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"What's wrong?" Fang Lei stepped forward and took her hand. After examining it closely, her expression changed drastically. She immediately pulled out the hairpin from her hair and stabbed it into Li Hai's palm. Black, viscous blood flowed from her skin, accompanied by a pungent stench.

"Good luck!" Fang Lei instructed Li Hai, while continuing to draw a talisman on his palm with the hairpin. The sharp hairpin cut through the skin, and black blood immediately covered his entire palm, making it look as if Li Hai's entire hand had been dipped in ink. Drops of black blood fell to the ground, and the surroundings were eerily quiet. I could hear Li Hai's breathing and the dripping of blood. Gradually, the black blood turned dark red, then a deep crimson, and finally a bright red like normal blood. Only then did Li Hai exhale a long breath.

"This corpse poison is really potent!" Li Hai said, panting heavily.

"Is there poison on the iron gate?" I looked at the iron gate next to me and said, "No way, I've touched it before!"

"That's because the Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost Jade on your body can ward off corpse poison," Li Hai replied somewhat weakly.

"Really?" I didn't expect this jade to have such an effect. I touched it with delight, but then I thought about it again and realized something was wrong. So I asked, "Don't you also have immortal jade? Is it useless?"

Li Hai was taken aback by my question. Yes, although Lin Xiao had the Ten-Thousand-Year Ghost Jade protecting him, he also had the Ten-Thousand-Year Immortal Jade. Why didn't he have the same effect? Li Hai tilted his head and thought for a while, but he probably couldn't figure it out for the time being. He could only shrug helplessly at me.

"What do we do now?" Fang Lei asked worriedly, looking at the closed iron gate. "We can't exactly climb over it, can we?"

"Let me see if I can open it," I said, pushing the iron gate. With a creak, the gate opened slowly to both sides. I had only used a very small amount of force to test it; the iron gate looked extremely heavy, and theoretically, it shouldn't be possible to open it. Yet now, the gate moved slowly, as if an invisible hand had opened this door for us, revealing a pebbly path that wound its way towards a building deep in the dense forest. I involuntarily took a step back. I truly didn't know whether what awaited us inside was a near-death experience or the terror of entering hell.

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-One: Anatomy

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-One: Anatomy

We were now standing in the hall of this old-fashioned Western-style house, surrounded by complete darkness, with only Li Hai's lighter illuminating a small area. The red glow of the lighter reflected on Li Hai's face had an indescribable eeriness; the whites of his eyes were illuminated by the light, making them look like a pair of red eyes staring at you.

"Should we split up and search separately?" Li Hai hesitated for a moment before asking.

"No, together!" I quickly rejected his suggestion. It's better to stick together in this godforsaken place; there will be more people around.

“Okay!” Li Hai nodded and walked up the stairs. Fang Lei and I followed behind, hand in hand. The stairs were wooden, and perhaps due to years of disrepair, they creaked and groaned underfoot!

Generally speaking, people have a sixth sense. Just like now, I feel that someone is following behind us, and their footsteps are in sync with ours.

I turned around, but there was nothing there.

Li Hai walked ahead, the light from his lighter slightly obscured, and Fang Lei and I were practically walking in complete darkness, only able to vaguely make out each other's silhouettes.

In the blink of an eye, I saw a small figure pass between me and Fang Lei, and a cool breeze brushed against my skin.

At the top of the stairs, Li Hai extinguished the lighter. Leaving it lit for too long would make it extremely hot to the touch. In that instant of darkness, Fang Lei's body nestled into my arms, and I could smell a fresh fragrance completely different from the rotten smell in the house.

The sparks that appeared before the lighter was lit again danced in my eyes, followed by a faint light. Li Hai stretched his hand forward, showing us a long corridor and doors on both sides.

Without saying a word, Li Hai strode out, walked towards the nearest door at the end of the corridor, and reached out to push it open.

"Wait a minute." My voice was so low that I couldn't even hear it myself as I took his hand.

“If you don’t go and see for yourself, you’ll never know what’s inside.” Li Hai looked at me, and I knew I couldn’t change his mind, so I lowered my hand.

Just then, the door opened by itself.

