IMMFBCG Chapter 72

Chapter 72: A Fog of Uncertainty

“What are you talking about?”

Zhuang Wenxing’s eyes widened, and his face instantly turned pale. “I spoke to her. How could you say you didn’t see anything? Was the person standing next to me a ghost?!”

Ren Xing’an didn’t dare provoke him any further.

As soon as the word “ghost” left Zhuang Wenxing’s mouth, he seemed even more shaken, growing increasingly unnerved. But he tried to convince himself it was impossible. He instinctively took a step back, muttering to himself, “It can’t be… it’s still daylight…”

He was talking to himself, but then something behind him seemed to poke him, and he felt a sharp pain in his back.

Zhuang Wenxing reached behind him and found a photo frame hidden under a cushion.

He took the frame out and looked at the picture inside.

It was a black-and-white photograph of an elderly woman with a solemn expression, and the person in the picture was the same woman Zhuang Wenxing had seen earlier—the one with the grocery basket.

The moment he recognized the woman in the photo, Zhuang Wenxing nearly fainted.

Ren Xing’an saw his reaction and quickly asked, “Wenxing! What’s wrong?!”

At the same time, the other members of the group ran over. One of them said, “We found some information online. It seems the previous owner’s mother passed away not long after moving into the house. She died of a heart attack while going out to buy groceries. They couldn’t save her, and she died on the spot. This only made the rumors about the house stronger. The owner was heartbroken and eventually moved out with his family.”

This information confirmed that the elderly woman in the photo was indeed the one Zhuang Wenxing had met on the street.

He had seen a ghost in broad daylight.

Just then, a loud bang echoed from the front door.

“BANG!” The door seemed to slam shut.

Ren Xing’an, startled, stuttered, “Who—who slammed the door so loudly?!”

Cheng Qing, confused, said, “Besides the two Taoist priests, we’re all here…”

Someone weakly raised their hand and said, “Maybe it was them closing the door?”

“It could’ve been the wind,” another person suggested.

But no one was convinced. The two Taoist priests from Tianyi Temple looked aloof, and Zhuang Wenxing and the others didn’t dare approach them much.

Ren Xing’an’s gaze fell somewhere to the side, and his face suddenly turned fearful. Trembling, he raised his hand and pointed toward Zhuang Wenxing, “The… the photo frame!”

Others, confused, asked, “What’s wrong?”

Ren Xing’an, terrified, closed his eyes. “The person in the photo frame… is smiling!”

Zhuang Wenxing quickly looked down.

The serious-looking person in the photo had his mouth twisted into an eerie, unsettling smile.

Those solemn eyes seemed to be watching them.

Zhuang Wenxing screamed and immediately threw the photo frame. “Run!”

The group screamed in unison and, after realizing what was happening, hurriedly ran outside, only to collide with a thick fog, unable to see where they were going.

…

Jian Sinian frowned as he looked at the corridor before him.

He had been following the group of students, but somehow he had lost track of them.

The fearless members of Haicheng University’s club were nowhere to be found either.

The sound of dripping water echoed, and it felt as though something was brushing past Jian Sinian, bringing with it a thick, nauseating feeling.

The bell hanging from his backpack began to ring.

Jian Sinian’s expression sharpened, and he swung his peachwood sword behind him.

He turned around but saw nothing, though he could feel the sword strike something.

A piercing shriek echoed through the air, followed by a dense black mist that erupted, enveloping Jian Sinian completely. He couldn’t dodge in time and felt his eyes blur from the mist.

Pain flashed through his eyes, and when he opened them again, everything was pitch black.

A blurry shadow appeared on the ground, trying to pounce on him, but as soon as it touched Jian Sinian, it dissolved into the black mist and scattered.

When the shadow lunged at him, Jian Sinian faintly sensed the sound of the wind, but before he could react, the strange movement vanished.

He remembered something and took out the talisman from his chest, feeling it heat up slightly. The yellow paper was now scalding hot in his hand.

This was the ghost-repelling talisman his father, Jian Caiying, had given him. He heard that it had been won in a lottery. Jian Caiying had even specifically given one to his son, but Jian Sinian hadn’t taken it seriously. After receiving it, he casually stuffed it into his Taoist robe.

He never expected it would end up saving him by chance.

This talisman had such an incredible effect—more effective than the peachwood sword made from thunder-struck wood by Tianyi Temple?

Jian Sinian was shocked. From afar, he seemed to hear Jiang Zhe’s voice calling out, “Shidi? Shidi, where are you?”

Jian Sinian quickly responded, “Shixiong, I’m here!”

When he heard movement nearby, he quickly drew his peachwood sword and thrust it with all his might.

It seemed like someone let out a muffled groan, clearly in pain.

Jiang Zhe, still trying to figure out which direction to go, was suddenly ambushed and bumped in the waist.

Before he could react, he was hit again. Reflexively, Jiang Zhe countered.

Jian Sinian’s wrist was struck, causing the peachwood sword to fall from his hand. He couldn’t retrieve it in time and thought to himself that this sinister force was truly full of tricks.

He dodged and, in a hurry, swung his fist, only to find that he had landed a hit.

Jian Sinian froze for a moment, quickly realizing that it must be the talisman’s influence, so he didn’t hesitate any longer.

However, during the battle, he accidentally brushed his phone hanging from his neck. When the screen unlocked with his fingerprint, the phone flew off in an arc, landing and accidentally pressing on the contacts.

