"Go quickly, we can't stay here any longer."
The noise and bustle faded away behind him. Wang Banxia walked through the path in the flower garden, trotting with his robe lifted up, and came to the front gate. The gateman was no longer there. The security guard had bolted the door and added a copper lock.
Ever since the evil ghost started haunting the mansion, the servants and guards in the mansion would escape early every night and hide in their rooms to sleep.
Wang Banxia looked at the lock that was bigger than his fist and stamped his feet anxiously.
"What should I do?"
The old man at the gate was also not there, so he had to go down from the eaves and walk back and forth. When he thought of the evil aura emanating from the man in the gray robe, he could not help but shiver.
Then, he gritted his teeth, turned around and walked back.
"Go find Mr. Chen and ask him to send someone to escort me out... well... just say there's an emergency at home."
He walked through the corridor of the front yard and returned to the path between the flower beds. Amid the chattering voices, he suddenly stopped and subconsciously looked around. On the eaves of the distant corridor, lanterns were swaying gently.
The flickering lights shone through, and a thin layer of white mist rose between the flower beds and rockery.
"Bang..."
The fog was swirling, and there was a faint sound of gongs. Wang Banxia's heart was pounding, his breathing became heavy, and he swallowed his saliva. It seemed as if a figure was twisting in the fog.
Then a long opera tone of “Yiyiyi…” echoed back.
"... I can't be so unlucky to run into it here..."
Wang Banxia carefully moved towards the wooden building where he could hear voices in the distance. Just as he was turning, he saw a slender black shadow lying behind a tree not far away. Then, it slowly poked out half of its face and stared at him straight.
“Fuck!!”
Unable to hold it back any longer, Wang Bandxia howled at the top of his lungs, turned around and ran away. The noisy voices of people coming from far and near in the square wooden building became clearer, and he felt a little relieved.
He pushed open the hall door and shouted, "The evil spirit is coming out—"
However, his voice was drowned out by the noise of a group of drunk people. Someone at the door heard his words, came over drunkenly with a wine jug, and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Mr. Wang, what's up? Why don't you just have a couple more drinks with me..."
Mr. Chen, who was sitting in the first seat in the middle and chatting with others, saw that his face turned pale and his whole body was shaking like a sieve, and he had a bad feeling in his heart.
The old man asked his son to help him up.
"Mr. Wang, where did you go just now? Why do you look so ugly?"
At the door, Wang Banxia looked at the people playing around without paying any attention, stomped his feet, and yelled at the loudest voice he could possibly have in his life.
"The evil spirit is here, outside—"
The hysterical voice rang out, and the noisy hall suddenly became quiet. Even Chen Yuanwai and his son, who were originally walking towards Wang Banxia, stopped and their smiles froze.
More than forty people just stood there, looking at each other in bewilderment.
On the other side, Lu Liangsheng stood up and pinched the unconscious Toad. Seeing that he had no reaction, he had to ask Lu Pan and others on the opposite side to prepare to leave.
"Uncle Pan, are we all here?"
Lu Pan slapped his face to get rid of the alcohol, and looked aside, "Lu Qing went to drink with the butcher, I will go and call him soon..."
I don't know when it started, but the hall became so quiet that you could hear everyone's breathing. As soon as he said, "I'll call him right away," I felt the air in the room suddenly drop.
“… It’s so cold…”
"What's going on? Why aren't you talking? Let's continue drinking..."
"Shh, don't make any noise, something seems to be wrong outside!"
clang...
A light gong sounded back.
“… I feel so sad and disappointed… I sigh that my beautiful body has not met a sincere man…”
Faint opera sounds could be heard outside, as if they were singing around the wooden building. The wind blew through the branches, reflecting the light of the lanterns and casting swaying dark shadows on the paper windows, like ghosts.
At this moment, almost everyone was sobered up by the shock and dared not even breathe, with that sinister female voice echoing in their ears.
"... Chen Lang... where are you..."
There were rows of paper windows on both sides, with dense black shadows lying on them like people, as if peering inside. Mr. Chen was trembling as he looked around.
"Everyone, that... that... the sneak is outside, please help..."
Before he could finish his words, there was a snapping sound.
A paper window opened with a swish.
The next moment, all the other windows were opened outwards, and the wind blew in with a whimpering sound. The flames of the lamps placed on the pillars flickered, and then went out with a whoosh.
The entire main hall went dark in an instant.
"ah-"
The maid screamed and everyone in the hall was in chaos, pushing and shoving in panic. Someone's foot was stepped on and screamed in pain. Wang Banxia, who was at the door, rushed out of the wooden building as soon as possible, and more people followed behind, scrambling to squeeze out of the hall door.
At this time outside, the hazy fog obscured the view and the surrounding buildings could not be seen clearly.
