DRIP. DRIP.

It was the sound of water hitting the ground.

Old Mr. Zhou raised his nose and sniffed the air, his gaze falling to Zhang Shan's feet. He couldn't help but break into a grin.

"President Zhang, didn't you just say you were fearless?" he asked. "How come..."

Zhang Shan had lost control of his bladder. A large puddle was spreading at his feet.

"Oh dear, this..." Zhang Shan's face flushed with embarrassment. He quickly shifted his stance and said, "My apologies, how rude of me."

If Old Mr. Zhou hadn't pointed it out, he would have had no idea he had peed himself from fright.

It seems I really overestimated my own courage.

"Is it over now?" Zhang Shan no longer heard the crying and subconsciously assumed the funeral parlor's troubles were over—and that he'd been the one to solve them.

"Let me take a look!" Old Mr. Zhou raised his Compass and checked the needle again.

Su Xuan, however, cast a quiet glance at the iron rod he had placed to one side. He had just noticed it was vibrating with a tremor so slight it was easy to miss.

But why is it trembling? After guarding the Inverted Bodhisattva for who knows how many years, it certainly shouldn't be afraid.

WHIRR. WHIRR.

Suddenly, the needle on Old Mr. Zhou's Compass began to spin violently, pointing to one direction after another as if it had gone haywire.

"Not good!"

"This isn't over!"

Old Mr. Zhou looked around, his expression grim.

Reeking faintly of urine, Zhang Shan scrambled closer to Old Mr. Zhou, but not to Su Xuan. In his eyes, Old Mr. Zhou seemed far more capable.

The next second, wailing erupted from all sides. This time, the cries didn't come from a single source, but from every direction at once.

There's clearly more than one.

Su Xuan's gaze swept the room. He turned to Old Mr. Zhou and asked, "Why can I hear them?"

He'd been wanting to ask this from the beginning. He had encountered a few supernatural beings before, like the lady in the red dress and the old man by the grave, but he had never been able to hear their voices. Why could he hear the crying here? It made no sense to him.

"Boss, normally, these things and us aren't on the same frequency," Old Mr. Zhou said, seeming to understand Su Xuan's question. He explained in simple terms, "It's like we're the provincial TV station and they're a local channel. There's not much overlap. It's already a feat to be able to see each other."

"And the unusual ones?" Su Xuan asked.

"The unusual ones are breaking the rules. They can affect our world. For example, they can make us hear their voices, open a door, blow out a candle, or even interfere with the electrical current, making the lights flicker on and off..."

Just as Old Mr. Zhou finished his explanation, the lights began to flicker violently, casting the room in an eerie, pulsing glow.

SLAP!

Old Mr. Zhou slapped himself on the mouth and cursed under his breath, "Damn it, I jinxed myself!"

"So that's the difference between ordinary ghosts and vengeful spirits?" Zhang Shan asked more bluntly. "Are all the ones here vengeful spirits?"

"Of course they are!" Old Mr. Zhou glared at Zhang Shan. "Did you think the one you just burned to death was playing a game with you?"

"But where did they all come from?" Zhang Shan was utterly bewildered. "Nothing like this has ever happened before!"

"How should I know!" Old Mr. Zhou couldn't offer any explanation.

His shock grew with each passing second as the wails became louder and more numerous. It sounded like hundreds of them were crying in unison. If Su Xuan weren't here, he would have gladly forfeited his generous payment and fled immediately. He had no confidence he could handle so many... ghastly things.

"They're coming," Su Xuan said suddenly, his eyes fixed on a specific direction.

He was looking at a corridor that connected the mourning room to the memorial hall.

"Boss..." Old Mr. Zhou belatedly asked, "You can see them without needing ox tears, can't you?"

"You'd better get your Spirit Talismans ready," Su Xuan said, sidestepping the question. "There are a lot of them."

"Right, right!" Old Mr. Zhou hurriedly pulled out a thick stack of Spirit Talismans.

The moment the talismans were in his hand, his eyes widened in shock. He saw streams of dark shadows rushing out of the corridor, their forms visible from well over four or five meters away.

I know it's not that my range of sight has increased... it's that this wave of foul things is even more powerful!

Zhang Shan saw them too and immediately hid behind Old Mr. Zhou, clutching his arm tightly.

"Get off me!" Old Mr. Zhou no longer cared that Zhang Shan was his client; here, Su Xuan was his true paymaster. He snarled, holding a Spirit Talisman in each hand.

He deeply regretted not bringing his Peach Wood Sword.

Peach wood is the essence of the five woods, also known as immortal wood! It's exceedingly useful for slaying ghosts!

"Die!" he roared. "You disgusting things!"

Old Mr. Zhou flung the Spirit Talismans forward. One by one, the dazzling yellow papers burst into flame as they made contact with the spirits, blooming like fiery flowers in the dark.

But this time, there were simply too many ghosts, and the Spirit Talismans had a limited effect.

CLANG!

A massive ghost swung its arm, sending a wooden chair flying across the room. Just as Old Mr. Zhou had said, it could interact with the physical world.

Su Xuan wasn't surprised by the ghost's action, but he was astonished by its attire.

Its clothes aren't from this era! How long has this funeral home been here? Thirty, maybe forty years at most! How could an ancient entity like this have manifested here?

The question of where they came from burned even stronger in his mind.

BOOM! RUMBLE!

Enraged by the death of their companion at Zhang Shan's hands, the ghosts roared furiously. They began smashing the tables and chairs in the mourning hall, charging toward the three men with claws and fangs bared.

The entire hall grew unnervingly cold, raising goosebumps on everyone's skin. The flickering lights only added to the endless, visceral dread.

"Boss, we can't handle this! Let's scram!" Having used all his Spirit Talismans, Old Mr. Zhou grabbed Su Xuan's arm and tried to pull him toward the exit.

But Su Xuan simply brushed his hand away. He stood his ground, his gaze locked on the approaching horde.

This is my goddamn territory! You dare run wild here? Do you think I'm a pushover?

With one swift motion, Su Xuan snatched up the iron rod he had named "Ruyi" and held it horizontally before him. The rod began to tremble in his grasp as if gathering power, a vibration so strong it made his entire body shake with it.

"Boss, you're shaking from fear! Stop putting on a brave face, let's go!" Old Mr. Zhou, thinking Su Xuan was terrified, reached for his arm again.

Zhang Shan, meanwhile, had already bolted.

"Huh?"

The next second, Old Mr. Zhou jerked his hand back. He suddenly realized it wasn't Su Xuan's body that was trembling, but the iron rod in his hand.

It's not just trembling... it's dancing with excitement!

At that moment, the woman in red appeared at Su Xuan's side.

She did nothing. She simply watched Su Xuan with a beaming smile, then raised a delicate finger and pointed toward the swarm of ghosts.

For the first time, she spoke to him. Her voice was truly beautiful, like the chirping of swallows returning to their nest or the song of an oriole from a valley.

She said, "Beat them.

"You can do it."

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