The fact that the teachers and students of the entire department had been assimilated by the vengeful qi was no small matter. Feng Chengyuan stayed in the school infirmary to take care of the unconscious people, while Deng Yang and Yu Nian found the school principal to explain the situation to him.
The principal of University A was a middle - aged man in his forties, with deep - set eyes and thick earlobes. There was an inherent dignity in his every gesture.
As he listened to the frequent mentions of words like "vengeful qi", "strange people", and "ancient tomb" in Deng Yang's words, he gave Deng Yang a complex look.
"Xiao Deng, is the academic pressure on the archaeology department too high recently? It's understandable that young people have rich imaginations. If there's nothing else, you can go back first."
Deng Yang got a bit anxious and pointed at Yu Nian standing behind him. "Principal, I'm really not lying! If it weren't for Master Yu here, Jiang Jin and I would have died in the research institute just now!"
The principal was slightly taken aback when he looked at Yu Nian. He didn't surf the Internet much, so he didn't recognize Yu Nian.
The girl in front of him was young and beautiful. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that she was a student from some department.
Who would believe that a girl about the same age as his daughter claimed to be a master?
The principal seemed a bit annoyed by Deng Yang's chattering and whispered, "That's enough. Don't say any more. After so many years of scientific education, how can you still believe such a quack?"
He paused for a moment and then looked at Yu Nian warningly. "The consequences of outsiders sneaking into the research institute are very serious. Considering your young age, I won't hold you accountable. Leave University A quickly, or I'll call the security guards!"
Yu Nian showed no expression and calmly said, "You'd better watch the surveillance footage before making a decision."
The principal's expression immediately dropped, and an aura of displeasure emanated from his body.
He thought Yu Nian was provoking him. Without saying a word, he led the two of them to the monitoring room.
The surveillance footage made a crackling sound. The scene of Deng Yang leading Yu Nian and Feng Chengyuan sneaking into the research institute slowly appeared in front of everyone.
The principal sneered. Just as he was about to criticize the two of them, the surveillance footage turned blood - red. Several strange, pitch - black figures suddenly emerged on the screen, moving nimbly on the walls.
Their distorted faces, strange postures, and agile movements... Everything proved that the things in the picture were definitely not normal humans!
When the principal saw the scene where Jiang Jin was lifted into the air by the strange people, he broke out in a cold sweat.
It wasn't until Yu Nian rescued Jiang Jin that the principal let out a sigh of relief.
The ten - minute surveillance video felt extremely long to the principal. Thinking of his contemptuous attitude towards Yu Nian just now, he immediately felt extremely remorseful!
The moment the video finished playing, he immediately rushed in front of Yu Nian, smiling more painfully than crying.
"Master! You can't leave! What will we do if you leave?!"
This vengeful qi was contagious. In just one week, all the teachers and students in the archaeology department had turned into these half - human, half - ghost forms.
If left unchecked, I'm afraid all the teachers and students in University A would be assimilated by the vengeful qi! The principal swallowed hard and didn't even dare to think about the scene at that time!
That afternoon, the principal followed Yu Nian's advice and surrounded the research room layer upon layer, not allowing students to approach.
Yu Nian took out a stack of talismans and pasted them in various corners of the campus to prevent the vengeful qi from spreading further.
...
Feng Chengyuan accompanied Yu Nian and watched the surveillance footage several times, but he still had some doubts in his heart.
Who on earth was this old ghost? He had been dead for two thousand years. Why didn't he go to reincarnate? Why did the old ghost have such powerful ghostly power? What was his purpose in controlling everyone? Was it just as simple as harming people?
The next day, Yu Nian took the mysterious brocade box and went with everyone to the location of the ancient tomb - Taohua Village.
Taohua Village was located in a rather secluded place. The closer they got to the village, the more rugged the road became. After officially entering the village, they saw many stone tablets along the way, which were the remains left by the archaeological team.
Jiang Jin, who was traveling with them, suddenly felt cold for no reason. Rubbing her arms, she wondered, "There are so many ancient tombs here."
Deng Yang explained, "Although Taohua Village is small in area, its history is very long. It's not surprising that there are many ancient tombs underground. It's a pity that in the 1990s, many of the ancient tombs here were emptied by tomb robbers. It's really a sin! The villagers couldn't stand it, so they voluntarily surrounded the tombs."
About ten minutes later, a luxury car stopped at the entrance of Taohua Village. Seeing the handsome men and beautiful women getting out of the car one after another, the villagers were quite curious. Some even warmly surrounded them.
"You're from out of town, right? What are you doing in Taohua Village?"
Deng Yang blushed and smiled shyly. Knowing that this matter couldn't be publicized, he said vaguely, "We're students from the archaeology department of University A who were researching the ancient tomb on the mountain before. There was a problem during our recent research, so we came here specifically for an investigation. However, the mountain roads in Taohua Village are complex and rugged. Could any of you kind folks show us the way?"
To everyone's surprise, after hearing Deng Yang's words, the villagers' expressions suddenly changed. Some even showed anger in their eyes.
"What archaeological team? Don't play this game! You should leave quickly! We don't welcome you here!" After saying that, the villagers scattered like they had seen something extremely terrifying.
Only a sixteen - or seventeen - year - old boy casually leaned against the wall, staring at them with his pitch - black eyes without blinking.
"They won't take you to the ancient tomb."
The smile on Deng Yang's face instantly froze. He wondered, "What's going on? The villagers were very enthusiastic when Professor Sun and I came here last time! Why do they look at us like we're the plague this time?"
The boy licked his chapped lips and replied, "There were words engraved on the coffin that said 'Those who open the coffin will die'. You still insisted on opening it, which violated the taboo of Taohua Village." He paused for a moment and pointed to the distant mountain. Everyone looked in that direction and saw a stretch of charred land.
"What's that?"
"Not long after you left, there were strange celestial phenomena. Several thunderbolts struck down one after another, damaging several buried coffins and starting a mountain fire. In the end, the village head had no choice but to forcibly set up a firebreak, which prevented a major disaster. The fire burned for two full days and nights before it went out."
"Heavenly thunder strikes the coffin?" Yu Nian slightly raised her eyebrows, surprised in her heart.
This strange phenomenon was definitely not something that ghostly power could create. It seemed more like the Heavenly Way was giving everyone a hint.
Hearing this, Deng Yang was in a difficult situation. "This is bad. The terrain on the mountain is complex, and there are often thick fogs. If the villagers won't take us up, we'll most likely get lost."
The sullen boy suddenly said, "I can take you up, but you have to agree to a condition of mine."
"Condition?" Jiang Jin curled her lips. "At such a young age, you've learned to be a money - grubber. Come on, how much do you want?"
The boy shook his head. "Just take me out of the village for a meal."
Feng Chengyuan stood there without saying a word. Looking directly at the boy, he asked, "All the other villagers are afraid. Why aren't you?"
A mocking smile appeared on the boy's lips. "The villagers in the village are all afraid of me. They think I'm an inauspicious being."
This sentence contained too much information, and everyone didn't quite react.