Gate of Death

"Qian! He's possessed by a ghost! Hurry and exorcise it!" Zhao He frantically smashed the female ghost with the chopping board, not forgetting to wake his sister, Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian snapped back to reality, frantically rummaging through her bag for tools! She had never seen a fierce ghost possessing someone in broad daylight, let alone heard of it! How much resentment would it take to possess someone during the day? And ghosts like this, she could only exorcise, not destroy.

Zhao He's arm was grabbed by Zhang Kaifu, his fingers sinking deep into the muscle, blood gushing out.

"Brother... Qian can't do anything, Qian can't do anything... I'm sorry, I'm sorry... sob." Zhao Qian murmured softly, picking up a peach wood sword, then deciding against it, she found an old, tattered book and tossed it aside.

After a long while, unable to find anything, Zhao Qian started crying, tears and snot streaming down her face. She wasn't unable to find anything; she simply couldn't find any effective tools!

I sighed. Zhao Qian was just a Feng Shui master, not skilled in exorcism, so it couldn't be helped. She could set up an altar and arrange Feng Shui to fool ghosts and gods, but did you, Zhao He, think she was omnipotent? Asking her to exorcise a fierce ghost was forcing her hand, and besides, she was just a girl.

It was clear that Zhao Qian must have been forcing herself at home, under immense pressure, otherwise she wouldn't have broken down like this.

"Hurry and unlock it!"

At the crucial moment when the female ghost was being held by Zhao He, I immediately ran towards Huo Dadong, extending my hands for him to unlock the restraints.

"You!" Huo Dadong, clutching his neck to stop the bleeding, was stunned. He thought I was trying to escape in the chaos, and his eyes showed disdain.

"What are you still staring at! If you don't want to die, hurry up and let me go!" I roared at him. Startled, Huo Dadong fumbled for his keys and shakily unlocked the restraints, even dropping the key once.

With my hands and feet free, I immediately took out the soul urn, bit my finger, and plunged it into the urn: "Come out, eat blood!"

The little fierce ghost immediately poked its head out, its dark, glistening eyes full of greed.

Yu Xiao Xue let out a startled cry when she saw it was a little female ghost and fainted.

It seemed the scene of the little fierce ghost crawling out of the coffin earlier had been too much for her.

"Hurry and get rid of her!" Ignoring Yu Xiao Xue, I fed the little fierce ghost blood and ordered it to deal with Zhang Kaifu.

Huo Dadong's eyes widened. He couldn't understand why I was mumbling to a broken urn and then brazenly saying I'd get rid of the terrifying "thing" Zhang Kaifu was, especially since he couldn't see what was inside the urn.

The little fierce ghost's entire body emerged. Instantly, a chilling wind swept through the daylight, and its sharp teeth gnashed loudly. It twisted its limbs, and a gust of cold air shot towards Zhang Kaifu!

Huo Dadong felt a chill all over his body but saw nothing.

But then, a strange scene unfolded. Zhang Kaifu seemed to have his neck grabbed by something, and he was lifted into the air. Finally, as if all his strength had been drained, he collapsed onto the ground.

Although Zhao Qian and Zhao He hadn't truly mastered the Yin-Yang Eyes, they could still see fierce ghosts with strong ghostly energy very clearly. They were stunned from the moment I summoned this fierce ghost.

After being pulled out, the white-eyed fierce ghost struggled in fear, but the little fierce ghost had no intention of letting her go. It grabbed her hair, opened its blood-red mouth full of sharp teeth, and began to gnaw!

The white-eyed, red-clothed fierce ghost screamed, half its face already gone, on the verge of soul annihilation.

I didn't know their rank, but seeing the little fierce ghost pull out the white-eyed fierce ghost as easily as an eagle catching a chick, I could guess how powerful the black-eyed fierce ghost was.

But it made sense when I thought about it. A little ghost fed blood for decades by Grandma, how could it be ordinary?

As it ate, the little fierce ghost consumed more than half of the red-clothed fierce ghost. The white-eyed fierce ghost could no longer make a sound and stopped struggling.

"R-raising... ghosts... the way." Zhao Qian stared at the ghost eating ghost as if in a trance. She turned to look at me, unable to complete a sentence.

I glanced at Zhao Qian. She thought I was glaring at her and shut up in fear.

Zhao He's mouth was open wide enough to fit a large fist. He looked at me with more fear than anything else.

"Go back!" Seeing the little fierce ghost finish its feast, I immediately commanded. Who knew if this fierce ghost would cause any more trouble? I couldn't just leave it out, especially with Yu Xiao Xue still lying nearby.

The little fierce ghost reluctantly returned to the soul urn. I quickly put the lid back on, stuck a seal on it, and put it back in my pocket.

The forest, which had been filled with shouts of battle, fell into silence.

I breathed a sigh of relief and extended my hands: "Come on, Captain Huo, shall we cuff me again?"

Huo Dadong froze for a moment, looking at Zhang Kaifu lying dead on the ground, then at Zhao Qian and Zhao He. His face immediately fell: "How could I! After that display, you must be Witch Zhou's grandson. I don't think you were the one who caused trouble at the village entrance. No matter how bad my eyesight is, I can't cuff Witch Zhou's grandson, right? This daytime possession is extremely strange, isn't it, Brother Tian?"

I smiled, but sighed inwardly. Zhang Kaifu was doomed from the start, not even having eaten a Ghost Repelling Talisman. However, Huo Dadong and Zhao He were injured, largely due to my actions. Although I eliminated the white-eyed female ghost in time, with this lesson learned, if I dared to be so careless again when encountering fierce or powerful ghosts, I wouldn't know how I died.

