Chapter 42: Is it fun to earn money with blood? (20) With a...
Si Ling looked at Bai Ma, who was right in front of him. Responding to her overtures, he briefly answered the question, "They're fine. They're in the underworld, waiting to be reincarnated."
There was no warmth in the tone of these words, let alone trust.
——After 30,000 years of life as a fierce ghost and having experienced all sorts of things in the world, it is difficult for him to trust people easily, especially those who were hostile to him just a moment ago.
She therefore did not continue the previous topic - Bai Ma's action of rescuing the two immortals was indeed a good deed at least on the surface, but his motive was unclear, and there was no point in asking about this motive, because the two immortals seemed to be the most powerful witnesses, but in fact they were working for Bai Ma. This was no different in substance from Bai Ma himself telling the story here.
So Si Ling pondered for a while, then asked: "What were you thinking about just now?"
Bai Ma was puzzled: "What?"
Si Ling said, "You've analyzed the rules very clearly. If you follow your analysis, you can leave the bathroom unscathed. But you analyzed the rules clearly, then deliberately broke them... and repeatedly. That's illogical."
Bai Ma laughed, lowering his eyes to look at his reflection on the polished marble floor. "I don't know why this strange rule-based story appeared, but at least I know it wasn't here before. So I guess whoever is behind it, the mastermind behind it, should be nearby."
Si Ling raised an eyebrow: "So?"
Bai Ma said slowly, "So I guess, even if it's really that mysterious 'He' that's so common in novels, they'd be curious to see the participants in a strange story deliberately breaking the rules even though they've clearly analyzed and understood them."
Si Ling understood and was speechless: "You want to lure me out?"
Bai Ma did not deny: "Yes."
Si Ling asked again, "But what happens after we lure them out? Your cell phone signal is blocked and you can't call for help. Luringing the schemer out is far more risky than following the rules and leaving safely."
"You're right." Bai Ma nodded, a meaningful smile in his eyes. He looked around. "But this strange story clearly wasn't set up to target me. Anyone attending the banquet could have come here. In other words, the person who set up the story is indiscriminately attacking everyone at the banquet. If I could meet the person who set up the story, I could offer some help."
Si Ling frowned and stared at her intently, trying to judge the truth of her words: "Even if you can't get out?"
"Yes, even if I can't get out myself." The smile on Bai Ma's face faded completely, and his expression became extremely solemn. "I still think so now. So, now I just want to tell you - if you face off against a member of the Tumba family, be sure to be wary of their evil magic. The reason their magic tools are in high demand is not only because they are 'rare items' made from human bones decades ago, but also because they can refine ghosts and monsters, including human ascetics. Many small demons and ghosts with low cultivation have been refined, and their spirits are forced to attach to those magic tools, unable to reincarnate. They can only rely on absorbing tribute to maintain their spiritual power, and can only wholeheartedly bless the holders of the magic tools."
"But you know, demons and ghosts are all registered. If the King of Hell or Satan finds out what they've done, they'll be doomed. That's why they only dare to use the most inconspicuous demons and ghosts to avoid alerting the enemy. But—"
Bai Ma looked at Si Ling. "As an Eastern ghost, you came to the West, out of the jurisdiction of the region. Accidents that occurred would be difficult to detect, and verifying the cause would be even more difficult. If you had cultivated for three to five hundred years..." She laughed, "Then you would be a piece of fat meat for the Tunba family. If they attached you to a magical weapon, they could sell you for hundreds of millions. They would refine you at all costs."
ha……
Si Ling smiled and said, "Thank you for letting me know."
——Three to five hundred years of cultivation will be refined at all costs?
The 30,000-year-old ghost said he wanted to broaden their horizons.
Ah Zhu, who was born in the Ming Dynasty, turned pale and took a half step back stiffly.
...Three to five hundred years, just tell me the cultural relic code.
