I covered my mouth with my hand, trying my best not to make a sound. Slowly, I turned my head back and found that the one who had grabbed my shoulder was a blind ghost with both eyes gouged out. On his emaciated and pale face, there were two empty blood - holes, looking extremely terrifying.
I gritted my back teeth hard, trying to hold back my body from moving.
This ghost with gouged - out eyes just grabbed my shoulder for a moment, then slowly removed his hand and turned away.
I guessed he must have patted the wrong person.
I still stood there, not daring to move. After he had walked a certain distance away, my body finally relaxed.
It seemed that he had sensed the opening of the ghost gate, which was why he accidentally bumped into me.
Looking around, quite a few souls had already sensed the opening of the ghost gate and were slowly walking towards it.
I crouched down and walked against the direction of the ghosts, looking down for small animals I could find.
I hadn't noticed it outside the ghost gate before, but it was extremely cold inside. It wasn't just ordinary coldness; it was that bone - chilling coldness with a hint of dampness.
I carried the blue lantern and looked down for all kinds of small animals. After walking for a while, I found a little rabbit in front of me.
She was lying there in a daze beside the equinox flower.
I was extremely excited. I rushed over and covered her with both hands, trapping the little rabbit in my palms.
She was so tiny, only about the size of half a palm, and super cute.
After catching her, I gently put her into my pocket and then continued to look forward.
The deeper I went, the colder it got. Although I was a soul now, this kind of cold was still a bit too much for a living soul like me. White air was emanating from my body, as if my soul was freezing.
Just when I caught the ninth small animal, I felt like I was about to die.
I only needed one more. I just had to endure it a bit longer; I was sure I could find it.
I put my hand on the blue lantern. I had thought there would be a candlelight inside to warm me up, but unexpectedly, the flame of the candle was already wrapped in ice shards and couldn't give out even a bit of heat.
I really couldn't hold on anymore. My body felt like it was soaking in ice - cold water, and I kept shivering.
I slowly walked to the side of the road and squatted among the equinox flowers. Watching the souls float by one by one, I was extremely anxious. I wanted to give up but couldn't.
If I asked Guyuan to pick me up now, all the nine small animals I had caught would be in vain. I didn't want Yan Lin to be a retard after being resurrected.
It wasn't until I saw something moving in the equinox flowers on the opposite side.
I was overjoyed. Without caring about the cold, I tapped my foot and leaped into the air, passing through those souls and arriving directly on the opposite side.
Sure enough, there was a little white snake as thick as a little finger in the equinox flower bushes.
At the moment, it was lying in the grass, motionless, seemingly frozen stiff.
Poor thing, little white snake. Don't be afraid. I'll take you out right away.
I quietly bent down. Just as my hands were about to hold it, it was grabbed by another hand.
I was anxious to get the little white snake back. As soon as I looked up at that person, I was stunned the next second.
The girl standing in front of me playing with the snake had the same face as mine. However, she was wearing a traditional Chinese dress and had a lily - shaped hair bun on her head. She was playing with the little white snake as if there was no one else around.
I was just about to step forward and ask her for the little white snake when a sweet male voice came from behind me.
“That's not yours. Are you looking for this?”
I turned around and saw a handsome young man with silver hair and blue eyes standing behind me.
He had a handsome face, a tall stature, and a white casual outfit that made him look fresh and clean. His pair of blue eyes seemed to hold the stars in the sky.
There were a pair of fluffy white ears growing out of his silver hair, and there was a big snow - white tail behind him. He was just like the male protagonist of a nine - tailed fox in an animated cartoon, except he only had one tail.
I looked down at the little fox in his hand, not knowing whether I should take it or not.
Watching that girl put the little white snake into her sleeve, I moved my feet, trying to get it back.
“That doesn't belong to you. This is yours.” The boy's voice was like a silver bell ringing in the valley, with a natural sense of emptiness.
I stopped in my tracks. Watching that girl leave with the little white snake, I felt sad for some reason, as if my most beloved thing had been snatched away.
It wasn't until that girl completely disappeared on the road that I came to my senses.
I picked up the bag in my hand. The boy put the little fox into my pocket.
I looked down and counted. There were exactly ten of them.