Li Hai and I exchanged a glance. The room was pitch black, and the faint light from the lighter couldn't penetrate it at all. But I could feel countless shadowy figures lurking around, filled with darkness and resentment.

"How about you treat me to dinner tomorrow?" Li Hai asked, his eyes fixed on the room.

"Okay, I'll treat you to Sichuan food," I replied without thinking.

Li Hai nodded, a faint smile playing on his lips, and went inside first. His figure immediately disappeared into the darkness, as if swallowed by it. I was worried and pulled Fang Lei along, wanting to follow, but just as I took a step, the door closed. Darkness enveloped us.

"Li Hai!" Fang Lei and I exclaimed at the same time; I think fear was written all over our faces.

Fang Lei pushed the door, but didn't move. I couldn't see her face in the darkness, so I just gripped her hand and pulled her into my arms. The delicate body in my arms trembled violently, and I rested my chin on her hair, holding her tightly.

"Don't worry, see if you can open other doors?" I gently comforted Fang Lei, trying my best to remain calm, but my trembling voice betrayed my inner fear.

I hooked Fang Lei into my arms with my left arm, and reached for the wall with my right, thinking that if I followed the wall forward, I would eventually find the next door. I touched the wall; unlike the hard texture of a normal wall, it was soft. But this wasn't a soft, elastic, or warm one; it felt stiff, damp, and cold, like the skin of a dead person, a chill creeping into my fingers. I didn't pull my hand away, because I didn't want Fang Lei to worry any more. Suppressing my disgust and fear, I groped my way forward, laboriously leading Fang Lei step by step.

A door! It's a door! I never imagined that touching a door could excite me so much. I felt Fang Lei in my arms move excitedly as well. I gently pushed the door open, and there was only darkness.

I led Fang Lei into the room, and once inside, I realized it wasn't as dark as the hallway. I could vaguely see European-style furniture and a large bed. The bed was typical of the English style, with four pillars supporting a canopy from which layers of misty gauze cascaded down, obscuring the person lying on the bed. I could only tell it was a person from their figure.

Should we go take a look...?

He released Fang Lei's hand, parted the veil, and revealed Li Hai lying stiffly on the bed, his face pale. But what froze me in place wasn't this. His clothes were open, exposing his internal organs, because the skin and muscle layers of his chest cavity were completely gone. The mucous membrane covering the organs was still there, looking slippery, but there was no blood, not a drop. It looked like one of those dissected anatomical busts in a university lab. This required highly skilled anatomical techniques: the organs undamaged, no blood splattered.

I tried to call Fang Lei's name, but no sound came out. I reached back and tried to grab her hand, but there was no warm little hand from her, only air. I turned around, but Fang Lei had already disappeared.

In the dim light, I saw the demon's hideous grin.

Rushing out of the room, I didn't have the courage to touch Li Hai's body. I stumbled towards the stairs, almost tumbling down them. But just as I was about to escape this haunted house, I stopped.

What should I do about Fang Lei? Where did she go? Was that really Li Hai? Or was it just a hallucination? All these questions flooded my mind, and a sliver of reason made me turn around again.

A door appeared in the entryway below the stairs, a door we hadn't noticed before. No one touched it, yet the door slowly opened. I knew perfectly well that it was another trap…

But my foot had already stepped inside.

Inside the door was a downward staircase, presumably leading to the basement. The staircase continued downwards until another door appeared. The door was ajar, and through the crack, I saw a person in a white coat and medical cap standing beside a dissection table. A human body lay on it, but due to the angle, I couldn't see the face. The person slowly reached for a scalpel beside them, and in the dim light, I saw that their hand was wrapped in bandages.

A bandaged ghost?!

"Stop!" I don't know where I got the courage, but I pushed open the door and shouted at him.

The figure slowly turned her head. Her face, covered in bandages and stained with blood, had one bulging eyeball filled with yellow pus. The fierce glint in her eyes sent chills down my spine. Glancing at the dissection table, I immediately trembled. It was Fang Lei, completely naked. Although her beautiful body was laid bare before me, I felt no attraction. Her appearance only evoked thoughts of death and fear—not the feeling Fang Lei's body should evoke. What worried me even more was that I had no idea whether she was alive or dead, because her face was so pale, devoid of any life.

