Chapter 46 Part 1

The inn’s door was thin, and footsteps in the hallway were crisp enough to be heard clearly.

Before Yu Zezhi could even knock, Wu Yinyu turned the handle and appeared, her smile languid and weary as she said, “Can’t sleep either, Boss Yu?”

“Can’t sleep,” Yu Zezhi replied, glancing inside. When she caught the lingering scent of ink, her gaze froze for a moment.

“You smell it?” Wu Yinyu flared her nostrils, straining to sniff the air, and said listlessly, “The Ink Qi appeared out of nowhere just now, and then the prayer wheel started making noise. Whatever’s inside seems restless. I can’t wait any longer either.”

Yu Zezhi’s clothes were perfectly neat, without a single wrinkle, just as they had been during the day. It seemed she had been prepared to go out in the middle of the night.

She looked at Wu Yinyu, then abruptly raised a hand and curled her index finger, scraping it across the other woman’s cheek.

Wu Yinyu froze, leaning back slightly, only to see ink staining Yu Zezhi’s fingertip.

Yu Zezhi’s expression was unreadable. Even the slight purse of her lips was filled with an unshakeable, cold melancholy, as if she were at a loss, having lost control of the situation.

Yet even while confused and puzzled, she remained cold and fathomless, like a deep pool. Soon, she let out a soft sigh and spoke, her tone conceding defeat. “You’re getting weaker and weaker. I knew this prayer wheel was about to fail.”

“Is the will power on it even weaker now?” Wu Yinyu turned to look at the suitcase inside the room.

Yu Zezhi hummed a faint “Mm,” and said, “That painting probably fed on souls again.”

“It did feel a bit heavier,” Wu Yinyu recalled the weight in her hand moments ago.

Yu Zezhi looked at her, rubbing the ink stain from her fingertip until it dispersed, and said, “This place can’t hold you.”

“No way.” Wu Yinyu smirked. “Did you originally plan to keep me here?”

Yu Zezhi didn’t argue; her silence was an admission.

“I’m hungry. I’ll leave after I eat something.” Wu Yinyu pressed a hand to her stomach, her expression listless. “Otherwise, I’m afraid you’ll have to carry me for the rest of the journey.”

This run-down inn in the middle of nowhere, with the owner already asleep—where could they possibly get a hot meal? They’d have to make do with some biscuits and milk to fill their stomachs.

The guest who’d been freed from the Plague Ghost at dusk had fled in the middle of the night, unwilling to stay a moment longer. After all, he’d barely managed to escape with his life; he couldn’t let it end here.

He’d even left a letter at the front desk, asking the girl there to pass it on.

When going downstairs, Wu Yinyu deliberately lightened her steps, but she still woke the girl at the front desk.

The girl’s sleepy eyes flew open. Coming to her senses, she hurriedly called out, “Hey, wait!”

Wu Yinyu paused and turned her head, seeing the girl open a drawer and rustle around before pulling something out.

“This is from the guest who checked out today. He asked me to pass it to you,” the girl said, stretching out her arm, unable to contain her curiosity as she kept sizing the two of them up.

Still drowsy, she caught a glimpse of the darkness outside the glass door. Looking at the clock, she realized it wasn’t even four in the morning yet. She asked blankly, “Where are you off to?”

“Into the mountains. Did that gentleman say anything else?” Wu Yinyu accepted the envelope, surprised to find it stuffed with quite a few things—bulging and rather heavy.

The girl was stunned. Realizing these two were far from ordinary people, she abandoned any thought of dissuading them. She just stammered, “If you feel something’s not right, you must run back immediately. That gentleman, he didn’t say much else, just asked me to pass on his thanks.”

Wu Yinyu opened the envelope and was startled to find it completely stuffed with money. As if scalded, she quickly shoved it into Yu Zezhi’s hands.

Yu Zezhi had been the one to drive away the Plague Ghost. According to the rules of the trade, money like this should not be accepted.

