The Terror of the Ruined Temple and the Inner Demon

The evil witch god's voice was like ink soaked in ice, seeping through the cracks in the dilapidated temple door and landing on everyone's skin, making their hair stand on end. Lin Shen stood up abruptly, holding his engineering shovel across his body, his gaze fixed on the temple door—the dilapidated wooden door had long since decayed. A red mist was slowly seeping through the cracks in the door panels. The mist gathered on the ground, forming small streams of water, like small red snakes, crawling towards the crowd.

"Don't touch that fog!" Chen Ba suddenly shouted, pulling out a handful of yellow talisman paper from his bosom. He pierced his fingertip with a silver hairpin and dripped blood onto the talisman paper. "This is 'resentment fog'. If it touches your skin, the evil witch god will sense it, and he will follow the resentment to find your weaknesses!"

The talisman paper instantly ignited with a faint blue flame when it came into contact with blood. Chen Ba threw the burning talisman paper towards the door. The moment the blue flame touched the red mist, a "sizzling" sound was made. The mist was like melted wax, quickly retreating, leaving a black mark at the door and emitting a burnt smell.

But this resistance only lasted a moment, and the red mist quickly surged up again. This time, the mist was mixed with tiny whispers, as if countless people were talking in his ears, the voices sometimes far away, sometimes near, and it was impossible to tell whether they were male or female: "You are scared... What are you afraid of..." "He won't like you, you will never get him..." "You are a waste, you can't even do such a small thing..."

Su Wan suddenly covered her ears and crouched on the ground, her face pale. Those whispers pierced her mind like needles, all the words she dreaded most—she was afraid her senior wouldn't like her, that she would always be just an insignificant nerd. These deepest fears were now dredged out by the Evil Witch God, echoing repeatedly in her ears.

"Su Wan! Don't listen to him!" Lin Shen tried to pull her back, but Zhou Tang stopped him. Zhou Tang's expression was grim. The compass needle had turned upside down, and the rust on the needle was beginning to fall off, revealing the blackened iron core within. "The evil witch god is attacking our defenses! He's amplifying our fear. Once we're consumed by fear, he'll possess us!"

Chen Mo leaned against the wall, his hands clenched until white. The whisper in his ear became clearer. It was the figure in black from high school saying, "You can't get away... You'll never be able to hide from me..." That dream had haunted him for ten years. Now the evil sorcerer dragged the dream into reality, and he began to hallucinate. The dilapidated temple wall had transformed into a high school building. At the end of the corridor stood the figure in black, walking towards him step by step. The figure's face was blurry, only a pair of eyes, absorbing his gaze like black holes.

"Get out of here!" Chen Mo suddenly yelled, swinging his fist and punching the wall. His fist hit the bricks, causing him to grimace in pain, but the illusion didn't disappear. The man in black was even closer to him, almost touching his face.

Meng Yao huddled beside the Guanyin statue, clutching her shattered camera. The whispers in her ears were the sounds of Shui Xietong crying, mixed with Zhao Lei's screams: "Why didn't you save me... Why did you abandon me..." Through the cracks on the camera screen, she could see Zhao Lei, entangled in red threads, becoming increasingly clear. His face twisted as he reached out to her: "Meng Yao, come down and stay with me... It's so cold down there..."

"It's not that I don't want to save you...it's Chen Mo who pulled me..." Meng Yao cried and defended herself, but her body moved uncontrollably towards the temple gate. The red mist had already crawled to her feet. A tiny hand stretched out from the mist and grabbed her trouser leg, as if Shui Xietong was pulling her.

"Don't go over there!" Li Ye suddenly rushed over and grabbed Meng Yao. His condition wasn't much better. He could hear his father's whispers scolding him: "You're a loser! You can't even find a job, and you dare to go on an outdoor adventure!" His father's disappointed eyes flickered before his eyes, making his heart ache and pain. But he knew he couldn't fall down now - he was the best outdoor survivalist in the team. If he was consumed by fear, no one would survive.

Li Ye pinched himself hard, the pain sobering him up a bit. He looked at Chen Ba and found that she was closing her eyes, forming seals with her hands, and muttering something. The talisman paper in front of her had burned out, and red mist was climbing up along her ankles. Her face was getting paler and paler, and her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

"Chen Ba! How are you?" Li Ye shouted.

