So, these young people, having mustered up the courage to venture this far, only to encounter such an incident, would naturally be terrified, even in broad daylight.
When Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping discovered them, they found a group of youngsters wailing in the stairwell.
After recounting their experience, these youngsters curiously asked Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping why the situation had vanished after their arrival. They wanted to know if their presence had caused it and if they could use the same method in the future, so they wouldn't have to be afraid if they encountered similar circumstances again.
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping were somewhat speechless.
They had a general idea of why such a situation had occurred.
It was likely due to the barrier created by the talismans they had used as a precautionary measure.
These talismans were designed to prevent easy approach and to make the location difficult to find. Even if someone was lucky enough to get close, an invisible barrier would prevent them from entering, thus creating such an effect.
If these youngsters had decided to turn back and go home instead of continuing upwards, they wouldn't have been trapped in the stairwell, unable to move forward.
It was baffling how these foolish youths, so stubborn, had reached this point without a thought of returning home, thus getting trapped in the stairwell.
However, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping then considered that perhaps the youngsters, terrified, had huddled in the stairwell, trembling, and dared not move another step, which led to this outcome.
It was quite possible that they were trapped because they hadn't dared to move.
But there was no need to explain these matters to them.
Explaining would be troublesome, and these people might develop further ideas.
These people were quite uncontrollable; no amount of reasoning would work. They simply wouldn't listen, and who knew what was going through their minds. Therefore, there was no point in saying too much to them.
Making them fearful was enough.
There was no need for overly clear explanations.
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping stated that they hadn't encountered anything themselves. They had simply gone downstairs and found these youngsters shouting and then escorted them away, without doing anything else.
The youngsters were somewhat skeptical but had no recourse.
They couldn't prove anything.
Upon further reflection, they felt that the others had no reason to lie to them and concluded that they were simply unlucky. However, they had indeed been frightened and became even more timid, unwilling to take risks.
The youngsters even developed some other ideas.
For instance, they hoped that when Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping had tasks to attend to, they would at least leave one person behind to protect them, which would give them peace of mind.
However, it would be a miracle if Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping agreed to such a request.
They sternly refused the request. How could they possibly look after these troublesome individuals who were constantly courting disaster?
Moreover, even if Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping were willing to look after them, with the way these youngsters' minds worked, if they felt protected, as if they had a talisman, they might become reckless, which would be even more troublesome.
In any case, they absolutely could not agree to such terms.
Then, the youngsters wanted talismans again.
But honestly, as long as these youngsters stayed in the hotel and didn't do anything they shouldn't, or court disaster, nothing would happen. They wouldn't need talismans at all.
Therefore, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping claimed that their members specializing in drawing talismans were not present, so they had no supplies and couldn't spare extra talismans.
This was clearly a lie, as Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping could already contact Ye Tiancheng and the little fox.
Given this, how could they possibly not have spare talismans?
Even if they truly didn't, they could contact the little fox and have her draw new ones specifically.
However, whether they had them or not was one thing, but the outcome of giving talismans was the same as directly providing someone to protect these disaster-courting fellows. There was no need to embolden these people further in their recklessness.
After several rejections and having suffered considerable fright, the youngsters left dejectedly.
These individuals even began to harbor some resentment towards Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping, but the latter noticed it and said nothing.
Let the youngsters think whatever they wished. Their stance was clear and would not change easily, or rather, it would not change at all. It would be best if these people looked out for themselves.
Then, regarding Ding Yijie, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping confirmed that Ding Yijie had indeed repeatedly refused to accompany these people and had strongly advised them against going to the ghost house ruins. However, he couldn't dissuade them and had to go with his companions.
After all, he couldn't just stand by and watch his companions get into trouble.
Thus, it was confirmed that Ding Yijie was someone who could understand reason and was willing to abide by rules. This made Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping much more at ease and less resistant to bringing Ding Yijie along for future excursions.
It wouldn't hurt to have him along; he wouldn't cause any trouble.
