Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Living Funeral
I stood up and pressed my hand against Gao Ling's, saying, "Let me take care of that! You sit down and clean the blood off your face."
I took the tissue from her, and Gao Ling's mother glanced at her before asking, "Ling'er, how are you feeling?"
Gao Ling replied, "Mom, don't worry, I'm fine. Just a bit tired." Her mother quickly stood up to check on Gao Ling's injuries. Seeing that she was okay, she sat back down. I couldn't help but wonder if Gao Ling was really her biological child.
Gao Qing said nothing, and neither did Gao Ling's father. Was it because the fortune teller had said that a dead person resided within Gao Ling? Was that why her family treated her this way? I quickly wiped the bloodstains off the table.
Gao Ling went to the restroom to wash her face.
At this point, only a few of us remained in the private room. I spoke up, "It feels like you all don't care much about Gao Ling. I don't know if it's just my impression." I was quite direct about it. The fortune teller had mentioned that the dead person within Gao Ling would be troublesome, but even so, I still considered Gao Ling a good friend.
Zhang Xun had warned me to stay away from Gao Ling early on, but I hadn’t listened. Gao Ling often thought about her family; if they treated her like this, I felt it was unjust. After I said this, Gao Qing retorted, "Chen Fei, this doesn’t seem to concern you."
"Right, it doesn't concern me. But you've never respected your own brother."
Gao Qing was furious and said, "You..."
"Am I wrong?"
Gao Qing replied, "Don't speak without understanding the situation."
Just then, Gao Ling returned with a towel provided by the waiter to wipe her face. She asked, "Gao Qing, did you argue with Fei again?"
Gao Qing snorted coldly and said nothing more. Gao Ling's parents were equally silent. Once all the dishes were served, we began to eat. The meal wasn't very pleasant. After finishing, we left.
"Go ahead, fly. Why not sit down and chat?" Gao Ling said.
I replied, "There's nothing to talk about."
After returning home, Nian Chen remarked, "This family seems to have some issues."
I agreed, "I think there are some problems too."
Hu Qingming added, "How could there be no problems? His father has a bad fate; didn't you see him frowning the whole time?"
Hu Qingming had a point. Suddenly, Zhang Xun said, "Now that we've taken care of things here, let's head to that building." Hu Qingming glanced at Zhang Xun and asked, "Where are you going?" Zhang Xun confirmed, "Yes." Hu Qingming warned, "That place isn't good. But we have to go eventually."
I didn't fully understand their conversation; it felt like I was listening to a secret code that needed translating, but I didn't translate it.
Hu Qingming said, "Chen Fei isn't fully awake yet, so going there might lead to the final awakening."
"The final awakening?" I inquired.
Hu Qingming turned to Chen Fei and said, "When you can remember us and your lifelong aspirations, then you'll be completely awakened." My impression of Hu Qingming was indeed vague; I only felt a slight sense of familiarity.
Hu Qingming continued, "Since Li Guang's situation is changing, let's make it change faster and messier."
I quickly glanced at the Book of Ten Thousand Ghosts but couldn't make sense of it at all.
Time passed swiftly as we prepared to leave. We couldn't just leave Bai empty-handed, so we enrolled him in a training class and gave him some money. Bai was a sensible child; he understood we had matters to attend to and didn't want to hold us back.
I originally wanted to call Gao Ling, but thinking about how long it had been since Gao Ling had seen his parents, I decided not to disturb him.
The four of us headed to our final destination, traveling almost all night until we arrived at a desolate place. It was a mountain range, dense with trees and heavy with humidity. Zhang Xun had brought a map with a clear objective.
"We've brought everything we need this time," he said.
"That building is up ahead," Zhang Xun pointed out.
"That's true, but whether we can make it up there alive is another matter," Hu Qingming replied.
Zhang Xun continued, "Yes, it's said that there's a Ghost Formation here, designed to prevent unrelated people from ascending."
"Ghost Formation?" I asked, puzzled.
Zhang Xun explained, "There are records about this Ghost Formation. It consists of forty-nine positions, each guarded by a Demon God. One wrong move could trigger a chain reaction."
I thought to myself, how complicated! Forty-nine positions? Do we really need that many? If there are forty-nine Demon Gods, will we even survive the ascent?
Zhang Xun reassured me, "Nothing is impossible."
Hu Qingming chuckled and said, "Brother, I really like your personality. When did you meet Chen Fei?"
When asked this question, Zhang Xun simply replied, "I forgot." There was a hint of confusion in his voice as he said those two words. Hu Qingming added, "Back then, Chen Fei was indeed a warm-hearted person who helped many and made numerous friends. This laid the groundwork for his survival until now."
I thought about it too! Without so many people helping me, I definitely wouldn't have made it this far. After experiencing so much, I've seen through many things; however, one thing remains unclear to me: the nature of life and death.
Now, I might be able to give up many things, but I can never let go of life and death. At this moment, the light had already dimmed.
I asked the two of them, "Do you know when we will enter the Ghost Formation?"
Zhang Xun didn't know. Nian Chen and Hu Qingming also had no idea, so it seemed we could only rely on luck. Since we were already at the foot of the mountain, we decided not to rush at night; going up during the day should be safer. With that thought in mind, we set up our tent to rest.
We prepared some dry rations to eat, but no one managed to sleep until deep into the night. I suggested to everyone, "Why don't you all sleep? I'll keep watch."
