Chapter 23: Heading to the Ancestral Shrine
Having saved Feng An, Jiang Yan and the man in the black hat gained another ally, but they still lacked critical information about the village.
After listening to Feng An's account, they exchanged troubled glances, realizing that this village was even more terrifying than they had initially thought.
Counting the ghosts Feng An mentioned, they now faced four specters: the Disguised Ghost, the Bamboo Grove Ghost, the Ghost TV, and the towering Malevolent Ghost. The greatest threat, of course, was that towering Malevolent Ghost—a spirit so powerful that even three ghost-tamers together couldn't suppress it.
"So, what's our next move? Should we check out the village chief's house?" the man in the black hat asked, his voice tinged with anxiety as he grew increasingly uneasy about lingering here.
"Go to the village chief's house? Absolutely not!" Feng An cut in before Jiang Yan could respond, his tone grim. "Remember the old man who guided us here? He warned us not to enter any villagers' homes. That's why we chose to stay in the ancestral shrine overnight."
The man in the black hat looked annoyed, frustrated by Feng An's reliance on the warning of a stranger. "Why would you believe that old man? He could be part of the problem! If you hadn't gone to the shrine, maybe you wouldn't have encountered that tall ghost in the first place."
"True…" Feng An admitted reluctantly. The result of following the old man's advice had, after all, been disastrous.
But he still couldn't shake the unease the old man's warning had stirred. There had to be something strange about entering the villagers' homes.
Jiang Yan pondered for a moment and then intervened. "You both have valid points. After all, we were also brought here by something—a ghost. It's possible that the old man Feng An encountered was actually the Disguised Ghost. But if that's the case, there's a contradiction between what he told you and what Zhang Tiantian told us."
"Exactly," the man in the black hat chimed in. "The ghost that posed as Zhang Tiantian told us to stay in a villager's home and not go out at night. But when I tried to leave that night, I couldn't open the doors or turn on the lights."
"So, it's clear that the villagers' houses are dangerous too," Jiang Yan concluded. "If we get trapped inside the village chief's house, we're at serious risk. At least in the shrine, we'll have room to escape if things go south."
"Are you suggesting we go to the shrine?" The man in the black hat looked surprised. He hadn't expected Jiang Yan to choose the supposedly more dangerous location.
Feng An's expression tightened as well. He didn't want to enter any villagers' homes, but he also dreaded approaching the shrine. Yet it was clear that this college student, Jiang Yan, had taken control of the situation; his own objections would likely be pointless.
"Yes. We'll go to the shrine. There's something deeply wrong with this village, and the shrine, being the central place of worship, must hold some secrets." Jiang Yan's tone was firm, leaving no room for debate.
"Alright, then," the man in the black hat replied, gritting his teeth. "The sooner we deal with this, the sooner we can leave."
Seeing them agree, Feng An had no choice but to follow. After all, without them, his chances of survival were slim.
Before leaving, Jiang Yan took one last look at the Ghost TV.
It was midday, and the sun blazed down outside, yet the hut remained unnaturally cold, filled with dust and a faint scent of blood.
"This ghostly TV can't stay here. I can't leave an unstable element like this unattended," Jiang Yan said as he walked up to it.
The two others paused, uncertain of his intentions.
The Ghost TV had started broadcasting again, showing another news segment on the mysterious deaths of students in Dachuan City. Only the female anchor remained onscreen, and as Jiang Yan approached, her twisted smile seemed to shift ever so slightly.
Jiang Yan glanced down at the screen and smirked. "You think hiding in the TV will keep you safe from me?"
With that, he activated his ghost bus powers. The space around him began to distort, slowly transforming into a pool of darkness.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" the man in the black hat shouted, sensing danger.
Feng An, though unsure of Jiang Yan's abilities, could feel the temperature drop even further as the shadowy darkness spread through the hut.
"What does it look like? I'm taking the Ghost TV with us," Jiang Yan replied.
"Taking it with us? You mean you're planning to keep that thing on you?" The man in the black hat looked at him in disbelief.
"That's right. If this Ghost TV can swallow ghost-tamers, it might also be able to devour other ghosts. If it's left here unchecked, its power could escalate." Jiang Yan's explanation left the others silent, as they realized the potential danger.
The dark pool stopped expanding, and within it, a large, rectangular object emerged.
Upon closer inspection, it was a rusty, bloodstained iron door.
The moment it appeared, a chill filled the hut, and a gust of cold wind swept through.
"This is the ghost he's harnessed? A door?" Feng An wondered aloud, stunned.
The man in the black hat recognized it instantly. It was the front door of the ghost bus, and he was startled to see Jiang Yan summon it so directly.
Jiang Yan focused, and with a creak, the iron door slowly swung open, releasing a wave of deathly cold air mixed with the stench of corpses.
Curious, Feng An leaned forward to peer through the door, only to recoil in horror as he glimpsed over a dozen pale, decaying corpses sitting inside the darkness.
Ignoring the others' reactions, Jiang Yan walked forward, lifted the Ghost TV, and pushed it through the ghost bus door.
Once everything was secured, he closed the door, and the strange chill that had gripped the hut vanished. Everything returned to normal.
"All right, let's get moving. The villagers should be coming back from their ancestral rites soon. We're running out of time." Jiang Yan's voice was cold and steady.
With the Ghost TV stored inside the ghost bus, he felt its restless energy subside slightly, leaving him with a newfound calm.
"Agreed. Let's head to the shrine," the man in the black hat said resolutely.
The three of them set off immediately.
Since Feng An had been to the shrine before, he led the way, and they made quick progress.
As they re-entered the village, they scanned their surroundings warily, each of them feeling a lingering sense of unease.
The village was eerily quiet. There wasn't a single person in sight—no animals either, not even a stray dog or cat.
The villagers' homes appeared normal enough, with front doors wide open, revealing redwood furniture and paintings hanging in each living room.
Despite this, none of them dared to step foot inside any of the houses.
"Doesn't something feel off?" Jiang Yan asked, his tone puzzled.
"It does," the man in the black hat replied. "By now, some of the villagers should have returned from the shrine. It shouldn't be this quiet."
"Forget it," Jiang Yan said. "If the villagers aren't back yet, it just means fewer obstacles for us. Let's get to the shrine."
He quickened his pace, and the others followed without hesitation, fully aware that such unusual silence could only mean danger.
The village remained empty all the way to the shrine, and they reached it without incident.
As they approached the shrine, they were hit by an overwhelming wave of cold.
Under the bright midday sun, the shrine felt as cold as winter. There was no doubt that something sinister was hidden within.
The shrine grounds were equally empty, deathly silent, with the large vermilion doors tightly shut.
They approached carefully, alert to any movement, and prepared to push open the doors. Just then, a hoarse, chilling voice rang out:
"Who are you?"
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𝙄 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙢𝙤𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙭𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙟𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙣𝙚𝙮. 𝙔𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙩𝙧𝙞𝙗𝙪𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙙𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚!
𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 shoutouts 𝘁𝗼:
•Leroy
• Jonathan Bailey
𝗔𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗼𝗰𝗸:
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗔𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝙂𝙚𝙩 Volume 01 of this novel 𝙖𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙚𝙡𝙨𝙚.
• 𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗹𝘂𝘀𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗦𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁-𝗢𝘂𝘁: 𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙚𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩!
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