Unclothed Ghost [New Book Please Collect!]

From afar, the Liu Family Ghost Building didn't seem large, but upon arriving, they realized this four-story pavilion occupied a considerable area. Its design was simply exquisite, making its exterior appear unassuming.

Each floor had over ten rooms arranged around a central courtyard. The courtyard itself had a complete awning and net, collecting rainwater and preventing children from falling from upper floors.

Completely unlike the dilapidated Liu Family Memorial Arch outside, this building appeared remarkably well-preserved. Decades of wind and rain had not damaged a single door or window, nor left any trace of decay.

This in itself was strange.

The young girl who accompanied Gongsun Rou was named Zhao Xiaomiao, Zhao Liangcai's paternal half-sister. She tugged at Gongsun Rou's sleeve, pleading, "Gongsun Sister, please, just let me come with you."

Gongsun Rou remained unmoved, shaking her head faintly. "If you come out playing with me, then I have to be responsible for you. We don't know the situation inside; what if there's danger?"

Zhao Liangcai also wanted Zhao Xiaomiao to go home, but Zhao Xiaomiao never listened to him. Seeing him about to speak, she glared at him, and Zhao Liangcai immediately shut his mouth.

Zhao Xiaomiao wasn't afraid of him; he was afraid of Zhao Xiaomiao. He had no idea how many secrets she held over him from his outside escapades. The elders at home also doted on her. If she so much as complained, he'd be in serious trouble.

Zhao Xiaomiao continued to act spoiled, "If there's danger, wouldn't that be the same for you too?"

"That's right," Wang Longqi interjected, trying to persuade them. "Gongsun Girl, perhaps neither of you should come. This really isn't a good place."

Gongsun Rou looked at him, her gaze actually passing over him to the Li Chu beside him, and smiled faintly, "I'm not afraid."

Zhao Xiaomiao's eyes darted around. "Gongsun Sister, think about it. Once we go inside, they can all share a room in pairs, but you'll have to sleep alone. How scary is that? You won't have anyone to look out for you. What if those ghosts specifically target lone individuals?"

Gongsun Rou pondered for a moment, still seeming unwilling to agree, but she didn't say anything else.

Zhao Xiaomiao giggled and directly hooked her arm. "You can't leave me behind."

Zhao Liangcai inwardly calculated. It seemed Miss Gongsun was indeed afraid. Heh heh, it's good she's afraid; that makes things easier. In this kind of environment, a little trick to scare her, and wouldn't she just throw herself into my arms?

Gongsun Rou glanced again at Li Chu's profile, her heart involuntarily pounding twice. She thought to herself, in this kind of environment, if I get scared, can I legitimately throw myself into Little Daoist Priest Li's arms?

Wang Longqi was a bit closer to Gongsun Rou and could smell a faint, delicate fragrance. His mind swayed. He also began to wonder, in this kind of environment... how could he make Miss Gongsun throw herself into his arms instead of someone else's?

These people each harbored their own thoughts. Only Zhao Liangchen and Li Chu remained calm and composed, one coldly aloof, the other handsomely aloof, maintaining their respective demeanors.

They first toured the open space on the first floor and found that not only were there no snakes, insects, rats, or ants in the building, but not a single plant either.

The bluestone bricks in the open space were slippery from years of rainwater erosion, yet not a trace of moss grew on them.

Zhao Liangchen finally spoke, "A sole Yin cannot give birth. The Yin Qi in this building is too heavy, and Yang Energy cannot exist. It seems the talk of ghosts is not unfounded."

With that, he looked coldly at Li Chu.

An ordinary Jianghu Charlatan should be looking for an excuse to slip away by now, right?

Li Chu didn't even look at him, merely nodding in agreement. In fact, he had sensed even before entering that the Yin Qi contained within this small building was denser than that of the Graveyard on Ten Li Slope.

It would be strange if this place didn't spawn some kind of ghost.

However, since the ghosts here have never left, they shouldn't be any powerful characters.

His judgment had some basis, as the earth-bound ghosts he encountered were indeed mostly low-level ones, like Lantern Monsters and Vengeful Spirits.

But it also didn't make sense, because for many Cultivators, Vengeful Spirits were already considered powerful...

After looking around, Zhao Liangcai obsequiously pointed to a room and said to Gongsun Rou, "Gongsun Girl, based on my observation, this is the best room in the building. It's spacious and clean, and close to the entrance. It's on the second floor, with eaves outside, so if anything unexpected happens, you can jump out directly without getting hurt."

