Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  Time is actually the most difficult thing to measure.

  Time flies when you're having fun, but it slows down when you're waiting.

  Ding Lingxiu and Zhang Shanyi hid in the icebox, although they didn't feel particularly cold, but the stifling air and the stench of corpses made the waiting time even more unbearable.

  "Ding brother, it's too boring to wait like this. Ah, why don't you tell me the story of that rain woman from earlier? I heard that all the demons who can enter the 'True Hundred Ghosts Picture' have extraordinary experiences." Zhang Shanyi said.

  "Alright, but you have to listen carefully and also pay attention to the outside movements." Ding Lingxiu said with a muffled voice while wearing a mask.

  Zhang Shanyi habitually nodded, but his hair got stuck to the freezer, making a crisp tearing sound. Ding Lingshu smiled and continued:

  "In fact, this Rain Girl was not subdued by me, but was accidentally subdued by the original owner of the Qinglong Baigui Tu, Guo Wangchuan, when he was hunting demons in Jiangnan."

  "Kuō Wàngchuān?" The name made Zhang Shànyì's spirit lift greatly, "Isn't he a descendant of the great feng shui master Guō Pú? Could it be that this Qinglong Baigui Tu originally belonged to the Guō family?"

  "Ah, Guo Wangchuan was a good friend of my father's. He died unexpectedly in Guangxi later on and entrusted this book of Hundred Ghosts to my father before he passed away."

  "Oh, go on."

  "The Rain Maiden is a legendary creature that has been widely passed down in Jiangnan. According to legend, she often appears alone on the shores of West Lake during heavy rainstorms, looking very pitiful and sad. If at this time a passing man smiles at her and invites her to share an umbrella with him, she will follow him forever. From then on, the man will always live in a humid environment, which ordinary people can't withstand for long, so he will soon die.

  At that time, Guo Wangchuan encountered the Rain Maiden on a stormy day, and they walked together under an umbrella. Guo Wangchuan recognized the Rain Maiden's true identity and caught her by design.

  I didn't ask my father about the Rain Maiden's story before she became a monster, so I only know this much. However, I once read some records about her in the history of monsters. According to legend, she was originally the daughter of the rain god among the gods of the Shennong tribe during the Yellow Emperor period. She mistakenly ate the Ice Jade Powder and was forced to reincarnate, becoming a ordinary girl in a fishing village. Later, she married her sweetheart, but on a stormy day, her husband went out to sea to fish and did not return. She stood on the rocky shore, waiting and gazing out at the sea, until she was swept away by the fierce waves and engulfed by the turbulent waters.

  With a lingering resentment, she refused to reincarnate and became a monster, often appearing on rainy nights to harm people."

  "It turns out that this monster is also a pitiful creature. All the resentment in the world arises from emotions, after all." Zhang Shanyi listened quietly and couldn't help but sigh.

  Ding Lingxiu didn't say another word, and the two of them listened to each other's dull breathing, quietly waiting.

  The cold mortuary was filled with the rumbling sound of refrigeration, the noisy sound made people feel annoyed and restless. Zhang Shanyi kept reciting the mantra of purification silently, while Ding Lingshu on the side was also very anxious, trying to control his craving for cigarettes while listening carefully to the movements outside.

  Time slowly passed, and it was close to midnight when some unusual sounds appeared in the mortuary.

  It's the sound of wu wu crying.

  "Why is that happy god crying again?"

  "No, it wasn't her who sent it out." Ding Ling's eyes changed, and he took out the Demon-Seeking Compass from his bosom.

  As expected, the demon-seeking compass emitted a dazzling red glow, and its pointer pointed directly at the entrance of the Taiping Ward.

  The two of them suddenly perked up.

  "It's here." Ding Lingxiu shook his stiff body, twisted his neck, and a sharp pain pierced through his entire body from the gauze.

  "Wait until it comes into the room?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  "Ah, it's already here."

  The stone mechanism of the Xunyao Luopan slowly closed, emitting a series of clattering sounds, and then the stone plate of the Xunyao Luopan opened, with the red **once again revealing the ghostly attributes:

  Name: Ghoul, Rank: Oni, Weakness: Noon sunlight

  "It seems that looking for opportunities from its weaknesses is basically hopeless," said Zhang Shanyi.

  "It doesn't matter, I have my own way." Ding Lingxiu replied confidently.

