How did you find out?
The man, who appeared to be a local deity, asked calmly.
The anger came and went quickly; it seemed like it was just an act.
Hehe, I'm not telling you.
Jiang Qiao smiled and turned to leave, not intending to continue entangled with the man.
In fact, discovering this secret is not difficult.
This guy is clearly not a kind person; he immediately arranged for vengeful ghosts to intercept everyone.
That was a real killing spree!
After all, Liu Qian's body was still lying in the sedan chair.
Therefore, he believes that if the other party could force a transaction, they would have done it long ago.
I would never stand here and argue with him for so long.
You should know that Jiang Qiao's attitude was getting worse and worse, and he was even trying to bargain with him.
Putting myself in Jiang Qiao's shoes, if he were the local earth god, he probably would have already taken action.
So the only reason he didn't take action is that he couldn't do it!
"He needs some kind of contract to exert influence over me. This thing, just like he said, is a bit like a ghost story."
Jiang Qiao narrowed his eyes.
"My previous conversation with him can be interpreted as fulfilling the agreement. I asked him three questions, and after receiving the answers, I delivered the letter for him. After delivering the letter, I received the incense stick."
"But what if it's not completed?"
Jiang Qiao looked at the endless, dark sky and knew very well what was going on.
If he refuses to send the letter after asking three questions, the other party can take action.
Or rather, he agreed to deliver the message, but ultimately did not complete it.
That would also be considered a breach of contract.
The opponent can also kill him.
"The message was real, and so was the desire to kill me."
"However, are all the Earthlings like him, or is he himself in some kind of restricted state, which is why he is like this?"
He sensed that the local earth god was acting strangely.
But he had never encountered anything like this before and couldn't explain it.
"I received a lot of information today, which was a pleasant surprise. However, it's hard to say whether he can summon something else later."
So I quickly made my escape.
The underground world is vast, with eerie winds blowing from time to time. Occasionally, strange shadows can be seen moving about in the woods or bushes.
The man did not chase after them, but simply watched them quietly from behind.
Jiang Qiao led Li Xin and the others away from the area without incident, leaving the local deity and the evil spirit behind.
So they didn't know.
Just five minutes later, two fierce ghosts, one old and one young, appeared beside the man.
The old woman's body looked as if it had been coated with a layer of white ash, while the girl's body was as black as ink, except for her blue eyes.
You're too late.
The man sighed softly.
"I sensed a familiar feeling in his eyes."
The two vengeful ghosts remained silent.
After a while.
A gust of wind blew by.
They were like sandcastles, collapsing and disappearing.
...
"Finally, they've left."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the man hadn't chased after them.
"Unfortunately, Liu Qian died here."
Rowan looked somewhat dejected.
He, Zhang Yin and his group of young people, as well as Liu Qian and Tian Ye, all came from the same newcomer village.
Although we weren't very close, it was still quite sad to see them die one after another.
Jiang Qiao calmly looked ahead, pondering what to do next.
Li Xin and the others did not offer any comfort to Luo Wen.
Separation and death are too normal in this world, there's nothing to say about it.
Everyone has to get used to it.
Moreover, the dead were just a few villagers with whom he had only a casual relationship and who could not even be considered friends.
"Brother Jiang, where do we go next? That man said it would take at least a month to find a passage to the surface."
Xue Lan asked.
"We're just completing a mission; we may not need to go back."
"And even if we find the passage, it's hard to say what lies beyond it."
Jiang Qiao said calmly.
A month has passed; by then, they've probably already left the territory of Yicheng.
The "Earth God" just now probably meant that he intended to show them a shortcut back so that they could deliver the message as quickly as possible.
However, he refused to deliver the message, so the shortcut was no longer available.
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"That makes sense. The mission requires us to survive for seven days. No matter where we are, as long as we survive for seven days, we've completed the mission."
Li Xin agreed.
"That female ghost has been banished, and she might not dare to chase after us here."
Luo Wen composed himself and smiled, realizing that the mission was almost complete.
"Don't be too happy yet. The situation here is even more complicated than on the ground. And the dangers around us are far more terrifying than that cursed female ghost."
Jiang Qiao watched expressionlessly as a semi-transparent mother and child crossed the road from a distance, holding an umbrella.
At least he could fight against that cursed female ghost.
There are some strange things here, and even he wasn't entirely confident about them.
"That's true. I've found that the further I go, the less I perceive danger, which isn't a good thing."
Li Xin nodded.
"This means that the danger here has exceeded our comprehension."
"Modern people are afraid of guns, but primitive people would not react at all. This is because it is beyond their knowledge."
Moving to a different location and experiencing a diminished sense of awareness might indicate that danger has been averted.
But this world...
Do you believe it?
"By the way, we've known each other for several days now. Brother Jiang, which village are you from?"
Xue Lan asked with some curiosity.
He and Li Xin had already determined that Jiang Qiao was a "newcomer" who had entered the supernatural world from the real world, so they were very interested in which village he lived in.
I just didn't feel comfortable asking before because of our relationship.
It's normal to encounter teammates from different villages during a mission, but generally few people are willing to reveal their origins.
However, they and Jiang Qiao have now gone through several life-or-death crises together.
They survived by clinging to a powerful figure, which meant they had established a certain level of trust.
"I?"
"I come from Village 404."
Jiang Qiao gave them a strange look.
He didn't really care about that, but he couldn't help but laugh every time the village's number was mentioned.
If this village had a name, he thought it could be called "Crab Village".
404?
"It really is a beginner's village!"
Li Xin and Xue Lan exclaimed in surprise.
Although I had suspected it beforehand, I was still quite shocked when it was confirmed.
"I just came from the real world, so of course I'll be in the starting village."
Jiang Qiao replied casually.
To everyone's surprise, Xue Lan shook her head and said:
"Brother Jiang, not all newbies will enter the newbie village."
"Um?"
Jiang Qiao stopped and looked at her.
"When a large number of newcomers enter the supernatural world, some newcomer villages will appear. But similarly, some newcomers will be assigned to old villages."
"Some of the newcomers were even assigned to villages with higher rankings."
"You've already started from the very beginning, like Rome."
Xue Lan said with a hint of envy.
After listening, Jiang Qiao looked thoughtful.
That does seem to make sense.
After all, the supernatural world is fraught with danger, so the village's population will definitely decrease.
If there is no fresh blood supply.
Even the most powerful village can become a desolate village under the impact of time.
"It's not always a good thing for newcomers to go to old villages."
Li Xin suddenly spoke up.
"Some villages have harsh environments and are extremely dangerous, so it's better to stay in the beginner village."
"In the supernatural world, there are quite a few humans with twisted personalities."
While the group was chatting...
Suddenly, Jiang Qiao made a shushing gesture.
The group was slightly taken aback when they saw the outline of a village ahead. It seemed that the highway would have to pass through this village.
"hiss--"
A collective gasp filled the air.
Everyone understands that the remnants of civilization often represent great danger!
"Holy crap, we've just escaped one danger only to fall into another..."
Li Xin said dejectedly.
Jiang Qiao remained silent.
Unlike others who could only barely make out the outline of the village.
Jiang Qiao's gaze vaguely caught sight of what appeared to be an off-road vehicle with its engine still running at the village entrance.
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Ahead of the eerie highway, a quiet village appeared.
In the open space at the entrance of the village, there was an off-road vehicle with the engine still running.
"Has someone entered the village?"
Jiang Qiao did not see anyone nearby, nor did he find any valuable clues in the car that could prove the owner's identity.
