Uncle Zhou looked up at him, surprise evident on his face. “What? Sir, this was decided long ago. How can you just decide not to go? If you don’t go, what will happen to the village?”
Chen Ji’s gaze was as calm as still water. He said flatly, “The Mountain Lord forbids it. There’s no need to mention it again.”
“Grandpa Mountain Lord forbids it?” Uncle Zhou said in astonishment. “We clearly consulted Grandpa Mountain Lord back then! Mr. Chen, you’re not backing out because the village’s donation is too small, are you?”
“It’s got nothing to do with money.” Chen Ji’s voice carried no inflection as it echoed through the spacious main hall. The candle flames flickered and swayed, casting him half in light and half in shadow. He turned his face slightly to the side. “If the Mountain Lord forbids it, I cannot go down the mountain.”
“Leave now,” Chen Ji said.
“Mr. Chen, you can’t be this unreasonable. We…” Before Uncle Zhou could finish, Chen Ji cut him off. His voice deepened. “Get out.”
Uncle Zhou’s features twisted for an instant, as if black mist were spreading from his body. Chen Ji’s eyes fixed on his face. His lips moved slightly. “Get out!”
An unwilling, shrill scream seemed to echo faintly. In Chen Ji’s eyes, Uncle Zhou and the two Little Youths suddenly vanished, as if they had never been there at all.
Sunlight, blocked by Uncle Zhou’s form moments before, now poured back into the main hall. Chen Ji gazed at the bright spring light outside before turning to the statue. He lit three sticks of incense, bowed in worship, and placed them in the censer.
Everything went smoothly.
Chen Ji’s eyes fell on the offering table. The Moon Blocks, long used by visitors, gleamed with a soft luster. Chen Ji wasn’t sure what was happening now, but he knew full well that the danger was extreme.
It was probably even greater than the last time the Spectacle King Cobra had dragged him into the Boundary Domain.
He picked up the Moon Blocks and held them in his hand. Then he suddenly chuckled to himself—what should he even ask? How could he know if the Mountain Lord before him was truly Grandpa Mountain Lord?
But he had already picked them up. It would be disrespectful not to ask.
—Can I get out of here alive?
Chen Ji tossed the Moon Blocks. The instant they hit the ground, his mind went blank, as if something heavy had smashed into his brain. Dazed and reeling, he collapsed onto his side. In his blurred vision, he saw a pair of feet in Red Birthday Shoes hopping toward him…
On the ground before him lay two yin blocks, still trembling faintly.
…
The young man on the bed lay with his eyes tightly shut. A sickly flush mottled his pale face. His long fingers dug fiercely into his throat, veins bulging on his arms. His lips parted weakly as air rasped through his throat with the sound of a broken bellows.
In the next instant, Chen Ji’s eyes snapped open.
Cold sweat trickled down his skin. His hands fell limply to his sides. He gasped for air in great heaving breaths, his vision blurry. Tears spilled unconsciously from the corners of his eyes, leaving a dark stain on the pillow.
…What happened?
Did he have another dream?
With great effort, he sat up and fumbled for the yellow talisman around his neck. He blinked hard to focus on it. Inside the sealed bag, only dark gray ashes remained. He let his hand drop and grabbed the glass of water from the bedside instead, draining it in one go.
The cool water sliding down his throat cleared his head a little. He pulled on an outdoor jacket and stuffed Grandpa’s yellow talismans and ritual items into the pockets. For some reason, Chen Ji felt irritated. He glanced around, searching for anything he might have overlooked.
Outside, the wind howled as if someone were sobbing.
So cold.
Chen Ji glanced back at the thermometer. It read 21 degrees—a comfortable temperature by any measure. Yet he felt chilled to the bone from head to toe.
…Right—where was Xiao Ba?
The thought had barely formed when a gust of wind brushed his ear. On pure instinct, he dodged to the side. In the next moment, an indistinct black shadow lunged at him. Chen Ji’s heart jolted. His first thought was—run!
Run! Run now! Don’t wonder why this thing was in the Mountain Lord Temple or where the System Cat had gone. Escape! He had to escape! Don’t look back! This wasn’t an opponent he could fight! Run!
To the main hall!
Some deep instinct told him so.
Grandpa Mountain Lord’s statue was there. This thing would surely hesitate before it. As long as he reached the main hall, he’d be safe!
The black mist twisted, forming grotesque shapes—now like a person, now like some beast. If Chen Ji had glanced back, he would have seen exactly what it resembled: a person crawling on the ground.
He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he kept hearing faint, rapid pattering sounds, like a cat’s paws on the floor. They grew clearer and closer in his ears, drawing nearer step by step.
Chen Ji forced himself not to think about it or look back. Suddenly, he spotted a deathly pale hand reaching out from the threshold of the side room ahead. His eyes sharpened. A foul wind blasted from behind. He threw himself forward, dodging the hand just as the attack from behind nearly caught him. He rolled across the floor to bleed off the momentum and was scrambling to his feet when another pale hand emerged from the stone tiles.
