The Haunted House in the East Town and the Ghost in the Mirror
The road east of the town was harder to navigate than expected. The stone pavement was gradually covered by weeds, and the houses on either side were becoming increasingly dilapidated. Large chunks of wall paint had peeled off, revealing the blackened wooden beams underneath, like a series of grinning ghostly faces. The wind whistled through the broken window frames, making a whining sound that made people nervous.
"Do you feel... that the evil spirit here is stronger than that in the ruined temple?" Meng Yao clutched the corner of her clothes tightly, her voice trembling. Her eyes swept across a crooked room. A vague shadow seemed to pass by on the window paper. Frightened, she immediately averted her gaze and leaned closer to Li Ye.
Chen Ba held the fragment of the bronze compass, her brow furrowed. "The compass's blue light is getting brighter, indicating we're very close to our target. But this evil aura... doesn't seem like the remnants of a blood formation. It's more like something that's been lingering here for a long time." She paused, pointing to a relatively intact house ahead. "Look there, the compass needle is pointing directly at that house."
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed. The gate to the mansion was closed, and the plaque above the door had long since decayed, with only the words "Zhang Mansion" faintly visible. The courtyard wall was high, covered with withered vines, like black chains, tightly enclosing the entire mansion.
Lin Shen walked in front and pushed the door. The hinges creaked harshly and slowly opened, letting out a strong musty smell mixed with a hint of blood. He signaled everyone to be careful and then walked in first.
The yard was overgrown with weeds, with a dry pond in the center and a few broken rockery stones scattered around it. Opposite the main gate was a two-story building, its doors and windows tightly shut and the curtains drawn tightly, making it impossible to see what was inside.
"Everyone, split up and search. Be careful. If anything happens, call for help!" Lin Shen whispered. Everyone nodded and split into two groups: Lin Shen and Chen Ba went to the small building, while Li Ye, Lin Munan, and Meng Yao checked the courtyard.
Lin Shen and Chen Ba walked to the entrance of the small building and gently pushed it open. The room was pitch black, with only a few rays of sunlight filtering through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the dust particles dancing in the air. Chen Ba took out a lighter and lit a candle. The faint candlelight instantly dispelled some of the darkness.
The room was simply furnished: a dusty table, a few chairs, and an old-fashioned wardrobe in the corner. Chen Ba, holding a candle, surveyed the surroundings until her gaze rested on a bronze mirror hanging on the wall. It was large, its edges intricately carved, yet its surface was remarkably clean, even allowing for a clear reflection of the two figures.
"Strange, how can this mirror be so clean?" Chen Ba walked forward in confusion, wanting to take a closer look. Just as her hand was about to touch the mirror, the scene in the mirror suddenly changed. Behind Lin Shen and Chen Ba in the mirror, stood a woman in white clothes, her long hair loose, her face as pale as paper, staring at them intently.
"Be careful!" Lin Shen reacted quickly, pulling Chen Ba away. Almost at the same time, the woman in the mirror stretched out her hand, and a stream of black energy shot out from the mirror, hitting the wall and leaving a deep black hole.
Chen Ba was still in shock. She stared at the bronze mirror, her voice trembling, "What...what is that? Why is it in the mirror?"
Lin Shen stared at the bronze mirror with a serious look in his eyes: "I don't know, but it must be very dangerous. Let's leave here first and meet up with the others."
But just as they turned to leave, the bronze mirror suddenly emitted a dazzling light, and the woman in the mirror slowly walked out of the mirror and landed on the ground. Her feet did not touch the ground, but floated in the air, a faint black aura swirling around her, and she walked towards the two people with a blank look in her eyes.
"Oh no! It's out!" Chen Ba immediately pulled out a talisman, and flames ignited at his fingertips. "The sky and the earth are boundless, the universe borrows the magic!" The talisman transformed into a golden light and shot towards the woman in white. However, the golden light passed through the woman's body without causing any harm, and instead made her figure even clearer.
"Isn't this thing afraid of talisman paper?" Chen Ba's face changed.
Lin Shen gripped the dagger tightly and looked at the woman warily: "It may not be a physical entity, but exists due to the power of the mirror. We must destroy the mirror first!"
At this moment, Li Ye's roar came from the yard: "Lin Shen! Chen Ba! Come out quickly! There's something wrong here!"
Lin Shen and Chen Ba exchanged a glance and decided to go out and take a look. They ran towards the door, followed closely by the woman in white. Black energy continued to emanate from her body, transforming into black claws in the air, grabbing at the two of them.