No one could sleep; everyone expressed their inability to do so. Since that was the case, we decided to continue our journey. We packed up the tent and used the flashlight's beam to navigate the mountain path. However, after traveling for a while at night, a sudden chill crept into my heart.
I said, "Something feels off."
Nian Chen asked me, "What's wrong?"
I shook my head and took a few more steps. Then I saw a figure standing ahead, facing away from us. I told everyone, "There's someone up ahead." I pointed my flashlight in that direction, but Zhang Xun, Hu Qingming, and Nian Chen couldn't see anything.
These three were all skilled individuals, yet they couldn't see what I was seeing, which made me uneasy.
The most crucial part was that there was indeed a person standing in the beam of my flashlight, yet these three couldn't see them. It made my heart race; I thought to myself, could it be that I'm hallucinating?
It was truly eerie! I spoke up, "Who are you?"
Zhang Xun responded with concern, "Is there really someone ahead?"
I nodded slightly. Nian Chen added, "Fei, you mustn't scare yourself."
I said, "I don't have anything," but there was indeed a person in front of me. I walked forward, and Zhang Xun said, "Could it be that the Ghost Formation has been activated?"
Hu Qingming replied, "It shouldn't be. I don't feel anything."
I continued to walk towards the front, and just as I was about to get closer, the person spoke, saying, "Don't come near me."
Seeing someone that everyone else couldn't see in such a place was already terrifying enough, but what was more alarming was that he had just spoken. I felt a bit panicked inside. I asked, "Why can't I come near you?"
He said, "You should go back. If you keep moving forward, you might die. The time isn't right yet."
I asked, "What do you mean by 'the time'?"
He replied, "The right moment."
After a moment of silence, I asked, "Stop playing tricks. Who are you really?" I quickened my pace towards the figure, but just as I was about to get close, the figure suddenly vanished.
I stood there in shock when a voice echoed in my ear: "Go back, Chen Fei." The voice appeared quickly and disappeared just as fast.
I grasped at nothing and stood still. Had I really seen a ghost? But with these people around me having such high cultivation levels, how could they not see it? I felt a sense of unreality creeping in. Could it really be my imagination?
It wasn't impossible!
Nian Chen quickly stepped forward and asked, "Fei, are you okay?"
I replied, "I'm fine. Didn't you all see that there was someone here just now?"
Nian Chen said, "No, I only saw you talking to yourself."
"Really? I'm talking to myself?"
Nian Chen told me that was indeed the case. "Fly, are you too nervous?" I admitted I was a bit anxious, but it shouldn't be to the point of hallucination! The trees here were so dense that even the moonlight seemed unable to penetrate.
I took a deep breath, sipped some water, and continued walking forward. The thick trees obscured my view, making it impossible to tell how far we had to go. I felt increasingly uneasy, sensing that something was about to happen.
As we moved ahead, Zhang Xun suddenly spoke up, "It seems we've entered the formation."
Hu Qingming added, "Yes, we've entered the formation!"
Entered the formation? How did I not notice at all? I asked Zhang Xun how they determined that. Zhang Xun replied, "Didn't you see a coffin appear in front of us?" He pointed in a direction.
I looked over and said, "No, that's not a coffin; it's a person."
As soon as I finished speaking, both Zhang Xun and Hu Qingming exclaimed, "A person?" I insisted it was definitely a person! I wouldn't lie; there was really someone standing there instead of a coffin.
Hu Qingming said, "I understand now. Chen Fei, it seems we are seeing different images. We might be affected by this Ghost Formation. What you see is likely real, while what we see is probably an illusion."
"Why do I see something real while you see something fake?"
Hu Qingming replied, "If you want me to explain, I can't clarify it either."
I turned to the others and asked, "What should we do now?"
"Let's just get started," Hu Qingming said.
He walked toward the figure that they perceived as a coffin. As Hu Qingming approached, Zhang Xun remarked that the coffin had moved. At that moment, I saw the person turn around, revealing a face devoid of features, all flesh and blood mangled beyond recognition.
By this time, he had already made his move. I called out to Hu Qingming to be cautious, but he was already on guard and would not easily fall into a trap. After all, Hu Qingming had lived for at least several hundred years and was quite astute.
Hu Qingming struck fiercely, a ghostly blue flame radiating from his hand, which seemed to envelop his palm. He relentlessly slapped at the figure with his hand wrapped in the eerie blue fire until the figure finally let out a wretched scream.
At that moment, Nian Chen exclaimed, "It's really just one person! Not a coffin after all."
Zhang Xun added, "How eerie! Could it be an illusion?" Hu Qingming's skills were certainly not to be underestimated; he forced the Coffin Man to retreat step by step. Hu Qingming unleashed lethal attacks, but the Coffin Man was no pushover either. They exchanged dozens of blows, yet in the end, the Coffin Man found himself at a disadvantage.
Hu Qingming declared, "With your level of skill, you dare to block our path?"
The figure replied, "Just my presence is enough to obstruct you."
"Such arrogance," Hu Qingming retorted.
I stared intently at the Coffin Man, growing increasingly uneasy. He seemed neither fully human nor entirely ghostly. What could he possibly be? Just then, an image of Ling Yu flashed in my mind. Could he be a Ghost Messenger?
Comment 0 Comment Count