TEFSCBSS Chapter 61

Chapter 61: Jiang Liang Says There’s a Ghost

“Lantern?” Li Tiechui didn’t look at the lantern but instead fixed his gaze on Zhao Wen. “Hasn’t the lantern been lit this whole time?”

Zhao Si: … He glanced up at the lantern above him—clearly, it had already gone out! Damn it, when did that happen?!

But with Li Tiechui staring at him so intently, he had no choice but to go along with it. “Ah, yeah… It’s been lit the whole time. Just asking, no other reason.”

He swallowed hard and slowly backed toward the exit. “Uh, I just remembered I have another task. I’ll step out for a bit, yeah?”

Li Tiechui didn’t respond, his hands still busy working, but his eyes never left Zhao Wen.

Step by step, Zhao Wen retreated, inching farther away until he was finally out of Li Tiechui’s sight. Then, he turned and ran toward the village’s edge.

“What the hell is going on? When did the lantern go out?!”

He recalled Zhao Si’s warning from the beginning: Once the lanterns go out, that means night has fallen. When it’s night, ignore everything—pretend you didn’t see or hear anything.

But…

What if the lantern had already been out from the very start?

When people are nervous, their minds tend to overanalyze. He mentally retraced everything from the moment they entered Shan Shi Village.

The first time Zhao Si had gone into the Earth God Temple with them. But the second time? He had been waiting outside.

At first, Zhao Si’s posture had been hunched, strange, and eerie. But later, he had seemed perfectly normal, walking briskly and looking rather friendly.

…

Zhao Wen’s head was spinning. The more he thought about it, the more things seemed off. But one thing was clear—their initial resting spot should still be safe!

With that in mind, he hurriedly retraced his steps. The houses became sparser, and the fog thickened, but just before he lost all hope—there it was! The same old, rundown Earth God Temple from the beginning.

Gathering his courage, he stepped inside. Everything was just as they had left it.

Except…

The temple’s lantern had also gone out.

Just then, a noise came from the corner. Zhao Wen froze in place, heart pounding.

He didn’t dare turn his head, only stealing a glance from the corner of his eye.

A hunched figure. Familiar. Cowering in the corner, trembling.

“Jiang… Jiang Liang?”

Yes, it was Jiang Liang—the same troublemaker who had seemed like he was only here to stir up chaos.

But right now, his face was pale with fear. His clothes were covered in dirt and straw. Even his normally stubborn expression was streaked with tears.

“Why are you here?”

Zhao Wen remained rooted to the spot. It was pitch dark outside. He couldn’t be sure if this Jiang Liang was really… Jiang Liang.

Jiang Liang, upon hearing a voice, stiffened. Slowly, he turned his tear-filled eyes toward Zhao Wen.

When he realized it was a real, living person, he nearly collapsed from relief. Scrambling forward in a half-crawl, half-sprint, he flung himself at Zhao Wen.

Zhao Wen almost screamed.

“Oh, thank god! I finally found someone! We have to go—NOW! We need to get out of here!”

Jiang Liang didn’t care about Zhao Wen’s resistance—he clung to Zhao Wen’s leg and started sobbing uncontrollably.

Family, you don’t understand! He had only come here on orders to ruin the script game, to mess things up so Su Li would fail and be forced to return to the Prime Minister’s residence.

But who the hell could have guessed—this place had REAL ghosts!

“Let go!” Zhao Wen struggled to shake him off, torn between fear and frustration. “What are you doing?! Just talk like a normal person!”

“No! You’re the only one I’ve found—I’m not letting you go! You have to take me with you!”

“Fine, fine! Just stop wailing!”

Zhao Wen was genuinely afraid he’d end up attracting something even worse.

Jiang Liang, however, refused to release his grip. Still clutching Zhao Wen’s pants leg, he began pouring out his misery.

So it turned out…

Wang Bokao had been right all along.

