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Next, she picked up the box next to her, gently placed it in the pit, and then covered it with soil.

Upon seeing this, Song Xiaomo trembled involuntarily. A box buried here—what else could it be but an urn? So the box she had been keeping all along contained ashes. Was it real?

Not far away, a flock of owls, as if startled by something, fluttered up from the cemetery and made terrifying hooting noises.

His eyelids twitched involuntarily: Could hearing an owl's hooting be a sign that something ominous was about to happen?

Just as the owl's mournful hooting faded into the distance, he noticed that Song Yun'er had walked to another tombstone on the right. She reached out and touched the photo on the tombstone, lingered for a moment, and then disappeared into the boundless darkness.

Chapter 66: The Ghost Doll Returns (66)

Song Xiaomo gritted her teeth and followed.

As he passed the grave where the box was buried, he went closer to take a look. There was a photograph of a young man on the tombstone, and below it, in bold Chinese characters, was the inscription: "Tomb of Beloved Son Kim In-hyeon..."

"It was him!" Song Xiaomo exclaimed in shock, instinctively backing away. The terrifying image of the room across from the dormitory building flashed before his eyes again. He never imagined that he would end up following a girl to Jin Renxuan's grave in the middle of the night. This was all too mysterious.

He walked to another tombstone, still full of suspicion, and determined from the inscription that it belonged to Shen Meixuan.

After calming down, he was puzzled: Who exactly is Song Yoon-ah? What is her relationship with Kim In-hyun and Shin Mi-hyun? Is that box filled with Kim In-hyun's ashes? He even had a vague feeling that this girl might also have some unknown mysterious connection with the ghost doll.

There are too many mysteries that cannot be solved at the moment, so he can only continue to follow up.

The surroundings were eerily quiet. He held his breath as much as possible, walked quietly, and tried not to make any noise.

Suddenly, a series of strange sounds came from deep within the bushes beside him, rapidly approaching him layer by layer. Upon closer listening, they sounded like rapid breathing, but they didn't seem to be made by humans.

Was that a zombie resurrected? A bone-chilling cold instantly spread throughout Song Xiaomo's body. He subconsciously picked up a soul-summoning banner from the ground and opened his eyes wide with alertness.

Suddenly—he saw something.

From the grass, a pair of eerie green eyes were staring at him. What was that?

It was a black dog, larger than anyone could have imagined. Its mane was thick, its head large, its mouth thick, its tongue lolling out, and several fangs gleamed with a chilling light, as if shot from hell. Song Xiaomo was too frightened to move an inch. He gradually realized—no! The dog facing him wasn't an ordinary dog; it was a Tibetan Mastiff. He knew all too well that once this animal attacked, it would use its immense strength and ferocious wildness to kill its prey. It was an embodiment of a mysterious power, inspiring fear in all who beheld it.

Thinking of all this, he became even more terrified. His hand, gripping the summoning banner, trembled uncontrollably, and he felt all the blood rush to his head. Meanwhile, the Tibetan mastiff pressed closer and closer, the massive black shadow about to launch its attack…

Am I destined to die here tonight? Is fate decreed that I will die far from home? Song Xiaomo looked at the sky in despair and smiled sadly. Then, he raised the summoning banner, gritted his teeth, and said, "So be it, I have no choice but to fight to the death!"

But then, something strange happened.

Suddenly, the Tibetan Mastiff stopped, its eyes instantly filled with terror, its mane trembling as if it sensed the end of the world. Then, the silent night was shattered by a desperate and mournful howl. The mastiff turned, tail between its legs, and darted into the tall grass. The grass surged like a tide…

What scared it away?

Why did it suddenly become so terrified?

Chapter 67: The Ghost Doll Returns (67)

Is there anything in this world that Tibetan mastiffs are afraid of?

Song Xiaomo wiped the sweat from his brow and listened intently to the sounds around him. He surmised that something mysterious and unknown must be lurking nearby. The Tibetan Mastiffs were frightened away by such things.

"You've come?" A ghostly voice suddenly rang out from behind him, startling him so much that he jumped up.

