I hope that young man is really as capable as you say... If he's not very capable and causes trouble in the ancient town, then don't blame me for being impolite."

He Liansheng let out a long sigh, a sigh filled with helplessness, yet also with a hint of relief.

···········
Six o'clock arrived quickly.

The entire ancient town of Taiping was deathly silent, with only the dim, gloomy light from the streetlights along the roads providing some illumination.

Continuing to linger on this ghost street at this point is clearly not a wise choice.

Fortunately, Lu Ming had already led the group away from Ghost Street and returned to the old residential area of ​​Taiping Ancient Town before that.

The environment here is also very strange. It's not a tourist attraction, but rows of old houses are scattered about, and you can't see a single person on the street.

The group stole a total of nine coffins from the coffin shop. The red coffins could be used by ghost tamers, similar to the Ghost Bus. Lying in one of them could suppress the resurgence of the vengeful spirit within the body, but the effect was far inferior to that of the Ghost Bus.

This item isn't very useful to Lu Ming. He only stole it for peace of mind, so that he wouldn't be unable to produce it when needed for the funeral.

Given his current level of terror, once he lies in the red ghost coffin, he'll probably never be able to get out.

"Don't let your guard down. That ghost street was just the beginning. The real danger of this operation is yet to come tomorrow."

Lu Ming didn't forget to give a reminder.

He wasn't exaggerating.

Even Lu Ming wasn't entirely clear on the murder patterns in the eerie county town and the ghost stage.

Moreover, the puzzle in Ghost Troupe isn't a small, scattered puzzle; it's a very large one.

The importance of the stage to a theatrical troupe is undoubtedly significant.

"Lu Ming, what other information do you know? Can you tell us?"

Xiong Wenwen started behaving inappropriately again, but he was relatively more restrained when speaking to Lu Ming compared to others. From the first time he met Lu Ming, he had a strange premonition that instilled a hidden fear of him.

"I don't know much, but I can remind you that the source of the S-level Ghost Lake incident in the headquarters files is here, or more precisely, deep within that Ghost Street we just passed."

He claims he doesn't know much, but any piece of information he casually utters is quite astonishing.

At this point in time, the Ghost Lake incident has not yet fully erupted.

However, there have been some victims already.

The headquarters sent a team leader to investigate this matter, but so far there has been no news, and they haven't even been able to find the specific source.

There are many places that are suspected to be ghost lakes, and they have caused considerable casualties, but after investigation, it was found that none of them are the real source of ghost lakes.

This phenomenon is caused by the supernatural and unique nature of Ghost Lake.

Wherever there is a water source, it may be eroded by the Ghost Lake and then spread outwards with the help of the water source.

"Is the news authentic?"

A look of surprise appeared on Liu San's sallow face, but because it was also a paper figure, his expression looked very stiff and unnatural.

This seemingly simple piece of information would fetch an astronomical price if auctioned in the paranormal community.

After all, it's information about an S-class paranormal event.

To obtain the relevant information, one would certainly have to pay a considerable price, or even risk one's life.

Just like the Ghost Temple incident that broke out in the island nation, as long as you participate in it, find out a little information, and come back alive, you can get a commission of one ton of gold.

Lu Ming glanced at him and said calmly, "I'm not so bored as to joke about something like this."

He revealed this information partly to alert the other four, and partly to prevent Liu Sanfang's paper figures from running around Taiping Ancient Town and causing trouble they shouldn't.

"In short, there's no need to worry about the Ghost Lake incident for now. The Taiping Ancient Town scenic spot has been sealed off, and there are no living people around it."

"After resting at the hotel for a night, our main task is to find the eerie county town shrouded in fog."

······
After leaving Ghost Street, Lu Ming led the group to an inn in the old residential area of ​​Taiping Ancient Town.

In this vast urban area, there was only one hotel that was actually open for guests.

The five had no other choice but to enter the hotel.

Upon entering, one finds a middle-aged man in his forties greeting them.

"Welcome, distinguished guests."

The middle-aged man smiled and bowed in welcome, but his smile, like his voice, revealed an incongruous stiffness.

An old kerosene lamp sits on the counter in the hotel lobby, emitting a dim yellow light, which is the only source of light in the hotel.

It's hard to imagine that in this day and age, there are still hotels that don't even have lights installed.

"Gentlemen, are you looking for accommodation?"

Another voice came.

A man wearing an old cloth hat and with a face full of wrinkles emerged from behind the counter and was observing the group in the darkness.

His clothes were very old-fashioned, unlike what one would expect from someone from this era.

"One room is enough, and it needs to be a bit bigger."

Lu Ming recognized the person opposite him at a glance.

If I'm not mistaken, this guy should be Mr. Liu, the innkeeper in Taiping Ancient Town.

Like the other faceless person who has not yet appeared, he is not considered a bad person.

The reason for only having one room is that Lu Ming did not want the people to be too scattered, so that they could look out for each other if unexpected dangers occurred.

In the horror movies Lu Ming had watched before, the main characters often made extremely foolish decisions, choosing to split up without knowing any information, and then predictably being killed one by one by the ghosts.

Mr. Liu, the owner of the shop next to the counter, nodded, noted down what Lu Ming said, and then looked at the waiter who was in his forties.

"Take these guests to the largest room."

Lu Ming frowned and asked, "How much?"

