Chapter 158 – Night Exploration
The black-attired person standing at the entrance was indeed the mysterious figure of Ghost King sect, Mr Ghost. Wild Dog Taoist after being subdued by Ghost Li, stayed at Ghost King sect for a period of time and had at least seen Mr Ghost a few times, although as to what kind of person Mr Ghost was, he still knew very little but he clearly understood the fact that that person’s status was not low and not one that could be mentioned in the same breath as him.
Now that he encountered this person at such place out of a sudden, how would Wild Dog Taoist not be shocked. Zhou YiXian and Xiao Huan did not know the identity of this mysterious man in black but looking at the faint look of fear on Wild Dog Taoist face, expected that this person most likely was not a good person and could not help but tense up.
Mr Ghost paused in his drift, he did not expect that there were people in this secluded unfortunate place and one of them even recognized him, he could not help but be startled, a moment later he took a good look at the three people, especially at Wild Dog Taoist, Mr Ghost then calmed down. He assessed Wild Dog Taoist and again at Zhou YiXian and Xiao Huan and finally back to Wild Dog, his calm voice, said, “Are you Wild Dog Taoist?”
Wild Dog Taoist had seen this Mr Ghost several times previously and usually behind Ghost Li in Ghost King sect, looking at this mysterious black figure from afar, now that Mr Ghost was right in front of him, it was the first time. When he heard Mr Ghost speaking and actually recognized himself, he could not help but was startled, paused for a while before saying, “Yes.”
Mr Ghost faintly said, “Aren’t you always with Ghost Li GongZi, why are you at this place, and who are these two people?”
Wild Dog Taoist wanted to ask him back, why couldn’t he come when he himself could be here but he didn’t dare to speak it out, only quietly said, “I, I separated from Ghost Li and will go look for him soon. These two are my friends.”
Mr Ghost’s words were insipid, as if totally ignoring Wild Dog Taoist’s tone of emphasis, whether intentionally or not, on ‘Ghost Li’ these two words, said, “Oh, oki but you still have not say, why are you here?”
Wild Dog Taoist was speechless for a moment and did not know how to explain, instead it was Zhou YiXian who was watching Mr Ghost for a while, spoke, “It is because this old man me has a relative’s spirit tablet here, we came to pay our respect.”
Mr Ghost’s gaze concentrated and then saw, behind the three of them, a derelict spirit tablet was erected on the altar table, a few words were written on it: Beloved son Zhou XingYun Memorial Tablet. Mr Ghost nodded and then pondered a moment, the gleam in the eyes behind the veil seemed to be flickering, unhurriedly said, “Since you all have already paid your respect, this place is after all for spirits tombs, it is not advisable to stay for a long time, better quickly leave.”
Wild Dog Taoist turned to Zhou YiXian and Xiao Huan, he was clearly unwilling to stay a minute longer with this ghostly figure and with Mr Ghost’s words, seemed like if it was not because of Ghost Li, he might used his skills to retain them. But even though it was so, Wild Dog Taoist was not sure if Zhou YiXian understood that they could not afford to offend this person and when he glanced over just now, Zhou YiXian had deep affections for his son who died young and now that out of a sudden someone abruptly issued an order for the guests to leave, with his usual temperament, not sure if he would explode with anger.
Sure enough, when the Wild Dog Taoist turned back to look, his heart suddenly sank, Zhou YiXian was still fine, his face tight and seemed to be contemplating something, his eyes too seemed to be strangely wandering around , Xiao Huan’s graceful face instead revealed anger, obviously infuriated by this man in black’s words, her mouth opened and she seemed about to rebuke.
Wild Dog Taoist panicked, sweat appeared on his forehead, crying in alarm in his heart, while he was panicking, suddenly Zhou YiXian stepped forward, walked to Xiao Huan and blocked her, Xiao Huan was about to speak and got a shock, said, “You this…eh, grandfather, what are you doing?”