Jiang Liang was a rebellious troublemaker—he hadn’t listened to the homeowner’s instructions to sleep in a coffin. Instead, he had run off, planning to stir up some chaos… maybe even set a fire or two.

Who could have expected this? As soon as he started running, the couple from that house began chasing him. And it wasn’t just them—soon, the entire neighborhood joined in! No questions asked—they just wanted to catch Jiang Liang.

At first, Jiang Liang sneered. He was a second-rate martial artist, after all. These were just a bunch of ordinary people, just lowly shop assistants from Su Li’s script game (or so he believed). They were no match for him.

But the longer he ran, the more he felt something was wrong.

He was already gasping for breath, yet the people behind him maintained their pace effortlessly. Not a single drop of sweat, not the slightest sign of fatigue—they were still right behind him. No, they were even closer now.

Shit. He just wanted to shake them off and find a good spot to set the script shop on fire.

But then he turned his head again—

They were even closer.

And they had changed.

Now, they were nothing but skeletons in tattered clothing, flickering in and out of the thick fog. If he listened carefully, he could hear faint wailing.

Since when do skeletons run?!

That was the moment he knew something was seriously wrong. This so-called “horror script game” wasn’t just for show. There were real ghosts here!

Terrified, he didn’t dare look back again. He just ran. Ran blindly, with no idea where he was going, until he finally realized that the eerie sound of footsteps behind him had disappeared.

Only then did he take in his surroundings—

He had somehow ended up back at the Earth God Temple.

The moment he stepped inside, he forced himself to turn around and look.

The skeletons were gone.

But right in front of him, tangled strands of pitch-black, disheveled hair dangled in his vision.

His gaze slowly traveled upward.

A face.

A ghastly, twisted, blue-tinged face of a ghostly woman, staring right at him.

That single moment stretched endlessly. His mind blanked. His body, however, reacted instinctively—he staggered back, step by step, until he was completely inside the temple.

The mist outside thickened once more. The ghostly woman was nowhere to be seen.

Jiang Liang collapsed in the corner, trembling.

Who would understand his pain? Yes, he was skilled in martial arts, but that was against humans—not a bunch of damn ghosts!

Clutching Zhao Wen’s sleeve like a lifeline, he pleaded desperately, “Listen to me, we need to leave! Right now! We have to get back to the iron gate!”

“I’m a second-rate martial artist. I have inner strength. I know I can break through a section of that iron gate and get us out of here!”

Zhao Wen… was stunned.

He didn’t know this guy. But based on his behavior, it was obvious he was up to no good—probably here to stir up rumors about ghosts in Su Li’s script shop.

But even so…

Zhao Wen had to admit he was a little freaked out.

The way Li Tiechui had acted. The eerie banging from the coffin. A growing sense of dread creeps over him.

Still—

This was just a script game, right?

There’s no way there are actual ghosts here.

Gritting his teeth, Zhao Wen decided Jiang Liang was still not to be trusted. But since he wasn’t exactly a fighter himself, he had to rely on what his father had taught him—the art of bullshit.

“Uh, you make a fair point. But look—the lantern is out.”

“That means it’s night. And we’re not supposed to move around at night.”

Jiang Liang froze. Then, steeling himself, he pulled out a fire starter from his sleeve—the one he had planned to use to burn down the script shop.

He brought it to his lips, blew lightly, and lit a candle inside the Earth God Temple’s paper lantern.

“There. It’s lit now. It’s not nighttime anymore. Let’s go.”

Zhao Wen: …

Something about this didn’t feel quite right.

But before he could protest, Jiang Liang had already grabbed his arm, lifted the lantern, and started leading him toward the iron gate.

Yet…

Something was wrong.

They followed the same path as before, but no matter how far they walked—

They never reached the iron gate.

Instead, they arrived at—

A pitch-black coffin.

The lid trembled violently, emitting heavy, resounding thuds.

And behind it—

A graveyard.