Chapter 21: A Night of Terror and Spreading Fear (Third Update)
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Two guards, one leading and one following, ventured out together during the night.
This was all because the highly skilled instructor Lin Yuanhu had mysteriously disappeared the day before—neither his corpse nor his living self could be found! As a result, the security level at the county constable’s residence had been raised another notch; even going out in the night required a companion.
...
“Old Liu, sorry to trouble you, but I need you to accompany me. Who knows what spell the Constable is under, always muttering about ghosts, monsters, and demons. I think he’s about to lose his mind.”
The guard walking in front grumbled with clear dissatisfaction.
Hearing this, the guard behind him, whose features were rather unpleasant to look at, waved his hand and replied casually, “It’s nothing. Old Sun, take your time. Just take me to Spring Fragrance House for a bit of fun in a few days, and we’ll call it even.”
“Go to hell! I can’t afford Spring Fragrance House. Maybe next time we have a chance, we’ll just snatch a pretty girl for some fun. That last one was really something!”
Guard Sun cursed, then, as he relieved himself, began to relish the memory. As guards of the county constable’s residence, they were used to throwing their weight around in Wuling County; ordinary folk wouldn’t dare cross them.
“That girl, she did put up quite a fuss, but…”
Just then, Old Liu, the ugly guard, suddenly fell silent.
Guard Sun, still relieving himself, thought nothing of it, assuming his companion was lost in the same pleasant recollection.
Once finished, he shook off and prepared to leave, but when he turned around, his companion was nowhere to be seen.
“Huh? Old Liu, Old Liu! Where are you? Did you go back already?”
Guard Sun shouted hoarsely a few times, but received no answer.
At that moment, a chilly wind swept through, making him shudder as the cold seemed to seep into his bones.
“That old scoundrel must have gone back alone. No sense of loyalty!” he muttered, tightening his clothes and putting on a show of nonchalance as he strode away toward his room.
He had never feared ghosts or evil spirits, but with Constable Zhou Bo always stirring up nonsense in the residence, it inevitably affected those around him. Who could guarantee they wouldn’t run into something unclean themselves?
...
The county constable’s residence was deserted in the deep of night.
Only talismans and ritual bells swayed lightly in the air, lending the place a strange, eerie atmosphere.
Guard Sun dared not linger; he ran straight to his bedroom and finally breathed a sigh of relief.
But just as he was about to enter, he noticed a figure leaning back against the door, facing away from him.
From the back, it was clearly Old Liu, the guard who should have been with him.
“Hey, Old Liu! What do you mean, leaving me back there without a word? Want me to report you to the Constable?”
As he spoke, Guard Sun strode forward and slapped him heavily on the back.
But with that slap, Old Liu’s body fell stiffly backward, hitting the ground with a dull thud.
Guard Sun stared in horror, instantly feeling his soul leave his body, a chill racing up his neck!
Half of Old Liu’s face was nothing but a blood-soaked skull, not a trace of flesh remaining. The other half was twisted in terror and shock, his eyeball nearly bulging out!
A man who had been alive and chatting with him just moments before lay dead without a sound!
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Guard Sun, terrified, burst into the bedroom, shouting at the top of his lungs.
“Someone’s dead! Someone’s dead! Wake up! Old Liu is dead!”
...
The guards’ bedroom at the constable’s residence housed five men apiece. As Guard Sun rushed in and shouted, three figures quickly sat up from their beds.
He had intended to run for help, but after a few steps he suddenly froze in place, his heart pounding with dread.
Bathed in the cold moonlight, he saw that what had sat up on the beds were not people, but three gleaming white skeletons!
Clack, clack, clack—
Clack, clack, clack—
The three skeletons slowly turned their heads, emitting an eerie rattling sound.
In no time, all three skulls were staring at Guard Sun, their hollow sockets like bottomless pits, chilling to behold.
“G-ghosts!” he stammered.
Never had he imagined his three roommates would become ghosts as well.
