Chapter 28: Ghost Mountain Villa 28
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Haiyun Temple, as one of the three major Taoist temples in the country, has been renowned among those in the know for its reputation in exorcising and capturing spirits for hundreds of years.
However, during turbulent times, Haiyun Temple would open its doors to the world, venturing into the secular realm to help people. Often, its disciples would not return, resulting in several decades when the temple’s chambers were nearly deserted.
After an era of peace, Haiyun Temple finally had the opportunity to recover and closed its doors again. It would only reopen during times of great disasters, cooperating with the local authorities in Binhai City to conduct blessings and establish protective barriers to prevent natural disasters from harming the common people.
As a result, when people in Binhai City think of Haiyun Temple, their general impression is that it’s a place where prayers are highly effective, and fortune-telling is accurate. Those who know a bit more might mention that Haiyun Temple has great expertise in formation techniques.
It’s precisely because of Haiyun Temple’s century-long dedication to performing good deeds without seeking fame or fortune that the local authorities in Binhai City have a very friendly attitude towards the temple. They have given the temple their utmost trust and respect.
When such horrifying scenes appeared in the live broadcast of the TV show, it caused a huge uproar on video-sharing and social media platforms. Discussions were rampant, and it even briefly became the number one trending topic.
Not to mention that there were injured individuals within the TV show’s production team.
In such a situation, the local authorities in Binhai City should have immediately suspended the live broadcast of the program upon discovering the incident. However, they were stopped by the Abbot of Haiyun Temple
Later, the Taoists who went with the official rescue team to Gui Mountain explained to the authorities but only shook their heads.
“In terms of public opinion, Haiyun Temple will have personnel specifically responsible for managing new media. However, this show cannot be canceled for now. We cooperated earlier this year, and you should know about the reanimated corpses appearing in Gui Mountain during that time. This show is an important lead in finding those reanimated corpses. However, it’s not just for that reason.”
The leading old Taoist continued with a solemn expression, “Do you still remember the source of all the news about Gui Mountain since the beginning of the year? The one where it all started with those college students who went hiking?”
The official personnel responsible for tracking the matter nodded in understanding.
Because Binhai University was a top-tier university in the country, all news related to it naturally attracted significant attention. Furthermore, college students were a demographic widely followed by society. Therefore, the incident of the missing college students during the early part of the year had garnered extensive media coverage. The fact that one student remained unaccounted for had caused significant public concern, even leading to urgency on the part of the authorities.
However, despite extensive search efforts by the rescue teams, they hadn’t found any traces of the missing student, not even a piece of fabric. They could only speculate that the student had lost his footing and fallen into a deep crevice during a moment of panic.
The person in charge was deeply affected by this incident because he had seen the missing student’s file. The young man was handsome and had a reliable, sunny smile. He appeared to be a good kid. The news of his disappearance had saddened many at the time.
At that moment, he felt a deep sense of regret and sorrow.
The old Taoist continued, “We have a senior disciple who excels in divination, he calculated the student’s location. However, the divination revealed that the missing student is no longer within Gui Mountain.”
The person in charge of the rescue mission displayed a saddened expression, thinking that the old Taoist was gently implying that the student had already passed away.
But the old Taoist shook his head and said, “He hasn’t died.
“What?!” The person in charge was astonished. “Then we should immediately initiate a rescue…”
“But he’s not alive either,” the old Taoist calmly stated, “He lingers in the world, but he’s become something neither human nor ghost. He is not within Gui Mountain.”
“He is in Ghost Mountain.”
“The divination indicates that he will be discovered by someone entering Ghost Mountain during the summer. His tormented soul will be saved and allowed to peacefully move on to another world.”
The old Taoist continued, “However, because his soul is extremely fragile, existing in the crevice between life and death, even a slight deviation could lead to his soul dispersing. That’s why this TV program cannot be halted, and no external forces can interfere.”
— Moreover, it’s not just his soul. For the past century, all the wandering spirits that perished due to Ghost Mountain, trapped in the crevice between Guishan and Ghost Mountain, will find their salvation.
Although the divination indicates danger, the idea of completely clearing the heavy ghostly presence accumulated in Ghost Mountain for a century was theoretically almost impossible to achieve. However, it’s not an absolute death omen.
Amidst the lifelessness, the program team that ventured into Ghost Mountain was a pre-established variable.