"There's a light over there, go there!"
In the direction the butcher pointed, a faint light could be seen behind the hazy fog. Mr. Chen was sandwiched in the crowd, being supported by his son and jogging.
"Yaoke, something seems wrong over there..."
The scholar named Chen Yaoke suddenly stopped, pulled his father and ran in another direction: "That's where the stage was built that day."
Seeing this, some people hurried to catch up with the father and son. After all, they were the owners of the house, so they would be safer. However, after running for a while, the grass under their feet was still the flower bed. Some people found that the wooden building they had just left appeared in their sight again.
At this time, the sad female voice turned into the hoarse and dull sound of an old man, and the gongs and drums of the opera sounded.
The slender black shadow paused with each step.
"It was a foggy month with a strong wind... Do you think there was any crying in the grave..."
The twenty or so people who followed Chen Yuanwai and his son were already scared to death. They originally thought that they could get free food and drinks under the guise of exorcising demons and defending the way of righteousness, and maybe even some money, but they really ran into this unlucky thing.
"The peddler is missing... He was just next to me." Someone shouted.
Next to the slow-moving black shadow, there appeared a human figure, who seemed to be the peddler who had suddenly disappeared.
"Run—"
The crowd was in complete chaos. Lu Liangsheng was mixed in and after being pushed a few times, he couldn't find Lu Pan and the others. As for the ghost in the mist, it was indeed as his master had said, with a very heavy yin energy. With his level of cultivation, he was not enough to deal with it.
At this moment, he held the toad and looked back from time to time, wanting to find Uncle Pan and the others first before making any plans. There was a large rock used for landscape not far away, so he gritted his teeth and climbed up.
At this time, the crowd running back ran into the group of people who were running towards the light. The fat and big-eared man wearing a cassock started crying out in fear.
"Don't go over there, there are also..."
There were gusts of cold wind, and the whimpering sound was like a woman crying, slowly drifting from the direction where there was light. In the misty fog, there seemed to be a woman's figure floating.
"Chen Lang... come here, I've been looking for you..."
Upon hearing this, the young man next to Mr. Chen was so frightened that he collapsed to the ground, and his crotch was gradually soaked by water.
Not far away, on a big rock.
Lu Liangsheng was searching for Lu Pan and the other eight people in the crowd, and he didn't notice that the Taoist Toad in his hands had woken up, staggered up his collar, and then climbed up his neck.
Feeling a little chilly, Lu Liangsheng glanced at the toad and felt a little panicked at this time.
"Master, what are you doing?"
The crawling toad did not answer.
…
The wind was cold and chilly.
As the fog rolled, a stage appeared vaguely. A woman in white long sleeves and wearing a flower crown with precious hairpins was walking leisurely with lotus steps.
"… The dead cannot come, and I will not go. I burn the yellow paper, and the smoke flies. There is only a lonely grave, and no relatives are crying. The mud is wet and cold, and the maggots are evil. Chen Lang… You have killed me."
The long sleeves fluttered down, stopping at the slender and graceful waist, and when the face turned sideways, a hideous face with blood and flesh was revealed.
Mr. Chen's face turned pale and blue, and his son, who was slumped beside him, was trembling violently. The people in the city who were pretending to be exorcists and defenders of justice huddled together and closed their eyes in fear.
At this moment, a sinister and vigorous voice suddenly sounded from behind.
"You little devil, you dare to act so pretentiously in front of me..."
Everyone was stunned and turned around quickly. Even Lu Pan and eight other people in the crowd looked in the direction of the voice. On a big rock, a figure covered in a gray cloak was standing there.
The light was dim and it was hard to see who it was, but Lu Pan and the others knew.
"Liang Sheng..."
Amid the cold wind, fog and distant lights, a figure stood on a high rock, his grey cloak fluttering gently, exuding a mysterious aura.
"I have traveled across many mountains and seen magnificent palaces radiating golden light, but today I saw an evil ghost that was so arrogant in front of me—"
The people below only felt an invisible force surging up, their hairs stood on end in an instant, and they were pressed down and unable to move. However, Wang Banxia knew that it was demonic energy.
… There is an evil spirit blocking the road in front and a monster showing up behind… There is no way to survive.
Then, his eyes rolled back and he fainted from fright.
The others' legs went weak and they hugged each other and trembled in fear.
"Damn, there's something even more powerful..."
However.
Under the cloak, it's a different look.
The Toad Taoist priest, with his flippers on his back, stood on top of Lu Liangsheng's head, with a bed sheet propped up against his head. He stared at the stage in front of him with red eyes, as if he had returned to his former peak.
However, he was drunk.
"Master... please stop talking nonsense when you're drunk."
Lu Liangsheng also felt bitter.