Chapter 24

"Where? Gang, why are you as jumpy as Xiaoxiao?"

Hearing Zheng Dagang's shout, Su Xiaofan found it amusing.

Su Xiaofan had been cycling between the town and the village since he was twelve or thirteen, for the entire three years of junior high school, and even through the乱坟岗 (chaotic cemetery), he had never encountered any evil spirits or ghosts. How could Zheng Dagang, who had only come once, encounter them?

"R... Right side, look quickly!"

Zheng Dagang pointed to the window on his right side, "Look, aren't there two shadows swirling there?"

"Damn, really?"

Su Xiaofan slowed down and looked in the direction Zheng Dagang was pointing, cursing under his breath and slamming on the brakes.

Just as Zheng Dagang said, in the misty area, there were indeed two faint shadows, but they were a bit far to see clearly.

"Bro, why did you stop the car?"

Su Xiaoxiao was startled by her brother's actions. She was already on edge and couldn't help but shout loudly.

"Of course, to check out the ghosts."

Through the car window, Su Xiaofan couldn't see clearly, so he rolled down Zheng Dagang's side window, and a cold breeze blew into the car.

"Xiaofan, p... please, let's go. I'm begging you."

The cold breeze made Zheng Dagang shiver.

Zheng Dagang had been selling talismans for years but never believed in them. However, when faced with the situation, he became timid. After all, who living near Mount Mang hadn't heard a few ghost stories?

"Gang, this is such a good opportunity, how can we leave?"

Su Xiaofan shook his head, unfastened his seatbelt, turned on the car's headlights, and looked back at Su Xiaoxiao, saying, "What do you think, want to go down and check it out with me?"

"I... I'll follow you, bro, just don't scare me on purpose..." Su Xiaoxiao nodded.

"Xiaoxiao, you're joining in too?"

Zheng Dagang, sitting in the front, was surprised that Su Xiaoxiao agreed and even looked eager.

What Zheng Dagang didn't know was that this brother and sister had seen all sorts of ghostly phenomena on this road before. Su Xiaoxiao was initially startled but had now calmed down.

"Gang, it's really nothing. I use dead people's bones as light bulbs, what do I have to fear?"

Su Xiaofan laughed heartily. He wasn't afraid, and he had confidence.

Su Xiaofan had a mid-level talisman on him, and there were several low-level, incomplete talismans in the car. Although they were not very powerful, he thought they should have some effect. He also wanted to see how these so-called talismans differed from the fake ones Zheng Dagang sold.

"By the way, Xiaoxiao, take the bell." Su Xiaofan thought he should be strategic but also cautious.

"Hey, Xiaofan, wait for me, I... I'll go with you too."

Zheng Dagang gritted his teeth and got out of the car. As the older brother, he couldn't let Su Xiaofan and his sister look down on him.

The place where Su Xiaofan parked was about thirty meters from the mist. Although the car headlights didn't shine directly, they could still see the situation in the mist vaguely.

"Why does it feel so cold?"

As soon as he got out of the car, Zheng Dagang felt a chill envelop him, while Su Xiaofan and his sister, who were walking in front, didn't feel it much.

"Hey, I told you, there are no ghosts."

When they were about seven or eight meters from the mist, Su Xiaofan stopped and said irritably, "It's just two people. Look how scared you are."

Su Xiaofan could see clearly that there were indeed two people in the mist, wearing familiar clothes, but their faces were obscured by the mist. He thought they were probably villagers from a nearby village.

"That's not right, Xiaofan, look, why are they just circling there and not coming out?"

Zheng Dagang's voice trembled, "Xiaoxiao, give me those talismans."

"They're in the car, Gang, I'll get them for you."

Su Xiaoxiao returned to the car and gave Zheng Dagang the envelope with the talismans. Whether it was psychological or not, Zheng Dagang immediately felt a warm sensation and wasn't as cold.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Su Xiaofan shouted, noticing the same issue Zheng Dagang mentioned. The two people seemed to be circling in the mist.

"Can't they hear? This... is it a ghost wall?"

Su Xiaofan looked at the mist covering about forty to fifty square meters, his expression stunned.

Su Xiaofan's voice was loud enough to be heard from a hundred meters away, but the two people in the mist seemed oblivious, showing no reaction.

"I'll go check it out." Su Xiaofan said, taking a step forward.

"Bro, let's not get involved. I heard that if you encounter a ghost wall, you'll automatically walk out when the sun comes up."

Zheng Dagang grabbed Su Xiaofan, even if the two people in the mist were real, the scene still made him uneasy.

