Chapter 1: The Haunted Yōlin (Part 1)

  This windowless room wouldn't have sunlight even in the morning, which was suitable for sleeping in, but what woke Zhang Shanyi up was Ding Lingshu's cigarette smoke.

  "Huh? How did I end up sleeping next to you?" Zhang Shanyi covered his quilt and looked at Ding Lingxiu.

  Ding Lingxu gave him a white eye and continued to smoke:

  "You climbed onto my bed in the middle of the night for no reason, why?"

  "Alright, let's get up and leave this haunted place quickly." Zhang Shanyi said as he put on his still damp clothes.

  Ding Lingxiu was holding her phone and checking her fortune when she suddenly looked at Zhang Shanyi with a tense expression:

  "No good, Ah Yi, I think I've fallen under this hotel's curse. I might be trapped and unable to leave."

  Zhang Shanyi was shocked and lost his composure. He had long felt a sense of foreboding, but he hadn't expected it to arrive so soon. He asked tensely:

  "What kind of spell is this, to be able to bind you here without you even realizing it."

  "Wifi." Ding Lingxiu replied.

  “……”

  "Cut the nonsense, I don't want to stay here a moment longer." Zhang Shanyi pulled Ding Lingxiu up with one hand.

  Two people hastily walked out of the hotel.

  Zhang Shanyi had been busy all night and was exhausted for the first time in his life, with dark circles under his eyes.

  The two of them simply ate a light breakfast, Zhang Shanyi's heart was absent-minded, and he silently recited the Purification Body Spell.

  After dinner, the two hailed a taxi and prepared to head to the entrance of the underworld that Ding Ling had mentioned.

  "Where is little brother going?" the taxi driver asked with a smile.

  "Qipan Mountain." Ding Lingxiu replied.

  "Oh, Chessboard Mountain, now is a great time to go and have some fun." The driver said with a smile.

  Ding Lingxiu was also used to hearing this kind of thing, and almost every time he arrived at a new place, as soon as he mentioned the local scenic spots, the taxi driver would become extremely interested and enthusiastically tell him all about the local customs and stories related to these spots.

  The car drove on the congested streets, making people irritable. Because it was Monday, they got up relatively early, and this road was jammed to death. The car had been driving for a long time before leaving the city, and Zhang Shanyi also fell asleep in the car without realizing it because he hadn't rested well.

  After leaving the city, the scenery on the highway is excellent. The closer you get to Qipan Mountain, the fresher the scenery becomes. Up close, the green trees form a canopy, and in the distance, the blue mountains rise one after another. If it weren't for pressing matters at hand, Qipan Mountain wouldn't be a bad place to go hiking and enjoy the spring scenery.

  "Master, I thought this Chessboard Mountain was named because it had many isolated peaks that resembled a chessboard. But looking at it now, it doesn't seem like a chessboard at all. How did the mountain get its name?" Ding Lingxiu asked the taxi driver.

  "Hey, many people have asked this question. Actually, this mountain wasn't originally called Chessboard Mountain. It was originally called Dragon Mountain. Legend has it that in ancient times, a black dragon king and a white dragon king often played chess here, hence the name. Of course, there's another theory that says it comes from two immortals, Iron Crutch Li and Lü Dongbin, who were among the Eight Immortals. They said that after bidding farewell to the gods at the Heavenly Pool, they were driving their clouds when they suddenly discovered a strange mountain below them that looked like snow. The two immortals climbed the mountain and found a flat, smooth boulder that was square in shape, just like a chessboard. They decided to play a game of chess there, which lasted for three days and three nights. Coincidentally, a woodcutter saw them and spread the word, so later generations called it Chessboard Mountain." The driver told the story with ease, clearly not the first person to ask about it.

  "Who would have thought that this name had such an origin, a beautiful name matching a beautiful scenery." Ding Lingxu sighed.

  "Ugh, never mind, the scenery of Qipan Mountain itself is very beautiful, with mountains and water, but it's been developed poorly! The scenic area is full of projects that are only for making money, some of which have nothing to do with Qipan Mountain, or even Chinese culture. They've even brought in an African village. And apart from the entrance fee, there are all sorts of charges inside, it's really a rip-off. To be honest, I don't think this place is worth visiting, it's far and commercialized, you're either there to enjoy the scenery or just being ripped off." The driver started complaining.

  Ding Lingxiu smiled but didn't speak, thinking that since you don't suggest going, why didn't you say so when we were on the bus?

  The car sped down the highway and entered a very steep slope. After finishing the slope, it suddenly felt like entering a paradise on earth, and the scene in front of me suddenly became clear and open.

  "Ai, get up." Ding Lingxiu shook awake Zhang Shanyi, who was sleeping. Zhang Shanyi looked around dazedly and slowly got off the carriage.

  When they got off the car, it was almost 10 o'clock. The surrounding area was deserted, and Ding Lingxiu paid the money, but found that Zhang Shanyi's expression seemed not quite right.