Zhou YiXian glanced at Mr Ghost who was standing at the entrance like a ghost, indifferently said, “Nothing, we came to only visit your dad, since we have already paid our respects, let us go, anyway we don’t have anything to do here.”
Xiao Huan was nonplussed, for a moment speechless, Wild Dog Taoist heaved a sigh of relief, his heart which had jumped to his throat returned to its place, hurriedly walked forward, said, “Yes, yes, we better quickly leave.”
Xiao Huan was a clever girl, comprehended the situation and did not insist, nodded her head. The three of them hastily packed up their things, with Wild Dog Taoist leading, walked to the entrance, Mr Ghost quietly let out a path, drifted into the dim area of this tomb place, looking like an spectre.
The three of them quickly walked out of this house, the sun shone down on them once again, after a few steps, the door behind them was heard closing by itself without any draft, making an eerie sound of [wu wu] and with a [pong] shut close.
After walking with quick steps and leaving this morgue far behind, almost not in their line of view anymore, the three of them then stopped, Wild Dog Taoist and Zhou YiXian heaved out a long sigh at the same time, Xiao Huan glanced at them, frowned and said, “What happen to both of you, why so afraid?”
Zhou YiXian ignored her, pondered with his head bowed and then raised his head up and spoke to Wild Dog Taoist, “I heard you called him something Mr Ghost, who is he?”
Wild Dog Taoist hesitated for a moment, said, “He is the most mysterious figure in Ghost King sect, like an honoured elder figure, usually he is always with Ghost King, I am not sure too what kind of person is he but he is definitely not an ordinary figure.”
Zhou YiXian frowning tightly, did not speak, Xiao Huan felt puzzled, her grandfather seldom went into deep thoughts, could not help but curiously asked, “Grandfather, what is it, do you feel that this person is strange too?”
Zhou YiXian slowly nodded, his speech slow and serious, said, “This person is indeed not a simple person, we cannot underestimate him. And just now in the house, did you all notice at the right hand corner, three chi away from the wall, what is it?”
Xiao Huan and Wild Dog Taoist were stunned, carefully recalled but it was still Xiao Huan who was more detailed, frowned and said, “Grandfather, I remembered other than the coffins lying in a mess there, there isn’t anything else.”
Zhou YiXian coldly snorted, said, “Right, it is coffins.”
Wild Dog Taoist asked in bewilderment, “What is strange about coffins, that is a mortuary, naturally there are coffins.”
Zhou YiXian rolled his eyes at him, said, “What do you this good-for-nothing know, of course the other coffins are not important but there is one coffin that is different from the rest, it is not only cleaner with less dust than the rest, its position facing the north and south are extremely accurate, and especially its location, is at where the Yin energy is densest in that mortuary.”
Zhou YiXian’s expression became more serious and said, “Actually I too did not thought about these, that coffin was not that conspicuous but when Wild Dog first called out that Mr Ghost, my heart jumped and I secretly observed the house’s unearthly fengshui and really, it showed me some hints, I’m afraid this person is really from the The Way of Ghost and uses the Yin energy to recuperate.” However, Zhou YiXian looked bemused, slowly bend his head, perplexedly said, “Just that although the cultivation ways in the Evil Sect are mostly unusual but this kind of forces of evil skills, seems to be more commonly seen in southern border shaman witchcraft, how can it be that this person has it?”
Wild Dog Taoist suddenly interrupted and said, “That is not necessarily so, there is an old fellow in Wan Du Clan named Blood-Sucking Demon, other than his famous blood-sucking skill, doesn’t he also knows ‘Five Ghost Govern Spirits’ formation?”
Zhou YiXian with a [pei] sound, said, “Don’t try to act like you know, that useless Blood-Sucking Demon fellow learnt some short-changed skills from somewhere, forcibly captured some innocent spirits and then deliberately acted mystery to deceive people, when it was time to really use it, most likely he would be struck down once he uses his skills. The southern border shaman witchcraft is extensive and profound, and has even more exceptional achievements in The Way of Ghost faction, how can it be mentioned in the same breath as that useless thing!”
