Chapter 55: Thirty-six Ghosts

  According to Ouyang Ju, Xiaoyue taught me to recite the Great Compassion Mantra. I studied it very seriously, although I didn't know what this Great Compassion Mantra was used for.

  I stood beside the witch, practicing, partly to protect her and also to help her transcend, because the Great Compassion Mantra has such an effect. The two of them were busy outside and didn't come back until it was almost dark. Xiaoyu returned with a bag in hand, containing things that those girls had used before. None of the villagers found anything. In fact, this wasn't unexpected, it was within everyone's expectations. Those girls mysteriously disappeared.

  Ouyang Ju came up to me and asked: "Nothing unexpected happened while you were on guard, did it?"

  I shook my head and said, "No, nothing strange happened at all. It was just like usual."

  Ouyang nodded and didn't say anything. Xiaorou came to my side and said, "Xiaolong, everything is ready. Tonight, you don't have to worry about anything, just recite the Great Compassion Mantra."

  "Don't worry, Xiao Rou, I'll definitely do it." I assured her, because apart from this, I seemed to be of no other help.

  We set up the pyre and placed the old witch's body on it, placing many candles around it. Everything was ready. All of our faces were very solemn, containing too much complex emotions, including sadness, disappointment, and apprehension.

  Everything was fine when the sky wasn't completely dark, nothing had happened, but when the sky turned completely black, the situation really changed beyond recognition.

  The three of us all crouched inside the witch's house, and heard a very violent shaking sound outside, as if it had started to rain. And also heard many animal calls! These things seemed to be very far away, but also seemed to be in the yard.

  "What's going on?" Although I had a premonition that something was going to happen, I still felt a bit flustered.

  Ouyang Ju walked up to me and said, "Don't be afraid, it's a normal phenomenon. These lonely souls can't come out during the day, but at night they all become active. Outside, I've already made arrangements with Xiao Rou, so don't worry."

  "Hmm!" I nodded, "I'm not worried, what I want to ask is when can the witch be cremated?"

  "It's not time yet, we still have to wait for two hours. The witch isn't a normal person. Even cremation has its timing, now you can recite the Great Compassion Mantra."

  Ouyang Ju spoke while taking out a lot of paper money from Xiao Rou's bag, the kind we usually burn for the dead, and threw it outside the yard.

  Xiao Rou also poured out the things in another bag and burned all of them along with the talisman.

  The air in the house is extremely choking, and I can barely stand it. However, I didn't say anything because I was very clear that all of this was to cope with what's coming next.

  After all these things were burned out, Xiaoyue said to me: "Well, Xiaolong, from now on continue reciting the Great Compassion Mantra without stopping."

  "Uh-huh!" I nodded and began to recite. But just as I opened my mouth, I found that many people suddenly appeared beside me, which scared me at first, but after a closer look, I discovered that the people who appeared beside me were actually the village's aunties. They were also reciting the Great Compassion Mantra, and their progress was the same as mine. Whatever I did, they would do the same.

  And surrounded the witch in a circle, at that time I was very amazed, this magic is too powerful, Xiaoyu can do all these things, then if the witch is still alive, what would it be like? It's unthinkable.

  "Hmm..." "Hmm..." At this time, the wind outside grew stronger and their wailing voices could be heard.

  Our door was also flashing at this time, and I heard a big wave in my heart here, because I felt that it was absolutely not normal wind, but something else.

  "Don't be distracted, recite the Great Compassion Mantra properly." Ouyang Jiu said as he turned his head to me.

  Just then, "Bang..." The door was pushed open, and a cold air swept in.

  At this moment, I finally saw what was outside the yard. In the yard, there were actually many people. They all bent their waists and squatted down to pick up the paper money on the ground, which was what Ouyang Jiu had burned earlier. Every time they picked some up, they would smile and then disappear.

  The paper money Ou Yang Jiu burned was for these guys, and it really worked. Xiao Rou walked to the door at this time, wanting to put the door on, but the wind was too strong, and she couldn't hold it up.

  Xiao Rou tried twice and finally gave up. At this time, looking at Ouyang Ju again, his forehead was covered with sweat, and he looked very anxious. I didn't understand what he was anxious about either.

  However, another unexpected event occurred ten minutes later. We saw many dark objects coming from afar, their outlines were blurry, all with their hands on their shoulders, slowly moving towards us.

  The three of us looked at each other, and Xiao Rou said to Ouyang Jiu: "Uncle Ouyang, don't move in the room. I'll go out and scatter these ghosts."

