Chapter 48

The night sky was pitch black, with no stars or moon, and our car was still struggling along the rugged mountain road.

"How are you doing? Tired?" I asked, sitting in the passenger seat and glancing at Huang Yiyi, who was carefully steering the wheel. To be honest, I felt quite guilty. I was a big guy, just sitting there, while Huang Yiyi was driving alone.

Huang Yiyi shook her head. "Not tired, this actually feels pretty cool, like being on a bumpy ride. Don't you think so?"

No matter if Huang Yiyi was trying to comfort my worried heart or really enjoying the process, I could only give a bitter smile. "Good! If I knew how to drive, I would have let you rest for a while."

"It's fine. Maybe I've driven on too many flat roads. Sometimes, driving on a rugged mountain road is a kind of enjoyment. Besides, such an exciting night, such a rugged mountain road, and our thrilling goal, just thinking about it gets me excited."

It seemed that Huang Yiyi wasn't just comforting me; she was genuinely thinking about it.

Girls are very interested in such scary legends. Compared to boys, they have a stronger curiosity. Not just Huang Yiyi, but most girls are more curious about unknown things than boys.

"Li Yao, do you think we'll see ghosts when we enter the village?" Huang Yiyi asked, a bit excitedly.

"Ah!" Before I could answer, Qin Luye covered her ears. "Miss Huang, how can you say that at this hour? We shouldn't talk about such taboo topics at night. I feel so uneasy thinking about going to the village. The fate of that female streamer is unknown, and the old stories might not be true. Just thinking about it makes me scared."

"What are you afraid of?" Huang Yiyi said fearlessly. "If there really are ghosts, isn't Li Yao here?"

Her words immediately made me feel like a man, but she suddenly changed the subject. "Besides, doesn't your village have a blind master? The blind master is so powerful, he will definitely protect us."

Qin Luye thought about the stories she had heard and finally nodded heavily. "You're right, our village has a blind master!"

These two really know how to comfort themselves. At this point, they were still hoping for a ghost to help them. Well, I didn't bother to reveal the true identity of the old blind man, just let them find some comfort in their hearts.

The car continued to drive for a long time. However, at a turn ahead, Huang Yiyi suddenly screamed and sharply turned the steering wheel.

"What happened?" I quickly reached out and grabbed her hand, and the car stopped in an instant.

Huang Yiyi looked out the window with a terrified face. "There, someone, someone just stood in front of me and waved."

"Someone?" I poked my head out to look. "What kind of person?"

"I didn't see their face, it was an old lady. She was holding a child with one hand and a basket with the other. She was standing on the road and waving at me. Didn't you see her?" Huang Yiyi was very panicked and scared.

"It's okay!"

I squeezed her hand slightly and looked around with bated breath. The road was between two mountains, and the mountains were shrouded in black mist, with white fog on both sides of the road.

The mountains were shrouded in black mist, and the road was bathed in white light, the ghost path was open!

"I understand." I took out a prepared yellow paper talisman and recited, "Heaven and Earth, clear distinction between humans and ghosts. Passing through this road, please let us pass, amen!"

After reciting, I stuck the yellow paper talisman on the steering wheel.

"Lu Ye, give me some ghost money!"

Qin Luye said "Oh" and quickly handed me a stack of yellow paper. I took the paper and recited, "Heaven and Earth, mountains and roads, the guardian of the road, the money is here. Take the money and leave quickly! Rise..."

I blew on the yellow paper, and it instantly caught fire. I then threw the burning paper on the ground.

Huang Yiyi and Qin Luye had never seen such a dramatic scene and were both stunned. "Li Yao, how did you do that? Is it magic?"

"Yes, Mr. Li, how did you make the paper catch fire just by blowing on it? My master always puts high-proof alcohol in his mouth, and only after lighting the paper and blowing it out can the flame burn bigger."

I explained calmly, "This is a technique. By holding your breath, focusing your mind, and unifying your intention, you can achieve your goal."

"It's so profound... I don't understand." Huang Yiyi said, a bit embarrassed.

"It's like the secret techniques in books, controlled by the mind, different from the magic you mentioned. Magic is an illusion, as long as it can deceive the audience's eyes, it's considered successful. This, however, requires the control of the mind and one's cultivation."

"Is it the inner cultivation technique that my master often talks about?" Qin Luye asked curiously.

"Probably!"

"Does that mean you have inner cultivation now?" Huang Yiyi was very surprised.

I smiled and turned to look at the burned yellow paper. The paper had already burned out.

However, at the place where I burned the paper, two people were squatting: an old lady with a basket on her arm and a child. They were picking up the paper money I had burned, which had turned into their currency.

After picking up the money, they became very happy. They counted for a while and then waved at me.

Seeing their smiles, I sighed in relief. I don't see ghosts often, and although I know the theories in books exist, I never thought they would really appear before me.

"Let's go! We can continue now." I said to Huang Yiyi.

The car started moving again, and the car became quiet. A few minutes later, Huang Yiyi suddenly exclaimed, "This road feels different now. Lu Ye, are we close to your village? Has the road been repaired?"

Hearing Huang Yiyi's words, Qin Luye shook her head. "No, the last time an elder in the village passed away, I went there once. The road from outside to the village is always rugged. How could it have been repaired? But now that you mention it, I do feel it's different. The road is much smoother, like driving on a highway."

"Li Yao, what's going on?" Huang Yiyi asked, bewildered. "Did we take the wrong road?"

"It's fine, this isn't the road we were on before. This is the ghost road."

As soon as I said that, the two girls exclaimed in unison, "Ghost road!"