CG - Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Changgu Amusement Park was a project Qianwei Group had invested in ten years ago. Its performance had been steadily declining, and after an accident was reported late last year, three more had occurred this year. For an amusement park, safety incidents were a fatal blow. Since Wei Jinzhi hadn't been busy lately, she took the time to come and inspect it. A moment ago, while walking with the park's manager, she had spotted what looked like an argument from afar, over by the haunted house. Who would have thought that as she drew closer, she would hear a familiar voice.

She asked Wu Gu, "What's wrong?"

Wu Gu suddenly felt as if her backup had arrived. She complained, "I waited in line all the way to the entrance, but he won't let me in."

The park manager rushed over, pulled the staff member in front of the big boss, and demanded, "Why aren't you letting the guest inside?"

The staff member was tall and thin with a hunched back, and his baggy, light-blue T-shirt seemed to hang empty on his frame. He lowered his head and said, "She doesn't meet the entry requirements."

Wu Gu challenged him, "Which requirement don't I meet? You tell me. If you can name it, I won't go in."

Pestered into annoyance, the staff member blurted out, "You have a heart condition. You can't go in."

"I think you're the one with a problem."

Wei Jinzhi knew Wu Gu wouldn't be so obstinate without reason, and the employee was indeed the one who seemed to be making trouble. She asked Wu Gu, "You want to go in?"

Wu Gu nodded. "Mhm."

"When you said you had business to attend to, did you mean going into this haunted house?"

Wu Gu thought for a moment. "I guess you could say that."

"Is it dangerous?"

Wu Gu considered it again before giving an ambiguous answer. "I'll only know once I'm inside."

"Do you have to go in?"

"Mhm."

Once she had confirmed Wu Gu's objective, Wei Jinzhi said to Wu Yong, "Clear the attraction."

The haunted house employee tried to stop them, but the park manager ignored him completely, instead calling for other staff to hurry inside and clear it out. Seeing that nearly everyone had been evacuated, the employee's eyes reddened with panic. He suddenly charged toward Wu Gu, but Wu Yong had him pinned to the ground before he could take more than two steps.

Wu Gu opened her mouth, about to say that such a big fuss wasn't necessary, but on second thought, it was probably for the best that ordinary people stayed out of this bizarre haunted house. She closed her mouth and stood beside Wei Jinzhi, looking uncharacteristically docile. Wei Jinzhi smoothed her hair. "Don't be so impulsive next time. What would you do if you got hurt?"

Wu Gu blushed. "My fighting skills are pretty good. Ever since I was little, my master's training standards were psychopathically strict."

Wei Jinzhi paused, her heart aching for the girl's difficult childhood, yet she also felt her master's strictness had been for the best. "That's good, then. The most important thing is being able to protect yourself."

Once the haunted house was cleared, Wu Gu adjusted her backpack and made to enter, but Wei Jinzhi began to follow, step for step. Wu Gu stopped. "I can go in by myself."

"No," Wei Jinzhi replied. "I'd be worried."

"No way. If you come in, I'll be the one who's worried."

Wu Gu's expression was firm and resolute. Wei Jinzhi gave a faint smile and asked, "Did you bring any talismans? The kind with some stopping power." When Wu Gu nodded, she continued, "Give me a few. I'll go in with Wu Yong to keep you company. If the situation turns bad, we'll retreat immediately. We won't be a distraction."

Wei Jinzhi seemed determined. Wu Gu reasoned that if she insisted on coming, she could just as easily wait for Wu Gu to enter and then follow secretly. It was safer to keep her in sight. She pulled out six exorcism talismans, giving two to Wei Jinzhi and four to Wu Yong. "You have fast reflexes," she told him. "If you notice anything wrong, protect Sister Wei and get her out first."

Wu Yong looked slightly surprised but nodded solemnly. "Once we're inside, I'll follow your orders."

The park manager understood the situation here better than Wei Jinzhi. In fact, the few incidents in the past six months weren't as straightforward as they appeared on the surface. He had reported his concerns to his superiors several times, but management clearly didn't believe in supernatural phenomena. Later, when the Group sent another team to investigate, he simply buried that aspect of the problem.

Now, the sight of the paper talismans made his hair stand on end. He hesitated, wondering if he should accompany the big boss inside. Wei Jinzhi read his thoughts and turned to him. "You should stay out here." She pointed to the restrained employee. "Keep an eye on him." The manager let out a breath of relief and nodded eagerly.

The interior of the haunted house was spacious, divided into four sections themed after different horror movies. Each theme had five or six small, winding rooms, but the décor was largely the same as any other haunted house on the market. Wu Gu didn't use ox tears on Wei Jinzhi, worried that she would be frightened if there really were ghosts to see. Yet after they passed through the first themed section, everything was normal—not a single ghostly shadow in sight. The second section was the same.