"Gang, I've actually encountered this before, but it's not a ghost wall. There's a scientific explanation."

Su Xiaofan laughed. Having lived in the countryside for so long and often walking at night, he had experienced it before.

It happened when Su Xiaofan was in his third year of junior high school. One evening, after a late study session, he was cycling home and encountered an old man wandering in a field.

Su Xiaofan called out to the old man, but he didn't respond. Seeing the old man about to fall into a ditch, Su Xiaofan pulled him back. The old man then said he had been circling for over an hour, thinking he had encountered a ghost wall.

Su Xiaofan later found out that the so-called "ghost wall" is scientifically known as a motion illusion, where people lose their sense of direction and perception at night or in the countryside, causing them to walk in circles.

This is a state of blurred consciousness where, in the dark or in the countryside, the length of each step taken unconsciously varies slightly, leading people to walk in a circle with a radius of about 5 kilometers.

At this point, people have lost their sense of direction. In simpler terms, they are lost.

When the eyes and brain's correction function fails or gives false, chaotic signals, you think you are walking in a straight line, but you are actually walking by instinct, forming a circle.

Breaking the ghost wall is simple: just encounter strong light or focus and correct your sense of direction, and most people can escape.

The worst thing is to scare yourself, thinking you've encountered a ghost, which makes you more panicked and unable to escape.

"Watch me!" Su Xiaofan laughed and walked over, reaching out to grab one of the people's arms.

However, Su Xiaofan didn't notice that as he approached, the mist surrounding the two people seemed to dissipate, as if making a path for him.

"Xiaoxiao, did you see that? The mist seems to be avoiding Xiaofan."

Standing outside, Zheng Dagang's eyes widened as he saw this clearly.

"Maybe the wind from Brother's approach blew the mist away."

Su Xiaoxiao also saw it and said uncertainly.

"Shake the bell."

Zheng Dagang looked at the bell in Su Xiaoxiao's hand, which Su Xiaofan had bought for 1.2 million. He thought it must be more reliable than his own cheap talismans.

"Jingle, jingle, jingle..."

Hearing Zheng Dagang, Su Xiaoxiao shook the bell, and a clear ringing sound echoed.

As the bell rang, invisible ripples spread through the air, instantly reaching the mist.

"Hey, it really works."

As the bell rang, Zheng Dagang and Su Xiaoxiao saw the mist covering about forty to fifty square meters suddenly converge towards the center, like melting snow, disappearing in a few seconds.

"Hey, big brother, oh... it's you."

Su Xiaofan had just grabbed one of the people in the mist and called out, but he was stunned when he recognized Wu Chuanbao, whom he had met at noon.

"It's you?"

When the mist dissipated, Wu Chuanbao, who had been circling with Wu Chuanpeng, also regained his senses and saw Su Xiaofan.

"Brother, why are you here again?"

Su Xiaofan looked at the two people, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation. He wondered what kind of fate he had with them, as he seemed to encounter them frequently, wherever he went.

However, Wu Chuanbao looked much older, with a haggard appearance, dark circles under his eyes, and seemed to have aged ten years.

Wu Chuanpeng, who was with Wu Chuanbao, also looked lifeless, as if he hadn't slept for days, and was still dazed.

"This... this place is cursed, l... let's leave."

Wu Chuanbao looked around in fear, tightly gripping Su Xiaofan as if he had found a lifeline.

"It's fine now, you can go."

Su Xiaofan looked at Wu Chuanbao. He had tricked this guy once but had also been electrocuted by him. They were even, and Su Xiaofan didn't want any more trouble with him.

"No, brother, don't leave us here."

Hearing Su Xiaofan, Wu Chuanbao almost cried, pulling out a stack of cash and saying, "Take us to the town, we'll pay for the ride, we'll pay!"

The town was not far, about ten minutes away. Su Xiaofan thought about it and agreed, saying, "Forget the money, just don't bother me again."

"Thank you, thank you, brother, I was wrong before."

Wu Chuanbao thanked him repeatedly, pulling Wu Chuanpeng towards the car, as if the lights would give him more security.

"Bro, that mist was strange."

Su Xiaoxiao walked a few steps behind and pointed at Wu Chuanpeng, whispering to Su Xiaofan, "When I shook the bell, the mist converged and seemed to enter that person's body."

"The bell worked?" Su Xiaofan was surprised, as he hadn't noticed the mist's changes while inside it.

"It worked!"

Su Xiaoxiao nodded vigorously, thinking that the two people's encounter with the ghost wall was not due to motion illusion but because of the mist.