Even the responsible individuals who frequently interacted with places like Haiyun Temple found themselves confused by this explanation that was neither dead nor alive.
The old Taoist chose not to explain further and instead looked toward Gui Mountain’s direction.
It wasn’t just Haiyun Temple; many people in this circle were concerned about the situation at Gui Mountain.
Although the official explanation to the public was that the anomalies discovered at Gui Mountain were the result of unscrupulous merchants dumping discarded mannequins, which were then illuminated by the evening’s red glow, creating an illusion of blood-red humanoid creatures. Saying that the villagers had simply been mistaken, as it was all a hallucination.
However, these people knew very well that ever since a whole group of bandits had tragically died in the mountains a hundred years ago, this mountain had been enveloped in deep-seated ghostly resentment. Every rumor related to death in the past hundred years about this mountain had been true.
Hundreds of restless spirits and the shamans who died here in their attempts to dispel the curse…
Over the course of a century, nobody could say for sure what sinister things might be hidden within.
Moreover, after repeated searches yielded no results, based on divination results, they speculated that after this mountain was officially renamed Gui Mountain, there was another Ghost Mountain left behind in its wake.
Gui Mountain was the mountain of the living world.
Ghost Mountain, however, due to its heavy ghostly aura and resentment, had fallen into the darker side, yet some unknown force kept it from completely leaving the living world. So, it remained stuck between the realms of the living and the dead.
Unable to survive, unable to reincarnate.
Whether it was the missing villagers and travelers from before, the university students who went mountain climbing, or the members of the program team who were clearly on the mountain but couldn’t be found anywhere, it was almost certain that they had been pulled into Ghost Mountain.
Even if they wanted to rush in directly to rescue people, they couldn’t find an entrance into the realm between life and death.
They could only wait, wait for Ghost Mountain to pull them in as well, or for the people inside to find a way to open the path to Ghost Mountain from within.
“Master!”
While the old Taoist was deep in thought, he heard a cry from nearby.
A middle-aged Taoist rushed over from the foot of the mountain in a hurry. In his anxiety, he even forgot that the rescue team was present. He moved gracefully and swiftly, as if he possessed legendary Qigong skills.
Many members of the rescue team were left astonished.
“It doesn’t seem right, Master. Something is changing Gui Mountain,” the middle-aged Taoist said urgently, his breath still unsteady. “The trees on Gui Mountain are turning into locust trees.”
Locust trees were associated with ghosts.
They were often inhabited by wandering spirits with no vessels to possess, allowing them to linger in the mortal realm. Some could even take on human form by inhabiting locust trees and steal the bodies of passersby, deceiving the underworld’s soul collectors.
“How could this happen…”
The old Taoist’s expression changed, and he instinctively began calculating within the folds of his robe.
In the next moment, he turned in shock to look at Gui Mountain.
The previously clear and sunny sky started to gather large patches of dark clouds, gradually shrouding the sky over Gui Mountain.
The cold wind, contrary to the summer temperature and normal geographical patterns, blew from the depths of the mountains and the mountaintop, encircling and trapping the rescue team members standing here, making it hard for them to keep their eyes open.
Centuries-old towering ancient trees in the forest began to rustle loudly with the strong wind. The leaves shook, and the tree trunks swayed violently. Under the gloomy sky, it felt as if the spirits were howling and struggling.
The old Taoist immediately began chanting scriptures and performing hand seals. A warm and righteous force emerged, enveloping the surrounding people, preventing the rescue team from being blown away by the strong wind or hit by branches broken by the wind.
However, in that instant, when everyone had their vision shielded from the fierce wind and looked again, they were stunned to find that the forest they were in had transformed from the original oak and pine trees into large and sturdy locust trees!
These locust trees were enormous, towering up to over twenty meters in height, and their trunks required the arm span of two people to encircle them. They seemed to have an age of around a hundred years. Even the smaller ones appeared to be several decades old.
“How… how is this possible?” Some of the rescue team members were dumbfounded.
Under the immense shock, some of them had their mental states shaken. Some even began to entertain the thought from deep within: Could it be that there were real ghosts in the mountains? Were the monsters they saw on the livestream not villains in costumes as the authorities had told them, but actual ghosts?
As the old Taoist was astonished by the transformation of Gui Mountain, he also observed the expressions of the rescue team members.
