Chapter 43: Chapter Sixteen: The Twelve Lamps Part 2

A very bad premonition gripped Wang Ya, her unease peaking.

Zhang Qingshui took the flashlight from Old Tang and moved forward.

Wang Ya followed. After about three or four meters, they reached a second pillar.

Zhang Qingshui drove off the roots with her Green Vine as before, and Wang Ya spotted the second Evil Ghost Lamp on it. This evil ghost had a green face and fangs, its eyes glaring viciously at them, claws extended forward as if to gouge out hearts and livers.

Old Tang reached for his lighter to light it.

Wang Ya shouted, “Don’t light it!”

Old Tang and Zhang Qingshui both turned to her.

Zhang Qingshui asked, “What’s wrong?”

Wang Ya said, “The Yin Qi here is very heavy.”

Zhang Qingshui looked at Huang Qi. “Little Qi, do you sense any Yin Qi here?”

Huang Qi shook her head. “There are twelve pillars here, each with circulating air currents—I think that’s the Restrictive Seal trapping us. The demon’s aura covers the underground palace, but its roots only climb the outer walls, not extending inside. The builders must have used some demon-repelling method.”

Zhang Qingshui said, “We might break the demon’s Restrictive Seal using the underground palace’s layout and formation array.”

Wang Ya asked, “Could this be an ancient tomb?”

Zhang Qingshui said, “Ancient tombs don’t have this layout. No dynasty’s tomb matches this. Wang Ya, don’t cause trouble. Break the formation, and we can get out—you can find your dad.”

Wang Ya said, “Huang Qi, look closely at these pillars and tiles. Really no Yin Qi?”

Huang Qi shook her head. “I truly sense no trace of Yin Qi.”

Wang Ya asked, “These lamp pillars are fine too?”

Huang Qi asked, “What problem do you see?”

Wang Ya said, “I don’t know. I just see very dense Yin Qi here, and these Evil Ghost Lamps on the pillars make me uneasy.”

Zhang Qingshui said, “You dared to barge into the Underworld Courts—afraid of an Evil Ghost Lamp? Even if there are evil ghosts, Wang Ya, with your ghost catching skills and the Yin Spirit Scroll, what ghost couldn’t you collect? If we don’t try to undo these Restrictive Seals one by one, dragging it out will only worsen things. We’ll all be trapped to death here.”

Wang Ya fell silent. Dragging it out helped no one; her dad was missing, and the longer it took, the harder to find him. She glanced back at the pillar where they’d lit the first lamp—the roots clinging to it had all vanished. The oil lamp’s light wasn’t bright, illuminating only a three-meter square around it. She couldn’t see how tall the pillar was; it seemed pitch black, the light swallowed upon hitting it, probably due to the Yin Qi. With such heavy Yin Qi seeping into the pillar, she felt something was inside.

After lighting one lamp, Zhang Qingshui, Huang Qi, and Old Tang moved to the next.

Each lamp lit caused the roots to retreat in swathes. When the lamps on six pillars in a row were lit, the roots had retreated from half the underground palace. With the lights, the underground palace’s shape emerged. It wasn’t as large as Wang Ya had imagined, but not small. Six pillars in a row, spaced about three meters apart, divided into two rows with six meters between. Wang Ya stood between the rows, squinting into the darkness beyond the pillars. Too black to see clearly, she borrowed Old Tang’s flashlight to scout the length and width.

As Wang Ya reached Old Tang, the ninth lamp ignited.

Huang Qi suddenly spoke up. “Wait—there seems to be Yin Qi?”

Old Tang released his shikigami to stand guard, gripped his Tang Dao tightly, and asked, “Wang Ya, see anything?”

Zhang Qingshui took a deep breath, visibly tense. She clenched her fists, steadied herself, and said, “Continue.”

Wang Ya peered around, finding black mist-like Yin Qi everywhere in sight, along with a foul smell like rotting corpses. She looked at the ghost lamps on the pillars; the burning oil lamps emitted black smoke like kerosene lamps. Whether illusion or not, the ghost lamps appeared hazy, and even behind the lit pillar, shadowy figures loomed. Wang Ya asked, “Don’t you smell the corpse stench?”

Old Tang said gravely, “There is a smell—probably from the oil lamps.” He lit another lamp, then lifted his jacket hem, pulled out a medicine bottle, poured out four medicinal pills, and said, “One each!” He crushed the wax shell on one and swallowed it first.

Wang Ya took a pill, crushed the wax shell to reveal a black herbal pill reeking of strong herbs and something like snakes, insects, centipedes—likely an antidote pill. Fearing poison from the lamp’s black smoke, she pinched her nose and swallowed it.

When the last pillar’s lamp was lit, no roots remained visible, but black Qi filled the underground palace like fog, dense Yin Qi permeating the air, making the whole place eerie and ghostly. No ghosts seen, no ghostly aura felt, yet Wang Ya felt extreme oppressive suffocation, her body hair standing on end.

Wang Ya used her ancient bronze coin to ward herself, gripping the Ghost Collecting Bell tightly.

Old Tang, Zhang Qingshui, and Huang Qi drew close to Wang Ya. Old Tang watched warily. “Wang Ya, there really aren’t ghosts here, right? I feel creeped out.”

Huang Qi whispered very softly, “I feel like someone in the pillars is watching us.”

Wang Ya’s scalp tingled, hairs standing. She yelled, “Damn it, I told you not to light the lamps!”

Zhang Qingshui said, “Not light them, and the demon retreats?” While speaking, she gripped her Green Vine tightly, guarding Huang Qi carefully. “Little Qi, lead the way. Wang Ya, clear the path. Before the demon returns or these ghosts emerge, we rush out. Hurry!”

Wang Ya asked, “Which way? What about my dad? What if he’s still in this underground palace?” She doubted he was— she’d scanned carefully, seen no one, heard no breathing.

Zhang Qingshui said, “If your dad was dragged off by the Other Shore Flower Demon, even if we all die, he won’t. Move!”

Huang Qi bolted.

Wang Ya didn’t dare lag, following tight behind Huang Qi toward the front, faster than Zhang Qingshui and Old Tang. They ran down the middle between the two rows of pillars. After twenty or thirty meters, a “splashing” water sound echoed. The Paper Person trailing Old Tang turned into a cold wind shooting into the forward darkness. At that instant, Wang Ya felt dense Yin Qi surging ahead, heard whistling through the air, and her Ghost Collecting Bell vibrated wildly, clanging loudly. Without thinking, Wang Ya hurled the Ghost Collecting Bell forward.

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