Frozen with terror, he felt his very soul leave his body. Screaming, he spun around and fled outside.
But just as he ran out, Old Liu’s corpse staggered to its feet, the bloody half of his face contorted in a hideous, unnatural grin.
“Old Sun... don’t run... join us...”
Old Liu’s voice was cold and stiff, as he reached out a hand toward Guard Sun.
In the blink of an eye, the flesh on this arm rotted away, falling off in strips to reveal bare, white bone crawling with maggots.
“Ghosts! They’re all ghosts! All of them!”
This ghastly ordeal shattered Guard Sun’s sanity completely.
He ran out blindly, eyes squeezed shut, shrieking and flailing through the courtyard like a madman.
...
Such commotion quickly alarmed the rest of the household.
Before long, Constable Zhou Bo emerged, accompanied by a portly Daoist priest.
Since Lin Yuanhu’s disappearance, Zhou Bo had not dared to venture out alone and stuck closely to this Daoist master at all times.
He was truly frightened!
“What’s going on?” Zhou Bo demanded, his face dark as he pointed at the raving, rampaging Guard Sun and questioned the servants.
But those beside him all shook their heads, none able to explain.
“Then seize him first!” Zhou Bo commanded.
The surrounding guards acted swiftly, subduing Guard Sun in short order.
But he continued screaming about ghosts, his face twisted in terror.
Grinding his teeth, Zhou Bo stepped forward and slapped him hard across the face twice.
“Idiot! What are you yelling for? Where are the ghosts? Speak!”
“Ghosts... they’re everywhere... everywhere...”
The slaps did nothing to snap Guard Sun out of his delirium; he continued babbling madly.
“My lord, allow me,” said the portly Daoist, stepping forward.
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He approached Guard Sun and used cinnabar to inscribe a talisman on his forehead.
As soon as he finished, the effect was immediate. Though Guard Sun still shouted, his voice grew much softer and less frenzied.
The Daoist’s expression grew solemn. He formed a hand seal and pressed two fingers to Guard Sun’s brow, asking in a loud, commanding voice, “What exactly did you see? Speak quickly!”
“Ghosts... bones... Old Liu was killed, turned into a ghost... they’re all ghosts, all of them...” Guard Sun muttered in terror, but at least managed to say something coherent.
“Old Liu was killed? Go! Bring in everyone who shared his room!” Zhou Bo ordered at once.
Soon, the men who slept in the same room as Guard Sun were brought in—only three of them.
Zhou Bo scanned them with a grim face. “Where’s Liu Yong?”
The three guards shook their heads.
“My lord, we don’t know! Old Liu went out with Old Sun and never came back. We’ve been sleeping the whole time—know nothing!”
“Don’t know? Know nothing? Then get out there and find him! Go search!” Zhou Bo roared, torn between anger and fear.
First, instructor Lin Yuanhu vanished without a trace, and now a guard had gone mad in the dead of night.
He felt Wuling County was growing stranger by the day!
...
At Zhou Bo’s orders, the entire residence sprang into action.
It wasn’t long before Liu Yong’s corpse was found.
He lay dead behind the latrine, half his face stripped of flesh, leaving only a ghastly skull.
His death was both bizarre and terrifying!
The sight of the body left Zhou Bo short of breath.
This time, it seemed, there really was a haunting!
“Master Daoist, why didn’t your talismans and ritual implements react? Was this guard killed by a ghost?”
Zhou Bo wanted to berate the fat Daoist loudly, but had no choice but to rely on him, so he held back and asked in a gentler tone.
A flash of insight flickered in the Daoist’s eyes as he carefully examined the corpse, his expression growing grave.
“There’s ghostly energy on the body—it was indeed slain by a vengeful spirit!”
“And for it to avoid the detection of my tools, this is no ordinary specter.”
“I fear... we’re dealing with something powerful!”
At these words, horror appeared on every face present.
Fear spread silently through the crowd.
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