"What... What is this?"
Several Shen family disciples turned pale and stumbled backward in fright, stepping into a void and plopping into a pond.
"You worthless things!"
Seeing this, the third eldest of the Shen family imdiately cursed, "It’s just a dead person, what’s there to be afraid of? Stick together, don’t run off."
After speaking, he turned towards the Wu temple priest and Blacksmith Bai, his tone noticeably softer, "The two of you, this is a chanism, isn’t it? How do we solve it?"
He wasn’t a fool; he’d already sensed sothing was wrong upon entering.
All over Divine State, there were many ancient tombs that had been robbed, so becoming desolate graves, and he had also entered the abandoned tombs of princes and nobles.
No matter how good they were, they could never be palaces; mostly, they consisted of a corridor leading to the tomb, with perhaps so antechambers, main chambers, and side chambers.
But there was definitely sothing strange about the one in front of them.
Ahead was still a dark cave, the torches could only illuminate the surroundings, and you couldn’t see how deep it was, let alone just after entering, seeing so many corpses.
Hearing this, the Wu temple priest glanced at him and said, "This poor Daoist doesn’t know the craftsman’s skills, how would I understand? If you’re afraid, just go back now."
His words irritated the third eldest Shen to the point where his eyes flashed viciously.
However, Blacksmith Bai next to him promptly said, "Indeed, it is a chanism, but it has already been broken."
With that, he pointed up towards the cave ceiling.
There, you could see a circular blade, with a chain running through its center, but it was unknown what force had caused it to fly off, now deeply embedded in the stone wall.
Seeing the Shen family mbers looking puzzled, the corner of Blacksmith Bai’s mouth revealed a cold smile, and he reassured in a naive manner, "Gentlen, if there’s a chanism right at the entrance, there must be sothing valuable inside."
"People have already gone ahead, and even if there are chanisms, it’s their bad luck, not ours! Why fear a thing?"
After speaking, he and the Wu temple priest lifted their torches and forged ahead without hesitation.
Seeing the two move further away, the second eldest Shen also gritted his teeth, "Since we’ve already co this far, how can we return empty-handed?"
"Follow them, be careful!"
Among them, he held the most authority, and even after splitting the family and rejoining the Shen family to fight for property, it was his idea, so the others were accustod to following his lead.
Of course, everyone remained extrely cautious.
Holding the torches, they headed forward warily, and they finally got a clear view of the terrain.
What they called a graveyard seed more like a mine pit.
Along the stone walls, there were many traces of human excavation, but even more were the strange eroded pits, large and small, thick as stars.
When illuminated by the torchlight, they all glinted with a tallic sheen.
The ground was uneven, and had it not been for the stone statues and stone horses placed every hundred ters, no one would believe this was a tomb.
However, as they walked, they found sothing amiss.
The Wu temple priest and the other seed to be quickening their pace, and their figures and torches were only faintly visible.
"Wait for the two of you!"
The third eldest Shen said, sowhat annoyed.
However, the two figures in front had beco faster and faster.
Left with no choice, the group had to increase their speed.
Just then, the shadows in front flickered wildly, and suddenly, three figures and fires split off: so to the left, so to the right, and so going straight ahead as if performing a body-dividing technique.
"Stop!"
The second eldest Shen felt an inexplicable unease and promptly raised his hand.
In the blink of an eye, all three figures and lights vanished.
Everyone felt their hair stand on end at the sight, and the third eldest Shen couldn’t help but swallow his saliva, "Big brother, this... we aren’t seeing ghosts, right?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he spat on the ground three tis.
Among the countryside tales, many people had heard about them; whether walking at night or passing by wild graves, the word "ghost" was taboo to say.
The eyes of the second eldest Shen also flickered uncertainly.
"Let’s go, check it out up ahead."
He knew better than anyone that, at this point, there was no way back for them; they couldn’t return to the Shen family. Their daily expenditures were significant, and so even had gambling debts.
Without money, their situation was worse than death.
The group continued on with trepidation and trembling hearts. When they ca to where the Wu temple priest had passed, they suddenly realized.
It turns out this was a three-way split, and embedded in the walls of the passages were several large copper mirrors, perfectly creating reflections.
But the problem was,
Which passage did the Wu temple priest take?
The second eldest Shen had soone stand far away to observe.
Sure enough, everyone’s shadow was split into three, but no matter which direction they walked in, the sa light and shadows were displayed.
The ground here was wet and slippery; no footprints could be seen.
"Let’s take this middle passage first!"
The second eldest Shen bit his lip and led the group into the central passage.
As the glow of the fire receded, what they didn’t notice was that their original shadows on the bronze mirror, had all begun to take form again.
