Chapter 252 Jinjiang
Yan Shixun held Zhang Wubing in one hand and Xie Lin in the other, as if he was carrying two sacks. The weight of two adults seemed so light in his hands that it didn't seem to exist.
Zhang Wubing had choked on water and had been soaked in the cold lake water. Now he felt weak and had no strength at all. He had to rely on Yan Shixun to support him and keep moving forward.
Xie Lin's situation was not much better. He was still immersed in the fact that he had just met his sister. Part of his consciousness had not yet returned to normal. He looked completely stupid, and he subconsciously did whatever others said.
Looking at the situation of these two people and then at the people walking out of the village, Yan Shixun felt a bit of a headache.
Although it was only a few seconds, Yan Shixun was still able to see the faces of the first few villagers with the light coming through the window.
It was exactly the shadow puppet master who was so proud and proud in those previous posters.
There are also the dead bodies in the lake and the shadow puppeteers who died in the theater with horror on their faces.
The recurring village images and similar faces, as well as the shadow play that was shown on TV at the beginning, all these fragments were gradually pieced together into a complete puzzle in Yan Shixun's mind, allowing him to sort out the whole incident.
The problem is not the shadow puppet museum, but the shadow puppets.
Zhang Wubing himself said that he felt he should turn off the CD player.
It now seems that Zhang Wubing's memory was correct.
When Yan Shixun and he went to turn off the CD player, the crisis had already arrived quietly. The woman who was surrounded and attacked by the villagers in the shadow play pulled them into the shadow play.
That was why they were unable to leave the third courtyard. Even the heaven and earth were isolated from them, making it impossible for them to perform divination or cast spells.
That’s because they are not in the world at all, but in the shadow play.
You can't run into the third courtyard because the scenery created by the shadow puppet stage is just this small space. There is nothing else outside of it.
That was why when they first entered the theater, Yan Shixun and his companions fell into a long abyss after leaving the theater door.
They entered the depths of the soul of the wronged woman who manipulated the shadow puppets, and thus were able to glimpse a glimpse of the truth.
Yan Shixun guessed that he and Zhang Wubing were not humans now, but shadow puppets.
The identities of the man and the shadow puppet were swapped, so even the gods and ghosts in heaven and earth were deceived and did not notice the abnormality here.
And everything that happened along the way proved that the shadow play they were in at that moment was the same play they saw on TV at that time.
However, the woman who once begged the villagers to let her go has become the one who controls the shadow puppets, and all the villagers are the manipulated shadow puppets.
Only they can still move independently and have their own thinking and consciousness.
But Yan Shixun couldn't be sure what would happen if they continued like this. Would they end up like those villagers, becoming shadow puppets without independent consciousness, being manipulated to live in the shadow puppet world?
And these villagers...
Yan Shixun raised his eyes and looked at the villagers in the village.
They have started to move from their initial static state, as if they had received an order, waving farm tools in their hands and quickly chasing after them.
The villagers who had chased the woman back then were now being manipulated by her and were targeting them.
From those ferocious faces, Yan Shixun wondered if the villagers were chasing them now just to turn them into shadow puppets and keep them here forever.
Reason told Yan Shixun that he had to leave here and return to reality.
But the reality is that there is no way to get out here. There is only endless darkness and endless villages. The road to run will never end.
They seemed to be the woman who escaped that year, and the scenes gradually overlapped.
The villagers behind him were getting closer and closer, and the possibility of escaping was becoming increasingly slim.
The woman became more and more desperate. She was so tired that she didn't even have the strength to cry. The dried tear marks on her face were stung by the mountain breeze. Her body was so exhausted that she couldn't feel where her feet were. However, she didn't dare to stop and could only run forward mechanically by inertia.
It seemed that as long as she didn't stop, she could run out of the nightmarish village.
No one came to save her. Her thin shoulders trembled and she gritted her teeth to persevere, but in the end her legs went weak and she fell to the ground.
The woman raised her head. There were no stars or moon in the night, and no light could illuminate her way.
Oh my God, why do I have to go through all this? I have done nothing wrong! Why can the bad guys kill my husband, rob my money, and harm my family's lives, but still live well?
Oh God, you are blind, you are blind!
The woman's tearful accusations echoed desperately in Yan Shixun's ears.
Yan Shixun could feel that at this moment he seemed to be the woman from decades ago. His heart was filled with anger towards the heaven and earth, and he had the urge to destroy everything.
But he soon came to his senses.
