Run, where to run? There was only one straight tunnel stretching endlessly ahead, with icy stone walls on both sides, unless I could walk through walls. But since the ghost girl told me to run, all I could do was give it everything I had and sprint forward like my life depended on it. As soon as I picked up speed, that ghostly woman behind me also seemed to get faster. That chilling cold breath lingered against my back, following me like a shadow.
"Where are your talismans? Use the Golden Light Talisman..." the ghost girl shouted hurriedly as I ran.
Her reminder jolted me awake—I still had a stack of yellow talismans I'd drawn back in Luoyang. While pulling out a few Golden Light Talismans, I asked her, "Can't I use spirit communication to stall her for a bit?"
"At your current level? Communicating with Old Fushou Ghost and his lackeys is asking for death! Besides, you can't drag her into the underworld!"
When I tried to light the talisman with my lighter, I froze. I'd left the lighter on the grass last night when I smoked with Xie Chen. Damn it! If it's not one thing, it's another! What kind of luck is this? In that moment of panic, with sweat pouring down my face, I thought, Forget burning it, just throw the talisman first and see what happens.
So I pinched my fingers into a sign with my left hand and waved the talisman with my right hand, chanting loudly:
"Heavenly Mystery, Source of All Energy. Golden Light Appears, Protect the True One. By the Power of the Command!"
The Golden Light spell was originally long, but the ghost girl told me I didn't need to recite the whole thing—just the last two lines to activate the talisman.
As soon as I finished chanting, I flung the talisman behind me. Surprisingly, it caught fire mid-air with a whoosh.
"You've improved! You can ignite a talisman with just the incantation," the ghost girl praised me.
But I had no time to celebrate. I glanced back and saw the ghost woman hugging her baby, frozen about seven or eight meters away, staring angrily at the burning talisman on the ground. Ha, it turns out Old Fushou Ghost isn't invincible—one Golden Light Talisman was enough to hold her back. Just as I was feeling proud of myself, the ghost woman's eyes suddenly bulged with rage, her expression turning ferocious. Her hair stood on end, and from her gaping mouth, a long, blood-red tongue shot out like a venomous snake.
Holy hell! A tongue that long?! It didn't even flinch at the flames on the ground. In an instant, it wrapped around my neck. That slimy, blood-scented thing tightened, choking me and making me feel both terrified and disgusted.
"Use the Samadhi True Fire to burn her tongue!" the ghost girl shouted.
In a panic, I fumbled through my pocket and grabbed the talismans. Just as I found the Samadhi True Fire Talisman, the tongue yanked back, and I fell flat on my back, being dragged toward her.
"Idiot, use the peachwood sword!" the ghost girl yelled angrily.
Damn you, ghost girl! You probably wouldn't do much better, and yet you call me an idiot! I didn't have time to argue. I reached back into my bag and drew out the peachwood sword. By then, I was already right in front of the ghost woman. I swung the sword down on her disgusting tongue, and with a crack, sparks flashed as the blade struck. The ghost woman groaned, quickly retracting her tongue back into her mouth.
I scrambled to my feet and saw a backpack lying on the ground, unzipped, with a lighter inside. I grabbed it quickly. At that moment, the ghost woman, now enraged, hugged the terrifying ghost baby tightly and shot out her hand to grab my throat.
The choking sensation nearly made me pass out, but the ghost girl intervened just in time, saving my life. I struck the lighter, chanted, and lit the Samadhi True Fire Talisman. Even though my cultivation was weak, the fire was genuine Daoist magic.
The moment it ignited, the flames surged violently, as if doused in gasoline. The ghost woman, terrified, released me and retreated several meters.
"Run!" the ghost girl shouted, panting.
No need to tell me twice! I snatched the backpack off the ground and bolted forward. I glanced back while running—the Samadhi True Fire burned like a wall of flames, blocking the ghost woman. She glared at me viciously but didn't pursue.
I let out a sigh of relief. I hadn't expected my shoddy Daoist spells to hold back the ghost woman. But this time, I knew better—it was the ghost girl who had saved me. Without her help, I would've been dead when the ghost woman grabbed my neck.
The tunnel soon reached an end and turned right. The ghost girl told me to stop and use the Golden Light Talisman. I crouched down, bit my finger, and drew a large blood circle at the corner entrance, then burned the talisman inside it. This would block the ghost woman for a while.
After the turn, the tunnel widened but became irregular—sometimes wide, sometimes narrow, with sharp twists and turns. The walls now had doorways from which icy cold air seeped out. The ghost girl warned me these were ghost-breeding chambers of the old Ghost Sect and I must not enter.
Soon, the tunnel split into a crossroad. I didn't know which way to go.
"Do you have the map of Juehu Village?" the ghost girl asked.
"Yeah, Xie Chen gave me a hand-drawn copy before we came." I pulled the map out of my bag.
"The underground palace mirrors the layout of the village above. If you don't know, you'll get lost and trapped here. Follow the village map and you'll be fine. Look—the tomb chamber is in the center. There are two entrances: the Gate of Life and the Gate of Death," the ghost girl explained patiently.
I noticed that the Gate of Death was closer, just a few turns away. "Let's go through the Gate of Death," I said.
"No! The two entrances are opposite—life becomes death, and death becomes life. You cannot enter from the Gate of Death. But when we leave, it will reverse, and we must exit through the Gate of Death."
Damn it, why make it so complicated? I sighed.
I was exhausted, so I sat down to drink some water. Curious, I rummaged through the backpack I'd picked up, hoping to find something useful. Instead, I found women's cosmetics, sanitary pads, and a wallet—typical girl stuff. Then, in one corner, I found a small rabbit-shaped pendant. My heart skipped a beat. Back in my sophomore year, I'd secretly given Xiao Xiang a similar gift, but she'd seemed indifferent at the time.
Continuing to search, I found a crystal phone charm. My heart sank. Damn it, this backpack is Xiao Xiang's! I had given her that phone charm last year after the New Year!