This shout made everyone, already on edge and sensitive, flinch.
Several people turned to look. Feng Bing’s face was contorted with terror, as if he had seen something horrifying. He was shouting wildly, flailing his arms, his pupils even slightly dilated.
"Hey, Feng Bing, what's wrong? Don't shout. The announcement explicitly forbids making noise."
Hong Lian and Wang Fei immediately grabbed Feng Bing, trying to cover his mouth.
With their hands, they completely blocked Feng Bing’s mouth and nose. Wan Lei was also busy, releasing his divine sense to probe Feng Bing's sea of consciousness, trying to determine if his condition had muddled his soul and awareness.
However, before Dr. Wan could pinpoint the cause of Feng Bing's ailment, Feng Bing quieted down, and his eyes regained their clarity.
Seeing that he was fine, Hong Lian and Wang Fei let go of him and inquired about what had happened.
"I don't know what happened. I suddenly smelled a peculiar, strong fragrance, and then my consciousness became blurred. I felt like I was surrounded by demons and monsters, and many memes, which was very frightening."
"It was a hallucination. What caused this hallucination?"
Fang Xiaoyu frowned, sniffing carefully. He indeed detected a fragrance.
"It's the scent of evening primrose, but it's very light and faint."
"Yes, yes, it's this fragrance, but what I smelled just now was much stronger."
Feng Bing nodded repeatedly.
"Could it be the pollen of evening primrose? But I've never heard of evening primrose pollen causing hallucinations. And why did only you hallucinate? None of us did."
Fang Xiaoyu stroked his chin, analyzing. Suddenly, he looked up.
"Could it be that someone intentionally targeted one of us, infusing pollen into his nose to make him hallucinate?"
"But why target only Feng Bing? And wouldn't that require a lot of pollen to cause such a hallucination? We all smelled the faint floral scent and were fine."
"The problem isn't the pollen. It's that someone is deliberately targeting us. They made Feng Bing hallucinate, but for what purpose? Think about it, we saw two signs earlier. The one on the left said if a companion shows abnormality, help them and don't abandon them. The one on the right said to stay away from them and seek staff at the management office. Now, the answer is obvious. The person who made Feng Bing hallucinate wants us to go to that so-called management office, or they want to do something to Feng Bing after we leave him behind. Therefore, it must be the people who placed the sign on the right who want us to do this, and they are the ones causing trouble. We need to be wary of the instructions on the sign on the right and the people wearing white scarves."
Fang Xiaoyu’s analysis was excellent this time, causing Hong Lian and the other two to nod repeatedly. Wan Lei, however, offered a different opinion.
"What if the people who put up the sign on the left did this deliberately, wanting us to think this way, making us distrust the right and trust the left?"
"Are you here just to argue with me!"
Fang Xiaoyu puffed up indignantly. He had finally come up with an analysis, only for this guy to raise an objection.
"No, no, I'm just stating facts. It's always good to be cautious. We still can't easily trust these things. Let's just move forward for now."
Fang Xiaoyu nodded. The five of them proceeded upwards again.
This time, all five held their breath. They were cultivators, after all, and while there was no spiritual energy here, they still had a considerable amount stored within their bodies.
After walking a short distance, they began to see more and more tombstones. The dark clouds finally dispersed, revealing the moon's shy appearance. The tombstones shimmered with an eerie light under the red glow.
Two more signs appeared by the roadside.
The one on the left was handwritten:
"If you encounter someone with a white scarf, remember to pluck some evening primrose and carry it with you. Evening primrose will protect you."
The one on the right was still in printed font:
"Environmental protection is everyone's responsibility. Please do not pick evening primrose, and do not attempt to attack staff. They will protect you."
Below this was another reminder:
"Staff will only wear white scarves. If you encounter someone wearing a black scarf, please ignore them and do not listen to them."
After reading the signs, the group resumed their upward journey.
After just a few steps, Wan Lei, who was leading the way, suddenly stopped. He saw a figure ahead, squatting in front of a tombstone, seemingly doing something. The figure also sensed them, turned its head to look at them, and then stood up, walking towards them. In the moonlight, they could see that it was a man wearing a neat black outfit, with a scarf around his neck… a white scarf.
Seeing the approaching person, the group immediately became vigilant.
According to the sign on the right, do not speak to people with black scarves, ignore them.
According to the sign on the left, do not speak to people with white scarves; if possible, kill them.
Now, we're in a fine mess. Who are we supposed to listen to?
"Who are you people? Why are you in the cemetery in the middle of the night?"
The person with the white scarf took out a strange cylindrical object and opened it. The cylinder emitted a bright beam of light, illuminating the group. The beam of light seemed to have no effect, only serving as illumination.
The person with the white scarf looked at Wan Lei and the others' strange attire, appearing somewhat puzzled.
"Why aren't you wearing white scarves, nor black scarves?"
Wan Lei and the others remained silent, as regardless of the instructions, they were all told to ignore people with scarves.
Ignore them and keep moving forward. That's how it is.
Wan Lei and the others stepped forward.
"Stop, are you here to pay respects? It's not cemetery visiting hours now. You should come during the day. When you come, remember to wear white scarves and bring incense, paper money, and offerings."
Wan Lei and the others still said nothing.
"Never mind. You can't leave now anyway. Come with me. Stay at the management office for one night, and then you can descend the mountain when dawn breaks. It's not safe here at night. Oh, by the way, I am the head of this cemetery management office. My surname is Shen. You can trust me."
The person with the white scarf sighed, turned around resignedly, and walked upwards, gesturing for them to follow.
Wan Lei and the others exchanged glances and followed the person with the white scarf upwards. It wasn't that they necessarily wanted to follow; it was just that this was the only path, and it was convenient.
The person with the white scarf said nothing more, just holding the luminous object to light their way forward. After a short while, Wan Lei and the others saw another sign by the roadside, but the person with the white scarf ahead seemed to see nothing and continued straight upwards.
The sign on the left read:
"Do not follow the person with the white scarf to the management office! Do not follow the person with the white scarf to the management office! There is no management office here, it's all fake, all fake! That is the nest of these spirits. Never go there!"