Lu Zheng soared into the sky, and upon reaching mid-air, he saw a lavish manor situated in the nearby forest. The smoke he observed was curling upward from the kitchen in the manor's backyard.
The manor spanned several miles, consisting of five successive courtyards, with green bricks and white walls, golden tiles and red lanterns, pavilions and towers, carved beams and painted rafters, exuding a touch of nobility and luxury exceeding that of the Earl's Mansion he had seen in Jizhou.
"What a grand manor!" Lu Zheng exclaid.
Without needing to open the Spiritual Eye, Lu Zheng could perceive the pervasive Yin Qi that enveloped the manor across several miles, invisible and intangible, yet subtle and omnipresent.
A true haunted house!
The key point is, this haunted mansion is adorned with red lanterns, with faint sounds of silk and bamboo, bustling and noisy, with an unknown number of ghosts residing within.
"A ghostly wedding?" Lu Zheng's eyes flickered with curiosity and puzzlent, "Why in the mortal world? Perhaps they intend to honeymoon here after the wedding?"
Lu Zheng shook his head, devoid of interest, preparing to leave.
But just as he turned away, he saw dust clouds approaching on the official road not far from the manor, and three riders were swiftly coming towards him.
Among these three, there was one familiar face Lu Zheng recognized.
...
"Master Daoist, look, smoke?"
Rong Song led the way at this ti, raised his head upon hearing this, perford a Seal Technique with his hand, sensed for a mont, then nodded, "It's right there!"
The one who had just spoken was a man carrying a large sword, his eyes sharp, Sword Qi emanating skyward.
"Brother Zhang, wasn't Miss Qianqian taken by ghosts? How co there's smoke?"
The last speaker was a scholar, dressed in a brown cloth robe, faded and seemingly unused to riding horses, struggling to ride, grasping the reins with a pale face.
"Can't ghosts cook als?" The man surnad Zhang chuckled, "Except the als cooked by ghosts aren't vegetables or chicken."
Upon seeing the man surnad Zhang's grin, the scholar knew it wasn't good news and shivered, not daring to continue this subject.
"Let's hurry!" urged the scholar, spurring and whipping his horse, "We might be too late, Qianqian will be eaten!"
Both Rong Song and the man surnad Zhang nodded, then after advancing a little further, they saw a fork in the road from the official path.
"Ghost-Inviting Dao?" Rong Song furrowed his brows slightly, looking back at the scholar, "Does this official road have this path during the dayti?"
Now it was past 5 p.m., Yang Qi fading away, Yin Qi rising, though the sun hadn't set, but the forests around the official road already emanated gloomy Yin Qi, blowing with gusts of bone-chilling winter wind onto the group.
The scholar paused upon hearing this, looked at the path, then glanced at the surroundings, and decisively shook his head, "No!"
"This official road is surrounded by seven or eight villages and towns, each connected by paths, mostly behind Wohu Hill. Here, there's only Jin Family Town and Shanglin Village, but we've already passed Shanglin Village's path, and haven't reached Jin Family Town's yet."
The man surnad Zhang's gaze flickered, knitting his brows, "Given that they've laid out Ghost-Inviting Dao, Miss Qianqian should be temporarily safe."
Rong Song nodded, "The trouble has shifted onto us."
"What, is the Daoist hesitating?" The man surnad Zhang glanced at Rong Song.
"Infinite Celestial Venerable!" Rong Song proclaid a Daoist title, turning to the scholar, "Young Master Ning, the situation is unclear over there, perhaps you should return..."
The scholar shook his head, pulling a roll of Wooden Slip from his bosom, resolute, "Ning Mou has so ans of self-preservation, willing to share the burden as much as I can."
The man surnad Zhang laughed heartily, "You're a scholar worth befriending, not bad!"
Rong Song frowned, "Able to reveal Ghost-Inviting Dao, their Dao Practice is not weak, Young Master Ning has only one consecrated Huayan Scripture for protection, too dangerous."
"How formidable can ghosts in the mortal world be? No matter how many co, they'll end as souls beneath my sword!" The man surnad Zhang laughed boldly, clamping his legs, his steed turned onto the Ghost-Inviting Dao.
Ning Shusheng was also very anxious, cupping hands towards Rong Song, "Master Daoist, don't worry about , we rescue Qianqian and run."
Rong Song could only nod, and joined Ning Shusheng on the path into the Ghost-Inviting Dao.
...
At the end of Ghost-Inviting Dao, Ghost Manor revealed itself.
Erging from the forest path, the dark red double doors of the Ghost Manor ca into view.
Beneath the eaves hung two large red lanterns, half-human in height, lanterns round in shape, with eerie red flas inside, burning not as normal flas but as twisted humanoid shapes, emitting faint wails, subtle and elusive.
In the light of these twisted flas, shadows flickered on the doors, as if continuous streams of liquid were flowing down from top to bottom, coupled with the dark red doors, giving an impression of being stained by blood, perpetually flowing.
On the double doors were thirty-six copper nails, but these nails were not round; instead, each was a skull with hollow, dark eye sockets like black holes, gazing at the Ghost-Inviting Dao outside.
Having never seen such a scene before, Ning Shusheng's heart raced, feeling as if his heart might burst from his chest.
"Monstrous deception!"
The man surnad Zhang's eyes sharpened, uttered a low chant, drew the large sword on his back, charged forth on his steed, Sword Qi extending a yard.
"Cackle cackle cackle!"
"Hehehe!"
"Hahaha!"
"Hehehe!"
The skulls on the door chattered, producing countless eerie laughter, surging toward the Sword Qi.
Then, the Sword Qi surged forward, shattering the laughter completely, slicing toward the doors.
In the next mont, a twisted shadow appeared on each side of the door, enveloped in dark red, midway between reality and illusion, four palms blocking the massive Sword Qi under the red light.
"Golden Palace Heart Sword, cut!"
Rong Song exclaid sharply, forming his fingers into a sword, pointing forward.
Two screams echoed, the shadows twisted, releasing their grip, Sword Qi piercing their forms.
The man surnad Zhang's steed maintained its pace, with another sweep of the sword, the Sword Qi shredded the shadows completely.
"Rip! Rip!"
Sounds of tearing cloth rang out, the two red lanterns shattered on their own, the light within extinguished by a gust of Yin wind.
It was winter, darkness falling early, and now it was past 5 p.m., amidst the woods, the sky was overcast with clouds, devoid of stars and moon, if not for the light from the manor, it would be pitch black outside.
"Open!"
Sword Qi rose again, although the skulls continued their eerie laughter, the double doors opened on their own.
The man surnad Zhang charged into the manor first.
Rong Song retrieved two Talismans from his bosom, waved them with his hand, affixing two Spirit-Suppressing Talismans above the doorfra, a flash of gold, Spiritual Qi contained.
"Let's go!"
Then Rong Song urged his horse, joining Ning Shusheng past the threshold.
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