However, it is certain that those who entered the village were living people, not vengeful ghosts.
Because there was no supernatural presence in the car.
Instead, some water and food were placed there.
There was a half-eaten piece of bread on the seat, indicating that the owner had something urgent to attend and left after putting it down.
"Shall we go in?"
Li Xin looked at Jiang Qiao, waiting for him to make a decision.
"Most of the buildings in the supernatural world are fraught with danger, so there's no need for us to take any risks for now. Let's check the situation outside first."
Jiang Qiao made a decision after a moment's thought.
They weren't there for adventure or exploration; they just needed to survive the remaining four days to go back.
In that case, there's no need to enter this obviously abnormal village.
"Then let's move back a bit. We're too conspicuous at the village entrance."
Xue Lan suggested.
"Good."
Jiang Qiao thought for a moment and agreed.
So the group retreated a bit and set up a pot by the roadside, preparing to rest and eat something.
Jiang Qiao kept a close eye on the movements in the village.
Although his gaze could not penetrate the buildings emitting a faint black mist, he could still see some open spaces in the village.
Normal vision was not disturbed.
"Based on experience, such villages usually have at least one extremely ferocious ghost."
"The local deity once said that humans once planned to develop underground, and then discovered this space. So this village is very likely a remnant of the original inhabitants."
"The indigenous people who were able to build a village in this underground world must be extremely powerful."
"But in the end, it could not escape the fate of being wiped out."
Jiang Qiao surveyed the desolate village, his mind filled with the various pieces of information he had previously gathered, and a sense of emotion (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of mixed emotions, including regret and reflection) welled up within him.
It is absolutely impossible for all humans on the ground to be relocated.
Those who can be placed here are probably all so-called "seeds of fire".
Such an existence must be that of humankind, which possesses significant value.
"If we step into this village, will we be able to gather any useful information?"
He glanced once more at the SUV parked at the entrance to the village.
We're going to wait for the people inside to come out so we can see if we can talk to them.
...
Another day has come to an end.
Half of the seven-day mission period has now passed.
They did not encounter any paranormal events outside the village, nor did they see the owner of the SUV come out.
The village was deserted and looked dark and cold.
"Could he have died inside?"
Xue Lan guessed.
Since they hadn't encountered any vengeful ghosts all day, everyone relaxed a little.
However, we remain very vigilant.
They were particularly intrigued by that eye-catching car.
Who on earth would come to a village like this?
"Those who dare to come to this world are not good people, and those who dare to drive off-road vehicles on the highway are unlikely to die so easily."
Jiang Qiao felt the cool breeze brushing against his body.
Such a wind, if it were in the real world, would be enough to kill a lot of people.
And they will die a very horrible death!
The chilling wind is bone-chilling; it's no joke.
"However, this person should not be from Yicheng. There are no human experts like this in that city."
Jiang Qiao continued.
"Based on your memories, Xue Lan, I guess the strongest human experts in Yi City back then were those monks."
"After all, the Crow Ferry is indeed quite eerie, and it's just a memory. Strictly speaking, it's not even your memory; it's more like watching a movie."
"But it is still tainted by the curse."
"The old monk went to the ferry himself and saw the boat with his own eyes, but nothing happened to him."
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"Their strength must be incredibly terrifying."
Jiang Qiao said this while thinking.
"That's right. That memory of the Crow Ferry is at least twenty or thirty years old."
Xue Lan agreed.
"The old monk died ten years ago, a gap of more than ten or twenty years."
"Moreover, many memory fragments flickered during this period, without any trace of being cursed."
Obviously.
The old monk was not afraid of the curse.
"But he still died, he died in the upheaval ten years ago."
Jiang Qiao squinted.
"And most importantly, he is not the number one expert at Luohan Temple."
"The abbot who went down the mountain to fight the cursed female ghost was the strongest. But he mysteriously disappeared."
"After that, Luohan Temple was quickly destroyed again."
"There's definitely something seriously wrong here. It looks like a setup targeting Luohan Temple. I suspect it's connected to that so-called Lord Bai."
"After all, if a human becomes too powerful, it will also be a threat to it."
Jiang Qiao naturally began to doubt the so-called guardian of the city.
This human city in the supernatural world holds too many secrets.
However, Jiang Qiao had already grown accustomed to the "ten thousand whys" and "unsolved mysteries of the world" in the supernatural world.
He shook his head.
"Whoever they are, it's none of our business for now. If no one comes out of this village for the next few days, it might not be a bad thing."
"That's right, that's right," Li Xin immediately replied.
"I think the best situation is that nothing leaves the village. In a place like this, there is always risk, whether you encounter a ghost or a person."
He now desperately hopes to get through the remaining days peacefully and doesn't want any unexpected events to occur.
No matter how many secrets there are, they have nothing to do with him.
Even with his abilities, he wasn't qualified to explore it.
All he has to do now is try his best to survive.
This is normal!
Because people need to survive first before they can pursue other things.
In the real world, some bosses always like to discuss things like vision, future, and ideals with people.
If he talks to other bosses, then of course there's nothing wrong with it.
However, if someone keeps talking to their employees, you should be wary; they might be trying to take advantage of you!
Because the things employees most want to discuss are often the things they don't want to discuss.
He would say with great distress, "Young people today have no ideals and are unwilling to strive!"
After all, if young people lose their ideals and are unwilling to work hard, how will bosses afford to buy big villas and yachts?
Right?
Just as everyone was discussing the village, Sun Yi, with his slicked-back hair, woke up.
However, when he saw that Jiang Qiao and the others were still alive, he fell silent.
After that, he stopped answering any questions I asked him.
This contrasts sharply with their previous cooperative attitude.
Clearly, his attitude throughout the journey was purely an act, and his purpose was to scheme against Jiang Qiao and the others.
However, during the incident at the Land God Temple, Jiang Qiao knocked him unconscious.
Not only that, Jiang Qiao and the others survived, it seems that only the insignificant Liu Qian died.
This left Sun Yi feeling somewhat desperate.
He seems to have fallen into a state of self-abandonment.
Jiang Qiao glanced at him, but didn't seem to care.
It doesn't matter what attitude this guy has now.
He was able to live because Jiang Qiao felt he still had some use to him.
However, if this value is not utilized by the seventh day, then this guy will not be able to live to the eighth day.
I'll definitely kill him before I leave.
Just when everyone thought it would continue like this until the seventh day...
Sudden.
Jiang Qiao heard a noise behind him.
Behind the highway.
A strange figure pushing a cart appeared.
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Behind the once empty road, a figure pushing a cart appeared.
"Someone's there!"
Jiang Qiao called out in a low voice.
On the quiet highway, gusts of cold wind blew, even stronger than before.
This phenomenon is caused by the influence of some kind of supernatural force.
Before the vengeful ghost could get close, a strange creaking sound came over, like a tire under great pressure.
As the stroller drew closer.
Jiang Qiao's vision was also severely distorted; his double pupils could no longer make out its appearance!
This means that the terror of this vengeful ghost probably exceeded his expectations!
"What's coming will come."
Jiang Qiao, with a solemn expression, canceled his gray vision and focused his gaze on the approaching ghost with only ordinary eyes.
From the moment he descended into this world, he was prepared to encounter vengeful spirits he could not handle.
I initially thought it was that "Land God".
However, the "Earth God" seemed to be bound by some kind of law, and ultimately no fight broke out.
But with this vengeful ghost, things are hard to say!
