Free Web NovelChapter 426: Chapter 364: Wish
Time was slipping away by the minute and second, and Sui Chengguo’s heart grew more and more anxious because there wasn’t much of the Soul-Attracting Incense left—it had already burned down by two-thirds. The next second, with a soft "click," Sui Chengguo distinctly felt something appear behind him.
His writing arm suddenly turned icy cold, his wrist stiffened, and had his reaction not been swift, grabbing the writing brush with his left hand immediately, the remaining ink would have spread all over the paper. He knew the Ghost Monk had arrived, stepping on his shadow from behind.
He had long been prepared. First putting away the writing brush, he then extended his left hand to pull out the Soul-Attracting Incense and waved it near the shadow. Sure enough, the incense smoke seemed to be drawn by something, drifting obliquely before finally dissipating in mid-air. At the same time, the chilling sensation also gradually vanished, and what delighted Sui Chengguo even more was that the chanting that sounded like crashing waves also ceased abruptly.
The Ghost Villagers below shuffled their bodies, spreading left and right, opening up a path in the center of the ancestral hall. The sound of flipping paper from behind also stopped.
"I’ve won..." Sui Chengguo wept with joy. Only those who had experienced such a desperate situation could understand this feeling. He slowly stood up and turned to look behind him. Indeed, just as he thought, the Ghost Elder dressed in brown clothes was motionless, holding a wrinkled piece of paper. There was no sign of disturbance on the desk’s brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and the writing brush was still hanging under the brush holder, its tip clean and neat.
Without delay, Sui Chengguo picked up the incense and walked outside, followed by a "patter patter" of footsteps. Someone was closely following.
A jolt of alarm in his heart, Sui Chengguo glanced behind him, and the sight was startling. It was the brown-dressed Ghost Elder catching up, his expression somber and dazed, his eyes cold and numb, but the pressure he brought on Sui Chengguo was even greater than before.
Sui Chengguo immediately realized the crisis of the night was not entirely over; he still needed to return to the Du Family Ancestral Home within the time set by the task to be considered a winner.
As for this set time, it was naturally the time it took for the Soul-Attracting Incense to burn out. In other words, if the incense were to extinguish on the way back, he would die just the same.
Sui Chengguo had no desire for such an event to occur. After stepping out of the ancestral hall’s gate, he broke into a run. His numb legs were fully activated at this moment, the footsteps behind him following as relentlessly as maggots on bones, almost synchronized with Sui Chengguo’s pace.
The village was silent, and although the fog was not as thick as before, it was still easy to get lost while running at high speed. But Sui Chengguo couldn’t afford any accidents. On the way here, he had delayed for too long — to avoid the blockade by Quan Doufeng at the door, to warn Yang Xiao and the others, to circumvent the "trap" on the steps in front of the ancestral hall — all these things had severely squeezed what little time he had.
"Patter."
"Patter."
The footsteps behind him made Sui Chengguo’s heart flustered. At the same time, he heard a crisp metal scraping sound, like an iron chain tied around a leg.
But this definitely did not come from the Ghost Elder behind him because the sound was not in sync with the Ghost Elder’s steps. The noise was bizarre, its source indistinguishable, as if coming from all directions, and Sui Chengguo was certain that somewhere unseen, another ghost was following.
If nothing unexpected happened, it should be the Ghost Monk, and only as the Source Ghost would it have this ability.
There was no time for contemplation at the moment. Sui Chengguo was almost flying, but the incense in his hand was about to burn out. "Faster, even faster!" At last, he could barely make out the outline of the Du Family Ancestral Home. But then, a cold wind blew, extinguishing the last spark on the tip of the incense.
In an instant, the surrounding fog surged, completely obscuring the outline of the Du Family Ancestral Home, but Sui Chengguo still charged in the direction he remembered. He couldn’t bear to fail by such a small margin — it wasn’t just about his life, but also the five lives in the ancestral home!
In the nick of time, he finally saw the grand gate of the ancestral home through the mist and charged towards it. Next, he pulled out the wooden stick from the bamboo tube and struck the wooden clapper fiercely.
As the clapper sounded, the fog behind him receded quickly, and the mist enveloping the entire village vanished rapidly. The Ghost Elder behind him, too, disappeared without a trace at the very second he rushed to the courtyard gate.
"I’ve won..." Sui Chengguo couldn’t believe it; he truly had won. The run had left him exhausted, but he still forced himself to go to the room where everyone was, occasionally rubbing his shoulder. The incense he had carried all that way had left his shoulder aching severely, a soreness due to the prolonged pressure of a heavy object. frёeωebɳovel.com
Back in the familiar courtyard and seeing a candle still flickering in the room, Sui Chengguo’s tensely pulled heart finally relaxed. He quietly looked around and did not spot Quan Doufeng or Lu Youcheng. With the two ghosts unable to open the room door, they likely went to cause trouble for the Du Family.
Now, there was one thing Sui Chengguo couldn’t figure out and needed to discuss with Yang Xiao and the others. After all, Du Huai, the Du Family’s priest, had mentioned that upon the task’s success, they would have another chance to make a wish, which would put an end to the cycle for good. But now, he had no idea how to make that wish.
He approached the room’s door cautiously, "Who’s there?" The sudden question from behind the door startled Sui Chengguo. It was Yang Xiao’s voice.
"It’s me, Brother Chu, I’m back!" Sui Chengguo said, his tone indescribably excited.
