Chapter 34: Haunted House in the Hill (34)
In the dim and cold wine cellar, everyone in the program crew huddled together in a circle.
A few brave staff members and guests held wooden sticks broken off from the rotten and collapsed wooden frames and barely used them as weapons to block in front of them. They stared with wide eyes in fear at the blood-red humanoid monsters, which were getting closer and closer in the flickering light of flashlights, leaving bloody footprints with every step.
They waved the wooden sticks in their hands wildly and shouted with all their strength and courage, trying to scare away the monsters with their momentum.
However, their trembling bodies and the sobs and hoarseness in their voices that they could not suppress betrayed them mercilessly.
A cold and sticky hand suddenly grabbed the ankle of a male guest standing outside.
The male guest shuddered and slowly looked down stiffly.
I saw a blood-red human figure with only the upper body left, crawling on the ground with its intestines dragging. Its raised face slowly broke into a bloody smile, and its voice was rough and hoarse.
"Swallow my flesh and blood, and let me become yours...your skin. I love it."
The male guest opened his mouth in fear and stabbed the monster on the ground with the stick in his hand: "Ahhhhhh!!!"
The sudden screams made the people, who were already panicked and frightened and unable to see the monster's position in the dark, even more frightened and their psychological defenses, which were barely maintained in the beginning, completely collapsed.
Many people no longer listened to Zhang Wubing's hoarse roar, but rushed towards the stairs frantically as if escaping for their lives.
However, as soon as they stepped onto the stairs, they were grabbed by the ankle by a bloody, cold hand and dragged into a pile of blood-red humanoid monsters on the ground.
They desperately stretched out their hands to struggle, but were still no match for the monsters that pounced on them one after another, and were slowly dragged into the pile of monsters.
In the blood-red, only a pair of increasingly desperate and frightened eyes were left exposed.
But those who still stand with Zhang Wubing are not having an easy time either. Even though he has a special physique, Zhang Wubing does not have the ability to catch ghosts and exorcise evil spirits like Yan Shixun. He cannot protect everyone's safety in the critical moment when ghosts are surrounding and waiting for an opportunity.
People were constantly being caught by the monsters and dragged into the darkness.
No matter how the rest of the people tried to rescue him, it was of no avail. They could only watch helplessly as their familiar companions were despairingly swallowed by the blood-red color.
"Director! Director, please think of a solution!"
An Nanyuan protected Bai Shuang who was hiding behind him with one hand, waved the wooden stick in his hand to try to keep the monsters away, and shouted desperately to Zhang Wubing: "Didn't you know Brother Yan a long time ago? Didn't you learn anything from Brother Yan!"
Zhang Wubing cried like a dog, and while saving the people around him, he howled breathlessly: "Do you think that's cabbage? It's as easy as picking it up by anyone who sees it? I'm not as perverted as Brother Yan who knows everything. At most, I know a few phrases that Brother Yan often uses..."
Zhang Wubing was crying when he suddenly got stuck.
He didn't know how to catch ghosts and exorcise evil spirits, but he had seen his brother Yan catch ghosts and exorcise evil spirits! He had even seen it more than once. He had experienced it dozens of times and could vaguely describe the changes in feeling brought about by certain spells.
By the way, his brother Yan had given him a talisman to prevent him from dying in a corner outside one day!
When An Nanyuan saw that Zhang Wubing was silent, he suddenly broke down and shouted, "Director, please say something!!!"
Zhang Wubing was shaking like a human sieve, but he still forced his trembling hands to reach into his arms, groping for something.
An Nanyuan was almost mad: "Director, don't touch yourself in this critical moment! If you do that, we will all be stuck here!"
"No, no." Zhang Wubing explained hurriedly: "Brother Yan gave me a talisman before, which I rolled into a thin stick and put into the hollow jade pendant. It seems to be a talisman for exorcising ghosts. I'm looking for that one."
An Nanyuan's eyebrows lit up immediately: "Then hurry up."
However, the more urgent the situation, the more mistakes will be made.
No matter how hard Zhang Wubing looked, he couldn't find the jade pendant that was supposed to be hanging around his neck, and he immediately broke out in a sweat.
