Chapter 16: Clues in the Secret Room

What happened after entering the blessed land.

Made He Qiong believe he was the chosen one.

A sudden, terrifying crisis caused the two sisters to put aside their grudges and willingly stay with He Qiong; facing the threat of evil spirits, he miraculously obtained several items useful against them.

They did encounter terrifying evil spirits.

But these evil spirits were like minor enemies in a game—defeating them granted stronger power.

What moved He Qiong most was that every prayer was performed by the Su sisters, so the side effects that occasionally appeared during prayer never fell upon him, and afterward, the Su sisters would hand the items over to him.

This was something only someone who truly loved him would be willing to do!

Nine people shared dinner yesterday; by tonight, only six remained. Everyone knew that, aside from Fang Zhi, the two who did not return were almost certainly dead.

……

The statue of Tian Guan—Kui Xing Guan Lu, the deity of fortune, offered Wu Xian three talismans to choose from: Soul-Replenishing Method, Talisman Crafting Method, and Double-Release Method.

The stairwell was pitch dark.

Time was precious; there was no room for prolonged thought. Wu Xian wrapped the Double-Release Method around his index finger and completed the rubbing.

"The First Ghost—the Mother Who Seeks Her Child!"

After reciting it, she stood up and smiled at Yue Mei: "We've survived this long thanks to her. Kiss the sacred object before you; she will protect you from evil spirits."

After walking a distance, they reached a room.

The Su sisters embraced and wept, tears and snot streaming down their faces.

The female ghost Yu Yinghua tried to chase after them but was blocked by a gleaming silver spear.

Wu Xian had no artifact needing soul replenishment; the Talisman Crafting Method theoretically had the highest upper limit, but its randomness was too great—if he drew two useless talismans, it would be disastrous.

Wu Xian had seen the Double-Release Method before; its effect doubled the number of times the next activated talisman would trigger.

The Soul-Replenishing Method's effect was to restore soul energy to overused artifacts.

After multiple prayers, Wu Xian had begun to understand some patterns.

……

The lobby of the guesthouse, first floor.

So Wu Xian chose the Double-Release Method.

"Did you notice? A Minor Thunder Incantation only injured her hand."

A warm fire burned atop an iron pot, where scallion-braised pig intestines bubbled; a group gathered around the fire, sharing tonight's meal.

The red candle before the statue abruptly went out. Without candlelight, the basement plunged into darkness; only faint shadows could be seen through the door's dim glow.

He Qiong roared: "Let go of Su Huilan!"

Wu Xian glanced at the sky; there was still time. He had one last place he wanted to go.

He pulled a marble from his pocket and threw it; mid-air, it transformed into Lei Guang, exploding on Yu Yinghua's hand. Su Su Huilan seized the chance to break free, dragging her sister out of the basement.

Due to the blessed land's distorted time flow, they had only one meal per day; everyone was now ravenously hungry.

……

Yet no one moved to pick up their chopsticks.

"This isn't an ordinary minor spirit—it's likely among the strongest, second only to the great ones. That fool probably hasn't realized it yet."

Yue Mei followed the old woman, her expression tense.

In just two months since the evil spirit disaster, people had already grown accustomed to the collapse of civilization.

Following the letter's instructions, she sought out surviving native inhabitants of the blessed land for help. To earn their trust, she used hard-won medicine to stabilize the old woman's condition, and only then did the woman agree to tell Yue Mei how to avoid the "Knocking Spirit" and the "Breaking-Door Spirit."

Su Huijin held the spirit incense and bowed, receiving from the statue a small straw doll that hopped and skipped over to He Qiong.

The next instant, a terrified scream echoed from the basement.

"Then… let's do it!"

Yu Yinghua's emotions surged; she lunged forward, grabbing Su Su Huilan's arm while her other hand reached for her head, trying to shove her into the mud.

Yue Mei hesitated: "Is she…?"

The old woman smiled, revealing only three teeth left in her mouth.

The smoke from the spirit incense spread thickly.

But before He Qiong could make out what it was.

All three tensed, hurrying toward the door—but after just a few steps, their faces turned pale.

The Blessed Land's Master of Fortune granted "Talismans," whose effect was to bestow special enhancements upon objects;

"Praise the Ghost Mother, offer me…"

Along the way, she encountered several people dressed in the same coarse hemp garments—men, women, young and old—all staring at her with strange eyes, full of envy, jealousy, and a naked possessiveness.

The statue depicted a woman.

The woman's clothes were tattered, her body deformed, her face suffused with unyielding hatred and madness; at her feet lay a worn black eye patch.

"Why?!"

Mr. Wang's house.

Yue Mei swallowed hard. Her reason told her that worshipping the Ghost Mother was extremely dangerous—but she had no other path left.

The ground was soft!

At some point, the solid cement floor had turned into a swamp.

Splash!

A hand caked in mud reached up from the sludge!

The three watched in horror as a woman covered in mud crawled out of the cement floor—if Lu Yuzhu and Fang Zhi were still alive, they would recognize her.

He Qiong held a spear in one hand and a marble in the other, standing defiantly against the evil spirit, a confident smile on his lips—a truly imposing figure.

The old woman in hemp clothing advanced slowly, carrying a lantern filled with oil.

Wu Xian fished out a "Double-Release Talisman" from the smoke, ending this act of worship.

"Even if He Qiong can defeat her, the tools we worked hard to collect will be completely consumed!"

The old woman knelt before the statue and recited the prayer Yue Mei had heard before.

Under the old woman's eerie gaze, Yue Mei picked up the black eye patch.

Yu Yinghua's eyes were sealed shut with cement; tears washed through the cement, leaving two tracks on her face. As she crawled through the cement, she spoke in a mournful tone.

"Zhiwu, is it you? I will never betray you—why won't you believe me?"

This woman was none other than Yu Yinghua, who knocked on the door of Ping'an Hostel every day!

The Kuixing Official of Fortune bestows a "Fa," which has no direct effect but can assist other worship items;

As for the other statues, the intelligence is still too scarce for Wu Xian to draw a conclusion.

This room was on the top floor, spacious and empty, with no furniture; a hole in the ceiling let sunlight pour down, landing precisely on a grotesque statue.

All the Tian Guan statues, after worship, grant Talismans.

The Su sisters, fleeing in disarray from the basement, exchanged glances and saw terror in each other's eyes.

These gazes made Yue Mei's unease grow deeper.

The Talisman Crafting Method randomly produces two Talismans.

"Yes, it was our fault that we doomed Aqiong."

"It's all our fault—we deserve to die! How can we live without Aqiong?"

(End of Chapter)