Chapter 87: Unsolvable Terror, the Second-Generation Ghost Tamer Squad's Annihilation

"Du Hong, Nie Yingping, do you want to look behind you!"

Ye Yan, who was following Nie Yingping and the others while constantly fleeing forward, seemed to notice something unusual; he patted Du Hong and asked.

"Don't look around carelessly in this place."

Although Nie Yingping was running forward, he did not lose his composure and calmly said to Ye Yan.

"You also know the Ghost Painting's Killing Rule: it is seen and thought."

"Here you look around carelessly; aren't you afraid you'll see that ghost and be led to it?"

Saying that, Nie Yingping kept his head down and kept running forward.

"Um, I think at this moment it's better for me to turn my head and look."

Du Hong twitched his mouth and reminded.

"There's no need; if that ghost bride just now caught up with us, we just need to restrain it."

"If it was only that ghost just now eyeing us, we would have to look at it; then what can we use to escape this Ghost Domain?"

Even Du Hong's words failed to make Nie Yingping change his mind.

His abundant experience made Nie Yingping clear that, with their group's strength, in this Ghost Domain they are basically safe unless they encounter a Source Ghost.

As long as they don't look around carelessly in the Ghost Domain, they can successfully walk alive to the city's outskirts, the edge of the Ghost Domain, and escape this terrifying Ghost Domain.

"But that ghost is already charging at us," He Ying, standing behind the hall, also noticed the abnormality behind them and said in a deep voice.

"Since that's the case, let's just take it down."

This time Nie Yingping finally stopped; his face was full of fierce resolve as he looked up toward his back.

Yet with just one glance, what he saw made his pupils contract sharply.

Not far behind, four colorful Paper Persons were carrying a Paper Flower Sedan toward them.

Although the Paper Persons' steps were stiff and their movement sluggish, each step seemed to suddenly surge forward a great distance.

Through the Paper Flower Sedan's window, a familiar figure could be seen sitting inside—it was the ghost bride they had encountered earlier in the residential area!

"No, that's not right, it's not that ghost from just now."

Nie Yingping stared at the sedan; the confidence he had for escaping vanished.

"Ahead, there's another ghost!" Ye Yan pointed to a spot not far ahead.

At some point, at the far end of the intersection, four people dressed in white Funeral Clothes were carrying a Coffin toward them.

On top of that Coffin, a Fierce Ghost dressed in white Funeral Clothes, with no color on its body, knelt there.

As those coffin-carrying Fierce Ghosts approached, everyone could hear a 'woo‑woo‑woo' crying sound.

Nie Yingping looked left and right; the streets outside the residential area originally had many alleys to traverse, but unknowingly the houses seemed to have shifted, densely packed together, blocking those alleys into dead ends.

On the whole street, aside from this road, everything around was blocked by houses with tightly shut doors.

"That ghost is probably the Fierce Ghost that stripped this city of all color!"

Du Hong's tone was heavy as he stared intently at the coffin-carrying Fierce Ghost approaching from ahead.

In the Ghost Painting's Ghost Domain, they couldn't even employ the Ghost Domain; faced with roads blocked on both sides, they now must make a choice.

Should they face the Mourning Ghost ahead that has drained the city of color, accompanied by the wailing cries? Or confront the unsolvable horror behind them, the ghost bride enshrouding the whole city in a Ghost Domain? While the three hesitated, a sound suddenly arose nearby.

"Thump!"

The sound of two hard objects colliding rang out; Ye Yan and the others, at some point, were already tear‑streaked, kneeling on the ground with sorrowful faces, mourning the approaching Fierce Ghost from afar.

"!" Nie Yingping was startled; when had Ye Yan and the others been affected? Why hadn't he noticed at all?

Although that wailing seemed to have strong infective power, at its current intensity it shouldn't render Ye Yan and the others completely unable to resist, let alone prevent them from calling for help.

However, as the Coffin drew near, Nie Yingping quickly understood why.

Because at this moment, his own knees were uncontrollably compelled to kneel.