"Are you here?" The bandaged ghost's hoarse and unpleasant voice rang in my ears. I stared blankly at his grinning face, cold sweat streaming down my cheeks.

"Let her go!" I clenched my fists. I couldn't run away; I had to save her. She was my lover, and if anyone was to die, I wouldn't let her go alone. One Yin Xue was enough.

"Okay!" The bandaged ghost's answer stunned me. I didn't expect him to agree so readily. Although I knew there must be another ulterior motive, I still quickly walked to the dissection table and stretched out my hand.

No, I was going to check Fang Lei's breath, so how did my hand end up with the scalpel? Panicked, I tried to let go, but my right hand gripped the scalpel tightly. I reached out my left hand to try and take the scalpel away, but instead, my left hand gently pressed down on Fang Lei's shoulder. My body involuntarily leaned forward.

"No, no!" I shouted. I knew this position all too well, because it was the position I always used when I was about to dissect a corpse. Right hand holding the scalpel, left hand pressing down on the corpse's shoulder, body leaning slightly forward.

"Hahaha...hahaha...!" The bandaged ghost's shrill laughter echoed in the air, each echo like a thread wrapping around my neck. I felt suffocated; death was opening its doors to me, and Yin Xue was waving at me from the other side of the door.

My right hand, holding the knife, slowly moved downwards. Everything seemed to be in slow motion. I felt the blade touch Fang Lei's smooth skin, just waiting for me to exert more force.

"No, stop!" I screamed desperately again, fear and despair surging over me like a tidal wave. I had never felt such dread of dissection as I did now.

"You've never dissected a live human, have you?" The bandaged ghost's eyes gleamed with triumphant madness as he laughed. "Have you ever felt the sensation of blood flowing from a blade across a person's supple skin? Have you ever felt the sensation of a blade cutting through a person's taut muscle layer and seeing the blood vessels? Have you ever felt the sensation of a blade slicing open a person's internal organs and seeing them still writhing?"

"Enough! Enough! I don't want to feel this!" I yelled desperately, "You're crazy!"

"Haha, madman? Haven't you ever dissected anything?" the bandaged ghost pointed at me.

“That’s different, those are all dead people! They’re corpses!” I shook my head, the blade already pressed down gently, and I saw a little red flowing out from the tip of the blade.

"Corps? Haha! Aren't they all the same? They're all the same filthy, fragile bodies?" The bandaged ghost spread his hands in front of his eyes and laughed maniacally.

Are they the same? Are they the same? Are they both filthy, fragile living beings and corpses? I don't know. I only know that if I don't stop, the blade will slice through Fang Lei's throat, and that beautiful body will truly become a cold corpse. The bandaged ghost's maniacal laughter echoed in my ears, the piercing ringing seeming to rampage through my brain. The scenery before my eyes blurred, but Yin Xue's face gradually became clear. The sorrowful look in her eyes from my dreams grew stronger.

Yin Xue, are you punishing me? Or is this fate's arrangement, forcing me to dissect the person I love with my own hands?

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-Two: The Sewers

Book One: Three Ghosts of the City, Chapter Fifty-Two: The Sewers

A glaring red welt on Fang Lei's snow-white neck was my handiwork. My right hand was still moving, and the fear of feeling the blade slicing downwards and the sorrow of being powerless to stop it made me tremble all over.

"Haha...haha...can you feel it?" The bandaged ghost shouted excitedly from the side, his eyeballs almost popping out of their sockets.

Damn it! I tried my best to control my body, but my right hand was like it was possessed and wouldn't obey me. I felt like a demon was inside my body, manipulating me.

"Lin Xiao!" Just when I was in utter despair, Li Hai's voice suddenly rang out. I never imagined his voice could be more beautiful than heavenly music. Then a beam of blue light shot into my body, like an electric current coursing through my entire being. My whole body went numb, and I collapsed to the ground. Thankfully, that damned scalpel hadn't severed Fang Lei's throat. Then came another scream, and I saw the bandaged ghost, its body billowing black smoke, retreating to the side.

"Li Hai, you're not dead?" I was overjoyed to see the lively Li Hai running towards me and lifting me up from the ground.

