Her power hadn’t increased. Her body just grew colder.
If this continued, she might fully turn into a ghost and die.
Nan He noticed something wrong too and quickly extinguished her spirit flames. But then the corpse qi and blood filth wrapped around her again. She could only dodge carefully, though she was about to be cornered.
As expected, they hadn’t ended up here for no reason.
The room’s layout was problematic. It inherently eroded the pure power of spirits. Once a spirit resisted, the clash of spirit power and corpse qi produced turbid qi that invaded living bodies.
The mastermind understood spirits’ methods and living people’s weaknesses all too well.
Was it a ghost, or a person?
If things continued like this, either she would first be turned into a ghost by the turbid qi, or Nan He would be exhausted to death first.
Yu Ruoyin rushed to the door, twisted the handle, and found it wouldn’t open. Before she could ram into it with her body, sheets of familiar white paper money blocked her way back.
Her strength was still too weak. If it had been Nan He, she probably could have pierced through those white paper money upon contact with the door, but she…
Yu Ruoyin’s pleading gaze turned to Nan He, who was now completely entangled by the turbid qi.
Their reactions were too slow. At this point, for Nan He to break free from the turbid qi and filthy blood to burst through the door, it would require tremendous power. A clash between that power and the corpse qi could very well kill Yu Ruoyin, and Nan He certainly wouldn’t do that.
What to do!
Yu Ruoyin panicked to the extreme. She reached out and touched the last borrow yin talisman, slapping it forcefully onto her chest.
She definitely didn’t dare absorb the yin qi in this room. Instead, she simply extended her hand toward the Yin Sinking Wood Coffin.
In just an instant of contact, the Yin Sinking Wood Coffin sent her extremely pure yin qi. Only then did Yu Ruoyin understand why that female corpse had burst open—the yin qi from the yin sinking wood was too pure. Ordinary ghosts had no fortune to endure it. Fortunately, she wasn’t a real ghost; the human part of her could offset that pure yin power.
Yu Ruoyin hurriedly let go and pulled out the Painting Witch Secret Manual from her satchel.
Relying on her memory, she found the familiar pattern and gripped the White Jade Bone Brush tightly.
Might as well give it a shot!
Yu Ruoyin lifted the brush, channeling the yin qi from her body into the White Jade Bone Brush. She took out a sheet of moonlight paper and traced two strokes according to the pattern, but she was shaken away before finishing.
Her shaken arm trembled uncontrollably. Yu Ruoyin couldn’t help feeling dejected: As expected, it was still too forced.
It was a method Yu Ruoyin had just thought of. Painting Witch techniques could paint spirits, paint yin, and had their own exclusive means.
This room countered people and countered spirits, so only becoming a ghost could allow escape.
She could rely on the borrow yin talisman herself, but Nan He couldn’t, so she thought of painting yin. Only by drawing a yin bone could Nan He temporarily fully transform into a ghost.
Unfortunately, this technique exceeded entry-level for painting yin masters. Even with the White Jade Bone Brush, she still couldn’t do it.
Yu Ruoyin pressed her trembling arm and watched Nan He struggling in the corpse qi, refusing to use her power to fight back for fear of harming her. A bitterness welled up in her heart.
Nan He really was a good spirit. She… if it had been Zhuang Huaisu, she definitely could have done it easily.
She couldn’t give up easily.
Yu Ruoyin pulled out another sheet of moonlight paper. As expected, she failed again.
She didn’t dare stop and immediately took out a new sheet of moonlight paper.
Perhaps because she was determined enough this time, the brush strokes went smoothly. She barely managed to outline a complete yin bone. Her right arm was already trembling uncontrollably; she had to support it with her left hand to hold the brush, allowing no mishaps.
Yu Ruoyin’s tense lips trembled as she shouted toward Nan He: “Nan He, don’t resist my power.”
Nan He was obedient enough. Even at a time like this, she instantly retracted all her spirit qi and stood motionless in place.
The moonlight paper smoothly merged into Nan He’s body, and Nan He’s aura immediately changed.
Her spirit qi gradually dissipated, completely replaced by ghost qi.
As expected.
After both Nan He and she safely turned into ghosts, the corpse qi and blood filth in the room quieted down.
The blood slowly recongealed, and the corpse qi lost direction, swirling aimlessly around the room.
Yu Ruoyin pointed at the door. Nan He silently circled to her side, grabbed her sleeve, and shook her head at her. Instead of leading her to the door, she pulled her to the right wall and rammed into it fiercely.
The white paper money swarmed again. Suddenly, pink lotus petals appeared on Nan He’s body, one after another, sticking to her like a suit of pink scale armor.
The scale armor shattered the white paper money. Before the next wave could entangle her, Nan He had already smashed through the wall, carrying Yu Ruoyin into another room. This room was filled with paper people and some strange fruits. These paper people seemed not yet imbued with life; they just lay on the ground, lifeless.
Nan He didn’t stop there and immediately smashed through the wall of the next room.
The following room was filled with densely packed black jars, all emanating a bloody stench. Before Yu Ruoyin could look closely, Nan He smashed through another wall.
Before even stepping in, Yu Ruoyin smelled a fragrance.
She frowned oddly as Nan He dragged her inside. After they entered this room, all the sounds from behind vanished. Yu Ruoyin heard the familiar sounds of festive music again, coming from outside the room. Right in the center of this room was a pool built of stone.
The pool didn’t hold water but fresh red blood.
The source of the blood was the corpses hanging from the ceiling, layered and crammed together, hooked up there. The blood dripping from their bodies fell like a pattering red rain.