The figure was getting closer and closer.
It was wearing a white, short, double-breasted jacket and a dark blue tattered cloth around its lower body.
His body was thin and dark, with veins and blood vessels appearing densely on his skin like earthworms.
The strangest thing is...
The vengeful ghost was pushing a wheelbarrow with a large wooden box on it.
The wooden crate seemed very heavy, causing the wooden tires to creak and groan under its weight.
This outfit makes him look like a coolie from 70 or 80 years ago.
I can't see her face.
Jiang Qiao took a few steps back.
This guy dressed like a laborer had a white cloth covering his face!
The white cloth was stuck on very tightly, and you could see the outline of the facial features, but you couldn't see the face clearly.
I have no idea how this guy could see the road so clearly.
However, vengeful spirits don't need eyes; they rely on supernatural powers to perceive their surroundings.
On the contrary, this white cloth is very similar to the custom in many places where people cover their faces with cloth after they die.
"This custom exists on Earth."
Is this a coincidence?
Jiang Qiao was slightly surprised.
He didn't want to clash with this monster, so he whispered:
"Step aside."
We made way for him.
However, before he could make a move, many figures suddenly appeared on both sides of the previously empty road.
These figures included men and women, young and old.
Wearing coarse linen clothes, carrying a basket and a hoe, he walked out of the bushes with a numb expression.
One, two, three, four... soon more than twenty figures appeared.
"This is forcing me to go into the village."
Jiang Qiao sighed.
These figures looked like farmers who had just finished working, but under their double pupils, they appeared translucent!
This means that they may already possess some characteristics of the supernatural!
While it's not as real ghost stories, and even falls far short of the gruesome tales of Ju-on, the sheer number of them is still quite a headache.
The key issue is that he has absolutely no idea how many of these sneaky creatures are lurking in the bushes and trees on both sides!
"Go, don't have any contact with them."
After a brief hesitation, Jiang Qiao made a decision and retreated step by step into the village.
Entering the village might be dangerous, but it's also possible you won't encounter anything at all.
Standing here will definitely be dangerous!
"good..."
Li Xin felt somewhat unwilling upon seeing these vengeful ghosts.
But no matter how much he resented these troublesome ghosts, he could only follow behind Jiang Qiao.
Xue Lan didn't say anything, didn't even pack her things, and simply got up and followed behind.
"Luo Wen, carry Sun Yi on your back."
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Jiang Qiao glanced at the slick-haired man lying on the ground and gave an order.
Okay.
Luo Wen agreed and immediately hoisted Sun Yi onto his shoulder like a dead pig, causing Sun Yi to groan several times in pain.
The eerie figures and the laborers pushing the carts ignored them.
The figures surrounded the coolie.
They all took out some vegetables and fruits from their hands.
There was cabbage, pumpkin, lettuce, as well as apples and pears.
It looks like the laborer is carrying a box over to receive goods.
However, upon closer inspection...
You'll find that the cabbage has wilted, the pumpkin vaguely resembles a human face, and strange blood vessels are crawling in and out of the lettuce.
As for Apple.
Have you ever seen anyone buy blackened, smelly apples?
The only normal one was the pear.
But nobody thinks it's normal.
On the contrary, it is things that appear normal that are the most dangerous!
Jiang Qiao glanced at it and then looked away, leading the group quickly into the village.
...
The village was deserted.
Once inside, the road narrows considerably, becoming less than two lanes wide.
If a car were to pass by, it would feel extremely cramped.
On both sides are red brick and tile houses, some two stories and some three stories, but all of them have very low doors and very high door frames.
Jiang Qiao remembered hearing some rumors before that certain ethnic groups had similar house layouts, requiring one to bend over and lift their legs to enter.
According to the official explanation, this is to better keep warm.
However, some folk legends say that this was to ward off zombies.
Most zombies are stiff and unable to bend over.
Moreover, the high barrier to entry makes it very inconvenient for them to jump in.
Combining the two can effectively prevent zombies from entering the house!
Although Jiang Qiao didn't know whether the claim was true or false, the strange gate in front of him did indeed seem to be designed to defend against something.
After all, this is the supernatural world, and a rather dangerous underground world within it!
The group walked along the road for about twenty meters before stopping.
"Let's stay here. We'll go out after the evil spirits outside leave."
As Jiang Qiao looked at the bend at the end of the road in the village, the image of a strange figure walking out of there kept flashing through his mind.
Since entering the village, a faint stench of corpses has been permeating the air.
"I wonder what's inside these houses."
He arrived at the door of a small building. The door was made of wood and was somewhat rotten, covered with holes as if it had been eaten by termites.
But where do termites come from in the supernatural world?
At the very top of the gate is a metal door number with the number 008 written on it.
This means this is room number eight here.
Jiang Qiao reached out with some curiosity, grasped the doorknob, and pushed it hard.
But the door remained completely still.
"Under normal circumstances, these doors can't be pushed open?"
Jiang Qiao's eyes flickered.
With the power of his superhuman body, he could easily use force to push open any locked home security door.
What's more, it's just a dilapidated wooden door!
This is very abnormal.
He then tried the other doors.
Without exception, none of them could be moved, not even the slightest bit.
He knew exactly what this meant!
There's a ghost!
"This is truly a den of ghosts, but why don't they come out after we entered the village?"
Jiang Qiao looked toward the end of the road.
The image of someone coming from around the corner resurfaced in my mind.
But there, it was a desolate wasteland.
There was nothing there.
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One hour later.
"Have you noticed that the stench of the corpse is getting stronger and stronger?"
Xue Lan twitched her nose a few times, seemingly unaccustomed to the sound, and then spoke.
"Really."
"When we first came in, the smell was very faint, almost imperceptible. But now it has become quite noticeable."
Li Xin said.
His eyes scanned his surroundings, but he couldn't find the source of the stench.
The smell permeated all directions.
"That's normal. A group of strangers entering a ghost village, and the fact that the village chief didn't have any evil spirits greet us directly is already a sign of his hospitality."
Jiang Qiao said calmly.
His gaze drifted to a house across the street.
On the top floor, a small child flashed by.
This seemingly empty village is not as peaceful as it appears.
"Rowan, go check if the evil spirits outside the village have left."
Jiang Qiao gave the instructions.
To avoid being discovered by the vengeful spirits, they did not stand in the middle of the road, as the buildings blocked their view of the area outside the village.
"Okay."
Luo Wen readily agreed, picked up a wrench, lifted Sun Yi, and swaggered to the middle of the road, ready to observe the commotion outside.
However, Jiang Qiao soon noticed that his expression had turned extremely ugly.
What's wrong?
He immediately shouted.
"Jiang...Brother Jiang, the highway...the highway is gone..."
Rowan pointed ahead, turned his head, and stammered.
Upon hearing this, Jiang Qiao's heart sank.
He strode onto the highway, only to find there was no village entrance to be found.
The road ahead had turned into a three-way intersection, with low-rise buildings on both sides.
These buildings appeared far more dilapidated than the houses around them. Many were even quite broken, suggesting that demolition had been attempted but not fully completed.
"It's definitely different now, is it a ghost wall?"
Li Xin and the others also rushed over, and when they saw the situation, they gasped in shock.
It's not a ghost wall.
Jiang Qiao paused for a moment, observed for a while, and then strode forward.
The group quickly followed, not daring to linger.
When the group arrived at the three-way intersection, they could clearly see that the road was littered with broken bricks, tiles, and other construction debris.
