Zhu Mei's stomach was like a bottomless pit. Not only did she finish eating everything that Suer brought, she also stayed in the restaurant, waiting for Xue Mei Niang to come.
Seeing her lack of reaction, indicating the Painted Skin Ghost hadn't yet made its move, Soul wasted no time and went about his business. After leaving the farmhouse restaurant and walking a good distance, he finally spoke, "We need to find those two brats and mitigate the hostess's hostility."
Ji Heng pondered and said, "According to Zhu Mei, we just need to find the ghost's hiding place."
Su Er asked with more interest: "Is the mistress really dead?"
The envelope only stated that she disappeared after killing her husband and children, but so far there is no clear evidence to prove the hostess's death. The thing that seduced her in the photo at that time gave people a feeling that was completely different from an ordinary ghost.
Ji Heng shook his head, and suddenly said, "If you find the Book of Samsara, don't burn it immediately."
"good."
The two of them stood outside the bamboo building again. This time they did not go in directly, but simply looked at the place from an upward angle.
Ji Heng: "After a child dies, the ghost will not stray too far from the place of death."
Soul: "What if I become the Ghost King?"
Ji Heng smiled and asked, "Which ghost king have you seen who can move freely without any scruples?"
Suer's eyes rolled, remembering that Zhou Linjun spent most of his time in the coffin. Gou Baopu was quite powerful, but he still couldn't leave the castle. He relied on the smiling merchant to trade everywhere. Even the evil monk encountered in the previous story could only guard a remote courtyard.
Ji Heng returned to the topic and said calmly: "Whether it's a human or a ghost, they like to huddle together when they are scared. The two ghosts should be in the same place."
Su Er originally wanted to use his charm to absorb energy everywhere, but he accidentally met Ji Heng's half-smile. He was stunned for a moment, his lips moved slightly, and after a while he spoke: "Those goats before...could it be that I lured them out?"
I still remember that time when he used his charm value to feel the family photo, trying to judge how many ghosts there were in the photo.
Ji Heng: "When absorbing Yin energy, nearby ghosts and monsters will also be affected."
Realizing this, Su Er rubbed his nose in embarrassment: "I didn't think it through."
Ji Heng waved his hand to indicate that it was no problem: "Your idea is correct."
In the final analysis, the two of them had really bad luck. Who would have thought that there were problems with all the goat patterns carved on the pillars?
They circled the bamboo house, one in front and one behind, to check. Su Er held his breath and turned over the soil where livestock had been kept. It was black and hard. After searching for a long time, he didn't see even a single weed. Soon, Ji Heng reached the ladder and shook his head.
"It seems he's still in the house."
Su Er glanced at the lush trees around him. Ji Heng knew what he wanted to say. As he walked up the stairs, he said, "There's a lot of dirt in the bamboo house, and the yin energy is mixed. If it's hidden in the woods, I can feel it."
Hearing this, Suer looked at the spiritual value on his badge with some envy.
Ji Heng said with a smile: "Don't underestimate yourself, your charm value is far ahead of all other players."
"…"
Suer was helpless. It was the same method of attacking ghosts, but the charm value sounded very improper.
There was bright red blood at the door, left by Lin Lele's heart explosion.
After entering, Suer stood near the terrace, staring intently at the inner room, trying to imagine where he would hide if he were the victim. While he was thinking, Ji Heng had already made a rough tour, checking all the items on display.
The story told by Zhu Mei resurfaced in his mind, and Suer grabbed the person passing by.
Ji Heng looked down at his held wrist and smiled.
"Any ideas?"
The question had a double meaning, but Su Er only understood one side of the meaning and nodded: "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Ji Heng was rarely asked this question and was stunned, shaking his head.
"If you were dating someone, where would you hide your private money?"
Ji Heng came back to his senses, suddenly moved closer, and said, "The ceiling."
Suer thought intently: "A lower one, for example..."
"For example, a place that a child can reach." Ji Heng finished speaking, walked to the wine cabinet, opened the door of the bottom cabinet, reached out to feel on the top board, and after a moment, a faint smile appeared on his face, and he pulled hard.
There was a lot of wood chips stuck to one end of the transparent tape, and the other end was holding the envelope in place. When the seal was opened, a few crumpled banknotes were hidden inside.
Su Er suddenly realized: "The wife has been abused by her alcoholic husband for years, and she has a conditioned fear of the wine cabinet and will deliberately avoid it."
When children hide money, they will definitely find a place where their mother cannot find it when she is cleaning.
The banknote has a small denomination. The back of the note originally depicted a girl from a minority ethnic group rowing a boat with a pole, but now it has been changed to a man and a woman, with the pole being taller than them.
"Thank goodness you thought of hiding the money," Ji Heng said, staring at the replaced pattern with narrowed eyes, "otherwise it would be really hard to find."
Su Er: "Zhu Mei specifically mentioned that the child fabricated a false story about his mother being intimate with someone else in order to get pocket money from his father... He values money over family ties. Such people will definitely think of money first when they encounter difficulties."
