The large red lanterns hung high, emitting a faint, eerie glow, like will-o'-the-wisps.
Jiang Congming and the others walked at the front, followed closely by Jiang Ting, while Lin Xi, Jiang Ji, and Jiang Chi lagged behind.
As soon as Jiang Chi stepped into the doorway with his right foot, the mahogany door behind him closed automatically, making a creaking sound.
Before them stood a palace, with twelve red lanterns hanging from its roof, their flames swaying gently.
A chill crept up Jiang Ji's back. He rubbed his arms. "There's no wind here, but the lanterns are moving. It feels incredibly cold, even colder than a snowy day in the capital."
Jiang Chi frowned, his left hand, which was in his pocket, gripped the yellow talisman tightly, while his right hand pulled out a gun.
Bang--!
He fired a shot into the void, and the blue stream of air flew in all directions before stopping in front of the red lantern.
Jiang Chi glanced at it and roughly understood. "The red lanterns are strange. The flames are emitting a faint eerie aura. There are at least twelve ghosts hiding in the Jiang family ancestral hall."
Jiang Ji looked up, curiously examining the flames. "Is the flame a ghost?"
Jiang Ting's eyes were icy cold, his gaze fixed on the darkness ahead, seemingly uninterested in the red lanterns.
Jiang Ji asked, "Brother, have you been here before? What do the red lanterns represent?"
Jiang Ting's face darkened, and he didn't answer his question, but a faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Stop talking nonsense and get going!"
Having been scolded by his older brother again, Jiang Ji had no mood to care about the lanterns and obediently followed.
Jiang Chi remained silent for a few seconds, then walked away.
Lin Xi stood under the lantern, and when she caught a glimpse of what was inside, she was somewhat surprised.
That's a will-o'-the-wisp!
Will-o'-the-wisps are formed from faint souls or fragments of souls, and they possess a portion of the memories of living beings.
These flames are all will-o'-the-wisps, essentially using souls as fuel for lanterns.
When the flames died down, the soul vanished.
The person behind this is utterly depraved, burning the souls of others to decorate strange red lanterns.
Seeing her stunned expression, Jiang Ji trotted over and whispered, "Little sister, what's that so pretty?"
Lin Xi shook her head. "It's nothing."
After saying that, she grabbed the red lantern with her bare hands and tore off the outer paper.
A pale blue flame flew out, flickering with a faint light, as if it would go out at any moment.
Jiang Ji was used to his sister's actions and wasn't surprised at all. "This is..."
Jiang Chi replied, "Will-o'-the-wisp."
Jiang Ting witnessed everything but did not stop it. The red light illuminated his handsome but gaunt face, making him appear somewhat eerie.
Lin Xi grasped the blue flame, and a series of blurry images flooded into her mind.
Sadness, pain, misery, and countless other negative emotions intertwine to tell the story of the will-o'-the-wisp's past life.
It was only five years old when it turned into a will-o'-the-wisp.
The death was gruesome; the body was fragmented into pieces, and the soul was scattered across the north and south.
My memory is incomplete, and I can't see much.
What grudge could lead someone to treat a child so cruelly?
Lin Xi understood: the lanterns were cages, trapping the children's souls.
Her gaze sharpened, and she destroyed the other eleven lanterns, all belonging to children who were four or five years old in life.
The will-o'-the-wisps circled around her once, then desperately tried to fly upwards.
Fly, fly, fly higher, escape this enormous tomb, and gain the freedom you desire.
Lin Xi waved her hand, breaking the barrier above and releasing all the will-o'-the-wisps.
The little will-o'-the-wisps are too weak to harm humans, so the ghost messengers will take them to the underworld.
Rumble—!!
The ground suddenly shook violently, and a mysterious force grabbed Lin Xi's ankle and dragged her into the ground.
I'll eat you! I'll eat you!
Jiang Chi saw an invisible claw and fired a shot in that direction.
The pink smoke dissipated, the ground stopped shaking, and the pungent smell of chili water filled the entire space.
Lin Xi coughed lightly a few times, "You didn't distinguish between friend and foe, you helped very well, you don't need to help next time."
Jiang Chi covered his nose, his face turning bright red. "I'm sorry, the new invention has a flaw. I'll definitely improve it next time."
Emerging from the ghost realm, he stayed up all night improving the ghost-finding gun, enabling it not only to locate ghosts but also to fire attacks.
It wasn't very powerful, but it gave us enough time to escape.
I didn't expect it to make things worse.
Jiang Chi put away the Ghost-Seeking Gun and stood to one side.
Lin Xi led the way through the door, saying, "Let's go, let's see if there are ghosts or monsters hiding inside."
Inside the room, twelve lanterns still hung, their color so red it was almost black, and they were round and bulging.
In the middle stood a long table that stretched across the entire space, with rows of dark memorial tablets standing upright, so numerous that they were impossible to count.
Jiang Ji saw two familiar names and pointed, "Grandpa and Aunt Xiaotao are in the corner."
"How dare you!!"
Five people dressed in bright red robes emerged from the darkness, their backs hunched, their faces covered by red hats, and their red robes seemed to drip blood.
The leader, dressed in red, shouted loudly, his voice hoarse and aged.
"You audacious junior! With our ancestors above, why don't you kneel down?!"
Upon hearing this, Jiang Congming, Jiang Congye, and Jiang Congyue knelt down without hesitation, their foreheads touching the ground, trembling uncontrollably.
Their children knelt down, their eyes glazed over, their expressions numb, like emotionless robots, mechanically carrying out orders.
A strong impulse rose in Jiang Ji and Jiang Chi's hearts.
Kneel down, kneel down now!
In an instant, the impulse vanished.
Jiang Ji shouted, "Kneel down, my foot! Why didn't the Qing Dynasty take you feudal dregs with it when it fell?"
The man in red was extremely angry and glared at him fiercely.
The other man in red, with a solemn expression, shook his head. "Divine messenger, important matters come first."
The divine messenger suppressed his anger, conjured a thick notebook out of thin air, and began calling out names one by one.
"Jiang Congming".
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