Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  Ding Lingxiu's expression became indistinct in the swirling rising smoke, and he said calmly:

  "I had flipped through that record earlier, apart from the lucky god that just tried to harm us, the other three cabinets' lucky gods have been placed for some days and are all in an unclaimed state. So we can rest assured hiding inside, absolutely won't be discovered."

  "But it's so cold inside, even if we use our spiritual energy to sustain ourselves, we won't be able to hold on for much longer." Zhang Shanyi still had a skeptical attitude towards this plan.

  Ding Lingxiu didn't say a word and instead looked him up and down.

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  "You're not even feeling cold in that outfit, how can a small ice box be able to freeze the Heavenly Swan?" Ding Ling Xiu's voice was calm and flat.

  Zhang Shanyi replied with a helpless expression:

  "This is because I have excessive yang fire and had no choice but to dress like this, but if I had to wait for a whole night in that kind of place, I really couldn't do it."

  "Alright, suit yourself. I'm going anyway." Ding Lingyu said, pulling out the Demon-Seeking Compass from his backpack.

  The needle on the compass swung wildly before finally stabilizing, emitting a yellow glow that was extremely dazzling.

  "This Corpse Eater is really nearby!" Zhang Shanyi also had some understanding of the Lingyu Stone Wheel, and at a glance, he saw that this light indicated that there was a ghostly level fierce ghost in the direction of the pointer.

  "Look, it can be basically confirmed that this corpse demon is indeed Old Wang." Ding Lingyu said.

  "How are we going in then? Is there a back door?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  "I'll use the iron mouse's power to dig a hole, and then we'll dig a tunnel from the garden in the hospital's backyard. I took a closer look at the morgue earlier, there's an electrical room there, we can directly dig out from there, and then use the spare key we got from the yard to unlock and sneak into the freezer." Ding Lingxiu said slowly, flicking his cigarette ash.

  "So that's it, this spare key was for this purpose."

  "Yes, at the time when I heard the dean's account, I felt that Old Wang was somewhat suspicious." Ding Lingxiu replied calmly.

  The two of them had already arrived at the backyard while chatting, but it seemed somewhat out of place.

  The warm sunshine in the afternoon is gentle and warm, the sky is like a blue sea, and the clouds are like a light boat.

  The hospital's backyard was a small forest, and the peony flowers in the stone-surrounded nursery were still in full bloom, with delicate petals overlapping each other, and countless colors. Who would have thought that in such a peaceful atmosphere, evil would also be lurking in unknown places? Many patients strolled here, some sat in wheelchairs accompanied by family members, slowly moving and admiring the scenery. The two of them came to the backyard and searched for half a day but couldn't find a suitable place.

  "Ding, with so many people around, it's probably not that easy to find a place to dig a hole." Zhang Shan-yi felt somewhat embarrassed, as with so many people around, if they were to start digging here, they would likely be taken away by security.

  "No big deal, let's get familiar with the place first, and then take action at night." Ding Lingxu said, continuing to observe their surroundings.

  "Ah, Brother Ding, you mentioned Iron Mouse and I remembered something. Last time you fought with Nan Gong Ao Tian, your Iron Mouse helped put the Bai Gui Tu into your backpack and warned me not to touch it or I would be bound. But after it went back, I found that your Bai Gui Tu was flashing red light for a long time, I don't know what it means." Zhang Shan Yi said.

  Ding Lingxiu looked around and suddenly replied excitedly:

  "After I woke up, I also found out that the hundred ghost diagrams flashing red light were a hint that Tie Shu's Du Juan blood had been full, and it had undergone evolution, greatly increasing its magical power. Now it should be more suitable to call him Gang Mouse, and after evolving, it can now fully attach itself to my body shape, making me the same size as it, and also has iron claws and digging holes."

  "Oh? That's really good news." Zhang Shanyi said.

  Before the words had fallen, Ding Lingxiu's expression changed greatly, as if he had thought of something. He angrily pulled out the Hundred Ghosts Diagram and ran to the corner of the outer corridor behind the hospital building, summoning the Steel Mouse.

  Steel Mouse appeared, and indeed became very different from before. The red hair on the end of its body was filled with a metallic luster, shining all over. Its teeth became smaller than before, but extremely sharp, like a newly sharpened dagger, especially the two side-cutting teeth, which protruded out like bat teeth. Its claws also became extremely long, cold and shiny, making it look even more agile.

  "Master, it's been a long time!" Steel Mouse bowed slightly and said with a smile.

  "How dare you! You still have the nerve to say that!" Ding Lingxu's face was full of indignation.

  "Hmph... Drinking has led to trouble, I was wrong." Steel Mouse's face was filled with shame, and he immediately understood the reason for Ding Lingyu's anger.

  "Hey... you're still my senior, I don't want to say more. Master monk, I'm begging you, next time don't play me again. Now that I've learned my lesson, can't we just give each other a heads up next time?" Ding Lingxiu's face was full of helplessness.

  "Young master's words, thanks to your father's blessings, I was able to return to the sacred realm, and we can still drink and sing together. Your affairs are my affairs, I naturally obey." Steel Mouse Guest replied politely.

  "Alright, I'm begging you, Grandfather. This time we must make it clear, my matter this time cannot be delayed in the slightest." Ding Ling spoke with utmost sincerity, fearing another unexpected event.

  "It doesn't matter what you say." The Steel Mouse still had a broad heart and maintained a smiling face.

