I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 390 - 354: Chaotic Burial Mound
Sang Que, together with the Yin Child, worked through the night to nearly exterminate all the evil spirits within Dongyang County.
Under the scorching yin fire, the evil mist in the city also thinned out.
Sang Que unfolded the Ghost Realm, releasing the Yin Child and the Puppet Master Chu Mo Wei from the painting, instructing Chu Mo Wei to move all the bodies around the county government to a farther place, and transporting those suitable for corpse cultivation into the painting.
During this period, Sang Que sent a letter to Yao Zhen through her Five Ghosts, explaining her situation and asking if she needed to return to Bright Moon Mountain immediately.
If they could hold on, Sang Que still wanted to find Qiu Wanjun first to find a way to obtain the Yin Child’s tongue.
Now she was only a step away from the Ninth Floor of the Nine Netherworld, and she had already planned to solve the incense issue with the help of the research institute.
After dawn, Sang Que stored up five hundred corpses of young and strong men in the painting, most of whom were originally guards defending Dongyang County.
Back at the tavern, Sang Que told He Baosheng and the others, "I have almost cleared out the evil spirits in the city; the situation outside is unclear, so you’d better stay here for now. Take that Divine Statue with you and stay in the county government; it’s sturdier and safer than other houses. Also, there must be a lot of food and other supplies in the city, so be mindful to collect them during the day."
He Baosheng and the others didn’t know why Sang Que was helping them, but they had an inexplicable trust in her.
"If you have the energy, burn all the bodies in the city that you can, guard the Divine Statue at night, and don’t wander. The God you worship has spirit and will protect you. I need to go out and have a look; once I have made sense of the situation, I might come back here."
Sang Que didn’t say much and left decisively.
He Baosheng and the others hurried out, watching Sang Que disappear at the end of the street.
...
Outside Dongyang County, thick fog still shrouded everything, making it difficult for Sang Que to discern directions, and indeed exerting the effects of a Ghost Wall.
Using Instant Teleportation, Sang Que moved through the fog for over ten minutes, only to end up back at the city gate.
During this time, she also saw the group of people He Baosheng mentioned, who left Dongyang County together, now dead in the woods outside the city, hanging lifelessly under a tree by a Suicide Rope, their eyes wide open in death.
Just when Sang Que was at a loss, not knowing what to do, the Five Ghosts she sent to deliver the letter returned.
Yao Zhen indicated in the letter that Bright Moon Mountain was only slightly impacted by Qinzhou, with minor damages they could handle.
Yao Zhen also reminded Sang Que in the letter, saying she felt the situation in Qinzhou was complex and advised Sang Que not to advance recklessly.
Seeing that Bright Moon Mountain was fine, Sang Que looked at her Five Ghosts, suddenly wondering if she could use the Ghost Flower Carriage to travel.
Previously, the Ghost Flower Carriage could only be used at night, but the surrounding Evil Mist now made it an ideal environment for evil spirits and Evil Ghosts.
Upon trying, it truly worked, and with the Red Umbrella Ghost leading the way, the carriage wouldn’t get lost in the Evil Mist.
Sitting inside the flower sedan, Sang Que used Dongyang County as a reference point to determine the direction of the Jingzhou reinforcements, crossing mountains and ridges.
The entire wilderness was utterly silent, only inhabited by the omnipresent fog and the occasional sight of corpses lying by the roadside in various ghastly states.
Every village and town Sang Que passed showed no signs of living people, not even the crowing of roosters or the barking of dogs could be heard.
After rushing for half a day, Sang Que felt that the closer she got to the southwest, the thicker the Evil Mist became, even giving off a feeling of turning into a Ghost Realm. The center of the Ghost Realm might be the source of the Qinzhou upheaval.
With a slight sense of unease, Sang Que slowed down a bit, cautiously testing the boundaries of the Ghost Realm, to avoid rashly getting trapped inside and being unable to escape.
...
At that time, thirty miles outside of Jianshui City, central Qinzhou.
Qi Feng and Deng Shi, two fourth-layer Yin Walkers, led the remaining fifty soldiers across a bizarre chaotic burial mound.
Both were subordinates of Qiu Wanjun, originally working for the Evil Suppression Bureau in Jingzhou. They were sent to Qinzhou this time, hoping to make a name for themselves and secure a position for retirement.
A strange rain the night before caused them to lose their bearings in the Evil Mist, unable to find Qiu Wanjun or the Jingzhou army, inadvertently stumbling into this chaotic burial mound.
The mist was dense, the sky overcast, wild grass swayed frantically in the wind, and in the peripheral vision, it seemed as if arms emerged from the ground, eager to seize passing people as scapegoats.
Surrounding graves were haphazardly scattered, some were mere shallow pits with bodies half-exposed, maggots wriggling in decaying flesh, emitting a suffocating stench.
Old white banners fluttered in the wind, and coffins lay scattered haphazardly, their lids half open.
"Help — save me —"
Desperate cries came from inside the coffins, accompanied by the sound of nails scraping the coffin lid, frightening Qi Feng and Deng Shi’s soldiers into not daring to approach.
They originally had a hundred men, now reduced to half because those coffins devoured people, unexpectedly grabbing passers-by inside.
Qi Feng and Deng Shi once tried to save them, but they both were almost pulled into the coffins themselves. After that, they could only advise others to stay away.
The group had been walking all night but still couldn’t find a way out of the chaotic burial mound, continuously circling the area, with no sign of dawn, and their talismans and exorcism items were long exhausted.
Now, the only ones capable of contending with the ghosts were the two Yin Walkers, Qi Feng and Deng Shi.
However, their method of dealing with Evil Ghosts was ’treating them with courtesy,’ utilizing ghostly power required paying a double price, and they wouldn’t make a move unless absolutely necessary.
"I still have the last half of an Exorcism Red Candle, whether we can get out depends on this time."
The eerie atmosphere around them intensified, and Qi Feng pulled out the Exorcism Red Candle he used for life-saving, gritting his teeth to light it.
The candle flame flared, the candle rapidly burned down, Qi Feng led the way, nervously holding up the candle to scrutinize the surroundings, and the Evil Mist was forced apart by the candle’s light, revealing a previously unseen fork in the road.
"This way!"
Qi Feng’s eyes lit up, quickly leading others down the path, but before everyone could follow, the candlelight suddenly extinguished, and everyone turned abruptly to look behind; the mist enveloped them, and those who hadn’t caught up never emerged again.
Qi Feng and Deng Shi exchanged a glance, the two had no choice but to continue moving forward.
Walking a short distance in the dark forest, suddenly, a melody of operatic singing drifted through, setting off alarm bells in everyone’s hearts.
In the depths of the forest, a dim red glow appeared from the mist; a dilapidated opera stage stood solitary, its music echoing. One after another, paperman martial artists wielding large knives stiffly walked onto the stage, their movements exaggerated, seemingly enacting some sort of murderous pursuit.
Everyone trembled, instinctively retreating, and in a sudden flicker of the scene, except for the two Yin Walkers, Qi Feng and Deng Shi, everyone else found themselves on the stage, paralyzed and powerless to resist, watching as the martial papermen’s large knives came down on their necks.
Blood sprayed, heads rolled across the ground, staining the gray mist a deeper crimson.
