Yuan Xin was, after all, a girl, and had an innate fear of such dark and cramped places. Even walking among a few people, she couldn't help but shiver several times.
Geng Qi keenly noticed this and asked with a smile, "Why should a girl force herself like this?"
Yuan Xin understood the meaning behind his words, and unlike before, she did not argue with him. She said in a low voice, "Junior Sister Su disappeared while she was with me. It is my dereliction of duty as her senior sister."
She could only feel at ease once she found him, no matter what.
Geng Qi said, "You treat this junior sister quite well."
Yuan Xin rolled her eyes at him. With someone talking, she felt much more relaxed. Seeing him take a half-step back, she thought for a moment and asked, "I always hear Qing Han call you brother. What is your real name?"
“Me?” Geng Qi pointed to himself. “My name is Qing Qi.”
Yuan Xin's brow twitched.
This person is indeed quite peculiar.
Geng Qi had tricked her into silence. Smiling, she took out a bag of melon seeds from her storage pouch and was about to eat them when her shoulder jolted. The person walking in front of her suddenly stopped and turned around to ask, "What's wrong?"
Rong Yu didn't speak, he just looked ahead.
The secret passage they had been walking through suddenly widened, revealing a place that resembled a secret chamber. However, it wasn't quite a secret chamber; it was no longer a pile of dirt, but rather an oval-shaped wall made of stacked stones. There were several doors leading to unknown rooms. In the center of the circular chamber was a stone platform, the purpose of which was unknown. Some images and texts were engraved on it, but they were too worn to be clearly seen.
Around the stone platform, a few wandering souls drifted around, their soul power weak, as if they would dissipate at any moment.
"These...are human souls?"
Geng Qi cracked a melon seed with a "crack," the sound unusually crisp in the silent, tomb-like chamber. Yuan Xin, who was staring at the wandering spirit, was startled and couldn't help but scold, "How can you still be thinking about eating in a place like this!"
Geng Qi said casually, "What if we can't get out? Then we won't be able to eat anymore."
"..."
A melon seed shell was thrown out and suddenly burst into flames. The light emitted instantly overshadowed the soft glow of the luminous pearl and illuminated the entire secret room. Geng Qi could even hear the sound of several people behind him gasping violently.
The few white figures that could barely be seen under the light of the luminous pearl were now revealed to be pale, transparent faces under the firelight. Each of them had long, disheveled hair and was fleeing in all directions with their backs to the flames.
Even without consciousness, the soul still instinctively fears light and heat.
Yuan Xin felt her breath catch in her throat and swallowed hard.
While the fire was still burning, Rong Yu took the lead and entered the secret chamber. The others dared not delay and followed after the ball of fire above Geng Qi's head.
Yuan Xin couldn't understand how a small melon seed shell could burn for so long without going out. He eagerly leaned closer to take a look, and saw a faint purple glow in the bright yellow flame. Before he could get a clear look, the fire went out because its owner turned around.
Seeing that the scattered souls were about to gather again, she quickly left the spot.
"What kind of fire is this? It can even spontaneously combust?"
Geng Qi cracked melon seeds with a loud cracking sound. When he turned around and saw Yuan Xin following him, he couldn't help but scare her: "This thing of mine is called phosphorescence. It can ignite on its own wherever there is a corpse."
Yuan Xin's body stiffened, and she hurriedly took a step back to distance herself from the ball of fire. Looking at the soul shadows not far away, she quickly walked back.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, he glared fiercely at Geng Qi.
However, the person didn't look at her; instead, he stared at the person standing on the stone platform on the other side.
"What did you see?"
Geng Qi took three steps forward, leaving behind the fire beside Yuan Xin and the others. He walked to Rong Yu's side and lit another flame to illuminate his path.
There were obvious bloodstains on the stone platform, but they also had a pattern. It was hard to say what kind of pattern it was, but it was definitely regular.
After observing for a while, Rong Yu said, "It's an array."
Geng Qi asked, "Formation? What kind of formation?"
Rong Yu squatted down again and probed the ground with his finger for a moment before standing up and shaking his head: "The damage is too great to identify."
The others searched the area illuminated by the fireball but found nothing.
Geng Qi looked at the several tightly closed doors. "Shall we go take a look over there?"
Rong Yu nodded: "Mm."
After he stepped off the stone platform, Rong Yu stared at the cluster of flames above his head before following him. The two walked one after the other, and before they even got close to the stone doors, the entire secret chamber suddenly shook violently. Geng Qi, who was holding melon seeds, lost his footing and swayed, but a pair of hands supported his elbows from behind.
Rong Yu helped him up and asked, "Are you alright?"
Geng Qi waved his hands repeatedly, not having time to thank him, when the secret chamber shook again. This time, he was mentally prepared and was not knocked over.
Looking up, Geng Qi said, "It seems to be the noise coming from inside the stone gate."
Near the door they had come through, it sounded like something was violently slamming into it. At first, the impacts were intermittent, but gradually they became continuous. Seeing that the stone door was cracking, Geng Qi was startled and looked at the three people who were still frozen there, saying, "What are you standing there for? Come over here now!"
The three of them snapped out of their daze and quickly ran towards them. They were still a few steps away when the stone door shattered with a bang, revealing the thing inside frantically ramming against the door.
The first thing to appear was a bird's head, with dark golden feathers covering its neck. Its body was still hidden in the stone gate. Following the human's presence, it suddenly turned its head, revealing a pair of bright red eyes. The dark rafters opened slightly, as if showing them a smile.
The group of people gathered together were all startled. Hidden inside the stone door of the secret chamber was actually a Guhuo Ghost!
...
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