Chapter 56 Part 2

Thinking this way, the entirety of Dark Snow Heaven was a jar for Raising Ghosts. Ghosts and Evil Entities from all directions would also gather en masse because of the Altar of the Abandoned. The yin energy in the city would only grow more potent, and in the end, a “Ghost King” might even be nurtured.

Wuxian, truly determined to turn Dark Snow Heaven into a nest of Ghosts and Evil Entities!

Lian Sheng lowered her eyes thoughtfully. “Given time, Dark Snow Heaven will surely become a ghost city.”

Yinyu’s heart was filled with tangled emotions. This place should have been under her protection; she never imagined it would become so desolate and bleak.

Ke Guangyuan couldn’t speak. His face was twisted in bitterness, looking utterly miserable. Seeing that he couldn’t hit a person, he knelt on the ground and began kowtowing, one thud after another.

Yinyu felt a sense of strangeness. Ke Guangyuan’s Soul being able to make contact with them was definitely no coincidence.

Lian Sheng’s expression shifted slightly. She actually reached out and pinched Yinyu’s chin, pressing her thumb against that soft lower lip, as if trying to force Yinyu’s mouth open, but without exerting force.

She said coldly: “I was careless. A ‘Mark’ was placed on us.”

Yinyu understood immediately upon hearing this. Ghosts and Evil Entities could mark ‘food.’ It only required secretly attaching a wisp of ‘Thought.’ The thing’s evil aura was thin and extremely hard to detect. If swallowed, concealed by a living person’s Life Energy, it was even harder to trace.

This Ke Guangyuan must have sensed they were connected to the Ghost that had stolen his body, which was why he followed them. It was no chance encounter at all!

“It’s nothing.” Yinyu only felt the fingers pressing on her lip were somewhat hot, carrying a fragrance—a scent that must have seeped deep into the bone.

Lian Sheng released her hand, then brushed it across Yinyu’s forehead, removing that wisp of ‘Thought.’

Her lip suddenly feeling empty, Yinyu couldn’t help but raise her hand to cover it, secretly savoring that lingering fragrance.

She narrowed her eyes and said, “The innkeeper was probably possessed by a Malevolent Ghost long ago. This is the Innkeeper’s original Soul. No wonder I found that person’s expression so strange—it was harboring a ghostly scheme.”

“Wearing a living person’s shell, so the yin energy on him isn’t obvious.” Lian Sheng said flatly.

“Why can’t he speak? Can you send him back?” Yinyu hadn’t wanted to meddle too much at first, but then again… this was Dark Snow Heaven.

She let out a mocking smile. “The Innkeeper we met before didn’t have a Servitude Nail. According to what Zhong Yutian said, everyone in Dark Snow Heaven has one. The Ghost possessing the Innkeeper might even be from somewhere else. This Dark Snow Heaven truly is a gathering of all kinds of ghosts.”

Lian Sheng didn’t respond, but she pinched two fingers together. A brilliant Golden Lotus suddenly bloomed in her hand. With a single flick, the lotus landed on the Innkeeper’s brow.

But that lotus couldn’t send the Innkeeper away. Instead, it gradually dimmed, becoming a speck of golden light and returning to Lian Sheng’s hand.

Yinyu didn’t understand what that meant. She quickly asked, “What’s wrong?”

“That shell is covered with something. I can’t send him away, which is why he can’t speak either.” Lian Sheng crushed the speck of golden light in her fingers.

“Covered with what?” Yinyu’s brow remained furrowed.

“I don’t know.” Lian Sheng pondered for a moment, then looked toward an empty house nearby. “Fetch a Painting for me.”

Yinyu was utterly confused. Following the other’s gaze, she didn’t see any Painting. Pausing, she asked in surprise, “The blank Painting paper inside that house? What are you going to use it for?”

“Just bring it.” Lian Sheng said.

Yinyu clicked her tongue. Just as she was about to leave, an umbrella was thrust into her hand.

“Take the umbrella with you.” Lian Sheng added.

“Boss Yu truly doesn’t stand on ceremony.” Yinyu accepted the umbrella.

Lian Sheng gave a faint, sardonic smile and, uncharacteristically, uttered two words: “Much obliged.”

These words were quite rare. Yinyu laughed hearing them. Holding the umbrella, she walked slowly away through the snow. She ambled over to the house, expending considerable effort to push open the door, which was half-buried in snow.

Inside, there was indeed a Painting, and it was indeed blank.

She quickly took the Painting down, rolled it up, tucked it into the crook of her elbow, and walked back holding the umbrella.

“Here.” Yinyu held out the empty Painting. “What are you going to use it for?”

“This is a Painting you left behind. I’ll use it to hold him.” Lian Sheng unfurled the Painting scroll without looking up.

A fierce gale raged, making the Painting scroll flap wildly. The thin Painting paper seemed like it might tear at any moment.

Yinyu guessed these blank Paintings might be related to her, but she never imagined they were all hers. Staring fixedly, she said, “All the Paintings in Dark Snow Heaven are mine? Why didn’t you say so before?”

