Chapter 007: Black Smoke

"She walked through the shadows when she was young." Li Damin's voice emerged from the black mist

How do you know this so well? I am puzzled

Li Damin laughed in the darkness: "I am usually quite interested in this; I am also the leader of a local adventure group. I know quite a bit about various odds and ends."

Li Damin twisted the doorknob, exerting all his strength but unable to turn it at all; the door seemed to be firmly welded shut. He inhaled sharply: "Could this also be part of the mechanism?"

The recording was interrupted. I was trembling all over, surrounded by thick black smoke, unable to see anything. I was both shocked and scared, as well as angry and fearful. Recently, I inadvertently encountered Wang Yuemeng in a dream, which seems to explain things. At that time, she referred to herself as "Lin Cong" and had signed an agreement with "Old Meng".

My mind is in a state of confusion, and I shook my head and said I forgot

"Meng Po took me to see my deceased father. My father's condition was very strange; he seemed to be sealed in a certain place. Meng Po told me that my father had committed sins during his lifetime, and I would have to serve as a Yincai for a full 15 years to help him atone for his sins. Once I had completed my merits, I would be reunited with my father, allowing him to be released from hell, to be reincarnated, or to find a good resting place in the underworld. " Wang Yue said: "I listened to Meng Po and truly served as a Yincai for over ten years. What is a Yincai, and what exactly do they do? Lin Cong, you should not inquire about this; these matters are not for you to know. Now, in 2019, I have completed my merits and will go to the underworld with the books to rescue my father."

Li Damin and I pushed against the door with all our might, but it did not budge at all, as if it had been locked from the inside. He looked at me and asked, "Did we lock the door when we came in?"

I must find the coffin before continuing to speak in the recording, and remove the bracelet from Wang Yue's wrist.

In the darkness, the light flickered faintly, likely indicating that Li Damin was using a flashlight to illuminate his phone. He spoke slowly: "The recording has not stopped, but there is no sound."

"Lin Cong, if you are willing, I will teach you the specific methods for the last segment of the recording." The voice of Wang Yue continued to play from the phone

The black smoke grew thicker, filling the entire room. Amidst the dark haze, a faint glow could be seen in the corner, emanating from two ever-burning lamps.

Li Damin and I were sitting very close to each other, but due to the thick black mist in the room, I could hardly see him. To avoid losing contact, he turned on a flashlight, and that beam of light seemed to come from a distant lonely island

Li Damin chuckled softly in the darkness: "Sure, that's quite a hefty wager, Lao Lin. Go ahead and place your bet; if you succeed, you'll land yourself a wife."

Li Damin let out a long sigh in the darkness, "So that's how it is"

Li Damin stated: "Walking into the Yin is also referred to as entering the Yin. The meaning can be understood literally, which is that a person, through certain circumstances, enters the world of the deceased, commonly known as the underworld."

In the darkness, I groped for the flashlight, shining it around. The black smoke engulfed everything, and the light from the flashlight could not penetrate, illuminating only a distance of less than half a meter in front of me

"If you do not help me," Wang Yue said, "you will live your entire life with an incomplete soul. In severe cases, you will be unable to take care of yourself, like a fool, with an intelligence level of only a five-year-old child. If you help me and successfully rescue my father, Lin Cong," she paused and continued, "I will be grateful to you. After my revival, I will marry you and serve you for a lifetime!"

I ask what it means

I tripped over a brick and fell quite severely, but I was too scared, so I insisted on returning home. In the recording, Wang Yue's voice narrates: "On the very night I returned home, I developed a high fever, and in a daze, I went to the underworld"

Old Meng, could it be Meng Po? ... Recalling that eerie night, the cold moonlight, the empty pavilion ... I was so frightened that I trembled all over. Could it be that Meng Po really came that night? Does Meng Po truly exist in this world?

I remained silent, suddenly experiencing a peculiar sensation; it seems that Li Damin's entrapment in this situation is not coincidental, and there must be some connection within it

Li Damin pointed at the coffin with his finger, his expression one of shock. I quickly turned around to look and saw black smoke beginning to pour out from the coffin.

Could it be that Wang Yue has freed up some time for me to go retrieve the bracelet

Before I could think it through, he opened the second recording

I felt a sudden jolt in my heart; Li Damin was right.

