Chapter 39 The Dry Well
On the way up the mountain, Liu Haoyu gripped the fire axe in his hand.
As they went deeper, the deadly aura in the air grew more intense.
It felt like walking through a pile of dead bodies, making one very uncomfortable.
Although the Long-Tongued Ghost was full of complaints, under Liu Haoyu’s “friendly persuasion,” it still braced itself and headed up the mountain.
The night wind whistled incessantly, carrying a chilling aura. Soon, a temple appeared before the two of them.
The temple was still some distance away, but from here, it stood alone on the mountaintop, as if forgotten by time.
In the dim light, the temple’s silhouette was exceptionally blurry, and the tiles were dilapidated. Several broken beams supported it diagonally, as if it could collapse at any moment.
The temple’s main entrance was wide open, but inside, it was pitch black, filling the two with a sense of extreme danger and dread.
Liu Haoyu asked the Long-Tongued Ghost beside him in a low voice.
“Are you sure that white figure entered this temple?”
The Long-Tongued Ghost nodded.
“I can’t guarantee he’s still here, but I did see him enter this temple with my own eyes…”
Halfway through his sentence, the Long-Tongued Ghost’s voice seemed to tremble slightly.
“There’s an indescribable eerie aura about this temple. Not just me, but all the lonely ghosts on Ye Shangfeng dare not approach this place rashly. Do you think that white figure uncle might…”
“No.”
Liu Haoyu interrupted the Long-Tongued Ghost.
“He won’t get into trouble so easily.”
Although he said that, Liu Haoyu himself lacked confidence.
Hearing this, the Long-Tongued Ghost sighed and said nothing more, only quickening its pace.
Mountains look close but are far away. Even though they had already seen the temple’s outline, it still took some time to get there.
The steps ahead became increasingly steep, the withered trees around became sparser, and the air was filled with a decaying scent.
Finally, after an unknown amount of time, the two arrived at the mountaintop.
The temple stood quietly here, its doors half-ajar, like a gaping, dark abyss, silently waiting for its prey.
The steps in front of the temple were covered with dark red moss, and the walls were overgrown with blood-colored vines, making the place exceptionally grim.
Liu Haoyu glanced at the blood-colored vines, but after taking a deep breath, he still chose to walk towards the temple gate.
However, the Long-Tongued Ghost stopped in place, seemingly hesitant.
It called out to Liu Haoyu.
“Are you really going in? I don’t want to die with you.”
Liu Haoyu looked back at the Long-Tongued Ghost.
Since the ghost had brought him here, it had done its best. He naturally wouldn’t ask it to do more, and simply said calmly.
“You can choose to wait for me here, or leave on your own.”
Upon hearing this, the Long-Tongued Ghost naturally wanted to turn and leave. However, when it looked back, it found that the path up the mountain had already been swallowed by darkness, and the steps had disappeared, leaving only a rugged mountain path.
This meant… it couldn’t get out anymore.
If it chose to go down the mountain, it might die halfway.
But if it followed this man, or rather, the red-clothed fierce ghost on him, it might have a chance to get out alive.
Thinking of this, the Long-Tongued Ghost gritted its teeth and said.
“Never mind, I have nowhere else to go anyway. If you die, I definitely won’t be able to get out alive.”
With that, the Long-Tongued Ghost followed.
The two pushed open the half-ajar temple doors and entered the temple.
The environment inside the temple was even darker than outside, making it almost impossible to see one’s hand.
Liu Haoyu turned the flashlight to its maximum brightness before he could barely see the path ahead.
Because this temple had been abandoned for a very long time, the air was filled with the thick smell of dust and rotting wood.
In the center of the main hall, a damaged Buddha statue sat quietly.
The Buddha’s face was blurred, but its hollow eyes seemed to be watching the two of them.
Even Liu Haoyu felt an invisible pressure. He took out three incense sticks from his backpack, lit them, and placed them in the incense burner in front of the Buddha statue.
“Be careful…” That terrifying gaze made the Long-Tongued Ghost say in a low voice, “I always feel that something is wrong here.”
“Let’s find the person first.”
Compared to these trivial matters, Liu Haoyu wanted to find Liu Jianjun’s trace quickly.
“Okay…”
Then, the two searched thoroughly inside the temple, but found nothing except the dilapidated Buddha statue, decaying prayer flags, and a pile of garbage.
The air inside the main hall became increasingly oppressive, and the feeling of being watched made it difficult for them to breathe.
This feeling meant that someone was definitely here, but where was the person hiding?
Where did Liu Jianjun go?
Just as Liu Haoyu was pondering, Qin Liu’s body emerged from the Hong Yu.
The young girl held a lantern, emitting a faint blue light. She looked at Liu Haoyu and said.
“Follow me.”
Then, Qin Liu started to walk forward.
Liu Haoyu was slightly stunned by this.
The lantern in Qin Liu’s hand seemed to have found some clues.
Led by her, the group walked to a corner behind the main hall.
And there, it was an abandoned dry well.
“What is this…?”
Liu Haoyu approached the dry well and squatted down, pushing aside the broken stone slabs covering the well’s opening.
The stone slabs were covered with strange symbols, drawn with some dark red pigment. Although faded, it was still evident that they were placed there only a few years ago.
“What is this?”
The Long-Tongued Ghost could not understand these strange symbols, nor could Qin Liu.
The two ghosts quietly watched Liu Haoyu, waiting for the man’s explanation.
Soon, Liu Haoyu spoke.
“This is a ghost-exorcising sealing spell. There seems to be something hidden below.”
As he spoke, Liu Haoyu squatted down and gently brushed away the moss from the well’s edge. As expected, in addition to the spell on the stone slabs, the well’s opening was also covered with these strange patterns.
Liu Haoyu looked down into the well. It was pitch black, bottomless, as if leading to another world.
Besides the darkness where nothing could be seen, Liu Haoyu could also feel a chilling aura constantly surging up from the bottom of the well, making him shiver all over.
“This well is not right… it’s definitely problematic!” The Long-Tongued Ghost stood on the edge of the well, its voice trembling slightly. “I feel a very, very strong yin energy coming from inside, even stronger than in other parts of this temple…”
Saying this, the Long-Tongued Ghost swallowed and whispered.
“Why don’t we go back? As things stand now, that white figure uncle might very well have already…”
At this point, the Long-Tongued Ghost pointed in the direction of the well’s opening and said no more.