Just as they entered the third section, the lights in the haunted house suddenly died, plunging them into total darkness. All three of them heard footsteps approaching, followed by a sharp smack. A beam of white light cut through the blackness—Wu Yong had switched on his tactical flashlight. In its glare, a man lay limp on the floor with a paper talisman stuck to his forehead. Behind him stood Wu Gu, her hand clamped around something unseen.

She might not have been able to see a person in the dark, but that didn't stop her from sensing the ghost qi. Her hearing was sharp; she had followed the sound of the footsteps and slapped a talisman forward, forcing the malevolent ghost from the man's body. With her spiritual sight, she had caught it by the neck the instant it was expelled. She glanced at the ghost in her grasp. It had a conscious soul, which was different from Lu He's case.

Shielded behind Wu Yong, Wei Jinzhi couldn't get closer. "Wu Gu, are you all right?" she asked anxiously.

"I'm fine," Wu Gu replied, looking back. "Sister Wei, you should head outside first."

"I'll stay a bit longer. If it gets dangerous, I'll leave right away."

Wu Yong asked, "Didn't we clear this place? How is there still someone here?"

"He's probably not an official employee," Wu Gu explained. "He was possessed by a ghost and must have hidden during the evacuation." She added, "Sister Wei, I need to question this ghost. Please don't be afraid." Even in this eerie and perilous environment, Wei Jinzhi found herself smiling at Wu Gu's concern.

Wu Gu tightened her grip, channeling her pure Yang qi to pressure the ghost. "Is there a female ghost here named Chang Yiqing?" she demanded.

The ghost's face twisted viciously, but it couldn't break free. "I'm not sure," it rasped, "but I've heard the name."

"How long have you possessed this man? And how many other ghosts are possessing people in here?"

"Let go a little! You're crushing me!"

"You're already dead," Wu Gu retorted. "Are you going to talk? If you don't, I can dissipate you with a flick of my fingers." As she spoke, she channeled a bit more spiritual energy into her grip.

"I'll talk! I'll talk! I'll tell you everything!"

Holding it was getting tiring. Wu Gu pulled out a paralysis talisman and slapped it onto the ghost. Spotting a prop chair in the corner, she dragged it over, sat down, and crossed her arms. She jutted out her chin, her tone menacing. "Talk. Now."

From the exchange, Wei Jinzhi had pieced together the situation. It was the first time she had ever seen this imperious side of Wu Gu, and she found it utterly fascinating. She even made a request. "Wu Gu, is it possible for me to hear it speak, too?"

Wu Gu turned to her, her expression instantly softening back to its usual docility. She walked over and, opting against ox tears, handed Wei Jinzhi two talismans. "These will temporarily grant you spiritual sight. The effect isn't long. If you get scared, take them off immediately. Don't frighten yourself."

The malevolent ghost, seeing the three of them chatting, asked impatiently, "Are you done? Can I talk now?"

By then, Wei Jinzhi had applied the talisman. She could now see the motionless ghost. It wasn't particularly remarkable, just a figure with bluish-black skin.

When the ghost saw her looking, its eyes lit up. "I was so focused on fighting the little Tianshi that I didn't even notice a great treasure like you. This is the first time I've seen a living person with Yin Qi heavier than mine. If I hadn't looked closely, I would've thought you were one of my kind."

It was too dark, with only a single flashlight beam cutting through the gloom. Wei Jinzhi's Yin Qi blended with the shadows, and being inexperienced, she couldn't detect it even with her temporary spiritual sight. She looked down at herself, then back up in confusion. The ghost was still staring at her with excitement, its expression greedy. "What a nourishing meal you'd be."

Wu Gu's eyes went cold. She flicked an exorcism talisman, and the ghost's spiritual form wavered in pain. It immediately begged for mercy. "Spare me, little Tianshi! I have a big mouth, a big mouth!"

Wu Gu raised her hand again, and the talisman burned to ash. She walked back to her chair and sat. "Talk. Now."

"I'm new here. I've only been possessing this guy for two days, so I haven't consumed much of his vital essence. There are three others like me. You know, not just anyone can be possessed." It said this with a hint of pride, but immediately shrank back under Wu Gu's glare and continued. "I was recruited by that man outside. He said he could provide me with a regular supply of hosts, on the condition that I work here and help him scare the customers. He also wanted us to try our best to scare people's souls right out of their bodies. I figured it was a good deal—I wouldn't have to hide all the time, and I'd have a constant supply of vital essence to feed on."

