Chapter 60

Xue Liangliang spoke first, asking, "Xiao Yuan, do we three have some kind of mark on us that you don't?"

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "The facial readings for the three of you are very unfavorable right now, indicating that you're experiencing a period of significant bad luck. Although theories about fate and feng shui aren't always perfectly accurate, this at least suggests you've encountered something. I initially expected the same for myself, but strangely, I haven't."

"Binbin, give me your notebook and pen."

"Liang Ge, here."

Xue Liangliang opened a page and drew a square frame. Inside, he sketched two small figures at the top and two at the bottom, representing the four of them.

Finally, he drew a door on the left side of the frame.

"Using elimination. After we got off the train, we ate together and then got into Zhu Yang's truck. During that entire time, Xiao Yuan was never separated from us. We only came into contact with three outsiders: Zhu Yang and the master-apprentice duo at the repair shop. Therefore, we can eliminate this period and look further back."

Tan Wenbin asked, "Why can't we consider later, for instance, the night we spent in the truck?"

"Because by then, things had already begun; Zhu Yang's disappearance marks a key point. Also, since Xiao Yuan mentioned that the three of us are experiencing bad luck, should we include the tire getting punctured? If so, we can extend the timeline further back to perfectly cover the entire period when all four of us were together in the truck. Do you understand?"

"I think I understand."

"Then we can pinpoint it to the train."

"But there were too many people on the train."

Xue Liangliang shook his head. "Actually, there weren't many people. We spent most of our time in the soft sleeper compartment, which is a completely 'clean' area because Xiao Yuan is unaffected. Furthermore, I distinctly remember that the three of us never went out as a group. Therefore, it can only be the collective points of contact we three had when we ventured out individually."

"In that case, should each of us recount our experiences leaving the soft sleeper compartment? Should we include trips to the restroom?"

"Ransheng, you go first," Xue Liangliang said, pointing at him. "Right after we boarded the train, you went to smoke some incense. If I recall correctly, you didn't go out to smoke again after that, did you?"

Ransheng scratched his head, pondered with effort for a moment, and replied, "Was that right?"

Xue Liangliang frowned slightly, then raised his hand decisively: "I'm not mistaken; you only went once. I asked you midway why you weren't smoking anymore, and you said the incense you brought this time was good, meant for meals, and you shouldn't just smoke it casually."

"I..." Ransheng looked a bit confused. "I think I did say that."

"What's wrong with you?" Tan Wenbin reached out and touched Ransheng's forehead. "You don't have a fever?"

Li Zhuiyuan silently observed Ransheng, then turned his gaze towards Xue Liangliang.

Xue Liangliang continued, "On the train, you, Ransheng, accompanied Xiao Yuan every time he went to the restroom from the lower bunk, so we can rule out that path. This means you could only have picked up something 'unclean' during that single instance when you went out to smoke, right after boarding the train. Now, tell us about the people and things you encountered that time—no, let's narrow the scope further. Focus on who you had contact with, whether it was physical or interactive. Start with that."

Ransheng stumbled through his account, trying hard to recall details.

He continued until he mentioned giving candy to a little girl who was "crying hungry" to her grandmother. At that point, both Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin raised their hands, signaling him to stop.

Xue Liangliang: "I gave her a box lunch."

Tan Wenbin: "I gave her breakfast."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at both of them. "Describe the old woman's clothing specifically for me."

After hearing their descriptions, Li Zhuiyuan pursed his lips and said: "That must be it. When I saw the old woman, there was no little girl beside her; instead, she had an urn wrapped in cloth."

Strictly speaking, Xue Liangliang's method of elimination was not very rigorous and had many flaws. However, it reflected a common pragmatic approach: first, overlook minor details and attempt to rule out problems within the broadest possible scope, and if that didn't yield results, then scrutinize the specifics.

Xue Liangliang closed the notebook. "It's that little girl. Xiao Yuan has genuine abilities, capable of 'walking the underworld,' so the little girl didn't dare let him see her. Or perhaps... Xiao Yuan simply isn't easily deceived by 'sight' to begin with."

