While driving on the road, a little girl suddenly appeared in front of me. "Sister, sister, do you want to play hide-and-seek?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Xu Anran crashed into her, and the girl instantly turned into smoke, then reappeared like a ghost in the back seat of the car.

Seeing her sitting in the middle of the babbling zither in the rearview mirror, Xu Anran took out a talisman and threw it at her. The girl screamed as she was burned, and her face became ferocious and terrifying.

Seeing this, Yi Yi raised her sword and swept it across the little girl like a falling leaf, sending her flying out of the car.

The car sped up like a runaway horse, encountering several eerie sights along the way. A long-tongued female ghost hanging by a tree waved at them like a summoning banner, while a male ghost crawled upside down on the road like a spider. Fortunately, Xu Anran was a skilled driver, or they would have bumped into him.

After driving for several hours, Xu Anran was exhausted and went into an empty villa.

Having learned from their previous experience, they treated the situation as if it were a formidable enemy. They first took peach wood swords and magical artifacts and thoroughly inspected the entire house, knocking and banging on things, before finally using talismans to seal the doors and windows.

Seeing that Luo Xi was still asleep, Xu Anran splashed water on her face to wake her up.

"Ah—" Stimulated by the cold water, Luo Xi suddenly opened her eyes as if waking from a dream. Seeing everyone surrounding her, Nan Nan asked in confusion, "Why are you all surrounding me?" Then, looking up and seeing that the surrounding environment had changed, she asked, as if completely bewildered, "Where am I?"

Xu Anran recounted the events at the farmhouse to her, and also told her that Ya Ya was the first one to discover it.

Luo Xi was deeply moved upon hearing this, and he picked up Ya Ya and kissed her several times. Ya Ya's little dark face turned as red as a ripe apple with shyness.

It was clear that she liked Luo Xi, and she even shyly returned the kiss on Luo Xi's cheek.

Yi Yi, standing to the side, was a little envious and wanted to kiss Xu Anran as well. Seeing his expression, Xu Anran let him kiss her cheek and then kissed him back. It has to be said, no matter what kind of creature it is, as long as it's reasonably good-looking, its juvenile stage is quite cute.

After Luo Xi recovered completely, Xu Anran said she needed to rest for a while and then lay down.

In the dream: Red lanterns filled the sky and drifted in like ghosts, their eyes like cunning foxes, darting about everywhere.

Wherever their eerie lights shrouded the area, people seemed to have their souls ripped out, instantly losing their lives. They were steadily approaching Xu Anran and her companions, who remained completely unaware inside the house.

A red lantern crouched quietly by the window, peering into the room. However, because the window was covered with mysterious talismans, it was as if blocked by an invisible barrier, unable to enter, and its light could not reach Xu Anran and the others.

The red lantern left dejectedly, thinking the crisis was over, but it returned, bringing with it several companions that were exactly like it.

Even more terrifying was that a human head was right behind it, and below the head were two enormous black wheels, like messengers from hell.

Flames raged above its head, like the fury of a demon. Upon arrival, it retreated slightly to gather its strength, then charged straight at the window like an arrow released from a bow.

Upon the first impact, the talisman was stimulated and burst forth with a dazzling light; however, with subsequent impacts, the light grew weaker and weaker, like a candle flickering in the wind.

Xu Anran and the others had already woken up. They hurriedly took out their magical artifacts, talismans, and peach wood swords, preparing for battle. But this eerie thing was truly terrifying. They dared not approach the red lantern easily, and could only throw talismans and other items at it, but they were all mercilessly devoured by the ghostly fire of the human head.

Finally, the red lantern burst through the window, and in a flash of red light, they were instantly taken from their lives.

Xu Anran suddenly woke up. She checked the time; there was still an hour until the red lanterns appeared. Anxious, she grabbed Luo Xi and shouted, "Quick, let's go, get out of here!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Luo Xi followed Xu Anran into the car. After everyone was seated, Xu Anran started the car without hesitation and sped off towards an area without red lanterns.

When Xu Anran drove to the vicinity of the factory in the west of the city, she couldn't help but swear.

This was the third time they had passed by the factory like headless flies. They seemed to be trapped in a maze, stuck in a cage from which they could not escape.

Xu Anran parked the car on the side of the road, and the group of them got out and began to search around the area.

After circling around, everyone gathered at the factory gate, their eyes focused on the dilapidated gate and the empty, ghost-like factory behind it.

Xu Anran and Luo Xi both understood that their predicament might be related to this mysterious factory.

However, the atmosphere here was extremely eerie, and no one knew what dangers lurked within the factory. After careful consideration, they decided to return the way they came.

Turning the car around at the factory gate and driving back, Xu Anran and the others were astonished to see from the car at the intersection the blood-red lanterns filling the sky and the ghostly carriage with human heads that looked like they came from hell in the distance.

They were scattered like ghosts in every corner of the sky, and the red light filled the sky, making the earth glow red, like a bloody purgatory.

Upon seeing this, Luo Xi was stunned and exclaimed, "What are all these things?"

"Anyone touched by the light from these lanterns will die instantly. That ghost carriage with fire on its head behind us is extremely dangerous. Once they spot us, there's no way out but death." After saying this, Xu Anran hurriedly turned the car around again and sped back the way they came.

"So, this is why you were so eager to escape from here before."

Xu Anran nodded silently.

In the end, they had no choice but to return to the factory gate.

They originally planned to wait at the gate for a while without going into the factory, thinking that maybe after a while, the red lanterns would leave and they could go back the way they came.

But how could the eeriness of the factory let them go? The surrounding scenery suddenly changed, and they were surrounded by the factory doors.

In other words, they had no choice but to enter the factory today. Xu Anran and Luo Xi exchanged a glance and sighed. They didn't know what dangers lay inside, but they had no choice but to take the plunge.

They got out of the car, carrying ritual implements and a peach wood sword, and carefully opened one of the large doors.

With a creak, the gate opened, and Xu Anran walked in front, followed by the others into the dark factory.