Chapter 34

The woman's voice from inside the palanquin made Zhao Zhu's entire body break out in goosebumps, his heart rate suddenly accelerating as if it were about to leap out of his throat. On the contrary, his blood felt cold and almost frozen, and his joints felt inexplicably stiff.

Zhao Zhu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing all the discomfort in his body. Then, he pulled out two talismans hidden in his sleeve and unhesitatingly stuck them to the bottom of the palanquin in front of him.

The talismans immediately caught fire and turned to ashes, dispersing into the air. The palanquin, which had been bright and shiny, suddenly became old and dilapidated, almost reduced to a skeleton, with no curtains left. Zhao Zhu, kneeling on the ground, lifted his head and saw a woman in a red veil and a bridal gown sitting inside the palanquin, her posture graceful and alluring, like a bride about to be married, captivating and soul-stirring with just a glance.

Zhao Zhu quickly bit his tongue, drawing blood, and immediately felt a surge of clarity in his mind. The aura of the female ghost in the palanquin was too strong, and Zhao Zhu had almost fallen into her trap.

The palanquin became extremely dilapidated, and the men and women who had been carrying it and scattering flowers around it all gathered around Zhao Zhu. Each of their faces was smeared with bright red rouge, and their skin was as pale as paper. At this moment, Zhao Zhu remembered what these people were—paper figures that had been burned. In many places in China, there is a custom where, after a person dies, their family burns paper houses and paper figures to serve them in the afterlife.

"Get lost!"

Zhao Zhu took out a bottle of holy water, bit off the cap with his teeth, and splashed it around. The paper figures let out piercing screams, and wherever the holy water touched their bodies, they began to burn. A sea of fire formed around Zhao Zhu, and through the gaps in the flames, he saw the bride still sitting steadily in the dilapidated palanquin.

Zhao Zhu grabbed his backpack, not daring to look at the palanquin again, and fled in another direction. However, after running for another five minutes and pushing aside the bushes in front of him, he found the dilapidated palanquin still in front of him, with the woman inside sitting motionless.

"Sir, where are you going?"

Zhao Zhu felt a sudden dizziness, and then a chill at the tip of his nose. He wiped it and found blood flowing out. He touched his ears, and there was blood there too. Then, blood seeped from his eyes, turning his vision red, and he felt a gush in his throat, spitting out a mouthful of blood.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Zhao Zhu was now bleeding from all seven orifices and felt as if he was about to suffocate.

"Zhao Zhu, is that you?"

Wang Ye's voice came from not far away. Zhao Zhu had noticed that he was wearing military camouflage, not the ordinary kind sold in stores, but the style and material used in the military. It seemed that although Wang Ye was not a soldier, he had a military background and had been trained as a child, with physical fitness comparable to Zhao Zhu's.

Zhao Zhu had run away after waking them up, so he had pulled ahead of Wang Ye. It seemed that Wang Ye had also chosen to run alone, not wanting to be slowed down by the other two. Zhao Zhu had only been delayed for about fifteen minutes before Wang Ye caught up.

"I'm here!"

After shouting these four words, Zhao Zhu felt a gush of blood in his throat, choking him and making his eyes roll back. If this were a TV drama, a character in a dangerous situation might deliberately remain silent when a friend comes to help, to avoid putting the friend in danger. But this was the real world, a world of horror, and Zhao Zhu had to make a sound, even if the female ghost tried to stop him. He had to draw the other person in to have any chance of escaping.

Was he going to be played with and killed by the female ghost?

Wang Ye ran over, saw the palanquin, and saw Zhao Zhu kneeling on the ground in pain. He immediately understood what was happening. His gaze towards Zhao Zhu was filled with anger. He had noticed the commotion ahead and called out to see if it was Zhao Zhu, as it was easier to find the traces left by the others when walking together.

Moreover, Wang Ye had seen Zhao Zhu's physical fitness, which was definitely different from the thug and the creepy old man behind. At least Zhao Zhu wouldn't slow him down. But who would have thought that Zhao Zhu would directly call him to this dangerous place!

The red veil on the female ghost's face immediately fluttered away, revealing a completely rotten face with maggots crawling all over it. This face was beyond terrifying, beyond description. Even Zhao Zhu, who was almost losing consciousness, felt a shock and a tightening of his heart when he saw it.

The female ghost's palanquin flew up, spinning towards Wang Ye. It seemed she thought Zhao Zhu was as good as dead, and it was only a matter of time before he died in her hands. Now she needed to catch another new victim.

Wang Ye was prepared. Seeing the palanquin fly towards him, he immediately pulled out a scroll. When he opened it, a "卍" symbol was revealed. Instantly, a beam of golden light shot out from the scroll, hitting the palanquin, which was forced to stop in mid-air. The female ghost let out a sharp cry and flew out of the palanquin, reaching out to grab Wang Ye. Her nails were long and dark.

Wang Ye's eyes showed a hint of reluctance, but he still waved his hand and tore the scroll. Although the scroll was torn, the "卍" symbol remained, floating in the air. When the female ghost lunged at them, the "卍" symbol struck her, and a series of blinding blue flames burst from her body, sending her flying back.

It seemed the female ghost had been dealt a blow, and the pressure on Zhao Zhu suddenly decreased. He quickly took out the heart-protecting mirror and pressed it to his chest. The mirror "cracked" and began to break, but Zhao Zhu felt a sudden relief, and his breathing became smooth. Without wasting time to take a few more breaths, Zhao Zhu hurriedly got up and ran away. With Wang Ye holding the female ghost back, it would be foolish not to take this opportunity to escape. "Die with the Taoist, not the poor Taoist," as the saying goes.

Zhao Zhu didn't know how far he had run or in which direction. Even if he had a map on his phone, it wouldn't help in the dark and dense forest, with the GPS out of commission and unable to locate him.

However, Zhao Zhu had a way. He quickly took out a guiding incense stick, thought of Yan Xing's image, and lit the incense. The white smoke did not follow the wind but tilted in a strange way towards a direction. Zhao Zhu immediately had a guide and ran in that direction, protecting the incense to prevent it from going out or breaking.

The incense burned for ten minutes, and Zhao Zhu walked in that direction for another fifteen minutes. Finally, he saw a house in the forest, a tavern, a very lively tavern. In this haunted forest, the appearance of such a lively tavern was obviously suspicious!

However, from outside, Zhao Zhu clearly saw a group of people sitting on the second floor of the tavern. Yan Xing, Li Liangjian, Shi Chong, and Xiao Ge were all sitting at a table, with some wine and dishes in front of each of them, seemingly in conversation.

Zhao Zhu was now in a dilemma but made up his mind. He didn't believe that all four of them had fallen for the same trick. They hadn't even seen the tomb's shadow yet. If the strongest among them had all fallen for it, what was the point?

As he entered the tavern, a waiter came up and asked enthusiastically, "Sir, are you here to stay or eat?"

Zhao Zhu pointed to the window-side table on the second floor and said, "I'm looking for someone."

"Sure thing, sir, go on up. I'll be busy with other things."

Zhao Zhu walked up to the second floor, and Yan Xing and the others clearly saw him. Yan Xing even waved.

"Pretty quick, come over."

Zhao Zhu sat down at the table. The dishes were plentiful, but no one had touched them.

"These dishes, you can't eat them. Don't believe me? Watch."

Li Liangjian chuckled and took out a talisman, lightly pinching it. The talisman turned into a pile of ash, which fell into a bowl of stir-fried pork. The bowl then changed, becoming old and dirty, and instead of stir-fried pork, it was filled with wriggling maggots.