Chapter 3: Graveyard Spirits

I used to think that I was quite brave, but encountering a ghost in real life is no longer a matter of courage

Suddenly, a woman's crying voice appeared behind me

Hiss! I trembled with my teeth chattering, bracing myself to stand firm. Damn it, I have become this unrecognizable thing, and even if I encounter something unclean, there is nothing to fear.

"Neither human nor ghost." Suddenly, a voice surged into my eardrum from all directions

Shortly thereafter, eight women dressed in red emerged, their heads covered with white shrouds, holding lanterns shaped like human heads, as they carried a bright red ceremonial sedan chair drifting outward

Once again, there is a headless figure! Amidst the dark clouds, there is also a headless female corpse. I recalled what I had just seen after being struck by lightning and quickly looked up to search, only to find that the headless female corpse had already vanished without a trace

"My belongings? What belongings?" I hurriedly pressed for more information, but the voice did not give me a chance, and after speaking, it vanished without a trace

What kind of woman is this! Standing behind me is a bloody headless fox, its skin completely stripped off and worn as a garment over the flesh of the fox.

"It's truly eerie, there are too many ghosts." I am certain that what I just saw were all ghosts. In a state of panic, I wanted to leave this place immediately, even if it meant going to the village. I just don't want to stay in this graveyard any longer; who knows what else might appear next.

And its head had vanished without a trace. What sent chills down my spine the most was that on its shoulder rested a human heart, and in the center of that heart was a small mouth, busily munching on the flesh of the fox's neck

The headless fox made no movements, simply standing there in front of me, dripping blood, while the heart on the fox's neck continued to consume flesh on its own

In this tense atmosphere, I can feel the decayed heart beating faintly, yet I have no blood to circulate within it. I remain in my withered state, the only difference being that my heart is now beating.

At last, the dark clouds that had been gathering strength for so long have nearly exhausted their power, yet I have not fallen. It struck with the final bolt of lightning, a blood-red flash, as thin as a little finger. Although it appeared unremarkable, it sent a shiver down my spine.

With a "thud," a drop of liquid fell to the ground, landing in a puddle, producing a dull impact sound. The atmosphere made me feel suffocated, and for some reason, I did not dare to turn back to look at her. My calves had long since gone weak.

After absorbing this blood-red lightning, my heart actually began to beat slightly

The torrential rain had ceased at some unknown time, and the sound of weeping had long since vanished, leaving the wind still. I do not know why, but suddenly this graveyard has become so silent, a silence akin to death.

Who saved me? I am certain that it was not a human who rescued me, yet I still mustered the courage to shout loudly into the empty graveyard.

I forced myself not to look back, fearing I might see something filthy: "Why are you still here so late? Are you from our village?"

The sound of weeping was incessant inside the sedan chair, as if someone were crying within.

Just as I had taken a few steps, a faint fragrance of plum blossoms wafted from deep within the cemetery, and the sound of a bell, "ling ling," echoed softly from the depths.

Is this still the tranquil little mountain village where I grew up? The wailing ghostly voices, the endless graves before my eyes, the headless female corpse floating amidst the thunderclouds—these things I have never seen before; why are they all appearing now?

What are you eating? I forced myself to compose my thoughts and asked loudly

I am lost, sob sob sob, I cannot find my way home. The woman's voice is very mournful, just listening to it makes my hair stand on end

I cannot help but feel nauseous; the foul odor of decay is actually emanating from my own body

The atmosphere is so oppressive, it feels as if the oxygen in the graveyard has been instantly siphoned away, making it difficult for me to breathe. A strong sense of suffocation envelops me entirely. More precisely, I have forgotten to breathe, and the sound behind me is like a death warrant, following me closely.

"Gulp," I swallowed hard, "What... what are you eating?"

"What the hell, does it want to eat my soul? Damn it." I can only curse loudly to distract myself from the fear and unease in my heart

"Who?" I exclaimed like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, startled by the sudden sound of a woman's cry behind me at such a late hour, which terrified me to the core

You ... ... I ... ..." I stuttered, wanting to ask something, but I did not know where to begin.