Mr. Liu then laughed again: "For regular guests, the largest room costs three yuan. After all, it's the best room in the hotel, and it's said that nothing has ever happened there."

"But you guests can rest assured and stay here. You don't need to pay anything, and please don't damage this paper figure. I bought it for three yuan on sale... It's hard to make money these days, so let's all be considerate of each other."

Upon hearing Boss Liu's words, not only Lu Ming, but also Li Yang and the others' expressions changed.

They then realized why the waiter, who was in his forties, looked so stiff in his expression and movements.

It turns out that this was not a living person at all, but a paper figure tainted by the supernatural, somewhat similar to Liu San now.

The three yuan that Mr. Liu mentioned is certainly not the kind of currency that circulates in the real world.

He was referring to ghost money, which only came in two denominations.

A fierce look appeared on Liu San's sallow face. He took a step forward, seemingly ready to make a move.

"Explain yourself. Who exactly are you? Running a weird inn in a place like this, you don't seem like a good person."

Before Boss Liu could answer, Lu Ming intervened and stopped Liu San.

Of the five, only he understood the deeper meaning behind Boss Liu's words.

Mr. Liu already knew about the murder of the middle-aged woman at the tailor shop.

His refusal to accept money was a statement of his attitude.

The tailor shop went bankrupt, and he, as the innkeeper, wouldn't meddle in it.

However, if Lu Ming still wants to take over his hotel, Boss Liu will not stand idly by.

"Alright, three yuan it is. Just follow the normal charging standard. We're not the kind of bad people who would take a bribe for no reason."

Lu Ming took out a three-yuan banknote and placed it on the counter.

Mr. Liu ultimately did not refuse and happily accepted the paper money.

"Since we're all in the paranormal field, I'll be frank... The inn is open for business and caters to ordinary guests; we don't need ghost money."

"However, the guest rooms of some guests have protective arrangements that prevent ordinary paranormal events from affecting them, so the price will be slightly higher."

After receiving Lu Ming's money, Boss Liu became more talkative.

"By the way, what brings you to our Taiping Ancient Town? Is there something you want to investigate? Feel free to ask me anything you'd like to know. The price isn't high, just three or four yuan will do."

Boss Liu wasn't referring to ordinary money, but rather the kind of "ghost money" that Lu Ming had just taken out.

He originally thought that this kind of "ghost money" was no longer circulating in the market, and that Lu Ming would most likely not be able to get his hands on it.

I didn't expect that he would spend three yuan in one go, and without even feeling the pinch.

Lu Ming was certainly not one to be taken advantage of, and refused without hesitation: "I'm sorry, I don't have that need. You probably don't know more than I do. If you need anything, you can ask me. It's seven yuan per time."

Boss Liu grinned, probably taking Lu Ming's words as a joke.

Then, with a touch of melancholy, he said, "Speaking of which, you all came from that infamous ghost street in our ancient town, right? In our time, that ghost street was quite famous..."

"It's a pity that all good things must come to an end. With the passage of time, the once bustling Ghost Street has fallen into decline. Indeed, this era no longer belongs to us old folks who are about to die."

"Luckily, I switched careers early and opened this small hotel here. There used to be a lot of tourists here, especially during holidays, so I would raise prices as much as possible and make about a million yuan a year. After I retire in a few years, I will go to the coffin shop on that street to buy a coffin. I wonder how business is there."

Boss Liu rambled on and on, probably because he was getting carried away, or perhaps because he was genuinely worried that Lu Ming and the others would damage the paper figures he had bought for three yuan. So he personally led the way, taking the group upstairs.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment as they listened to him speak.

How can such a run-down hotel earn a million a year?

Unexpectedly, the seemingly honest and kind innkeeper turned out to be a complete swindler.

As for the coffin shop he mentioned...
It seems unlikely that coffins will be available for purchase anytime soon.

The five of them had just returned from there and had almost emptied the store.

It's hard to imagine how the unscrupulous merchants there will try to swindle the money Mr. Liu lost to Lu Ming from him back to Mr. Liu if he goes to the coffin shop to buy a coffin next time.

Xiong Wenwen watched the incessantly chattering Boss Liu with great interest, thinking to herself, "A shady businessman versus a shady businessman? Interesting."

······
The sky quickly darkened completely.

The rooms on the second floor of the inn, like the inn's lobby, had only one dim oil lamp as their sole source of light.

This oil lamp seems to be imbued with some supernatural elements and is not as simple as it appears.

Perhaps this is what Boss Liu meant by something that can protect them.

However, Lu Ming did not place his hopes on this oil lamp.

A supernatural attack that can be blocked by an oil lamp like this probably isn't too scary and wouldn't be able to hurt Lu Ming; it's just a useless trifle.

······
Unlike ordinary ghost tamers, Lu Ming does not need to sleep.

Moreover, he doesn't sleep not because he's tormented by paranormal phenomena, but because he's in good spirits.

After adding points multiple times in the God Space, his mental strength reached 99 points.

Even if I don't sleep for a month, I can still maintain plenty of energy and be full of spirit.

Just then, Lu Ming vaguely heard a strange whisper in his ear.

The next moment, his entire body became damp, and the supernatural forces within him began to stir restlessly...
　I'm reviewing for the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6), so the update is a bit late today. Sorry.

　　There will be another chapter in half an hour.

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(End of this chapter)