The further you go, the fewer reefs there are. This is a beach. By the time you can see the car lights on the opposite side, Chi Shen has already stepped on the soft sand.
The sound of the waves was getting louder, and we were already very close to the sea.
Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the sand, and the circle of sand surrounding Chi Shen moved a little. A circle of wooden signs stood up and surrounded Chi Shen.
Various talismans were drawn on the wooden sign with a red pen. Of course, Chi Shen didn't recognize any of them, so he ignored them.
Chi Shen was not panicked, he didn't even stop.
Amid the sound of the waves, an old voice was heard chanting: "The City God is the ruler, and controls the fortunes and misfortunes of all people..."
Suddenly a gust of wind blew from the sea.
"Precious incense burns in the golden censer, and clouds of fragrance linger up to heaven..."
A flickering spark appeared in the darkness ahead.
Because the wind carried the salty smell of the sea, Chi Shen narrowed his eyes and looked in that direction.
There was an altar there, and standing in front of it was his blood grandfather, Bai Hengqing, the oldest man in the Bai family.
Bai Hengqing originally had a serious expression, frowning as he stared at the incense burner in front of him. Under the illumination of the car lights, he could vaguely see the shape of the incense burner. The incense sticks on it fluttered up and were blown away by the sea breeze. Seeing the wind rising, his brows suddenly relaxed and his face lit up with joy. In his hand was a roll of golden paper with Chi Shen's name written on it. Halfway through reciting, he threw the roll of paper into a small tripod with burning paper money, and the paper instantly caught fire.
The sea breeze was getting stronger and stronger, and it seemed that something black was surging in the sand, but it didn't come closer.
There were many people in the darkness, their robes rustling in the wind. In such a strong wind, those people held incense sticks in their hands and bowed in all directions as Bai Hengqing chanted.
Next to a car not far away, there were two people leaning against it. One of them had his down jacket zipped up to the top and was casually drinking from his thermos, while the other, younger man was nervously watching the situation in the dojo.
They drove here just to illuminate Bai Hengqing's dojo.
The younger man gave him a strange look and said in a weird tone, "No one answered."
They were far away, so no one paid attention to his inexplicable words. The person drinking water paused with the thermos cup and asked him, "What do you mean?"
"You are not very clean, so you don't participate in these things." Just as he said this, the young man seemed to feel that it was a bit embarrassing to say this in front of others, so he changed his words and said, "I mean that the things you are responsible for are different from ours, so you are not very clear about this process."
Wei Zhuo raised his hand and closed the lid of the thermos cup. His expression did not change at all because of his words. He just nodded: "Yeah."
The young man swallowed and looked at him fearfully. Seeing that he didn't show any reaction, he breathed a sigh of relief and continued, "In the past, when we performed rituals, we asked the City God to clear the way. Basically, the evil spirits in the center of the temple couldn't move, and they would even wail. The lit incense would also float vertically up to the sky. But just now, the smoke was scattered and was blown away by the wind so that it couldn't even be seen. Moreover, after we asked the City God... nothing happened. Even the evil spirit next to him didn't react."
"It's as if... as if there's no City God to receive our letter."
Wei Zhuo nodded again, not looking surprised at all: "The City God doesn't dare to come."
“But I think their dojo is too big... huh?” The young man seemed to realize what he was saying and froze.
“Maybe there is no City God at all.” Wei Zhuo said, putting the thermos cup back in the car.
The young man looked towards the dojo and whispered, "You can't say that."
On the altar not far away, Bai Hengqing looked at Chi Shen who was getting closer and closer, and sang in a stern voice: "Chi Shen, a resident of Tongfuyuan in Gangcheng, is a lonely wandering ghost with nowhere to go. The merciful real person came to guide him and save his soul and return it to his hometown——"
As the chanting sounded, Chi Shen understood what was going on.
Ji Xingchen walked out from his shadow and said, "This is a ritual for salvation. I've seen it in the Bai family's materials."
Chi Shen laughed: "Are you trying to save me?"
"Probably." Ji Xingchen's voice became a little erratic. Chi Shen reached out and grabbed his wrist, and his somewhat scattered soul immediately condensed together again.
Hearing the lyrics, Chi Shen understood that this formation was used to save his soul, but it was obvious that this had no effect on him. Instead, it affected Ji Xingchen, who did not have his name written and was not prayed for to be saved.
Chi Shen was about to say something, but suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky.
"Door……"
Chi Shen had already walked to the front of the altar, less than five meters away.
The further Chi Shen walked, the worse Bai Hengqing's face looked. But when he saw Chi Shen stopped, he was immediately delighted and even chanted louder: "The Merciful Master is here to take us back to our hometown!"
The wind made the soul flutter violently, almost falling to the ground, but the ghost standing in the formation and whose name was written by them and presented to the City God did not react at all, and even his expression did not change, as if he was just coming for a walk.
Is it that their rituals for the salvation of the souls are ineffective, or that their methods of salvation are wrong, or that the City God has deserted his post and won't come to take people away?
Is Chi Shen still alive?
