Chapter 23: The Path of Man, The Road of Ghosts
Watching Yang Haoran step back into the room, the rotting old woman's eyes revealed a hint of confusion, then she sinisterly chuckled, "Hehehehe, young man, are you reluctant to leave this old woman?"
Hearing that Yin-laden voice, Yang Haoran trembled even more violently. Filled with fear, every step he took forward seemed to drain all his strength. He had no extra energy left to reply to the rotting old woman.
Even if he had the strength, he didn't have the courage to answer. When he usually pretended to be a ghost exorcist, his heart would be pounding with anxiety. Now that he had genuinely encountered a ghost, where would he find the courage to haggle with it?
When he played the part of a ghost master, he was a great actor, very adept with his words, but that was when he faced people. This situation was entirely different; he wasn't facing a person, he was facing a ghost. A ghost! The two couldn't be lumped together.
The unknown often brought fear, and the existence of ghosts was deeply ingrained in people's hearts. Before encountering one, how many people would dismiss them, scoffing at the idea even when occasionally discussed? Yet, when truly encountering a ghost, even the bravest person would be thoroughly terrified.
Under immense psychological pressure, Yang Haoran unknowingly bit through his lip, a trickle of fresh blood flowing from the corner of his mouth. But he paid it no mind, inching his way closer to Jiang Zhenzhen on the floor.
Seeing that Yang Haoran hadn't replied, the rotting old woman's face twisted into a grimace. An ear-splitting ghostly shriek emanated from her mouth, seemingly a threat.
Yang Haoran pretended not to hear, and pretended not to see, quickening his steps towards Jiang Zhenzhen.
As Yang Haoran approached, the rotting old woman's body receded to the side, maintaining a certain distance from Yang Haoran, daring not to get too close, nor too far.
As he rushed, he also yelled loudly, seemingly cheering himself on.
Fortunately, Jiang Zhenzhen was small and light, and Yang Haoran usually exercised, so carrying Jiang Zhenzhen didn't put much strain on him.
The apartment itself was very small, and with Yang Haoran sprinting at full speed, the door was right before his eyes. But precisely at that moment, the rotting old woman, who had been quiet for a while, suddenly appeared in front of him, blocking his path. Her face, riddled with holes, watched him with a terrifying smile.
Yang Haoran shrieked in terror, his body instinctively jerking to a halt. Before he could react further, the rotting old woman let out a strange cackling laugh, opened her mouth, and sprayed!
A scarlet tongue, like a venomous snake, shot out from the rotting old woman's mouth, lunging directly towards his forehead. This tongue was covered in barbed spikes about an inch long; one look was enough to know they were extremely sharp. If that tongue truly struck his head, it would surely tear out his brains.
Facing such a terrifying and disgusting tongue, Yang Haoran didn't even think; his body instinctively recoiled backwards.
His retreat led him to step precisely on the chubby face of the middle-aged man. This step directly deformed the middle-aged man's face, and Yang Haoran's body became unstable due to it.
Stumbling, Yang Haoran and Jiang Zhenzhen fell to the ground together. The Death God Pendant, which he had clutched tightly in his hand the entire time, was also flung out by Yang Haoran's fall. He heard several crisp clinks — the sound of the pendant landing on the floor — but exactly where it landed was unknown.
The moment the pendant was flung out, Yang Haoran's heart turned to ice. He already felt like he had fallen into an ice cellar when facing the old woman, and now it was even worse; he was not only still in the ice cellar, but now there was also a giant electric fan, running at full power, blowing fiercely at him.
From the rotting old woman's reaction, it was clear that she feared the Death God Pendant in his hand. Although this rotting old woman had brought him immense terror, with the Death God Pendant in hand, he still had some sense of security.
Now that was gone. The Death God Pendant had been flung away, and he didn't even know where it had landed. That single thread of security, that faint glimmer of hope, also vanished into thin air, utterly disappearing along with the flung pendant.
Without the Death God Pendant to protect him, it was clear what awaited him next. It certainly wasn't an invitation to share drinks and joyful conversation. It would be strange if his heart *didn't* turn cold.
"Young man, using a broken pendant to scare this old woman, you truly harbor ill intentions! Three living people bullying one dead old woman, with chainsaws and cleavers, doesn't your conscience ache? Do you have any morals left? Do you even know what it means to respect the old and cherish the young?"
The rotting old woman shamelessly uttered these words as she slowly floated towards Yang Haoran. As she slowly approached, Yang Haoran felt like he was about to suffocate.
At this critical moment, he thought of the ghost-subduing methods he'd learned online. However, these methods all required certain props to perform, and besides, who could say what was true and what was false on the internet? Even if all the props were ready, it might not be effective.