Tan Wenbin asked, puzzled, "But we clearly gave her food. Why would she still harm us? Isn't that repaying kindness with enmity?"

Xue Liangliang looked at Li Zhuiyuan.

Li Zhuiyuan attempted to analyze: "It's inappropriate to apply the social moral standards of living people to such an 'unclean' entity. Furthermore, even if the little girl didn't intend to harm you, her actions still caused you damage."

Tan Wenbin pointed to his own face, then to Xue Liangliang and Ransheng. "So what does she want? Does she just want us to keep giving her food because we already did?"

Xue Liangliang asked, "Xiao Yuan, I remember you've solved such issues before by setting up an offering table. Can we do the same this time?"

Tan Wenbin slapped his thigh. "But our luggage, food, and drinks are all in the truck. Now that the truck's gone, where do we get offerings? We do have incense, though."

Xue Liangliang: "There are quite a few things hanging outside the village. To solve the immediate problem, I could risk going into the village alone to get some items for the offering table. I'll leave money."

Li Zhuiyuan said, "No, if it were merely a 'starved ghost,' it would bring bad luck, but not be this intense. She wants to be fed, not to completely exhaust resources. At most, she would just cling to you, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"Unless the little girl's 'hunger' refers to her wanting your lifespan."

As soon as this sentence was spoken, all three fell silent.

Li Zhuiyuan continued, "Only an extreme desire for your death would manifest such a 'face of dying years' upon you."

Tan Wenbin spread his hands. "Isn't she already in an urn as ashes? She's long dead; what use does she have for lifespan?"

Xue Liangliang said, "Her grandmother is old, and her grandmother might also be dying soon. She's not asking for herself, she's asking for her grandmother."

Li Zhuiyuan looked at Xue Liangliang again, then turned his gaze to Ransheng, who was visibly struggling to keep up with the conversation.

Tan Wenbin cursed, "That actually makes sense. Damn, children are truly terrifying! If I could go back and meet her on the train again, I'd dump her ashes in the toilet!"

Anyone facing death for doing a good deed would naturally feel exceptional anger.

Li Zhuiyuan said, "She might no longer be on the train; she could be on one of you."

Tan Wenbin gasped.

This was out of fear. While their current predicament was certainly eerie, it only meant they were temporarily trapped, with no direct danger apparent. However, knowing that such an entity was right beside them changed the feeling entirely.

Xue Liangliang immediately asked, "Xiao Yuan, did you see her?"

Li Zhuiyuan shook his head. "I didn't see her, but I suspect she's on one of you. This morning, she might have been on you, Liang Ge."

"On me?"

"Because the current you is markedly different from earlier. Previously, you were clearly more flustered, your thinking wasn't clear, and your questions were rather rudimentary."

Xue Liangliang pointed to his nose. "Was I?"

"For something like this, the person themselves might not feel anything. I've experienced something similar."

Li Zhuiyuan had experienced his great-grandfather's good fortune, so he figured bad luck would be similar.

"So if she was on me earlier, now she's on..." Xue Liangliang said, looking at Ransheng.

Clearly, he had long noticed Ransheng's abnormality.

Tan Wenbin finally realized it too. Although Ransheng usually appeared quiet, dull, and honest, his mind was actually quite sharp, especially his memory. In the past, whenever Xiao Yuan gave him a sequence of locations and tasks, he would remember and execute them perfectly. But just now, Ransheng seemed incredibly sluggish, as if recalling something required immense effort.

"Me?" Ransheng raised his hand and started feeling his body. "Where is she?"

Immediately, Ransheng took out a talisman paper and put it on his forehead.

Then he took it off and found it hadn't changed color.

"Xiao Yuan, no, she's not here."

"She shouldn't be a 'dead ghost'."

"What do we do now?" Ransheng clenched his fists. "If she's on me, then I won't go with you. The three of you should try to run out; maybe you'll be able to escape."