No - there is no such possibility!
The fact that he could pass He Lianhai proves that he is a ghost. A living person will definitely bring the old zombie back to life because of his yang energy. Even if the old zombie is not a match for Chi Shen, Chi Shen would not be able to walk over here so intact, without even a single hair out of place.
Chi Shen must be a ghost!
Because only evil ghosts have this kind of ghost aura, the chill emanating from Chi Shen's body is more terrifying than any ghost he has ever seen!
But what about He Lianhai?
Why didn’t He Lianhai inform him that Chi Shen was here?
Bai Hengqing suddenly realized that he had overlooked a horrible thing. When Chi Shen came over, whether it was a living person or a ghost, He Lianhai should have notified him so that he could find a corresponding response strategy, but he did not receive any notification from He Lianhai at all.
Did they fail to intercept him on the road, allowing Chi Shen to bypass them? Or did He Lianhai escape, or was it that He Lianhai was unable to notify him at all?
Chi Shen suddenly stopped and looked up at the sky, which made them even more suspicious.
Ji Xingchen also looked up at the sky, or rather, all the people from the Bai family who came to perform the ritual looked up at the sky, but in their vision, the sky was still pitch black and there was nothing.
Bai Hengqing didn't even know what they were looking at. He suspected that Chi Shen was trying to divert his attention. He immediately lowered his head and found that Chi Shen was still motionless. He finally panicked and shouted in a shrill voice: "The Merciful Master has come to take you back and save the dead souls. The lonely ghosts have nowhere to go—"
The other members of the Bai family were also panicked for a moment. A thick ghost energy overflowed from Chi Shen's body and merged with the black mist surging in the sand. They all dared not get close and could only continue to protect him and let Bai Hengqing perform the ritual.
"White door?" Amid the panic, Ji Xingchen spoke calmly. His eyes slowly turned red and his figure began to disperse, as if he was about to float in that direction.
Chi Shen's face darkened. He raised his hand, looked in the direction of the door, and suddenly retracted it.
The door that had opened a little, revealing a white light inside, suddenly seemed to be stuck. It did not continue to open, but suddenly closed and then disappeared into the dark night sky.
Chi Shen looked at the place where the door disappeared, and he suddenly understood something.
He had certainly seen such a door before.
But now, it seemed that only he and Ji Xingchen could see it. He understood that it was because he was qualified to step through that door, but why was Ji Xingchen qualified?
Chi Shen couldn't help but tighten his grip on Ji Xingchen's hand.
Ji Xingchen looked down at the two people's clasped hands and said nothing.
The howling sea breeze suddenly stopped, so abruptly as if it had never blown before. The voice of Bai Hengqing's chanting was still in his ears. He was even sweating with anxiety, but the figures of Chi Shen and Ji Xingchen did not move at all, and they did not look like they were about to be liberated.
Seeing Chi Shen coming towards him in three or two steps, Bai Hengqing finally started to panic.
This was the Taoist temple he hastily prepared, using the highest level of rituals for the salvation of the dead, asking the City God to open the way, praying to the Heavenly Lord to save the suffering, and leading the souls of the dead back to the fairyland.
But Chi Shen, whose name he wrote down, had no reaction!
Isn't he a ghost?
Thinking of this, Bai Hengqing hurriedly asked: "You are full of ghost energy, and you are still alive?!"
"Maybe," Chi Shen kicked over the wooden signs surrounding him, and the ghost energy spread. He said calmly, "I may be dead, or I may be alive."
Bai Hengqing showed a shocked look on his face. A circle of black ghost energy surrounded him. If it weren't for the younger generation pulling him away to escape, Bai Hengqing would have been surrounded by this ghost energy and might have died.
Chi Shen lifted the altar, and the dust inside rose up. He broke the peach wood sword on the table, stepped on the soul-calling banner to the ground, and then turned to look at Ji Xingchen: "Are you feeling better?"
Ji Xingchen looked at him speechlessly, then looked at Chi Shen's hand that was still holding his wrist, pushed his glasses with his other hand and said, "Actually, I'll be fine if the door is closed."
"Then I have something to ask Second Grandpa, come with me." Chi Shen didn't care whether Ji Xingchen agreed or not, he just grabbed him and went up.
Bai Hengqing pushed back repeatedly, not daring to get closer. Looking at Chi Shen getting closer and closer, Bai Hengqing was not too panicked. He gritted his teeth and said, "Although I don't know why you didn't react to the ritual I prepared for the salvation of souls, my Bai family will not let go of any evil spirit that spreads cholera in the world!"
As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly opened his coat, revealing an old tablet wrapped tightly inside.
"This is the ancestor who founded our Bai family. I have invited you out of the ancestral hall three times. If I cannot save your soul, I will let your soul scatter here!"
Bai Hengqing raised the tablet with one hand and smeared his own blood on it. With the other hand, he raised the peach wood sword: "Ancestors, please show your spirits——"
The author has something to say:
The rituals in this chapter are based on references and adapted from the ritual texts in the City God's Edict.
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