At the same time, the ghost bride in the distance approached riding the Paper Flower Sedan.

Whether the ghost bride on the sedan or the Mourning Ghost on the Coffin, both were now less than five meters away.

The Coffin and the sedan were positioned at the front and rear of the road, occupying the entire street, and they now had to decide.

Run forward? Or run backward?

With his knees controlled and unable to move, Nie Yingping stared intently at the Mourning Fierce Ghost ahead and quickly made a decision.

"Watch that Mourning Fierce Ghost; when the Coffin and the sedan cross, we must immediately turn our heads and follow that Coffin to escape—do not look at the ghost bride and trigger her Killing Rule!"

Compared with the notorious ghost bride, Nie Yingping still chose to face the Fierce Ghost on that Coffin.

"No, that's not right; does this Coffin look like that Fierce Coffin?"

Du Hong lowered his head, daring not to look either ahead or behind.

At this moment, he seemed to have returned to the time when he had just become a Ghost Tamer, able only to pray when facing a Supernatural Incident.

"Even so, we must now choose a side," Nie Yingping said coldly.

"These two ghosts are roaming here simultaneously; there must be some incomprehensible Balance between them. All we need to do is find that sliver of Balance and then escape."

He Ying and Du Hong nodded.

Obviously, the two ghosts now correspond to the White Affair and Red Affair, matching the folk notion of the Red and White Double Evil.

Earlier, they had also obtained some information about the Red and White Double Evil in Supernatural Incidents from people at the Headquarters.

Now the Red and White Double Evil have respectively obtained the Ghost Coffin and the Ghost Painting; perhaps some chance of survival exists, depending on whether they can seize it.

Soon, the Coffin and the sedan intersected.

"Lie down!"

At that moment, Nie Yingping seemed to have a revelation and fell backward outright.

Following Nie Yingping's command, Du Hong and He Ying also reacted.

Indeed, with their own knees controlled, wanting to kneel, plus the sight of Ye Yan and the others' deaths.

This indicates that this ghost likely follows a Killing Rule such as Kneeling Death.

And now we only need to lie flat on the ground; wouldn't that avoid the kneeling problem? Moreover, lying on the ground also avoids being struck by a flower sedan chair or a coffin.

The three people lying on the road could clearly feel that their bodies had recovered a little.

However, soon a new crisis arrived in quick succession.

When the Paper Persons or Funeral Clothes ghosts carried the coffin and flower sedan chair past them, they only felt the Fierce Ghost inside their bodies had fallen into a Dead Machine at that moment.

One of the Paper Persons stepped on Du Hong, causing Du Hong's body to rot at a terrifying speed, his skin becoming shriveled like leather paper made from dried human skin.

The ghost inside his body was suppressed at this time, so even a slight Supernatural Incident influence caused Du Hong to lose his ability to resist.

At the same time, He Ying's side also encountered a problem.

When the coffin passed over her, a Paper Person dressed in Funeral Clothes had a White Cloth trailing behind that accidentally brushed her skin.

Immediately.

The White Cloth began to elongate, wrapping He Ying whole like a rice dumpling.

"Ssssss~"

The White Cloth dragged He Ying forward, and the friction with the ground soaked the cloth that enveloped her with blood.

When the flower sedan chair and coffin passed, Nie Yingping's body finally regained its ability to act.

He looked, still trembling, at the Human Skin on the ground and at He Ying being dragged forward not far away.

"We can't stay here any longer; I don't know if those two ghosts will pass by later, so let's hurry and escape."

Nie Yingping glanced around; the houses still blocked the Alley, so they could only choose either the forward or rear direction to flee.

After a brief thought, Nie Yingping quickly chose the direction behind them.

That was the direction the coffin was advancing; compared with the Dry Corpse Bride, he still felt the ghost on that coffin was easier to handle.

However, the moment he turned and saw the coffin, Nie Yingping's movement halted abruptly, as if he had seen something extremely terrifying.

A black‑and‑white photo slowly fell down.