I impersonated you and signed a contract with Meng Po in the underworld, putting your soul and spirit on the line in the underworld

In my dream, the first thing I saw was still at home, I blurred the lines between dream and reality, completely unaware that I was dreaming. Wang Yue said: "I came out of the house, and outside was an unfamiliar hillside. After walking up, I saw a temple surrounded by lush green trees. It should have been daytime, but the sky was dim and murky, tinged with a muddy yellow, resembling an old photograph. I walked around to the back of the temple, where there was a large tree, very thick and sturdy, with abundant branches and leaves. Under the tree, I saw a person cooking something in a pot. The pot was black, and the stove underneath was burning coal. I couldn't tell what was being cooked, but I saw hot water boiling in the large pot, something happened. As it bubbled up and fell, the person looked up at me, and I was startled; it turned out to be an old woman. I couldn't tell her age, she was wearing a black cotton coat, with disheveled hair. The person looked up at me, and I was startled; it turned out to be an old woman. I couldn't tell her age, she was wearing a black cotton coat, with disheveled hair. Later ...

The soft voice of Wang Yuepiaopiao floated through, "... ... Later I learned that the old woman I saw in my dream was the legendary Meng Po. At that time, my situation was not a dream, but rather a journey through the underworld ... ... "

Li Damin smiled: "There is indeed this possibility. I think Wang Yue chose you correctly; you truly understand her. Go on, don't just stand there. I suspect this is also a mechanism that must be activated by removing the bracelet during the silence of the recording."

I stood up abruptly, my eyes wide open: "What on earth is this?!"

I made a decisive decision: "Let's go!"

First, let me mention two things. Wang Yue said: "In the coffin before you, find my physical body, on my right wrist is a bracelet, take it off and wear it on your hand." After this sentence, the recording suddenly stopped

"Lin Cong, if you decide to help me, this will be the wisest choice of your life." Wang Yue's voice came through: "Now listen carefully to what I say, to help me, you need two things and one person." Upon hearing this, for some reason, Li Damin came to mind. Could it be that Li Damin is the person Wang Yue is referring to?

These black fumes seem to emerge incessantly, rolling out like dark clouds, crazily occupying every inch of the room

"Should we play the last segment of the recording?" Li Damin asked me

I said weakly, let it go

We groped our way to the window in the dark to check it, only to find that it was tightly locked as well, with the window's iron bolt already welded shut, and no amount of force could open it. I was drenched in cold sweat and said, "The dark gas can't be toxic, can it?" Li Damin responded helplessly, "Even if it is toxic, there's nothing we can do; we can't run away."

I asked in confusion: "What do you know?"

I did not speak, feeling unwell all over. Wang Yue praised me so much, but I could not feel any happiness at all; instead, it was almost like having eaten a live fly

In the darkness, Li Damin's voice was filled with fear: "Is Wang Yue planning to take us as sacrifices?"

I seem to have heard of it

In the darkness, Li Damin reached out his hand to pull me, advising me to remain calm and to listen before speaking.

The two of us ran towards the bedroom door, and as we reached the entrance, I pushed the door with a swift motion. The door was tightly shut and would not budge no matter how hard I tried. I was immediately drenched in sweat

The means employed by Wang Yue, resulting in the current situation, were originally intended to seek a way to save her father through clandestine methods said Li Damin

We truly have no other option but to decide to listen to the recordings on the phone before proceeding further

I was filled with agitation and exclaimed: "What right does she have to make decisions for me?! Why should I marry such a crazy woman? Who have I offended?!"

The black mist that originally enveloped Wang Yue began to overflow outside the coffin for reasons unknown

Li Damin was completely engulfed in black smoke, and all that could be heard was his deep voice: "In the south, there are magicians who specialize in this profession, some places call them ghost masters, who specifically take the living into the underworld to communicate with deceased relatives and friends. This type of magic is called spirit observation technique."

The playback of the first audio recording has stopped

Suddenly, the sound in the recording became noisy, as if it was subjected to strong interference. "Lin Cong... I'm sorry..." Wang Yue said: "In the process of saving my father, I need a kind, intelligent, and sincere person to assist me. I have been looking for two to three years, and finally chose you..." The recording was filled with a rustling sound.

Li Damin and I simultaneously inhaled sharply