The first meeting of the team required some adjustment, not in terms of personality but in terms of tactics. The older practitioners were essentially coordinating with Chu Ruochun, but they weren’t mere tools at his disposal. Each had their distinct personalities, so it was essential to clarify the plan and arrangements before entering the Ghost Abyss.
Chu Ruochun and his companions stayed an extra day in Huaihua Village. Despite not having collaborated with most of the senior practitioners before, he found them easy to communicate with. They were direct and straightforward in their discussions, and they had a good understanding of the general situation in the Ghost Abyss.
“Little Chu, are you suggesting that the rest of us just need to protect the formation’s eyes?” asked one of them.
“You are a group of eight, perfect for using the Eight Yang Formation to guard the formation’s eyes. I will eliminate all the fierce spirits within the formation before you become overwhelmed,” Chu Ruochun explained.
“I have a question,” said Ah Nian, the one with the qilin tattoo. “This devouring ghost formation has been here for so many years. Why do we need to protect it?”
“Tomorrow is Ghost Festival, and on that day, the ghost energy will greatly increase. All the fierce spirits will come out to attack the formation’s eyes. Inside the formation, there are already numerous ghost kings, no less than ten. If they all attack together and destroy the formation’s eyes, the ghost kings will come out, causing a tremendous disaster for the outside world.”
“And how do you know that they will definitely attack the formation tomorrow during the Ghost Festival?” asked Liu Zhaodi, who was sitting close to her idol, Feng Qi. Feng Qi leaned slightly to the side to maintain a proper distance, even though he knew that Liu Zhaodi was already a grandmother.
Chu Ruochun no longer concealed anything from them: “I’ve been inside the devouring ghost formation for ten years, so I’m very familiar with what goes on inside. There’s no better explanation than my firsthand experience.”
Zhou Wansheng had already figured it out, “Ten years ago, there was only one person who entered the Ghost Abyss. How did you manage to come out?”
Others assumed that Chu Ruochun had entered with his physical body and emerged unharmed, but Chu Ruochun shattered that hopeful illusion, “You can come out by dying.”
This revelation plunged everyone into silence. Even Jiang Buqiang wanted to ask a few questions, but among all present, he had the least say, so he restrained his curiosity.
“But you’re alive now,” Liu Zhaodi inquired. At their age, they had weathered many storms and could quickly discern whether Chu Ruochun was genuinely alive or surviving through some occult means.
“I wouldn’t joke about the Ghost Abyss with all of you. I am indeed alive. How I am alive is not important. What matters now is explaining to you what you’ll encounter within the formation and the location of the formation’s eyes. I’ll provide you with a map.”
“Aren’t the formation’s eyes fixed?” Zhou Wansheng wanted to fan himself with his fan, but the Huaihua Village, being close to the Ghost Abyss, had a chilly climate. He waved it once and felt the cold, so he stopped, fan and thought included.
Liu Zhaodi gave him an annoyed look, “Old Zhou, have you considered that if the formation’s eyes were fixed, would we be needed at all? This formation has been securely in place for five hundred years. Regular formation eyes would have been breached by fierce spirits long ago. This is a Gu-raising formation. If a single Ghost King were to emerge, we would all have to deal with it.”
“Alright, I’ll go along with whatever Little Chu says,” Zhou Wansheng couldn’t be bothered to think further. His companions seemed willing to follow Chu Ruochun’s arrangements.
In truth, they had already been won over when they received the gifts from Chu Ruochun at their first meeting.
After the meeting, Chu Ruochun gave each of them a bundle of talismans, including wind, rain, thunder, and water talismans, as well as various protective talismans.
“I hope these talismans can protect all of you.”
“No problem, no problem.”
Except for Feng Qi, everyone who received the talismans was delighted.
Once everyone had returned to their rooms, Feng Qi sat on the third-floor balcony, which was adorned with onions and garlic. His face was filled with worry, and his brows were tightly furrowed.
In the tranquil modern countryside, the night sky was filled with stars.
Chu Ruochun asked Feng Qi, “Senior, do you remember the thatched house we lived in when we were kids?”
“Yeah, I remember. Why?”
“One time, Master predicted that there would be a strong wind at night and asked you to quickly add thatch to the roof, but you forgot.”
Feng Qi slowly recollected that incident as he followed Chu Ruochun’s words.
The thatch wasn’t added, and when the strong wind came, it blew away all the grass from the roof of the thatched house they lived in.
That night, with a sky full of stars and a low temperature, Feng Qi held Chu Ruochun close, and the two of them shared a thin blanket to keep each other warm.
Feng Qi suddenly smiled, “Yes.”
Chu Ruochun said, “The stars that night were as beautiful as they are tonight.”
Feng Qi nodded.
Chu Ruochun brought up another memory, “Later, we didn’t live in the thatched house anymore. We built a big house. Master often forgot his keys. Every time, he tried to figure out where he’d lost his keys, but he could never get it right.”
Continuing Chu Ruochun’s story, Feng Qi added, “One time, he had just finished calculating and went back to his room, only to find that his keys were still in the door, and he hadn’t taken them out.”
Both of them burst into laughter.
Chu Ruochun sighed, “Senior, I want to return to the mountain. It would have been better if none of us had come down.”
Feng Qi felt a pang of pain in his heart, “Yes, it would have been better if we hadn’t come down.” He leaned over and kissed Chu Ruochun on the forehead. “I’m sorry for making you go through all this.”
“I’m not suffering. On the contrary, I’m content,” Chu Ruochun smiled, his eyes narrowing. “Senior, you’ll be fine.”
Feng Qi reached out and hugged him tightly, “I will be. Tomorrow, you must come out, promise me.”
Chu Ruochun just hugged him without answering the question.
