Chapter 145: The Yin Soldiers' Path
"Go?" Yu Xingzhi asked urgently, gritting his teeth. "Where are we going?"
After asking, Yu Xingzhi himself was also stunned for a moment. When did he start listening to Lu Cixian's orders?
Although they had just dealt with the porcelain woman here, many ghosts and monsters were still below. Where could they hide?
Qiao Wan took a big step and rushed downstairs without stopping: "Go downstairs!"
"Lu Cixian, have you gone mad?!" Yu Xingzhi angrily shouted, "There are so many people down there..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Yu Xingzhi suddenly had a realization, his heart skipped a beat!
Wait! He entered the haunted market at the second hour of the ugly time, destroyed the soul incense at the third hour, and encountered Lu Cixian at the fourth hour. Now, after a long gambling session, looking at the sky outside, it's already the hour of the tiger.
The ugly time had passed.
Before Qiao Wan could say anything, Meng Canglang said in a deep voice, "With this gambling session delaying time, if I'm not mistaken, by this hour, things downstairs should have dispersed."
So that's how it is...
Wang Ruyi was stunned, then she grabbed Yu Xingzhi and followed Qiao Wan closely.
Caught off guard by being pulled up, Yu Xingzhi's forehead twitched and he angrily said, "Put me down! You little zombie! Can't you hear me? Put me down!"
Upon hearing this, everyone didn't waste any more time. People with missing limbs helped each other, supporting one another as they rushed down the stairs.
"Return to the Great Hall of Light! Seek help from the Great Hall of Light!"
The hour of the Ox has passed, and all the deities have returned to their positions.
Inside the tower, there was silence, with only a pile of scattered stones and peeling paint remaining.
Sixth floor, fifth floor, fourth floor...
Third floor, second floor...
Running up the stairs, Qiao Wan and the others felt their mouths dry, until they finally reached the bottom of the tower.
The Four Heavenly Kings stood high, holding their weapons with anger in their eyes as they looked down on the people inside the tower.
A young boy, holding his bloody severed finger, stared wide-eyed in disbelief, "We... escaped?"
They had made it out! They had relied on their own abilities to escape!
Relief washed over Fang Lingqing as he collapsed onto the ground and tremblingly reached into his pocket, pulling out the half-arm and holding it up in front of Meng Canglang.
"Senior brother, I brought back your arm."
Meng Canglang was shocked and puzzled, "Little Fang, you..." He didn't expect that Fang Lingqing would still care about his arm.
After a moment, Fang Lingqing solemnly took the arm from Fang Lingqing's hand. "Thank you, Little Fang."
Fang Lingqing waved his hand, too tired to say a word.
Trembling, Fang Lingqing raised the arm in his hand, and suddenly everyone realized that they were missing something too.
They made it out, even though some of them were missing arms or legs. But at least they made it out.
No one knows who laughed first, but then Qiao Wan also laughed. Wang Ruyi and Fang Lingqing scratched their heads and Meng Canglang smiled. Bai Shanhu and Xie Xingzhi couldn't help but show a hint of a smile in their eyes.
Yu Xingzhi touched his left leg, which was empty below the ankle. As he touched it, a smile formed on his lips and he chuckled softly.
A group of wounded and disabled people stood under the statues of the Four Celestial Kings. Their smiles grew bigger and louder, laughing like a bunch of silly fools.
Amidst the laughter, Meng Canglang stepped forward. "Hello, Taoist Friend Lu," he greeted.
Qiao Wan politely greeted, "Hello, Taoist Friend Meng?"
Meng Canglang awkwardly took out a clean white handkerchief from his sleeve. "I have kept this handkerchief hidden in my sleeve, free from any blood stains," he whispered. "Take it to bandage yourself, Taoist Friend."
Noticing the gaze on his pinky finger, Qiao Wan accepted the handkerchief without hesitating and thanked him politely.
Meng Canglang replied, "You don't need to thank me, Taoist Friend. We owe our escape today to the quick thinking of Taoist Friend Lu."
After nodding in agreement, Meng Canglang returned to sit next to Fang Lingqing.
"Let's go," Qiao Wan whispered as she wrapped the handkerchief around her pinky finger. "We need to seek help from the Great Hall of Light."
Everyone hurried along the road.
As they passed the ghost market after the ugly hour, it appeared much quieter than before.
Qiao Wan walked by Wang Ruyi's side and asked, "Ruyi, what did you mean when you said there were dead people in Boss Yan's shop?"
"Oh, that. There are actually quite a few dead people hidden in Boss Yan's shop, but they rarely come out. I haven't really seen them much, except for that one time a few years ago."
"Wearing armor, he looked like a monk when he was alive," Wang Ruyi scratched her head and thought, "Boss Yan values them a lot. He says they are his comrades. He saves up so much money just to renovate the inn and make them more comfortable."
After hearing Wang Ruyi say this, Qiao Wan wondered if Yan Shiyuan wasn't actually a villain. But if she asked further, Wang Ruyi wouldn't know.
The most important thing now was to hurry back to the Great Hall of Light. Everyone was exhausted, and it would be best to leave Yan Shiyuan and his peculiar inn to the professionals.
Suddenly, Wang Ruyi pulled on Qiao Wan's sleeve, looking nervous. "Are you... are you leaving?"
When Qiao Wan saw Wang Ruyi's sunken eyes, she was surprised and then quickly understood.
Once they left, Wang Ruyi couldn't go with them and definitely couldn't go back to the Great Hall of Light.
She was a ghost, destined to stay in the ghost city for a very long time, forever.
The girl pouted and wanted to cry, but no tears came out of her eyes. She could only stare dryly and blankly.
