☆, Chapter 42: Want to play games?

The car finally stopped with a screeching brake. Then, the changing scene before him chilled his heart.

They were not on any so-called national highway at all, but in an unknown tunnel. The nearest turning point was less than two meters away from them. If they had continued driving at the speed they just went, the result would have been a car crash and death.

The "young master" driver gasped and broke out in a cold sweat.

Rongqing ignored his meaning and instead focused all his attention on Yu Jiuyin.

"Is it serious?"

"It's okay. A half-baked guy still has some skills." Yu Jiuyin made a hand gesture, and the copper coins scattered on the ground returned to his hand by themselves.

"I'll go out and take a look." Yu Jiuyin was about to get off the car, but was held back by Rongqing.

"I'll go," Rong Qing said, signaling Yu Jiuyin to stop moving. Just now, it was obvious that something had taken advantage of Yu Jiuyin's distraction and slipped in. Yu Jiuyin must have been deeply distressed by the backlash. The situation was unclear, and Rong Qing would not allow Yu Jiuyin to take another risk.

He asked the driver in the front seat to lower the wheelchair, and then he got out of the car alone. Rongqing maneuvered the wheelchair and carefully observed the surrounding situation.

It looked like an ordinary tunnel, but Rongqing was sensitive enough to sense a faint resentment flowing in the air.

He followed the source of his resentment and found that the source was the lights on both sides of the tunnel.

There's something wrong with this light. Rongqing reached out and touched the wall beneath the light. It felt cold, just ordinary building stone. But when he looked up, he noticed a layer of white powder beneath the light. After careful examination, Rongqing discovered it was ash dust.

Realite powder is considered a medicinal herb, but in the metaphysical world, it has another use. Cinnabar is yang, while realite is yin, so it can be used to guide souls. Yu Jiuyin had used this before when he was saving the vengeful spirits in Juehu Village. If it can be used here...

Rong Qing took a quick look. The tunnel was wide at the entrance and narrow at the exit, surprisingly shaped like a funnel. The dark red bloodstains at the tunnel's end also hinted at the soul-caller's use of blood to attract spirits. It was clearly an enlarged version of a soul-calling formation.

Rong Qing took a deep breath, finally understanding why so many Heavenly Masters couldn't determine the location of the mastermind behind this. Even Yu Jiuyin found it difficult to discern the cause and effect and deduce the direction.

A half-wit is still a half-wit, relying on little more than cleverness. This soul-calling formation has attracted countless evil spirits. The entire northern suburbs are filled with chaos and turmoil from these gathered evil spirits and vengeful spirits, and the celestial phenomena have long been obscured. As for Qin Ying's soul, it is imprisoned within, unable to summon even a single soul.

Rongqing figured it all out and decided to head back to the car. It was too late today, so he planned to have a construction team come tomorrow to remove the tunnel lights.

However, at this moment, there was a sudden rustling sound around. Then, the dark shadow that had flashed by in the rearview mirror before floated over again.

But this time, he did not attack alone, there were more erratic ghosts following him.

These things are obviously different from ordinary ghosts. They are unconscious, and there is no other emotion on their wooden faces except anger, distortion and resentment.

The tunnel was narrow, and Rongqing looked particularly frail sitting in the middle. The vengeful spirits had already treated Rongqing like meat on their chopping board, eager to surround him and begin enjoying a sumptuous dinner.

"Rongrong," Yu Jiuyin in the car shouted worriedly.

"Don't worry." Rong Qing shook his head at Yu Jiuyin, then raised his hand and reached out to the vengeful spirit closest to him.

Compared to Yu Jiuyin, Rongqing's methods were simpler and more brutal. If the evil spirits couldn't be converted, they could simply be dispersed.

The overwhelming ghostly energy suddenly unleashed, finally unleashing the evil spirit within Rongqing's soul. He didn't even release the true form of the evil spirit, but with just this human body, he was able to disperse those resentful souls.

For evil spirits, anyone who is not my friend is just a tonic and can be refined.

Deterrence

Rongqing's cruelty was beyond the expectations of the vengeful spirits. It was clearly a hunt, but the hunter became the prey. In just a few minutes, all the vengeful spirits surrounding the car were scared to death.

"Keep going," Rong Qing ordered the driver as he got in. He then released his previously restrained ghostly aura. The temperature in the car instantly dropped to freezing.

The driver shuddered, stepped on the accelerator, and drove towards his destination regardless of anything.

