Chapter 96: Rest
Every ghost looked at everyone with eager eyes.
The desire for blood seemed to have reached its peak. The corners of his mouth widened wider and saliva dripped down the side of his face bit by bit.
Everyone stared in horror at the ghost that was getting closer and closer.
What’s even more frightening is that even if their bodies are moving in other directions, their heads are always facing them.
“I think they are really hungry.”
The twenty-third prince said tremblingly.
"Yes, and they..." Lin Xiaohe hugged Chu Songjun's hands tighter. He carefully hid himself behind Chu Songjun, and his vigilant eyes looked around like a small animal. He whispered in Chu Songjun's ear: "It doesn't look like they want to communicate with us."
“It’s so stuffy here.”
"Someone come and talk to them."
"What to say to them?"
"I don't dare, I don't dare, Dad, Mom and Dad..."
"Woo woo, I'm going to kill them sooner or later."
“Wuwuwu…”
"No, no, call me, don't push me!"
"Cough, cough, cough."
Chu Songjun coughed suddenly.
Everyone immediately stopped talking, for fear of disturbing his thoughts.
Tian Dong quickly took out a pill from his sleeve: "Master, you..."
"I'm fine." Chu Songjun covered his mouth with a handkerchief and shook his head vigorously.
"Young Master! I'll go!" Wang Youyu said with a firm expression.
"Wait!" Chu Songjun grabbed Wang Youyu's hand.
Beads of sweat oozed from his forehead, Chu Songjun's face was frighteningly red, and his lips were extremely pale.
"We have to ask, and we must ask the one who has good intentions towards us."
Xie Jinghe's pupils trembled: "The Palace Master of Changshou Palace!"
The Lord of the Changshou Palace is feared by others, so he deliberately behaves in an unrestrained manner in order to show himself harmless to the painter. In his essence, he tends not to harm those who investigate him.
Xie Jinghe couldn't help but smile.
They found a way to leave!
Chu Songjun glanced at Xie Jinghe.
His eyes were gloomy.
He hadn't finished speaking yet.
Judging from the previous two scenes, the red elements in the scene are constantly increasing, implying that the murderous intent is also increasing.
At the same time, ghosts are also being strengthened little by little, from only being able to kill people in the dark, to directly luring prey into traps, to now being able to communicate with language... their means of killing are being enriched.
By the fourth and fifth acts, can they really escape safely?
It is indeed possible to escape from the "Ghost Banquet in Changshou Palace" by going down, but it will definitely come at a great price. If it is the fifth scene "Farewell", the ghosts can directly chase and kill the guests, then they are afraid that none of them will be able to escape. Judging from the name, this possibility is not impossible.
All of this, everything, seemed to be intended to bury all of them here.
Chu Songjun was very sure that they were still in the palace. The palace was heavily guarded and the mastermind could not rob and kill them directly in the palace. He could only do it through roundabout means. The mastermind paid such a huge price to trap them in it. It couldn't be that he was just playing a joke on them, right?
Chu Songjun was not optimistic about this.
They were going to be buried here with him...
Unless... they could come in... his shadow could return to him.
Chu Songjun raised his head slowly. The turmeric background color of the ancient painting cast a layer of dim light on the entire banquet hall. It seemed that only gods could break the wall that separated the space.
His eyes moved.
"In the Changshou Palace Night Banquet, only the Palace Master of Changshou Palace is wearing red..."
Xie Jinghe frowned and thought deeply, as the vague memories of fear and chaos turned into a swirling vortex.
An anxious look passed through the terrifying ghost. Under the delighted gaze of everyone, Xie Jinghe's facial muscles tensed and his hand suddenly stopped.
——His fingers trembled, and his fingertips pointed at the red-clothed ghost holding a pot of wine in the center!
"It's him! It's him! Right?" Xie Jinghe hurriedly asked Chu Songjun for his opinion.
Chu Songjun nodded.
Xie Jinghe subconsciously relaxed for a moment.
Suddenly, he paused.
A bloody scene flashed through my mind.
Xie Jinghe saw himself covering his hands, losing his voice in pain, and his eyeballs rolling out of his eye sockets and falling into the evil ghost's open mouth.