Chen Ba suddenly opened her eyes and spat out a mouthful of black blood, which fell to the ground and was instantly swallowed by the red mist. "The Evil Witch God's power is too strong... The spiritual energy in this dilapidated temple won't last long..." She pulled a small black box from her bosom and tossed it to Lin Shen. "It contains the 'Soul-Calming Gu,' which can temporarily suppress the Evil Witch God's resentment. But it requires a person... someone to act as a vessel, nurturing the Gu within their body..."

"What do you mean?" Lin Shen opened the box, and inside lay a completely black insect with golden lines on its body. It looked even weirder than the previous Heart Guarding Gu.

"The Soul-Suppressing Gu relies on a person's Yang Qi to survive," Chen Ba's voice grew weaker. "Whoever swallows it will be able to temporarily suppress the Evil Witch God, but the price is... their Yang Qi will be sucked away bit by bit by the Gu, eventually turning them into a walking corpse..."

Everyone fell silent. No one wanted to become the walking dead, but if no one did so, everyone would be possessed by the evil witch god and die a more miserable death.

"I'll do it." Zhou Tang suddenly stepped forward. Her compass had completely malfunctioned, and the needle fell to the ground, breaking in two. "I'm a Feng Shui master. I've been dealing with these evil creatures since I was a child. My Yang energy is stronger than yours, so I'm suitable to be a container."

"No!" Su Wan raised her head, tears still on her face, "You can't go! Let's think of another way..."

Zhou Tang smiled, took the box from Lin Shen, and opened the lid. A black bug crawled inside the box, then raised its head, seemingly looking at her. "There's no other way," she said, looking at everyone. "You must survive and find a way out of Qingwu Town."

After saying that, she closed her eyes and swallowed the insect in one gulp.

The moment the insect entered her stomach, Zhou Tang's body trembled violently. She groaned in pain, clutching her chest with both hands. Her face instantly turned red, then quickly paled. As if drawn by something, the red mist rushed towards her frantically, wrapping around her body and forming a red cocoon.

"Ah!" Zhou Tang let out a shrill scream, and the red cocoon began to shrink. Her body twisted inside the cocoon, and she looked extremely painful.

The Evil Witch God's voice suddenly became furious: "How dare you ruin my business! I want you to die miserably!"

The red cocoon suddenly exploded, and Zhou Tang fell to the ground, covered in blood and breathing weakly. But the red mist seemed to lose its power and began to slowly dissipate, and the whispers in the ruined temple also disappeared.

"Zhou Tang!" Su Wan rushed over and hugged Zhou Tang, tears streaming down her face. "How are you? Don't scare me..."

Zhou Tang smiled weakly and reached out to touch Su Wan's head. "Don't worry... I'm fine... The Evil Witch God... has been suppressed for the time being..." As she spoke, she took out a folded piece of paper from her bosom and handed it to Su Wan. "This is the map of Qingwu Town I drew earlier... There's an exit marked on it... It's next to the old well at the west end of the town... You guys go quickly... Don't worry about me..."

"We'll take you with us!" Lin Shen squatted down and wanted to help Zhou Tang up.

Zhou Tang shook her head, her face growing paler and paler: "I can't leave... The soul-soothing insect has begun to suck my yang energy... I will become a walking corpse... Don't let me hurt you..." Her voice became smaller and smaller, her eyes slowly closed, and her body became stiff.

Su Wan held Zhou Tang's body, weeping heartbreakingly. Meng Yao and Chen Mo's eyes also turned red. Li Ye turned his head away, not daring to look at Zhou Tang's body, and gripped the shovel in his hand even tighter.

Chen Ba leaned against the wall, breathing heavily. She looked at Zhou Tang's body with a complicated expression: "We...we should leave. The Evil Witch God has only been suppressed temporarily. He will come looking for us again soon."

Everyone was silent. Li Ye and Lin Shen built a simple grave for Zhou Tang using wooden planks from the ruined temple and buried her body inside. Su Wan carefully folded the map, put it in her arms, and wiped away her tears. "Let's go. We can't let Zhou Tang's sacrifice be in vain."

Everyone packed up their belongings and headed towards the old well at the west end of the town. The red mist outside the ruined temple had dissipated considerably, but the sky had grown darker, as if it were already late at night. Only the occasional sounds of opera singing and women crying reminded them that the danger in Qingwu Town was not over yet.

