Chapter 1398: Fantasy Antique Shop Work Log 32

Click.

Jin Chen produced two bracelet-like objects from somewhere and clamped them onto Zi Ying's wrists, warning, "If you don't want to die, don't wander about; Dujuan isn't dead yet—you'd better be glad you can find her."

Inside the Ghost Domain, anyone who dies easily becomes a vengeful ghost; if too many die, various acts of revenge will likely descend into chaos.

"Up to the ninth floor," Jin Chen said.

The Ghost Domain shrouds the entire tavern; the higher you go, the heavier the resentment, and the top floor is likely where the Ghost King resides.

"What should we do?" Cao Wu suddenly asked; the big man blubbered, "You big shots can't just abandon us here."

Ying Wu Shu gave each of them two talismans and said calmly, "There are also talismans on the windows; the lounge is safe."

"Okay, okay, thanks, boss." The four nodded repeatedly.

Ying Wu Shu led Zi Ying out of the room, the principal followed closely, and Jin Chen brought up the rear.

Before leaving, Jin Chen again cautioned, "No matter what you hear, don't leave this room."

The lounge door slowly closed, and the four stared at each other.

Han Yu said, "Why don't we do something else to kill time?"

Just waiting really messes with your head!

Wu Ya pulled out a mirror, touched up her black lipstick, and said coolly, "Sleep."

Wu Xiao Xiao huddled in the corner, staring at the table, and suddenly said, "For this pen-summoning ritual, do we still need to send them off? Do you know if that big shot earlier knew about it?"

The three: "……"

Good question.

——

In the corridor leading to the top floor, there was deathly silence, with only the footsteps of the four people.

Ying Wu Shu had just stepped onto the landing at the turn when he saw a red shadow flash above, and the mist gradually grew hazy.

He cautiously halted, narrowed his eyes to observe carefully; the corridor had no lighting, and in the dimness the mist was almost invisible.

Suddenly, the red shadow paused at the top of the stairs, staring straight at them, and a deathly pale face appeared.

Zi Ying was about to scream, but couldn't make a sound; she turned in terror to glance at Jin Chen, and his icy gaze made her shudder.

The Silencing Spell is really handy.

Jin Chen nodded absentmindedly and glanced up the stairs.

Just then, a song like something from the depths began to sound, as if from Leng You.

"Do you also like pretty clothes? A beautiful exterior hides a dirty soul—how pitiful, who is crying?"

"Do you also like swimming… listening to the water's gurgle as it fills your belly, your pale face blocked from breathing?"

"Can we be good friends… I'll take everything you have, including your life."

"It hurts so much… it hurts so much, I float up lightly then crash down heavily……"

Drip drip.

Blood trickled down, spreading across the stairwell; a pallid face drew near, its scarlet lips parting: "Can we be good friends… I'll take everything you have, including your life……"

"Heaven and earth are boundless, the Dao follows nature, pardon!" Ying Wu Shu swiftly formed seals with both hands; golden light flashed, dispelling the darkness.

The red shadow merely gave a sinister laugh, then instantly turned into endless mist and vanished.

"Just another illusion." Ying Wu Shu frowned, looking again at the ground; the viscous blood also disappeared.

"Wu Shu, close your eyes!" At the sound of Jin Chen's voice, Ying Wu Shu instinctively shut his eyes, without any doubt.

In the next instant, his breath suddenly seized, as if being pressed underwater.

His chest was compressed, he dared not breathe, feeling as if he would choke on water any second.

The hazy mist became unusually thick.

After who knows how long, when Ying Wu Shu heard the voice again, it was someone calling his name…… Grandfather!

"Xiao Shu, Xiao Shu……"

Ying Wu Shu's heart jolted, yet he dared not open his eyes, but he heard Grandfather say he wanted to see him.

Just one glance.

Just…… one glance.

This was his dying wish; Grandfather never got to see him one last time before he died, and that has been Ying Wu Shu's lingering knot.

Don't you want to see Grandfather's smiling, kind face again?

Caught in turmoil between heaven and man, Ying Wu Shu was suddenly embraced by a heat source, palms covering his ears: "Don't listen, it's all fake."

When Jin Chen's voice rang out, everything around them receded like a tide; Ying Wu Shu gasped a deep breath, snapped his eyes open, and his chest rose and fell as he caught his breath.

His gaze went from dazed and scattered to focused; he saw Jin Chen's worried yet concerned expression, Ying Wu Shu slowly moved his lips, voice weak: "I'm fine."

Yet he was pulled back into a warm embrace, catching the comforting scent unique to Jin Chen.

Ying Wu Shu gradually clenched the corner of Jin Chen's clothes; as his back was gently stroked, a tingling sensation spread through his body, and he suddenly couldn't hold back.

He relaxed his body against Jin Chen's shoulder, voice trembling: "I heard Grandfather's voice—is the Ghost King behind this?"

"Yes, the mist confuses the mind." Jin Chen lightly pressed on Ying Wu Shu's neck.

"Then that's good."

Ying Wu Shu whispered, "Grandfather said he'd become an official after death; it's good he didn't linger in the world as a lone soul."

Jin Chen couldn't help but laugh, looking down at him: "Your idea is quite unusual."

Ying Wu Shu felt a little embarrassed, turning his head to rub away tears on Jin Chen's shoulder: "I don't usually cry."

"I know, nobody else saw." Jin Chen raised a hand to gently stroke the corner of his eye, tone full of pity: "Others don't know, it's just that he didn't cry."

Only then did Ying Wu Shu truly smile, understanding the meaning behind Jin Chen's words—that it wasn't anyone else.

【Detected Villain Heartthrob Value +10, total 72!】

【Detected Villain Blackening Value -5, total 25!】

"Where are the principal and Zi Ying?" Ying Wu Shu regained his composure, turned his head to look at the stairwell where the mist had cleared.

"Here……" the principal spoke softly, crouching in the corner.

Ying Wu Shu looked at the principal and Zi Ying's faces, each with a bruised eye socket on left and right, and remained silent for two seconds.

Jin Chen stood behind him, righteous and confident: "To wake them up, this method is the simplest."

Zi Ying gritted her teeth secretly; if she weren't so afraid, she would have rolled her eyes directly.

You're not just throwing two punches at Ying Wu Shu!

Going upstairs again, this time unimpeded, but as soon as they stepped through the Main Gate of the top floor, the surrounding scene suddenly shifted!

The same gloom, yet it only added emptiness and deathly silence, as if even their breath echoed.

Zi Ying tightly closed her eyes, already somewhat dazed from successive frights.

"This… this is the school gymnasium." The principal covered his left eye socket, which still hurt terribly, his voice trembling from fear, "How did we get here?"

"Help… help…"

A faint cry for help came from afar; Jin Chen immediately quickened his pace toward the source, and the others followed closely behind.

The gymnasium is a rectangular building; the sound seemed near, yet it always felt like it was in the next room, then the next, as if there were no end.

Finally, the four runners halted in the last abandoned storage room; Zi Ying burst out with a muffled groan, her whole body trembling, her silence technique almost unable to hold.

The principal retreated a few steps, his legs giving out until he collapsed.