  The creaking sound of the freezer door opening came from outside, the doors of the morgue were all frosty, and when opened, they would make an extremely ear-piercing noise that made one's heart feel numb.

  After the door opened, the crying sound got closer and closer, but at this time it could be clearly heard that the wailing sound was not a cry, but a high-frequency panting, as if due to extreme excitement or hunger.

  "Alright, let's move. A Yi, next follow my instructions, you get up first and try to stall for time, best if you can trap it, don't let it escape, I'll hide in the ice cabinet and look for an opportunity to subdue it directly with the demon-suppressing talisman."

  "I understand." Zhang Shanyi nodded.

  "Let's go..." Ding Lingyu said, and with a sudden push, he opened the freezer door.

  The freezer lid didn't budge, and with a burst of strength, Ding Lingxiu's arm let out a creaking sound, leaving him stunned.

  "What's wrong?" Zhang Shanyi asked.

  "It's done, Little Rain sister has locked it up after all." Ding Ling Xiu had a bewildered expression.

  At this time, the sound of unlocking had already come from outside the ice cabinet, and it was clear that the ghouls were ready to dine.

  Just as Ding Lingyu's brain was racing with thoughts, hesitating whether to summon the Steel Mouse to forcefully break the icebox, something outside seemed to have happened that he had not anticipated.

  The ghoul had just opened the refrigerator when another voice came from the morgue.

  The voice was faint and cold, accompanied by a hint of sobbing:

  "Don't touch my body..."

  It was that Xi Shen who was electrocuted to death by the electric fan, Ding Ling Xiu secretly rejoiced and thought that at least he could stall the Jiangshi for a while, and then he could think of a way out.

  The ghouls didn't respond, only a faint crackling sound in the air, and the vengeful spirit of the joyful god instantly dissipated with a mournful scream. Immediately afterwards, a series of cracking sounds of broken bones began to echo, apparently in front of the ghouls, that vengeful spirit didn't even have room to resist.

  After the vengeful spirits dispersed, the mortuary was left with only the humming of machines and the sound of ghouls gnawing on corpses. The cracking of bones was already enough to make one's hair stand on end, but the ghouls would also let out satisfied "ahhs" after each bite. These sounds made Ding Lingyu feel both enraged and anxious, his body still recovering from its injuries and harboring a great deal of pent-up anger. This time, he really couldn't control his emotions, and without hesitation, he pulled out the Hundred Ghosts Painting.

  The incantation finished, a red light burst forth, and the Steel Rat appeared in the ice cabinet.

  "Young master, what kind of place is this? It's so dark and gloomy," said Steel Mouse.

  "Don't ask that, just possess it." Ding Lingxiu didn't have the heart to respond, his entire brain was occupied by anger towards the cannibal ghost's atrocities.

  Red light shone on Ding Lingxiu's whole body, and he transformed into a half-human, half-mouse appearance again, emitting an intangible aura of evil.

  Ding Lingxiu swung her sharp claws, two beams of cold light intersected, and the ice cabinet burst open with a loud crash.

  Ding Lingxiu and Zhang Shanyi jumped out from inside, because they had been maintaining a posture for a long time, Zhang Shanyi's body hadn't recovered yet and almost fell down. Ding Lingxiu also swayed several times before stabilizing his figure.

  "Corpse demon, stop!" Ding Lingxu shouted in anger, his eagle-like eyes filled with rage.

  The Corpse Ghost stood in the cold mist with its back to Ding Lingyu, looking very slender and not at all like Old Wang, but somehow familiar.

  Ding Ling's voice had just fallen when the Corpse Eater suddenly turned its head, a strand of killing intent shooting out with a speed that was too fast for the eye to see.

  Ding Ling's paws crossed in front of her chest, but she was still caught off guard by this sudden attack.

  He only felt that his shoulders were as if pierced by two flying knives, and blood splashed onto his face. When he looked again, two finger bones had been deeply embedded in it.

  "Abominable, evil spirit, I absolutely cannot let you continue to wreak havoc." Ding Ling Xiu pulled out his finger bone and charged towards the Corpse Eater Ghost, but suddenly froze in place, his facial expression instantly petrified, as fresh blood dripped down.

  Not just Ding Lingxiu, Zhang Shanyi and Shi Gui were also stunned.

  It turned out that this ghoul was actually...

  Luo Huaiyu?