Their faces were a ghostly pale, the corners of their mouths twisted into a sinister smile...
...
Boom! Rumble!
Thunder roared as heavy rain poured down on the official road.
Lv San hunched down, spurring his horse into a gallop, indifferent to the rain that beat against his face, never slowing down.
The little white fox clung tightly to his clothes from behind, swinging back and forth, while the Wild Man Wu Ba ran until his skin turned a bright red.
Yet, none of them dared to complain.
Although on ordinary days they only grew close to Lv San and kept their distance from Li Yan with respect, they were also clear on who the true leader of the group was.
Now that Li Yan was in trouble, it was only natural that Lv San was in a panic.
Finally, faint candlelight began to erge in the distance.
It was the Shen Family compound.
Taking a boat would have been faster, but Lv San knew that the heart of Liangzi Lake had beco the Land of Great Evil, and with his own strength, he would just be sucked into it as well.
Outside the grand residence of the Shen Family, two white paper lanterns swayed.
The stage that had been set up was shrouded in darkness.
There was supposed to be a play tonight, but the sumr weather was unpredictable, and even the most experienced old farrs had not foreseen the sudden downpour.
The plans for the play had to be abandoned.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Lv San pushed open the gates of the Shen Family, not waiting for the servants to question him, and imdiately rushed in to find Wang Daoxuan, who was reading a book, his face grave, "Sothing’s happened!"
A nervous jolt ran through Wang Daoxuan’s heart, "What’s wrong?"
Lv San briefly recounted the events, then said in a grave tone, "I asked the lake’s Wild Spirits; because the lake’s heart has beco the Land of Great Evil, the Wandering Ghosts from Gaochang County were all trapped within.
"During the stormy nights, they would fall into a frenzy. This ti, ’Mandragoran’ stirred them up prematurely, and Brother Yan was swept into the fray."
Wang Daoxuan also felt overwheld, "What... what should we do?"
Lv San said seriously, "I originally wanted to ask for help from the lake’s Wild Spirits, but even the Black King would not dare to approach. The only way is to either appease or distract those wild ghosts.
"Our ti is limited. The Ghost City in the lake will only appear during the torrential rains, and who knows when it will reappear next; we must rescue Brother Yan tonight."
"Does the Daoist have a solution?"
"Don’t rush, let think..."
Wang Daoxuan’s heart was pounding, and he forced himself to calm down, "Brother Yan is a living Yin ssenger. Once the Yin soldiers co out, he wouldn’t fear any Ghost City; there must be another reason he has not co out yet."
Regardless, Lv San said gravely, "I have to go in and rescue him. I just cannot think of a way to draw away the group of ghosts."
Just then, Shen Jinghong, who had heard the news, also hurried over.
The Shen Family was currently hosting a funeral, and many people had been trapped in the house by the rain. Hearing that sothing had happened, so onlookers also ca to watch the excitent.
While Wang Daoxuan was worrying, his eyes lit up upon seeing a man peeking out from behind Shen Jinghong, and he approached quickly.
"Boss Wu, five thousand Silver, dare you take the job?"
"Five thousand Silver?"
Boss Wu was the head of a Han opera troupe from Jiangxia County. Hearing Wang Daoxuan’s words, his eyes glead, "Of course, I’ll take it. What’s the job?"
"Simple!"
Wang Daoxuan said, "Perform a Ghost Play!"
"Ah?!"
Upon hearing this, Boss Wu’s face turned pale.
...
An hour later, at the ferry crossing of the Shen Family compound.
Nearby stood a large tiled house, originally the old residence of a family. After half of it had collapsed, it served perfectly as a stage.
At this mont, the stage had already been set up simply.
mbers of the opera troupe had dressed up, every one of them nervous and uneasy.
Even though they were tempted by a large sum of money, and Boss Wu had agreed, they still had their doubts, "Daoist, this place faces north; it’s the most inauspicious ’Yin Platform’. Can this really work?"
The orientation of the stage was key.
The stages facing south or east were known as "Yang Platforms," while those facing north were "Yin Platforms," and those facing west were "White Tiger Platforms."
As the saying goes, "To make a fortune, avoid the White Tiger Platform," all because the White Tiger Platform is prone to incidents and easily leads to quarrels and fights.
And doubtless, the most ominous of them all was the "Yin Platform."
The origins of opera were to entertain the gods,
To use a "Yin Platform" might inadvertently invite sothing unwanted.
"Be at ease."
Wang Daoxuan glanced at Liangzi Lake amidst the downpour, "As long as you follow the rules, performing a Ghost Play is not that dangerous."
"Rember, no matter what you see, you must finish the play!"
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