  "It's like this, tonight at 8 o'clock, I'll summon you on time, and then I need your help to drill a hole into the ground. You mustn't drink and mess things up." Ding Lingxiu, although he almost died last time because of Gang Shu, still showed respect for him due to his age.

  "No problem." The Steel Mouse nodded.

  "Alright, you return to the Sacred Domain first and stand by at all times." Ding Lingyu waved his hand, and the Steel Mouse transformed into a red light, entering the Hundred Ghosts Diagram.

  Zhang Shanyi looked around, his brow furrowed, seemingly still somewhat worried:

  "Ding brother, don't you think it's strange? This Corpse Eater is a ghostly creature, but it shouldn't have such powerful demonic energy that it can appear right in front of us without us noticing anything."

  "You mean you suspect it's not Old Wang?" Ding Lingxiu's icy blue eyes gazed at Zhang Shanyi.

  "I'm also unable to judge, just feeling uneasy." Zhang Shanyi replied.

  "Come on, let's eat first. When we get to the mountain, there will be a way. With our combined strength, what are we afraid of a little ghost?" Ding Lingxiu patted Zhang Shanyi on the shoulder, and the two walked towards the restaurant outside the hospital.

  After having enough wine and food, the two of them waited in the ward until 7:30 in the evening, then they walked out of the ward and came to the backyard again.

  After all, the night in May is still relatively early, and it's already dark before 6 o'clock. The hospital's forest is different from other forests, and at this time, there are basically no people, let alone lovers' trysts.

  The two of them found a relatively secluded spot, Ding Lingxu summoned the Steel Mouse and took out his phone, placing it to the side.

  A man and a woman's flirtatious conversation suddenly rang out from the mobile phone, the voice was neither loud nor soft, passersby could hear it.

  "Hey, Brother Ding, what's with this noise...?" Zhang Shanyi was somewhat flustered.

  "Heh heh, don't worry, I'm just afraid that passersby will see the two of us big men sneaking around in this forest and get suspicious, so I prepared this sound beforehand. I think whoever hears the sound won't come over to disturb us," said Ding Lingyu.

  "Aren't you afraid that things will backfire and be seen by curious people?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  "So it's up to you, you have to follow the man's words in the recording and pretend that there is a woman in front of you. Think about it, if someone saw a strangely dressed boy talking to the air in the hospital woods, what would their reaction be?" Ding Lingxiu said.

  Zhang Shanyi scratched his head and reluctantly agreed.

  After being possessed by Gang Mouse, Ding Lingxiu's appearance also changed greatly. He became much smaller, like a primary school student. At this time, he not only grew a mouthful of large steel teeth like a bat, but his fingers also underwent changes. His fingernails and finger bones almost merged together, forming sharp claws similar to those of the Gang Mouse, but shorter and conical in shape.

  Having obtained Zhang Shanyi's consent, Ding Lingxiu hid in the bushes and started digging a hole, while Zhang Shanyi pretended to be on guard outside.

  In fact, what Zhang Shanyi worried about did not happen. In reality, most of the time we are the same, often thinking too much about something and still messing it up, not because we think too little, but because we think too much.

  In less than twenty minutes, the passage was basically cleared.

  "Ding brother, this hole you dug is too small, if it were someone else, they definitely wouldn't be able to get in." Zhang Shanyi said with a smile.

  "Of course, I dug it this big on purpose. Except for you, no one else can come in." Ding Lingyu replied, his steel teeth making a clattering sound as he spoke, which was somewhat piercing to the ears in the passageway.

  Because Zhang Shanyi was born with a snake-like physique, his body was exceptionally flexible. Such a narrow passage was unobstructed for him, and he moved forward like a nimble snake, the two of them quickly entering the power room in the morgue along the pre-set route.

  "Mouse brother, you've worked hard, go back first, it's likely that someone will look for you again tonight." Ding Lingxu said after removing the possessed state and dusting off his body.

  Steel mouse nodded, transformed into a red light, and merged into the Hundred Ghosts Picture.

  Ding Lingxiu glanced at the time on her phone and asked:

  "Ai, that auspicious god who was electrocuted by the electric fan should still be here and hasn't been taken away by the yin messengers yet."

  "At least seven days, how can it be so fast?" Zhang Shanyi replied, he didn't think that Ding Lingxiu didn't even know this common sense.

  "Ha ha, thanks Zhang Zhenren." Ding Lingxiu smiled and cupped his hands.

  Zhang Shanyi's face was filled with helplessness, and he immediately understood.

  He touched the octagonal pattern on his black T-shirt, and the golden light flashed, and it actually fell off from his clothes and turned into a cowhide octagon diagram. Zhang Shanyi recited the incantation, the octagon diagram floated in mid-air, his fingers quickly formed a seal, first pinching the five fingers between the second and third joints to form the Xunwen, then quickly pinched the index finger between the first and second joints to form the Bagua shock text, muttering to himself.

  Before long, the eight trigrams on the cowhide paper changed, and unknown characters floated above the picture.

  "Boundless Heaven Venerable, White Tiger Repels Ghosts Formation, Rise!"

  In an instant, golden light flashed, and a surge of energy burst forth, dazzling the eyes.

  Zhang Shanyi picked up the Bagua diagram and said in a low voice:

  "Let's go, Brother Ding. The vengeful spirit's resentment has probably dissipated a lot and should be unable to break into my White Tiger Ghost-Repelling Formation."

  Ding Lingxiu lit a cigarette and followed Zhang Shanyi out.