Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
"Let's go, keep up."
I was still in a daze when Mao Shiba dashed out of the house. Zhou Zhen and I exchanged a glance before hurriedly following after him.
The Yellow Talisman folded into a Crane seemed to have a life of its own, already soaring outside as Mao Shiba led the way. Zhou Zhen and I trailed closely behind.
The moonlight poured down, and the early morning air carried a slight chill, especially knowing that we were searching for ghosts; that coldness settled deeper in my heart.
But I had no choice but to grit my teeth and follow closely behind Mao Shiba and Zhou Zhen, as being with them made me feel safer.
The Crane moved swiftly, floating gracefully into the wilderness. Even at full speed, I found myself lagging behind Mao Shiba.
Fortunately, Zhou Zhen was there with me, which kept my fear at bay.
I glanced at Mao Shiba ahead, panting slightly. In the darkness, his figure was becoming harder to discern; I could only make out a vague silhouette illuminated by the moonlight.
The surroundings were eerily silent, broken only by the occasional croaking of frogs. I had lost track of where we were running.
Zhou Zhen looked back at me and asked, "How are you holding up? Can you keep going?"
I replied, "I'm fine; it's just that he's running too fast for me to keep up."
Honestly, I truly admired Mao Shiba's stamina at that moment; it was incredibly impressive.
Although we were nearly the same age, there was no comparison when it came to our physical abilities.
Even Zhou Zhen felt stronger than me. Although he didn't have the same speed as Mao Shiba, I could tell he was deliberately slowing down to accommodate me.
After running for several hundred meters, I suddenly found it strange that Mao Shiba, who was ahead, had stopped.
A jolt of surprise ran through me as I thought, could it be that he found Cloud Ghost General?
With a mix of curiosity and apprehension, Zhou Zhen and I hurried forward and asked, "Did you find him?"
I glanced around nervously. Even though Mao Shiba and Zhou Zhen were right beside me, I still felt a twinge of fear at the thought of Cloud Ghost General's terrifying face suddenly appearing before me.
"Lin Hao."
Suddenly, someone called my name from behind. I jumped in surprise and instinctively turned around, only to see a familiar Withered Face.
It wasn't Cloud Ghost General; it was Mu Yan.
Seeing her eased my tension. I had been so focused on running that I completely forgot about her. I was surprised to find she had followed us.
Taking a breath, I said somewhat helplessly, "Why did you come along?"
She seemed a bit annoyed by my tone and replied, "I was worried about you."
Even though I knew she was a ghost, her words warmed my heart a little. My tone softened as I nodded and said, "It's fine; I have these two with me."
Mu Yan remained silent, seemingly unwilling to engage with me, standing quietly by my side while gazing ahead.
Zhou Zhen's eyes swept down to the ground, landing on the folded Yellow Talisman of the Crane, which appeared as if it had been burned by fire, now lying on the ground. He frowned and asked, "What happened?"
Mao Shiba stroked his chin with one hand, his brow furrowed as he looked forward and said, "Someone has broken my spell."
"What do you mean someone has broken your spell?"
Before Zhou Zhen could respond, I exclaimed in shock.
Mao Shiba nodded slightly. Zhou Zhen frowned and said, "It seems that the person who placed the Eight Character Death Curse on Xiao Lin is indeed related to the Cloud Ghost General."
Mao Shiba pondered for a moment and replied, "That's what I think too."
Zhou Zhen nodded slightly. "Otherwise, who would intervene to help a Ghost General? I'm certain that this person must have some connection to the Cloud Ghost General."
Mao Shiba agreed, saying, "That is indeed the case; otherwise, there would be no reason to assist a Ghost General."
"Moreover, I sense that this person's abilities are quite formidable," Mao Shiba added with a serious tone.
"What should we do now?"
I quickly asked. Their words had completely thrown my mind into chaos.
"Don't be too anxious," Zhou Zhen said as he noticed my panic.
Mao Shiba thought for a moment and then added, "Let me try something."
He then pulled out a yellow talisman from his pocket, which he quickly folded into a Crane, just like before. Chanting an incantation, he flicked his fingers and shouted, "Swift!"
Both Zhou Zhen and I focused our attention on Mao Shiba. As his voice echoed, the Crane floated gracefully in the air.
However, it barely flew forward a meter before it began to spin in place, as if an invisible wall was blocking its path just beyond that distance, preventing it from moving any further.
Seeing this, I felt a surge of tension.
Zhou Zhen's expression darkened as he fixed his gaze on the unsteady Crane.
Mao Shiba's face also fell. He clasped his hands together forcefully, fingers aligned, and pointed forward while shouting, "Warriors of the battlefield, flying crane, show us the way—swiftly!"
Three consecutive shouts of "swift" followed, but nothing seemed to work.
The Crane made from the talisman shook violently in mid-air before suddenly bursting into flames with a loud bang, instantly turning into a pile of ashes.