Because Zhang Wubing stopped attacking and stood still, Zhang Wubing, who looked like a piece of fat meat in the eyes of the ghosts, immediately attracted the attention of the humanoid monsters around him.
They crawled silently on the ground until they were close to Zhang Wubing, then they pounced on him.
Zhang Wubing tore off the chain from his neck and raised it above his head with his hands. He closed his eyes tightly and was too scared to look around. According to his memory of what Yan Shixun had done before, he shouted loudly, "Madam, madam, Laojun, Tathagata, Buddha, Guanyin Bodhisattva, all Tao will respond. Puff puff puff in all directions! Ahhh, what's next? I forgot what's next. Ahhhh!!"
An Nanyuan, who was ecstatic just now, said: "Director, why are you so disappointing! Why did you forget such an important thing! Remember it quickly...Ahhhh, they are coming at me again!"
However, the monsters only paused for a moment when the jade pendant appeared. As soon as Zhang Wubing opened his mouth, their obvious fear disappeared completely and they pounced on him again.
The assistant director, who was standing not far away and was attracted by the unusual movement of Zhang Wubing, also grinned again when he saw this scene, revealing his pale teeth and jaws, and laughed.
Closer and closer.
All people will eat their flesh and blood and become their new carriers.
The identities of living people and evil ghosts are swapped. The evil ghosts will obtain the identities and skins of living people, walk in the world of the living instead of living people, devour their relatives and friends as nutrients, deceive ghosts and gods, and "live"...
But at this moment, a steady, low, magnetic voice suddenly came from the boundless darkness, uttering clear words neither hurriedly nor slowly.
The sound is loud and clear, like a bell or a chime.
"Taishang Laojun is everywhere, his teachings are always in line with your will. If you follow his teachings, you will be blessed."
All the blood-red monsters that pounced on Zhang Wubing and the program crew paused in all their movements, trembling in fear, wanting to escape but unable to even move.
"Thunder follows, and those who go against it will be in danger!"
At that moment, the jade pendant held high in Zhang Wubing's hand emitted a dazzling golden light like the sun, instantly illuminating the entire wine cellar like daylight, and all the darkness was exposed.
The yellow talisman paper that was rolled up and stored in the middle of the hollow jade pendant spontaneously combusted without fire and turned into a wisp of white smoke that drifted in the air.
The white smoke was the pen and the air was the paper. The talisman was drawn fluently in one go and appeared in the air, its majesty shocking everyone.
The blood-red monsters immediately let out heart-wrenching screams.
It was as if they were ignited from within the body. The flames came fiercely and quickly burned them into huge balls of fire. Through the light, one could even see every blood vessel and muscle on the human body.
The assistant director who had been watching coldly from the side seemed to sense something and also revealed a look of fear.
It threw down the monsters and fireballs that filled the entire wine cellar, turned around and ran up the stairs, trying to escape.
However, after it ran two steps, the entire villa and the wine cellar began to shake violently. The walls made a series of "crackling" sounds as if they could not bear the weight, and huge cracks spread rapidly, as if they would collapse at any time.
finally--
"boom--!"
The collapsed walls and ceiling began to fall down, and huge pieces of broken rocks hit the monsters in the wine cellar, but they seemed to have eyes and avoided every stranger in the program crew.
Those blood-red humanoid monsters and the monsters that turned into fireballs didn't even have the chance to wail before they were instantly smashed into a pool of meat paste by the huge rocks.
Amidst the loud rumbling sound of collapse, smoke and dust spread everywhere.
A pair of straight long legs in black Martin boots walked through the rubble and rolling dust, stepped steadily from outside the wall, and walked onto the stairs in the wine cellar.
The kick just happened to hit the assistant director who was running, and then stepped on him.
Yan Shixun pressed his feet hard and carelessly crushed the blood-red body with torn and peeling skin, causing the assistant director to scream.
"Shut up and stop singing with that hoarse voice of yours. It sounds terrible." Yan Shixun raised his foot impatiently and stomped hard on its head again. The skull hit the ground with a "bang!" sound.
All its screams stopped immediately, and it just trembled under Yan Shixun's Martin boots.
Just like the stranger who was caught by the blood-red monster before, he was filled with fear and despair.
But now, the positions have been reversed, and the strangers are now the ones looking down on everything.
The evil spirit was trampled underfoot and dared not speak.