On the low utility poles, the power lines crisscrossed haphazardly, tangled together in a dense, messy mass.
Any electrician who sees this scene will immediately say "national treasure".
At the two ends of this road, there is a three-way intersection.
"This village doesn't look this complicated from the outside."
Xue Lan frowned and said.
Jiang Qiao shook his head, and with his left hand, he pulled a cleaver from Xue Lan's waist, which appeared in his palm.
He then slashed at a power line with his knife.
A crackling sound rang out.
There was still electricity inside!
"This is unscientific, but very supernatural."
He squinted as he spoke.
How can such a godforsaken place still have electricity? Could there really be living people in the village?
Or rather...
Do the dead need electricity to live here?
He remembered the small county town before entering this map, where the vengeful ghost on the other side was watching TV at night.
Moreover, the streetlights along the roadside will light up one by one in the darkness.
It seems to be maintaining a certain way of life in the normal world of yesteryear.
"The owner of that car at the entrance is probably also trapped here, without a doubt."
"Let's see if we can use the Ghost Realm to leave this place."
Jiang Qiao didn't want to waste time in this village and planned to use the Ghost Realm to penetrate it directly.
The next moment.
His eyes dimmed.
A gray light was ignited from the eyeball and quickly covered the eye.
A terrifying aura emanated from Jiang Qiao.
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The village before me was like a cheap piece of clothing that had been washed and washed repeatedly, rapidly fading, becoming pale, and eventually transparent.
at the same time.
A highway came into Jiangqiao's view.
He could even see the vengeful ghosts gathered on the road, surrounding a figure pushing a cart.
At this moment, the box on the cart had been opened, and the laborer kept putting the fruits and vegetables that the ghost had given him into it, and handing over pieces of yellowish-brown paper to the ghost.
Those paper sheets, round on the outside and square on the inside, were actually ghost money!
"It's a transaction!"
Jiang Qiao looked at this scene in astonishment.
His intuition told him that these ghost money coins might be of great use.
As the gray light of the ghost realm grew stronger, the building in front of them changed from semi-transparent to transparent, until finally only an outline remained.
It will disappear completely in ten seconds at most.
Then he can leave this village!
However.
The ever-increasing power of the demonic realm seems to have touched upon some kind of taboo.
The group of vengeful ghosts outside the village suddenly stopped, turned around abruptly, and all looked in this direction!
Black, putrid blood began to flow from pairs of empty, blackened eyes.
This is a terrible curse!
Jiang Qiao saw thin, twisting lines of red blood extending towards him.
However, it was blocked by the ghost realm.
If he hadn't been in the ghost realm, his eyes would have started bleeding, and he would eventually have become one of these vengeful ghosts!
But what Jiang Qiao truly feared was...
It was still that same box that had been sitting on the wheelbarrow.
It also started to make noise and began to vibrate continuously.
Immediately afterwards.
One, two, three... a dense array of fingers appeared on the edge of the box.
These fingers are rotten and black, with tiny holes at the fingertips.
It appears to have been stabbed through.
Jiang Qiao sensed a huge crisis.
"You can't go out!"
Without any hesitation, Jiang Qiao immediately closed his eyes.
And then he closed his eyes.
The gray light immediately receded.
The building in front of me changed from transparent to semi-transparent, and then from semi-transparent to solid.
"What happened?"
Seeing the streets and buildings restored to normal, the crowd asked in confusion.
They had seen the gray light before; it was some kind of ability of Jiang Qiao.
It's clear that Boss Jiang just used this ability to counter the village's attempts to retain him, and it worked very well.
They watched as the buildings in front of them slowly disappeared, and they could even see the faint outline of the road ahead.
But unexpectedly, just when success was within reach, Jiang Qiao withdrew his power.
"Has this reached its limit?"
"Even with the abilities of a fifth-tier expert, can't get out?"
Li Xin thought to himself with some concern.
Although they were in the Ghost Realm, they did not have double pupils and could not clearly see what was happening outside the Ghost Realm.
Therefore, they were completely unaware of the vengeful spirit's gaze.
Jiang Qiao rubbed his swollen and sore eyes, and two lines of tears flowed from the corners of his eyes, some of them tinged with blood.
"Leaving is no problem; this village can't stop me."
"But the group of ghosts outside did not leave."
He said with a somewhat solemn expression.
He didn't care about those vengeful ghosts who looked like farmers.
But the laborer pushing the cart looked a bit difficult to deal with.
Even with the ghost realm separating him from the danger, he still felt waves of chilling danger.
"There are vengeful ghosts blocking the door outside, so it seems we won't be able to leave the village from here anytime soon."
"Now there are only two paths."
"One option is to wait here until the vengeful ghost leaves before going out."
One way is to leave from the other side of the village.
Jiang Qiao closed his eyes, feeling the pain in them while pondering his next move.
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We can't leave for the time being, so let's wait in the village for a bit."
Jiang Qiao glanced around briefly but didn't find anything suspicious. The child he'd seen on another street earlier seemed to have been a coincidence.
But he doesn't consider this a safe zone.
Survival in the supernatural world is difficult, and building a village in the underground world is probably even more difficult.
The presence of abandoned areas under these circumstances is rather unusual.
"Does anyone remember the time? What time is it now?"
Jiang Qiao asked.
"It should be around 2 PM," Li Xin replied.
He has always kept a record of the time.
Because there is no night or day in this underground world, the clocks here are disturbed and are running erratically.
This has a more profound impact than on the earthly world.
The above is just moving backwards, but it's still at a relatively constant speed; you only need to look at the time backwards.
"Generally speaking, danger doesn't appear until at least evening. However, the situation here is a bit unclear, so we need to be prepared for paranormal events to occur earlier."
Jiang Qiao paused for a moment, then set off and left.
Judging from the current situation, this village is definitely haunted, and if nothing unexpected happens, it's not just one or two ghosts, but every house is haunted by a vengeful spirit!
Based on previous experiences in several cities, there are three most dangerous times.
Evening, midnight, before dawn!
The danger begins in the evening, when the evil spirits start to become active.
The activity reaches its climax at midnight, a true parade of a hundred demons.
As dawn approaches, the supernatural descends into its final frenzy, and while it begins to subside, it often manifests bizarre phenomena that seem unlike anything a vengeful ghost could create.
For example, Li Xin mentioned something before.
One veteran once participated in a mission where he spent the night in an abandoned city.
That night, the whole city came alive. You could hear all sorts of lively and noisy sounds from outside, and you could see colorful neon lights flashing.
The group of them were relatively experienced and hid in an unfinished construction site.
The reason we knew it was an unfinished building was because the site was overgrown with weeds that were half a person tall, and construction materials and various equipment were scattered everywhere.
They successfully made it through the evening and midnight, and arrived before dawn.
But at that moment, they heard a baby crying outside the construction site.
There's nothing wrong with that in itself.
Because ghost babies and ghost fetuses are common in the supernatural world.
They remained unmoved and waited until dawn.
The sounds of cars, people, vendors, laughter, and angry shouts outside disappeared almost the instant the sun appeared.
Everything has returned to the state it was in when we first entered the city yesterday.
Only the baby's cry still lingers!
They were very curious.
I quietly left the construction site and followed the sound.
Soon, a stroller was found in an open space, and inside lay a human baby who was only a few months old!
He had no ghostly aura whatsoever, and his body temperature, heartbeat, and pulse were exactly the same as a human's!
Where did this baby come from?