It was Song Yun'er. Her unfathomable, chilling eyes were staring straight at him.

Chapter 68: The Ghost Doll Returns (68)

(twenty one)

"I didn't expect to meet again so soon. Meeting in this kind of setting is really a bit like something out of a ghost story." Song Xiaomo forced a smile, but couldn't suppress the trembling in her heart.

"This is not the time for you to come."

"Why? Can you tell me the reason?"

Song Yoon-ah's expression suddenly turned serious, and she said solemnly, "Let me tell you, what appears here are...ghosts."

"Hehe, does that include you, Nie Xiaoqian?" Song Xiaomo joked, her fear slowly fading away.

She bit her lip noncommittally, then glanced away, asking casually, "You saw everything just now?"

"Yes, I saw you linger at a man's and a woman's graves for a while. May I ask, who are they to you?"

"friend."

"Can you tell me some stories about what happened between you and the deceased before their death?"

"Me and the deceased? A story?" She paused, a troubled look in her eyes, and finally said, "Is it necessary? Why should I tell you all this?"

Song Xiaomo, feeling bored, sighed and said, "Sigh, I'm too lazy to keep asking you. I think I'll find out someday. Now that you've discovered I'm following you, I don't want to stay here anymore. Look, it's the middle of the night, let's leave quickly. I don't want to see any strange things come out."

"Why are you following me?" she asked coldly.

Song Xiaomo glanced at her out of the corner of his eye and said with a mischievous smile, "This is a huge secret. If you want to know, tell me where you live. How about we make a trade?"

“You…” She glared at him fiercely, then turned and left.

"Why are you angry? I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by following you. I was just... just worried about you..." Song Xiaomo chased after him, her face flushed.

Song Yoon-ah slowed her pace and put on her sunglasses as she walked.

Suddenly, Song Xiaomo let out a strange scream, her pupils dilated, and her whole body trembled.

"What happened?" she asked nervously, turning her head to the side.

Song Xiaomo pointed to several graves on the right, her voice trembling as she said, "There...there's someone...he's climbing..."

"Where...where?" Song Yoon-ah's voice changed as she looked warily to her right.

Song Xiaomo walked over and stayed close to Song Yun'er.

“No,” she said.

Song Xiaomo raised her voice and shouted again, "Who's there? Come out quickly!"

No one answered.

“Perhaps he went into hiding. I just saw him crawl out from behind the tombstone. His face was blurry, parts of his skin had peeled off, revealing black, rotting flesh; his tongue was long, his teeth were protruding, and blood was still flowing from his eyes and nostrils. His hands were just bones…” he said in a low voice.

"Really?" The dim moonlight shone on her terrified face.

“It’s true, I really saw him. What’s even more terrifying is that he seemed to only have half a body, and when he crawled, he was dragging a bunch of internal organs and entrails… Did you notice that there are many pairs of eyes around us, staring at us…” He gasped for breath, as if he had really seen a ghost.

Chapter 69: The Ghost Doll Returns (69)

"Please stop talking. Let's get out of here." Song Yun'er interrupted him and leaned closer to him. Song Xiaomo felt a warm current surge into his heart, and a long-lost fragrance wafted towards him. It was her breath.

"Alright, let's get out of this awful place!" With that, Song Xiaomo chuckled secretly. It seemed her tactic had worked quite well, scaring her off immediately. So Song Yun'er was just a mortal after all, not some fearless anomaly. But why would she take such a risk, coming to this eerily quiet place at night? And what about that Tibetan Mastiff? Could she have scared it away? It was truly unbelievable.

After leaving the cemetery, Song Xiaomo finally caught her breath; she was completely soaked.

It was quiet outside, and the two taxis were nowhere to be seen.

"Damn it, there are no more cars now, and it's already 2 a.m.," Song Xiaomo said, glancing at her watch and frowning.

"Just stay here and wait. A car will come as soon as it gets light."

"Alright. That's the only way."