Yan Shixun looked around the wine cellar, seeing the miserable state of the people, he immediately sneered and asked, "Didn't you see the house collapsed? Are you planning to be buried with these things if you don't leave?"
The members of the program crew, who had just escaped death and were frightened by the series of accidents, finally came to their senses slowly.
When Zhang Wubing, An Nanyuan and others heard the familiar voice, they looked up and saw Yan Shixun stepping on the evil ghost and standing on the high stairs against the light.
The light penetrated the dust and fell into the wine cellar from behind Yan Shixun.
The tall and handsome young man looked down at the blood-red monsters dying one by one with indifference. His expression was sarcastic and arrogant, but he also had a powerful strength that was enough to reassure everyone.
At that moment, Zhang Wubing's nose felt sore and he started crying again with a "wangji" sound.
"Brother Yan, wuwuwu, you are finally here. They all bullied me, wuwu..." Zhang Wubing was crying with snot and tears all over his face. He ran towards Yan Shixun with his arms open, looking like he wanted to give Yan Shixun a warm bear hug.
However, Yan Shixun dodged it swiftly and disdainfully.
"Zhang Dabing, please wipe your face for me, ugh - it's so disgusting."
The actions between Yan Shixun and Zhang Wubing were so normal, no different from the interactions between acquaintances that one would see on a daily basis, which made the people who were originally terrified to death gradually ease their overly tense and fearful emotions.
Bai Shuang was so excited that her eyes turned red: "We are saved! We are saved!"
Yan Shixun lifted the evil ghost by the neck with one hand and walked up the stairs first: "I didn't expect you guys have the hobby of being buried with ghosts? Then you guys can have fun by yourselves, I won't care about you anymore."
"Tsk, your hobbies are really weird."
Everyone suddenly woke up as if from a dream, and rushed to follow Yan Shixun up the stairs. Those who had already lost consciousness were also carried away by everyone.
“Boom, boom!”
Just as the last person stepped out of the wine cellar, the entire wine cellar collapsed, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Many people were frightened to the point of their legs going limp. After escaping death, their nerves relaxed and they suddenly lost all their strength, falling blankly on the floor of the living room.
But An Nanyuan noticed that the villa looked different from before they went to the wine cellar.
Both the red and the white have disappeared.
Those traces of modernization were also erased.
The villa seems to have returned to its original appearance a hundred years ago, luxurious and grand, with the splendor of the old days.
A woman in white stood quietly in front of the sofa, staring at the backs of everyone in the program crew.
An Nanyuan's eyes immediately widened: "Fuck! It's a ghost! Brother Yan, there is a ghost! Help me, help me!!!"
The members of the production crew, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, quickly looked over and were immediately frightened to death by the white ghost figure standing behind them.
"Fuck!"
However, the white ghost did not pounce on them with a ferocious face as everyone had imagined.
On the contrary, she was like a shy and fearful person who finally mustered up the courage to show up, but was shocked by the reactions of others. She immediately retreated, wanting to return to her safe place, standing there at a loss as to what to do.
Among all the people, only Yan Shixun was still standing safely.
"Let me introduce you. This is the hostess of the villa, Xi Shuang."
After the obviously perfunctory introduction, Yan Shixun looked at Xi Shuang again and explained, "Don't be afraid, they are shouting because they like you. This is how modern people express their love. If you have ever seen a modern concert - similar to the theater where you sang Cantonese opera in the past, you would know."
Yan Shixun: "The fans and audience below the stage were all shouting "Ah ...
——Xi Shuang will regard all those who attack her in thought and action as being in league with the bandits. So Xi Shuang cannot be allowed to attribute the terrified program crew to the bandits' side.
An Nanyuan: ...Never heard of it.
Everyone: “???”
Like a ghost?
——Really, literally, I like a ghost.
Xi Shuang, who had just wanted to retreat back to the fourth floor, suddenly asked curiously and surprised: "Yes, really?"
"A hundred years later, it's really a strange era. I could never have imagined it." After saying that, Xi Shuang's beautiful face was stained with a trace of envy: "But, it's really good. I can express my love freely without worrying about other people's eyes."
"Do you like it?" Yan Shixun asked, "You can also have this freedom and love, as long as you are bolder and take one more step forward."
