Because it was a development zone, and due to it being nighttime, there was no one on the road. Yang Fanglan and Granny Liu walked in a hurry.
Granny Liu sprinkled yellow paper money into the air at intervals, chanting, "Ghosts, make way! Ghosts, make way!"
In the dead of night, seeing two people walking with their heads down, occasionally scattering paper money into the sky, was a chilling sight.
A gust of breeze blew, and Yang Fanglan's hand couldn't help but tremble. Despite wearing a windbreaker, the wind felt as if it pierced her bones, chilling her to the core.
Time ticked by, and Granny Liu and Yang Fanglan arrived at the pond by the rock garden.
Yang Fanglan pointed to the spot where Zhao Yicheng had fallen into the water. Granny Liu grabbed a handful of rice and scattered it into the water, then poured a bit of tea.
Before long, they heard something thrashing in the water. Yang Fanglan leaned closer to the surface and shone her flashlight into the water.
Suddenly, faces appeared before Yang Fanglan. Terrified, she cried out and stumbled back, pointing a trembling finger at the water's surface. "Faces! There are faces in the water!"
Granny Liu looked at the things in the water and comforted her, "It's nothing, it's nothing, just fish."
Yang Fanglan mustered her courage and shone the flashlight in the same direction. She saw that they were indeed goldfish eating the rice she had scattered. But the more she looked, the more eerie it became, because these goldfish clearly had human faces, and some were even grinning at her.
Yang Fanglan thought she was seeing things and rubbed her eyes to look again. The fish, which had previously had human faces, now looked normal again.
Meanwhile, Yu Daohan, who had been following behind, stopped halfway and sat down on the stone steps by the roadside.
Granny Liu took out some gold and silver treasures, along with some paper money, and began burning them by the pond, shouting, "Zhao Yicheng, your mother is here to pick you up! Zhao Yicheng, your mother is here!"
"My son, mother is here to pick you up, my son, mother is here to pick you up," Granny Liu said, and Yang Fanglan continued,
A gust of wind blew, and Yang Fanglan shivered. She felt as if something was pulling her arm.
After burning the paper money, Granny Liu turned and glanced beside Yang Fanglan. "Since you've been received, let's go home."
She took out a prepared oil lamp and lit it with a lighter. Strangely, the flame, which should have been red, was now green.
Yang Fanglan stared at the green flame, and her arm felt like it was being pulled again.
Granny Liu looked ahead and scattered a handful of paper money. "Since this soul-guiding lamp is lit, do not look back on the road home."
As soon as Yang Fanglan took a step, her face contorted in fear. It felt as if an invisible hand was pulling her feet, making her unable to move.
Granny Liu turned to look at the pond, squatted down, and took out some of the remaining gold and silver treasures to burn. She scattered more rice and poured a bit of tea.
Once everything was done, Yang Fanglan felt the pulling sensation disappear. She let out a sigh of relief.
Yang Fanglan walked steadily all the way, afraid the flame might suddenly extinguish. But strangely, the green flame remained steady, as if fixed in place.
Fortunately, the rock garden was not large, and they exited it within a few minutes. Suddenly, a woman's voice called from behind, "Yang Fanglan, wait a moment."
Just as Yang Fanglan was about to turn, Granny Liu exclaimed, "Don't look back!"
Hearing Granny Liu's shout, Yang Fanglan shivered in fear, stopped, and stared straight ahead, not daring to glance to the sides.
Granny Liu looked, the flame flickered, and she breathed a sigh of relief. "Alright, let's continue."
As Yang Fanglan lifted her foot, her heart leaped into her throat. The pulling sensation returned. Seeing this, Granny Liu frowned. As before, she took out gold and silver treasures to burn, scattered rice, and poured tea.
When Yang Fanglan took another step, the pulling sensation vanished, and their pace quickened.
A breeze blew, and Yang Fanglan's hand holding the lamp trembled. It was summer, yet the wind on her face felt as cold and painful as biting frost.
In a short while, they saw a figure squatting by the roadside ahead. A long object, similar in length to a sword, was wrapped in cloth and strapped to his lower back. His eyes were fixed on his phone screen.
Yang Fanglan glanced at him, and her tense heart relaxed.
Yu Daohan saw Granny Liu and the others approaching and stood up to walk over. Yang Fanglan rejoiced and quickened her pace, but after only a few steps, the pulling sensation stopped her again.
Granny Liu looked at the dwindling rice, tea, and gold and silver treasures, scattered more rice, poured more tea, and took out gold and silver treasures to burn.
Yu Daohan's expression was cold, his eyes fixed behind them. He said sternly, "Something is following us. Don't speak, hurry up."
After Granny Liu finished burning the treasures, Yang Fanglan continued forward, while Yu Daohan stood motionless in the middle of the road.
Yang Fanglan hadn't walked five meters before she stopped again. Seeing this, Granny Liu was about to scatter rice into the air.
"Get lost!" Yu Daohan turned and cursed.
At Yu Daohan's shout, a gust of wind swirled around Yang Fanglan's feet. Seeing this, Yang Fanglan quickened her pace and walked forward without stopping.
Yu Daohan kept watching behind them. After Granny Liu and the others had gone about a hundred meters, he turned and followed.
After walking a hundred meters, Yu Daohan frowned. He looked around and realized he was still in the same place, having not moved at all. A layer of fog had appeared ahead at some point.
"Ghost wall," Yu Daohan thought immediately. He took two more steps, closed his eyes, and chanted, "Invisible to the eye, unheard by the ear. Encompassing heaven and earth, nurturing all life."
As soon as he finished, Yu Daohan's eyes snapped open. The road, which had been shrouded in mist, was now clear.
As he lifted his foot, he felt something grab his ankle. Yu Daohan, who already had a bad temper, was further exasperated by the repeated hassle.
Anger flashed across his face. He drew the whip from his waist and lashed out, cursing, "You dare to be insolent!"
Wherever the whip passed, white smoke billowed out, and piercing screams resounded deafeningly.
After a few lashes, Yu Daohan lifted his foot and walked forward directly, soon catching up to Granny Liu and the others.
Granny Liu looked at Yu Daohan, her face showing distress. "Master Yu, we don't have much rice left."
Yu Daohan's brow furrowed. Logically, ghosts would only block the path twice at most. Why were there so many ghosts blocking the way today, one after another?
The saying goes, "If the rice is all gone, the soul cannot return." If all the rice were gone, Zhao Yicheng's soul might not return either.
Yu Daohan scanned the surroundings and said in a cold voice, seemingly to Granny Liu but more like to the air around them, "Burn all the gold and silver treasures, pour out all the tea, leave only the rice. I want to see who dares to block the way."