Since all these rules and superstitions are outdated, what's wrong with me indulging in some me

Cheng Caijun understood what Lu Changsheng meant.

Time passed slowly in the deathly silence. There was no human voice in the village, only the occasional howl of the wind.

Lu Changsheng appeared calm, but in reality, his mental energy was highly concentrated, sensing every subtle change in his surroundings. Cheng Caijun, on the other hand, felt every second tick by, nervously listening to the sounds outside, his palms sweating as he gripped the dagger.

With midnight approaching, there were about fifteen minutes left.

Sudden--

A very subtle, almost imperceptible sweet fragrance quietly seeped into the room through the cracks in the door and the holes in the window paper.

"Oh no! Hold your breath!"

Lu Changsheng suddenly opened his eyes and shouted in a low voice.

However, it was already too late.

The sweet, cloying aroma, when inhaled, had a strong numbing and dizzying effect, as if it instantly drained the strength from one's limbs and bones, making even one's thoughts sluggish and viscous.

Lu Changsheng tried to take out a talisman to resist, but the drug's effects were extremely potent, and his consciousness quickly sank. He felt his body become incredibly heavy, and the scenery before his eyes began to spin and blur.

Cheng Caijun, who was standing next to him, didn't even have time to utter a cry of alarm before his body went limp and he collapsed onto the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), losing consciousness.

Lu Changsheng's last memory was seeing a thin bamboo tube slowly retracting below the crack in the door...

Darkness, like a tidal wave, completely engulfed him.

I don't know how much time passed; it felt like just a moment, yet also like an incredibly long time.

Lu Changsheng felt a strange lightness, as if he had broken free from some heavy restraint. He opened his eyes, but the scene he saw shocked him.

He found himself "floating" in mid-air, with a very strange perspective.

Looking down, he saw that he and Cheng Caijun were lying side by side on the earthen bed, their eyes closed and their breathing weak, as if they had fallen into a deep coma.

He himself became a translucent, faintly glowing phantom!

Soul leaving body?!

Almost simultaneously, Cheng Caijun's panicked voice came from the side:

"Brother Lu?! Why am I floating?! Are we dead?!"

Lu Changsheng immediately looked to the side and saw that Cheng Caijun's ghostly figure was also floating in the air, looking at his own body below with a flustered and terrified expression.

"He didn't die; his soul was forcibly pulled out."

Lu Changsheng forced himself to calm down and quickly analyzed the situation.

Is it the effect of that sleeping gas?

The villager who slipped the note?

Or someone else?

Let's go!

Although the two were in a mysterious state, Lu Changsheng did not linger for long.

"Walk?"

Cheng Caijun was stunned. If he became a spirit, he could leave?

"That's right. Since the soul has left the body, ordinary doors and walls are ineffective against us, and we don't need to worry about violating the rule of 'not going out after dark' for the time being."

Lu Changsheng quickly sorted out his thoughts. Although the soul state was dangerous, it also meant a certain freedom and secrecy.

"Let's go check out the agreed-upon location first, and see what that villager who slipped the note is up to. But be careful, because in our spirit form, we may be more sensitive to certain things, but we may also be more vulnerable."

Cheng Caijun struggled to control his light and ethereal soul as he followed behind Lu Changsheng.

The two people, like wisps of smoke, silently passed through the tightly closed door and drifted into the courtyard.

The night wind seemed to blow directly into the soul, bringing a cold chill that reached the depths of the soul.

Some things that were previously invisible have become clear.

Lu Changsheng glanced subconsciously at An Zhiyu's room window. The window was tightly closed, and it was pitch black inside.

However, just as their souls passed through that window, inside the room, An Zhiyu, who had been sitting cross-legged with her eyes closed as if she were also resting, twitched her brow almost imperceptibly.

She suddenly opened her eyes!

Those clear, cold eyes shone brightly in the darkness, their sharp gaze seemingly able to pierce through walls, staring directly at the location where Lu Changsheng and Cheng Caijun's souls were!

Her right hand instantly pressed against the dagger at her waist, her muscles tensed slightly, and she entered a state of absolute alert.

But the next second, her tense body slowly relaxed. She simply stared quietly at the empty space outside the window, a hint of surprise flashing in her eyes, before returning to her calm and undisturbed state.

She made no move, simply closing her eyes again as if nothing had happened, but her aura became even more restrained and profound, like a cheetah lurking in the darkness.

Lu Changsheng felt a chill run down his spine. An Zhiyu's senses were incredibly sharp! She could even detect the state of a soul?

Without a second thought, the two quickly floated out of the courtyard.

However, as soon as they stepped out of the hospital, the scene before them caused Lu Changsheng and Cheng Caijun's souls to tremble violently!

From the perspective of the spirit, the once quiet and dark village alleys were now eerily bustling!

Countless translucent, distorted ghosts, exuding an aura of resentment, pain, and confusion, are densely gathering around the courtyard!

"So many ghosts?!"

Cheng Caijun was so frightened that his soul trembled. Although he had seen strange things before, this was the first time he had faced such a large number of his kind in his soul form. The impact was indescribable.

Lu Changsheng was also deeply shaken.

It turns out that the village at night is not just a danger in terms of rules, but a place where a huge number of dead souls are actually trapped!

These souls came in all shapes and sizes; some were missing limbs and died tragically; some were unrecognizable with their flesh torn and rolled up; and some remained in the posture of struggling before death—hunched over and twisted necks, as if still enduring unseen torture.

But what's most chilling is their gaze.

All the spirits, regardless of their strength or form, stared intently at their small courtyard.

In those translucent eyes, there was no ferocity, no hatred, only a chilling longing...

It was like someone who had been starving for a long time finally smelling the aroma of meat.

They tried desperately to get into the courtyard, but the courtyard seemed to possess an invisible force that firmly kept them outside.

"The courtyard is protected by some kind of barrier; it's safe for now," Lu Changsheng quickly assessed. "But this gathering of so many ghosts is definitely not normal. Let's go to the ancient locust tree first!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Changsheng and Cheng Caijun simultaneously floated over the courtyard wall.

Just as Cheng Caijun's soul passed through the dark golden light membrane—

A sudden change has occurred!

The countless souls that had been frantically rushing towards the courtyard wall but being repeatedly repelled suddenly stopped in their tracks.

It's like the pause button has been pressed.

Then, their "heads" all turned around at once.

Hundreds of empty, yearning, and frantic eyes locked onto the same target at the same instant.

Cheng Caijun.

"Brother Lu... Brother Lu..."

Cheng Caijun's soul trembled violently, his voice distorted, "Why...why are they all looking at me?"