Free Web NovelChapter 796: Chapter 596: Green Ghost_2
"What’s the worst that could happen?" Lou Huixiang asked in a low voice, his complexion pale as paper.
After a few seconds of silence, Nalan Shuo spoke again, "I read in an ancient book that at the end of the Song Dynasty, there was a significant casualty during the Nuoyi Ceremony in the palace because it seemed to have provoked other evil spirits."
"Isn’t this ceremony supposed to exorcise evil? How could it attract other evil spirits?" Zhang Songde, looking burly and fierce-faced, was in fact not very brave. Nalan Shuo’s words startled him, even altering the tone of his voice.
"The evil spirit wasn’t attracted, it was the one being exorcised that bewitched people, took over the bodies of more than a dozen court priests in attendance. They started slashing with their weapons, and if it weren’t for a few genuine experts who took control and steadied the situation, not only would the ceremony have been ruined, but I fear hardly anyone in the Imperial Palace would have survived," Xiang Fengchen said coldly, clearly more aware of the details than Nalan Shuo.
Upon hearing this, Chang Chuchu turned to Xiang Fengchen and urged, "Mr. Xiang, you are also a man of great ability. If anything happens tonight, we are all relying on you!"
Xiang Fengchen shook his head, candidly stating, "Compared to those seniors, I am far from their level, unless..."
"Unless what?" Chang Chuchu pressed. fгeewebnovёl.com
"Unless ’Ancestor’ himself takes action," Xiang Fengchen kept his voice low, implying something, since the ’Ancestor’ was a fake after all.
Soon, with the piercing sound of gongs, the atmosphere abruptly changed, and the rigid figures standing still all turned their heads in unison, looking at them.
"It’s time." Nalan Shuo was the first to move, heading toward his place, with the rest following closely, each entering the formation.
"Find your spots. Don’t spread out too far, keep an eye on the person in front of you," Xiang Fengchen reminded out loud. According to what Steward Wu had said, they would come face-to-face with the evil spirit tonight, which meant they were definitely going to run into ghosts. What might happen afterward was something even Xiang Fengchen did not know.
As soon as Yang Xiao and his group found their spots and stood firm, suddenly, they heard a series of deep and muffled drum beats, the vibrations striking at the heart. Yang Xiao felt as if his soul was trembling alongside the drums, his blood rushing to his head.
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
"Thump!"
Accompanying the drumbeats, the many masked priests began to move in synchrony, their hands and feet coordinated, stepping in strange square patterns, swinging weapons, lanterns, or even canes and strips of cloth. Yang Xiao even spotted a priest in a dark red mask carrying a brazier not far in front of him.
The attire of these priests reminded Yang Xiao of the direct bloodline of the Earl Mansion, especially the bizarre masks. They followed the steps of the priests, imitating their actions in a circle around the central wooden platform, gently rotating.
During this process, Yang Xiao kept a careful watch around him. Not far to his left, there was a Lantern Priest who seemed to be a woman, judging by the figure. Aside from him, Xiang Fengchen behind him, and Nalan Shuo in front of him, both had a Lantern Priest on their left, and these three priests’ attire looked distinctly similar, as if assigned to watch over them.
However, Yang Xiao soon realized it was less about watching over and more about guiding. The Lantern Priests controlled their pace, causing the nine of them to spread evenly, forming an indistinct circle.
As time passed second by second, Yang Xiao’s tense nerves slightly relaxed. There were about eight or nine people around him, each more intimidating than the last, but they were like robots executing their programming. Other than their bizarre postures and steps, there was no significant issue, and they paid no attention to Yang Xiao beside them.
Soon, the muffled sound of "thud, thud, thud" came again, the second drum roll had arrived.
And with the drum beats ringing out, Yang Xiao’s heart instantly lurched in response, according to what Steward Wu had said, this second drum roll also signaled that an evil spirit was about to appear.
The scene began to change, the priests in the outermost circle suddenly squatted down, then, seemingly out of nowhere, dozens of people emerged from a corner of the courtyard. They too wore masks, dressed similarly to the other priests. With quick and well-trained movements, they first erected a few wooden pillars, then pieced together curtains to form a barrier around the outer perimeter, enclosing Yang Xiao and the rest of the hundred priests within.
The curtains looked dirty and quite old, as though they still had clumps of soil sticking to them, but in the next second, Xiang Fengchen, who was running behind him, cried out, "Don’t look at those cloths, they are used ’Soul Summoning Banners’!"
Yelling out in such a scene was clearly unwise, but since Xiang Fengchen had done so, it meant that these so-called ’Soul Summoning Banners’ were extremely dangerous.
Immediately after, the drumbeat quickened, drums, gongs, cymbals, and chimes erupted into a cacophony, the sudden intense rhythm induced a strong sense of crisis in everyone, as if something formidable was about to make its entrance.
"Rip——"
The next second, the curtain hiding the central platform was torn open with a large gash, and a figure burst out, with disheveled hair, a green face, and sharp fangs, coupled with ghastly movements, obviously a fierce ghost, startling everyone with its sudden appearance.
The evil ghost staggered around like a headless fly, with eerie steps pressing outward, only to be repelled by the many priests wielding weapons. After getting up, it charged forward again, this time directly towards Yang Xiao’s direction.
By now, Yang Xiao could see clearly, this was not a fierce ghost, but a person made up to look like one—a person’s face hidden under a thin green mask, much thinner than theirs and fitting tightly to the face, with silver hair spreading out from the back of the head. The upper body was clad in white, the lower in bright red, barefoot, and the entire body was filthy. Not to mention gauging age, one couldn’t even distinguish gender, but judging by the person’s movements, they were most likely possessed.
And with the drum beats ringing out, Yang Xiao’s heart instantly lurched in response, according to what Steward Wu had said, this second drum roll also signaled that an evil spirit was about to appear.
The scene began to change, the priests in the outermost circle suddenly squatted down, then, seemingly out of nowhere, dozens of people emerged from a corner of the courtyard. They too wore masks, dressed similarly to the other priests. With quick and well-trained movements, they first erected a few wooden pillars, then pieced together curtains to form a barrier around the outer perimeter, enclosing Yang Xiao and the rest of the hundred priests within.
The curtains looked dirty and quite old, as though they still had clumps of soil sticking to them, but in the next second, Xiang Fengchen, who was running behind him, cried out, "Don’t look at those cloths, they are used ’Soul Summoning Banners’!"
Yelling out in such a scene was clearly unwise, but since Xiang Fengchen had done so, it meant that these so-called ’Soul Summoning Banners’ were extremely dangerous.
Immediately after, the drumbeat quickened, drums, gongs, cymbals, and chimes erupted into a cacophony, the sudden intense rhythm induced a strong sense of crisis in everyone, as if something formidable was about to make its entrance.
"Rip——"
The next second, the curtain hiding the central platform was torn open with a large gash, and a figure burst out, with disheveled hair, a green face, and sharp fangs, coupled with ghastly movements, obviously a fierce ghost, startling everyone with its sudden appearance.
The evil ghost staggered around like a headless fly, with eerie steps pressing outward, only to be repelled by the many priests wielding weapons. After getting up, it charged forward again, this time directly towards Yang Xiao’s direction.
By now, Yang Xiao could see clearly, this was not a fierce ghost, but a person made up to look like one—a person’s face hidden under a thin green mask, much thinner than theirs and fitting tightly to the face, with silver hair spreading out from the back of the head.
