Chapter 50

The car continued on for a while, finally arriving at the entrance of Hugouzi Village.

"This is it, this is my hometown, Hugouzi Village."

Huang Yiyi stopped the car and looked ahead, asking me, "Li Yao, should we continue forward?"

I used the Qi-observation technique to examine the village ahead. Under the illumination of the headlights, the dark wooden houses exuded an eerie chill. There was a presence of Yin energy here, not very strong, but perceptible.

I looked up at the surroundings of the village, which were all mountains. This was a place surrounded by mountains. It was too dark to see the feng shui structure, but the fact that Yin energy could gather at night indicated that this was a place where Yin and Yang mixed.

I glanced at the time; it was 10 PM, the hour of the Pig! It hadn't yet reached the hour of the Rat, when Yin and Yang would shift, but Yin energy was already enveloping the village. This was enough to show that there were ghosts living here. By the hour of the Rat, it would likely be very "lively."

"Mr. Li, what should we do? Should we continue into the village or wait here?" Qin Luye began to panic, and I could clearly hear the tremor in her voice.

Even though this was her hometown, who wouldn't be afraid of such a desolate village in the middle of the night?

I still didn't answer, but opened the car door and got out.

I wasn't being mysterious; I just couldn't give them an answer yet. They were panicking, and so was I. This was my first time coming to such a place in the dark to do such a thing. If I spoke, I might reveal my unease, which would only make them more afraid. It was better to remain silent.

When my feet touched the ground, I felt a cold gas rush up from my feet into my entire body. This was the Yin energy of the earth. Before the shift of Yin and Yang, the ground would become much colder than after the shift, and this was when dew would evaporate from the ground.

"Li Yao!" Seeing me get out of the car, Huang Yiyi didn't dare to stay in the car either and quickly got out to stand close to me. Qin Luye did the same, getting out and walking to my side.

"Mr. Li."

I looked at both of them and reassured them, "Don't worry! I just came out to check the earth's Qi."

I wanted to determine if the feng shui of this place was as I had guessed, a mix of Yin and Yang.

Before I could make a determination, they both came over.

"Ah! What's that?" Suddenly, Huang Yiyi clung tightly to me, pressing her whole body against mine. The softness of her chest made me immediately aware, and my face turned red instantly.

The car's headlights were still on, and I followed the direction of her finger. About a hundred meters ahead, a woman in all white stood there.

"Ah!" Seeing the woman, Qin Luye was also frightened and quickly hugged my arm. One held my left arm, the other my right, and I could instantly feel their sizes.

This made me very awkward, but they were still in fear and didn't realize it.

"What is that? Li Yao!" Huang Yiyi asked me, her voice trembling.

"Nothing, get back in the car first!" I didn't answer directly but told them to get back in the car.

They shivered and climbed back into the car, neither daring to sit in the front. Both ran to the back seat.

"Is that a ghost? Li Yao! Why isn't she leaving?" The white-clad woman was still under the headlights, just standing there, as if warning us about something.

"It's a ghost!" I no longer hid it, as there was no point. We were not strangers to ghostly matters, and we had just walked a ghost path together. Even if I said it wasn't a ghost, they wouldn't believe me.

"What does she want? Why is she just standing there?"

I shook my head. "I don't know, ignore her! Don't look at her! Wait until the hour of the Rat, and then we'll drive into the village."

Huang Yiyi was clearly stunned, but neither of them said anything more.

I looked at the woman again, and suddenly, she moved. Or rather, she floated over.

"She's coming, she's coming!" They suddenly cried out in fear.

I swallowed hard, unsure of what the ghost wanted. I quickly took out two Five-Thunder Ghost-Banishing Talismans. If she dared to come closer, I would use the talismans to drive her away.

Suddenly, after moving about fifty meters, she stopped.

As she got closer, I could see her more clearly. Under the car's headlights, her face was pale and bloodless, with long, flowing hair that obscured her features. But I could feel the hatred in her eyes.

Could she be afraid of the Five-Thunder Talismans in my hand?

She didn't leave immediately but stood there, staring at us.

This intense tension lasted for a long time, and I felt my hand holding the talismans start to sweat.

Finally, when the hour of the Rat arrived and Yin and Yang shifted, the ghost disappeared. She vanished suddenly from our sight.

"She's gone!" Huang Yiyi sighed in relief.

I nodded and continued to observe the desolate village.

The village had changed, becoming different from before. Earlier, there was a layer of Yin energy around, but now it had decreased. Normally, after the shift of Yin and Yang, the Yin energy in this place should have been heavy, but it had disappeared. What was going on?

Wait! What's that?

Above the village, a black cloud suddenly appeared. It was...

A Yin-Gathering Array!

An array that could absorb Yin energy, used by some Taoists to deal with ghosts, using evil to fight evil. Similarly, it was an array used by some sinister Yin-Yang masters to practice certain evil techniques. Of course, it could also be an array left behind by a deceased person to achieve a certain purpose.

Clearly, the appearance of such an array in this place at this time was related to the blind old man.

The black Yin-Gathering Array rotated above the village, as if absorbing the Yin energy.

After about two minutes, the Yin-Gathering Array suddenly stopped and then rotated away.

"Let's go into the village." Without further ado, I urged Huang Yiyi to drive.

Although she was afraid, seeing my serious expression, Huang Yiyi quickly got in and started the car.

Our car began to enter the village's rural road. My eyes were fixed on the spot where the Yin-Gathering Array had just disappeared, ignoring everything else around us.

"Li Yao, why do I feel like there's a car following us?" Huang Yiyi's hands were shaking, and her eyes were on the rearview mirror.

"Don't look! Keep going forward, just drive to the end of this road."

Huang Yiyi didn't dare to look, but the sound from behind grew more confident, and the horn started to blare.

"Beep beep beep beep!"

It was the sound of a car's horn, very urgent, as if trying to overtake us.

The two girls in the car were already terrified, but I tried to remain calm. "Don't be afraid, there's no Yin energy in the village now. The Yin energy that formed earlier has been absorbed. There are no ghosts in the village now! The thing behind us is just a remnant without consciousness. Don't be afraid, don't look back, don't stop, just keep driving. If you look back or stop, you'll be helping it form."

"Is this what people often say, 'Don't look back when walking at night'?" Huang Yiyi asked cautiously.

"Sort of, but not entirely! 'Don't look back when walking at night' refers to the three fires on your body, with a ghost blowing them out from behind. If you look back, you give it a chance to extinguish the fire on your body, and then you'll see it, allowing it to harm you. What's behind us now isn't a ghost, just the consciousness of something."

As we were talking, the car following us disappeared, and the horn sound faded away.

The car quickly reached the end of the road. There were no abandoned houses here; the nearest one was about ten meters away. In front of us was a desolate, rugged path, and the Yin-Gathering Array had moved in that direction.

"Inside there is the old village," Qin Luye said, pointing to the path illuminated by the car's headlights.