The group looked at each other, none of them able to say anything.
Ultimately, they ignored the stroller and quickly left.
They didn't approach the area again until the mission was over. The baby they were constantly wary of never showing up also didn't happen!
It seems that he was just a normal human child who had been abandoned!
But in that situation, who would dare to gamble?
Jiang Qiao was also quite surprised when he heard Li Xin tell this story.
If this isn't just hearsay, then this is truly an interesting story.
Who are the child's parents?
how come?
⒏ьοоＫ． Сοм
This is no longer a matter of paranormal events.
...
Many buildings on this street are already dilapidated and look like dangerous structures.
"The stench here seems much weaker than before," Xue Lan sniffed and noticed the change.
"What is meant to be will be, and what is meant to be will be."
Jiang Qiao didn't care, because there was no way he could care.
The stench, if I'm not mistaken, is likely emanating from a vengeful ghost.
Normally, the color fading might be because there aren't many evil spirits nearby.
But is there really a safe place in such a village?
Therefore, it is more likely that there is something nearby that even vengeful ghosts would not want to approach.
Besides.
When they first entered the village, the smell was very faint, but it gradually became stronger.
So anything is possible.
Making wild guesses is a complete waste of time!
"It's too dangerous to be outdoors, we need to find a place to stay."
Jiang Qiao walked straight into the street.
The others followed closely behind, not daring to fall behind.
After rummaging through piles of construction debris, the road gradually widened.
The further you walk into the street, the more intact the surrounding buildings become.
It seems that demolition only exists in that one area.
However, this village, which doesn't look very big from outside the highway, has a surprisingly complicated road network.
In addition to the locked houses on both sides, there are also shops, barbershops, restaurants and other stores.
Some colorful graffiti also appeared on the mottled and dirty walls.
The language was unfamiliar and I couldn't understand it at all.
Jiang Qiao took out paper and pen and copied down these strange characters and symbols, thinking they might come in handy in the future.
There seems to be a temple ahead.
Xue Lan saw a cluster of antique-style buildings appear at the end of the road in the distance.
With its carved railings, jade steps, red walls, and green tiles, and the two enormous lions at the entrance, Jiang Qiao marveled at the sight.
"This should be a place similar to a sacrificial temple."
Jiang Qiao looked him over and said slowly.
"And this place has been the site of a fire."
The group quickly arrived at the temple, where the collapsed gate revealed a scene of utter devastation.
Everywhere there were traces of fire.
Especially the two nine-story buildings in the middle, whose entire walls were pitch black.
Strangely, their exterior remained largely intact and were not destroyed or collapsed due to the fire.
"Generally speaking, the place where offerings are made to the spirits is the most important area in every village."
"Because the spirit sacrifice represents the safety of the village."
Looking at the dark windows upstairs, Jiang Qiao wondered what type of sacrificial spirit it was.
This house looks a lot like an apartment building.
However, in front of the residential building, there was a very large altar with bronze incense burners on it, which were probably used for sacrificial rites.
"This building looks a bit strange."
Jiang Qiao's eyes flickered as he stared at the windows, each only a third the size of a normal window.
"Leave here."
He didn't plan to go in and check the situation.
However, at that moment, a hissing sound suddenly came from inside the building.
Then, to everyone's astonishment, a telephone rang from one of those narrow windows.
8.BOOK.com
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No one expected that a telephone would ring in the eerily quiet temple.
The sound was like a plague, initially coming from two buildings.
Immediately afterwards, the telephones rang in other houses in the village as well.
In a very short time, the entire village was transformed into a customer service center!
The phone kept ringing, but no one answered.
"Go inside!"
Without any hesitation, Jiang Qiao strode quickly toward a building.
The nine-story building doesn't look short from the outside, but once inside, the entire corridor feels very cramped.
Not only is it only about one meter wide, but the ceiling height is also only two meters.
"This is definitely not a building intended for living people."
Jiang Qiao followed the ringing phone and quickly arrived at the nearest room.
However, when he stood at the door, his expression changed.
The house in front of me had a tightly closed black door with lines of red symbols written on it.
Although I don't understand what it means.
However, judging from the format, he found it looked very much like a tombstone!
"This doorway isn't short, but it's the narrowest I've ever seen before."
He reached out and touched the door.
It was somewhat lubricated, as if some kind of grease had been applied.
But Jiang Qiao is certain that it is not human oil.
"The door is two meters high, reaching the ceiling, but only one foot wide."
"Is there some connection between this strange gate and the low doors of the houses on the street?"
He pictured a group of tall, thin figures emerging from the houses and wandering the streets in rows.
They want to enter the residents' homes.
But the low door and extremely high threshold meant they could only try again and again, only to fail time and time again.
In addition, he recalled some news articles he had read before his time travel.
It is said that in some places, due to land scarcity, cemeteries where the dead are buried have been transformed into multi-story buildings.
Each household inside is a cemetery for ashes.
This house does look somewhat like it!
"Let's go in and take a look."
The phone was still ringing. Without much hesitation, Jiang Qiao pushed it hard.
As expected, it remained completely still.
The door looked as if it were welded to the wall, without even a single gap.
"Snort!"
With a cold laugh, a black sphere of lightning, growing larger from a small ball, appeared in his hand.
Oh!
With a loud shout, Jiang Qiao threw a punch, slamming it violently against the door!
Bang--
With a loud bang, the originally incredibly sturdy door was blasted away!
The door swung open, and the bell rang even louder, sounding extremely shrill, like the speakers of square dancing aunties. You just wanted to smash it down right away!
Following the direction of the sound, Jiang Qiao quickly found an old-fashioned push-button landline telephone.
He quickly picked up the phone, then put it back and hung up.
It's strange.
After the call was disconnected, all the phone ringing in the entire building suddenly stopped.
However, the noises were still coming from other houses in the village.
"Ignore what's going on outside; I don't think this is going to end anytime soon."
Jiang Qiao frowned.
Through that small window, he saw that the windows of some buildings in the distance had been quietly opened at some point.
"We'll stay in this building tonight and not go out."
He looked around the cramped room; it was empty, with nothing there.
Apart from being somewhat small in size and height, it's just an ordinary unfinished house.
"Is it safe here? What if the building is haunted at night?"
"I'm worried," Rowan said.
Are there any places in this village that aren't haunted?
"They're all the same."
Jiang Qiao replied.
"I'm going upstairs for a walk. You can do as you please."
After saying that, he turned and left the room.
The others dared not stay there and quickly followed.
However, they had just entered the corridor.
The landline in the room behind me rang again.
"Again?"
Jiang Qiao frowned deeply.
8вОоК． COM
He turned back and hung up the landline again.
But after he left the room, the phone rang again!
After this happened repeatedly, Jiang Qiao grew impatient.
"This dog-like thing is quite mischievous."
He stood in the middle of the room, his gaze sweeping over Sun Yi, who was lying on the ground with a cold smile on her face.
"hehe."
He turned and left the room again.
Unsurprisingly, he woke up all the phones in the building again.
After returning to the house, he did not hang up the phone immediately, but instead grabbed Sun Yi and brought her to the phone.
He picked up the microphone and shoved it directly into Sun Yi's ear.
"I want to see what kind of weird thing is making that call."
A fierce glint flashed in Jiang Qiao's eyes.
He didn't intend to answer the phone himself, but instead had the man with the slicked-back hair answer it.
Then ask Sun Yi.
Of course, it doesn't matter if Sun Yi doesn't say anything, or if he talks nonsense.