After a pause, Ransheng pointed to Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin. "Alternatively, you two could stay here with me and let Xiao Yuan run out alone. Xiao Yuan is 'clean'; his inability to leave earlier was likely due to our influence."

Xue Liangliang and Tan Wenbin both nodded; clearly, they agreed with this plan.

Li Zhuiyuan, however, rejected the idea. "We can't do that. I don't believe that little girl alone could orchestrate something of this scale. What we've entered is likely a distinct, anomalous zone. Originally, it should have been impossible to enter, even difficult to enter intentionally. But because she was with us, guided and triggered by her, we found our way in. Therefore, there's a high probability that we won't be able to leave easily now, whether she's with us or not."

Tan Wenbin, growing agitated, repeatedly exclaimed, "What do we do! What do we do! What do we do!"

Li Zhuiyuan and Xue Liangliang simultaneously glanced at Tan Wenbin, then immediately looked away.

Ransheng was about to speak when Li Zhuiyuan cut him off: "Ransheng Ge, don't say anything. Just sit here and hold my hand. I'll try to use the 'corpse retriever' method to see if I can break her hold on you."

Ransheng nodded vigorously, reaching out to grasp Li Zhuiyuan's hand.

Li Zhuiyuan, however, withdrew his hand, then grasped Ransheng's instead.

The boy's fingertips were already red, having pressed into an ink pad earlier.

Next, Li Zhuiyuan used his other hand to flip over the compass in front of him. He opened the compartment underneath and pinched a small amount of white powder from it with his fingertips.

As they had to use public transportation, equipment like the 'Yellow River shovel' was inconvenient to carry. However, they brought all the smaller, portable items they could.

This compass, originally from Ding Dalin, had built-in compartments. Li Zhuiyuan also used to have a fan designed with various recesses for different types of powdered substances. In reality, the fan's utility was somewhat limited; carrying a fan everywhere was normal in ancient times, but it would seem odd in modern society. So, Li Zhuiyuan transferred all the useful special powders into the compass's underside, as Ransheng would carry the compass with him regardless.

"Ransheng Ge, get ready, it's about to begin."

Ransheng nodded vigorously again, obediently remaining silent.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes. Just before entering the 'walking the underworld' state, he abruptly released Ransheng's hand and instead gripped Tan Wenbin's.

'Walking the underworld' successful!

In Li Zhuiyuan's vision, the other three had vanished, leaving only a small girl in red standing before him, her hand firmly clutched in his.

The last time he 'walked the underworld,' he was leaning on Ransheng, and the little girl wasn't on Ransheng then, allowing her to evade his detection. But just now, Ransheng had clearly recovered, his thoughts sharp again, while Tan Wenbin was exhibiting an uncharacteristic emotional outburst. It was reasonable to suspect that she had overheard their conversation, moved from Ransheng, and transferred to Tan Wenbin. But clearly, she was no match for humans when it came to cunning. Xue Liangliang and Li Zhuiyuan had actually noticed, but deliberately kept quiet.

"Brother, I'm so hungry."

The girl pleaded with Li Zhuiyuan, her face shy and demure. She was indeed quite cute and easily evoked sympathy, which explained why Xue Liangliang and the other two had offered her help. Unfortunately, Li Zhuiyuan harbored no such extraneous emotions. Perhaps she sensed this, which is why she didn't target this younger boy. Li Zhuiyuan raised his other hand and lashed out at her.

In reality, Li Zhuiyuan remained seated and motionless. However, the white dust he held between his fingertips rose as if by an invisible breeze, drifting towards Tan Wenbin—specifically, the back of Tan Wenbin's neck. Tan Wenbin's nose tickled, and he felt an uncontrollable urge to sneeze. But soon, he felt a chill on his neck, as if a large block of ice had been pressed against it. This was quickly followed by a searing pain, a sensation like both ice and fire, making him feel as if a large patch of his skin was about to peel away.

