https://novelcool.info/chapter/Chapter-240-The-Ghost-Village-Second-Update-/12915669/
Chapter 241: The Headless Imp (Third Update)
Chapter 241: The Headless Imp (Third Update)
"Aunt Zhang, what should we do now?"
Hearing Aunt Zhang’s voice, even though she was expressing her own concerns, everyone instantly felt a sense of reassurance and quickly turned to look at her.
It was night, and they had a lantern on their cart, but the light was dim, and her face was slightly dark, so it was hard to read her expression. However, her voice was steady, which calmed them down a bit.
She seemed to have a plan, but instead of speaking, she walked to the side of the road, took out the last remaining incense stick from her bundle, and silently lit it. She then waited patiently until a cold wind blew by.
At some point, a headless imp appeared by the roadside, stretching out its two hands and feeling around aimlessly.
Aunt Zhang frowned, "Where’s your head? How did you lose it again?"
The headless imp stretched its small hands and gestured silently.
Aunt Zhang scolded, "Go pick it up quickly."
The headless imp continued to gesture but didn’t move.
Just then, Hu Ma suddenly noticed a red figure flash by, and Little Red Apricot sat on the cart’s handle, holding a small basket. Something was half-covered by a cloth, and he immediately felt a sense of unease. He leaned over to take a closer look and was immediately alarmed:
"What are you doing with someone’s head? Give it back!"
"……"
Little Red Apricot looked unhappy, "It was lost, and I picked it up from behind…"
"Picking up someone’s head from the ground, is that appropriate?"
Hu Ma was quite surprised and quickly gave Little Red Apricot a stern look, urging her to return the head to the headless imp.
The headless imp took the light paper head and placed it on its neck. The paper head came to life, even blinking its eyes.
Aunt Zhang hadn’t expected the head to be with Little Red Apricot and looked at her with surprise. She then patiently placed her hand on the imp’s shoulder, spoke a few words softly, and gently tapped its forehead.
The headless imp understood, nodded vigorously, but the head fell off again.
It hurriedly squatted down, feeling around on the ground with both hands. Little Red Apricot squatted beside it, curiously pushing the head towards it.
"Now, everyone gather around me!"
Aunt Zhang turned to Hu Ma, Zhou Manager, the innkeeper, and the two apprentices, saying, "We’re in a bind. We might get into trouble at any moment. The malevolent energy here is too strong. We didn’t make it out during the day, and it will be even harder to get out at night."
"You must listen to me now. Whatever I say, you must follow. If you don’t, we’ll be in trouble…"
Since they realized they were going in circles, everyone had been on edge, and they nodded in agreement.
Seeing their agreement, Aunt Zhang took out a coil of thin hemp rope from her bundle, with bone fragments strung on it like bells.
She pulled out the end of the rope, starting from her own wrist, and tied it around each person’s wrist, making one loop around each. The last end she tied to the foot of the headless imp, saying as she did so:
"Stay close and follow the hemp rope!"
"Whatever you see, hear, or encounter, don’t panic, and don’t touch the rope on your wrist."
"If you’re too scared, ask the young manager to knock you out, and put you on the cart to sleep next to the coffin."
"……"
Everyone was truly terrified, but no one wanted to be knocked out. They shivered and nodded in agreement.
After making these arrangements, Aunt Zhang had everyone check the cart and placed a yellow talisman on the donkey’s head.
"Let’s go!"
The headless imp immediately nodded, but its head rolled off again. Instead of picking it up, it crawled forward on all fours, moving quickly.
Little Red Apricot darted over, picked up the paper head, and looked back at Hu Ma, seeking his approval.
Before Hu Ma could speak, Aunt Zhang said, "Hold it for him for now."
Little Red Apricot immediately perked up, placed the head in her basket, and climbed onto Hu Ma’s back.
Meanwhile, the headless imp continued to crawl forward, feeling its way, surprisingly fast. Everyone followed closely behind.
For Hu Ma, he could see the headless imp, but the innkeeper and apprentices could not. They only saw the hemp rope stretching into the dark night ahead, sometimes taut, sometimes slack, with the bone fragments clacking.
Their hearts were filled with unease.
Occasionally, when they moved a bit faster, the cold yin qi would make them shiver, and they would catch glimpses of the headless imp.
They were so frightened that they wished they could close their eyes and let the rope guide them.
As they moved forward, strange sounds began to emerge from the surrounding darkness.
