Lanpu - Chapitre 23
Just as I was hesitating about how to keep Ah Ying here, I heard a boy's voice shout from inside the building, "Guli's mother, Pixi Pixi—"
The room was immediately filled with light, and a cold wind rose up, forming a hurricane that shattered the window glass. The fragments fell onto the lawn six floors below like autumn leaves.
I knew the boy was fighting with an evil spirit. A chilling wind was blowing all around. I immediately shook off Ying's hand and ran towards the sixth floor. Unexpectedly, Ying gritted her teeth and chased after me, just like when we were little, grabbing onto my clothes and refusing to let go.
When we reached the fourth floor, we found ourselves in another space, a chaotic and vast open space with no sky or edge. The stairs beneath our feet had also disappeared, leaving only a raging, eerie wind and incessant screams, making us tremble with fear and feel as if we were in a dream.
"How could this happen!" Ying screamed.
“This place has become one with the spirit world, and there are illusions everywhere. Okay, when you go up, don’t make a sound, hold my hand tightly, and remember that.” I told her firmly until she understood and nodded repeatedly.
So I aimed at the direction, focused my divine light, and continued running up the illusionary staircase. When I reached the sixth floor, through the dense mass of ghosts, I finally saw Ah Yin. He was surrounded in the middle, chanting incantations and sending beams of red spiritual energy towards the female ghost facing him at the front.
Ah Yin's abilities surprised me. It turned out he had used the lights to set up a "Three Talents and Five Elements Copper Lock Evil-Repelling Array," a very unorthodox array in Qimen Dunjia. I had seen it in the manual Xiaoyue gave me; it's very complex and consumes a large amount of the caster's spiritual energy. However, in this spirit realm, and on the sixth floor, the element of "earth" cannot be used.
The power of the three elements was greatly weakened because they could not rely on "heaven and earth". It was clear that the powerful female ghost was about to rush into the formation.
"I'm going to help Ah Yin. You stay here, I'll protect you with a talisman." With that, I transformed a protective talisman into a beam of white light and injected it into her forehead, shouting:
"Divine soldiers, act swiftly as commanded! Incantations reveal the Holy Spirit!"
A stream of white light immediately emanated from between A-Ying's eyebrows, enveloping her entire body. Before A-Ying could finish speaking in disbelief, her entire body was already enveloped by the spiritual energy I had imbued into the talisman.
Many spirits rushed towards me upon seeing me. I immediately channeled my energy and began reciting scriptures. Each word of the Heart Sutra seemed to transform into countless golden bullets, shooting in all directions. All the vengeful spirits, struck by the golden bullets, immediately stopped and emitted a faint white light. This was their process of calming their resentment. With the addition of the scriptures, they would soon be able to be liberated.
The scriptures flowed like a song, divine light flashed like lightning, and my whole body shone with radiance, just like the "immortal" Ying later described. With each step forward, the world seemed to change, the eerie winds dissipated, the building returned to normal, and the agonizing cries turned into faint groans and sighs. Spirits of the dead rose into the sky like steam. The entire gloomy and heavy building transformed into peace and tranquility in my chanting. Death was life, and there was an indescribable vitality everywhere.
The spirit world greatly extended the space of the floor. The distance between me and Ah Yin was only 10 meters, but it took me a full three minutes to walk there. All the vengeful spirits around me automatically retreated.
At this moment, the female evil spirit had already rushed into the formation, engaging Ah Yin face-to-face in a battle of spiritual energy, trying to break through Ah Yin's spiritual barrier and control him. Ah Yin's originally relaxed face now grew increasingly heavy, his brows furrowed, and for some reason, in addition to being covered in cold sweat, he even shed tears.
The worst part is that I can't get into this ghostly formation. Every time I get within two meters of them, I get disoriented by a white light and can't even see anyone, let alone know which way to go, and I have to worry about the consequences.
I had no choice but to resign and leave, chanting scriptures loudly to amplify my protective spiritual energy. However, this only drove away the vengeful spirits around the exorcising formation, and was completely useless against the two people inside.
I stood anxiously to the side and shouted to Ah Yin, "Hold on! Don't let the female ghost's resentment affect you, or you'll be doomed!"
Suddenly, the female ghost burst into tears, her body trembling with sobs, her emotions running high. It was as if she were watching a Taiwanese soap opera, making one feel sad and want to cry as well.
---janeadam
Reply [44]: When I saw that something was wrong, in a moment of panic, I ran back and threw some magic-enhanced talismans that I had brought at the female ghost. But not only did it not work, it also angered the female vengeful spirit, who looked at me fiercely, with a sinister and hateful expression.
At this moment, the ghost fairy Lin Caixia arrived, rushing to my side as if flying, and said loudly, "Sir, it's no use, we must break the formation first."