The crowd huddled together and walked towards the red-clothed ghost, looking as pitiful as little chicks huddled together.
The ghosts looked at them with pity and tried to talk to them.
If someone can't hold back their fear and wants to speak out, this close standing position will immediately play a big role.
He pounced on him and covered his mouth.
When Xie Jinghe came to his senses, everyone had already come to the front of the red-clothed ghost in horror.
He was stunned and couldn't speak for a long time: "..."
What happened just now was... If he had spoken to her, would it be...
One side of the red-clothed ghost's mouth was cracked to the temple, and half of his peeled face skin drooped on his shoulder, and his whole body was filled with a particularly strong smell of alcohol.
There was a foul smell between his teeth, which were covered with minced meat.
He turned to Xie Jinghe: "What do you want to ask?"
Xie Jinghe wanted to open his mouth, but his hands were shaking, his feet were shaking, his whole body was shaking, so his lips were shaking too.
The red-robed ghost laughed briefly: "The more answers you give, the more rewards you will get."
It is both a threat and a reminder.
The crowd had never faced the malice of ghosts before.
They were all children aged four, five, six or seven.
Some of the foolish ones immediately started to take off the jewelry on their hands.
Some of those who were perceptive had already understood something.
Two people in the crowd looked at each other, and seeing the frail body of the red-clothed ghost, they couldn't help but have some thoughts.
The two men shouted angrily and rushed forward.
The man in red raised his eyebrows, but his mouth suddenly opened wide, revealing his spiral teeth.
He wrapped his long sleeves around himself, rolled them up lightly in the face of the two men's attack, and was about to throw them into the open mouth in the next second.
"ah--"
Someone is screaming.
"With you at the center, if there is a way out among all the screens to your left, please answer 'yes', otherwise don't answer."
The red-clothed ghost paused.
Chu Songjun glanced at the two people hanging by the mouth, looked at Xie Jinghao who was still immersed in fear, took a step forward, and held Xie Jinghao's trembling left hand with his right hand.
Xie Jinghe turned back to look at Chu Songjun in a daze, and only saw half of a calm profile.
The red-clothed ghost smacked his lips and slammed the two men to the ground regretfully. The two were hit hard and fell to the ground.
The red-clothed ghost tugged at his crimson sleeves, stretched out his bony hand, and measured Chu Songjun's height.
The scarlet eyes looked at the calm child, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised: "Yes."
The red-clothed ghost stuck out his long tongue, and in front of the increasingly excited eyes of the ghosts, he teased, "What do you want to give me to eat?"
"Do you want uncle to help you choose?"
His gradually greedy eyeballs popped out, landed on Chu Songjun's stomach, bounced out, fell on the floor and jumped a few times.
Chu Songjun was extremely calm, as if he had no fear at all. He wiped his clothes with a handkerchief in disdain, raised his left hand, and showed his little finger: "What else do you want in a word? Only this."
"Haha, okay, okay, you're right, I'll listen to you."
As the red-clothed ghost finished speaking, a terrible bite mark appeared on Chu Songjun's little finger, and he suddenly disappeared from everyone's sight.
The flesh-red wound was connected to the bitten-off bone, emitting a bloody smell.
The horrible chewing sounds, accompanied by the distorted swallowing sounds of various ghosts, echoed in the silent banquet hall.
Amid the rapid breathing of the crowd, Chu Songjun frowned, as if he could not feel the pain, and continued to ask: "Then on the left half of the screen, is there a way to leave from the center point? If yes, please answer 'yes', otherwise don't answer."
The red-clothed ghost bit his finger bones and said incoherently, "Yes!"
"I want to eat..."
"No more talk, no more giving." Chu Songjun immediately stopped the red-clothed ghost from talking and raised his ring finger: "If you don't eat, I..."
Looking at the fleeting ring finger, Chu Songjun let out a light click of his tongue in displeasure.
"Master! Eat my food! Don't eat your hand!" Tian Dong shouted tremblingly.
Wang Youyu tried to stand in front of Chu Songjun.
The red-clothed ghost glanced at them indifferently, pushed them away with his bright red sleeves, and turned around and said excitedly: "Keep going! Keep going! There are still three doors! I can at least eat one more!"