In the center of the blood pool sat a red double lotus flower. Nourished by the blood, its petals were gorgeous, the fragrance rich.
The fragrance Yu Ruoyin smelled came from the double lotus.
Seated on either side of the double lotus were two women in wedding clothes, unconscious. They sat facing each other, their shoulders bound by the petals of the double lotus, their bodies emitting eerie red light.
Looking closely, strange patterns wound around the blood pool, with glaring blood-red paper money that looked extremely bizarre.
A voice screamed madly in Yu Ruoyin’s heart: Sacrificial altar!
She hadn’t contacted the array yet, but her intuition told her this was the sacrificial altar.
Nan He’s judgment matched hers: “Xiao Yu, we’ve arrived.”
As Nan He spoke, she uncontrollably drifted toward the blood pool.
They gradually made out the faces of the two women—they were the two brides from the photo: Mei Jingwan and Lu Qichun!
Yu Ruoyin had just recognized them when Nan He floated over.
She hovered above the blood pool, slowly approaching the bride on the right. Those familiar features made her nose tingle.
She wanted to reach out and touch, but a force pushed her body back. She could only look at Lu Qichun and say: “Nan Chun, I’ve missed you so much.”
No one responded to Nan He’s voice. Yu Ruoyin understood her agitation at seeing her old master, but something really felt off.
Aside from the festive music from outside the door, the room itself was too quiet—only the sound of blood dripping. Not even breathing could be heard. Was Mei Jingwan a ghost? Had Nan Chun died?
It wasn’t her being paranoid.
They had broken in this far, yet the mastermind behind it all hadn’t shown up—that was a problem too.
Yu Ruoyin looked closely and suddenly noticed the blood dripping onto Nan He’s body.
The blood had a corrosive quality; it was actually damaging Nan He’s clothes.
Looking carefully, the yin bone on Nan He’s body had disappeared. She was no longer a ghost.
Her power was too limited; it couldn’t be maintained for long.
Yu Ruoyin panicked: “Nan He, come back!”
Nan He didn’t move. Yu Ruoyin gritted her teeth.
With a stroke of her brush, the moonlight paper wrapped around and forcibly yanked Nan He back.
Fortunately, though Nan He had reverted to a spirit, the corpse qi and filthy blood didn’t pursue them. This room was different from the previous one; there was no power here that would actively harm Nan He.
Nan He’s condition was off. Seeing Nan Chun in the middle of the blood pool, looking sickly and possibly even lifeless, broke her heart.
Tears streamed down like a kite cut from its string.
“Nan Chun… Nan Chun… I want to save you. I will save you.”
Nan He murmured twice, then suddenly raised her hand and struck toward the blood pool.
The force she pushed in didn’t shatter the blood pool; instead, it was absorbed by it. The corpses on the ceiling dripped blood even faster.
This left Nan He bewildered. She looked toward Yu Ruoyin.
Yu Ruoyin gave a bitter smile: “I don’t understand arrays either.”
Obviously… Nan He understood even less.
This sacrificial altar didn’t seem destroyable by brute force alone. Yu Ruoyin pondered darkly: “I… I’ll take a look.”
She nervously glanced around, saw no movement, and then pulled out the Painting Witch Secret Manual to study it.
Nan He glanced at it with her for two looks, growing more confused.
Yu Ruoyin wasn’t much better. She had no foundation at all now. Arrays were intricate, unlike patterns that could be imitated. Trying to cram and master the techniques on the fly was unrealistic. She gave up after not looking long.
Perhaps they had split wrong from the start. They should have held off the ghosts and let Zhuang Huaisu and Zhuang Ciyue find the sacrificial altar.
Yu Ruoyin’s gaze swept the room and finally pointed at the people in the center of the blood pool: “They… maybe they know.”
“But… they seem deeply unconscious.”
Yu Ruoyin knew that too, but she had no better ideas now.
She simply tried other methods with Nan He to wake them. But approaching would corrode them with the blood, and spirit qi sent over would be blocked by the double lotus. No good methods worked.
Yu Ruoyin felt around in her satchel and pulled out Mei Jingwan’s nether token. She stroked the White Jade Bone Brush over the nether token.
She couldn’t control the nether token, but she could send some yin qi into it. The yin qi could rouse a reaction from the dead-object-like nether token.
“The nether token and yin messengers are one. I hope you can awaken your master.”
She tossed the nether token toward Mei Jingwan. Their other methods had been blocked, but the nether token landed smoothly on Mei Jingwan. The instant it touched her, a red light enveloped her. The red light gradually dimmed, turning black. Her eyelashes trembled lightly, and she truly slowly opened her eyes.
A flash of confusion passed through Mei Jingwan’s eyes. She subconsciously raised her hand and grasped her nether token.
With the nether token in her palm, her consciousness cleared a bit.
She shook her head lightly, first noticing Lu Qichun across the double lotus, then the wedding clothes on her body.
Mei Jingwan disgustedly tugged at her wedding clothes, and only then did she notice Yu Ruoyin and Nan He.
Mei Jingwan’s gaze skipped over Nan He and landed on Yu Ruoyin: “A ghost? You want to marry me too?”
Huh?
Had she misheard, or had Mei Jingwan gone mad?
Clearly sensing Mei Jingwan’s gaze turn more aggressive, Yu Ruoyin scared back two steps: “I’m not a ghost, and I… I have a wife.”
“Heh.” Mei Jingwan’s gaze was cold, clearly not believing her explanation: “Pretending what? Plenty of ghosts want to marry me; you’re not the first.”
Was she… too narcissistic? Or was there some other hidden story?
