The helicopter slowly descended from the sky.
After stepping out of the cabin, the accompanying liaison hurriedly said, "We've arrived at the destination. The area ahead is sealed off, so you'll have to proceed on your own."
Hu Jiu looked around. There was only one path, with the outline of a village faintly visible at its end. Armed police in full gear continually patrolled the road entrance.
Cui Xueyan and Zou Cong were quietly discussing something. Yue Renchun stood off to the side at a distance, radiantly beautiful all by himself.
The odds of an exceptionally attractive person appearing in a crowd were already extremely low, and the odds of becoming a Ghost Tamer were lower still. To calculate the chance of both unlikely events occurring in the same person, one had to multiply them, and the result... would have a lot of zeros after the decimal point.
The Supernatural circle wasn't the entertainment industry. It couldn't be full of handsome men and beautiful women, and even if it were, they wouldn't attract everyone indiscriminately, unless... the supernatural was at work.
The four of them should have gotten moving, but Cui Xueyan suddenly stepped forward. "I think we should all share our abilities beforehand. This mission is rather difficult, after all. We can cooperate better if we understand each other and avoid some unnecessary trouble."
To be fair, it was an unreasonable request.
Even when Headquarters established files on Ghost Tamers, it didn't pry too deeply into their backgrounds. Investigating in private was another matter; officially, it only assigned them symbolic codenames.
Yet Zou Cong, who had been silent the whole way, immediately agreed with Cui Xueyan's proposal and spoke first. "My codename is [Ghost-Covered Eyes]. I can deprive people of their vision and plunge them into darkness. I can also interrupt a ghost's killing pattern, making it temporarily stop pursuing its target, but it doesn't last long."
Cui Xueyan spoke immediately afterward. "The ghost I control is [Ghost Scratches People]. My fingernails can grow longer and repel corporeal Fierce Ghosts."
With that, the two looked expectantly at Hu Jiu and Yue Renchun.
Tsk~ Why does this feel like we're being pressured into it?
A smile curved Hu Jiu's lips, its precise arc as though measured with a ruler. "Codename: [Strangling Ghost]. My ability lets me hang and strangle people. I can also suspend Fierce Ghosts to hinder their movements."
As soon as he finished, Yue Renchun followed. "My codename is [Peach Blossom Sha]. I can actively attract Fierce Ghosts."
Cui Xueyan and Zou Cong both looked surprised. Hu Jiu, meanwhile, suddenly thought of Liu Mingguang. An ability that drew ghosts... used well, it was a powerful weapon for trapping Fierce Ghosts. Used poorly, it was a death wish!
But judging by Yue Renchun's current condition, there was probably no need to worry about him.
Who doesn't have a few trump cards?
And who would really reveal all their abilities?
What they could speak of openly was only what lay on the surface. The group seemed a little more familiar and closer to one another as they followed the path, talking and laughing along the way.
Cui Xueyan did the talking, and Hu Jiu did the laughing. Yue Renchun and Zou Cong served as background.
"Longevity Village up ahead is the mission site. It's remote and difficult to reach, and we don't know exactly when the supernatural phenomena began."
"Heaquarters only received word half a month ago. It started with a wellness influencer surnamed Zhang. Because there were many centenarians in Longevity Village, Zhang used the gimmick of seeking the secret to longevity to promote and sell health supplements."
"However, Zhang's team never came back out after entering Longevity Village. Contact was lost with the entire group. After the police were called, the officers who came to investigate also went missing."
"Afterward, the police quietly sent a drone to investigate. It only captured footage of a birthday banquet being held in the village before it malfunctioned."
"Realizing something was wrong, the police transferred the case to a special department. Headquarters deployed a military satellite, only to find Longevity Village covered by dark clouds that wouldn't disperse. It couldn't capture anything..."
Cui Xueyan was chattering like a sparrow when a gust of wind carrying a sour, rotten smell suddenly reached Hu Jiu's nose.
He wasn't the only one who smelled it. The other three slowed their pace at the same time.
The smell came and went, and they couldn't find its source.
Just then, Yue Renchun suddenly looked up. "Is that fog?"
The once clear blue sky had dimmed at some point. Like the gauze veil on a noblewoman's face, it grew hazier and darker by degrees. As they walked, the surroundings had changed without their noticing.
The farther they went, the thicker the fog became, its billowing movement giving off an ominous feeling.
"That's strange. There definitely wasn't any fog when we were outside. We could even make out the village, but now that we're closer, we can't see it clearly," Cui Xueyan said quietly. "For our mission, we at least have to enter Longevity Village first."
No one objected.
Before long, they reached the village entrance, where an ancient-looking stone stele stood before them. A single character, "longevity," was carved into it in bold, vigorous strokes.
Weeds by the roadside concealed some rubble, remnants that looked as though they had been left by buildings that had fallen into disrepair and collapsed. There wasn't a sound around them. The damp, cold fog carried a faint smell of decay deep into their lungs, chilling them all over and instinctively bringing the words "Ghost Village" to mind.
Perhaps to ease the tense atmosphere, Zou Cong explained, "Most young people don't want to stay in the countryside, especially in a remote, backward place like this. As people leave, a village falls into disuse over time. It's perfectly normal for it to end up this way. I've seen even creepier places."
As he spoke, he walked in.
Hu Jiu and the others followed. As they went farther in, the desolate scenery gradually disappeared. Rows of houses, neither new nor old, stood neatly arranged, though their doors and windows were tightly shut.
Hu Jiu looked around cautiously. Suddenly, he saw a pair of eyes behind a window, staring fixedly in their direction.
They belonged to an old woman with a head full of white hair and a very strange expression. It wasn't just her, either. There seemed to be someone watching them from behind every window around them.
A steady clacking soon rang out along the empty street. An old man leaning on a cane walked toward them. "Young people, are you here to sightsee?"
"We heard this was a famous Land of Longevity, so we came especially to take a look." Yue Renchun was the one who answered, putting his advantage to use.
"What Land of Longevity? It's just a bunch of old people without families. People have been talking us up and hyping the place lately, and now it's become a tourist attraction." The old man was quite cheerful. "There's only one guesthouse in the village. If you want a place to stay, follow me."
"You know what 'hype' means?" Cui Xueyan asked frankly from the side.
The old man paused, then chuckled. "I heard it from young people like you..."