It suddenly dawned on me that I flew into the air and scattered golden spiritual energy like falling petals, dissolving the vengeful spirits and revealing the original appearance of the building. Then I saw the eight electric lights that were blessed by magic and immediately smashed them one by one.
The world suddenly brightened, and my golden light enveloped the female ghost and Ah Yin. After the female ghost received my spiritual energy, her expression immediately began to soften, the sinister aura on her face gradually disappeared, and the spiritual energy in her hands also rapidly weakened.
Ah Yin suddenly shuddered and regained his senses. I saw his eyes flash with resentment as he prepared to strike the defenseless female ghost who had lost all will to fight.
"No!" I knew that attack would annihilate the female ghost and condemn her to eternal damnation. I rushed forward like lightning, blocking her path and taking the blow from Ah Yin. A surge of power pierced my lungs, and I felt excruciating pain all over my body, as if my muscles were twisted and my bones were broken. My mouth tasted sweet, and I spat out a mouthful of blood, almost fainting.
Seeing this, Lin Caixia couldn't help but scream. Her indignant eyes immediately filled with black mist, and with a gust of cold wind, she flashed forward, unleashing a burst of spiritual energy at A Yin from the side. A Yin, probably stunned by my actions, didn't even try to block and was sent flying several meters away. As Lin Caixia was about to continue her attack, I groaned and quickly told her to stop.
"Teacher!" "Cousin!"
Just then, Xiaoling and Zhuer ran over with a still-shaken Aying. They surrounded me, looking panicked, and tears were streaming down their faces. They hurriedly helped me sit up, rubbing me here and there while taking advantage of the situation.
The female ghost didn't leave either; she just stood there staring at me blankly.
After I nodded, Lin Caixia said to the female ghost, "Take your child back first and restore this place to its original state. We will come back to you later to help you take revenge and send you and your child to the afterlife."
The female ghost sighed softly. At first, she was filled with resentment, but now it had turned into endless sorrow. However, to me, I could feel a trace of warmth in her voice.
Then she softly began to sing a children's song that was only found in old Shanghai:
"Rock-a-bye, rock-a-bye, to Grandma's bridge, Grandma says I'm a good baby..."
Suddenly the building shook, followed by a loud "waaaah!"—the delicate cry of a baby, and it wasn't just heard in our ears, but deep in everyone's hearts.
All the eerie winds contracted to a point in the upper right sky in the shortest possible time, and the spirit world gradually disappeared. The building returned to its original state, and we were in a large living room with the dim light of streetlights shining in through the window.
An infant in red swaddling clothes gently floated down and landed right in the female ghost's arms. It shifted slightly and seemed to cry loudly again, seemingly dissatisfied, which made everyone present feel a chill run down their spines.
The ghostly woman's mournful song and the baby ghost's wailing gradually faded into the distance.
At this moment, Ah Yin walked over, squatted down, and said, "I'm sorry, are you alright?"
Actually, my injuries weren't as severe as they appeared. I was barely breathing and looked a bit pale, but my protective inner energy quickly soothed my entire body, and I was fine. You see, I possess the power of a Ghost Immortal for fifty years. In terms of inner energy, even two Xiaoyue wouldn't be a match for me.
But I was still very angry at his brutality, and said coldly, "Don't you blame me for stopping you from destroying the spirits?"
"I was too impulsive just now. The female ghost herself wasn't that powerful; the powerful one was the ghost infant above her. All the vengeful spirits were brought down by this ghost infant. If I had really hurt its mother, I don't know what the consequences would have been," he said with lingering fear, but his expression remained indifferent.
“Yes, this ghost baby has a strange power to attract vengeful spirits, like a giant whirlpool. Whenever I get close to it, I feel willing to be devoured by it, which is terrifying,” Lin Caixia said.
“Ghost infants are the most terrifying spirits in this spirit world besides ghosts and gods. Because they die in the womb, they can easily enter a state of absorbing innate true energy and directly attract the power of the spirit world, like a small black hole, naturally absorbing all spiritual energy. Moreover, these ghost infants are repulsive to everything except their mothers, making them incredibly destructive. Fortunately, the ghost infant’s mother was a kind person,” I explained.
"If I'm not mistaken, this year marks the first anniversary of the ghost baby's birth, when its spiritual energy is at its strongest. After tonight, it will perish," I said somberly.
"Ah! Why is this happening?" Xiaoling and Ying exclaimed immediately, their hearts filled with sympathy. "Teacher, let's go help them!"
“That’s exactly what I mean,” I told them. “We follow the spirits to find where they died, and then the baby will calm down. Then I will do my best to prolong the life of the ghost baby. I cannot help spirits whose souls have not yet been formed but whose spiritual power is amazing. Only Xiaoyue can help them.”
---janeadam
Reply [45]:
Chapter Twenty-One: Love Follows Us
The alley was quiet, and we quickly followed the female ghost to within ten meters.