Song Yun'er walked to a spot against the wall, keeping a safe distance from Song Xiaomo. Song Xiaomo occasionally stole glances at her, but couldn't discern what the girl was thinking from her eyes.

Soon, two blinding beams of light shone directly from the front, gradually revealing the outline of a small car.

Song Xiaomo waved through the car window, signaling the driver to stop.

The driver leaned out of the car window and saw a man and a woman standing at the entrance of the cemetery. The woman, in particular, stood motionless, staring blankly at him, her face as white as paper…

"Damn it!" The driver's scalp tingled, and he swerved the steering wheel, whizzing past them.

Then, several more cars arrived, and almost all of them drove away in the same way.

Song Xiaomo felt somewhat helpless and squatted by the roadside, idly counting the stars in the sky.

"Do you think I'm scary?" Song Yoon-ah appeared behind him without him noticing, startling him again.

"Why do you say that?" Song Xiaomo stood up and said, "You're very beautiful... but..."

"But what?"

He hesitated for a moment, then said, "You're dressed quite differently, like an actor, an actor in a ghost movie. If I were one of those drivers, I'd be scared too."

"Then why didn't you hide far away? Aren't you afraid?" Song Yun'er asked, puzzled.

"Why should I be afraid? Besides, you're not a ghost. Even if you were, so what? Who has ever seen such a beautiful ghost? Furthermore, I haven't done anything wrong, so you have no reason to harm me, right?" He straightened his back, trying to keep his gaze calm.

A smile returned to her pale face, and she asked no more questions.

"Can I ask you a few questions?" Song Xiaomo said.

"Ask away."

"Actually, I'm a student at HY University, and I know a little about the tragedy that happened two years ago. I want to ask, what exactly happened between Kim In-hyun and Shin Mi-hyun, who died more than two years ago? Why did you come to their graves in the middle of the night? Is that box filled with Kim In-hyun's ashes? And..."

Chapter 70: The Ghost Doll Returns (70)

"Shut up!" Song Yoon-ah glared at him fiercely, her face full of anger. "You ask too many questions."

"Oh, I was just asking casually. If you don't want to talk about it, that's fine. I swear I'll never ask again." Song Xiaomo didn't dare to look her in the eye. Although she was wearing sunglasses, he sensed a chilling, razor-sharp glint in her eyes. She seemed very averse to being asked about things from two years ago.

Song Xiaomo knew she shouldn't press the matter further; she must have her own unspeakable difficulties.

The two remained silent for a long time. Sometime later, Song Xiaomo leaned against a rock in the corner and drifted off to sleep.

At five in the morning, he was awakened by the chirping of a flock of birds. He opened his eyes, looked around, and found that Song Yun'er was gone. A white jacket was draped over his shoulder, and it seemed that Song Yun'er's scent still lingered on it. He greedily took a few breaths, stood up, and stretched.

"Song Yun'er..." he called out several times, and the sound echoed throughout the empty mountainside.

Why did she leave without saying goodbye? Song Xiaomo stood there, stunned for a long time.

The mountain air was exceptionally fresh in the morning. The sun had not yet risen, and the treetops were still shrouded in a hazy, pale light. A wisp of smoke rose in the distance, and as far as the eye could see, the mountains rose one after another, with jagged tombstones winding up the slopes and stretching out into the distance.

Song Xiaomo gradually recovered from last night's experience, feeling as if she had just had a dream.

She was like the wind, appearing and disappearing without a trace.

Just then, he vaguely heard someone calling his name from ahead. He steadied himself and saw a white pickup truck gradually stop in front of him.

"Xiao Mo, is it really you?" The car window slowly rolled down, revealing a familiar but slightly tired face.

It turned out to be the owner of an antique shop.

"Xiuzi, what are you doing here?" Song Xiaomo was quite surprised.

"Sigh, it's all because I'm helping with the funeral arrangements for my deceased female employee." Hideko showed a sorrowful expression, but quickly forced a smile and said, "Do you have time? I have a little thing to do and I was just looking for someone to help me."

Song Xiaomo was a little tired, but she couldn't refuse, so she could only readily agree.