Red-robed Hanging Ghost

Chapter 2: Red-Robed Hanging Ghost

Wu Xian opened his cold eyes. The warm light dispelled the chill from his body.

He hadn't returned to the Detective Agency but instead found himself in a room that looked like a hotel. It wasn't large, with terrazzo flooring, pale floral wallpaper, blue-grid bedding, rosewood furniture, a private bathroom, and an old television.

A key lay on the table, its tag reading Room 406.

Outside, it was pitch black. He could vaguely make out that he was in a city, but there were no lights. The city seemed dead. Faintly, he could hear the sound of clapping and eerie prayers.

"This is the Blessed Land? All those missing people were brought here?"

Recalling his previous experiences, Wu Xian began to understand what the Blessed Land was.

The so-called Blessed Land was like a large-scale survival game. The missing people had become players in this game. Black Hand Cover Eyes was like a cutscene, and the previous Worship God... was it beginner's luck?

All the missing people had died in the Blessed Land.

"She must have been hanged. So the rope hanging her should be quite strong."

Silence persisted for a while. Wu Xian couldn't bring himself to straighten up.

The two small feet were as cold as ice, and there was a disgusting smell of decay.

Knock knock!

Since communication was impossible, Wu Xian began to consider how to escape.

To verify his guess, Wu Xian decided to go out and take a look.

Wu Xian lifted his coat, his brow immediately furrowing.

But Wu Xian held on tight, suddenly lifting both legs and bringing his entire weight down on her.

The True Fire Incantation looked like just a piece of yellow paper with clerical script written on it. The paper was somewhat rough, but according to the information in his mind, it was far from simple.

Her movement made a rustling sound, like a mop mixed with mud and sand dragging across the floor. As the sound gradually faded, Wu Xian finally straightened up, let out a sigh of relief, and slowly retreated.

But he stopped just as he reached the door. He smelled a sweet, salty scent mixed with the tang of rust.

The only thing he could rely on was that True Fire Incantation.

"It seems tonight is not suitable for going out."

Based on his experience from horror movies, neither panicking and fleeing nor looking up would lead to anything good. Even staying still would eventually lead to death.

This ritual was called 'Tuo Yin'.

Wu Xian could almost imagine a bizarrely shaped woman pressed against the door, her body contorting against the wood, her eyes fixed on the peephole, twitching like an epileptic, greedily sniffing for any trace of the living.

"What should I call this thing? A ghost, a monster, or an Evil Spirit?"

But unfortunately, its color was greenish, emitting a foul odor, clearly having been dead for a long time.

Since he couldn't go out.

It was the smell of blood.

"I'm going to eat you for the rest of my life!"

The talisman was merely a medium; the key was the information on it. As long as this piece of information was imprinted, any item could possess the abilities of a talisman.

"I'm going to eat you for the rest of my life."

His shoulder bumped into something.

A mournful female voice came from above.

He saw a waiter hanging in mid-air, his face contorted in terror, flailing his limbs. His head was held by a large hand that reached out from beyond his line of sight. This hand, like a vise, gradually tightened, crushing the waiter's skull.

Wu Xian held his breath. The room was deathly silent, as if no one was there. The woman outside had also quieted down. Now, even the sound of a needle dropping on the floor could be heard.

Wu Xian's mouth twitched. "Sister, we just met. About something as big as 'the rest of my life,' shouldn't we get to know each other a bit better first?"

After her outburst, the woman outside finally left.

This meant that anything brought from the outside world, except for clothes and people, would not be effective in the Blessed Land.

Without looking up, Wu Xian knew that someone was definitely hanging above his head.

Wu Xian, like a child with a new toy, eagerly rolled the yellow paper around his middle finger. Following the information he had received, he recited a phrase in his mind.

Suddenly.

Those who survived were unwilling to have any further involvement with the Blessed Land due to their terrifying experiences within it.

The woman spoke again, her voice becoming more venomous and sharp, filled with bone-chilling hatred that made Wu Xian's eardrums ache.

"Ah, no, spare me, I..."

In just two minutes, the woman changed her tune several times. Her words were sincere, her emotions full, sometimes mournful and gentle, sometimes anxious and terrified. From her words alone, it was almost impossible to find fault.

He would first see what he could do.

"Please, have mercy! I really didn't lie. I'm the owner of this hotel, Yu Yinghua!"

"You are so heartless! When he comes up and sees me at your door, he won't let you off either..."

From a distance, one could see a woman in red hanging above Wu Xian's head. She was suspended by a rope, her face bruised and purple, her eyeballs bulging, her black and red tongue lolling out of her mouth, stretching longer and longer, like a long snake.

Thump, thump, thump!

The sound was muffled, not like something being hit with a hand.

It was as if a woman was kneeling at the door, banging her head mechanically!

Her face was filled with malice, her tongue almost encircling Wu Xian's neck, about to hang him and leave him with a deathly appearance as hideous as her own.

Wu Xian's gaze shifted slightly, and he noticed a red skirt draped over his shoulder, along with a pair of female feet. The feet were long and slender, with slightly protruding bones and tendons, and the toenails were trimmed round and smooth.

Wu Xian was silent for a moment.

Wu Xian held up his middle finger and examined it for a good while.

'The stars guide the way, Heavenly Official bestows the talisman!'

"Well, that's all she knows."

Wu Xian quietly walked to the side of the door and bent down, pressing his ear against the door panel. This posture ensured that anyone outside couldn't detect his presence through the peephole or the door crack.

This was the first time Wu Xian had encountered something like this. The terror that surpassed his understanding sent shivers down his spine, and his hands and feet trembled slightly, yet at the same time, he felt a strange sense of familiarity.

The talisman paper automatically burned, and the words "True Fire" appeared on Wu Xian's middle finger, then vanished without a trace.

But now, everything had turned into delicate origami, losing its original colors and becoming light and airy. Even the steel wires hidden in his clothes would snap with a single pull.

He immediately leaned in to peek through the peephole.

Even though Wu Xian had his ear pressed against the door, he could only hear voices, no rapid breathing, and no sounds of bodies colliding with the door or the ground.

Bang!

A dull thud came, as if something had hit the door, followed by a low scraping sound.

"Is anyone in the room? He's gone mad, he wants to kill me, please let me in to hide for a while..."

The problem lay with the voice.

But just then, Wu Xian suddenly grabbed her foot!

To prepare for the crisis of disappearance, he had hidden several cold and hot weapons on his person, as well as a lighter, a magnifying glass, and a ring with a hidden blade.

Pfft!

The waiter's head was crushed like a rotten tomato. His massive hand gripped the waiter's mangled corpse, and it gradually disappeared from Wu Xian's sight.

Wu Xian's eyes darted around for a moment, and he came up with a plan.

Suddenly, he heard knocking from outside.

The woman outside's tone became urgent.

Wu Xian did not respond.

But Wu Xian was certain she wasn't human.

After standing still, he heard a cry for help from outside.

After taking two steps back, Wu Xian suddenly stopped, his heart skipping a beat.

Crack!

Notes from the Thatched Cottage of Minute Observation, Volume Thirteen: It is said among folk witches that those who die by hanging and wear red clothes will have their ghosts enter and exit rooms, and even the Mad Gods in the palace cannot stop them. This is because women are not buried in red clothes; red is a yang color, making them seem like living souls. The origin of this saying is unknown, but women believe it deeply. Therefore, those who die with resentment often hang themselves in red clothes to cause trouble.