The call went out, but Jian Sinian had no idea who it was dialed to.

Suddenly, Ye Xue’s phone rang.

She was working on her homework and looked at the caller ID, surprised to see it was Jian Sinian’s number.

After Tianyi Temple and Xuanzhen Temple had become brother organizations, Ye Xue exchanged contact details with a few of Tianyi Temple’s core members, though they rarely contacted her, and for anything important, they would directly call Bai Ziang.

Ye Xue put down her mouse and answered the phone.

There was no one speaking on the other end, just the strange sound of static, “zzzzzzz.”

“Hello?” Ye Xue called out, puzzled, “Jian Sinian?”

“zzzzzzz—”

The static continued.

Before Ye Xue could ask any more questions, the call abruptly disconnected. She remembered what Gao Lan had mentioned earlier about the club’s ghost house adventure, with a few students bringing people from Tianyi Temple along.

Now, with Jian Sinian’s strange call, she wondered what was happening.

Ye Xue turned to Gao Lan and asked, “Xiao Lan, have you heard from your club members after they went to the ghost house? Did they return?”

Gao Lan glanced at the group chat, “No, they said they were about to leave a few hours ago, and then we didn’t hear anything after that.”

Ye Xue quickly stood up, stuffed her phone into her bag, and rushed out while saying, “My family needs me. I’ll go out for a bit!”

“Wait, huh??” Gao Lan looked confused.

Ye Xue ran quickly, and in no time, she reached the school gate.

Fang Xuelin, enjoying the warmth in the security room, heard footsteps and looked up, only to see Ye Xue rushing out.

“Ye Xue?” Fang Xuelin called after her.

Ye Xue barely had time to wave her hand at him as she quickly hailed a taxi and got in.

The driver asked, “Where to, student?”

“…” Ye Xue hesitated, suddenly realizing she didn’t know exactly where the place was, only that it was in the eastern suburbs.

Ye Xue asked, “Uncle, do you know where the most notorious haunted house is in the eastern suburbs?”

The driver replied, “???”

The driver awkwardly smiled, “You’re quite the joker, little student.”

Even though Ye Xue couldn’t see his expression, she could feel his confusion.

Ye Xue quickly made up a story, “Our club is organizing a ghost-hunting event, trying to find the most haunted house in Haicheng.”

The driver said, “But… I don’t know where the scariest haunted house is.”

Ye Xue thought for a moment and then said, “How about this, you take me to the eastern suburbs, and I’ll get out and find it myself?”

The driver hesitated, “You’re going to find it by yourself?”

Ye Xue replied, “No, my club members are already there, they just arrived earlier. I was hoping if you knew where the haunted house was, I could get out and lead them there right away.”

The driver instantly relaxed, “Oh, I see. That’s fine then.”

Ye Xue squinted and smiled, “Thank you so much.”

The mountain roads in the suburbs were incredibly rough. Ye Xue, who was prone to motion sickness, nearly threw up and felt miserable, even with the window open.

When they finally arrived, Ye Xue tossed her bag into the trash and paid the driver.

She looked at the unfamiliar road ahead, took a deep breath, and composed herself.

Ye Xue then took out a talisman, dipped her fingertips in cinnabar, and drew a symbol on it. Afterward, she folded the yellow talisman into a paper crane.

“—Taishang Laojun, as per the command, urgent and swift.”

As soon as she finished chanting, the paper crane twitched in her palm, as if it had come to life. Its wings unfurled, and it quickly flew forward.

Ye Xue followed behind it.

The magic on the talisman wouldn’t last long, but she hoped it would hold until she found Jian Sinian and the others.

The paper crane flew through the air, leading Ye Xue to a place called Xinxing Road, finally stopping at No. 164.

It dropped to the ground and immediately turned to ash.

Ye Xue stood before the house, which was shrouded in a chilling aura. The sky had darkened at some point, and the cloud above the house was the darkest as if a black cloud were hanging ominously above.

Even without the paper crane’s guidance, Ye Xue could recognize this as the haunted house.

She approached and pushed the door.

The door was tightly shut, as if glued in place. No matter how hard Ye Xue pushed, it wouldn’t budge.

She took out another talisman and pressed it onto the center of the door.

Then…

She kicked the door with all her strength, forcing it open.

Inside, the situation became clear.

Ye Xue was stunned by what she saw.

There were about seven or eight people inside. Jian Sinian seemed to be arguing with someone and was physically wrestling with them, even pinning them to the ground and punching them relentlessly.

The students from Haicheng University, though not far apart, seemed as though they were worlds away from each other.

Zhuang Wenxing appeared not to see anyone around him, shouting repeatedly, “Cheng Qing, Xing’an, where are you?!”

Ren Xing’an, standing right beside him, helplessly responded, “I don’t know! It’s so dark here, I can’t see anything. Where are you?!”

Meanwhile, Jian Sinian escalated the situation to the point of actually biting his opponent.

Jiang Zhe, who had been bitten hard on the wrist, hissed in pain, “Mmm!”

Jian Sinian, hearing Jiang Zhe’s voice, released his grip and asked in shock, “Shixiong, are you hurt too?!”

Jiang Zhe, as though a mountain had been pressed on him, felt immobile and helpless. He said in a voice filled with despair, “I think I ran into a little ghost.”

Jian Sinian had bitten someone—wasn’t this something a child would do?

Ye Xue: “…”

Ye Xue fell silent.