Chapter 45: Soul Departure

  The soul has left its abode

  The mountain cave where the coffin was placed in Feilong Ridge has been extremely unpeaceful for several days, and even during the day, people have heard or seen signs of something unclean inside. The reappearance of ghosts has stirred up a storm on the peaceful Fengling Mountain. Within just one or two days, the news spread among all the mountain villagers that the ghost who had been hiding in Wang's mansion had moved to the tomb cave in Feilong Ridge. Why did it move? There were many different opinions, but none could be confirmed. However, one reason was widely circulated: The ghost of the Wang family had moved into the tomb cave to guard a secret of Fengling Mountain. It was said that their ancestors had left behind a large amount of wealth and countless jewels there. They said that a high-ranking official from the Wang family had collected a huge amount of money from the people, hid it in a certain place on Fengling Mountain, but before he could tell his family where it was hidden, he was executed for his crimes, leaving the location of the treasure a mystery. It was also said that Wang's mansion was built on Fengling Mountain to search for the wealth left behind by their ancestors. The destruction of Wang's mansion by Yidianhong and Hundilong was actually an attempt to seize the treasure map from Wang. Some people smiled indifferently at this, while others silently remembered it in their hearts.

  The night wind blew, rolling up layers of chill. The rolling black clouds came, and the moon in a state of panic did not escape its magic claws, was brutally swallowed and devoured, a few stars barely hung on the horizon, blinking their dim eyes, peering at the terrifying scene that was about to unfold.

  The Feilong Ridge was shrouded in an eerie silence, only occasionally broken by the mournful cries of a nightingale, which added to the desolate atmosphere. A creaking sound, like the opening of a coffin lid, echoed through the air, accompanied by the wailing of ghosts and the rustling of unknown creatures emerging from the tomb. This was followed by the sounds of fierce fighting and the sobbing of a female ghost. Fear spread out, enveloping Feilong Ridge.

  The moon finally tore through the dark clouds and shone its watery light on Feilong Ridge. The light illuminated the entrance of a tomb, revealing a breathtaking scene that sent chills down one's spine. A blood-soaked evil spirit was pinning down a female ghost with its bony claws, which were barely covered by a few pieces of rotting flesh. The exposed white bones had turned slightly yellow, and the sharp claw tips had pierced through the female ghost's skin. The evil spirit ripped open the female ghost's chest and pulled out her heart and lungs. The female ghost twisted her body and let out a mournful cry, as if begging for mercy in despair. The evil spirit ignored her pleas, holding up the female ghost's heart and lungs to examine them closely. The evil spirit's face was no longer recognizable as a face; it would be more accurate to call it a skull. There was not a single piece of flesh left on its surface, only a pair of eyeballs still embedded in their sockets. Its nose had rotted away, leaving two black holes on the bare facial bones. A few uneven teeth were scattered across the upper and lower jawbones. The evil spirit put the heart and lungs into its mouth, tearing them apart with relish, then letting them fall through the gaps between its lower jawbones. It seemed to be thoroughly enjoying this process, occasionally emitting a blood-curdling laugh.

  Two people hiding not far away, seeing all this, were already frightened to death and didn't know what to do. They didn't even dare to breathe out loud, but just lowered their heads further. They were afraid that if they weren't careful, they would be discovered by the evil spirit and become its next meal.

  The evil spirit suddenly stopped laughing, stood up straight, and stepped on the female ghost with his foot. He threw away the female ghost's heart and lungs, lifted his head, and looked around in all directions. It seemed like he had discovered something? The sound of "Wooo-wooo" let out a heartbreaking scream. Finally, he released the female ghost and walked towards their hiding place. The female ghost who was released jumped up, and with her jump, blood splattered everywhere from her abdominal cavity, and her intestines spilled out of her body. She quickly picked up the heart and lungs that had been torn apart by the evil spirit, stuffed them back into her chest along with the spilled intestines, and then wrapped her swollen body in her long red cloak, which was as red as blood. She followed behind the evil spirit, jumping and hopping as she went. About an arrow's distance away from the two people, he stopped in his tracks. He kept sniffing the air with his nose, which had only two black holes left, as if searching for a certain smell.