Bai Ma continued, "If you really have the ability to destroy them all." She unlocked her phone, opened the memo, and held up a longitude and latitude coordinate in front of Si Ling. "This is the underground treasure house built by Gongbu, which contains countless magical instruments. Perhaps it is of no importance to you, but I implore you to go there and destroy them by any means. This way, the victims of that year, including the demons and ghosts that were later refined and imprisoned there, can all be reincarnated."
Bai Ma pursed his lips and said, "Just think of it as a good deed...Evil spirits can also do good deeds, right?"
Si Ling reacted: Oh, she just forgot to tell Bai Ma that her mission goal was indeed to kill the Tunba family, but the fundamental purpose was to help the wronged souls to be liberated.
"Do you really think so?" She looked at Bai Ma suspiciously and said calmly, "To be honest, you really can't get out. Although I set up this strange rule, you can only leave by following the rules. The mechanism is like this, and there is nothing I can do."
"It doesn't matter." Bai Ma acted even more relaxed than Si Ling. "If I didn't have you, I'd have to find a chance to kill them all myself. That would be much more difficult, and even if I did, the result would be either we all die together or go to jail. How different is that from dying in a ghost story?"
As she spoke, a smile crossed her lips, but it faded in an instant. She thought for a moment and said carefully, "Can I make two requests?"
Si Ling's face remained calm: "You say."
Bai Ma pointed at Li Qi and Zhu Mengwei and said, "They haven't broken any rules, so they should be able to leave. But if you fail to deal with the Tumba family, it's only a matter of time before they discover their existence. Can you protect them?"
Li Qi and Zhu Mengwei, who had been silent for a while, suddenly looked up. Zhu Mengwei just frowned, and Li Qi said impatiently, "Hey... Although I know what you have been wanting to do, you can let go of the ghost who killed you, but isn't it too much for you to ask me to follow her?"
Bai Ma glared at her and said, "This is my last wish. The dead are the greatest!"
Li Qi shut up angrily.
Bai Ma looked at Si Ling, and Si Ling nodded: "No problem."
Bai Ma breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "Another request is, if possible... can you let my mother go? Her name is Dawa, and she is the one sitting to Gongbu's left in the main venue."
Si Ling fell silent.
Although she had not seen Dawa yet, she knew that Dawa must be one of the 37 main targets. Even if she did not take action, other students would take his head.
…Besides, why would she agree to such a request? Why would she let go of the evildoer whom Yama had specifically named to be taken away just because of a random girl?
But she didn't want to have a direct conflict with Baima, so she just said, "I can't make any promises."
"Okay." Bai Ma didn't insist too much and nodded kindly, "I wish you success."
Please make sure to succeed.
Bai Ma thought.
Si Ling hummed, glanced at Ah Zhui, and turned to walk out. Ah Zhui followed her, understanding her intention. Behind them was only a deathly silence. But until they walked out of the bathroom, Bai Ma and the two immortals did not make any more moves.
...Okay, okay.
Si Ling sighed and finally believed Bai Ma.
She turned back to the bathroom and ran into the touching scene of Bai Ma and two immortals hugging each other in tears. She coughed awkwardly, "Ahem... Um, I'm quite curious about the feud between you and the Tumba family. How about we talk about it while we walk?"
One person, two immortals: "?"
Li Qi opened his eyes wide in confusion: "Isn't it possible to get out?"
Bai Ma frowned and narrowed his eyes: "Are you deceiving me?"
"That's right." Si Ling admitted frankly.
“…” Bai Ma was naturally angry, but he had nothing to say.
Si Ling did not waste any more time and immediately cast a spell to temporarily suppress the rule ghost story. After Bai Ma left, he set up the ghost story again.
When she finished all these, she found Bai Ma still beside her, so she asked, "Aren't you going back?"
Bai Ma pondered and said, "You can use a trick, right? If you can hide my figure, I won't go back. I don't like this kind of occasion."