Wild Dog Taoist was stunned but recalling back, he felt that it was really as what Zhou YiXian had described, the person that Blood-Sucking Demon ambushed on the road was that Qing Yun disciple, Zhang Xiaofan, when he first used the Five Ghosts Govern Spirits, his formation was broken inexplicably by Zhang Xiao Fan, although the situation was rather bizarre and weird and Zhang Xiao Fan’s weapon was sinister but in any case it was because the Blood-Sucking Demon was useless. As such, Wild Dog Taoist could not help but felt somehow disdained towards that Blood-Sucking Demon and had forgotten how he had struggled and begged for mercy from him.
Xiao Huan standing beside him, frowned and said, “Grandfather but however, father’s spirit tablet is still in the house, now that there is a monster inside, will it be alright?”
Zhou YiXian slowly shook his head, said, “Your father had passed away for many years, this instead doesn’t matter but in there after all is where your father’s spirit tablet is, I only have one son, I cannot just ignore it.”
Wild Dog Taoist was startled, stared and said, “What did you say?”
Zhou YiXian snorted and said, “Naturally I want to go back and take a look again, I cannot just leave like this.”
Wild Dog Taoist’s face turned pale for a moment, angrily said, “That is someone you nor me can afford to provoke, do you know?”
Zhou YiXian with a [pei] sound, ignored him, muttered to himself, “According to logic, this type of martial artist from The Way of Ghost, the Yin energy at night is the strongest, it is also the best time for him to recuperate quietly, if we were to explore, it is best to do it during the day. Just that since we encountered him, we can’t go back this early, we better wait for the night.”
Xiao Huan nodded, said, “Alright.”, and then thought of something, turned and spoke to Wild Dog Taoist, “Priest, why not you don’t come along, grandfather and I, because of my father’s spirit tablet which is still there, we are really worried and therefore we have to go back.”
Wild Dog Taoist, after being looked at by Xiao Huan’s bright eyes, was about to speak with his mouth opened, suddenly shut his mouth, after a long while, said, “Let’s go together.”
Xiao Huan was surprised but still smiled and said, “Oh is it, he he, Priest, you are really a good man.”
Wild Dog Taoist was silent, Zhou YiXian who was beside, [he he] sneered, his tone seemed to suggest something else.
And so the three of them waited in this secluded alley, initially they could still see a few human figures from a distance but as the day turned night, even those few shadows also gradually disappeared, most likely it was because of the mortuary.
When the night finally came, the HeYang City which was bustling for the whole day, the people shrouded in fear of the calamity, finally passed another day, tired, the people in every corner of the city, carrying their fear and at loss for the future, quietly fell asleep, who would bother about things happening around them?
There was no moon in the night sky, dark clouds heavy, HeYang City appeared to be a blanket of dimness, only at the distant horizon, there were one or two weak stars, facing each other from a distance, emitting faint lights. The night wind blew, carrying a trace of chill and cold, making a thin whining sound, quietly blowing past the top of the city.
The three of them quietly came to the entrance of the mortuary at the end of the alley, under the dim light, they could vaguely make out the derelict entrance walls, the cold wind [sou sou] blew, there seemed to be a chilly wind blowing constantly from within. Zhou YiXian’s neck shrank, seemed like he was cold, Wild Dog Taoist beside him also had the chills in his heart but he quietly looked to the side, saw Xiao Huan’s graceful figure was just standing beside him, her face also tensed and watching the darkness ahead, Wild Dog Taoist’s initial cowardice, disappeared without a trace.
Zhou YiXian watched that darkness for a long time, he seemed to be contemplating something, after a long time turned around, took out a few yellow paper charms from his bosom, twisted obscure drawings indistinctly could be seen drawn on it, unable to see clearly what they were exactly in the darkness. Zhou YiXian passed two to Xiao Huan, hesitated for a moment, stretched his hand and also gave two to Wild Dog Taoist, whispered, “These two spiritual charms, the big one keep it concealed close to your body, it can ward the ghostly energy from invading the body, the small one keep it in your hands, if things go wrong, immediately recite the incantation and you can escape.”