When a person is subjected to extreme fright, their soul becomes unstable and can easily be jolted from their body, but only for an instant—so brief it's as if it never happened. Wu Gu frowned. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know. When people suddenly came in to clear the place, they wanted me to hide with them, but I wanted to see what was happening, so I came back."

Wu Gu sneered. "More like you had ulterior motives and wanted to take advantage of the chaos." This ghost clearly had a scheming mind.

"Of course not!"

"What else haven't you told me about scaring out living souls?"

"Nothing else. I just heard them bragging once that someone was scared witless."

"Devouring living souls?" Wu Gu thought. That seemed the most likely explanation. Humans possess three hun and seven po souls. By snatching a fragment the moment it was dislodged, the culprit could avoid detection by other Celestial Masters and evade the Underworld's notice. This was a long-term plan. A sense of dread washed over her.

The ghost was still talking. "How could that be? No one died. Weren't we just hired to gain a competitive edge in the market?"

Seeing its clueless expression and the dense Yin Qi surrounding it, Wu Gu narrowed her eyes, a theory forming in her mind. "I think you were tricked. You're being raised like livestock. Once you're a bit more powerful, you'll probably just become food for whoever is behind this."

Her words left the ghost utterly speechless.

Simply put, it was being fattened for the slaughter. Wei Jinzhi found this so amusing that she let out a laugh.

Seeing Wei Jinzhi's bright smile in the beam of light, Wu Gu's voice softened with sincerity. "Sister Wei, you should go outside now. I can't help but worry with you in here."

Wei Jinzhi knew she couldn't be of any help. Staying would only get in the way, and the single flashlight beam was struggling to illuminate all three of them. "Alright," she said. "I'll go. Be careful." She took the flashlight from Wu Yong and walked over. "Here, you take this."

Just as Wu Gu took the flashlight, disaster struck with a speed and ferocity she hadn't anticipated. A thick, acrid wave of baleful qi washed over them. Wu Gu threw herself in front of Wei Jinzhi while simultaneously casting out her Soul-Piercing Bell. A sizzle, like flesh searing on a hot pan, was followed by a low, pained roar. With no time to think, she shoved Wei Jinzhi toward Wu Yong. "Get Sister Wei out of here! Now!"

In the pale beam of the flashlight, a zombie with a bluish-black face and protruding fangs stood frozen, a red cord wrapped around its neck. Wu Gu held the other end of the cord, the zombie's towering frame making her look all the more slender.

Wei Jinzhi saw the creature's ferocious movements and watched Wu Gu struggle to keep her footing. Her heart hammered against her ribs. She stopped Wu Yong from leaving and cried out, "Wu Gu, it's too dangerous! Come out with us!"

"Sister Wei, trust me! I'm very capable!" The words had barely left her mouth when the zombie broke free from the Soul-Piercing Bell's restraint and lunged for Wei Jinzhi. In truth, Wei Jinzhi had been its target from the start; Wu Gu had just been there to intercept it. She never should have let her come in. To any ghost or monster, Wei Jinzhi was the finest of delicacies.

Wu Gu flung two exorcism talismans and recalled the Soul-Piercing Bell, directing it toward the zombie's throat. The creature turned and blocked the attack with its bare hands, but the bell still managed to slice its flesh open. Its attention now fully diverted, the zombie roared and charged at her. The entire exchange took place in the blink of an eye. As she used the Soul-Piercing Bell to ensnare the zombie, she shrugged off her backpack and tossed it to Wu Yong without taking her eyes off her opponent.

"You said you'd follow my orders in here," she said. "Get Sister Wei out now. The bag is full of exorcism talismans. If you sense danger—I don't care if it's from a human or a ghost—start throwing them. Protect Sister Wei at all costs."

She was so insistent because, in her rush to shield Wei Jinzhi, the zombie had scratched her shoulder. That was why she had stumbled earlier. She was terrified that Wei Jinzhi's dense Yin Qi would attract other entities, and she feared she wouldn't have the strength to fight and protect her at the same time.

"Alright." Wu Yong's biceps bulged. Wei Jinzhi was no match for his full strength; he had her restrained and was hauling her toward the exit in moments. She knew it was too dangerous to linger and she wasn't one to ignore priorities, but her only thought was of getting Wu Gu out of there with her.

Once Wei Jinzhi was gone, Wu Gu breathed a sigh of relief. As she fought the zombie, she estimated it had at least several hundred years of cultivation under its belt. Its power was considerable. She threw several more talismans, ripping its flesh to shreds. Gripping her Soul-Piercing Bell, she declared, "You actually dared to scratch me? I, Wu Gu, have killed at least ten zombies of your caliber in my lifetime. Today, you'll be the next one." With that, the Soul-Piercing Bell shot forward, ringing loudly.

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