After walking for about half an hour, they arrived at the old well at the west end of the town. This old well was larger than the previous wells they had encountered. The wellhead was covered with a thick stone slab with some strange symbols engraved on it, which looked like ancient talismans.

"This is it." Su Wan opened the map and pointed at the old well. "Zhou Tang marked it on the map. Push open this stone slab and you'll find a tunnel underneath that leads to the outside of town."

Li Ye and Lin Shen worked together to push the stone slab open. The stone slab was very heavy, and they took great pains to push it open a little. At this moment, a sudden "splashing" sound of water came from the well, followed by a child's voice, innocent yet with an indescribable strangeness: "Where are you going? Take me with you, please?"

Everyone's heart tightened, and when they looked back, they saw a child in white clothes standing by the well. His hair was wet, and there were water droplets on his face. His eyes had no whites, but were completely black. It was none other than the Water Evil Child!

"Shui Xie Tong!" Chen Ba shouted, pulling out a silver hairpin from his bosom. "Get out of the way! He's trying to drag us into the well!"

Shui Xietong chuckled, a clear, yet chilling laugh that sent shivers down one's spine. "I just wanted to play with you... Why are you running?" He reached out and grabbed Meng Yao. She stepped back in terror, but accidentally bumped into the flagstones at the edge of the well, which slid back a little, nearly trapping her.

Li Ye immediately swung his engineer's shovel and smashed it at Shui Xietong. Shui Xietong was very agile, dodging the shovel with a light leap and landing on the other side of the well. He stretched out his hand, and suddenly countless hands emerged from the well, grabbed Li Ye's ankles, and dragged him into the well.

"Ah!" Li Ye screamed, his body being pulled forward. Lin Shen immediately rushed over, grabbed Li Ye's hand, and tried to pull him back. However, the force in the well was so strong that Lin Shen was also pulled forward a step.

"Help me!" Lin Shen shouted.

Chen Mo and Su Wan immediately ran over, grabbed Lin Shen's arms, and pulled hard together. Meng Yao also reacted, picked up a stone from the ground, and threw it at the hand in the well.

Shui Xietong's face turned gloomy: "You are so annoying! I will drag you all into the well and play with me forever!" He opened his arms, the sound of water in the well became louder, and more hands stretched out from the well and grabbed Chen Mo and Su Wan's ankles.

"Not good!" Chen Ba suddenly discovered that a circle of black mist appeared under Shui Xietong's feet, and the shadow of the Evil Witch God could be vaguely seen in the mist - the Evil Witch God actually attached himself to Shui Xietong!

"It's the Evil Witch God! He's possessed Shui Xietong!" Chen Ba shouted, pulling out the last piece of talisman from his bosom. He pierced his fingertip with a silver hairpin and dripped blood onto the talisman. "Lin Shen! I'll throw the talisman to you, and you stick it on Shui Xietong's forehead!"

After saying that, Chen Ba threw the talisman paper towards Lin Shen. Lin Shen reached out to catch the talisman paper, swung it hard, and stuck it on Shui Xietong's forehead.

The moment the talisman touched Shui Xietong's forehead, a sizzling sound emanated, and blue flames erupted from the talisman. Shui Xietong let out a shrill scream, his body trembling violently. The black mist surrounding him quickly dissipated, and the voice of the Evil Witch God emanated from him: "I will not let you go! You will all die here!"

Shui Xietong's body fell to the ground, motionless. The hand in the well quickly withdrew, and the sound of the water gradually faded.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief and collapsed on the ground. They looked at Shui Xietong's body, then at the people around them—of the seven-person team, only Lin Shen, Su Wan, Chen Mo, Li Ye, and Meng Yao remained. Zhou Tang and Zhao Lei remained in Qingwu Town forever.

"Let's...let's go into the tunnel quickly." Su Wan's voice was filled with tears. She looked down at the old well. It was pitch black and she didn't know what dangers were inside, but she knew that this was their only way out.

Lin Shen stood up and wiped the cold sweat from his face: "Okay, let's go."

Everyone packed up their belongings and, one by one, descended into the tunnel beneath the old well. It was dark, illuminated only by the dim light of Su Wan's flashlight. The tunnel was damp, moss-covered walls, and the soil beneath their feet was soft, requiring careful treading with every step.

After walking for about ten minutes, there was a sudden sound of dripping water in the tunnel, followed by a woman's crying voice. Her voice was sad, as if she was telling endless grievances.

