Night fell quickly. Before setting off, Yu Nian distributed to each person a Taoist robe with talismans drawn on the lining. After tidying up a bit, they left the Qingxin Taoist Temple and headed for the location marked on the map.
When they got there, they found that it was a desolate suburban forest near a graveyard.
The earth was asleep. Apart from the rustling leaves blown by the wind and the occasional cawing of crows from deep within the forest, there was nothing but silence all around.
He Zhiping shivered. "Are you sure we're not lost? This place is so eerie!"
Yu Nian did some calculations and nodded affirmatively. "This is the right place. It's close to the graveyard, so the yin energy is abundant. Let's wait for a while. We're bound to catch the ghosts going to the ghost market. Then we can follow them there."
Zhou Feiyu took out his phone and saw that it was still two hours until midnight. He then told the others, "You guys take a break first. I'll wake you up at midnight."
Yu Nian nodded and reached into his schoolbag as if searching for something.
Qi Rongsheng looked up curiously. He thought Yu Nian would take out some powerful magical artifact of the temple. But after waiting for a while, he saw Yu Nian take out a warm sesame pie.
The wind carried the aroma of the pie, and Qi Rongsheng realized it was filled with beef.
Yu Nian first offered the pie to Feng Chengyuan beside him. Seeing him shake his head, Yu Nian quietly enjoyed it by himself.
Qi Rongsheng was always very picky about food. Usually, he wouldn't even look at such greasy things. But perhaps because it was so cold around, smelling the aroma of the pie, he actually felt a bit hungry.
Realizing this, Qi Rongsheng's face darkened. He muttered under his breath, "Damn it," then got up and walked deep into the forest.
The sound of broken twigs and leaves echoed in the forest. Suddenly, a glint of light flashed in Qi Rongsheng's peripheral vision. He stopped in his tracks and walked suspiciously towards a low bush not far away.
Could it be a little ghost hiding here to scare people?
He pinched a spell with one hand and slowly pushed aside the branches with the other. Then he suddenly came face - to - face with a pair of eyes reflecting an eerie light.
Qi Rongsheng's brows twitched. Just as he was about to take action, a shrill scream exploded in his ear.
"Ghost!"
Then a sticky and warm liquid splashed onto his hand. The stench covered the medicinal fragrance on his body.
Qi Rongsheng's mind went blank. He stiffly lowered his head. This was... black dog blood?
Qi Rongsheng was extremely clean - freak. Usually, he wouldn't allow a single speck of dust on his clothes. Now, his entire arm and even half of his body were smeared with this stinking stuff. He felt like his heart was dead. He stood there motionless as if he had been stuck by a immobilizing talisman.
Everyone was startled by the sudden incident. Zhou Feiyu was so shocked to see his senior brother in such a mess that he couldn't close his mouth.
At the same time, three young people, two men and one woman, sprang out from the low bush.
Each of them held a plastic water gun filled with black dog blood. The moment they pulled the trigger, a stream of black water shot out.
They closed their eyes, looking like they were ready to sacrifice themselves. Without thinking twice, they sprayed Qi Rongsheng.
As they sprayed, they shouted, "Evil spirits, retreat! Retreat!"
But even when the water guns were almost empty, Qi Rongsheng didn't disappear.
Xiao Han patted the water gun and muttered in confusion, "Didn't it say on the Internet that black dog blood can ward off evil spirits? Why hasn't this ghost disappeared..."
Qi Rongsheng's face was so gloomy that he looked like he was about to kill someone. When he spoke, his voice was cold enough to freeze a ten - mile radius. "Is it possible that I'm a human?"
The trio spraying dog blood all paused. One of the girls took a wary step back. "Don't believe him. What normal person would come to a mass grave in the middle of the night? Do you know what it means to tell lies? Ghosts are good at lying!"
Qi Rongsheng gritted his teeth so hard that his gums ached. "Look clearly, you idiots! I have a shadow!"