—When ordinary people encounter ghosts, the worst thing to do is to believe in them.
It is said that belief can manifest things; if you firmly believe there are no ghosts in the world and harbor no fear in your heart, leaving no room for ghosts to take advantage of, then the ghosts will have no power over you.
Conversely, if a person believes they’ve encountered a ghost and feels fear, they start off at a disadvantage. In such cases, their yang energy and inner fire can easily be extinguished by the ghosts.
These rescue team members had already been severely shaken by the unusual events happening around them. They were no longer fit to stay in this place.
“Song Yi, escort them down the mountain!” the old Taoist shouted loudly, his voice resonating like a bell.
Immediately, those rescue team members who had just been in a daze felt as though a clarion call was ringing in their ears, shaking their souls awake from their stupor.
The middle-aged Taoist took the opportunity to usher all the rescue team members away, immediately following the oldTaoist’s orders to send them down the mountain.
However, the old Taoist remained in place, his brow furrowing as he looked around.
Their previous speculations had turned out to be true!
Ghost Mountain was indeed real.
But now, Gui Mountain and Ghost Mountain were gradually merging!
The appearance of locust trees, replacing the other tree species on Gui Mountain, was just one of the signs.
The vengeful spirits and ghosts that had been trapped in Ghost Mountain for a hundred years were slowly appearing on Gui Mountain.
Just as the villagers had once seen during twilight.
The difference was that the villagers had not been within the boundaries of Gui Mountain, but these spirits were right there on the mountain.
The old Taoist’s expression was solemn.
What had happened to the members of the program team who had entered Ghost Mountain?
As the rescue team and the people from Haiyun Temple entered the boundaries of Gui Mountain, the live broadcast signal from the program team also seemed to be affected by the magnetic field associated with the spirits. It became intermittent, and eventually, all the live broadcast signals were cut off. The outside world couldn’t see what was happening to the program team inside the villa at all.
This only made the already anxious program viewers even more terrified. Many soft-hearted viewers were so distraught that they started crying. They frantically discussed and prayed for the safety of everyone involved on social media. They also bombarded the official authorities of Binhai City’s official account and the rescue team on social media. The official hotline was ringing off the hook.
However, despite the viewers’ frantic attention, the Haiyun Temple Taoists who were in Gui Mountain couldn’t figure out what had caused the signal to fail inside Ghost Mountain and lead to the merging of the two mountains.
Inside Ghost Mountain.
Divination had failed.
Suddenly, the old Taoist remembered the handsome face he had seen in the live broadcast.
Yan Shixun!
Could it be him…
Gui Mountain, covered in locust trees, was now inhabited by countless vengeful spirits and wandering ghosts that couldn’t be seen.
This place was no longer suitable for ordinary people to stay.
It was very likely that as the rescue team members rushed down the mountain, they brushed shoulders with a ghost trying to reach out and stop them. They only managed to avoid the ghosts thanks to the spells cast by the old Taoist and the middle-aged Taoist, preventing their life fires from being extinguished or possessed by vengeful spirits.
The rescue team members felt an eerie coldness enveloping their souls, causing goosebumps to rise on their skin. However, deep within their minds, the voice of the old Taoist continued to echo angrily.
‘Run! Don’t stop, don’t look back, run!’
One of the young team members subconsciously turned around, instinctively wanting to gauge the distance between himself and the danger.
But what he saw was a pair of crimson, hollow eyes.
The young team member’s pupils contracted.
In his fear, he suddenly felt something under his foot, tripped, and fell to the ground.
He desperately tried to get up, but heard a snapping sound. Trembling, he looked down and saw that the thing he had tripped over and inadvertently broken was a human leg bone.
“It hurts….”
A chilling aura emanated from behind the team member.
Blood-red bone claws scraped against his shoulder, tightly entwining around him.
The team member could even smell the foul, bloody stench coming from beside his neck.
“Give me your skin, give me your flesh.”
“Let’s exchange bodies…”
The young team member was finally overwhelmed by a fear beyond comprehension, and his mental defenses completely collapsed.
“AHHHHHHH!!! Ghost, it’s a ghost!!!”
The middle-aged Taoist, leading the rescue team members at the front, heard the scream and turned around. However, all he saw was a severed arm reaching out from the ground, still sinking deeper into the earth.
The arm was wearing the uniform of the rescue team.
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