The hand felt boneless and soft. Vivid red nails, a shocking scarlet, clamped around Chen Ji’s ankle. It felt like touching ice. His body shuddered involuntarily. Only then did he see clearly what was pursuing him.
His pupils dilated in terror as another hand snaked around from behind, wrapping him in what seemed like a gentle embrace. The red nails raked across his skin like tiny knives, and blood welled instantly from the wounds.
Mournful cries echoed from all directions, voices neither male nor female, all calling his name in unison.
“Chen Ji…”
“Chen Ji…”
The black mist that seemed both human and beast loomed before him. Abruptly, it formed a human face wearing a mask. It giggled. “Chen Ji!”
Blood spurted suddenly from Chen Ji’s eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, tracing five glaring streaks across his pale skin.
The black mist cradled his face. The featureless human face nearly touched his own. Slender white fingers tilted up his chin.
He saw the Red Birthday Shoes again.
Lifting his gaze, he spotted the Ghost Fiend standing in the side hall, clad all in red. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall as she watched him silently.
She seemed to be smiling.
Chen Ji felt trapped in ice. He forced out the words, “Who are you… Why are you chasing me…”
The Ghost Fiend tilted her head slightly, her hair shifting with the motion. In an instant, she leaped over the threshold.
She was like a gust of wind, yet also like an unyielding stone. Her jump was light and graceful, but when she landed, Chen Ji heard the cold, hard thud against the stone floor. His pocket burned hot for a split second. His heart sank. He scrambled backward desperately, only for darkness to engulf his vision. He realized what it was.
Her hair.
As if compelled, he lifted his head to meet her blank face and blood-red eyes. She gazed down at him impassively, their eyes locked.
Her lush red lips curved into a faint smile.
At that moment, a flash of light sliced through the black hair like water weeds. A sword appeared abruptly in the Ghost Fiend’s chest. A tremendous force yanked Chen Ji away, hurling him through the air in an instant. Someone now stood between him and the danger!
“Chang Xu?!” Chen Ji cried in shock.
Black smoke billowed from the wound in the Ghost Fiend’s chest. Like a wooden puppet, she stiffly raised her head to stare at Chang Xu, seemingly unconcerned by the sword embedded there. Her arms shot out flat, and she surged toward him like light smoke, shrieking shrilly. At the same time, the black shadow moved!
Chang Xu gripped the sword with one hand and yanked it free with force. His other hand steadied Chen Ji’s shoulder, flipping him sideways with a powerful kick that sent the black shadow flying. His sword hand twisted, and with a swift stroke, a head soared through the air!
But Chang Xu didn’t press the attack. Instead, he seized Chen Ji and bolted. “Run!”
Chen Ji’s palms were slick with cold sweat, but Chang Xu seemed oblivious, gripping his hand firmly as they sprinted. As they ran, Chen Ji glimpsed figures in every window of the side halls—each a Red-Clothed Ghost.
They stood silently just inside the doorways, watching.
“How can this be!” Chen Ji’s steps grew heavier with every stride, as if pale hands clutched at his ankles, refusing to let him lift his feet. He couldn’t understand it. Struggling, he said, “Did I end up on some ghost bounty list?”
“…” Chang Xu suddenly stopped and swung his sword forward. Out of nowhere, half a human head appeared before them, as if growing from the blue stone tiles, its pitch-black eyes staring unblinkingly. Chen Ji’s chest erupted in excruciating pain, and he spat out a mouthful of hot blood!
As the blood left him, darkness closed in on his vision.
“If you pass out, you’ll die,” Chang Xu’s voice drilled into his ear from somewhere. “Get ready. Head south—alone…”
“He found me.”
Before the words finished, the Red-Clothed Ghosts poured out from the side hall. Chen Ji had no time to react. A massive force struck his back. Chang Xu cleaved a path for him and shouted, “Go!”
Chen Ji surged forward without looking back. Staying would only hinder Chang Xu!
The Red-Clothed Ghosts were strange, too. He should have been their prey, yet as he dashed past, not one turned to intercept him.
Some even passed straight through his body.
Now Chang Xu was their new target.
Chen Ji’s ears rang with the pounding of his own heart. The temple gate loomed ahead. A spark of hope ignited in his chest—perhaps once he passed through it, everything would return to normal. Trembling, he pushed the gate open. Sunlight spilled through the widening gap.
A slender black shadow stood at the temple entrance, its form nearly as tall as the gate itself. It kept its head bowed. The moment Chen Ji fully opened the gate, it looked up—and met his eyes.
Cold sweat dripped into Chen Ji’s eyes, blurring his sight, but he didn’t dare blink.
The gaunt ghostly figure simply watched him in silence.
It waited, waiting for the moment when Chen Ji stepped out through the temple gate.
Blood rolled down from Chen Ji’s facial features once again. Chen Ji abruptly slammed the temple door shut, whirled around, and bolted toward the main hall. In that instant as he turned, he caught sight of a pale hand thrusting through Chang Xu’s chest. Chang Xu’s white robes were instantly soaked red with blood. Even amid the swarm of encircling ghosts, Chang Xu shot Chen Ji a glance.
Chen Ji understood his meaning.
—Why are you back?