In the photo, a coffin carried by four Funeral Clothes ghosts had a Fierce Ghost kneeling atop it, wailing mournfully.

Yet what truly terrified Nie Yingping was not the ghosts in the photo, but the background behind the coffin.

Behind the coffin, a figure wrapped in White Cloth had at some point risen, wearing Funeral Clothes that covered the whole body except for a face. That face was He Ying's; the He Ying in the photo was controlled by the coffin.

Besides that, at an unknown time, four figures in Funeral Clothes were now following the coffin, kneeling as they moved forward.

Those were Ye Yan and others; in the photo they also seemed to be controlled by the Fierce Ghost on the coffin.

However, the most chilling thing for Nie Yingping was that he himself also appeared in the photo.

In the photo, his own face was numb, like a soulless Fierce Ghost, and behind him stood Du Hong's Human Skin that had risen.

The whole photo seemed to be taken at the end of the road, as if an unseen camera at the far end captured everything.

Nie Yingping glanced back, wondering when Du Hong's Human Skin had truly risen.

The He Ying being dragged forward by the White Cloth ahead also, at some point, was wearing Funeral Clothes and standing behind the coffin, moving forward.

The Ye Yan and others who had previously knelt now seemed to have become Ghost Slaves, crawling forward one kneel at a time.

Terrifying, bizarre, incomprehensible—holding such a belief, Nie Yingping's eyes slowly lost emotion, becoming hollow and numb, indistinguishable from everything in the black‑and‑white photo.

He died, and only a black‑and‑white photo remained on the ground, proving that this street had experienced an incomprehensible horror.

On the Ghost Bride's side, the four Paper Persons who had been carrying the sedan chair had now become four people wrapped in Hong Bai Shuang Sha, their skin pallid.

Ghost Tamer Headquarters.

"Still can't get in touch with Yang Jian and the others?"

Cao Yanhua looked flustered; not long ago, they had detected changes in Da Dong City.

The whole city lost contact at that moment, and the sky was covered by strange, gray, continuously falling paper ash.

In satellite images, the entire city resembled an uncolored painting—eerie, oppressive, terrifying.

"No, the communication signal has been cut off."

"However, based on Supernatural Incident data comparison, the incident that occurred in Daji is very likely a Ghost Painting."

The staff hesitated before uttering a name that sounded hopeless.

"No, impossible."

Cao Yanhua shook his head sharply at hearing that title.

"Although the Ghost Domain of the Ghost Painting looks like this, the scenes painted by the Ghost Painting would never be a colorless scene."

"Moreover, the Ghost Painting is now confined by Qin Lao within a building in Daji, so how could it appear in Da Dong City?" Cao Yanhua asked the staff to try contacting Yang Jian, Wang Chaling, and others.

"Although I'm also surprised, if we ignore the missing color in this Ghost Domain, this indeed…" Wang Xiaoming spoke at this moment.

"Li Jun is currently in Da Dong City; if Li Jun is killed, the Ghost Painting would escape in Da Dong City."

"Impossible! With Li Jun's strength, who now could a Ghost Tamer kill him?" Cao Yanhua didn't dare to open the channel.

Perhaps Cao Yanhua already thought it was a Ghost Painting deep down, since Li Jun was also in Da Dong City and unreachable, but he refused to accept it.

"Now that it has come to this, you won't admit it anyway; think about how to resolve this Supernatural Incident," Wang Xiaoming shook his head.

"An incident that can cover an entire city is at least an s-level Paranormal Event."

Upon hearing Wang Xiaoming's words, everyone's pupils contracted sharply.

s-level Paranormal Events represent nation‑destroying level.

Don't be fooled that this incident only shrouds a single Da Dong City; the land area of the country is well known.

If this incident were abroad, perhaps an entire country would still be smaller than this Ghost Domain, or even not as large.

"Yang Jian, Wang Chaling, Li Jun are now unreachable, cannot be relied upon."

"For now, arrange to seal off the city to prevent anyone from mistakenly entering Da Dong City."