He just wanted to see what would happen when someone actually answered the phone.
Anyway, Sun Yi is just a dispensable nobody, but he has a big appetite, so it's a good opportunity to let him make a contribution.
"Let me go!"
Sun Yi glared at Jiang Qiao, struggling incessantly.
But Jiang Qiao picked him up like a chick and shoved the microphone directly into his ear.
Then.
Jiang Qiao saw Sun Yi's expression change from anger to surprise, and then from surprise to terror.
Finally, fear turned into despair.
This rapid change of attitude made Jiang Qiao immediately realize the seriousness of the problem.
"Thud"
He hung up the phone and immediately asked:
What did you hear?
Sun Yi was pale and trembling all over.
His eyes, which had been bright and alert just minutes before, had now turned dim.
He stared blankly at the river bridge.
A strange smile suddenly appeared on his face.
"them..."
"It's coming..."
As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Qiao suddenly noticed a wrinkle appear on Sun Yi's face.
"What happened?"
He reached out and touched it, but instead ripped off a piece of skin!
Sun Yi's face was covered in blood and gore.
Holy crap!
"Holy crap!!"
Holy crap! Holy crap!!!
Jiang Qiao stared in shock at the still-warm face in his hand, and couldn't help but shout repeatedly.
Damn it!
What's going on?
What exactly was said on that phone call?
How can this guy be so shameless?
Looking at Sun Yi again, she was already breathing more out than in, and her whole body was starting to wrinkle.
Not only that, his body slowly swelled up as if it had been inflated!
"Fuck you!"
Jiang Qiao realized something was wrong and quickly threw him out of the narrow window.
The next moment.
A sound like air leaking out came from outside.
"Shh-"
A fat man, disfigured and swollen all over, floated past the window.
But soon, the fat man floated back.
"???"
"It turned into a balloon so quickly?"
Jiang Qiao looked at Sun Yi's body, which resembled a Michelin Man, and his resentful eyes that remained open even in death. Without hesitation, he took out his flintlock pistol.
"Bang--"
A gunshot rang out, and Sun Yi was instantly blown to pieces!
At the same time.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed in the stairwell outside.
It looks like a lot of people are heading this way!
⑻ВσΟК． cОм
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Footsteps echoed in the deserted hallway, quickly heading towards the room where everyone was.
Jiang Qiao remained motionless, standing quietly in the corner, silently watching the entrance like a bystander.
soon.
The owner of the footsteps appeared in his field of vision.
It was a cold, stiff female corpse, her face shattered as if she had been smashed by a sledgehammer, her features broken and black blood seeping from the gaps.
"It doesn't look that impressive."
Jiang Qiao pursed his lips.
He then raised his flintlock pistol again.
Bang--
Gunshots rang out, the woman's body was torn to pieces, and nothing more happened.
Very weak.
They had absolutely no resistance.
But as the gunshots rang out, more footsteps rushed into the room.
One body.
Two.
Three.
...
A dense mass of corpses appeared at the entrance, huddled together.
Pale, numb, broken, blackened, decaying, half-faced—one after another, bizarrely shaped human faces all turned toward where Jiang Qiao was.
Even though many of them don't even have eyes, they seem to be able to see the figure of Jiangqiao.
"Was this vengeful ghost summoned by that phone call?"
Jiang Qiao muttered to himself.
At this point, the number of ghosts increased, crowding together in layers, like sausages being stuffed.
You can imagine what the outside corridor looks like now.
Strangely, none of them came in; they just silently watched everyone.
Jiang Qiao felt as if they were looking at something rare and unusual.
Who are you?
He tried asking.
However, it was to no avail; no one answered.
"There are too many corpses; there might be some hidden dangers."
Li Xin looked outside with some worry.
Although these ghostly things are not very strong, even Rowan can deal with them.
But there are just too many of them.
Even the corpses in front, due to excessive pressure, had already shown signs of bone and flesh separation, with blood flowing everywhere outside the door.
"There are indeed too many; it might cause some danger."
I burned them all.
Jiang Qiao agreed with what Li Xin said.
Then, a green flame appeared in his hand.
In the firelight, one could vaguely make out the faces of people screaming and howling in agony, like the painful groans of those being burned to death.
Jiang Qiao walked to the door and threw the flames out!
When the white bone fire came into contact with the corpse, it was like a spark falling into a pot of oil, instantly bursting into flames and quickly engulfing the corpse in front of it, and then began to spread outwards.
The corpses were set ablaze, and the flames grew larger and larger, rushing out of the corridor.
Sensing the chilling aura, Jiang Qiao slowly retreated, avoiding the corridor that had been reduced to a sea of fire.
"Check if there's anything in this fire that can't be burned."
His eyes flickered as he quietly awaited the outcome.
These corpses could only be considered vengeful ghosts, not particularly terrifying. But Jiang Qiao was worried that some dangerous thing might be lurking among these corpses, quietly approaching and launching a sudden attack.
If caught off guard, there may be casualties.
There are only four people left now, but they need to hold on for three more days before the mission ends.
During these three days, he had to ensure that at least one of Li Xin's group survived.
...
8BσOK． com
The flames were still spreading, and the sheer size of the fire was evident from the light that had already engulfed the entire corridor.
Jiang Qiao even felt that the upper floor had been set on fire, because he saw a faint green light appear outside the window.
If he hadn't been there, he probably would have perished in the fire.
"Strange phenomena have started to appear."
He listened carefully to the sounds outside and noticed strange noises coming from the corridor. There were pitiful screams, desperate shrieks, and even an old man calling for help.
There were also the pitiful cries of children!
"Even though he has been dead for so many years, not only is his body well preserved, but he even retains traces of his behavior before he died."
Jiang Qiao recorded all of these observations.
These corpses were probably all living people, but for some reason, they were corrupted by supernatural forces and turned into ghost-like creatures.
But compared to a real vengeful ghost, it gives off a frail and weak feeling.
I'm afraid even an ordinary person, if they're bold enough, could take down one or two of them.
These sounds gradually disappeared as the flames burned further, and the flames began to show signs of dying out.
Because Jiangqiao saw the green light, it began to dim.
"It seems this fire has reached its end. I wonder what the situation is like outside now?"
He glanced at the landline phone.
I stepped out of the room again and into the hallway.
As the master of "White Bone Fire," he was naturally unharmed by the flames.
At the same time, he noticed that the phone in the room had stopped ringing.
"These ghostly things were indeed attracted by that phone call. But they're so weak, how could they have made Sun Yi so desperate?"
Jiang Qiao recalled the face of the man with the slicked-back hair before his death.
At the end of the call, he was clearly in a state of utter despair due to overwhelming fear.
But Big Back Hair is a third-tier expert, so there's no way he'd be afraid of these weird things.
Therefore, the only possibility.
Besides these vengeful ghosts, there are even more terrifying things!
Just then.
Boom!
An explosion suddenly came from upstairs.
Immediately afterwards, the sound of shattered glass falling came from outside the window.
Then, Jiang Qiao saw a woman suddenly standing by the window.
The woman looked to be in her early twenties, with delicate and attractive features, but her face was covered in shards of glass, suggesting that the sound of glass falling was related to her.
When Jiang Qiao's gaze followed her face downwards, he suddenly froze.
What's next?
Below the woman's neck were several dark red blood vessels that seemed to connect to something, but her body was not visible!
"What a fine saying, 'Nothing below the neck!'"
Jiang Qiao couldn't help but say, and then raised his hand and fired a shot!