Si Ling shook his head and laughed, "The mist obscured my form." As soon as he finished speaking, Bai Ma's figure vanished without a trace. Li Qi and Zhu Mengwei, their farewell interrupted, were somewhat speechless, but more than anything, they were delighted. They exchanged a glance and vanished as well.
Si Ling and A Zhu cast a spell again, and the "ghost" disappeared in an instant.
For the next half hour, one person, two ghosts, and two immortals sat idly by, watching the strange discussion of the rules. It proved that sharp minds like Bai Ma's were indeed a scarce resource. During that half-hour, anyone entering the restroom would either simply dismiss the rules as a prank and disregard them, ultimately violating them; or they would carefully navigate the first few rules but struggle to grasp the logic of the sink area, ultimately failing at some point.
After 11 people left one after another, Li Qi floated out from Bai Ma and asked Si Ling curiously, "You don't plan to kill anyone?"
Si Ling smiled and said, "Play the long game and catch the big fish."
.
A few hundred meters away, Aji led his men to follow the scent of the talisman and groped their way to a villa.
...Before he even walked into the garden gate in front of the villa, Aji felt something strange.
The Tumba family estate contained numerous villas, both stand-alone and townhouses, which were provided for guests of varying social status during such occasions. The villa before him was not only stand-alone but also quite large, with wings on either side. From a distance, it almost had the aura of a Western-style palace, complete with courtyards in front and back.
This is the highest-specification villa, of which there are only eight in the entire estate. They are named after the Eight Auspicious Emblems① and are exclusively for the core members of the family to live in.
These villas will be meticulously cared for even when no one is living there. Not only are the furniture and appliances in the rooms maintained by dedicated staff, but the flowers, plants and trees in the yard are also tended by dedicated gardeners. Any dead flowers and trees will be promptly transplanted and replaced.
But now, everything in the garden is withered.
The most prominent towering trees were stripped of their branches and leaves, their thick trunks dull. They stood one after another on a patch of soil strewn with decaying grass, their bare branches stretching jaggedly in all directions. Equally jagged thorns sprouted from the ground. A luxurious villa nestled among these jagged features. Peering through the gaps between the barriers, the few people saw only the villa's exterior walls, painted in mottled colors and with several broken windows. Under the moonlight, it exuded a sense of desolation.
Dilapidated, morbid, decayed... Such a scene obviously should not appear in the prosperous Tumba Manor, but it is very consistent with the Gothic style.
"Be careful." Aji reminded his disciples in a deep voice. As he spoke, he turned around and his eyes fell on the stretcher.
Gesan lay there motionless, his breath so weak that it was almost impossible to detect any sign of life.
...About ten minutes later, Gesang stood up from the stretcher, with his head lowered, and staggered into the metal gate of the garden in front of him like a zombie.
Everyone stared at Gesan's back, and everyone's heartstrings were tense.
At this moment, they no longer cared about the relationship between master and apprentice, or brothers. On the contrary, they all expected the ghosts hiding in the dark to rush out from the garden and attack Gesan, so that they could attack directly from outside without having to go into the villa.
At this moment, this villa has obviously become the other party's "territory", and they will become very passive once they enter the villa.
But the expected attack never occurred. Gesang moved forward in a daze, stepping over blades of grass and dead branches, not even avoiding thorns. The edge of his scarlet robe was soon torn, and his ankles were scratched and bleeding. Aji was a little excited when he saw these bloodstains, because many ghosts are attracted to the smell of blood, making Gesang an even better bait.
But nothing happened. The garden was completely silent, with only the irregular sound of Gesang's footsteps stepping on grass leaves and dead branches.
Not long after, he had reached the main entrance of the villa. The disciple who was helping Aji drive the puppet chanted the spell, and Gesan raised his hand stiffly to touch the numbers on the combination lock on the door.
Beep, beep, beep...
The light sound of the digital lock was out of tune with the gloomy courtyard. After six intermittent sounds, Gesan pressed the confirmation button, raised his hand two inches, and grasped the door handle.