"Investigate quickly which team leaders are currently idle, summon at least three—no, at least five—team leaders to take part in this Supernatural Incident."

Wang Xiaoming places great importance on the matter of Da Dong City; as soon as he acts, he intends to send over more than half of the remaining team leaders from Headquarters.

"Eh," Cao Yanhua heard Wang Xiaoming's words, his mouth twitched.

In this situation, getting five team leaders to take part in the Supernatural Incident in Da Dong City is probably difficult.

After all, three team leaders have already been lost, and everyone knows this is a very dangerous Supernatural Incident.

In such a case, who would be willing to join?

Let alone, each team leader at this time has their own affairs to attend to.

Without Qin Lao's suppression, few of these team leaders would be obedient.

"I know your thinking, but given the current situation, if we cannot summon more than five team leaders, we won't even qualify to engage with that Supernatural Incident inside."

Wang Xiaoming waved his hand and said.

"Fine, then I'll first have the city isolated; once we recruit five team leaders, they'll be sent to take part in this Supernatural Incident."

Cao Yanhua also knows that Wang Xiaoming's move, though seeming crazy, is the only recourse, so he did not refuse.

Soon, with Headquarters' arrangement, Da Dong City was isolated.

And the matter of Da Dong City spread at that moment.

In an instant, Ghost Tamers throughout the Ley Line Circle turned pale upon hearing it.

Even in some small cities near Da Dong City, civilian Ghost Tamers fled inland, unwilling to stay in the area close to Da Dong City.

The whole of Da Dong City was sealed off; from a distance it looked as if the city had lost all color, like an image on a black‑and‑white television.

The news spread not only within the Ley Line Circle but also began circulating among ordinary people.

After all, at that time Dachang City was at least shrouded in bluish‑black smoke, which could be blamed on a chemical plant leak; it was a stretch, but passable.

But the scene in Da Dong City could not be concealed enough.

When Gui Xinniang used the Ghost Domain to envelop the whole of Da Dong City, she had no intention of hiding the Ghost Domain.

Thus, anyone standing where Da Dong City can be seen can basically spot the city that has lost all its color at a glance.

Whether it's lights, buildings, banners, plastic, reflections on glass, or even the sun's descending rays, none retain a hint of color.

Not far from Da Dong City, inside a private school in Da'ao City.

A middle‑aged man slowly looked up.

"Students, that's all for today's lesson; let's dismiss early, I have something to attend to."

Hearing the teacher announce dismissal, the students instantly burst out of the classroom.

When most people had left, the middle‑aged man finally exited the classroom.

He crossed the street, walked through a network of Alleys, and headed toward the oldest Alley among them.

Finally, the man arrived at a simple‑styled courtyard and stopped.

"How's the situation?"

Upon entering, Zhang Xianguang asked the few people inside.

"After Nie Yingping and the others entered the ghost painting's Ghost Domain, they lost contact; we can't reach them now," someone inside replied gravely.

"What about their Human Candles? Have they gone out?" Zhang Xianguang asked.

"Not yet; we've assigned people to guard them so the wind won't extinguish the Human Candles. No news means they haven't encountered trouble," a hoarse voice said.

However, shortly after that voice, someone rushed in from outside.

"They're out! All of Nie Yingping's group's Human Candles have gone out."

A young man in his early twenties said anxiously.

"What?" The previous man's complexion changed, and he hurriedly looked at the other.

"It seems things are heading for the worst; the ghost painting has already contacted the ghost wearing a wedding dress, otherwise Nie Yingping's skill wouldn't have led to death inside."

Zhang Xianguang kept a composed face, furrowed his brows, and kept pondering.

Human Candle is a Supernatural Artifact they forged using a special Fierce Ghost.

The item carries a curse; whoever lights a Human Candle is cursed by it, and once the candle goes out, the target suffers a terrifying attack.

However, the same Human Candle can be used to check whether the person who lit it is dead.

If confirmed alive, various rescue plans can be arranged easily.

If dead, it avoids wasting manpower and resources.

(End of Chapter)