Meanwhile, in the wing - room where Shen Cuiyu was staying, the female disciples sharing the room had already fallen into a deep sleep due to exhaustion. Just as Shen Cuiyu was about to rest, a faint sobbing sound of a woman suddenly came from outside the window.
The sobbing was plaintive and intermittent, full of indescribable pain, and it was especially clear in the silent night.
"Save me... Someone, please save me... It's so heavy... I can't breathe..."
Shen Cuiyu concentrated and listened for a moment. A look of understanding flashed in her eyes - this was an obvious lure. That thing wanted to lead her out.
She didn't panic. Her fingertips quickly drew several talismans on the door and window frames to protect the sleeping yellow - rank female classmates, in case the evil spirit lured her away. After doing this, Shen Cuiyu turned around and gently pushed open the door.
The cold moonlight bathed the courtyard. By the ancient well in the courtyard, a petite woman in white was sitting.
Her long hair was disheveled, and she hung her head, looking into the well. She was only a few steps away from Shen Cuiyu, but her face seemed to be shrouded in a hazy mist, making it impossible to see clearly.
The woman was sitting sideways at first. As if sensing someone's arrival, her head slowly, almost stiffly, turned bit by bit.
A terrifying bluish - purple face "stared" straight at Shen Cuiyu. In such a cold late autumn, there was not the slightest bit of exhaled warm air around her. Clearly, she was a ghost.
Looking at the woman in front of her, Shen Cuiyu wasn't overly scared. As a celestial master, ghosts had come to her to complain before. So she just asked according to the rules:
"Why are you crying?"
The corner of the woman's mouth drooped slightly, and her sobbing suddenly became clear and heart - rending:
"Save me... It's so cold here... so dark..."
Shen Cuiyu concentrated and took a step forward. By the moonlight, she finally saw clearly - on the woman's back, a huge, moss - covered millstone was firmly tied!
The heavy millstone almost bent her spine, and its edges were deeply embedded in the flesh of her shoulders!
"What's your name, and who harmed you?" Shen Cuiyu asked.
As soon as she said this, the ghost slowly reached out her hand and pointed in a direction - it was exactly the direction of An Peng's room!
At the same time, her tone suddenly became excited:
"She has made me suffer so much! So much!"
"I didn't do anything wrong! Why did she do this to me! Why -!"
"I hate her! I hate her! I want to make her the same as me!"
The woman's sobbing suddenly turned into a shrill scream, full of unwillingness and resentment! As her emotions collapsed, the cold and gloomy resentment around her erupted like a substantial black fog, and her long hair grew crazily as if it had life!
Just then, Pei Yu and the other two heard the commotion and rushed over. Zhang Yushu also opened the door and came out because of the strange noise.
The surging long hair was like a black poisonous snake, accurately wrapping around each person's waist. A powerful, irresistible, bone - chilling force suddenly lifted the five people off the ground and dragged them fiercely towards the deep well!
"Be careful!"
"What is it?!"
Amid the exclamations, everyone felt a strong suction force coming from the wellhead. Their eyes were completely submerged by the dazzling white light, and they instantly lost all sense of direction and perception!
I don't know how long it took before everyone regained consciousness and slowly opened their eyes. What they saw was a somewhat blinding whiteness. Goose - feather - like snowflakes were swirling down from the sky, and the cold wind made them shiver!
"Is... it snowing?!" Zhang Yushu clearly hadn't reacted to what had happened and asked in surprise, "... It's only November. How could there be such a heavy snowfall?"
Everyone steadied themselves and looked around carefully. Their hearts sank.
Where was this still the exquisite courtyard of the Zhang Mansion? As far as the eye could see, there were low adobe houses, muddy country paths, and in the distance, the outlines of continuous ridges and rolling mountains - this was clearly a strange and poor small village!
"Where... is this?" Zhang Yushu looked around blankly. His expression gradually changed from initial fear to an unbelievable surprise. "This seems to be... the village where I lived when I was a child!"
As soon as he said this, it immediately attracted everyone's attention.
Shen Cuiyu's eyes tightened. She keenly captured the key point and immediately asked, "Think carefully. When did you live here?"
Zhang Yushu was still immersed in the trance of revisiting his old place. He didn't realize the strangeness behind this matter. Instead, he explained with a sigh of recalling the past:
"I can't be wrong! Look at that old crooked - necked locust tree. I used to play under it when I was a child. My grandfather's house was at the east end of the village. At that time, my parents were busy making a living, so they left me here. I also studied in the private school in the village for a few years. Later, my grandparents passed away one after another, and my parents took me away. I haven't been back since... I didn't expect that I would come here in this way today..."
There was even a hint of inappropriate nostalgia and novelty in his tone. He didn't notice at all the strangeness and danger of being forcibly dragged here by that terrifying ghost.
Pei Yu and Shen Cuiyu exchanged a look and understood each other tacitly.
Zhong Shengwan hugged her arms and coldly sized up this seemingly ordinary village, frowning tightly.
An invisible uneasiness, like the quietly spreading morning mist, enveloped everyone's hearts.
Just then, in the expanse of white, a group of about seventeen or eighteen people seemed to be walking from afar. The one in the lead was a young woman.
They were too far away for everyone to see her clearly. They only noticed her luxurious little jacket and fox fur, which were out of place with the surroundings.
It wasn't until this group of people got closer that everyone could see the appearance of the person in the lead. It was more appropriate to call her a little girl. She looked at most thirteen or fourteen years old and must not have reached the age of coming of age.
She walked leisurely at the front. Her steps were not fast, but no one dared to overtake her. The little girl seemed to enjoy this feeling very much. She held her head high, with a flamboyant smile on her face. She was like the moon surrounded by stars, extremely imposing!
Everyone stared at the girl for a while and suddenly felt that she looked familiar.
Wasn't this An Peng when she was much younger?!
Zhang Yushu obviously recognized the person in front of him. He was stunned for a moment and finally realized something was wrong!
Everything in front of them didn't seem to exist in reality at this moment. It was more like a dream... Could it be something that really happened in the past?
What on earth was going on?!!
All of this was too strange. Zhang Yushu belatedly felt scared and subconsciously wanted to shout!
Dongfang Xiao beside him had anticipated this. He quickly covered Zhang Yushu's mouth!
"Don't shout! They can't see us now! Don't startle them!"
Zhang Yushu calmed down for a while and forced himself to be calm. He gently patted Dongfang Xiao's arm to indicate that he didn't need to cover his mouth anymore...