After a lengthy explanation to Yang Xiao and the others, the door finally opened. Sui Chengguo slipped in, revealing a relieved smile and saluted with clasped hands, "Everyone, mission accomplished with honor!"
Once they learned the task was completed, the previously suppressed atmosphere in the room swept away instantly. The others crowded around Sui Chengguo, bombarding him with questions. Cheng Cha turned and poured a cup of tea for him. Sui Chengguo, parched and tongue-tired, downed it in one gulp.
Suddenly, while speaking, Sui Chengguo stopped. He heard a familiar sound—the scraping sound of metal chains.
"Sui, what’s wrong?" Tong Han suddenly asked when he noticed Sui Chengguo’s pale face.
"Did you guys hear anything?" Holding his teacup, Sui Chengguo became suddenly tense. Something about the sound was off, it was as if... as if something had followed them.
"What sound?" Yang Xiao was also startled.
"It’s that kind of metallic friction, quite crisp." Sui Chengguo stood up and quickly walked toward the door. At that moment, the door was tightly closed, and he carefully peeked outside through the crack with a vigilant look. In the next second, his brows furrowed fiercely. The mist that had dissipated earlier had returned at some unknown time, creeping into the courtyard, now shrouded in fog, appearing as grim as the Netherworld.
A moment later, he seemed to think of something, and the hand holding the teacup began to tremble uncontrollably. An eerie silence had fallen behind him, and everyone had stopped talking.
Bending forward slightly, looking back through his legs, Sui Chengguo’s heart finally sank. He did not see a person, only several pairs of dirty, rotting legs.
One of those pairs of rotting legs in cloth shoes was dangling right behind him. At that moment, he finally understood why his shoulders ached. The ghost elder had not left, but had placed both hands on his shoulders, hanging behind him like a broken bag.
Swallowing with difficulty, Sui Chengguo slowly stood up, with no panic, no anger, not even fear. In those calm eyes, there was only despair.
Nearly there, just a little bit more!
If only he hadn’t wasted so much time before, he would have been the winner this time. He would have led everyone to survive, to make it back home alive.
"Sigh—" Sui Chengguo slowly exhaled, then turned around, ready to face his own end. frёewebηovel.cѳm
Since death was inevitable, he would retain the last bit of dignity for himself.
In the instant he turned, everything changed. Unconsciously, he was back inside the ancestral hall, and to his amusement, the teacup in his hand was actually an inkstone.
"Crack." The inkstone shattered on the ground, and the black fragments scattered all around. Inside it was not just ink, but a sticky, inky blood mixture.
Behind Sui Chengguo was the main door of the ancestral hall, and not far in front of him was the ghost elder in brown clothes. The ghost elder stood facing him, his rigid body not moving an inch.
Besides the ghost elder, the ghost monk also appeared, sitting cross-legged on the ground, surrounded by ghost villagers who clasped their hands together and closed their eyes in contemplation.
Now Sui Chengguo realized how terrifying the ghost monk was. Its head, wrapped in Kasaya-like scripture cloth, was hidden from view. However, the ghost monk’s head was as large as five or six human heads and had a bizarre, angular shape. No wonder it was called a monster by the Du Family Village brutes.
Suddenly, as if drawn by something, Sui Chengguo’s gaze locked onto the ghost monk’s left ankle. He saw it – a silver anklet was tied around the monk’s left ankle, which seemed to carry a silver ornament on it.
Associating it with the intermittent metallic friction noise he had heard earlier, Sui Chengguo was certain that this item was the source. As far as he knew, it was not a Buddhist custom to wear anklets, so this object must be crucial.
When he shifted his gaze back, Sui Chengguo suddenly noticed that the ghost elder had moved closer to him, yet he clearly did not see him move.
Quickly, Sui Chengguo understood the situation. Whenever he looked away or blinked, the ghost elder would get a little closer.
Without a doubt, when the ghost elder got close enough, it would be his time to die.
There was a draft from behind, indicating that the main door of the ancestral hall was still open, yet based on Sui Chengguo’s experience, he would not turn to run away. He had already lost, and once defeated, there would be no more chances of survival – it was all an illusion. Fleeing would only lead to a quicker and more miserable death.
He was well aware that he had no chance left, but he hoped to make his last effort before dying. Since he was going to die anyway, he might as well make it worthwhile. Yang Xiao and Cheng Cha were capable young people – they were resourceful, courageous, and loyal. Such people should and did have a reason to survive.
Turning his gaze away from the ghost elder and focusing on the silver anklet on the ghost monk’s foot, Sui Chengguo took in a deep breath and abruptly charged at the ghost monk. With the speed and force of a tiger, he burst through several ghost villagers who started to rise to block him, leaping toward the crowd. With astonishing speed and precision, he snatched the silver chain from the ghost monk’s ankle and stuffed it into his mouth, clenching his teeth tightly while using his arms to shield his head.
In the next second, innumerable arms reached for him, tearing his clothes to shreds and lacerating his skin. But Sui Chengguo held on to his last breath, keeping his arms around his head, or more precisely, to protect the silver chain between his teeth.
The agony in his body was indescribable, as if all his internal organs had been ripped out. In the last moment before his consciousness faded, Sui Chengguo’s final wish was that when the sun rose the next day, Yang Xiao and the others would find it upon his mutilated body and leave alive.
