Ghosts Are Coming

"Inviting the Ghost to Select the Play." Zhou Yang noted the matter in his mind. He had still wanted to ask Ding Ling something when he heard Li Yichun, walking ahead, suddenly say: "Hey, do you think we might run into ghosts when we go out to chop firewood this time?" This utterly bewildering question made the hearts of all three present tighten! Li Yichun looked at Gao Hongbo beside him, then at Ding Ling behind him, and laughed behind his hand: "Why are you folks so timid? I was just joking..." He hadn't finished speaking when Gao Hongbo cut him off with a rebuke: "I know you always speak without restraint, but even now you must keep a guard on your mouth! "Is this the time for such jests?! "Careful of the unclean—bah! "Bah! Bah!" Gao Hongbo spat several times vehemently! Ding Ling then said: "The troupe leader gave advance instructions: when chopping firewood, we should avoid places where the residents of Daliang Village often move about—any place they frequently visit, we must not go. "Follow the rules, and nothing will happen." Gao Hongbo nodded and echoed: "This rule concerns our lives! "Whoever does not take this rule seriously does not take Gao's own life seriously— "so don't blame Gao for being impolite to him!" As he spoke, he fixed a warning glare on Li Yichun. Li Yichun gave an embarrassed laugh and finally dared not say another word. Because of this interruption, the atmosphere among the three grew heavy. They were in a dark, deep forest, and suddenly felt something sneaky lurking in the dim corners, silently watching them. A chill rose unbidden, raising goosebumps on their skin. The three had no mind to speak; each found a spot nearby and busied themselves chopping and gathering firewood. Finish early, return to the opera troupe early. Ding Ling chopped firewood energetically, sweat dampening the hair by her cheeks. Yet she did not feel tired at all; in her heart she was chatting happily with Zhou Yang. "From now on, stay away from that Li Yichun," Zhou Yang advised her at this moment. "Such an unreliable person—you can't tell his measure at all; he acts on pure foolishness, and anyone who gets close to him will meet with misfortune. "If real disaster strikes, he will surely be like those drowning people, first pressing those swimming nearby underwater as a stepping stone." "Okay!" Ding Ling replied in a crisp voice. She also felt Li Yichun's earlier question was out of place, and felt a few points of wariness toward him. But she felt it without being able to explain why. It was Mr. Zhou who could explain clearly. "You are performing now in a place called Daliang Village; then where is your opera troupe from? "Do you know what region and what country Daliang Village and your hometowns belong to?" Zhou Yang asked Ding Ling the question he cared about most. Hearing this, Ding Ling hesitated: "The people in the opera troupe all come from different villages and towns; when not performing, they each return to their own villages—where exactly each of us lives, and in what direction, is something that must never be revealed to outsiders. "The situation now is that there are more and more ghosts and fewer and fewer people. "Many ghosts can also pass themselves off as humans. "If one's own location is exposed to the outside, gets into people's ears, and is spread around several times, then the ghosts will also know where we live—and then that entire village is finished." "Since that is the case, your troupe members are all in different villages; when going to other places to perform, how can Chang Dafeng gather you together?" Zhou Yang asked again. "Villages and towns where people live will not be known to outsiders. "But beyond these 'human lands,' there are 'barrier circles' that exist," Ding Ling replied. "Mr. Zhou, you don't even know these? "Mr. Zhou seems like someone who hasn't been out for a long time." Zhou Yang coughed a few times and said: "My current situation is very special; I cannot explain it clearly in a few words. "If it weren't so, I would not have met you inside your body. "Just take me for someone who hasn't been out for a long time. "What is a barrier circle?" "I can't explain exactly what a barrier circle is..." Ding Ling replied in a low voice. "I only know that inside a barrier circle, humans and ghosts are not distinguished—humans see ghosts as humans, ghosts see humans as ghosts; between them, there is always a layer of 'mist barrier.' "This layer of mist barrier covers a stretch of territory, and that territory is where the barrier circle is. "The people in the opera troupe gather every two or three days in a barrier circle called 'Yin Dou Town.' "The barrier circle is actually dangerous; some fierce ghosts can even spontaneously generate barrier circles, gathering people together to lure and kill them. But people need something to eat to survive, so many times they still venture into the barrier circle. "Even some homeless people settle down in the barrier circle and live as neighbors with ghosts." The situation inside this so-called 'barrier circle' was surprisingly similar to Zhou Yang's experience in Guancun. He still wanted to ask Ding Ling something when suddenly, not far away, Gao Hongbo lowered his voice and shouted sharply: "Ding Ling!" Zhou Yang and Ding Ling both looked toward Gao Hongbo. They saw Gao Hongbo, carrying a large bundle of firewood, stretch out his hand and point in a certain direction. Li Yichun stood beside him, face fearful, also looking toward that position. The two looked over together— In a jagged rocky slope where cedar trees stood straight and tall, a stone house stood alone. On the stone house hung a half-rotten firewood door; inside was pitch black, nothing visible. Some green moss climbed the surface of the stone walls, giving off an air of cold, deathly stillness. Seeing that stone house, Zhou Yang's heart gave a jolt! He naturally remembered the important rule Ding Ling's group followed when going out to chop firewood: they must not go to places where Daliang Village residents move about. Although the stone house