When she said they looked like dead people, goosebumps instantly rose all over my arms. From behind, those two dumbly standing figures indeed radiated a deathly aura. If they weren't dead, surely they would have heard us talking, as we weren't exactly whispering.
I said I'd go take a look, but just as I was about to step out, Little Rolling Blade grabbed me and said, "Don't rush. I've heard about this place before. The scariest thing here isn't those two dead things from earlier; it's the Yin Ghost Formation. No one knows exactly how it works, but it's said to suck away people's souls. Look at those two—they're not dead, but it's likely their souls have been taken!"
What he said made sense, so I turned to the Dead Girl and asked if it was true. She hesitated for a long moment before saying, "The Yin Ghost Formation isn't a part of Maoshan Daoism but rather an evil ghost-cultivation technique from the Ghost Sect. It's extremely secretive, and I've barely managed to learn a few things about it. The Desolate Village itself is a forbidden secret within the Ghost Sect, so what I know is already a lot. Beyond this, I know nothing."
I rubbed my chin, thinking that the two people were probably Wu Luo and Big Mouth Rong. They weren't exactly weaklings, yet their souls had been taken by the Yin Ghost Formation. If even they fell victim, we wouldn't fare any better. Instead of walking right into a trap, I thought it'd be better to try using my spirit communication technique to ask the wandering ghosts here for information.
I didn't bother informing the Dead Girl because constantly asking for her input would make me seem like I had no backbone. So I closed my eyes, recited the incantation, and entered the spirit realm.
And holy crap! The place was packed with souls. They were arranged in a massive cross-shaped formation, with countless pairs of eerie green ghostly eyes flickering at me like stars in the night sky. The sight filled me with overwhelming terror. My mind spun, and a wave of dizziness hit me. I quickly snapped my eyes open.
When I came to, I was being held up by both Xiao Ying and Little Rolling Blade, one on each side. If not for them, I'd have collapsed right then and there.
"This place is not suitable for spirit communication! There are too many wandering ghosts, and you were almost overwhelmed by their Yin energy!" the Dead Girl scolded me angrily.
I, too, felt a lingering fear. My legs were still weak, and my clothes were soaked in cold sweat. I asked her how to purge the Yin energy from my body. The Dead Girl turned to Little Rolling Blade and said he'd handle it.
Sure enough, Little Rolling Blade, ever the helpful guy, pulled out some silver needles and said, "Don't move. You've been contaminated by Yin energy from the Ghost Formation. I'll help you release it with acupuncture. Don't worry—it won't hurt!"
With that, he lifted my shirt and stuck a needle into a specific acupoint. Surprisingly, it didn't hurt. I only felt a tingly numbness. Soon, the cold Yin energy seeped out of my limbs, and my entire body felt warm and relaxed.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ying had taken off her disguise—her glasses, false buck teeth, and the face mask she wore. Beneath it was her flawless, beautiful face. Little Rolling Blade's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He swallowed hard and said, "Whoa, so you're actually a gorgeous beauty!"
This idiot didn't just stop there. Overcome with excitement, his hand accidentally pressed the needle deeper into my flesh. Holy crap—it felt like he stabbed it straight into my muscle! I yelped and leaped to my feet in pain.
"Sorry, man, that wasn't on purpose. Blame it on the whole 'beauty brings disaster' thing—it's her fault!" He pulled out the needle with a smug expression, still acting like he was in the right.
I glared at Xiao Ying's beautiful face, suddenly filled with distaste. I snorted coldly. "The prettier the woman, the better they are at lying. It's like the Desolate Village itself—such a beautiful place, yet it's actually a hell on earth."
"You said it, bro! You're absolutely right!" Little Rolling Blade chimed in, still bitter from the kick Xiao Ying had given him earlier.
Xiao Ying ignored him completely and instead looked at me with a complicated expression. I stared back, unwilling to back down. She wouldn't fool me again! Not all men are helpless before a pretty face—I wasn't falling for her tricks.
Xiao Ying suddenly let out a bitter smile and turned to walk out of the room.
"Hey, beauty, don't go out there! It's dangerous!" Little Rolling Blade shouted anxiously.
But Xiao Ying didn't respond and walked straight toward the pool. Watching her leave, I suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of unease. Had I gone too far? Sure, she'd tricked me twice, but there didn't seem to be any malicious intent. I remembered how she'd once cared for me when I was in the hospital and how she'd left me a place to live for three months after she left. Maybe I did owe her a lot.
"Hey, wait! Come back here!" I yelled and rushed after her.
"Crap! You're going too? Get back here!" Little Rolling Blade shouted behind me.
I quickly caught up and grabbed her arm, but just as I did, everything suddenly went dark, and I lost consciousness.
When I woke up, I was already at the edge of the pool. Xiao Ying was standing next to me, staring blankly into the water, as if entranced. To her left were Wu Luo and Big Mouth Rong, who were dressed like vagrants. Like Xiao Ying, they stood frozen, their vacant eyes fixed on the water, as lifeless as zombies.
I immediately knew there was something off about the pool. Before I could warn them, I suddenly heard a seductive woman's voice—but it wasn't through my ears. It echoed inside my mind.
"You've come to the Three Lives Pool. Why don't you look at your past and future lives?"
The voice was so bewitching that it sent a shiver through me. Before I realized it, I was already staring into the pool.
The water was still and crystal clear, reflecting my lonely figure. But then I noticed something strange—where were Xiao Ying and the others? Why weren't their reflections visible?
Before I could figure it out, ripples spread across the water's surface, radiating outward. At the center of the ripples appeared the image of a plump, shirtless butcher holding a cleaver. I blinked in confusion—was that supposed to be me in my past life? Ridiculous!
But then the scene became even more bizarre. The butcher wasn't slaughtering pigs—he was killing cats and selling the meat to restaurants. Suddenly, the image shifted to show the butcher being swarmed and bitten to death by a horde of furious cats. I broke into a cold sweat.
Then the water reflected my current life—graduating with my diploma, struggling to find work, meeting Xie Chen, and coming to the Desolate Mountain. The final scene showed me dying horribly at the hands of a horde of vengeful cat spirits!
I froze in terror. Was this my fate? To die here because of sins from a past life?
"If you don't want to die, come with me. I'll lead you to safety," the seductive woman's voice whispered in my mind again.
"Yes… yes, take me away!" At that moment, I was like a drowning man grabbing onto a lifeline.