Sometimes they heard the sound of galloping hooves, as if someone was riding a horse towards them. Other times, they heard shouts of battle, as if bandits were surrounding them and waving their knives. Occasionally, they heard rough curses, as if surrounded by people.
With their eyes closed, it felt like they were in a bandit’s lair, surrounded by fierce and evil spirits. When they opened their eyes, they saw only the empty night and the cold wind.
This rash and anxious feeling made even Hu Ma feel somewhat troubled and agitated.
Subconsciously, he reached into his chest and grabbed a short incense stick.
This incense was bestowed by the Red Lantern Lady to protect his life. Hu Ma had brought it along on this trip, just in case of emergencies.
He wasn't sure if the method Zhang Agu used could help them escape the influence of the ghost village. If they really couldn't escape, he would summon the Red Lantern Lady to set some rules for them.
But he wasn't sure if the Red Lantern Lady's authority would be enough in front of this ghost village, especially since she was outside Mingzhou Prefecture...
But he thought, since she had a temple built for her, it should be fine, right?
With such trepidation, they felt their way through the darkness, eyes closed, taking deep and shallow steps, walking for most of the night. They experienced countless inexplicable and eerie events along the way.
Sounds of chopping and axing, curses, and questions, and even occasionally someone reaching out to pull at their legs.
But Zhang Agu took care of everyone on both sides, and Hu Ma kept his eyes open, constantly watching the surroundings, ready to help at any moment. After walking for a long night, the sounds around them finally gradually diminished and eventually disappeared.
Everyone felt the pulling force of the hemp ropes on their wrists lessen, and they stopped their steps.
Zhang Agu let out a long breath of relief and said, "We made it out."
The cart driver and the apprentices finally opened their eyes, only to find themselves in an open field. A full moon overhead illuminated the surroundings like daylight. The terrifying sounds and the oppressive feeling were gone, leaving only a layer of cold sweat on their bodies.
They looked around, and no one seemed to be missing.
When they looked back at the cart, they were startled to see many marks of chopping and hacking, as if someone had chased and beaten it.
"Ah!"
One of the apprentices suddenly let out a low cry, his voice tinged with tears.
Everyone quickly turned to look and saw him pull up his sleeve, revealing a black handprint on his arm, as if someone had pulled him.
The others hurriedly checked themselves and found similar marks.
The feeling of being pulled and tugged earlier seemed like a hallucination, but the marks were real.
"It's fine. Soak in water with pomelo leaves and take a bath, and you'll be fine," Zhang Agu comforted them. "The ghosts in that village are too fierce. They discovered us during their patrol and wanted to keep us there."
"They affected the feng shui around the area, and even people in our line of work couldn't escape. Ordinary ghosts who entered their patrol range would also be unable to escape and would have to join them."
"However, fortunately, the little servant ghost I raised, without a head, was less affected by them and could lead us out of that ghost place..."
"..."
"Without a head, that's actually a good thing?"
Hu Ma glanced at Little Red Apricot's pretty little head and shook his head helplessly, unable to explain it.
He could only record this experience.
"At least we made it out."
Heaving a sigh of relief, he looked at the people around him and said, "Let's keep moving forward and find a town to rest. Everyone can take a bath, have a good meal, and get a good night's sleep."
He then turned to the cart driver and the two apprentices. "Thank you all. I'll have a reward for you later."
There was no better comfort than this. The cart driver and the two apprentices' fear subsided a bit.
Zhang Agu also untied the hemp ropes from everyone's wrists, coiled them up, and put them back in her bag. She took the paper head from Little Red Apricot and placed it on the neck of the headless little ghost, letting them play.
Hu Ma watched from the side and smiled. "Aunt Zhang, you're really skilled. I never thought your little servant ghost could be so powerful."
"It's not about being powerful; it's about its specific use," Zhang Agu replied, glancing at Hu Ma. "As a Ghost Walker, one must be adept at borrowing the strength of all kinds of ghosts."
Hu Ma carefully noted down Zhang Agu's words. After observing everything on this journey, he had a vague but systematic understanding of the Ghost Walker path.
The way of the Ghost Walker is to first learn the rules, various methods to treat and exorcise evil spirits, and ways to observe or communicate with them.
It's like how a doctor first learns prescriptions.
They understand all kinds of evil spirits and can come up with solutions when faced with problems.
Ordinary people panic and lose their composure when faced with such situations, but clever people can think of ways to deal with them.
Ghost Walkers are like that, and the term "capable person" suits them perfectly.
(End of Chapter)
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