This shout finally had an effect. The three of them carefully looked behind Qi Rongsheng. In the moonlight, Qi Rongsheng's shadow was stretched very long.
Xiao Han finally let out a sigh of relief and waved his hand. "It's really a human. Stop wasting the black dog blood."
Qi Rongsheng recited the clothes - cleansing spell twice but still couldn't completely get rid of the black dog blood on his body. He cursed, "Where did these idiots come from? Why aren't you sleeping at this hour and come here instead?"
The girl glared at Qi Rongsheng. "Who are you? Why should we tell you?"
Qi Rongsheng clenched his fists tightly. Just as he was about to beat up these people, he heard one of the boys in the group suddenly raise his voice. The boy rushed forward and grabbed Qi Rongsheng's hand excitedly. "Are you Senior Brother Qi? I'm your fan!"
Qi Rongsheng was speechless. He originally wanted to teach these people a lesson, but now that he heard they were his fans, he couldn't get angry. He felt as if he had eaten bitter herbs and couldn't express his grievances.
After some conversation, everyone finally figured out the origins of these three people.
The girl beside Xiao Han was named An Feng, and the taller boy was named Su Wei.
These three were all students from C University. They had always been very interested in metaphysics. After watching the metaphysics competition, they were so inspired that they spontaneously formed an adventure team.
They heard the legend of the ghost market from somewhere and came here specifically to wait.
The name of the adventure team sounded good, but in fact, the three of them had never even experienced a single supernatural event.
Ignorance gives courage. These young and hot - blooded kids checked some information on the Internet, bought some black dog blood for warding off evil spirits, and then came to the mass grave in a group.
After hearing this, Qi Rongsheng had a headache. He thought to himself that these three were really like people coming from afar to offer themselves as sacrifices, bringing a small gift but showing great sincerity.
He took a deep breath and patiently explained the danger of the ghost market to the three of them. Unexpectedly, after hearing this, they not only showed no fear but became even more excited.
An Feng took out her phone excitedly. "If I can take some exciting pictures and post them on Weibo, I'm sure I'll gain a lot of followers."
While they were talking, there was suddenly some movement from the graveyard not far away.
Yu Nian glanced at the sky and said calmly, "It's midnight. They're coming."
The wind blew the twigs and leaves. A pale blue glow appeared in the forest and moved quickly.
Yu Nian pinched a spell with his fingers, hiding the living aura of everyone so that they were no different from the dead.
When the glow got closer, everyone saw that it was a row of ghosts in white clothes.
There were men and women, old and young, all expressionless and lifeless.
At the front were two female ghosts, each holding a small white lantern.
Yu Nian whispered, "These should be the ghosts going to the ghost market. Follow them and don't get discovered."
Everyone nodded. After the ghosts had walked ahead, they carefully got up from the ground, holding their breath and trying not to make a sound as they followed.
The group of ghosts turned one corner after another in the forest, chatting in a soft voice as they walked.
Their tones were very strange, as if they were a pitch higher than normal people's voices. At first listen, it sounded like they were singing.
One ghost said, "I'm so happy. The ghost market is finally open. I'm going to stock up on more white wax this time. I only bought a few last time. It wasn't enough at all. What about you? Have you decided what to buy?"
Another ghost clicked her tongue and complained, "Alas, don't even mention it. My son burned some paper money for me a while ago. Along with it, he burned a paper figurine down and said it was for me to be my servant. But that boy was so clumsy. When he was moving the paper figurine, he broke her leg. So he burned a cripple down for me. Now I have to take care of her. I even have to carry her to the ghost market to buy medicine..."
Everyone followed behind them and could clearly hear their conversation.
He Zhiping had a low threshold for crying and laughing. When he heard something funny, he squeezed Ming Mingzhong's arm hard. Along the way, he managed to hold back his laughter, but Ming Mingzhong's arm was pinched purple.