"Dead?" Li Hai gave me a strange look and said, "How could that be? I still want to eat the Sichuan food you're treating me to!"

Hehe, I chuckled. This person seems quite energetic! So what I saw in the room earlier must have been a hallucination. Thinking of this, I suddenly remembered Fang Lei.

"Fang Lei!" I quickly took off my coat and draped it over her shoulders. I didn't want her to continue exposing herself like this!

"You take care of her, I'll deal with this guy!" Li Hai glared fiercely at the bandaged ghost, rolled up his sleeves, and looked like he was looking for a fight, except that his target was a ghost.

Looking down at Fang Lei in my arms, I saw blood still flowing from her neck. I quickly pulled out a handkerchief and pressed it against the wound. I checked Fang Lei's breathing; thankfully, she was still alive!

"Fang Lei, Fang Lei!" I shook her and felt her move slightly. Meanwhile, Li Hai and the bandaged ghost were already fighting, but it seemed the bandaged ghost was all show and no substance; Li Hai had gained the upper hand. Yellow talismans kept hitting the bandaged ghost's body, and thick black smoke billowed from it.

"Heavenly Thunder Talisman!" Li Hai shouted, and a yellow talisman carrying a bolt of lightning struck the bandaged ghost, accompanied by a faint rumble of thunder.

"Ahhhhhh!" The bandaged ghost's miserable scream sent chills down my spine, and I instinctively hugged Fang Lei tightly in my arms.

The bandaged ghost had turned completely black, with thick yellow fluid oozing from its charred body. Li Hai clasped his hands together in a V-shape, chanting incantations. A blue halo gradually formed at the tip of his index finger, growing larger and larger. Then, he shot towards the bandaged ghost, trapping it within the halo. The halo tightly constricted its body, and the bandaged ghost's shrill screams grew fainter and fainter, on the verge of disappearing.

Suddenly, just when I thought Li Hai was about to finish off the bandaged ghost, he roared again and broke free of the light ring that was binding him.

"Don't run!" Li Hai chased after the bandaged ghost, but to our surprise, the bandaged ghost passed through the wall and disappeared. When Li Hai reached the wall, he crashed into it.

"Ouch! That hurts!" Li Hai cried out, rubbing his forehead where he had been hit.

"Hey, why can't you get through?" I pointed to the wall. Didn't the book say that cultivators have the ability to pass through walls?

"Nonsense, I'm a human!" Li Hai kicked the wall and walked to my side.

"What do we do now?" I asked, holding the still unconscious Fang Lei, with some concern. On one hand, I really wanted to continue the investigation, but on the other hand, I was worried about Fang Lei's health.

"Let's go back first!" Li Hai shrugged helplessly. It seemed that this time he could only return empty-handed.

"You...you don't need to worry about me," Fang Lei, who was in my arms, suddenly spoke.

"You're awake?" I looked at Fang Lei's face happily. The joy of finding her again made me hug her even tighter.

"Yes, yes!" Fang Lei probably realized she was lying naked in my arms, and nodded shyly. Her previously pale face flushed. She tugged at her clothes, but even my large clothes couldn't completely cover her, and her two long, slender, fair legs were still exposed to the two of us, two grown men. A woman's innate shyness made even a cultivator like her tremble slightly, her skin glowing with a faint pinkish hue. Fang Lei's shy and embarrassed appearance made her even more pitiful and captivating, making me want to devour her right then and there.

I swallowed hard, trying not to let my mind wander to anything inappropriate for children, and said, "But the way you are now..."

"It's alright," Fang Lei interrupted me. "I'm fine now."

Looking into Fang Lei's eyes, I knew that although she was afraid, nothing could make her back down. She was a brave woman who would never give up.

"Okay!" I nodded, then looked at Li Hai, who also nodded in agreement. I think he didn't want to go back empty-handed either.

"Let me take a look at that wall." I walked up to the wall, touched it, and then tapped it. It made a thud. "This wall must be hollow."

"Really?" Fang Lei and Li Hai walked over.

I tapped on various parts of the wall, hoping to find the mechanism to open it.

"How is it?" Li Hai asked anxiously.