In the 'walking the underworld' state, Li Zhuiyuan saw the girl screaming.

Squelch!

She fled into the distance, her figure gradually fading. Li Zhuiyuan lowered his head, looking at the girl's arm segment he was holding, bloody and resembling a bleeding lotus root.

The awkward part was that Li Zhuiyuan wasn't sure whether to pursue her. He had never attempted to fight while in the 'walking the underworld' state, nor did he know how. Should he chase her down, rip at her, and kill her? But what would constitute 'killing' her? Her arm was in his possession, yet she wasn't "dead." Or, use the method from Wei Zhengdao's black book to see if he could control her? But this girl didn't seem to be a 'dead ghost'; she had already turned into ashes. As he hesitated, the moment passed. The girl's figure grew increasingly faint as she fled into the distance, until she vanished completely.

This was also a decent outcome; he had driven her away. No wonder it's called "exorcising ghosts." Dealing with such entities would be difficult even for someone with professional expertise, let alone for him, who was effectively 'cross-disciplinary' in this field.

So, could she return to the urn, or would she just become a wandering ghost and eventually dissipate? If she dissipates, then so be it; she deserved it.

Li Zhuiyuan closed his eyes, his consciousness began to rise, and soon, the 'walking the underworld' ended.

When he opened his eyes again, he found that Ransheng, Xue Liangliang, and Tan Wenbin each had a talisman paper stuck on themselves.

Li Zhuiyuan: "These talismans are useless."

Ransheng retorted, "They are useful! It just transferred from me to Binbin, which is why it didn't change color."

Everyone clearly understood the situation by now, as the back of Tan Wenbin's neck was bruised black and blue and still throbbing with pain.

"Ugh... she actually secretly got on me, damn her!"

Xue Liangliang checked his injuries while teasing, "Maybe she was hanging on your neck most of the way."

"Damn, you're right. No wonder I could never memorize English vocabulary; I'd just forget it as soon as I tried!"

Li Zhuiyuan said, "She's been driven away, and most likely won't come back. Even if she does, we can just drive her away again."

As he spoke, Li Zhuiyuan looked down at his hand. The severed arm was obviously invisible and wouldn't exist in reality. Despite this, Li Zhuiyuan still picked up some dry leaves from the ground and rubbed his hands together. He re-examined the facial readings of the three. Although it was impossible for them to return to normal immediately, the previous "deep darkness" had significantly lightened.

"Now, what we need to consider is how to leave here." Xue Liangliang pointed to the village. "If we can't find another way to break out, then I'll have to suspect that the key to getting out is in the village."

"There are people in the village; I saw them, but I don't know if they're living."

Ransheng said, "If we're going into the village, let's go now, while I'm not too hungry and still have strength."

"Give me a little more time; I'll try to think of something else."

Li Zhuiyuan picked up the compass again, stood up, and began observing the feng shui.

Xue Liangliang followed Li Zhuiyuan, while Ransheng gave Tan Wenbin a massage on the back of his neck.

"Be gentler, gentler, it hurts!"

"If there's flow, there's no pain; if there's pain, there's blockage."

Li Zhuiyuan didn't go far. He first gazed at the village, then the small path, then lowered his head to manipulate the compass. In truth, he was already starting to give up. If he had been able to think of a solution, he would have used it by now. This was merely a final struggle, as he truly did not want to enter that village.

"Xiao Yuan, I really think we can try the method I mentioned: go into the village and see."

"Liang Ge, your personal experience is an exception. Last time you got out because someone outside put pressure on Baijia Town."

"Xiao Yuan, you misunderstood. My point is, since we want to leave but can't, does that imply that going in means getting out? Is it a reverse situation?"

Li Zhuiyuan realized he had truly misunderstood Liang Ge. At the same time, he found Liang Ge, now seemingly free from the little girl's influence, remarkably astute.

"To verify, we could split into two groups: one stays put, while the other runs a specific route, observing and recording the results. For example, they could run around corners or in circles to see how they return to the starting point."