Forced to take it, Yu Zezhi simply widened the envelope’s opening for a quick inspection, then placed it on the counter. “Give this to Boss Zhen. Once we enter the mountains, it’s uncertain whether we’ll come back out.”

“Ah?” The girl, already struggling to keep her eyes open, stared wide-eyed at this. She immediately spat several times towards the floor. “Don’t say things like that!”

“Don’t look at what’s in the envelope. Just give it to Sister Zi,” Wu Yinyu added from the side.

The girl had no choice but to take it back. Hesitating, she said, “But that gentleman gave it to you two.”

“Then let Sister Zi hold onto it for us.” Wu Yinyu held her smoking pipe, lightly tapping the bowl against the envelope. “When we come back, we’ll take it back.”

The girl still felt it was unlucky. Picking up a corner of the envelope, she said, “Then you have to come back soon.”

Wu Yinyu waved her pipe in lieu of a hand gesture and was about to push the door open when she was stopped again.

“Hey, wait!” the girl called out once more.

Wu Yinyu halted and looked back. “What is it?”

“Just remembered something.” The front desk girl slapped her forehead. “The boss was afraid of disturbing you two, so she told me to call her the moment I saw you come down.”

It seemed Zhen Hezi still had something to say to them.

“Go ahead and call,” Wu Yinyu said, lifting her chin slightly.

The girl immediately made the call. After just a couple of sentences, hurried footsteps sounded from upstairs. It seemed Zhen Hezi was coming down.

Zhen Hezi rushed over, panting. “There’s something I want to show you two.”

“What is it?” Wu Yinyu saw the other woman holding a photo frame.

Zhen Hezi walked up to them and raised the frame. “This is an old photo. Back then, a boss came to the village. She led people into the mountains, and that’s when the strange incidents in the village started happening frequently.”

It was a terribly pixelated black-and-white photo, and the faces in it had blurred with age.

A woman in a long robe stood in the center, a bead bracelet in her hand. Her gaze, perhaps because it was filled with hatred, was cold and sharp.

It was Wuxian.

“Wuxian,” Wu Yinyu pointed at the photo.

Zhen Hezi froze, her voice trembling. “You know her?”

“Not really,” Wu Yinyu shook her head.

“Those people got sick and died because of her, right?” Zhen Hezi asked, shuddering.

Yu Zezhi pushed open the inn’s glass door and said coolly, “We can’t be sure yet.”

Clutching the frame to her chest, Zhen Hezi thought hard and, in the end, could only say one thing. “You must come back soon.”

Leaving the inn, they saw Yu Zezhi’s car parked outside.

The car could drive up to the mountainside, but beyond that, they’d have to go on foot. The trees grew densely inside, and there were many ravines—places a car couldn’t enter.

Reaching the halfway point of the mountain, Yu Zezhi got out without turning off the engine, using the car’s headlights to illuminate the mountain path.

The car hummed behind them. Wu Yinyu glanced back. “Really not turning off the car?”

“No need,” Yu Zezhi replied. Though she held a flashlight, she didn’t turn it on. A flashlight could never be as bright as the car’s headlights.

Wu Yinyu stepped on dead leaves and continued deeper inside, feeling the Yin Wind rustling through the mountains. The wind’s howl and the car’s engine behind them sounded exactly like the weeping of malicious ghosts.

The further she went, the harder it truly became. Several joints in her body felt as if they were nailed tight, so painful she could barely move.

Luckily, the night was dark, and Yu Zezhi was walking ahead, watching the path, so she couldn’t see Wu Yinyu gritting her teeth in agony.

A single-plank bridge crossed a stream they passed. Beyond it, a stone stele came into view, its carved characters filled in solidly with red paint.

Overgrown Mountain Boundary.

As they passed, the plank bridge creaked loudly, far from sturdy. Beneath it, the stream gurgled, the rocks covered in lush moss.