With a slight click, the coffee-brown door of the villa opened.
Everyone held their breath and looked over. Through the crack of the newly opened door, they saw that the villa was pitch black.
——They came here in pursuit of ghosts, and now faced with darkness, no one would go in under such circumstances. However, the walking corpse Gesang had completely lost his sense of danger. Under the influence of the spell, he was like a puppet, walking into the abyss step by step.
“Squeak—”
The door closed quietly, and Gesang's figure completely disappeared.
"...What's going on?" Aji heard a disciple mumbling anxiously, but he calmed himself and ignored him.
Waiting, a long wait. These demonic monks, who had followed the Tumba family in their training since childhood, experienced a long-lost state of restlessness. Every second seemed stretched to an unusually long time. Time, which they had always regarded lightly as practitioners, suddenly became a terrifying curse, tormenting every inch of their being.
Then, it seemed like a century had passed, but it also seemed like only three or two minutes had passed. Everyone who was staring at the villa saw that the second piece of glass on the left side of the door was suddenly splashed with a stain.
Because the window was dark and the sky was dark, the stain only appeared as an irregular shadow in the faint moonlight, but everyone had the same guess because of this shadow.
It's blood, Gesar's blood.
Aji took a long, deep breath and waved his right hand: "Go." This word was so low that it was almost inaudible, but it inexplicably struck everyone's heartstrings and brushed across everyone's scalp, stirring up an indescribable discomfort.
However, under the constant pressure of Aji, no one dared to object or flee. They all forced themselves to follow Aji into the courtyard, and they could only be thankful that Aji was not walking fast, which gave them some time to prepare themselves mentally.
As he walked, Aji's lips moved, and he once again chanted the mantra he was so proud of: "Nan Weisutong, Maraj Pisaji."
A fierce wind blew through the dead branches and leaves, and several lines of black mist silently approached and disappeared behind Aji's back. After a few seconds, the wind died down, and under the pale silver moonlight, Aji's pupils once again transformed into a vertical line, glowing dark green.
Not long after, the few of them finally walked through the yard covered with dead branches, grass leaves and thorns and arrived at the gate of the villa.
...If they had hoped that Gesan might have survived because they had not heard his screams or cries for help during these ten minutes, then the moment they arrived at the door, this hope had disappeared.
Because they smelled blood.
The strong smell of blood was gently brought out by the cool evening breeze, gently touching everyone's nasal mucosa... This feeling was both weird and creepy.
The two least courageous disciples involuntarily stepped back, but they ultimately had no intention of escaping because Aji had already opened the door.
"Everyone, be alert and be careful." Aji reminded them again and then ordered, "Lighting."
The two disciples following closely behind him immediately turned on the emergency flashlight, and a white beam of light as thick as a bowl quickly broke through the darkness and pierced into the pitch black.
Almost at the same moment the beam of light was cast, a mass of something passed through the beam and flew quickly out of the darkness.
It flew straight towards the disciple holding the light on Aji's left. The disciple was holding the emergency flashlight in his left hand, his mind completely immersed in tension. He had no time to react when he saw the unidentified object, and subconsciously grabbed it with his right hand...
Next second:
"Ah!!!" The disciple screamed and threw the thing out. His legs took two steps back and he fell to the ground because he was weak.
"Bang." The object that was thrown out fell limply one meter away.
The two brothers who were nearby subconsciously helped him up while turning their heads to look at the thing on the ground.
With the sound of air conditioning being sucked in, everyone saw clearly...
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The author has something to say: Although I have a draft saved, I have been wanting to revise the next chapter in recent days. After much hesitation, I finally decided to revise it right before the next chapter...
I don’t know if I can finish it today, so I’ll take a day off tomorrow and update the day after tomorrow. See you on May 1st!
I will give red envelopes to all the comments on this chapter before the next chapter comes out, muah
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