"I... I can't bear to leave you," Wang Ruyi stuttered.
"I..." Qiao Wan fell silent for a moment, then took a deep breath and said seriously, "I will come to see you."
She knew it, she couldn't stop it. Wang Ruyi pouted, actually she had gotten used to it in the hundreds of years, watching people come and go in the ghost city.
This is the line between yin and yang, life and death, humans and ghosts.
The girl lowered her head obediently, rubbing her sleeves. The oversized wedding gown hung loosely on her petite body, empty and hollow.
Before Qiao Wan had a chance to speak, suddenly, faint sounds of horse hooves could be heard from a nearby street corner. Accompanied by the mournful cries of horses, the distant sound of trumpets, and the clashing of weapons, there were shouts everywhere.
In a rush, both Qiao Wan and Wang Ruyi saw the shock on each other's faces.
"What's happening?!" gasped Yu Xingzhi, barely catching his breath. "What's going on?!"
What trouble has arisen now?!
The sound of galloping horse hooves grew closer and gradually merged into a thunderous rumble. Dust filled the air, and in the distance, tattered war flags could be seen fluttering in the night breeze. Torchlights illuminated the dim night market, countless heads bobbing up and down. A mighty army slowly approached from the street corner.
"This is..." Qiao Wan widened her eyes, and a term popped into her mind unconsciously.
A detouring army?!!
Back in Daning Village, Qiao Wan had heard that when encountering a detouring army, one must step aside and not look with their eyes.
But in no time, a large army of shadow soldiers had come close. Although Qiao Wan didn't know if these "shadow soldiers borrowed the way" in this ghost market was the same as the rumors in the countryside, these ghost soldiers were extremely fast. Seeing that she couldn't escape, Qiao Wan shouted, "Close your eyes first!"
As soon as her eyes shut, her other senses became sharper.
The sound of horse hooves grew louder and louder as the mighty shadow soldiers, filled with resentment, orderly passed through the long street.
Qiao Wan stood stiff in the middle of the street, feeling something brushing against her shoulder.
Resentment and chilliness came at her.
The neighing of horses mixed with the terrified screams of people echoed in her ears.
Qiao Wan's hands and feet turned cold, as if she had also been plunged into a bloody and ruthless ancient battlefield. The sun was setting, and the battlefield was covered with countless corpses. When the wind blew, the smoke from the battlefield whistled by.
There was a tall figure standing under the setting sun, dressed in a blue robe and white shoes, covered in blood.
This figure greatly resembled the previous head of the mountain that Qiao Wan had seen in the Hanqing Scroll at Buping College.
For some reason, at this moment, Qiao Wan suddenly had a strong thought in her mind.
The thought kept saying: Open your eyes, take a look, just one glance.
Under the pressure of this thought, Qiao Wan had a splitting headache and dazedly opened her eyes.
As soon as she opened her eyes, she happened to see a convoy passing by, filled with boxes containing people with closed eyes.
These were the disciples from the Three Sects who had entered the Ghost Market earlier!
Rows of pale heads were neatly stacked in the car.
Qiao Wan's throat rolled as she narrowly brushed against a gloomy soldier.
Clang--
At the moment of passing by, she noticed something hanging from the soldier's waist, swaying gently in the night breeze.
It was a jade pendant splattered with blood, broken and in ruins.
"Miao... Chunhui..."
"Lingxiao Sect..."
"Twenty-four years..."
The time on the jade pendant was the same as the time she saw on the blood-covered corpses.
Both were twenty-four years old.
Qiao Wan hadn't even had time to think when suddenly she felt something was off, as if someone's gaze was fixed on her.
Qiao Wan froze, thinking, "She must be an idiot."
She opened her eyes.
The pale-faced Yin soldier seemed to sense something and turned his head.
Ding!
The long spear in Qiao Wan's hand cut through the night sky, creating a sharp silver light!
Qiao Wan took a few steps back, trying to break through the long street surrounded by Yin soldiers.
Wang Ruyi, who was closest to Qiao Wan, was the first to realize that something was wrong. She asked in astonishment, "Lu Cixian?"
Lu Cixian?!
Meng Canglang furrowed his brows slightly and blinked his eyes. As soon as he opened them, he saw Qiao Wan, who was heavily surrounded by Yin soldiers. His instincts made him unsheath his Canglang Sword.
"Taoist Friend Lu, come to me!"
Attracted by the sound of the sword, Fang Lingqing exclaimed, "Little Fang?!"
Now things were getting worse.
After seeing Fang Lingqing, Yu Xingzhi, Xie Xingzhi, and Bai Shanhu all opened their eyes almost at the same time.
Qiao Wan thought expressionlessly.
A single wrong thought and everything was now ruined.
In an instant, the difficult mode completely changed to the hell mode.
Qiao Wan jumped up like a shooting star, breaking through the surrounded enemy soldiers, trying to get to Meng Canglang's side and regroup!
Just then, a deep male voice suddenly roared.
Something hovered down from the sky, and Qiao Wan, still in mid-air, suddenly felt lighter!
Run--
Why can't I escape?!
Boom--
A wheelchair landed steadily on the ground, causing dust to fly.
Ma Huaizhen sat in the wheelchair, holding Qiao Wan lazily. He lifted his eyes and said, "What? Scared?"
The enemy soldiers had already surrounded them in the blink of an eye. Without hesitation, Ma Huaizhen raised his right hand and threw Qiao Wan directly. In an instant, the surrounding enemy soldiers were knocked aside.
Looking at the shocked faces of the young boys and girls in front of him, Ma Huaizhen calmly smirked, his eyes filled with murderous intent. Dissatisfied, he shouted, "Why are you just standing there? Run!"