Feng Qi sighed in the end. On the surface, his junior seemed easy to talk to, but once he made up his mind, he wouldn’t change it.
–
The Ghost Festival arrived as scheduled.
Dark clouds shrouded the direction of the Ghost Abyss, and a chilling wind blew.
The closer they got to the formation, the more they could feel the eerie aura emanating from outside the formation.
Despite having talismans drawn by Chu Ruochun to protect them, the group could still feel the cold rising from their feet to their hearts.
“The Yin energy here is too heavy. I came here thirty years ago, and it’s even heavier now,” Zhou Wansheng commented.
“Indeed, the little darlings that I’ve been raising seem to have gained a few pounds. They’re about to burst,” Liu Zhaodi said as she applied a talisman to her pet Gu to prevent it from overeating Yin energy and exploding. Her Gu was connected to her heart, so if it died, she would suffer backlash, and even if it didn’t die, she would be severely injured.
“How do we enter?” Ah Nian asked.
Feng Qi stood in front of Feng Jiu and Yang Wenxin, asking if they were okay.
Feng Jiu shook his head, “I’m not that old yet.”
Yang Wenxin rubbed his arms, “This place is astonishing.” The Yin energy was almost suffocating them.
The Ghost Abyss occupied not just a mountain but almost an entire province. It was a vast area, and from a Feng Shui perspective, it was a treasure trove. It was a gathering place for Yin energy, which was why it could nurture so many fierce spirits.
But besides Chu Ruochun, no one had ever seen the fierce spirits inside the Ghost Abyss.
Chu Ruochun led the way, and he found it relatively easy-going. Of course, he also shielded everyone from a lot of intrusive Yin energy. He set up a barrier that made everyone feel much more comfortable.
They stopped in front of an ancient mansion, which looked dilapidated from the outside, with tattered flags hanging around it, barely recognizable.
“This is the entrance. After going in, please follow the plan to find the eye of the formation. I will divert all the fierce spirits elsewhere,” Chu Ruochun said, standing in front of the ancient mansion.
After making sure that Feng Jiu and Yang Wenxin were following the seniors closely, Feng Qi walked over to Chu Ruochun.
“Ruochun, I’m going with you,” Feng Qi insisted without giving him a chance to refuse.
“Okay,” Chu Ruochun didn’t reject him. He knew that Feng Qi wouldn’t let him out of his sight.
Turning to remind the others, he said, “Please make sure to find the eye of the formation as quickly as possible inside the city. Don’t be misled by other illusions.”
Everyone remembered yesterday’s arrangements, thinking, “What could possibly mislead us inside the formation?”
Chu Ruochun removed a talisman from the door, causing ripples to appear on it. He was the first to enter the formation, with Feng Qi firmly holding his wrist as they went inside.
Yang Wenxin wanted to call someone back but ultimately swallowed the words at the tip of his tongue.
They exchanged glances and entered the door.
However, what they saw inside was not the same as what they had seen outside.
The ancient mansion was just an illusion.
Director Jiang brought a group of people from his department to closely follow the seniors.
As soon as they entered, they were shocked by the sight.
Unlike the eerie atmosphere outside, they found themselves standing on a bustling ancient street.
“What’s going on? Is this an illusion?” Director Jiang looked at the busy street full of people, utterly bewildered. “Zhou Lao, shouldn’t there be a sinister atmosphere inside the formation?”
Shouldn’t they be facing fierce spirits directly?
Zhou Wansheng and the others also paused for a moment, filled with awe for the person who had set up this formation. It must have taken many years to become such a genius.
He explained to Director Jiang, “This seems to be a formation within the formation, possibly an illusionary formation. Despite their lifelike appearances, all these people are actually spirits. Be cautious and don’t be deceived.”
“Hello, so many guests have arrived! How about coming to Zuihua Lou for a visit? Today, you’re in luck. Our Zuihua Lou’s leading lady, Miss Jiang, will perform for you.”
The group had never seen such an authentically recreated ancient scene, and it stirred their hearts, especially among the gentlemen. However, their resolve was strong, and they all shook their heads in refusal.
The old madam waved her handkerchief, holding Director Jiang’s hand, saying, “Aren’t you coming? It only happens once in a millennium.” She was incredibly strong, and Director Jiang was dragged inside!
The others looked at each other in disbelief.
Zhou Wansheng glanced at Zuihua Lou and said, “Shouldn’t we go inside and investigate?”
Liu Zhaodi smirked, “Can we afford not to? Director Jiang is about to become the dinner of those ghosts.”
So, the group followed inside. Saving a life was the priority.
Zuihua Lou was elegantly decorated, and it didn’t quite match their expectations of opulence. If they didn’t know it was a brothel, it could easily be mistaken for a regular restaurant.
On the first floor, classical women sang and played musical instruments while sitting next to delicate-looking men who played the pipa.
“Is this real or fake? I’m so confused.”
“Forget about that. Let’s find Director Jiang.” The fortune teller twiddled her prayer beads. “The Yin energy here is extremely heavy, and there’s a fierce spirit.”
“It’s full of spirits here,” Zhou Wansheng commented.
As they were speaking, Zuihua Lou suddenly turned into a dilapidated mess. Spiderwebs covered every corner, and the beautiful women who had been sitting there turned into grotesque and monstrous ghosts. The melon seeds they had been eating became protein, and the meat on their plates turned into yellow mud.
“Ah! Help!”
Director Jiang was rolled up like a piece of meat in a white silk cloth and hung in the center of the restaurant, falling suddenly from a great height.
A shadow drifted through the air, scanning everyone. The classical and elegant female ghost was all in white, with only her lips painted in red. She licked her glossy red lips and said softly, “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen living beings.”