Lin Shen and Chen Ba rushed out of the small building, only to find the situation in the courtyard equally dire. Li Ye was brandishing a fire axe, battling several dark figures. These figures resembled the ones he had encountered in the ruined temple, but were shorter and more agile, constantly attacking Li Ye. Lin Munan and Meng Yao stood back to back, holding peach wood nails in their hands, barely fending off the shadowy siege.
"We're here to help you!" Lin Shen shouted, charging towards the nearest shadow. His dagger sliced through the air, piercing the shadow's core with a sharp whistling sound. The shadow tried to dodge, but was entangled in the talisman thrown by Chen Ba, unable to move. Lin Shen seized the opportunity and thrust the dagger into the shadow's core. The shadow let out a shrill scream and dissipated in a wisp of black smoke.
With the addition of Lin Shen and Chen Ba, the situation was quickly brought under control. With everyone working together, it wasn't long before all the dark shadows in the yard were eliminated.
"Where do these dark shadows come from?" Meng Yao asked in confusion, panting.
Li Ye pointed to a hole beside the pond and said, "We found this hole when we were checking the pond. These shadows crawled out from it."
They walked to the entrance of the cave and looked in by candlelight. The entrance was very small, only wide enough for one person to pass through with a bent waist. It was pitch black inside, with no end in sight, and a foul, fishy smell emanated from it.
"The blue light of the compass came from this cave. The truth should be inside." Chen Ba said.
Lin Shen looked at everyone and said firmly, "Let's go in and take a look. Li Ye, you go ahead and I'll cover the rear. Everyone, keep your distance and communicate promptly if anything happens."
Everyone nodded and entered the cave entrance one by one. Inside was a narrow secret passage. The walls were damp, and water dripped onto the ground from time to time, making a "tick-tick" sound. The evil aura in the secret passage grew stronger, and the candlelight flickered in the air, as if it would go out at any moment.
After walking for about half an hour, the secret passage suddenly widened. They emerged from the passage and found themselves in a vast underground space. In the center of the space stood a stone platform, upon which sat a black box. Intricate runes were carved around the box, and faint traces of blood remained on the runes.
"There must be something wrong with that box." Lin Shen said, slowly walking towards the stone platform.
Just as he was about to approach the stone platform, the runes on it suddenly lit up red, and a blood-red barrier instantly enveloped the platform. Lin Shen's hand touched the barrier, and a huge force pushed him back. He stumbled back a few steps before barely stabilizing himself.
"This barrier is formidable. We must find a way to break it." Chen Ba pulled out a fragment of the bronze compass and placed it in front of the barrier. The blue light from the fragment collided with the red light of the barrier, creating a sizzling sound, and tiny cracks appeared on the barrier.
"It works!" Lin Munan shouted excitedly, "Let's use our yang energy to propel the fragments together. We should be able to break the barrier!"
Everyone gathered around, placing their hands on the bronze compass fragment, their yang energy continuously flowing into it. The blue light from the fragment grew brighter, colliding more fiercely with the red light of the barrier. The cracks in the barrier grew larger, and finally, with a loud bang, the barrier shattered completely.
Lin Shen walked forward and carefully opened the black box. There was nothing in the box except a yellowed piece of paper with a few lines of words written in blood. The handwriting was sloppy but clearly legible.
"A hundred years ago, Qingwu Town was a mass grave, rife with resentment. To suppress the resentment, our Zhang ancestors built an altar and set up a blood formation. However, the blood formation required human sacrifice to maintain, and our ancestors could not bear this, so they used their own blood instead. But as time passed, our ancestor's bloodline gradually became thinner, and the power of the blood formation grew weaker. The resentment began to backfire, transforming into dark shadows and slaughtering the townspeople. Knowing I was powerless to change the situation, I wrote down the truth, hoping that future generations could find a way to break it and save Qingwu Town..."
Seeing this, everyone fell silent. It turned out that the tragedy of Qingwu Town had already begun a hundred years ago.
"So, the black shadow before and the woman in white just now were both transformed from resentment?" Meng Yao asked softly.
Chen Ba nodded. "That should be the case. The blood formation weakened, and the resentment got out of control, which is why these evil spirits appeared. The black shadow we eliminated earlier was only a part of the resentment. As long as the root of the blood formation remains, the resentment will continue to arise."
Lin Shen clenched his fists, his eyes determined. "Then we will completely destroy the source of the blood formation and make sure Qingwu Town is no longer plagued by resentment. No matter what the cost, we will do it!"
Everyone nodded. They knew that the next battle would be even more difficult, but for the peace of Qingwu Town and for the deceased Xiuxiu, they had to persevere.
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