I nodded to that boy, looked at the direction where the girl had disappeared reluctantly, and then walked back along the original path.
That young man in white clothes always followed behind me. I didn't say a word, and neither did he. I didn't know whether he was a friend or a foe, so I could only keep walking.
Just when I was about to reach the door, my body was so cold that I couldn't move at all.
I didn't even have the strength to raise my hand and shake the bell.
White air was constantly coming out of my mouth. That boy still stood behind me, looking at me curiously, seemingly not understanding why I was so cold.
After taking a moment to recover, I propped up my body and squeezed out from the crack in the door.
The moment I stepped out, I squatted on the ground, constantly blowing hot air into my palms and patting my face.
But there was no warmth at all. A soul was cold by nature.
Jixiang was still guarding inside the soul - collecting banner. Seeing me covered in frost, there was pity on his face.
He quickly took out a yellow talisman and informed Guyuan to close the door.
Suddenly, a big black cat suddenly pounced on me.
“Be careful!” Jixiang threw away the talisman paper. Without caring about informing Guyuan, he leaped into the air and knocked me down.
“Meow~” The big black cat let out a loud cry and jumped directly over us. Seeing that it had missed,
It slowly turned its cat's head, showing a fierce look in its eyes. It walked slowly with a confident look.
There was another meow. This time, the big black cat became smarter. It lowered its body and jumped into the air, directly knocking Jixiang down under its body.
Jixiang was a rat. He was definitely afraid of cats. It was obvious that his body was shivering.
I staggered to my feet and was about to drive away the big black cat.
But I heard a chorus of ghostly wails coming from inside the ghost gate. Hearing the meow of the cat, those souls immediately found the exit and rushed out of the door like a swarm.
The soul - collecting banner spun, and the copper bells jingled, resounding throughout the pass. The souls that rushed out turned into white lights and “whooshed” into the bells.
“Little Brother Ma, go and hold the soul - collecting banner. Don't let it fall.”
“But what about you...”
“Go quickly.” Jixiang was so scared by the big black cat that his voice trembled, but he still told me to go and hold the soul - collecting banner.
The soul - collecting banner was shaking violently at the moment. The souls were constantly hitting the top of the banner. If I didn't hold it, it would really fall.
I took another look at Jixiang. His arm was tightly pressed by the big cat. The big cat was drooling, and its big mouth was already pressing on Jixiang's neck. Its golden eyes were filled with the cruelty of hunting prey.
“Go quickly. I can hold on. If these ghosts rush out, we'll all be in big trouble.”
“Sigh!” I didn't hesitate any longer. I rushed directly under the soul - collecting banner and firmly grabbed the pole of the soul - summoning banner with my right hand.
But as soon as I grabbed it, I felt the wailing sounds ringing in my ears. The sound was deafening. All kinds of terrifying and strange souls were constantly passing through my body.
Most of those who wanted to escape from the ghost gate were people who had died a violent death. Their death was extremely tragic. It was quite common for them to be missing arms or legs.
Even more terrifying were those with their faces blurred by blood, their eyeballs hanging out, and their internal organs spilling out of their abdomens. They looked both terrifying and disgusting.
My body was being bumped around by the ghosts, and the pain was unbearable. Those souls saw me as if I was their hope. Even the soul - collecting banner couldn't stop them, and they all rushed towards me.
Enduring the tearing pain all over my body, I shouted, “Ah, Jixiang, I can't hold on anymore.”
“Damn it, I forgot. Little Brother Ma, you have yin bones, and your soul is also extremely yin. They must be looking for you. Let go, or you'll die.”
“Ah, it hurts so much.” I kept screaming to remind myself not to let go. If I let go, not only would I die, but I might also drag the whole sect down with me.
We were both in great danger now. I held the soul - collecting banner tightly with my hands. My three souls and seven spirits were almost scattered. My body was shivering constantly, and I was freezing cold.
I desperately shook the bell in my hand and shouted Guyuan's name loudly.
If he didn't come soon, I would really turn into a corpse.
Just when I was on the verge of despair, suddenly a person appeared behind me. He pressed the soul - collecting banner with one hand.
Guyuan? Is that you?