  The air was thick with tension, terror loomed like a mountain, the two people held their breath, only feeling their chest like a boiling pot of oil, burning their face red hot, but their back was cold and sweaty. They stared wide-eyed, not daring to move.

  The evil spirit sniffed for a long time, seemingly not finding anything, and shook his head in disappointment. He led the female ghost towards the grave. The two people let out a soft breath, as if their strength had been sucked away, and collapsed to the ground, wiping away the cold sweat on their faces, their eyes still fixed tightly on the departing evil spirit, fearing he would return again.

  "I'm so scared. I think this time we definitely can't escape." A woman's voice came over. Two people replied in unison: "It was a close call, if he had taken one more step forward, he would have discovered us." The two suddenly felt abnormal and were greatly shocked, turning their heads to look back. A girl was sitting behind them, her eyes closed, mouth open, gently patting her chest with her hand, looking like she was still in shock.

  One of them felt something was amiss and asked the girl, "Who are you? What brings you here in the middle of the night?"

  The girl still closed her eyes, speaking in a low and soft voice: "Who am I? Who are you?" She suddenly opened her eyes wide, splitting her mouth to say: "You're hiding at my door. Still asking who I am?" As she spoke, she pounced on the two of them.

  The two people's hearts, which had just slightly calmed down, were once again seized with fear. The beautiful girl, who was originally as lovely as a flower, suddenly transformed into a green-faced, fang-toothed demon. Her cyan-colored face was shrouded in an aura of death, and her eyebrows revealed a color that seemed to hook souls. She glared at them with eyes that emitted a faint, eerie green glow, her mouth open wide, revealing jagged teeth, as she spewed out thin wisps of smoke. She stretched out her blurry, blood-stained hands towards the two people, who were so frightened that their souls flew away.

  The evil spirit heading towards the tomb also heard the sound, turned around and brought the female ghost who had been stripped of her heart and lungs, howling as she rushed towards the hiding place of the two. One of them immediately fainted, while the other let out a mournful cry and took off running. Under the evil spirit's pursuit, he stumbled and staggered along the way, not knowing how many times he fell. He didn't know how far he had run when he couldn't hear the evil spirit's wailing anymore, but when he turned his head to look back, confirming that he had escaped danger, he finally stopped running, panting heavily, and walked unsteadily to a large rock to sit down, still nervously looking around. His shoulder was suddenly patted, and another voice asked, "Ran so far, tired?" He, who had been as silent as a cicada in winter, turned his head back, and a rotten ghost face with pus and blood stared at him with its eyes. He stood up again and ran forward. The ghost followed closely behind him, asking coldly, "Not tired? Still running." Fear had already shattered his liver and gallbladder, he let out a loud cry, spat out fresh blood, and fell to the ground. As he struggled to crawl forward, he looked back in terror, but there was nothing behind him except for the eerie trees and strange rocks, as well as the darkness that was devouring everything. Suddenly, a strong light flashed before his eyes, followed by a faint popping sound in his head. He shook his head, slowly got up, and walked towards a target with a foolish smile on his face, muttering incomprehensible words. His spirit had completely collapsed, without soul, fear, or thought, leaving only one idea: to go back, to return to the place he came from.

  The first person to faint, when he slowly opened his eyes, felt that he was no longer in the world. Under the dim light, it was a miserable scene, and he was dragged in front of someone who looked like Yan Wang, kneeling there.

  Yan Wang glared at him as he opened the Book of Life and Death, sternly rebuking: "You little devil from Fusang, what are you doing here? Confess truthfully, lest you suffer."

  That man hesitated and didn't answer. A pair of shifty eyes looked around, not looking was fine, but one glance scared him so much that he fell to the ground.

  On the shelf next to him, a person was tied up. Two little demons stood beside him, with a large basket full of iron balls placed beside them. The two little demons continuously stuffed the iron balls from the basket into the man's mouth, and the sound of the iron balls colliding inside his stomach could be clearly heard. After a while, the man's belly swelled up, and the iron balls pushed against his skin, making it bulge unevenly. When they finished stuffing him, one of the little demons took out a sharp blade and cut open the man's belly, causing the iron balls to spew out along with blood and water. He, who had just been caught, was not only horrified but also paralyzed with fear, and he fainted again.