Chapter 442: It's all your fault

Several people took turns, telling strange anecdotes and tales of immortals, yaoguai, and ghosts they had heard, most of which were incredibly strange and amazing.

Lin Jue remembered that they had told about four rounds.

Because even he had told three more stories.

One was about a scholar seeking the Dao who encountered a dog yaoguai scaring people on the road, but was instead scared by the scholar.

One was about the northwest of Qinzhou, where yaoguai harmed people and divine beings were indulgent, but this led to the birth of arts to eliminate yaoguai and methods to restrain divine beings.

One was longer, about an ordinary down-and-out person pretending to be an enlightened Celestial Master.

Everyone listened in amazement.

Unknowingly, the long night was already halfway over.

The thunder and rain outside had also stopped, and heaven and earth were quiet. The firewood had burned out, leaving only the scarlet embers, illuminating the faces of the few, and there was only the sound of them telling stories.

Everyone was still not satisfied.

This was because everyone present was either old enough or well-traveled, and all had a wealth of good stories.

Even the scholar with the least courage was telling them with great enthusiasm.

"It's truly satisfying! Satisfying! It's a pity the night is too deep, otherwise I'd really like to tell a few more rounds!" The scholar clapped his hands, but his voice paused. "However, although the stories you all told were extremely wonderful, they can't compare to the one I'm about to tell. Why don't we use my story as the finale, how about that?"

"What story could be more wonderful than the previous ones?" The official didn't believe it.

"Tell us!" The merchant said.

The old man was already sleepy and started to doze off.

"Half of the stories you all told were hearsay, and half were your own personal experiences. Every time a story was finished, you said it was true, but who knows how much was true or false? We won't worry about that now, but the one I'm about to tell is definitely my own personal experience."

The scholar said to them:

"Once, years ago, I went out for a trip. At dusk, after eating and drinking my fill, I went out for a walk. As I walked, I saw a teahouse. There were a few people inside. I chatted with them for a few sentences and discovered that these people were actually my fellow townsmen, so I started chatting with them.

"It was night, just like today.

"As we chatted, we started talking about ghost stories.

"It was just like now, everyone searched their minds for stories, and the things they told were strange, wonderful, and fantastic, making people unable to stop listening.

"Eh! What a coincidence! It was also just like now, when we got to the end, a person surnamed Xie, let's call him Xie Gong, stood up and said: The stories you all told are indeed novel and wonderful, but none of them can compare to the one I'm about to tell!"

As the scholar spoke, it was as if he recalled that day, his face showing shock.

The crowd couldn't help but feel strange.

If it was really as the scholar said, the events of that day were indeed similar to today.

"That Xie Gong said he used to live in the home of a gardener in the capital. One night, he went out for a stroll and met a scholar. The scholar chatted with him.

"Xie Gong complained: This place is indeed good, quiet, and full of flowers, but it's a pity there are many graves behind it, and many lonely ghosts live in the graves. These ghosts are too annoying.

"That scholar shook his head and retorted: People in the world have a thousand faces, complex and hard to describe. Ghosts are transformed from humans, so how can they be generalized? In fact, ghosts also have distinctions between elegant and vulgar.

"The scholar told him about when he was traveling on Mount Yushan and met another person, surnamed Liu, called Liu Gong. The scholar discussed poetry with Liu Gong. Liu Gong was very knowledgeable, had unique insights, and even recited poems he had written to the scholar."

When the scholar said this, he shook his head:

"At that time, I heard that Xie Gong recite these poems, and they were all well-written, but now I have forgotten them.

"Anyway, that scholar was fascinated, and just as he was about to ask where this Liu Gong lived, wanting to befriend him, he suddenly heard a bell sound, and this Liu Gong vanished into thin air.

"The scholar then knew that Liu Gong was a ghost.

"This is the story the scholar told Xie Gong.

"After finishing, he asked Xie Gong: You say, the ghost I spoke of, this Liu Gong, is he annoying?

"Xie Gong heard this, felt it was wonderful, and felt that this scholar was very much to his liking, so he respectfully asked for his name and where he lived, also wanting to befriend him.

"But he saw the scholar stand up, smile, bow to him, and say, if you don't find me annoying, I am already very happy, how would I dare to befriend you?

"After saying this, this scholar also vanished.

"Xie Gong then knew that this person telling the ghost story was actually also a ghost."

As the scholar said this, his expression became increasingly terrified.

"At that time, when we heard this, we all felt that this kind of listening to a ghost tell a ghost story was very interesting, like the Goose Cage story where a yaoguai spits out a yaoguai, illusions overlapping, illusions generating illusions.

"I was bold at the time and joked, you told a story about a ghost telling a ghost story, but how do I know if you, who are telling me stories today, or even everyone present, might also be ghosts?"

"Unexpectedly, as soon as I finished speaking, the faces of the few people at the table changed. Immediately after, a cold wind blew, the lights in the teahouse went out one after another, and those people who were chatting with me all turned into smoke and vanished."

By the time the scholar finished, his face was already pale.

The few people in the post station were also stunned.

They thought they were listening to a ghost tell a ghost story, but it was listening to a ghost tell about himself listening to a ghost tell a ghost story; it was truly wonderful and interesting.