before them now looked as if no one had lived there for a long time. But what if? Everyone realized this. Gao Hongbo pointed in the direction away from that stone house, gesturing for Ding Ling and Li Yichun to follow him and leave this place. The three picked up their tools, took hurried steps, and swiftly retreated from this hillside. Only when they could no longer see that rocky slope or that stone house in their sight did they stop, each catching their breath and adjusting their breathing. "That place, that place..." Li Yichun's face, powdered with face powder, was red from running hard; he looked around, instinctively feeling the cedar forest all around was exactly the same as the scene on the rocky slope. "That place—won't there be anything, right?" "Once we've walked out, there's nothing to worry about." Gao Hongbo looked at the firewood his companions were carrying, observed that the light in the forest was growing darker, and said, "The firewood should be enough, and it's not early anymore. Let's just go back." Even just seeing an ordinary stone house in the forest left everyone still shaken with fear. Like seeing a poisonous snake lying across the road in the dim night. It made their scalps go numb and their hair stand on end. Ding Ling nodded in agreement with Gao Hongbo's proposal. Gao Hongbo paused. Li Yichun should have been the first to voice agreement to this proposal. But now he got no response from Li Yichun, so he turned to look at Li Yichun standing a few steps away—and saw Li Yichun's face deathly pale, his eyes staring fixedly in a certain direction! Following his gaze in that direction— Ding Ling and Gao Hongbo's hearts ran cold! They saw that under a towering cedar forest there, a stone house stood silently. The half-rotten firewood door, the green moss climbing the stone wall—all were exactly the same as the stone house they had seen before! They had clearly run very far in the opposite direction from that stone house before, yet now they saw an identical stone house from a different position! Seeing that stone house, Gao Hongbo instinctively felt a chill run from his back straight to the crown of his head! "Don't panic. "At the critical moment, I will take control of your body and bring you out of here." At this instant, Zhou Yang felt Ding Ling's condition was somewhat strange; he spoke at the right moment, hoping to steady Ding Ling's mind. He had just learned 'Ghost Breath' in Guancun; now, with a slight movement of thought, he sensed that a wisp of 'ghostly breath' was actually drifting beneath Ding Ling's skin. At the critical moment, Ghost Breath came in handy. "Ghost! Ghosts are coming!" In the silent forest, Li Yichun, staring at the stone house, suddenly screamed! He screamed and, with a quick motion, grabbed Gao Hongbo, yanking him in front of himself as a shield— Li Yichun's face, smeared with cheap face powder, was now deathly white; his features, because he had witnessed some terrifying thing, were crowded together into a lump, and under the pink rouge, they looked extremely hideous! "Where's the ghost?!" "Where is the ghost?!" Gao Hongbo only gripped his large sickle tightly, his voice trembling, his eyes darting back and forth between the stone house and its surroundings, but he found nothing. He didn't see a single ghost shadow! "The one in red!" "The long-haired female ghost!" Li Yichun cowered behind Gao Hongbo, yet kept poking his head out to look. He kept looking toward the stone house, suddenly frowned, and said in a low voice: "How did it disappear..." "Did I see wrong?" Hearing this, Gao Hongbo flew into a rage; he twisted around, shook off Li Yichun's hand gripping his own, turned to glare furiously at him, and shouted sternly: "Did you see clearly or not?! "What kind of place is this, and you're shouting wildly! "If we really run into something, we'll all suffer!" "My fault, I saw wrong..." Li Yichun kept begging Gao Hongbo, "Big Brother Gao, this place is too eerie; we should leave quickly! "Let's leave together!" Gao Hongbo furrowed his brow. He knew deep down that now was not the time to argue right and wrong with Li Yichun. This place was indeed off; they really should leave quickly. He nodded, about to say something, when suddenly he sniffed hard: "What's that smell?" A wisp of sickly sweet, rotting stench drifted faintly into Gao Hongbo's nostrils. "What's that smell?" Gao Hongbo repeated the phrase, then suddenly turned around, sniffing continuously, staring blankly as he ran toward that stone house! This change happened so suddenly that Li Yichun was stunned! He stood stunned for a moment, then shivered, and turning around, bolted out of the forest at full speed! He didn't even think to shout to Ding Ling not far away! A sickly sweet, rotting stench, unknown where it came from, slipped quietly along the flowing darkness into Ding Ling's nostrils. Ding Ling's eyes glazed over as she looked at the stone house in the woods. Inside the open doorway of the stone house stood a woman wearing a colorful opera costume. The woman was made up as a flower-dan. 'Her' figure swayed, and her jeweled headpieces and tassels swayed along lightly, jingling. Ding Ling was spellbound by that flower-dan's figure. She unconsciously took steps, following that sickly sweet stench of death toward the stone house in the woods. She even disregarded the calls of Mr. Zhou in her heart: "Ding Ling!" "Ding Ling!" "Ding Ling!" After three calls, a cold, yin breath suddenly surged swiftly beneath Ding Ling's skin! She snapped back to her senses and saw a blurry human figure standing stiffly right before her! One after another, cold, yin breaths all had this blurry human figure as their source! Ding Ling had no time to react before she saw the blurry figure stretch out both arms and seize her two hands in one grasp— Bone-chilling cold began from where her hands touched the blurry figure, traveling all the way up her arms! "Waaaahhhh—" A piercing ghostly wail suddenly erupted from Ding Ling's arms! Black holes covered both her arms— One Ghost's Mouth after another howled incessantly!