Chu Songjun reached out and touched Tiandong's head as if to comfort him. Blood accidentally rubbed on Tiandong's cheek, making Tiandong's eyes well up with tears.
There was a light sweat on the child's face, and the bloody wound on his left hand made his lips gradually turn pale.
But there was no sign of weakness on his face. In other words, he was very calm. He remained composed from beginning to end.
After weighing the pros and cons, he made a decisive decision.
Everyone stared at the little figure in front of them. They were shocked... They looked at the three-year-old child, feeling ashamed, but they only felt unprecedented peace of mind and...
Shocked! Although they were still young, the shock made them realize that they might never meet someone like Chu Songjun in their lifetime.
They couldn't look away for a long moment.
Why was he not afraid at all? Why was he so calm between life and death? Why... why did he stand in front of them?
Chu Songjun walked to the three screens.
The one on the far left is a picture of a bird of prey, the one in the middle is a picture of a myriad of flowers offering auspiciousness, and the one on the far right is a picture of an evil demon arhat with a green face and fangs.
All they could hear was their own fearful breathing, and in their breathing was an indescribable, inexplicable yearning.
Is Chu Songjun in pain? How could it not hurt? The ghost had eaten his finger, and the ghost was chewing it.
Amidst that creepy, nightmare-like voice, Xie Jinghe was staring at Chu Songjun, and everyone was staring at Chu Songjun.
"Song, Brother Song, let me ask for you."
I don't know who opened his mouth tremblingly.
Chu Songjun silently glanced behind him and saw the person who was staring at him intently, then shook his head.
Then he slowly raised his middle finger to the evil ghost who was staring at him. He said, "With the Thousand Flowers Picture as the center, excluding the Thousand Flowers Picture, is the folding screen with the Song Bird Picture on the left near the Thousand Flowers Picture the escape route? If yes, answer 'yes', if not, don't answer."
The red-clothed ghost did not answer, but raised the corner of his mouth.
“——”
Wang Youyu seized the opportunity and suddenly threw Chu Songjun into the evil ghost screen.
Pass through an invisible barrier.
Chu Songjun suddenly started coughing.
“Cough, cough, cough—”
The red-clothed ghost's frivolous and unhappy voice came from behind the screen: "Run? Wait..."
Under the drooping skin of the Palace Master of Longevity Palace, the bright red muscle lines stretched and slowly rose.
He gave an extremely mysterious smile.
“Ahem…”
There were spots of blood on the ground, like blooming fireworks.
The bloody palm rested on the ground.
Chu Songjun's throat hurt and it became increasingly difficult to breathe.
He moved his hand away, and for some reason, the ground had a burnt color, and his eyes narrowed.
Everyone cautiously surrounded Chu Songjun in the center.
This scene is the fourth scene, named "Qing Chui", which is a scene of music. There are a few musical instruments in front of them, and opposite the instruments are ghosts with a covetous look in their eyes.
The Lord of Longevity Palace reappeared, biting his finger bones with his teeth, and put the tip of his tongue against the gap between the bones, and actually played a strange melody sporadically.
——"Why not pick up a musical instrument and sing along? It's hard to find a soulmate in this world!"
Beside him, countless guests had already revealed their true forms as green-faced, fang-toothed ghosts. The lingering smoke was wrapping around their mysterious bodies, and seductive music was playing from the witch's pipa.
Most people heard the hidden meaning behind the words of the Lord of Changshou Palace.
What this person meant was that only those who managed to grab the musical instrument could survive.
There are still thirty or forty of them left, but only a few musical instruments.
The fourth act is to make the followers of the Lord of Changshou Palace regard them as their accomplices, so that they can survive. This is a scene based on the standards of ghosts!
As for the criterion for judging the comrades, it is probably only those who hold musical instruments!
They want to instigate people to kill each other!
Xie Jinghe glanced at Chu Songjun, then looked at the musical instruments.
Chu Songjun was extremely thin, like a pitiful cat.
What advantage does he have in the snatch!
If I catch them off guard later and use the knife in my sleeve to stop them, and let Chu Songjun go and take the instrument himself...
Xie Jinghe's face was still showing an expression of anxiously thinking of a countermeasure, but his hand had already touched the scabbard in his sleeve.