My eyes are blurry? I slapped my head hard, which made me dizzy and knocked off quite a few of my sparse, withered hairs.

"Get lost!" A black ancient character suddenly appeared, sending rippling waves across the surface like a stone thrown into water, enveloping both the bearers of the palanquin and the palanquin itself.

There is no mountain village here, I went up the mountain alone, and it got dark before I could come down, can you help me

I got up and was about to chase after it, but the next moment, I inexplicably found myself in the midst of a dense forest... I looked around, but could no longer find any trace of the grave...

I am overjoyed; as long as the heart can beat and supply blood, the withered body can gradually recover, and in the future, I will be able to return to being a normal human being

The words "Ling... Hun... Da... Bu..." intermittently emanated from within the palanquin, the voice at times aged and at other times clear and bright

My teeth are chattering, and I see that the sedan chair is coming straight towards me. Only now do I realize that the sobbing sound is coming from within this sedan chair, but I do not know what unclean thing is inside it

Just as the dark clouds were about to dissipate, I witnessed a scene that sent chills down my spine. Amidst the dark clouds, there floated a headless corpse, rising and falling with the shadows. The attire of the corpse was in an ancient style, just like what I had seen on television; it was a female corpse

Each of the 4 eaves of the sedan chair was adorned with a string of copper bells, producing a crisp sound of "ling ling" as it moved along

"Baji baji," a sound of chewing came from behind me. I could tell it involved liquid, as there was a "sizzling" sound of liquid colliding amidst the chewing. It was reminiscent of the sound made when chewing chicken curry that has been drenched in curry.

A sharp and urgent cry suddenly emanated from the sedan chair, quickly vanishing into the night.

After being struck by this thunder and lightning, I seem to have gained quite a few benefits I feel an inexhaustible strength in my limbs and nod silently in agreement

As the internal organs were on the verge of collapse, a silvery-white energy emerged to protect the five viscera and six bowels. This was a mysterious power that had strangely entered my body while my consciousness was in slumber, and I did not expect it to play a role at this critical moment

What should I do, what should I do? Looking at the sedan chair getting closer to me, the lantern held by the bearers is grinning at me ominously, and my heart is in a state of turmoil

I will not back down, staring at the blood-red lightning with eyes wide open, allowing it to penetrate my flesh, allowing it to traverse through my internal organs. If this lightning cannot strike me down, then even if the Grim Reaper himself comes, he should not think of reclaiming my soul

I pressed my mouth tightly shut, an overwhelming feeling of nausea made me want to die, yet at the same time, a strong bloodlust compelled me to want to lick those bloodstains

"Who is there playing tricks?" My heart tightened, startled by the sudden sound, which simultaneously shattered the suffocating atmosphere I had just experienced

I feel afraid, instinctively believing that I am still a normal human being, completely forgetting that I now exist as a ghostly presence

I inexplicably raised my arm, intending to grasp the heart with a small mouth. To my surprise, as soon as I touched the heart, it, along with the headless fox, transformed into a thick smoke and vanished into the ground through the cracks in the earth

The sound of the crunching became even louder, sending chills down my spine.

"You... go ahead." The voice fell silent for a moment, "Come back to retrieve your belongings when you are able to confront the Demon King on your own."

This self-comforting Q spirit is indeed quite useful. Thinking about it this way, at least I can boldly stare at this headless fox in front of me.

Hee hee hee ... ... she simply laughed like a warbler

I am enduring the onslaught of thunder and lightning, having lost all sensation, as if my entire body no longer belongs to me. A strong smell of charred flesh permeates this graveyard, the scent of burnt carrion.

Damn it, please don't scare me like this! I'm about to cry from fright; I opened my eyes and immediately ran into ghosts one after another

But the woman behind me remains silent and does not smile, only the sound of her "slurping" and the "splashing" of water echo in my ears

I do not know where the courage came from, but while searching for the source of the sound, I unexpectedly turned to glance at that silent woman, and that glance nearly scared my soul away!