He is not the woman who had nowhere to turn for help decades ago.
No one came to rescue her.
But someone was waiting for him.
Yan Shixun saw a tall figure standing at the end of the road.
Ye Li was wearing a black robe. Even the darkness around him was frightened by his furious aura and retreated. His eyes penetrated the cold mist and darkness in the mountains and stared at Yan Shixun who was running towards him.
He is like a towering mountain that will never collapse. Even if the heaven and earth collapse, he can hold up the sky and the earth, and protect the world where his loved ones are.
That is the preference of ghosts and gods recognized by both heaven and earth.
The ghosts and gods who once looked at the human world with cold eyes and said with disappointment that the human world was hopeless, when they were attracted by their beloved exorcists, they also stepped into the human world again.
Because the beloved ones exist in the world to save lives, ghosts and gods also stand side by side with the exorcists.
However, everything has a premise, that is -
Don't, hurt, his ghost buster!
At this moment, the ghosts and gods were shocked and angry.
Ye Li saw the villagers chasing Yan Shixun, as well as the malice and evil spirit emanating from the village. The anger that had been accumulating in his heart since Yan Shixun disappeared from his side suddenly burst out like a roaring torrent.
Black mist rose from behind Ye Li.
Ye Li took a long step and went towards Yan Shixun.
He didn't take a step before the ground beneath his feet collapsed an inch. The dark abyss invaded, and the evil spirits climbed up the cliff, leaving the prison where the Lord of Fengdu had released them, and their cold eyes fell on the villagers and the village.
The villagers who were originally chasing Yan Shixun suddenly felt a sense of fear as if they were being targeted.
It was as if they were just weak rabbits who self-righteously wanted to hunt wild beasts, but they didn't know that they had angered the truly terrifying existence. Then the tigers and wolves were released from the fences, staring at the back of the rabbits' necks and opening their bloody mouths.
The villagers' waving farm tools stopped instantly, their pace became slower and slower, and finally when they saw the scene ahead clearly, they stood there in a daze, not daring to move forward.
Ye Li took big strides towards Yan Shixun. The false world, mountains and rivers fell apart behind him with a huge noise, like a scene of the destruction of the world.
What replaced it was the Fengdu Kulao that had never been shown to the world.
There are high and dangerous mountains, and the mountain ranges are endless. The scarlet blood gathers into a long river that hits the banks. The dead bodies and ghost faces rise and fall, and the sound of chains is endless.
Mountains and rivers are full of fierce and evil ghosts. The sins committed during life are unforgivable, and they will be paid for in Fengdu after death.
Everywhere you look, it's shrouded in blood and darkness.
The ghosts imprisoned here for thousands of years have committed serious sins and are punished day and night and cannot leave. They cry until they bleed blood, scream and wail continuously, and the ghost messenger is ferocious and cruel.
A group of ghosts screamed in ecstasy in the abyss under Ye Li's feet, and climbed up with their bony claws grabbing the remaining ground. Their dark eyes were locked on the villagers with eager excitement.
Then, the truly ferocious evil ghost grinned, and the villagers who had been so arrogant just now were trembling in fear.
They dropped the farm tools they had used to make weapons, turned around and ran, desperately running towards the village and the lake, as if they could provide some safe shelter there.
However, compared to the villagers who were killed by the women out of hatred, the ghosts who were taken to Fengdu were the truly vicious and cruel ones.
Among the ghosts, there are people who massacred cities in their lifetime, and people who killed thousands of people. Their souls are all entangled with heavy sins.
And now, the ghosts shouted in ecstasy, cherishing this hard-won opportunity to leave Fengdu Prison. They rushed towards the villagers excitedly, playing tricks on them like playing with mice, and laughing wildly at the villagers' frightened faces.
Being a demon carries this risk.
——There are always ghosts more evil than evil ghosts. Deep in the darkness, there is a deeper hell. Above the underworld, there is Fengdu.
And when the evil ghost angered the Lord of Fengdu who stood above all the ghosts...
The ghost that was thought to be an evil spirit finally saw the real hell at this moment.
They cried and felt remorseful, but the ghosts attacked the village and the lake step by step, wantonly destroying the houses and the sinful souls of the villagers.
The evil ghost laughed and asked the villagers under his claws in a pitying tone, "How could you have the courage to mess with the lover of that ghost? Look, retribution is here."
The villagers tried to crawl towards the lake, but the evil ghost crushed their heads.
