Behind us was the furious, towering Fushou Zai, and in front stood the Old Fushou Ghost whose tongue I had previously cut off. With both exits blocked, we were left with no way out!
Luckily, there were two doorways to the left and right. There was no time to think—I darted into one at random. Before I could even get a clear look at the room, the ghost girl shouted, "Quick, use the Golden Light Talisman to protect yourself first, then place a red string at the door and coat it with blood!"
The room was filled with an overwhelming gloom. Even with both of our headlamps on, the small space remained shrouded in darkness. Wisps of black mist swirled around us, so cold they chilled my bones. I quickly followed her advice, igniting a Golden Light Talisman and reciting the incantation. The black mist retreated slightly.
Just as I was about to lay down the red string at the door, a dark figure suddenly darted in and slammed straight into me, knocking me to the ground. Damn it, the force was so strong it nearly broke my bones.
"Who's that?" Liu Ying shouted, yanking the intruder off me.
I scrambled to my feet and saw it was Little Blade! The kid was panting hard, too out of breath to speak. He just pointed toward the door, as if to say there was something outside. I hurriedly laid the red string down and bit my finger to coat it with blood.
Liu Ying dropped him onto the floor and snapped, "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I have to retrieve the ghost dart. If I don't, it'll cause big trouble!" Little Blade gasped between breaths.
Just then, the Fushou Zai and Old Fushou Ghost appeared outside the door, glaring at us with their glowing green eyes. They stared hatefully at the red string, but dared not cross it.
The Old Fushou Ghost gave a cold, twisted smile, then flung the ghost baby straight at us.
The ghost baby let out a piercing shriek as it flew toward the door, its eerie green eyes glowing menacingly. The red string at the threshold flashed faintly, repelling it like an invisible force field. The ghost baby tumbled backward but shrieked again, flipping in midair and charging forward once more.
The Old Fushou Ghost exhaled a white mist, and the red string instantly turned frosty white, as if covered in frost.
It was useless. The ghost baby broke through the threshold without any resistance and came straight at me. Clearly, I was its primary target.
It moved too fast—there was no time to dodge. Just as it was about to reach me, an iron object swung out from the side and smacked the ghost baby, sending it flying out the door like a tennis ball. The ghost baby screamed in pain and crashed into the furious Old Fushou Ghost's arms.
I was drenched in cold sweat. I had just taken a stroll through death's front gate. Who saved me? I turned to look—Little Blade was holding a foot-long Ghost Suppression Token, looking rather smug. I wiped the sweat off my forehead, grateful for his quick reaction. This kid had skills, no doubt.
Fushou Zai was enraged. It opened its mouth and spat a stream of white smoke toward Little Blade. If that hit him, he'd turn into an ice popsicle for sure. But Little Blade flicked his left hand, revealing a yellow silk bag with an Eight Trigrams symbol on it. He caught the smoke in the bag, and it vanished instantly.
"This is a Ghost Sealing Bag! No matter how much ghost smoke you spit, I'll take it all!" Little Blade boasted, waving the bag with a triumphant grin.
Fushou Zai turned furious. Its face darkened, and it grabbed a handful of the Old Fushou Ghost's hair, yanking it out painfully. She grimaced but didn't dare make a sound. Fushou Zai stuffed the hair into its mouth and began chewing violently.
"What's it doing?" Liu Ying asked, her voice trembling.
I guessed, "Maybe it's taking its anger out on her since it can't deal with us?"
Little Blade tilted his head thoughtfully. "Seems like it!"
The ghost girl snorted. "Nonsense. It's preparing to spit fire…"
As she said the word fire, Fushou Zai opened its mouth and spewed a jet of flames. Damn it—so that's what the hair was for! The ghost girl's warning came a bit too late. The fire shot toward Little Blade, who instinctively swung the silk bag to catch it, only to have the bag ignite. Panicked, he tossed it away.
But this kid was sharp. He quickly bit his finger, smeared blood on the Ghost Suppression Token, and hurled it onto the ground. The token stabbed into the stone floor and stood upright with a sharp clack.
Then he pulled a leather lantern out of his bag, formed a Light Seal with his left hand, and shouted, "With this sacred lantern, I invoke the Southern Lingdan Three Qi Heavenly Lord! Bring forth divine energy to banish these ghosts! Manifest!"
The lantern suddenly lit up, casting multicolored light through its translucent leather cover. Just then, another jet of fire came toward us, but Little Blade tossed the lantern forward. The lantern's glow scattered the flames, extinguishing them. It hovered above the token, spinning in the air and glowing brilliantly.
"Come with me!" Little Blade called, motioning for us to follow him.
Liu Ying and I exchanged glances and cautiously followed him deeper into the room.
The room was eerily empty except for a prayer mat in the center, surrounded by incense burners. Outside this circle, the floor was a dark purple-black, reeking of blood. It was clear this place had been used for dark rituals involving a lot of blood, and it sent chills down my spine.
The ghost girl seemed impressed with Little Blade's methods. "This guy's technique is unique—using the Three Qi Lantern and Ghost Suppression Token to form a simple ghost-sealing array. The ghost king and Old Fushou Ghost won't be able to get in for a while."
"What do you want us to do now?" Liu Ying asked, eyeing Little Blade suspiciously.
"Help me find an exit," Little Blade replied, shining a small flashlight around.
"There's only one door—where do you think there's another exit?" I muttered, starting to doubt his intelligence. Skill with magic didn't necessarily mean he was smart.
"Heh, you just don't get it. Our ghost dart bureau knows a lot about ghost-raising. Rooms like this always have another exit. Otherwise, if the ghosts turned on the master and blocked the door, the master would be doomed. This back exit is for the ghost master to escape." Little Blade smirked smugly.
The ghost girl didn't refute him, though she admitted she wasn't certain. "He might have a point. Ghost elders like me wouldn't know about this. If we did, we'd cut off the back exit first during a revolt."
We began searching the room for another way out. Behind us, the sounds of crashing and banging continued, and the lantern's bright light repeatedly flared as it resisted the ghosts' attacks.
"We need to move faster. This ghost-sealing array won't hold them for long," Little Blade urged, his tone growing anxious.