There were also methods that didn't require props, such as biting one's finger to draw talismans. He didn't know if such methods worked either. Even if they did, he didn't have time to perform them now.
Biting through a finger was actually very difficult, not at all as simple as it looked in movies, where a light bite was enough. How could that be? It wasn't made of tofu; how could it be so easy to bite through? Besides, not only was his face thick-skinned, the skin on other parts of his body was equally tough, making it even harder to bite through.
Moreover, even if he could break his finger and get blood, he didn't know how to draw talismans at all! If random scribbles worked, everyone would become a master and expert!
Watching the rotting old woman draw closer, in desperation, Yang Haoran still thought of a method: to douse the rotting old woman with virgin boy's urine!
According to what he'd read online, virgin boy's urine had a great suppressive effect on ghosts, so divinely potent it was almost mythical. This was the move Yang Haoran thought of now.
Of course, Yang Haoran was thirty years old; he was no longer a virgin. But with no other effective methods coming to mind, he could only try his own urine. It was like treating a dead horse as if it were still alive; whether it worked or not, he had to fight back.
With this thought, he found courage from who-knew-where, abruptly scrambled to his feet, and turned to the floating rotting old woman, ready to unbuckle his belt and implement his plan.
There was no need to imagine it; this scene was bound to be extremely jarring to the eyes. But he had no choice; he had to do it. This had nothing to do with morality or dignity. He just wanted to live, he didn't want to die here.
Just as Yang Haoran had unbuckled his belt and before he could make any other move, a voice suddenly rang out, making Yang Haoran pause and simultaneously drawing the rotting old woman's attention.
"Humans have their path, ghosts have their road. If a human chooses the wrong path, they will make one wrong step after another, ultimately losing their life. And if a soul takes the wrong road, hehe, they will suffer Soul Transformation, vanishing from this world forever, even losing the right to reincarnate."
The clack-clack-clack of footsteps echoed from the hallway. The footsteps were slow, as if someone were strolling through the corridor.
As the intensely mocking voice faded, a figure appeared at the doorway. Both Yang Haoran and the rotting old woman's gazes were drawn to this figure.
Under the moonlight, the figure at the door was indistinct; only a vague outline of a short, small stature was visible, comparable in height to the frightened and unconscious Jiang Zhenzhen who lay on the floor.
"It's pitch black in here, how much electricity does it use to turn on a light? " the man grumbled, then walked swaggered confidently into the room with his hands clasped behind his back.
He had barely taken two steps inside when his foot landed on something soft. Indeed, this soft thing was the middle-aged man's face.
However, when this man stepped on the middle-aged man's face, he didn't stumble like Yang Haoran had before. Instead, he moved as if treading on flat ground, his body completely unaffected, effortlessly stepping over and leaving a footprint on the middle-aged man's face.
The short man didn't look at Yang Haoran or the rotting old woman. He searched near the door for a moment, then flipped a switch.
Snap!
The room lit up. The living room, previously bathed in moonlight, suddenly became brightly lit, and the short man's appearance came into view for both Yang Haoran and the rotting old woman.
This was a youth who looked only seventeen. From his appearance, his age seemed similar to Jiang Zhenzhen's, but while Jiang Zhenzhen only looked young, her actual age was twenty-one. As for whether this youth truly was seventeen or just looked it, that was unknown.
The youth looked quite young, but his appearance left something to be desired. He had a pointed chin and sunken cheeks, quite unsightly. In terms of looks, he was even worse than Yang Haoran. However, compared to Yang Haoran, he had a more distinctive look. Yang Haoran was the kind of ordinary person who would be lost in a crowd, but this man, even if he were thrown into a crowd of ten thousand, would stand head and shoulders above the rest with that face.
From the young man's words and actions, he was either an expert or a lunatic. Before seeing the youth's face, Yang Haoran believed he had definitely met an expert, and intense hope instantly surged in his despairing heart.
But when the youth turned on the light, he couldn't help but believe the latter possibility instead, and the hope that had just arisen instantly vanished into thin air, replaced once again by despair.
It wasn't that Yang Haoran was judging by appearances, but this monkey-faced fellow simply didn't look like an expert; he looked more like a charlatan. If Yang Haoran stood next to him, no one would doubt Yang Haoran's identity as a "master"; instead, they would call this youth a charlatan and swindler!
Well, at this moment, Yang Haoran truly was judging by appearances. He could only blame this suddenly appearing fellow for having such an unconvincing face.
However, what Yang Haoran didn't know at this moment was that this youth, who looked like nothing more than a charlatan, would completely change his life. It was precisely because of his appearance that Yang Haoran's life would undergo earth-shattering changes, introducing him to a completely different world from then on.
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