  After finishing speaking, she burst out of the door, but Ouyang Jiu grabbed Xiao Rou's arm and said: "Xiao Rou, don't be too impulsive. I think these ghosts are not ordinary. After you go over there, don't use your magic tool to deal with them first. Use the fastest speed to count how many there are!"

  "Is it necessary, Uncle Ouyang?" asked Xiaoyu.

  "It's absolutely necessary, listen to me!" Ouyang Ju said very seriously.

  Xiao Rou didn't say anything else and ran out directly. After he left, Ouyang Ju wiped the sweat from his forehead and glanced over at me.

  "What's wrong?" I looked at his expression and it seemed a bit off.

  Ouyang Ju swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said, "Nothing much, just hope it's not thirty-six, otherwise this matter will be beyond our control."

  I didn't ask Ou Yang Jiu what was going on, after all, I wasn't very familiar with this kind of thing either. Xiao Rou quickly ran back, panting and told Ou Yang Jiu: "I just counted them, there are thirty-six ghosts in total."

  "What?" Ou Yang raised an eyebrow and frowned: "What's their general appearance like?"

  Xiao Rou thought for two or three seconds and said: "Because I was in a hurry, I didn't see very clearly, but the ones in front of me were quite fierce. Some had their intestines hanging out of their stomachs, some had their upper and lower bodies separated, some were headless, and some still held chains in their hands."

  "It's indeed the thirty-six ghosts. It's impossible for the witch to have provoked all of them before her death, right? The thirty-six ghosts are gathered here, each one representing a different type. We're powerless now."

  You can feel how vicious these 36 ghosts are from their words. I and Xiaoyu looked at him, asking what to do now? He said there's only one way, which is to run with the corpse of the witch as far as possible.

  I and Xiao Rou think this method is not quite right, ask Ouyang Ju if it can be cremated directly. Ouyang Ju shook his head very hard and said to us, absolutely not, if forced to cremate, another extremely evil alien will appear again, which is firmly unacceptable.

  It's really hard to keep up with the changes, so we had no choice but to follow Ou Yang's method and pick up the witch from the haystack. Just as we were doing this, that group of ghosts suddenly appeared right in front of us.

  For a moment, they surrounded the three of us, those with eyes stared at us with their rotten pupils, and those without eyes also faced us in the position of their faces. They didn't speak, just staring at us. When I saw one of them, I almost threw up because that guy's scalp was gone, revealing his white brain, and next to him was the one whose intestines were hanging out.

  These things are all tangible and close to us, I feel like I'm suffocating. At this time, a guy with his tongue on the ground came rushing towards me.

  Xiao Rou stood in front of me and took out a bagua plate, placing it in front of us.

  At this time, Ouyang Ju stood up hastily: "Don't, Xiao Rou, the 36 types of ghosts are gathering together, our power is too weak, we can't resist them at all, quickly put away the Bagua plate."

  Xiao Rou, who was usually obedient, did not listen to Ouyang Jue's words this time. Instead, she directly threw the gossip plate into mid-air and took out a few talismans from her body. It seemed that she was ready for battle!

  Her fingertips were about to ignite flames when the ghost's vicious tongue came out. That bloody tongue still had a hint of bloodiness. Xiao Rou directly pushed me aside, grabbed the ghost's tongue with one hand and tore it off with force.

  "Ka..." A loud crack was heard as his entire tongue was suddenly and violently yanked out.

  "Little dragon, for you! Hurry up and burn."

  Xiao Rou then threw me a few dozen talismans, which I immediately caught. But things changed in the next few seconds, the ghost who had been pulled down by the tongue retreated to one side, while the ghosts that had surrounded us in a circle all gathered towards the three of us.

  Ouyang Ju looked at everything happening around him with a gaze that was both dumbfounded and tongue-tied, while I was burning incantations on one side and swallowing saliva on the other.

  I was looking forward to Xiaorou's performance next, but this time it made me collapse. As soon as Xiaorou clasped her hands together and recited the incantation, she was entwined by that ghost holding a chain, binding her up.

  In the horror movie, a ghost with fingernails tens of centimeters long directly inserted its hands into Xiaoyu's neck. At that time, I was stunned, because if this move was accurate, Xiaoyu would have died on the spot. The witch had just died, and Xiaoyu couldn't leave like that.

  "Ouyang Ju, what are you still stunned for? Hurry up!"

  I loudly called out his name, hoping he would lend a helping hand at the critical moment...