Gongsun Rou nodded, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.

Wang Longqi said, "So you've been paying attention to the entrance all along? It seems you've been harboring thoughts of escape."

"Hmph, I'm thinking of Gongsun Girl's well-being."

"And then you'll find an excuse to say you want to live next door to Gongsun Girl, so it's convenient for you to escape too, right?" Wang Longqi sneered.

"You! You're spouting nonsense!" Zhao Liangcai's face turned red as his hidden thoughts were exposed.

"Fine, then do you dare to live on the highest fourth floor, the farthest place from the stairs?" Wang Longqi pointed upwards.

"Why wouldn't I dare!" Zhao Liangcai exclaimed loudly.

"Good! Then we'll live next door to Gongsun Girl." Wang Longqi turned around and quickly pushed the door open.

Gongsun Rou hadn't agreed to the room he chose, but seeing that Li Chu had already entered the adjacent room with Wang Longqi, she smiled, nodded at Zhao Liangcai, and also walked in gently.

"..." Zhao Liangcai stood frozen for a few seconds before realizing he had been tricked.

He looked at Zhao Liangchen pitifully, "Cousin, you have to stand up for me."

"Heh heh." Zhao Liangchen looked at the sky gradually darkening overhead and let out two cold laughs, "Let them be."

The moon was full tonight, but for some reason, looking at the moon from the Liu Family Ghost Building always felt like it was shrouded in a layer of hazy mist. The large moon had no radiance.

The room was spotless. The bed, screen, and desk were all clean and tidy, as if someone cleaned them daily.

Wherever his hand touched, it felt cool, carrying a chilling aura. The more he smelled it, the more nauseating it became.

Zhao Liangcai sat on a chair, his spine chilling. As night fell, his unease grew.

He couldn't help but say, "Cousin, do you think ghosts clean this place every day?"

Zhao Liangchen was meditating on the bed. Cherishing every moment to cultivate was a habit he had developed over many years.

After completing a full cycle of circulation, he opened his eyes displeasured and looked at Zhao Liangcai as if he were an idiot, "Otherwise? Do you think it could be humans?"

"Ah?" Zhao Liangcai jumped up in shock, flustered, "We can talk, we can joke, but don't joke about this. Although I wanted to scare them, I never intended to actually see ghosts."

"With me here, what are you afraid of?" Zhao Liangchen's gaze was arrogant. "I imagine it's just some people from the Liu family who were unwilling back then, their living souls lingering here. Heh, if they dare to appear, what difficulty would it be for me to cleanse this haunted house?"

Hearing him say this, Zhao Liangcai felt a bit more confident. After all, he had always known how capable his cousin was.

With newfound confidence, he started to entertain other thoughts.

"Cousin," he sidled up and said, "you mentioned earlier about using some means to scare them. What was it? It's dark now, shouldn't we make our move?"

Zhao Liangchen heard this and took out a small black bottle from his sleeve. "To deal with them, these few little ghosts will suffice."

He pulled out the stopper, sealed with a talisman, and tipped the bottle. A thick, white mist, like rich cream, flowed out, quickly filling half the room.

Within this mist, several small figures gradually appeared, seemingly real yet not, all curled up with their knees to their chests and heads buried in them.

Zhao Liangcai watched, trembling with fear. "What... what is this?"

"Unclothed Ghosts, also called Child Ghosts. I happened to capture them some time ago," Zhao Liangchen said.

Zhao Liangcai had vaguely heard some rumors about Unclothed Ghosts. Children who died before the age of eight were said to suffer the "Sorrow of the Unclothed." Children of this age easily became ghosts. Because they hadn't experienced much of life's joys before dying, they harbored resentment.

However, children's hearts were pure, and their resentful qi wasn't heavy, so they usually didn't cause much harm.

As the white mist slowly dissipated, the figures became clearer. There were four young boys and one young girl, all wearing thick clothes that looked like they were made of paper.

The moment the white mist cleared, the Child Ghosts raised their heads...

Immediately, Zhao Liangcai heard a loud, clear, excited, and unified question.

"Are you hungry?!"

Thanks to Book Friend 20190125103432149 for the thousand-coin reward, thanks to Feng Weimian for the 200-coin reward, and thanks to Still 77 Days Away From Ten Mile Slope Sword God for the hundred-coin reward.