Xi Shuang smiled bitterly and lowered her eyes: "Mr. Yan, you are joking. People like me..."
A sinner like me with blood on my hands does not deserve the afterlife.
Just when Xi Shuang was furious, Yan Shixun sincerely and persuasively persuaded Xi Shuang to take revenge and then let her go.
Perhaps it was because the scene described by Yan Shixun was too exciting for the ghost, or perhaps it was because Yan Shixun's expression was too sincere.
The furious evil spirit was actually persuaded.
When Xi Shuang was shaking violently, he saw Yan Shixun forming the Five Thunder Seal with his fingers, and actually drew the lightning directly to strike the pieces of Zhou Shi's flesh that were scattered all over the ground and waiting for an opportunity to escape.
No longer worried about destroying the fragile world of memory, Yan Shixun was free to act freely and in accordance with his own bold but efficient style, with outstanding results.
Xi Shuang watched Zhou Shi turn to ashes in front of her. His soul was sent directly to the underworld where the gods and ghosts judged him. He was branded with the mark of thunder and was afraid that he would never be able to be reincarnated.
At that moment, the hatred that had weighed on Xi Shuang's heart for a hundred years suddenly felt relieved.
She looked at Yan Shixun with emotion, and promised him that she would let go of her hatred, follow the ghost from the underworld to accept the punishment of becoming a fierce ghost, and wait for a chance to be reborn after hundreds of years.
As Xi Shuang's obsession and hatred dissipated, the fourth floor, which had protected her but also trapped her for a hundred years, slowly collapsed and the villa and Guishan Mountain shook violently like an earthquake.
As Zhou Shi's soul was shattered, those bandits were identified as accomplices and were also severely punished and wiped out.
The bloodstains on the blood-red rose cheongsam slowly faded away.
Xi Shuang became the exquisite and beautiful girl she was a hundred years ago again, with a pearl necklace and a golden hairpin, her wavy hair combed behind her head, and her cheongsam swaying as she walked.
For the first time in a hundred years, Xi Shuang mustered up the courage to walk down from the fourth floor and stood in the living room, waiting anxiously and apologetically for the program crew whom she had mistaken for bandits.
However, when she really faced it, she became timid again.
The courage just now disappeared quickly like morning dew under the sun.
"People like you who have experienced a painful death but still have a kind soul deserve the next life."
Yan Shixun saw through Xi Shuang's thoughts and continued what she had not finished saying.
With great force.
Xishuang looked up in surprise.
…
In the Ghost Mountain, rows of tall locust trees blocked all the sunlight, making it as dark as night.
After several violent earthquake-like tremors, the soil and rocks of the entire mountain were broken and rolled over, leaving a mess. Many withered locust trees were also broken and fell down, blocking the path down the mountain.
The old Taoist priest is nowhere to be found, and the other Taoist priests were searching in other parts of Guishan before any unusual movements occurred. Now the only one left is the middle-aged Taoist priest.
He held a peach wood sword in one hand and made hand gestures with the other, glaring at the surroundings with his tiger eyes, protecting the rescue team firmly behind him.
The faces of the rescue team turned pale, and only their strong willpower prevented them from making any inappropriate moves. But each of them could hear each other's nervous breathing.
Every sound is the remnant of a shattered worldview.
Before today, many people were staunch atheists.
However, the scene of a young team member being dragged into the ground in front of everyone just now still shocked many people.
And now, the turned soil has exposed all the secrets of Ghost Mountain, and the broken locust tree has allowed the ghosts who died with their eyes open and full of resentment to see the light of day again.
Every inch of soil covered by fallen leaves was stained with a dark blood color, and deep inside it were blood-red bodies whose human skins had been stolen.
They seemed confused by the sudden exposure to the sun and air. They tentatively stretched out their blood-red arms toward the high sky, with their fingers flexing and extending as if they were trying to catch the flowing wind in surprise and disbelief.
Then, they recovered from the great shock and ecstasy, their blood-red bodies trembled, and they struggled with their limbs and climbed out from between the soil and rocks. Their broken vocal cords made "ho ho" sounds, and they threw themselves towards the sky and the wind without hesitation.
Even if they are burned black and withered by the sun the moment they leave the shade of the trees, it doesn't matter.