“I thought you would remember.” Lian Sheng bent down and grabbed, seizing Ke Guangyuan’s Soul tightly. She then forcefully pressed the Soul in her hand into the Painting. A panicked human figure immediately appeared on it.

Wasn’t it precisely Ke Guangyuan, who had been kowtowing fiercely just moments ago!

Yinyu was astonished. “Is that how it’s used?”

The figure in the Painting was vivid and lifelike. This thin sheet of paper didn’t seem like a Painting but more like a mirror.

Thinking further, perhaps the Painting scrolls all over the city were indeed used this way. Back then on Little Desolate Islet, hadn’t the missing people been swept into the Paintings by Ink Qi?

Yinyu pinched the Painting paper and leaned in to listen. “Before, I heard sounds coming from Inside the Painting. Could there be people inside?”

“You’ll have to ask yourself that.” Lian Sheng rolled up the Painting scroll properly and took the umbrella back from Yinyu’s hand.

That Painting instantly became heavy, bearing a wondrous similarity to the Prayer Wheel from before.

The Ear Whisperer God said in its childish voice, “Could it be there’s a separate cosmos Inside the Painting? Isn’t that just like the corner of Silk Cloth that was stuffed in my mouth before?”

Holding the Painting, Lian Sheng admitted, “Yes. There is a separate world Inside the Painting.”

“Now that I think about it, if you hadn’t pulled out that Silk Cloth, I might still be trapped in that Lotus Pool.” The Ear Whisperer God clicked its tongue. “I just don’t know why it had to be a Lotus Pool.”

Why a Lotus Pool? Afraid only the person involved knew.

Yinyu glanced sideways at Lian Sheng, hugging the Wooden Puppet and smiling without speaking. She tucked in her cold-nipped neck and started walking back on her own.

Lian Sheng, holding the umbrella, naturally had to follow. But she suddenly recalled some matters from the past.

In that Lotus Pool of Little Enlightenment Ruins, she had been submerged in the water, unable to leave. It was this person who had scattered fish food, teasing the gathering koi into swarming close and gently pecking at her body.

Yinyu’s intentions were never concealed, and she was always so adept at navigating them.

The inn’s entrance was desolate. Truly, guests were hard to come by. Only upon entering did they see the main hall was empty. Who knew where that “Innkeeper” had gone.

An open ledger book lay on the counter. The Innkeeper must have left in a hurry; the open page still had half-finished writing on it.

Yinyu picked it up herself. Finding nothing suspicious, she put it back.

Earlier, when the Innkeeper and the Waiter were around, no matter how cold it was outside, this wooden door was always wide open. Now, seeing the hall empty and shivering from the cold, Yinyu shut the door.

Yinyu went to look at the Paintings on the wall, even reaching up to touch the corner. The Painting was empty, but the edge felt moist, like it had been soaked in water, and cool to the touch.

It felt just like the Painting scroll in her arms, yet different from when she’d first touched it. Last time she touched this Painting, the paper had clearly been dry, the edges rough to the touch.

She didn’t know what had caused the change.

The door was shut tight, so the air in the hall was poorly ventilated. Consequently, various smells became stifling. A scent drifted over, carrying a hint of rot, yet different from yin energy or evil aura.

“What’s that smell?” Yinyu’s nostrils flared as she fanned the air with her hand, finding the odor truly unbearable.

Lian Sheng followed the scent behind the counter. Bending down to search, she soon said coldly, “Come look.”

Yinyu walked behind the counter and looked down, immediately spotting half a rotting pig’s head hidden behind the large wooden desk, along with chicken heads, their bean-sized black eyes still staring.

Next to them were some melons and fruits that seemed about to dissolve into a pool of sludge. They were already blackened and soft, rotten and stinking to high heaven.

Yinyu retreated after just one look, covering her mouth and nose, unwilling to inhale another whiff.

These things placed together were clearly offerings from who knew how long ago, perhaps even stolen from a temple or Daoist Temple.

Yinyu kept her mouth and nose tightly covered. “It’s no wonder Dark Snow Heaven is overrun with Ghosts and Evil Entities. There are no offerings in any temples or shrines. Even if an Immortal passed by, they probably wouldn’t want to linger here.”

Lian Sheng also emerged from behind the counter, waving a hand. “The people here don’t revere gods or Buddhas. Why would gods or Buddhas stay because of this?”

“That Waiter manages the inn every day. How could he not know the Innkeeper hid these things under his desk?” Yinyu went to push the main door open. With a whoosh, the wind burst into the room, scattering the smells in the hall. Only then did she take a breath.

“Mm.” Lian Sheng responded, calmly saying, “That Waiter was very likely possessed too.”

After waiting left and right for the Innkeeper to return, and with the main hall so cold it made hands and legs stiff, the two had no choice but to go upstairs.

Passing the room where the siblings were staying, Yinyu deliberately paused.

Not even a trace of a living person’s Life Energy came from within. The female cultivator had clearly also gone out. The two siblings were actually walking separate paths, not together.

Seeing this, Lian Sheng also glanced toward that room, asking unconcernedly, “What is it?”

Yinyu stepped forward again. “Those two siblings seem close, yet also not close. If you look for clues, they can be found.”