"No, that won't do, we can't separate."

"Then..."

"I'd rather we all go into the village together."

"Okay, Xiao Yuan, you decide."

Li Zhuiyuan observed the feng shui for a while longer, but ultimately couldn't discern anything. He finally said, "Everyone check your pockets for snacks or candy and give them all to Ransheng Ge."

There were some edibles, but not much—barely enough to satisfy Ransheng's hunger. He lit ten sticks of incense, chewed them all, and then pulled up a quantity of grass and leaves, which he also chewed and swallowed. This behavior was somewhat extreme, but he did it to increase his feeling of fullness. In reality, the incense was like a mere condiment to him; he couldn't extract much energy from it—perhaps not even enough for his body to digest it. But either way, Ransheng's belly did swell up.

"Xiao Yuan, I'm ready!"

"Let's go, enter the village, before it gets dark."

Remaining here would be the more conventional human choice. However, with only tree bark and leaves and no proper food, staying would only worsen their condition, leaving them to simply await their demise.

The four had just arrived at the village entrance when they all stopped, because they heard sounds.

Tan Wenbin asked, "What's that sound?"

"So chaotic, both close and distant," Xue Liangliang said, looking around. Yet, there was only sound, with no visible source or clue.

Li Zhuiyuan's ears kept twitching slightly. He said, "There are gongs, drums, suonas, and chanting. It sounds like someone is performing a ritual."

Immediately, Li Zhuiyuan paced at the village entrance. He lowered his head and looked at his feet. This was the central area of the sound's origin. Looking further ahead, Li Zhuiyuan noticed a pair of faint footprints.

"Move aside, be careful!"

Everyone immediately moved aside, all staring at that spot.

The footprints gradually deepened, and directly in front of them, four more indentations appeared.

"Ransheng Ge, go!"

"Understood!"

Ransheng, holding the steel pipe, went to the footprints and swung it repeatedly, but hit nothing. At the same time, no strange changes occurred on him.

"Stop, Ransheng Ge."

Ransheng stopped moving and began to breathe steadily.

Li Zhuiyuan leaned in, squatted down, and carefully observed the two closely spaced indentations.

Xue Liangliang also squatted down to look. "These are human footprints, probably from boots. But what are these four indented marks around here?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "A table."

"A table?"

"It should be a table. Also, the sound of these instruments is like a musical ensemble."

As soon as he finished speaking, Tan Wenbin, standing on the periphery, shouted, "Look out, fire!"

A floating fireball appeared above Li Zhuiyuan and Xue Liangliang's heads. It ignited Xue Liangliang's clothes and hair. He quickly dodged and slapped forcefully at it, extinguishing it without sustaining significant injury. Because Li Zhuiyuan was shorter, the fireball floated a short distance above his head, so he didn't dodge. Instead, he tilted his head back, observing its trajectory. As he watched, his hand also made small waving motions, as if he were planning or predicting.

Suddenly, the fireball began to move rapidly, making a much wider circle than before. Li Zhuiyuan watched it, and also looked at the four table leg indentations below. In his mind, he recalled his great-grandfather's ritual habits: first, lighting yellow paper with a candle, then chanting scriptures and waving it in front of the offering table, never omitting the step of circling the table with the burning paper. When the yellow paper was about to burn his hand, he would then drop it into a bowl containing duck blood, chicken blood, and pig blood.

Now, he just needed to wait for the next step.

Sizzle...

The fireball dropped downwards, instantly extinguishing and vanishing without a trace, and without a single spark.

Li Zhuiyuan patted the mud off his pants legs as he stood up, and looking at his three companions, said, "Someone is performing a ritual right where we are standing."

Tan Wenbin shrieked, "Ghosts can perform rituals? That's completely against the natural order!"

Slap!

Ransheng pulled out a talisman paper and slapped it onto Tan Wenbin's forehead with a bit too much force, causing Tan Wenbin to stumble back several steps. The talisman paper didn't change color.