"It's the ghost mother!" Meng Yao's voice trembled. "Why is she here?"

Everyone stopped and looked around warily. The flashlight swept across the wall of the tunnel, and suddenly, they saw the shadow of a woman appear on the wall. The shadow was wearing a red wedding dress and had messy hair. It was the ghost mother!

"My husband... have you seen my husband?" The ghost mother's voice came from the wall, "He is in this tunnel... Please help me find him..."

The shadow on the wall gradually became clearer, and the ghost girl walked out of the wall. Her face was still horrified, the left side of her face burned, her right eye missing, and black blood flowing from her eye socket. She walked towards the crowd, leaving a bloody footprint on the ground with every step she took.

"Tell me quickly! Where is my husband?" The ghost girl's voice became sharp. "Did you hide him? I will kill you!"

Chen Ba's face turned pale. "Oh no! The ghost mother's resentment is even worse than before. She must have been affected by the resentment of the evil witch god!"

The ghost mother suddenly grabbed Meng Yao, and Meng Yao stepped back in fear, accidentally bumping into the wall of the tunnel. The moss on the wall fell away, revealing a stone tablet with a few words engraved on it: "Tomb of Li Erniu, husband of Wang Hongxia."

The ghost mother saw the words on the stone tablet and suddenly stopped. She stared at the stone tablet blankly, the black blood in her eyes flowing even more fiercely: "Husband... is my husband..." She reached out her hand and gently stroked the stone tablet, a sad expression on her face, "I've been looking for you for years... Why are you here..."

Everyone was stunned. They didn't expect that there was Li Erniu's tomb in the tunnel.

The ghost mother squatted before the stone tablet and began to cry. Her sobs were so mournful that they made people's hearts ache. She cried for a while, then suddenly raised her head, her eyes becoming gentle: "Husband, I am here to accompany you." After saying this, her body gradually became transparent and finally disappeared, leaving only her bloody footprints on the stone tablet.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't expect that the ghost mother's resentment would disappear after she found her husband's grave.

"Let's...let's keep going." Su Wan's voice was still a little trembling. She looked at the stone tablet with mixed feelings.

As they continued walking, the sound of water in the tunnel gradually faded, and the crying also ceased. After walking for about half an hour, a ray of light finally appeared ahead.

"It's the exit!" Meng Yao shouted excitedly.

The crowd quickened their pace, heading towards the light. The exit was a forest, and beyond the forest was the national highway. Occasionally, cars passed by on the highway, honking their horns.

"We're out! We're finally out!" Meng Yao burst into tears excitedly, Su Wan's eyes also turned red, Li Ye and Chen Mo smiled at each other, and Lin Shen looked in the direction of Qingwu Town with a complicated look - they finally got out alive, but lost their two companions forever.

At this moment, Lin Shen felt a sudden sharp pain in his chest. He frowned and reached out to touch his chest—it was the Heart Guarding Gu! He suddenly remembered what Chen Ba had said: if the Heart Guarding Gu sensed evil thoughts, it would bite the person's heart. In his excitement, he felt a sense of relief, grateful that he had survived, but he had forgotten about his companions who remained in Qingwu Town forever. Could this be evil thoughts?

Lin Shen's face turned pale. He looked at the people around him and found that Su Wan, Chen Mo, Li Ye, and Meng Yao's faces had also turned ugly. Their chests were aching slightly - it turned out that they all had their own evil thoughts, but they were previously covered up by fear.

"Not good!" Chen Ba suddenly shouted, "The Heart Guarding Gu is biting us back! The evil thoughts in our bodies have been activated!"

Everyone was stunned, looking at each other, not knowing what to do. At this moment, a shrill scream came from the direction of Qingwu Town. The sound was like that of an evil witch god, a flower ghost, and mixed with the singing of a ghost actor.

"There are other evil creatures in Qingwu Town..." Su Wan's voice trembled, "Are we...are we really safe?"

Lin Shen looked towards Qingwu Town and tightened his grip on the engineer shovel. "I don't know, but we survived. We'll talk about the future later."

They walked along the national highway in silence. Behind them, Qingwu Town gradually disappeared into the mist, like a terrifying nightmare. But they knew this nightmare wasn't over yet. The backlash of the Heart Guarding Gu, along with the remaining evil creatures, awaited them. Their adventure was far from over.