After speaking, Zhou YiXian quietly told them the incantation, Xiao Huan most likely had already knew the incantation, nodded and looked relaxed but Wild Dog Taoist instead felt overwhelmed, he had never heard those strange incantations, not only it was a mouthful to say, it twisted and turned, extremely difficult to memorise. Wild Dog Taoist almost doubted, if really something were to happen, before he could finish reciting, he would already be dead in Mr Ghost’s hands.
But whatever it was, although he didn’t know if Zhou YiXian, this JiangHu scammer’s magic would work this time, Wild Dog Taoist in the end still memorized with his heart, after about the time to brew a cup of tea, he finally managed to remember this mouthful of incantations.
Zhou YiXian listened to Wild Dog Taoist’s recitation of the incantation, nodded his head in indication, this time while teaching Wild Dog Taoist the skills to escape, it was rare to see him not losing his temper, not sure if it was because he himself knew the incantations were too hard to remember. Zhou YiXian composed himself, pointed in the direction of the mortuary entrance, Xiao Huan and Wild Dog Taoist both nodded at the same time.
Zhou YiXian inhaled deeply, then slowly moved his feet forward, Xiao Huan and Wild Dog Taoist followed behind him, they could only see darkness ahead, an unexplainable strangeness. And at this tense moment, suddenly behind them in a distance, faint sounds were heard.
[Zhi zhi, zhi zhi…]
The sound was similar to the cries of the insects on normal days, Zhou YiXian and Wild Dog Taoist did not mind it but Xiao Huan suddenly shook, whipped her head around, looked behind, her abrupt action shocked the two men, thinking something had happened, quickly turned around to investigate but found nothing behind.
Zhou YiXian asked in surprise, “Xiao Huan, what is it?”
Xiao Huan’s expression was uncertain, looked a little strange too, hesitated for a moment, said, “Grandfather, I, I seem to hear Xiao Hui calling.”
Zhou YiXian frowned, said, “Xiao Hui, what Xiao Hui…” His voice suddenly froze, whispered, “You mean that monkey beside Ghost Li?”
Xiao Huan nodded but her face looked slightly confused, slowly said, “But now there is no sound, have I mistaken it?”
Both Zhou YiXian and Wild Dog Taoist looked far into the small alley and saw only darkness, where are Ghost Li and Xiao Hui’s shadows?
Zhou YiXian stared at Xiao Huan, Xiao Huan turned red, turned over, for some reason, she looked dazed, wonder what she is thinking about?
Wild Dog Taoist saw it, an inexplicable expression flashed past his dog face, slowly lowered his head.
Zhou YiXian said, “Alright, don’t imagine things, let’s go in.”
Xiao Huan and Wild Dog Taoist nodded. The three of them walked gingerly to the entrance of the derelict entrance, saw that in the small courtyard, the vegetation withered, extremely dilapidated, everywhere was darkness and nothing there but it seemed like behind every shadow, there was a pair of cold eyes looking at them.
The cold wind blew, it was really an uncanny, unearthly ghostly atmosphere.
Zhou YiXian swallowed his saliva, lightly walked in. Their footsteps stepped onto the grasses in the courtyard, in the silence, though they were extremely careful but they still made very light footsteps sounds, resounded in their own ears, it seemed to be louder many times more than in the day.
As they went near that mortuary, their heartbeats could not help but palpitated, Xiao Huan even wondered how could her heartbeats be so loud, afraid that others might hear it too.
And it was also at this time, the house which was pitch dark, a sound, although light but right now like thunder in their eyes, suddenly started, a burning ball of fire, lighted up suddenly, and that fire colour, was an uncanny faint dark green…