Walking in front, Yu Zezhi sensed the person behind her slowing down more and more. She looked back. “Do you need me to carry—”

Her words stopped abruptly, cut off very suddenly.

Wu Yinyu was suffocating, her ears ringing loudly. She had no attention to spare for other disturbances.

It wasn’t until Yu Zezhi paused that she whipped around sharply, startled to see a dark shadow hiding beside the stone stele.

When they’d passed the stele moments ago, that spot had been empty.

Wu Yinyu immediately switched on her flashlight, aiming it at the stele without thinking. With a sharp shriek, the shadow flickered and vanished.

The sound was piercing, shattering the ringing in her ears, becoming exceptionally clear.

“Let’s go,” Yu Zezhi said, eyeing the cold stele. “You walk in front.”

Taking her time, Wu Yinyu stepped forward, catching a whiff of a putrid, gamey stench of Death Qi. As she passed Yu Zezhi, she deliberately placed a hand on the other’s shoulder, asking softly, “Do you smell that, Boss Yu?”

“It’s a Jiangshi,” Yu Zezhi stated with certainty.

The guest who had barely survived had indeed followed a Jiangshi deep into Overgrown Mountain.

Wu Yinyu frowned. Smelling this intensely foul odor, she quickly swept her flashlight around, even up above, not missing a spot. “That shadow just now was a Jiangshi?”

It didn’t seem likely. Those things could fly and burrow, but their bodies were stiff, and they couldn’t move that swiftly. The shadow behind the stele had darted away in an instant.

“Can’t say for sure right now,” even Yu Zezhi couldn’t give a definite answer.

Wu Yinyu continued forward and heard another rustling sound. At first glance, it seemed like leaves stirring in the wind. She turned her wrist and snapped the light in that direction, spotting a figure half-hidden in the woods.

It stood crookedly, its clothes as ragged as the Plague Ghost from before, but long hair covered its back. Dressed in long sleeves and pants, its skin color—gray or white—couldn’t be seen.

A human figure appearing out of nowhere late at night—if Wu Yinyu were a lost traveler in the woods, she’d surely follow and question it. But she wasn’t.

Her lazy demeanor vanished. Even though her entire body still ached, she had no choice but to grow serious.

This thing was far too strange. It was stiff indeed, but it wasn’t the typical hopping Jiangshi. It walked forward with swinging legs. No wonder the previous guest had been fooled.

It passed between two trees, its neck seemingly powerless to support its head, which lolled nearly onto its shoulder.

A breeze blew, carrying the Corpse Qi from its body. The stench was so thick and foul that if that previous guest had been able to smell it, he never would have followed it so far.

Wu Yinyu was curious. Where was this Jiangshi trying to lead them? A vague guess formed in her mind. She scoffed dismissively. “So the Plague Ghost needs a substitute, and that’s why the Jiangshi lures living people there? Those Plague Ghosts sure have grand airs.”

“Just follow and see,” Yu Zezhi said, stepping forward.

Wu Yinyu kept her flashlight beam trained on the Jiangshi’s back. The Jiangshi didn’t seem to feel the heat. Perhaps it was because the Yin Energy in Overgrown Mountain was so dense it overflowed. When Yin Energy grew thick, fire and light couldn’t harm them anymore.

She sighed regretfully. “Too bad that guest lost track of it. Otherwise, we could’ve asked him what he’d see if he followed all the way to the end.”

“Hearing it from someone else isn’t as persuasive as seeing it with your own eyes,” Yu Zezhi said coolly.

“True enough.” Wu Yinyu subtly rotated her wrists, gently shaking her ankles. Walking was becoming more and more strenuous.

The guiding Jiangshi cut straight through a patch of brambles. This was likely one reason its clothes were so tattered, and probably also why that guest had lost track of it.

Wu Yinyu wasn’t panicked. Shining her flashlight, she searched for the Jiangshi’s figure, found a narrow path, and slowly edged through. She looked back. “This way, Boss Yu.”