The Yin Gate of the Archway and the Shocking Changes of the Gu Pattern
The morning mist felt like it was laced with ice, scratching painfully against my face. Lin Shen half-supported and half-supported Chen Ba, their feet treading on the dew-soaked, dry grass. With every step, they could hear the crisp snap of blades. The dilapidated wooden archway in front of them drew closer, the mottled words "Qingwu Town" etched away by time, leaving only their outline. But just as they were about to step into the archway's shadow, Meng Yao suddenly cried out, clutching Lin Munan's collar, and pointed beneath the archway's beams: "What, what is that?"
Following the sound, everyone looked and saw the morning mist condense into a translucent black curtain beneath the archway. Countless tiny figures vaguely floated within the curtain, like souls forcibly trapped within, reaching out pale hands toward them. Even more bizarre, the ground, which should have been flat, had now cracked beneath the curtain. The chilly air seeping from the crack, tinged with the stench of rotting earth, caused the air temperature to plummet.
"It's the Yin Gate." Chen Ba's voice was weak as she raised her finger and pointed at the black curtain. The red Gu pattern on her wrist had crawled up her forearm like a waking blood snake. "The ground veins of Qingwu Town have long been polluted by the Yin Sha. This archway is the Feng Shui eye of the town entrance. Now it has been transformed by the Yin Sha into a soul-binding gate. If we force our way in, our souls will be sucked into the black curtain."
Li Ye gripped the dagger tightly, the blade gleaming coldly in the morning mist: "What should we do? We can't just retreat and wait for Yin Sha to catch up!" Just as he finished speaking, there was a sound of branches shaking behind him. Looking back, he saw that the light blue ghost fire had passed through the woods and connected into a piece on the earth slope not far away, like a group of hungry beasts, staring at them, the "prey".
Lin Shen suddenly remembered the lingering warmth on his neck and subconsciously touched the light red mark: "The aura of the Red Sun Gu can repel the Yin Evil. Can it be used against this Yin Gate?"
Chen Ba smiled bitterly, raised her hand to press her chest, and blood seeped out from between her fingers again: "The Red Sun Gu is so weak that it is almost dormant. It has already consumed a lot of its energy to force back the Yin Sha remnant soul just now. If I urge it now, it will directly retaliate..." Before she finished speaking, she suddenly coughed violently. This time, the blood she coughed up was mixed with a few strands of dark red Gu worm fragments. When it fell to the ground, it was instantly frozen into ice particles by the cold air.
Lin Munan took a half step back with Meng Yao on his back. His eyes fell on the Gu pattern on Chen Ba's forearm, and his face changed suddenly: "This Gu pattern... is crawling towards your heart?" He had seen similar records in the ancient family books. If a Gu breeder in southern Xinjiang forcibly lends the Gu to an outsider, once the Gu worm is weak, the Gu pattern will backfire on the owner, drill into the heart along the blood vessels, and finally both the person and the Gu will turn into a pool of blood.
Chen Ba didn't deny it. She simply pulled the black wooden box from her bosom and tremblingly opened it. The Red Sun Gu within had shrunk to the size of a fingernail, its crimson faded to a dark crimson, even its pearly luster dimmed. Only the occasional, faint tremor of its body proved it was still alive. She dipped her fingertips in her own blood and gently touched the insect, but it only moved symbolically, not even having the strength to stretch itself.
"There's nothing else we can do." Chen Ba took a deep breath and suddenly grabbed Lin Shen's wrist, pressing his hand against his forearm. "You have the warmth of the Guixu Water in your body, which can temporarily stabilize the Gu pattern. I'll count to three, and you use your mind to activate the Guixu Water and press it down along my arm. I'll use the last bit of Yang Qi to activate the Chiyang Gu and open the gap in your Yin Gate."
Lin Shen could clearly feel that the Gu pattern on Chen Ba's arm was getting hot, as if a burning insect was crawling under his skin. He was about to say "I'll think of another way", but was blocked by the determination in Chen Ba's eyes - her pupils reflected the ghost fire chasing her from behind. The light blue flame was only a few dozen steps away from them. If they delayed any longer, everyone would be trapped by the Yin Sha.
"One." Chen Ba's voice was trembling, but extremely firm.
Lin took a deep breath and concentrated his mind. The warmth of the Guixu water in his body instantly rushed to his palms and pressed down along Chen Ba's arm.
"Two." Chen Ba bit his tongue and sprayed blood on the Chiyang Gu in the black wooden box. The Gu trembled violently, and a faint red light appeared all over its body.
"three!"