Bang--
Amidst the gunshots, the eerie woman vanished outside the window.
But then, Jiang Qiao saw a figure slowly walking over from the opposite side of the corridor amidst the gradually dying embers of the fire!
This is also a woman, wearing a trench coat and holding a large machete.
Blood was still dripping from the machete.
But what's most striking about her are her mud-covered feet; with each step she takes, a flame she steps on goes out.
"A living person?"
Li Xin, who was following behind Jiang Qiao, immediately became alert.
Xue Lan directly activated her Golden Bell Shield, a faint golden light separating her from her surroundings.
In places like this, the living are more troublesome than ghosts!
The woman ignored them and slowly walked to within three meters of them before stopping.
She looked at Jiang Qiao and said with a smile:
"Mr. Jiang, we meet again."
Jiang Qiao raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping over her somewhat alluring face, and slowly uttered a name:
"Liu Yuanyuan?"
⑧boОk． cоm
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Jiang Qiao never expected to run into this woman.
Two weeks ago, he had done a mission on a ghost train. During that mission, he encountered a woman dressed like an office worker, but with muddy legs.
The woman had been sitting by the door ever since she got on the bus, without moving or saying a word.
Jiang Qiao even once thought she was a vengeful ghost!
Later, when they stopped in Nightmare City, the other party even invited him to complete a mission together.
Jiang Qiao rejected him!
Unexpectedly, they encountered each other in a village in the underground world!
This woman is very mysterious.
All Jiang Qiao knew was that she was very strong.
Starting at Level 4!
When he was hiding in a warehouse on the second floor of Nightmare City, he once pulled out a group of Awakened Ones from a cabinet.
Jiang Qiao learned many secrets from them.
That city is infamous in the paranormal community, as it is the burial place of countless awakened beings, and there are even legends of a sixth-level master!
That's why it was named Nightmare City!
This woman dared to linger in that city and travel to the central area to complete her mission.
In terms of ability, experience, courage, and intelligence, they are absolutely top-notch!
...
"I never expected Mr. Jiang to still remember my name. We've been apart for less than half a month, and now we've met again in this underworld village. It seems we're quite destined."
Liu Yuanyuan smiled.
Her voice was sweet, and her tone conveyed the joy of meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
"Yes, is that car outside the village yours?"
Jiang Qiao smiled happily, but he became wary in his heart.
He doesn't consider someone a friend just because he's met them once, nor does he assume the alarm is off just because the other person speaks kindly.
This Liu Yuanyuan is no naive or innocent girl!
Now that we're caught in a paranormal situation, it's hard to say whether we're friend or foe.
"Yes, the passage to the underworld is quite far, so I had to drive here. Are you here on a mission?"
She glanced at Li Xin and the others with curiosity.
"After we completed our mission, we encountered a vengeful ghost, so we hid in this village."
Jiang Qiao replied.
Then, a thought struck him, and he asked, "Do you often come down to this world?"
"I come down here occasionally."
Liu Yuanyuan glanced at the ashes scattered on the ground.
"Every time Mr. Jiang makes a move, it's astonishing. His strength has probably reached the fifth level."
"Um?"
Jiang Qiao remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he was shaken.
This is the first time someone has recognized his strength.
It should be noted that his apparent strength is actually only at the peak of the fourth rank. It is only with the support of "critical strike" and "defense penetration" that he possesses the combat power of the fifth rank!
"Miss Liu is quite powerful as well; she can come and go freely in Nightmare City."
Jiang Qiao replied.
Then I turned to look out the window and noticed that the light was slightly dimmer than before.
"What time is it now?"
He looked at Xue Lan beside him.
"Is it almost...five o'clock?"
Xue Lan paused for a moment, her tone somewhat incredulous.
It was only a little past two o'clock, how come it's almost five o'clock in such a short time?
"Time is chaotic in the underworld, so keeping track of time is meaningless."
"It might have been evening just now, but it turned into morning in a little while. And two hours later, it was midnight again."
"Therefore, the dangers here are completely unpredictable."
Liu Yuanyuan looked at Jiang Qiao and said with a smile.
Jiang Qiao thought to himself that he had acted rashly.
He was new to this world and had no idea what kind of knowledge he had.
I was originally planning to act like a seasoned pro, but I completely messed up on the spot.
So he simply stopped pretending.
"This is my first time coming down here, and I don't know these things."
Jiang Qiao said frankly.
"I heard a friend call this place hell because many evil creatures are imprisoned in that underground sea."
"Now you call it the underworld. I wonder what the origin of this name is?"
⑻вσо＋.Соm
Since I'm not going to pretend to be an experienced driver, I'll just pretend to be a newbie.
Ask me anything!
"An underground sea?"
Liu Yuanyuan was slightly taken aback, then looked somewhat surprised.
"You mean the Underworld Sea?"
"Your friend knows quite a lot; he even knows that a great evil spirit is imprisoned inside. This is a secret in the entire supernatural world."
Jiang Qiao thought to himself that they were local deities, so of course they knew a lot.
"Yes, I heard there's a port there called Crow Ferry."
Have you been there?
Jiang Qiao asked.
Upon hearing this, Liu Yuanyuan's expression changed immediately, and she said in a deep voice:
"Your friend is quite something; he even knows about the abandoned Crow Ferry, which was abandoned more than twenty years ago."
Jiang Qiao's heart skipped a beat.
This Liu Yuanyuan knows quite a lot.
"So, you call this place the underworld, is there any explanation for that?"
Jiang Qiao pressed for more information.
Liu Yuanyuan did not answer immediately, but glanced behind her.
At the entrance of the corridor, several swaying shadows appeared on the ground, like human reflections.
"Let's leave here first, and we'll talk about it later."
Liu Yuanyuan said with some apprehension.
She then headed towards the stairs not far away and quickly disappeared at the entrance.
"We're leaving too."
Jiang Qiao said.
This woman knows a lot of things, and she entered the village first.
Those shadowy figures are probably not easy to deal with.
Otherwise, given her strength, she wouldn't have shown any sign of fear.
but.
Jiang Qiao did not follow behind Liu Yuanyuan.
He wasn't entirely at ease with this woman.
Let's not even mention that we only met once.
Just the fact that a woman's body fell from upstairs right before she appeared is enough to raise alarm!
What a coincidence!
So he led Li Xin and the others deeper into the corridor, and at the end, they found another staircase.
"With so many ashes scattered all over the ground, it seems that the fire just now really spread quite far."
"Moreover, those bodies appear to have come down from upstairs."
Jiang Qiao walked along, observing the ashes on the ground.
The ashes were not only in the first-floor corridor, but also spread up the stairs.
It's clear that many of the corpses came down from the second floor!
"The stairwell is too low. I don't know how these people live in such a place."
Li Xin is quite tall, probably around 1.9 meters, and he couldn't stand up straight in this environment.
"These people don't live here."
Jiang Qiao's eyes flickered.
"I suspect they were actually sacrificial offerings!"
"Offerings?"
Rowan was somewhat puzzled.
"Where is this place?"
"Offer sacrifices at the spirit temple!"
Jiang Qiao said with a solemn expression.
"But how could so many corpses crawl out of such a building?"
"It looks like he lived here before he died."
"Does this mean the spirit worship is approachable and emphasizes harmony between humans and gods?"
"But if that's the case, why not make the room and hallway bigger?"
"I once saw a news report."
Next.