It was truly thrilling. The vengeful spirits that followed were almost instantly annihilated by Rongqing's ghostly aura. Yet, even so, they persisted. The clattering sound beneath the wheels was like the sound of bones being crushed.

This wasn't a highway; it was clearly a dreary road. By the time they reached the magnesia factory halfway up the mountain, even though the temperature inside the car was freezing, the driver's back was still drenched in sweat.

"Stay here and don't go in." This time, Yu Jiuyin was the first to get off the car. The driver was just an ordinary person, and even if he was very brave, he would easily fall behind after entering.

Yu Jiuyin took out three talismans from his pocket and stuck them on the car doors and windows, and handed the last one to the driver.

"No matter what you hear or see, don't go out."

"Okay." The driver glanced at Rongqing and quickly agreed.

Yu Jiuyin didn't waste any more time and walked towards the magnesia factory with Rongqing and the extremely anxious Old Man Qin.

Yu Jiuyin couldn't be blamed for his anxiety. The causal connection between Qin Ying and Old Man Qin was becoming increasingly weak. He could only determine that Qin Ying was at the magnesia factory, but he had no idea where her body was hidden. Furthermore, he didn't dare gamble, because if the causal connection was completely broken, it would mean that Qin Ying's soul had completely disintegrated. Death, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation, was undoubtedly the most tragic outcome for a Celestial Master of Soul Transmigration.

The factory was empty at night. Having been abandoned for a long time, it was filled with dust and old, rusty machines.

Walking through the factory, Yu Jiuyin and Rongqing were extremely cautious, but behind them, Old Man Qin felt a bit uneasy. The compass in his hand had been shaking constantly since they got out of the car. Once inside the factory, the needle spun like crazy.

"Wait." Old Master Qin felt something was amiss. He habitually set up a fortune array and placed the yellow flag in the center.

This was a unique Maoshan method of divination. If the yellow flag remained motionless, it signified safety; if it fell, it signified a narrow escape from death. If it broke, it signified a journey of no return. But this time, as if deliberately heightening Mr. Qin's anxiety, with a single, finger-thick snap, the yellow flag's pole suddenly snapped.

"This..." Old Master Qin swallowed his saliva, and a cold sweat instantly came down. "Why don't you go first? Qin Ying is my granddaughter after all."

Old Master Qin took a breath and persuaded Rong Qing and Yu Jiuyin to leave. In his opinion, Rong Qing and Yu Jiuyin were too young and had great prospects. For his granddaughter, he would go through hell once, but he couldn't drag Rong Qing and Yu Jiuyin to be buried with her.

However, Yu Jiuyin directly refused, "Grandpa, you said before that you knew my master, right?"

"right."

"Then I'll definitely take care of this matter. Putting aside the rules of the metaphysical circle, all Heavenly Masters should help each other. Based on your relationship with my old man, if I run away today, I'll be expelled from the sect. Furthermore, the aura here is chaotic, and we don't know why the yellow flag was broken." Yu Jiuyin smiled and comforted Old Man Qin, "Old Man, please say one more word."

"No."

"It's not for the sake of leek sprouts. They have been growing since spring and autumn. The old man will surely achieve his wish on this trip."

"You..." Old Master Qin understood that Yu Jiuyin was trying to comfort him, but at this point, it would be hypocritical to refuse. He could only remember Yu Jiuyin's kindness in his heart and wait until the matter was settled before thanking him.

However, Rong Qing, who was standing next to him, heard what Yu Jiuyin had not finished saying. When he saw Yu Jiuyin take out the soul-summoning bell, he understood the seriousness of the matter even more.

That's right, this "non" wasn't a good omen at all, but a grave one. Standing alone, stabbed three times in each rib, wouldn't it be incredibly difficult for that person to survive? But Yu Jiuyin was trying to change the subject to comfort the frightened Old Man Qin, so Rongqing naturally wouldn't spill the beans. Instead, he pushed his wheelchair forward a step, collaborating with Yu Jiuyin to protect Old Man Qin behind him.

Seeing this action, Yu Jiuyin knew that Rongqing had seen through his hidden thoughts and couldn't help but smile at him. Rongqing held Yu Jiuyin's hand and wrote the two words "Don't worry" on his palm.

Yu Jiuyin nodded, and her heart suddenly felt warm.

After all, it was a small magnesia factory, and the factory area was only this large, so it could be walked through in just over ten minutes. But the strange thing was that during those ten minutes, neither Rongqing nor Yu Jiuyin detected any ghostly or resentful aura. It was so clean that it seemed as if the mottled atmosphere they had experienced upon entering was an illusion.