The moment he finished speaking, Chen Ba formed a hand seal with his fingertips and pointed towards the Yin Gate on the archway. The Chiyang Gu within the black wooden box suddenly emitted a subtle hissing sound, and a dark red light shot out from the box, shooting towards the dark curtain of the Yin Gate. Simultaneously, the warmth of the Guixu Water in Lin Shen's palm pressed down Chen Ba's arm, temporarily forcing the Gu pattern that was creeping towards his heart back to his forearm.
"Hurry! The gap is only half an incense stick's time!" Chen Ba shouted to everyone, but she staggered back a step. Although the Gu pattern on her forearm was temporarily forced back, it became even hotter, so hot that she could hardly hold the black wooden box.
Li Ye immediately carried Meng Yao on his back and rushed towards the gap in the vagina. The red light of the Red Sun Gu had created a gap half a person's width in the black curtain. There was no floating figure in the gap, only a faint warmth, a stark contrast to the surrounding cold. Lin Munan followed closely behind. As he ran through the gap, he glanced back at Chen Ba and Lin Shen, his eyes filled with worry.
Lin Shen, supporting Chen Ba, was about to rush forward when he suddenly felt his feet sink. The crack in the ground suddenly widened, and a pale hand reached out from the crack, firmly grasping his ankle. He looked down and saw a ghost covered in dirt crawling out of the crack. A piece of flesh still clung to its rotting face. Its empty eye sockets stared at his neck, as if trying to snatch the Guixu Water from his body.
"Be careful!" Chen Ba suddenly pushed Lin Shen toward the opening of her vagina, only to be grabbed by another hand that emerged from the ground. She struggled to pull out the talisman paper, but the Gu pattern on her forearm suddenly burned intensely. The pain was so intense that her vision went black. The black wooden box slipped from her hands and fell to the ground, breaking open. The Red Sun Gu inside rolled out and landed on the dew-soaked grass, dimming its faint red light.
Lin Shen was pushed to the edge of the gap. Looking back, he saw that Chen Ba had been entangled by several ghosts. The Gu pattern on his forearm was crawling towards his heart at a speed visible to the naked eye, and the Red Sun Gu was being held down tightly by the hand of a ghost. The red light of the insect's body was getting dimmer and dimmer, as if it would go out at any time.
"Chen Ba!" Lin Shen roared and was about to rush back, but was held back by Li Ye who had rushed back: "Are you crazy? The gap is almost closing!"
Lin Shen looked back at the gap in the vagina - the dark red light was shrinking rapidly, and the gap that was half a person's width had shrunk to the size of a fist, and Chen Ba's figure was being submerged by more and more ghosts. Only her occasionally raised hand was still gesturing something in his direction, as if to say "go quickly".
Just as the gap was about to close, Chen Ba suddenly burst out with strength, broke free from the ghost's entanglement, picked up the Red Sun Gu on the ground, and threw it towards Lin Shen: "Take it! Don't let it die..."
The Red Sun Gu traced a dark red arc in the air, landing squarely in Lin Shen's palm. Meanwhile, Chen Ba was pinned down by the pursuing ghost. The Gu pattern on her forearm finally reached her heart. A blinding red light shone through her chest, and then her body began to dissolve at a visible speed, ultimately dissolving into a pool of blood that was sucked into the cracks in the ground. Leaving behind her was only a faint sigh as she vanished into the morning mist.
Lin Shen held the weakened Red Sun Gu in his palm, watching as the gap in his Yin Gate completely closed. The ghostly fire behind him gradually dissipated as the Yin Gate closed. The morning mist slowly faded, and sunlight filtered through the clouds onto the archway of Qingwu Town. But everyone's heart felt like ice—they had finally left the ghost town, but they had lost forever the girl who had used Gu magic to protect them.
Lin Munan, carrying Meng Yao on his back, walked over and patted Lin Shen's shoulder, but said nothing. He knew that saying anything now would be useless. Chen Ba's death was like a scar, etched in everyone's heart. The Red Sun Gu in Lin Shen's palm suddenly stirred, hissing faintly in the direction where Chen Ba had disappeared, as if mourning for its master.
Lin Shen gripped the Red Sun Gu tightly, placed it back into the black wooden box, and tucked it tightly into his arms. He looked up at the rising sun in the distance, his eyes filled with determination. "Let's find a place to settle down first and take care of the Red Sun Gu. Chen Ba sacrificed her life for our safety, and we can't let her sacrifice be in vain."
Everyone nodded, no one spoke, just silently walked away from Qingwu Town. The morning breeze blew, carrying the scent of green grass, but everyone's heart was heavy - they knew that although this night exploration of the ghost town was over, the Chiyang Gu left by Chen Ba and the secrets hidden in Qingwu Town might just be the beginning.
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