Free Web NovelChapter 794: Chapter 595: Nuodai_2
As people approached, Nalan Shuo’s slightly pale complexion gave everyone a very bad premonition. Something was definitely about to happen.
"Mr. Nalan, what has happened?" Zhang Songde asked in a low voice.
After entering the room and sitting down, Yang Xiao thoughtfully poured a cup of tea for the Director. Nalan Shuo picked it up and drained it in one gulp, but the worries in his eyes did not dissipate. "People from the Earl Mansion told me that there will be an Exorcism Ceremony tonight. They will expel the Evil Spirit from the Ancestor and give us the opportunity to kill this Evil Spirit."
"Kill... kill a ghost?" Fang Zhouren were stupefied.
"Yes," Nalan Shuo nodded again. "On my way back, I saw that they had already started preparations."
This conversation scared everyone considerably. They were almost all veteran players here, having experienced the Nightmare World more than a few times. Each time, weren’t they chased by ghosts, running for their lives, desperately seeking survival? But to ask them to kill a ghost was indeed a first.
Despite their concerns, they weren’t so frightened as to lose all sense of proportion. Yang Xiao understood that killing a ghost was just a pretext; the real aim was for the ghosts to kill them. In other words, at least one of them was expected to die in this ghost exorcism ceremony.
How to kill a ghost was of no interest to Yang Xiao because it was impossible. What he needed to do was figure out how to avoid being killed by the ghost during the ceremony. As long as he could survive until one of his teammates was killed by the ghost first, the rest of them would be safe, at least for the time being.
As the evening darkened, shortly after dinner, Steward Wu, accompanied by a group of servants carrying lanterns, arrived at their courtyard and straightforwardly invited them over; the Exorcism Ceremony was almost ready.
"Gentlemen, before we set off, please put on these masks. Inside the ceremonial area, only the masks are recognized, not faces. You must be cautious." Steward Wu still displayed his indifferent demeanor, ominous in every aspect.
As soon as he finished speaking, the servants outside brought in two large boxes and opened them, revealing that one was filled with masks.
At a glance, Yang Xiao noticed that these masks resembled those worn by the direct blood relatives of the Earl Mansion. They were wooden and substantial in weight—red, white, and black ones, all distinct from the traditional Beijing Opera masks, exceptionally eerie with expressions of crying and laughing, some with one eye larger than the other, severely disproportionate features, and some even had frightening fangs turned outward and a red tongue sticking out. They didn’t resemble human faces but rather a row of ghost faces.
Under the candlelight, these Ghost Face Masks became even more terrifying. It was apparent that the masks had been around for a long time; the wooden edges were severely worn, especially on the lower half near the chin, many of which had been stained with an odd brown color.
Yang Xiao’s first thought was blood. He recalled the Manor Master of Fushou Manor, who was wearing a mask while uncontrollably vomiting blood during a conversation, creating a very frightening scene.
And that blood had dripped from beneath the mask.
Seeing that no one responded to his words for a while, Steward Wu’s expression grew colder, and with a feigned smile, he said, "What, are you gentlemen unwilling to help our Ancestor exorcize the Evil Spirit?"
"No, not at all, it’s just... we don’t know how to wear these masks." Nalan Shuo visibly resisted the mask, perhaps also thinking of those masked blood relations at the Earl Mansion, uncertain if the mask carried some curse like never being able to remove it once worn.
Yang Xiao uncontrollably thought of the faceless Bodhisattva statue he had seen at the Land Temple, also known as Zhongyi Temple.
Steward Wu stared intently at Nalan Shuo’s face, then pointed at one of the masks in the box after a moment, "This is yours, put it on now."
