Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 81: Chapter 81: Escape

The proximity was too close, Yang Xiao had no time to react before the footprints reached him, and in that moment, his heart went cold.

"Chu Fukke, can you see me?" A voice came from where the footprints were.

Yang Xiao’s soul felt like it had half flown away in fright; still asking whether he could be seen, even if he could see, he would not dare to say so. He quietly moved his feet, distancing himself from the spot the toe of the shoe was pointing at. He knew that some ghosts recognized people by the tips of their shoes. freēwēbηovel.c૦m

However, as Yang Xiao changed his position, the Coachman’s anxious voice came from where the footprints were again, "Chu Fukke, you probably can’t see me. You’ve been blinded by the Hanged Ghost. Okay then, turn around, follow my voice, and walk backwards. Remember, unless I tell you to turn around, you must never look back."

It was unexpected for Yang Xiao that the other party didn’t attack him directly; he steeled himself, did not speak, but merely nodded.

Then Yang Xiao turned his back and really started to move backwards step by step, following the Coachman’s voice. Kuang Hongyi and Su Tingting, also pressured by the Hanged Ghost, had no other choice but to follow Yang Xiao’s lead.

Standing in the middle, Su Tingting held Yang Xiao’s left hand with one hand and tugged at Kuang Hongyi’s clothes with the other. The three of them were ready to risk everything; after all, staying here was certain death.

After about several dozen steps, just when Yang Xiao’s patience was about to run out, suddenly, the fog in front of his eyes cleared considerably, and not far from him was a crooked-neck tree.

The crooked-neck tree had long since died, and at this moment, its twisted branches were hung with corpses, including Master Zhao, who had died with his eyes wide open in discontent.

"You can turn around now." The Coachman also breathed a sigh of relief.

Turning around, they saw the Coachman who had been driving them. The Coachman’s condition wasn’t good either; one of his arms was broken, and there were scratches bleeding on his face.

"How come you’re here?" Filled with relief at their narrow escape, Su Tingting’s face was all smiles.

The Coachman, with a miserable expression, replied, "Aiyo, don’t even mention it. I originally came to the accounting room to get some Silver, but who knew this would happen... If I hadn’t been carrying some graveyard soil with me, I’d be a goner."

Yang Xiao quickly patted himself down, but alas, he had spent all his Silver. Seeing this, Kuang Hongyi immediately took out a piece of Silver and handed it to the Coachman, "Wu, since you know the way, please guide us in that direction." Kuang Hongyi pointed towards the southeast.

"Okay, okay, I was thinking of heading in that direction too; it’s on the way for all of us." The Coachman pocketed the Silver casually and started to lead the way.

But no one noticed that at this point, Master Zhao, beneath the crooked-neck tree, had somehow turned around, his face skewed towards the direction Yang Xiao and the others were leaving, his resentful eyes fixed on the Coachman’s back.

By the time Yang Xiao and his party had gone far, the sinister crooked-neck tree and the corpses on it vanished again into the mist.

After walking a short distance, Yang Xiao couldn’t help frowning, "Brother Wu, this road doesn’t seem to be heading southeast, does it?"

Without looking back, Wu kept complaining, "Aiyo, who dares to go straight through? Won’t we just come across those dirty things again? We’re taking a bit of a detour, it’s safer this way."

Kuang Hongyi clapped Yang Xiao on the shoulder, giving it a few squeezes, and said with a grin, "Chu, let’s just listen to Brother Wu. Brother Wu is an old hand from Feng Mansion; he knows the way."

"That’s right!" Wu’s mood visibly improved as they went along.

Suddenly, a bamboo fence appeared before them, and Wu crouched down by the side of the fence, waving at Yang Xiao and his companions, "You’ll go over first, and I’ll keep watch for you."

The bamboo fence wasn’t very high, only about up to Yang Xiao’s waist, and there wasn’t anything special about its material. However, its location was somewhat odd. Normally, fences are used to block something, but not here; there was just a gravel road on both sides of the fence, as if it had been moved there out of place.

"Quick, quick, you guys climb over first." Wu urged incessantly.

Just then, a flash of lightning sliced through the sky, and the rainfall intensified. A few seconds later, Yang Xiao’s brows furrowed as he suddenly realized something crucial.

He saw the lightning, but he hadn’t heard any thunder.

No, that wasn’t right—they were still trapped in the Ghost Hitting the Wall! Or perhaps... they had entered a new one!

"What are you dawdling for, do you want to die?"

Wu stood up anxiously, looking into the distance where faint screams could be heard approaching, the situation growing increasingly urgent.

Yang Xiao stepped back a few paces, picked up a large stone from the ground, and hurled it across the hedge. The next second, the stone vanished into thin air, followed by a loud noise.

"Splash!"

Such a large splash, the sound was muffled, the water deep.

Even Su Tingting realized something was wrong at this moment. The three of them quickly retreated, moving away from the coachman, who stood still by the hedge.

With the next bolt of lightning tearing through the night, thunder rang in their ears, and the scene before their eyes changed dramatically in an instant. A dark, not so large pond appeared behind the hedge, with an overturned carriage submerged in its water.

Wu, at that moment, had a dark expression on his face, his body exuding water, fixating a relentless gaze on Yang Xiao and the others before falling rigidly backward into the pond.

Without question, this was another Drowned Ghost looking for a scapegoat. The coachman had saved them moments ago only to enjoy this feast alone.

The three of them did not dare to delay and continued running towards the southeast. As they got closer, the feeling in their hearts grew more and more distinct.

Suddenly, a tall courtyard wall emerged from the mist with a large gate in its center wide open. The odd sensation was just beyond the gate, a mere tens of meters away. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

Looking at the open gate, all three of them couldn’t help feeling apprehensive—the vicinity was too clean, not a single person in sight.

Kuang Hongyi’s eyes reddened; he was ready to bulldoze his way through, as the exit would only remain open for a limited time. If they delayed any further, even if they reached it, the exit would have already disappeared.

While being vigilant, they approached the gate, when suddenly a rustling of hurried footsteps came from behind them, not belonging to one person.

Two besmirched and disheveled women emerged from the mist, supporting each other; it was an unexpected sight.

Upon seeing Yang Xiao and the others, the women were also startled but paled considerably more when they caught sight of the gate behind them, "Quick, hide! You can’t go through that gate; there are strange creatures behind it! We were attacked by them just now! Only the two of us are left!"

Without waiting, the women quickly fled in another direction, towards an area with thick weeds and several large ornamental rocks—a good place to hide.

Gradually, a dismal green light began to glow in the fog outside the gate. Yang Xiao and his companions’ hearts rose to their throats. They ignored the gestures of the two women and turned to hide in another direction.

They had barely hidden when the green light reached the gate. The next second, Su Tingting held her breath, witnessing a procession of dead children with topknots bouncing in from outside the gate, the leader holding a green, glowing paper lantern.