The evil ghost also fished out the dead bodies under the lake and swung them in his hands, teasing them with a smile.
The theater that was originally built in the middle of the lake has collapsed into ruins. The surrounding villages and the lake are in ruins. The previous weirdness is no longer visible. Only the broken walls and ruins that were swept away by anger are left.
In the theater, the female puppet that was originally sitting on the stage disappeared.
But now, no one noticed her.
Zhang Wubing and Xie Lin were both stunned by the scene before their eyes. The howling of the ghosts in Fengdu Prison frightened Zhang Wubing so much that he trembled with tears in his eyes. However, he still roughly guessed that it should be the person next to Brother Yan who came to save them.
However, Xie Lin, who had just joined the program, was not familiar with these situations at all. After seeing Ye Li, he immediately forgot about him and there was no existence of Ye Li in his mind.
He looked at the tall man who was walking towards them with the wind and darkness, and the ferocious evil spirits around him, thinking that it was a ghost coming to kill them. He smiled bitterly in his heart, thinking that he might die here.
However, the next moment, their eyes widened instantly and they were stunned.
Yan Shixun stood there without avoiding or dodging. He looked at Ye Li who was walking towards him. Before he even noticed, a smile appeared on his lips and his sharp brows softened.
After Li Chengyun's death and before he met Ye Li, he had never tried to travel with other people, nor did he ever expect anyone to come and save him.
When it rains, he holds an umbrella by himself, fights ghosts by himself, and bandages his injuries by himself.
However, Yeli gave him this expectation, and his trust and expectations were never disappointed.
Ye Li once told him that if he called his name, he would appear.
Yan Shixun didn't take it seriously, but Ye Li always took it seriously.
And now, Yan Shixun looked at Ye Li, who suddenly appeared in the midst of a fatal dilemma and shattered the entire false world, and suddenly felt his heart calmed down.
It seems not bad to have such a person.
Whether as a companion, a partner, or... something else.
Yan Shixun smiled and watched Ye Li approaching. Before he could say anything, Ye Li stretched out his arms and hugged him tightly in his arms.
This is a strong enough embrace, and Ye Li's upright chest is enough to shield against any wind and rain.
This is also a hug that is strong enough.
Ye Li held Yan Shixun tightly in his arms, his slender fingers exerting so much force that the knuckles turned white, as if he was holding tightly onto a lost treasure, wanting to split open his heart and soul and hide the treasure inside, so that the treasure would not be snatched away or coveted by others, and would not be damaged in the slightest.
Yan Shixun suddenly slammed into Ye Li's arms, his chin resting on his shoulder. The side of his neck was in front of him, and he could even see the blue veins bulging due to rage and tension.
He was stunned for a moment, then laughed softly and did not refuse the hug.
Ye Li lowered his head slightly, gently rubbed Yan Shixun's hair, and with trembling pale lips, he dropped small kisses on his hair, feeling the warmth and heartbeat of the person in his arms, as if only in this way could he confirm that he was really in his arms, unharmed.
Ye Li could not describe how shocked, angry and worried he was when he discovered that the power that prevented him from finding Yan Shixun actually came from himself a thousand years ago.
He was afraid, afraid that Yan Shixun would get hurt, afraid of losing Yan Shixun.
What's more frightening is... that it was my own power that caused all this.
Fortunately, he arrived in time, and things had not yet slipped into the abyss of horror. He was still able to protect his beloved ghost exorcist.
"Don't worry, I'm not hurt."
Yan Shixun smiled and said, "You came just in time, I..."
Before Yan Shixun could finish his words, he noticed that Ye Li had slightly distanced himself from him.
Ye Li lowered his eyes and looked at Yan Shixun, then gently lowered his head and moved closer to Yan Shixun's cheek.
Full of piety and love, and in the midst of anger and relief after recovering what he had lost, he kissed Yan Shixun on the forehead.
The cool kiss went all the way down, like a soft and crisp morning breeze.
Yan Shixun was stunned for a moment. He had already stretched out his arm towards Ye Li, but in the end he did not push him away. Instead, he just stood there in mid-air.
Finally, tentatively, he gently put his arms around Ye Li's waist.
Amid the screams of ghosts and the sobbing of villagers, Fengdu crushed the false world and reappeared in the human world. Ghosts danced wildly, rivers of blood flowed, and the night sky was illuminated red.
However, the Lord of Fengdu and the ghost exorcists in the world no longer pay any attention to ghosts.
In their eyes, there was only each other close by.
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