Chapter 33
We walked until night.
In the vast forest, it was impossible to tell what time it was. Fortunately, the dark clouds finally dispersed, and the moonlight shone through the trees. Although it was blurry, I could still vaguely make out the road under my feet.
My footsteps echoed in the mountains, and the insects in the forest also made bursts of hoarse chirping, as if it was the last cry of its life.
A dark building appeared before my eyes. This must be the inn. I was tired and hungry, so I walked into the inn without hesitation.
He took out the tinder from his body and lit it up to take a look.
The entire inn was covered in dust, and it looked like no one had been there for a long time, just as I had guessed.
A rotten smell rushed into my brain, choking me and making it difficult for me to breathe. I opened the window, hoping to let the bad smell go away quickly. I was going to stay here tonight.
After doing all this, I wanted to look for some candles or something. My fire starter was too dim and couldn't last long.
Finally, I found a few candles on the counter and lit them with a tinder, so that I could see the entire inn clearly.
It's called an inn, so it's probably just a place to rest. The room isn't very big, just four square tables with bowls and chopsticks on them. There are four long stools around each table. There are no guest rooms here; it seems they only provide food. I quickly wiped the tables clean and put two of them together so I could sleep there. As for what secrets this inn might hold, I don't have the energy to explore them right now. I'm too tired. I'll leave it for tomorrow.
I lay on the bed made of tables. As my calves relaxed, I could feel the blood rushing through my veins. My tired body felt very comfortable, and I fell into a deep sleep in a short while.
The wind blew in quietly from outside the window, the flame on the candle flickered, and the shadow swayed on the wall.
"Bang, bang..."
Suddenly, there was a strong sound of wind outside the window, waking me up from my sleep.
I quickly closed the window and door, fortunately the candle did not go out.
The rain started falling again outside, and the sound of raindrops hitting the eaves was particularly clear. I lay on the table in a daze, really exhausted, and fell asleep again in a few breaths.
"Gah..."
There was a sound of wood scraping on the roof.
In the candlelight, a dark figure appeared on the wall. His head was hung by a straw rope, connected to the beam, his arms hanging down, and his whole body was very stiff. Although there was no wind in the room, he was swaying from side to side, and his feet were less than a fist away from my face at their lowest point.
“Crunch, crunch.”
The friction between the straw ropes and the beams echoed throughout the inn.
I was awake, but not fully awake, in that fuzzy state between being half asleep and half awake.
I saw the tree in the yard of my hometown, growing lushly. My grandfather was on the tree, smoking a pipe and waving at me with a smile.
grandfather?
Is grandpa back?
I excitedly climbed up the tree roots, trying to grab his hand.
I climbed higher and higher, and I was about to meet my grandfather.
Grandpa's smile grew wider.
I felt a warm sensation on my chest, and now I was fully awake!
I was stupidly pulling at the straw rope in my hand. I didn't know when my head had gotten into the rope and the ground beneath my feet had become a stool. If I kicked my feet, I would be hanging on the beam.
I quickly pulled my head back, let go, and jumped to the ground. Then I looked behind me and saw four or five bodies hanging from the beams.
Judging from their clothes, some were from ancient times and some were from the Republic of China. Without exception, they all had long tongues sticking out and their eyes were wide open, and they had turned into mummies.
Looking at the straw rope on my head again, I couldn't help but feel scared. If it weren't for the feather stone, I would have become a god on the beam like them.
At the same time, I sighed secretly. My grandfather has always been my weak spot. These ghosts always take advantage of the weaknesses in people's hearts to find substitutes, making me defenseless.
Now I finally understand what this map means. The clay figure in the dilapidated temple saw that his practice was disrupted by me and wanted to take revenge on me, so he took advantage of my curiosity and brought me to this dangerous place. And this hanged ghost took advantage of my longing for my grandfather and captured me as a substitute.
Nature is something you can only control; changing it is completely impossible. I tried my best to control my curiosity, but I still fell into his trap.
But this also annoyed me. I have already smashed the clay figurine into pieces, and there is no possibility for it to become a spirit again. I also plan to deal with the hanged ghost in this inn.
If the tiger doesn't show its power, you would think I'm a sick cat!
I attached the energy in the feather stone to my eyes and looked up at the beam.
The hanged man was lying on the beam looking at me.
"The golden fire bell illuminates the netherworld. Wherever the flames reach, all ghosts will be annihilated!"
A fire bell appeared in my hand, and the true red lotus fire was burning inside the fire bell.
"go!"
The Red Lotus True Fire rushed straight towards the hanged ghost, who quickly leaped to the other side of the beam. I sent another burst of True Fire at him, and he had no choice but to possess the corpse hanging from the beam. The corpse fell from the beam and pounced at me with its long tongue extended.
I would never let him get close to me, so I immediately dodged his attack.
The inn was too small, so I opened the door and jumped out. At that moment, all the bodies inside the inn fell from the beams, lined up at the door, and rushed towards me.
"Sister, be careful." A familiar child's voice came.
It was the child I'd met that day. He instantly appeared beside me, grabbed my hand, and dragged me into the woods. But I was no match for him. I shook his hand off, slamming him to the ground. The fire bell in my hand blazed brightly, and four or five balls of true fire lashed out at the approaching corpses. At such close range, and with my furious attacks, there was no way I'd miss. The true fire descended upon them, transforming into a blazing inferno.
The child was also shocked by me and sat on the ground staring blankly at the fire men.
Before they could pounce on me, they were burned to ashes by the Red Lotus True Fire and disappeared into the air.
Seeing how fierce I was, the child turned around and tried to run away, but I caught him.
I grabbed his collar and tried to run but he couldn't move.
"Who are you? If you don't tell the truth, don't blame me for being ruthless!" I pointed the fire bell in my hand at him.
He was frightened by my aura and said with a choked voice, "My name is Puffhead, I mean no harm."
When I heard him say he had unkempt hair, I loosened my grip.
He didn't run away at the first moment, but instead straightened out the clothes that I had pulled out of shape.
The shaggy-haired ghost is considered a very kind ghost. They won't harm people, but will instead save people in danger, and of course, animals in danger. This also explains why when I first met him, he wouldn't let me eat the rabbit, but buried it instead, and I didn't sense any danger from him.
This disheveled ghost is considered an anomaly among ghosts.
I touched his spiky head and it felt a little prickly.
He quickly dodged and protected his head with his hands to prevent me from touching him.
"Come here, don't move!" I had just dealt with the hanged ghost, my anger had subsided, and I suddenly wanted to play a trick on him.
He was so obedient that he didn't dare to move. I touched his hair with my hands and ruffled it until it became a mess.
He must have seen that I didn't mean to hurt him and was just playing with him, so he quickly ran away, stroking his hair while saying, "You're so mean!"
His figure disappeared into the air, but this time it was my laughter that echoed through the woods.
When I got back to the inn, I gathered the ropes together and burned them with a candle. This way, the scapegoat was completely eliminated and could no longer harm people.
A stream of energy was absorbed by the Yuhao Stone. The Yuhao Stone now has a big appetite, so this energy is better than nothing.
I brushed the dust off my hands. How dare this guy mess with me? He is really an old man who wants to hang himself because his life is too long.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