Ji Heng packed the banknotes and said, "I can hand it in now."
Soul: "Go now?"
Ji Heng nodded.
Su Er: "But the agreed time is after midnight."
"Night is the home turf of ghosts. They can't fully exert their power during the day." Ji Heng paused for a moment and looked towards the door. "She has been searching for them for so many years. She is so eager to teach the two children a lesson that this urgency may make her ignore the time commitment."
Suer thought about it and felt that it made sense. The only thing he was worried about was whether Ji Heng would be attacked if he held the envelope in his hand like this?
Just as he was about to explain this, he saw black gas emanating from the palm of his hand. Before it completely surrounded his entire hand, it suddenly disappeared.
Ji Heng raised his arm to give Su Er a clearer view. A portion of a cloudy, snake-like pupil peeked out from between his fingers, its yellowed eyeballs grimly staring outward. Su Er's heart tightened, but he quickly regained his composure, "So this has this wonderful use."
This eye can transform into a peacock eye, gathering resentful spirits to attack players, which indirectly shows that its power is superior to that of ordinary ghosts.
Ji Heng pointed out the disadvantages: "The cost is the consumption of your own strength. I don't recommend you do this."
Hearing this, Su Er no longer delayed and urged, "Then let's go over quickly."
All the windows around were wide open. When he walked to the outer room, he unexpectedly saw two figures approaching in the distance. Sul closed the windows and locked the door without hesitation.
This was the first time Ji Heng saw him acting like this and he found it quite interesting.
"Zhou Que and Ye Xiaocen..." Su Er curled his lips slightly: "Don't even think about picking our peaches."
Ji Heng faced the family photo and deliberately raised the envelope: "I found him. I'll give it to you tonight."
A hand slowly stretched out from the photo, gripping the edge of the frame. The hostess leaned out half her body, her neck stretched out, her good-looking face distorted by a ferocious expression: "Give it to me... give it to me now!"
The envelope bulged, and the banknotes inside tried desperately to escape. The potential unleashed by extreme fear was infinite. The two ghosts joined forces to escape the control of the eyeballs for a few seconds, floated out of the envelope, and rushed out frantically.
The hostess laughed strangely, and her pale arms instantly turned into thin strips, which she grasped tightly on the left and right.
"Mom!" the little girl screamed. "Let me go!"
The boy also kept begging for mercy: "We were wrong..."
The sound spread outside.
Ye Xiaocen's expression changed, and he stopped walking and started running, rushing towards the bamboo house.
Zhou Que asked worriedly, "What if there's danger..."
"Use your brain and think about it," Ye Xiaocen said sternly, "The ghost is begging for mercy, proving that someone has completed a special mission."
On the way here, they met Chen Buqi, who had nothing to gain and looked dazed. It was obvious who had completed the mission at this moment.
After pushing it twice without success, Ye Xiaocen said coldly, "Open the door!"
Instead of doing what he wished, Su Er said to the cruel hostess: "You can take your time in teaching the child a lesson."
Finally catching the two little bastards, the hostess was in a good mood and even more tolerant. She threw out a piece of goat horn-shaped candle and said, "Light it when the moon is full to summon the devil."
The door was banging non-stop. The bamboo door was not strong to begin with and could not hold out for long. Su Er quickly asked, "What's the point of summoning a demon?"
"The devil will give you the Book of Reincarnation." The curve of the hostess's mouth widened to an exaggerated level.
Soul quickly asked a few more questions, none of which were answered.
At the moment when the door was about to be kicked open, Su Er stared at her intently: "Are you dead or alive?"
Even now, I still can't feel any negative energy from the other person.
"I am...a servant of the devil."
"No!"
The next moment, the two children screamed and were forcibly dragged into the photo frame.
Amid the ghost's heart-wrenching cries, the creaking door panel was finally kicked down and hit the ground, causing the entire bamboo building to tremble.
Ye Xiaocen looked around and his eyes fixed on the family photo.
The children, who were originally smiling and holding hands, were still smiling, but tears of blood were flowing in their eyes. The hostess stood behind them, changed her posture, and placed her hands on the children's thin shoulders.
Retracting his gaze, Ye Xiaocen said, "One intermediate item in exchange for the information you know."
Zhou Que wanted to object, but he held it back.
Su Er shook his head and refused.
Ye Xiaocen frowned: "If it's because of Zhou Que, the dispute between you is just a verbal dispute. There's no need to give up the immediate interests."
"Burning the Book of Samsara is the same no matter who completes it," Su Er said, spreading his hands. "Once the mission is completed, everyone will go back to their own home. However, since Heaven has bestowed great responsibilities upon those who are capable, I have taken the initiative to undertake this important task."
Ye Xiaocen said coldly: "Are you so sure that you can succeed?"
Su Er deliberately straightened his clothes and straightened his badge to show off his achievements. "Isn't it good to just get by for free? Why do you always think about striving?"