It took a long time for someone to come back to their senses.

"Thinking about it, the scene that day was really similar to today." The official said, looking at the scholar. "No wonder Scholar Qi was so scared today; it turns out he had such an experience before."

"Yes."

The scholar nodded and said.

Lin Jue was also reminiscing, but at this moment, he spoke a sentence:

"You told a story about listening to a ghost tell about himself listening to a ghost tell a ghost story, but since we are also in the deep night today, and also met by chance, and even the roadside in the wilderness is already deserted, and we are also telling ghost stories, don't you have even the slightest bit of curiosity in your heart?"

"This..."

The scholar froze for a moment and looked around:

"Everyone, you wouldn't happen to be ghosts, would you?"

As soon as the words fell, several people present actually changed their expressions in unison.

The kind smile on the official's face stiffened, and the words of the servant beside him, who was about to speak, stopped.

The middle-aged merchant was extremely surprised.

The old man woke up from his doze instantly.

A cold wind blew into the post station from the window, and the firewood in the middle, which had almost burned out, became red and bright again.

"Peng!"

"Peng!"

"Peng!"

"Peng!"

Four consecutive explosions.

The four people beside him turned into smoke one after another and dissipated without a trace.

"This..."

The scholar suddenly widened his eyes, greatly frightened.

Immediately, he looked at Lin Jue beside him: "D-Daoist, why haven't you left yet?" "I am not a ghost, why should I leave?"

"You are a human?"

"A Daoist."

"Then, then why aren't you afraid?"

"I am a Daoist."

"This..."

The scholar was both frightened and surprised.

He never expected that tonight, telling ghost stories with people would actually be telling ghost stories with ghosts, and in this roadside post station, among the few people, the only one who was not a ghost was actually this Daoist who looked the most abnormal, whose purpose was the hardest to explain, and whom he had been most wary of at first.

Just at this moment, in the night sky outside the door, the voice of that official suddenly came:

"Hahahaha! Scholar Qi! You'd better run! I can't tell if that person is a ghost, but that white fox beside him is a rare great yaoguai in this world!"

"Ah?"

!

The scholar was startled, sat on the ground, supported himself with his hands, and retreated repeatedly.

Across the firelight, the Daoist's face was vaguely visible.

But he saw the Daoist with a calm smile, saying to him: "Among the five, you had the best acting skills."

"?"

The scholar's movement of retreating stopped, and his face stiffened.

The next instant—

"Peng!"

The scholar turned into the last wisp of smoke, carried by a clear breeze, went out the window of the post station, and dissipated without a trace.

Only his voice came from the night:

"What I told were all true stories, it's just a pity that those were things I encountered before I died, and two hundred years have passed since then."

Lin Jue remained unmoved, just responding loudly:

"Thank you all for your stories, which helped us kill a night of time, and thank you for the Snow Lotus Gathering you told of. We will meet again on Mount Tianshan."

Outside the window, there was only the night wind, no response.

At this time, the entire post station was left with only one person and one fox.

Lin Jue reached out and pointed gently—

"Peng~"

The fire burned again in the pile that had already burned out, illuminating the Daoist in his Daoist robe with a smile on his face, and the white fox beside him, who had also listened with great interest, was satisfied, and was still licking its paws and reminiscing.

Lin Jue looked down at Fuyao.

Fuyao also looked up at him.

"Look, it's all your fault for scaring them away."

"You scared them away!"

"It was you."

"It was you!"

"It's your fault."

"It's your fault!"

"I can't be bothered to talk to you..."

"The fox wants to talk to you! It was you!"

"You say, these few were old ghosts, quite accomplished in the Dao, do they know each other?"

"It was you!"

"At this time, they all gathered on this road, and none of them are evil ghosts that harm people. I'm afraid they are all going to the Snow Lotus Gathering, right?"

"It's your fault!"

"..."

Lin Jue lay back and closed his eyes.

But he still couldn't help but sigh, this world today, in a trance, already has the illusion that there are more ghosts than people.

In the blink of an eye, it was morning.

When Lin Jue woke up, it was already bright. The daylight came through the window, revealing the dilapidated scene of this post station.

A pile of ashes in the middle seemed to be saying that last night's events were not a dream.

However, last night was truly dreamlike.

Lin Jue waved his sleeves, and a clear breeze carried the pile of ashes out the window. Then, while gnawing on a pancake, he took the fox to pick up some dead branches in the mountains and put them back in the post station, so that future travelers taking shelter from the rain would have dry firewood to burn, and then he walked onto the road.

"Chen Niu, Chen Niu."

A small ghost in brown clothes appeared out of thin air.

"Go to the Snow Lotus Gathering."

As soon as the small ghost in brown heard this, its expression instantly became serious, and it pointed forward:

"Go this way!"

One person and one fox stepped forward.

But they couldn't help but look back.

After leaving the border, there was a grassland, and after another thousand miles, they saw a towering snow mountain standing on the earth. It connected into a line, and looking from afar, it was like a heavenly wall placed at the end of the world.

"Go this way!"

The small ghost pointed to the highest point of that heavenly mountain.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 443 =====