The stunned rescue team had not yet recovered from their shock and fear when they heard unusual noises coming from the withered locust tree.
One, two... More and more wooden human figures emerged from the locust trees, taking the stumbling steps of newborn babies, stumbling after the blood-red monsters. The wooden heads that had vague human-like outlines let out angry roars.
"Come back, come back... Become my nourishment, and let me regain my identity as a human being."
But those blood-red humanoid monsters turned a deaf ear and would never retreat even if they were burned to ashes in the sun.
Finally, free...
Dad, Mom, this unfilial son can finally go down the mountain and go home...
Bandits, bandits, kill me! You devoured my flesh and blood, robbed me of my identity, and made me wander in agony for a hundred years without being able to find my way back home. But now, I finally see the world.
Leave, leave, get out of here!
The members of the rescue team, who were protected by the vigilant middle-aged Taoist priest, watched helplessly as the humanoid monsters quickly turned into ashes under the sun. After the wind blew, only the screams of pain and ecstasy of the humanoid monsters could be heard faintly in everyone's ears.
The rescue team couldn't see it, but the middle-aged Taoist priest who had opened his Yin-Yang eyes could see that souls were breaking away from the bodies that bound them. The blood-red color faded little by little, and the hideous monsters turned into simple villagers. They were still wearing clothes styled from decades ago. However, the world has changed dramatically, and the village and relatives they once knew are no longer there.
Those souls felt the middle-aged Taoist priest's gaze towards them. They looked back at him with a friendly smile and nodded to him, just like greeting a stranger they met on the street.
Then they all turned around and saluted from afar in the direction of the villa on the mountain. They glanced at the wooden figures that were chasing them with satisfied contempt, then closed their eyes contentedly and gradually disappeared into the air.
From the distant void, there seemed to be the sound of chains dragging on the ground and cold shouts.
The occult is doing business, strangers, please move away!
…
The middle-aged Taoist priest's vigilance relaxed slightly. He did not expect that the monsters under the soil were actually the villagers who had died in Ghost Mountain in the past hundred years. They had been trapped in Ghost Mountain and could not leave until now.
It was not until something happened in the villa on the mountain that the middle-aged Taoist priest did not understand, which caused the Ghost Mountain to loosen up and the ghosts were able to leave.
As for those wooden humanoid things, the Taoist priest recognized at a glance that they were parasitic ghosts on the locust tree, trying to find a substitute to pretend to be a living person. The locust tree withered after a hundred years, and those things that had killed countless lives in a hundred years to nourish themselves and even transformed into clear human shapes and faces also lost their parasitic carriers and could no longer hide from the great way of heaven and earth and appeared in the vision of ghosts and gods.
Hearing the voice of the ghost coming from far away, those things immediately stopped chasing and trying to stop the soul from leaving, and turned around and fled in panic.
And in the soil without the monster, the face of the young rescuer who had disappeared before was revealed.
The middle-aged Taoist priest's face turned stern, and he didn't bother to investigate anything else. He immediately ran over in two steps at a time to rescue the young team member from the heavy soil and rocks.
Other rescue team members also ran over immediately.
…
After losing contact with everyone, the old Taoist priest tried every means to get closer to the villa on the mountain.
His keen intuition and years of experience told him that the key to saving others was in the villa that was rumored to have been robbed and occupied by bandits a hundred years ago!
However, something similar happened to the live broadcast recording of the male actor who wanted to go down the mountain but was scared to insanity that the old Taoist priest saw before going up the mountain.
An invisible obstacle blocked the old Taoist priest's way up the mountain, preventing him from getting close to the villa no matter what.
Therefore, when the entire mountain began to shake violently, the old Taoist priest's perception was the strongest.
Although his hair and beard were completely white, he was still energetic. He looked up at the mountain with his eyes as sharp as lightning, and used his fingers to stabilize his body without any shake during the vibration.
After Ghost Mountain stabilized again, the old Taoist priest looked around and found that the locust trees in the mountains and forests were withering rapidly in large areas.
"Guishan is actually leaving Guishan..." the old Taoist priest was shocked.
What on earth must have happened to allow the Ghost Mountain, which had frustrated Taoist priests and witches for hundreds of years, to face the sun again!
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