Tan Wenbin tugged at his collar, gesturing for Ransheng to look at the talisman stuck to his neck. "I already have one here! Couldn't you have checked before applying a new one?"

"Who told you to suddenly get so emotional again?"

"I believe what Yuan Ge says, but ghosts performing rituals... that's just too incredible to believe."

Xue Liangliang said with a solemn expression, "Perhaps, those performing the ritual aren't ghosts."

Tan Wenbin: "If they're not ghosts, then why can't we see them?"

Li Zhuiyuan: "Perhaps, we are the ghosts now."

Li Zhuiyuan remembered that the last time he 'walked the underworld,' he heard shouts of anger from the village, cursing the 'beast' who had kicked down their doors.

Tan Wenbin: "Brother, this ritual, who is it..."

Li Zhuiyuan nodded. "It's likely being performed for us. After all, this morning we kicked down two of their doors. A ghost capable of doing that must be fierce enough to scare the villagers into inviting a 'master' to perform a ritual." However, this invited Taoist or Buddhist monk didn't seem to possess much spiritual power; with such minimal effect, their true ability was likely comparable to his great-grandfather's.

Tan Wenbin reached out and pinched Ransheng's arm hard, asking, "Does it hurt?"

Ransheng shook his head. "No pain."

Immediately, Ransheng reached out and pinched Tan Wenbin's arm: "Ow ow ow ow! Pain, pain, pain!"

Xue Liangliang walked up to Li Zhuiyuan. "Xiao Yuan, are we ghosts now?"

"Liang Ge, I don't understand this either; I've never been a ghost. Furthermore, I believe that when it comes to such matters, you, Liang Ge, have more firsthand experience and the right to speak."

Ransheng: "Exactly, you've been on the other side of things before."

Xue Liangliang's breathing grew heavier. "She's not a dead person, nor a ghost. And she doesn't seem like a living person either."

Li Zhuiyuan: "Neither human nor ghost—that pretty much fits our current state."

Xue Liangliang raised a hand, signaling he was deep in thought. "I often recall that experience of going to Baijia Town a long time ago..."

"Liang Ge, no need to recall. You were going there every day recently."

"Oh, right, yes. So, I now believe that our current environment is similar to Baijia Town. It exists at the bottom of the river, yet it's not truly real. You see, the Yangtze River isn't an ocean; it's neither that deep nor that wide. Cross-river bridges will need to be built there in the future. If a detectable town truly existed at its bottom, it surely would have been discovered long ago. After I returned to school, I looked up information in the library..."

"What did you find?"

"I didn't find anything. Then I went to consult our school's club."

"A club?"

"A supernatural phenomena enthusiasts' club. The female president offered a rather plausible explanation for my story; she suggested it might be a 'space interlayer'."

"Did she tell you, Liang Ge, how to leave this 'space interlayer'?"

"No, she even suspected that the town I spoke of was real and begged me to take her to see it."

Tan Wenbin, seemingly to prove he was no longer possessed by the little girl, asked a very reasonable question: "Liang Ge, you've been to the 'space interlayer' many times, haven't you? How did you get out each time?"

Xue Liangliang waved his hand dismissively, stating vaguely, "I just stumbled out every time."

Tan Wenbin didn't hear clearly. "What did you say?"

Ransheng: "He said he came out comfortably every time."

Xue Liangliang raised his voice. "Every place has a different structure. Baijia Town was controlled by her; all I had to do was jump into the river in that area, and I'd get dizzy and wake up on the bank. Here, I don't think it's controlled; it's naturally formed, not man-made. Otherwise, these villagers wouldn't be so terrified as to invite someone to perform rituals. Xiao Yuan, let's go inside and take a look. Perhaps the ancestral hall or the village well; exits are usually found in such locations."

"Okay, let's go."

As the four walked towards the village, the sound of instruments began again from their previous location, and the fireball reappeared. They glanced back, recognizing that a second ritual had begun, and dismissed it.

Upon entering the village, most house doors were tightly shut, though a few