Jiang Qiao slightly modified a news article about a residential cemetery that he had seen before and told it to them.
"This place is not fit for the living!"
8bοok. Соm
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The layout of the second floor is similar to that of the first floor, but the second floor has slightly more natural light.
There were no lights or windows around, so you couldn't figure out why you could see clearly in what should have been a completely dark corridor.
"Be careful, this place is a bit eerie," Jiang Qiao said.
He glanced across the corridor but didn't see Liu Yuanyuan. He wondered if she had gone upstairs.
"Don't worry, Brother Jiang, there won't be any problems," Xue Lan replied.
The group walked forward along the narrow passageway. On the doors of the rooms on both sides, some were carved with written symbols, while others were completely blank.
Jiang Qiao guessed that there was no "sacrificial offering" living in the blank room.
However, on the other hand...
Downstairs, he opened a door that looked like a tombstone, but there was nothing inside.
I don't know if they left or if they hid at the time.
Now, on the second floor, most of the ashes on the ground have disappeared, but so far, the origin of those bodies has not been discovered!
They couldn't have all been standing in the aisle before, could they?
Just then.
A door next to them suddenly creaked open.
A murky, musty smell spread through the air.
"Mr. Jiang, you've come up?" Liu Yuanyuan came out of the room.
It turned out that she had just entered a room.
"The houses here get musty as soon as people leave for a while, as if they've been locked up for a long time."
Liu Yuanyuan fanned the air in front of her nose.
"Have you been here for a long time?" Jiang Qiao asked.
Liu Yuanyuan replied:
"It hasn't been long. I arrived in this village yesterday and stayed here for one night. But because I encountered a lot of strange things, I'm planning to move to another place."
"Oh?"
"Is there something strange going on?" Jiang Qiao raised an eyebrow and asked.
Liu Yuanyuan's expression turned serious, and a hint of disbelief flickered in her bright eyes.
"When I went out for a check-up yesterday, I encountered a living person in the hallway, and it was an ordinary person!"
Jiang Qiao asked in surprise, "How is this possible? Are there ordinary people here?"
The "ordinary people" Liu Yuanyuan was referring to must be truly ordinary people, without any supernatural powers. Otherwise, she wouldn't have shown such an incredulous expression.
But this village has been abandoned for who knows how many years, how could this be?
"Could it have come from the real world and been sent to this village because of bad luck?"
Jiang Qiao guessed.
It's not entirely impossible.
There were three unlucky guys in the hospital in that strange county town before.
After inexplicably being transported from the real world into the supernatural world, instead of going to the starting village, I was parachuted directly into a supernatural hospital!
Ultimately, it transformed into a malevolent spirit, neither human nor ghost.
"It didn't come from reality."
Liu Yuanyuan slowly began to speak: "Those ordinary people are from this village. They even questioned why I entered this building!"
"I interrogated them and found that their memories were still stuck before the village was destroyed. I told them that the village had been abandoned, and they scoffed."
"I tried to get them out of the building."
"As soon as they stepped out the door, they disappeared."
Jiang Qiao frowned slightly after hearing this.
He couldn't tell whether the woman was telling the truth or not.
But there's no point in lying to him about this, so it's probably true.
When did these ordinary people appear? Did you encounter them today?
Jiang Qiao glanced at her and asked.
"They seemed to have come down from upstairs, but I went upstairs and found nothing."
"The only thing we found was that, starting from the fifth floor, many room doors were open."
"It was midnight, but nothing unusual was found. So I plan to go back and check before dawn."
Liu Yuanyuan said.
Jiang Qiao nodded.
Time is random here; after midnight it might be evening, and after evening it might suddenly become morning.
But as humans, they are still used to dividing the days into 24-hour periods.
This leads to bizarre behavior where, within a single day, it might first be evening, then before dawn, and then suddenly turn into midnight.
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Furthermore, clocks cannot be used because they will jump around erratically.
For example, in the evening, it's six o'clock.
However, when the time period jumps from evening to before dawn, the clock may show three o'clock.
Therefore, time can only be measured using some primitive physical methods.
For example, the hourglass in Liu Yuanyuan's hand right now!
"I'm curious, in a dimly lit place with no clear distinction between day and night, how do you tell the time of day, when it's evening and when it's midnight?"
Jiang Qiao asked.
"This is very simple."
Liu Yuanyuan touched the hourglass in her hand, watching the fine sand inside slowly fall.
"Although there is no clear distinction between day and night, it is still possible to tell by subtle changes in light. These changes are not very obvious and require some experience."
"When you can capture the changes in light, you can match them one by one with the brightness levels at different times of the day in the normal world."
Liu Yuanyuan glanced at Jiang Qiao and the others crammed into the aisle, and said:
"The light outside is starting to dim, it should be turning into night."
"If you don't want to provoke a vengeful ghost, you can go inside first. If you want to explore this place, you can wait a bit. I also plan to go upstairs during the pre-dawn period."
"After all, I'm also very curious about those rooms and ordinary people."
Jiang Qiao nodded slightly upon hearing this.
"Let's go inside first and talk about it later."
After saying that, he did not enter the room where Liu Yuanyuan was, but instead booked another room.
Liu Yuanyuan didn't say anything, just smiled slightly and closed the door.
...
In a narrow room.
Jiang Qiao told the group to put down what they were carrying and instructed them to eat something and drink some water.
Although Rowan is an Awakened One, his body is still that of an ordinary person, and he still needs to eat, drink, and relieve himself.
Although Jiang Qiao and the others could go for long periods without eating, they still maintained their eating and sleeping habits.
Jiang Qiao opened a can of "Huangniu" vitamin energy drink and drank it all in one gulp.
Then, he said in a serious tone, "You guys need to be careful. Regardless of whether what this woman says is right or wrong, this building is not simple."
"Brother Jiang, did you know her from a previous mission? This lady seems very strong," Xue Lan asked curiously.
"Yes, have you heard of the Ghost Train? I met her once on that train," Jiang Qiao said.
"Ghost train?" Li Xin's expression changed slightly upon hearing this.
"What? You've been up there?" Jiang Qiao glanced at him.
"I've never been there, but our village chief's son died on that train."
Li Xin spoke with emotion.
"He was an extremely promising Awakened One, whose strength had already reached the peak of the fourth tier. But I heard that he was killed as soon as he got on the bus."
"We all think that if he can live, he might be able to break through the fifth-order barrier."
"Killed by a human? Not by a demon?"
Jiang Qiao keenly grasped the key words in Li Xin's words.
"Yes, he was murdered."
Li Xin nodded seriously.
"Because among those who went on the mission, there were two Awakened Ones from the village, and it was they who brought the news back."
"However, no one can say for sure how strong the killer is."
"But a conservative estimate would be five orders."
Are humans fighting and killing each other on the ghost train?
Jiang Qiao looked at Li Xin with some suspicion.
There are as many ghosts and strange tales as cockroaches up there. Even a sixth-level cultivator wouldn't dare to act recklessly up there, let alone a fifth-level one.
He suspected that the village chief's son had actually been killed by some of his accomplices.
Then push it onto the ghost train.
However, he didn't say this aloud because it had nothing to do with him.
He continued, "Liu Yuanyuan is very strong, starting at the fourth rank, and she probably possesses powerful supernatural items."
"Don't be fooled by her polite manner; she dares to venture into dangerous territory alone, and she's not someone to be trifled with."
"All we need to do now is wait quietly for the right moment to leave."
What she does is none of our business.
Jiang Qiao warned.
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