His eyes met those two rough guys, the common people from the Situ family. Xie Jinghe exchanged glances with the two men.
The Situ brothers and Xie Jinghe all looked at Chu Songjun who was still coughing.
Chu Songjun looked at the musical instruments thoughtfully.
He felt something was wrong. It seemed that the ghosts did not want to kill them all.
From the beginning, he thought that the people who had gone to great lengths to trap them here wanted to kill them all, but the survival requirements of the fourth act exceeded his expectations. The fourth act was based on musical instruments, and since the ghosts had musical instruments in their hands, they could put them down. In other words, the number of musical instruments was controlled by the ghosts.
The goblins can let as many people live as they want. If there are restrictions in the rules, there must be musical instruments, and the number of musical instruments should be an extreme number, for example, one musical instrument is required for one person to survive, but there are quite a few here. Moreover, if some of them pray to the goblins for musical instruments with their flesh and blood, maybe they can succeed...
Then...that's not the movement of the ghosts in the scroll?
Chu Songjun's eyes moved, but the people around him were still standing there in confusion, ignoring the ghosts' urging, waiting for Chu Songjun to speak.
“Ahem.”
"Palace Master, I am your soulmate."
Chu Songjun's face was pale, and he leaned on Tiandong. He lived up to everyone's expectations and spoke with certainty to the red-clothed ghost.
"Oh?" The red-clothed ghost raised his eyebrows: "How do you prove that you are my soulmate? I don't have a soulmate who cheats, and you haven't even sung the same tune with me yet."
Directly pointing to Chu Songjun's escape from the last transaction.
"I already know which door is the way to leave."
Chu Songjun ignored the red-clothed ghost's sarcasm and continued calmly.
The red-clothed ghost narrowed his eyes, obviously extremely suspicious. He was silent for a while, but agreed to give Chu Songjun a chance, and threw away his sleeves in a dissolute manner: "Okay! Zhiyin, please! Give me your answer!"
The ghosts looked at the red-clothed ghost hesitantly, but still obediently made way.
Behind the ghosts, there were six screens standing neatly.
The others looked at each other in confusion, not quite understanding why Chu Songjun said that, but they still trusted Chu Songjun and helped him look at the screens.
Xie Jinghe and the Situ brothers couldn't help but stop.
After waiting for a long while, there was no answer. The red-clothed ghost snorted and was about to mock -
"My throat has been itching since I came in," Chu Songjun coughed lightly. His voice was a little weak, but he talked about a strange and seemingly unrelated topic.
"I have a cough, but I've only experienced this... dry feeling a while ago."
"The fire was burning fiercely that day..."
The red-clothed ghost interrupted blankly: "What does this have to do with me?"
"It has something to do with you."
Along the way, Chu Songjun's sensitive throat was telling him that something was burning in this space.
Chu Songjun didn't care at first.
But I am becoming more and more pessimistic about the possibility of escape.
"Night Banquet in Changshou Palace" was a helpless act of the mastermind behind the scene. As the person holding the scroll, he might be aware that there is a possibility of escape from this ghost picture. Although the possibility is very small, it is not impossible.
Chu Songjun believed that the mastermind behind the incident made a very simple move to ensure that this possibility would disappear.
Chu Songjun said firmly: "That is the way to leave."
He pointed to a folding screen with his finger. On that cloisonné enamel screen was a painting of birds paying homage to the phoenix.
A little smoke was rolling out from the screen.
The red-clothed ghost was stunned, a little confused.
Chu Songjun was right, that was the way to the fifth act, but how did he know?
Wait, that smoke is...
"As for why it has something to do with you..." Chu Songjun pretended to be puzzled and asked back: "Your painting... was burned, it has nothing to do with you?"
The "mastermind"'s methods are simple.
The fragment of the fifth act scroll is probably now ablaze with flames.
Sooner or later, these fires will spread from the fifth act to the first act, and then the entire "Night Banquet in Changshou Palace" will be burned to ashes.
The real killer move of the "mastermind" is hidden in the fifth act "Farewell".
They just want to send away all the people or ghosts in the painting "Night Banquet in Changshou Palace".
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