Therefore, that day, when Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping set out again to investigate the ghost house ruins, they brought Ding Yijie with them.
Such activities generally didn't carry much risk, so they could bring Ding Yijie along. It was something they had promised him, and Ding Yijie was very pleased with this, happily leaving with Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping.
However, before that, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping had informed Ding Yijie that investigating such matters was not as interesting as he imagined. In fact, most of the time, it was quite tedious and boring.
Especially since they might spend a lot of time and find nothing in the end.
Ding Yijie replied that none of that mattered; he just wanted to satisfy his curiosity. Furthermore, he promised to be obedient and never cause trouble for Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping.
Seeing that Ding Yijie was easy to deal with, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping thought it would be fine if he could keep his word, so they genuinely brought him along.
They drove back into the village and indeed encountered some new faces around the ghost house ruins, people strolling as if on patrol.
Upon seeing Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping arrive, they stepped forward to question them.
However, after assessing Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping's appearances, their first question was whether they were the ones Mr. Cui had mentioned would be coming to investigate.
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping were somewhat surprised but answered affirmatively.
Hearing their replies, the unfamiliar villagers actually let them pass, allowing Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping to proceed with Ding Yijie.
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping hadn't expected that Mr. Cui and the others would have spoken to people on their behalf, clearing the way.
This way, they wouldn't face any obstacles.
It was quite convenient.
Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping felt that saving some effort in explaining was a good thing.
Even if these people had ulterior motives or perhaps malicious intentions, it wasn't something Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping couldn't handle, so it wasn't an issue.
They could confidently proceed with their tasks.
Approaching the ruined house again, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping began their investigation. However, after searching the entire day, they indeed found no particularly useful clues.
Ding Yijie, back at the hotel, curiously asked Liang Ping why they hadn't encountered any "ghost wall" or similar phenomena when he accompanied Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping to the ghost house ruins again.
Liang Ping explained to Ding Yijie that when they went to search for clues, they had given him something for protection. It was prepared by the little fox at Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping's request. They had given him some of it, and he had worn it.
With such an item, many malevolent things wouldn't easily approach them, which was why they were unharmed.
Hearing Liang Ping's explanation, Ding Yijie curiously asked if there weren't any more of those good items, and if they couldn't equip his companions with one each.
Liang Ping told Ding Yijie that this was rather difficult to achieve.
As they had mentioned, the member who prepared talismans for them was currently absent. It was also difficult to transmit such items from a century ago, as they tended to decay and spoil, being made of paper.
Therefore, their current stock was indeed limited.
Because Ding Yijie was accompanying them, they could barely spare a few. But if there were more, there definitely wouldn't be any.
Liang Ping then asked Ding Yijie if he found the trip boring.
After thinking for a moment, Ding Yijie replied that he didn't find it boring at all; in fact, he felt it was quite thrilling.
Although he hadn't encountered anything yet, the thought that there might be something there, or something lurking behind, made the experience feel very stimulating.
Liang Ping found Ding Yijie's attitude quite exasperating.
Although Ding Yijie could understand reason, his courage was indeed excessive. It was no wonder he had died over twenty years ago.
If he had been a little more timid, perhaps none of it would have happened.
After returning that day, Ding Yijie went back to his room to rest. However, his other companions came looking for him, asking what Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping had taken him out to do.
Ding Yijie was slightly taken aback but reacted quickly.
At the time, to avoid trouble, Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping had been very careful when leaving with Ding Yijie. They had left separately, not together, and only proceeded together after confirming they weren't being watched or followed.
Under these circumstances, his companions shouldn't realistically know that he had gone out with Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping.
These people were deliberately trying to trick him.
Therefore, Ding Yijie calmed his mind slightly and told them that he had just gone out for a stroll because he was bored. He also emphasized that he hadn't left with Nie Chongyang and Liang Ping, so they hadn't done anything together.
Ding Yijie's expression showed no flaws, and the others were left half-believing, but since Ding Yijie wouldn't say more, they could do nothing.