"…"
After he finished speaking, he walked away in a swagger. Ji Heng walked silently beside Su Er, showing with his actions that they were on the same side.
Seeing this, Zhou Que said angrily: "It's obvious that you don't take us seriously!"
"You really take them seriously."
Zhou Que was speechless.
Ye Xiaocen said in a deep voice: "Su Er's goal is the Book of Samsara."
Zhou Que was puzzled: "Don't we all have the same goal?"
Find the designated items and destroy them, then pass the level.
"If I'm not mistaken, the first one to get the Book of Reincarnation will have extra benefits." Ye Xiaocen made some inferences, but did not tell Zhou Que completely.
At dusk, it started to drizzle in the mountains and the temperature dropped sharply.
To prevent the cold from affecting their subsequent actions, the players returned to their residences to rest.
Raindrops fell from the eaves onto the bluestone tiles. Su Er sat in front of the French window and couldn't help but take a few more glances. If it weren't for the horror element, this would indeed be a great place for a vacation.
"I remember the moon was quite round last night."
Ji Heng: "According to the date on the invitation, tomorrow night is the full moon night of this month."
There was a strange sound coming from the door, as if something was squeezing in. Sur's first reaction was that it was a snake. After finally finding the source of the sound, he discovered that it was pieces of transparent skin tissue. In addition to mud and water, there was also a spicy and pungent smell.
All the skins were piled up at the door, not immediately connected together, but simply squirming around looking for places to rub against, trying to remove the filth on them.
Sur: "The possession failed?"
The Painted Skin Ghost's voice was a little weak: "After all, I just woke up."
Su Er was not interested in the reason for the failure and asked, "Did Zhu Mei discover your presence?"
The Painted Skin Ghost said something else first: "She is not human."
Sur didn't find it strange. Which normal human being would like to eat human skin and fat?
"I'm not a human, so I don't have the basic need to excrete," the Painted Skin Ghost explained perfectly, "so I can only climb back up through the esophagus."
"…"
Imagining that scene, Suer's scalp tingled, and he realized that it would be best not to appear in front of Zhu Mei for the time being. The other party probably wanted to kill him now.
The Painted Skin Ghost rushed towards him: "There are still a lot of undigested human flesh residues in her body..."
"Stop talking." Suer stopped him, thankful for the rain that helped clean up.
Ordering the Painted Skin Ghost to stay put, he went to find a pair of chopsticks, covered his nose with his hands, picked up the thin slices on the ground, and placed them on the top of the statue's head. During this time, he sighed: "Don't mention it, the brim of the hat is wide, it's quite convenient to use it for drying."
As Soul turned to throw the chopsticks, the statue's hat moved.
The peculiar smell of the Painted Skin Ghost continued to assault the statue's sense of smell. The statue even had the idea of an extreme one-for-one exchange. Even if it was punished by the rules, it wanted to kill this damn thing first.
The sound coming from upstairs temporarily dispelled the host's thoughts. Ji Heng stood at the stairs: "I found a strong perfume, do you need it?"
Soul nodded quickly.
Ji Heng came down from upstairs, shook the bottle, unscrewed the stopper, and the yellow-green liquid poured over the head of the statue.
Soul was surprised: "Where's the perfume?"
Ji Heng stubbornly said, "Floral water is perfume."
"…"
The Painted Skin Ghost seemed to like the taste quite a bit, which showed how much he had suffered in Zhu Mei's stomach before.
Su Er: "Pour less, it's a bit choking."
"Okay." He agreed very well, but Ji Heng poured every drop of the water without missing a single drop, not forgetting to shake off the remaining residue. Then he said to Su Er, "Go upstairs and get some sleep. I'm afraid it will be difficult to get a good rest tonight and tomorrow."
Floral water flowed from the brim of the hat across the straight bridge of the nose, and then dripped onto the lips. The refreshing and brainwashing smell eroded the host's last bit of sanity.
brute.
The statue's lip trembled.
He wanted to restore his identity immediately and make these two bastards pay the price for their misdeeds! On second thought, if he did so, his clever act of transforming into a statue would be exposed. Wouldn't he be ridiculed if the news got out?
Tolerate.
He took a deep breath and decided to endure it one last time.
The statue closed its eyes and, amid the pungent scent of floral water, began to silently recite Buddhist scriptures in an attempt to find psychological balance.
Ji Heng, who had already reached the second floor, suddenly turned slightly, looked sideways in the direction of the statue on the first floor with an expressionless face, and curled the corners of his mouth slightly.
"Why don't you leave?" Suer turned around and asked.
Ji Heng: "There's a nasty little bug in the cracks of the floor."
"Really?" Su Er lowered his head to look.
Ji Heng stopped him: "It's probably because of the rain and the tide."
Su Er seemed to have vaguely sensed a hint of mockery in the other person's eyes, but he didn't take it to heart. He returned to the room and quickly found a comfortable position to catch up on his sleep.