What was going on? Yu Jiuyin thought about it for a long time but couldn't figure out the reason. At this moment, under the moonlight, a small playground behind the factory caught his attention.

It was supposed to be a place for workers to relax during their lunch break, but now, due to long periods of neglect, it had become overgrown with weeds. Whether intentional or not, the sounds of children playing could be heard from far away.

"Let's go take a look." Yu Jiuyin and Rongqing quickly agreed and headed over there. Old Master Qin also followed behind them.

Even at the brightest hour of midday, it was impossible for children to play in the abandoned magnesia factory in Xierying, a suburb of Beijiao. But now, judging by the sounds, it was clear that there was more than one child in the playground.

They seemed to be playing a game of "Eagle Catches Chicken." The child playing the eagle wore a strange eagle mask, and the remaining children each grabbed the hem of the previous one's clothes and ran to the rhythm.

"Can't catch, can't catch"

"Hehehe, so stupid, I can't catch it"

"Ah, run!" They were having a blast, and the smiles on every child's face were incredibly genuine. But the premise was that we had to exclude their unusually strange facial features.

"Symmetry." Yu Jiuyin murmured. Old Master Qin became even more terrified by the two words Yu Jiuyin uttered.

Yu Jiuyin was right. These children's faces were surprisingly symmetrical. No, not just their faces, but every detail of their bodies: their facial features, the length of their arms, the patterns of their clothes. If the human body could be folded freely, then with the tip of the nose as the central axis, if all the children were folded in half, the two sides would perfectly overlap.

If there was only one, it wouldn't be a scary thing, but now there was a group of them in front of them.

"Hehehe!" The strange laughter of the child grew louder and louder, almost piercing the ears. The compass in Old Man Qin's hand had completely lost control, and Rong Qing subconsciously released a ghostly aura to intimidate.

However, the children didn't react at all and continued to play in their own world. After getting tired of playing "Eagle Catches Chicken", they even switched to playing hide-and-seek.

As for the soul-summoning bell in Yu Jiuyin's hand, there was no reaction at all.

Was it an illusion or did it mean that the magic weapon had failed? This strange contrast made Yu Jiuyin become alert.

He and Rong Qing exchanged a glance, each seeing confusion in the other's eyes. Rong Qing's ghostly aura was incredibly lethal to these vengeful spirits. Even those without any sense would feel a basic fear in Rong Qing's presence. As for Yu Jiuyin's spirit-calling bell, it was one of the most sensitive magical instruments. No matter how deeply hidden it was, it would undoubtedly be discovered.

But now, none of their methods are effective, and only Grandpa Qin's compass can provide early warning. This illogical situation is unacceptable to Yu Jiuyin and Rongqing.

The childish voice of "1, 2, 3, 4" was particularly eerie in the night, like a countdown to death. The faces of the children, who should have been hiding, also changed dramatically during this period.

With eerie smiles, they surrounded the blindfolded child counting. Then, one of the girls pulled out a black bag and put it over his head. As the plastic bag tightened, the child's features became increasingly visible beneath it.

"Ah!" The scarce air made the child struggle, but the remaining children had more tricks up their sleeves. With distorted faces, they dragged the child bit by bit through the back door into the factory. Then, they placed the struggling child on the cutting machine.

The moment the cutting machine began to work, blood burst forth, staining the faces of each child. However, they showed no sign of stopping. Instead, they all turned their heads and faced Yu Jiuyin and the other two with childlike smiles.

Yu Jiuyin immediately became alert. At the same time, he suddenly felt a subtle presence coming from behind him. Yu Jiuyin dodged sharply, barely avoiding the suddenly extended knife.

But Rongqing and Old Master Qin beside them changed their expressions at the same time.

Because the girl standing in the middle of the field was so familiar to them. Even though she was wearing a medieval palace-style dress, her familiar facial features still allowed them to recognize the girl's identity.

It was Qin Ying whom they were trying so hard to find.

Unfortunately, Qin Ying had no intention of recognizing him. At this moment, she held a saw in her left hand and a blood-stained long knife in her right, staring at Yu Jiuyin with eyes filled with resentment.

The group of children who had killed and dismembered people before suddenly gathered around Yu Jiuyin. One of them hugged Yu Jiuyin's thigh and said in a wicked tone, "Brother, do you want to play a game with us? If you lose, you will be like that sister and join us forever."