Nalan Shuo cooperated, and the mask was very large, clumsy and heavy, with some dirty beards still stuck to the underside. But once Nalan Shuo had fully put it on, a bizarre thought suddenly occurred to everyone—that this mask, along with Nalan Shuo’s entire attire, matched very well. It was immensely fitting, as if... as if this should really be Nalan Shuo’s face, and the face beneath the mask was the fake one. freewёbnoνel.com
If others had this thought, it would be one thing; most of them were not familiar with Nalan Shuo. Yet Yang Xiao also harbored this thought, and what was even stranger was, as he looked at the mask on Nalan Shuo’s face, his memories of Nalan Shuo’s original face slowly became blurred. The face in his memory continuously morphed in an inexplicable manner, merging with the mask he now wore.
"This mask is strange!"
At that moment, Yang Xiao realized something was amiss. He immediately diverted his gaze, thus preserving the last memory of Nalan Shuo’s face.
As Steward Wu called out names, everyone received their masks. By then, Yang Xiao noticed that everyone was deliberately avoiding looking at each other, evidently having noticed the peculiarity like he did, unwilling to forget each other’s faces.
Yang Xiao’s mask was a red human face, albeit with somewhat distorted features. At first glance, it looked exceedingly bizarre, but upon a longer examination, the distortion didn’t seem abrupt, but rather vibrantly lifelike as if the mask had been peeled off a living person’s face.
After putting on the mask, it wasn’t as heavy as he had imagined. Moreover, it fit his face perfectly, as if tailor-made for him. This fact unnerved him, especially because he hadn’t chosen the mask himself; instead, Steward Wu had distributed them one by one, indicating that each mask was matched specifically to one of them.
The mask had two holes at the eyes so he could look out; his vision was quite unobstructed. The mouth and nose were sealed, but breathing and speaking were unimpeded.
After adjusting for a while, Yang Xiao found that wearing the mask didn’t restrict his movements as much as he had anticipated. Moving, turning, and twisting his head were all relatively easy. The only discomfort he felt was the somewhat surreal sensation when he looked out through the mask’s eye holes, as if gazing through a filter of eras gone by, the meaning of which he couldn’t discern.
As everyone had donned their masks, Steward Wu commanded someone to open another large crate stuffed with weapons – knives, swords, short sticks, axes, soft whips, scimitars, daggers, and even bow and arrows, a bundle of arrows gleaming with a sinister cold light.
"This is only part," Steward Wu stated, hands tucked into his sleeves, his demeanor neither warm nor cold. "If these aren’t enough, there are more outside. You can choose freely."
"Why do we need these weapons?" Xiang Fengchen inquired tentatively. "Our task tonight is supposed to be evil exorcism."
"Holding weapons, of course, is to slay evil spirits. We will manage the evil exorcism ourselves; we have our methods. Your job is to cooperate with us and exterminate the evil spirits expelled from the ancestor. Remember, better to mistakenly kill than mistakenly spare!" Steward Wu emphasized.
These words unsettled everyone even further, anticipating a perilously dangerous night ahead, unsure which teammate would be the first to depart.
A significant mistake or accident could lead to total annihilation, as until now, this Ghost World, known as Fushou Manor, had already wiped out many teams, stretching back over a hundred years.
They say the Precious Sword exorcises evil. Yang Xiao decided to choose a sword accordingly. Most of the others also chose conventional lightweight swords, but to Yang Xiao’s surprise, Jiang Qingluan selected a bow and arrow, even slinging the quiver over her back.
"Gentlemen, the hour is almost upon us; let us set forth." After his words, Steward Wu stepped aside from the doorway, gesturing invitingly toward everyone.
The phrase "set forth" made everyone uncomfortable and shattered any faint hope they harbored. Following Steward Wu and his group, they arrived at a courtyard centrally located, with high walls and a grander gate than before. From a distance, a red light could be seen inside, thick and dense like blood.
As the courtyard gates slowly opened, everyone was stunned by the scene before them. The spacious courtyard was already filled with people, each one wearing a mask and holding a weapon alongside various bizarre items. A sheer curtain in the center of the yard encircled an area where a bed was faintly visible.
The atmosphere was silent and solemn, caught between the divine and the nefarious.
"Nuodai..." Nalan Shuo couldn’t help but exclaim.