Later, I learned that this type of white-eyed female ghost was actually a fierce ghost called a "resentful good ghost." She was incredibly kind in life but died from abuse. After becoming a ghost, she could possess someone during the day if they harbored evil intentions. After possessing someone, she would become bloodthirsty, fighting to the death. Only after everyone around her was dead would she self-mutilate until she was disfigured.

"Xue, wake up." I patted Yu Xiao Xue's face, but after calling for a while, she didn't wake up.

I had no choice but to put my backpack on the front and carry her on my back.

She was light, perhaps still a bit malnourished. After all, the food in the mountains wasn't great, and everyone in her family grew cassava. I remembered she told me once that when she was hungry as a child, she stole sweet potatoes from someone's field but accidentally dug up their ancestral grave. The ancestors then pinched her backside until it was purple that night.

Of course, I just took it as a joke.

The ghost wall disappeared. Zhao Qian helped Huo Dadong and Zhao He stop their bleeding. Then, we left Zhang Kaifu's body behind and continued walking out of the hamlet.

Not long after, we reached a cliff about thirty meters high. From here, we could see Kang Long Village below the mountain. We were all excited, and even Yu Xiao Xue woke up.

Zhao He and Huo Dadong led the way, Zhao Qian still holding her Feng Shui compass, while Yu Xiao Xue and I followed closely. As we walked onto the cliff, we saw a troop of soldiers in the distance, appearing to be preparing for departure.

We all assumed it was the town or county that had learned about the problem in Xiao Yi Hamlet and sent troops.

"Thank goodness, we've finally made it through. There are troops ahead. Everyone relax. Commander Li, who is stationed in the border town, is my sworn brother. I'll go see what's going on and why so many people are here," Huo Dadong said with a sigh of relief, finally letting out his pent-up frustration.

Zhao Qian and Zhao He exchanged smiles, clearly excited as well.

"Brother Tian, Brother Dan said we wouldn't get out, but we're out now," Yu Xiao Xue said, blinking her eyes.

Huo Dadong could see them, which meant there was definitely no problem this time. I followed them, but as we walked, I couldn't move forward. Sister Wife suddenly tugged at my clothes. I could almost feel that if I took another step, my clothes would be torn to shreds.

"Stop! Don't go any further!" I suddenly roared, already pulling Yu Xiao Xue back.

"What's wrong? Tian Ge?" Yu Xiao Xue looked at me, stunned.

At this moment, the troops ahead had finished their preparations and began to march, shouting rhythmic slogans of "One, two, three, four" as they jogged towards us.

I really couldn't see anything wrong, but Sister Wife just wouldn't let go of my hand.

I saw nothing on the cliff path, and my heart was filled with suspicion, but I still became vigilant: "Zhao Qian, do you see anything wrong up ahead?"

"No, what could there be? The compass isn't giving any warnings," Zhao Qian didn't quite understand what I meant, thinking I was just being overly suspicious.

I shook my head, thinking the Ninth Princess was being difficult again, but one step forward, rip! My clothes tore!

"Xue! Run!"

Without a second thought, I immediately grabbed Yu Xiao Xue and ran back!

Zhao Qian froze. Zhao He thought I was crazy. Huo Dadong was so anxious he was jumping up and down: "Kid, don't run! If you run, they'll think you're a fugitive! They'll shoot! Do you understand shooting!?"

"Hey! What are you running for! My sister hasn't even figured anything out yet!" Zhao He also got anxious, looking at Zhao Qian.

Zhao Qian looked at the calm feng shui compass, but was a little stunned: Could this guy also be possessed by a ghost?

Seeing that they weren't moving, I stopped caring about anything else and, without looking back, dragged Yu Xiao Xue and ran faster than a rabbit!

When we got far away, seeing the Zhao siblings still standing there like idiots, I immediately yelled: "What the hell, are you all stupid! It's the ghost soldiers passing! Do you understand ghost soldiers passing! Idiot Zhao Qian! Why aren't you running, you bitch! If you don't run, you'll die here!"

Being called an idiot, Zhao Qian's face instantly turned red. She pouted aggrievedly, but because she was also a little afraid of me, she glanced back at the approaching troops: There's nothing wrong, Captain Huo doesn't have yin-yang eyes, and he can see it, right? Why are you scolding me!

She looked at the feng shui compass carefully again. As she examined the compass, she instantly understood.

The feng shui compass wasn't not spinning; the small pillar supporting the needle had snapped, and it couldn't spin at all!

At this, Zhao Qian, terrified, dropped her compass and ran for her life as well.

But the result was: her butt was a bit big, and it swayed from side to side as she ran. Although it looked good, it wasn't very fast for escaping.

"Ghost soldiers passing? Ghost soldiers passing!!" Zhao He's face turned pale, and he took off running. Catching up, he conveniently picked up Zhao Qian.

Huo Dadong was stunned for a moment. As a result, he was a step too slow and his soul was directly captured by the ghost soldiers!

When I looked back, I saw Huo Dadong with vacant eyes, staring blankly ahead. He eventually walked towards the cliff and, after a few circles, rolled down the cliff edge. By the time he reached the river below, he was already a pool of blood.

Yu Xiao Xue and I didn't know how long we ran. When we stopped, our legs were trembling uncontrollably.

Zhao He was also panting heavily. Seeing that the ghost soldiers had disappeared, he finally put Zhao Qian down.

I looked up ahead, and my heart turned cold. Si Bridge, we were back at Si Bridge. After all the trouble today, we had circled back.

"We can't get out..." I sighed. The ghost soldiers gathering to pass were there to capture living souls. If a person lost their soul, they would become either foolish or stupid.

So, if you happened to run into ghost soldiers, it was safer to just escape.

No wonder, the path from Kang Long Village to Xiao Yi Hamlet had ghost soldiers guarding it. Ghosts couldn't get in, and people couldn't get out. It was the Gate of Death.