"I?" Yang Xiao was taken aback.
"Yes, you must believe in yourself!" Jiang Qingluan nodded emphatically, her determination making Yang Xiao feel as if no one else but he could do it.
"She slandered , she slandered !" Yang Xiao pointed at Jiang Qingluan, defending himself. He, Yang Xiao, had spent a lifeti doing good deeds. How could he possibly be the Living Yama?
"Do you have parents?" Jiang Qingluan pressed on.
"No." Yang Xiao answered truthfully.
"What about you two?" Jiang Qingluan looked at Fang Zhou and Chang Chuchu.
"Yes, both parents alive, a happy family," answered Fang Zhou imdiately, his eyes covered.
"I do too, three of them, plus I have a godfather," Chang Chuchu added, outdoing Fang Zhou in numbers, desperate not to be the last King Yan.
"That’s settled then. Fang Zhou will lead, I’ll go second, Chang Chuchu third, and Yang Xiao will bring up the rear. Everyone should put their left hand on the shoulder of the person in front, left arm over left shoulder. Fang Zhou, you walk normally, and the rest rember to keep your heads down."
As she spoke, Jiang Qingluan divided the rest of the Paper Money, ensuring that Yang Xiao, Chang Chuchu, and herself each had a share. The remainder, along with the incense candles, were wrapped in a cloth. She also packed so food and alcohol for Fang Zhou to carry on his back, then pulled Fang Zhou aside to whisper so precautions into his ear; finally, she confird, "Understood?"
"Understood... got it," Fang Zhou replied nervously, swallowing hard.
"Everyone places a piece of Square-Holed Paper Money in their mouth. Rember, do not let the Paper Money touch the ground. Fang Zhou will guide us, and if anyone encounters anything strange, just throw the Paper Money in your hand." Pausing for a mont, Jiang Qingluan’s gaze turned resolute, "Success or failure hinges on this!"
It was clear that even Jiang Qingluan lacked confidence. The forced entry through the Ghost Gate was a last resort—should they beco surrounded on all sides, they would have no chance at all.
Yang Xiao turned his head to glance behind, and just then, a gust of cold wind blew, dispersing so of the fog behind them. The muddy path they had been following vanished, and in the fog, many tree-like shapes lood, standing there like ghostly apparitions.
They had to set out... The group hurried into formation, heads lowered, left arms raised to rest on the shoulder ahead. Feeling Chang Chuchu move forward, Yang Xiao followed suit, eyes closed, clutching a piece of Square-Holed Paper Money in his mouth.
Sealing the mouth with Paper Money, holding back one’s breath—it was clear Jiang Qingluan knew her stuff. Yang Xiao hoped her plan would succeed.
A few dozen steps later, Yang Xiao knew Jiang Qingluan’s plan was working. Their line didn’t turn; it remained straight. Logically, they should have collided with trees by now, but far from that, Yang Xiao sensed that the path beneath his feet was much smoother, unlike the rugged mountain path he had observed from outside the forest before.
But at the sa ti, Yang Xiao felt rather gloomy. If so, his reputation as the "Living Yama" had been solidified. The place was perilously dangerous, and yet his Life Chart seed to have suppressed it; Yang Xiao attributed all this credit to his older sister.
However, the peace was short-lived. Suddenly, Yang Xiao heard strange noises around him, like sothing was stirring, drawing closer, accompanied by the sound of leaves and twigs being crushed underfoot.
This made Yang Xiao’s heart clench in alarm—it was not normal. After all, the forest was an illusion, Ghost Hitting the Wall, which ant those twigs and leaves did not exist. If they didn’t exist, how could they be crushed?
Thinking deeper, what kind of ghostly things could crush these non-existent twigs and leaves?
The reason he thought there were many was that the sounds ca from all directions, so far, so near, very nurous—at least dozens, and the number seed to be increasing.
"Damn..." Whether it’s fortune or misfortune, it’s unavoidable. Yang Xiao knew trouble had finally found them.
He lifted his eyelids just slightly, squinting but still keeping his head down and his pace uninterrupted, using his peripheral vision to observe the surroundings. The fog was thick, reminiscent of the previous night when he had erged wet and clammy from the river beach, except this ti, the danger felt much more imdiate, close at hand.
The others in the group must have also sensed the anomaly, as Yang Xiao could clearly feel Chang Chuchu trembling beneath the hand he had on her shoulder.
Yet Yang Xiao saw nothing filthy or impure, and more eerily, as soon as he opened his eyes, the chaotic sounds vanished instantly.
On further observation, the trees around him seed to have grown closer. It was as though... as if the trees were consciously encircling them.
With a child leading and the King Yan at the rear, as long as the formation held, the brunt fell on him—the "Living Yama." Realizing this, Yang Xiao no longer hesitated and threw a stack of Paper Money he had prepared over his head. The white Paper Money fluttered through the air like a funeral procession.
The next second, a horrifying scene unfolded. The Paper Money, as if controlled by so mysterious force, didn’t fall to the ground but were attracted to the trees nearby, adhering to them.
Then, Yang Xiao’s pupils shrank slowly; the trees that the Paper Money had struck underwent a change. Starting from where the Paper Money touched them, the rough and decaying bark twisted in an incomprehensible manner, revealing a bluish skin underneath, mottled with livor mortis.
The obstructions were not trees at all but corpses, countless long-dead bodies!!
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