As a gust of wind blew by, not even a trace of ash remained.
Mao Shiba's face looked grim; after all that running, he had appeared flushed just moments ago, but now he looked somewhat pale.
I hurriedly asked, "What happened?"
Zhou Zhen stepped forward and asked, "Eighteen, are you alright?"
"Uncle Zhou, I'm fine."
Mao Shiba gently shook his head and said, "The opponent is very powerful. He is engaging in a battle of wits with me, and I am no match for him."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhen's expression grew serious as he sighed, "If even you are not his match, I didn't expect this person to be so skilled. It seems we have some trouble on our hands."
Mao Shiba nodded and continued, "However, it seems that he has no intention of harming me. He merely gave me a slight warning; otherwise, I would have probably coughed up blood just now."
Although he was no match for the opponent, Mao Shiba did not feel the slightest bit defeated. He acknowledged this fact quite readily.
Zhou Zhen nodded slightly; he understood well how dangerous it could be if one party in a battle of wits was significantly more skilled than the other.
Mao Shiba was a disciple of Taoist Nine Meridians from the Mao family. Despite his young age and considerable skills, he should have been quite proud. However, the fact that he could so readily admit to being inferior to someone indicated that the opponent's abilities were far beyond his own.
Thus, while Mao Shiba did not elaborate on the dangers involved, Zhou Zhen was well aware of them.
This only made him more wary of this potential adversary.
"Zhou, Uncle Zhou, what should we do now?" I asked despondently, feeling completely lost and knowing that I could only rely on him at this point.
"Let's go, the faster the better," Zhou Zhen said.
I asked, "Where to?"
Zhou Zhen sighed and looked at Mao Shiba. "It's the place I wanted to take you last time, Jiangsu Jintan."
Upon hearing this, Mao Shiba seemed surprised. "Uncle Zhou, are you taking him to find them?"
"Yes."
Zhou Zhen nodded and continued, "I had originally planned to take him last time, but because of the Eight Character Death Curse, I couldn't suppress it, so we didn't go. However, this time is different. With you and us together, plus the Eighteen-Character Divine Incantation you used to suppress it earlier, there shouldn't be any issues."
Mao Shiba scratched his head, looking somewhat troubled and hesitant to speak.
Zhou Zhen frowned. "Is there a problem?"
Mao Shiba stammered, "Well, there isn't really a problem; it's just that you know my uncle usually doesn't let me go out. This time I finally managed to get out, so I don't want to go back so soon."
Hearing this, Zhou Zhen felt a bit helpless. "Eighteen, lives are at stake; the bigger picture is important. You must come with me on this trip. Master Gu has been looking for a successor he can be satisfied with; I'm doing this for him. If you don't come with me and something goes wrong, just wait until Master Gu comes back to see how he deals with you."
"Alright, alright, Uncle Zhou, I guess I'm afraid of you now."
I didn't know who Master Gu was that Zhou Zhen mentioned; since I met him, I had already heard him mention this person twice and it was clear he held a great deal of respect for him.
Even the unruly Mao Shiba seemed to feel a sense of dread and headache upon hearing about this person. He quickly nodded and said, "No need to say anything more. Just let me know when we're heading back, and I'll go with you."
"That's more like it," Zhou Zhen replied, a faint smile appearing on his face at Mao Shiba's agreement.
At that moment, Mu Yan, who had been standing silently beside us, suddenly tugged at my arm. I turned to her, puzzled, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"I can sense his presence; he's not far from here," she said.
He...
Who?
I was somewhat confused. "You mean the Cloud Ghost General?"
"Yes."
Mu Yan nodded lightly in affirmation.
Her words caused both Zhou Zhen and Mao Shiba to turn their gazes toward her simultaneously. Zhou Zhen asked, "You can really sense his presence? He's really nearby?"
Without answering verbally, Mu Yan pointed ahead.
I looked ahead alongside Mao Shiba and Zhou Zhen. The desolate night in the countryside, illuminated by the moonlight, was not completely dark, but there was an eerie feeling of Yin Qi lingering in the air.
Perhaps it was really just ahead of us.
I glanced at Zhou Zhen and Mao Shiba, seeking their thoughts. They exchanged a look, as if they had already made a decision, and then gently stepped forward.
I hurried to follow them. The further we went, the more fear gripped me; it felt as though a thick fog lay ahead, filled with chilling Yin Qi.
Mu Yan was right behind me, with Mao Shiba and Zhou Zhen in front. Their presence eased my anxiety somewhat; otherwise, I surely wouldn't have been able to move.
However, we had barely walked a hundred meters when Zhou Zhen and Mao Shiba suddenly stopped.
At that moment, Mu Yan grabbed my hand tightly. I turned to see her eyes filled with vigilance as she stared ahead.
I understood; this was her warning of danger.
In the next instant, I heard Mao Shiba shout in panic, "Damn it, this is bad! Run!"
Comment 0 Comment Count