  "What's wrong?" asked Ding Lingxiu.

  "This mountain doesn't look right." Zhang Shanyi stared at the distant Chessboard Mountain and the even higher Hui Mountain in the distance, lost in thought.

  "What's wrong?" Ding Ling stopped in his tracks and lit a cigarette.

  "That mountain behind the Chessboard Mountain, which is a greyish-white high mountain, still has snow in May. It's obvious that it's blocking the view of Chessboard Mountain. With such a high mountain blocking the way, it's impossible for Chessboard Mountain to become a popular tourist destination, nor can it have the Gate of Hell as you said."

  Ding Lingxiu didn't understand Feng Shui, but what Zhang Shanyi said seemed to make some sense. The mountain called Hui Shan in the distance was indeed higher than Qi Pan Shan. Although the Gate of Hell led to the darkest place under heaven, it was paradoxically located in a place with excellent Feng Shui, which couldn't be wrong. No wonder Zhang Shanyi was puzzled.

  "It's okay, let's go and take a look first. Although I've also never been to the Gate of Hell before, I believe my father won't remember wrongly. He told me that the Gate of Hell is at Xiangyang Ancient Temple, it should be fine." Ding Lingxiu said.

  Just as Zhang Shanyi was about to answer, a clear and melodious female voice suddenly came from behind them:

  "Hehe, pretending to understand when you don't, a woodcutter at the city gate."

  The two turned their heads to see a girl in a snow-white duster coat standing behind them. What left the two of them speechless wasn't this garrulous girl, but rather the adorable monster standing next to her that looked like a small child, constantly stretching out its small hands as if asking for a hug.

  The girl looked at the two with arrogance and continued to say loudly:

  "You can't even see that you have such a shallow understanding and yet you're evaluating the scenery. The distant Hui Mountain may be high, but it's not snow-capped, it's just because the mountain top is originally grayish-white in color. Moreover, you just looked at the host-guest relationship from the perspective of Feng Shui, and you don't even know the principle that 'the guest should have a true heart, the host should be humble and courteous'. This Chessboard Mountain is obviously a situation where the guest becomes the master, Geng Shan Jia Xiang, the land has been operated for 114 years, and you dare to say that the Feng Shui here is not good."

  Zhang Shanyi was startled and looked at the girl, only to see that she had two curved eyebrows that seemed to be both knitted and not, a pair of eyes that seemed to be both tearful and not, skin as white as snow, and a face that was absolutely beautiful. Her long hair was tied back with a light pink ribbon, looking clean and simple. She held a pink handbag in her hand, which looked cute but exuded an aura of a queen.

  "It's really true, I couldn't have imagined that Daoist friends not only have a beautiful appearance, but also have extraordinary attainments in Feng Shui." Zhang Shanyi turned his head and looked at the mountain scenery again, answering with admiration.

  "Heh heh, you're just here to cause trouble, but I'm not used to seeing people show off their Feng Shui skills." The girl raised an eyebrow in disdain and turned to leave.

  "Hey beautiful, wait up." Ding Lingxiao stomped out the cigarette he had just lit and called out to the girl.

  The white-clad girl turned around, her long windbreaker dancing in the wind, like a blooming white lotus.

  "What?" the girl asked.

  "Beautiful lady, seeing that your companion is so obedient, I suppose you are a demon hunter as well?" asked Ding Lingxiu.

  The girl was taken aback for a moment, not expecting Ding Lingxiu to recognize the person beside her at a glance. However, her surprise was fleeting, and she immediately regained her haughty demeanor.

  "What's the big deal?"

  "No big deal, I just wanted to ask, you must have also just come out of the underworld, right?" Ding Lingxiu said.

  "That's right." The girl replied with a few words, and then she became impatient, swinging her bag and walking away. Her companion was cute, spinning around in circles, sometimes hugging the girl's leg, sometimes touching her handbag, making baby-like sounds "ga ga ya ya".

  "Ah, sorry to disturb you, I just wanted to confirm that the Gate of Hell is indeed here." Ding Lingxiu nodded.

  The girl looked at him and didn't say anything else. She turned around and left, with the little brother following closely behind her.

  "Ding brother, this girl is really profound and unfathomable. I didn't feel any spiritual energy on her at all, but she can actually control the Jiao Cang." Zhang Shanyi sighed as he gazed at the girl's distant figure.

  Ding Lingxiu did not respond, his expression was serious.

  Zhang Shanyi smiled and patted Ding Lingxiu's shoulder, continuing:

  "Jianzhen, seemingly cute and weak, is actually extremely fierce and overbearing. It's astonishing that he would submit so obediently to such a young girl. Wu Liang Tian Zun, Brother Ding's jealousy is understandable too. This jealousy, is actually the greatest recognition of a person."

  Ding Lingxiu still ignored him, continuing to gaze at the girl's back, and only spoke after a long while:

  "I'm so jealous of that little brat."

  “……”