Chapter 526: The Women that Collectively Committed Suicide


    I was discouraged and dispirited, but I wanted to save Lu Ming. I took a short moment to rest then took out the precious medium-level spirit talismans Chuyi had given meand adheredthem on the teapot. Then, I just sat and watched.


    If this couldnt do anything to the ghost, I would have to callSenior Shufor help


    Around one minuteter, the quiet house made a crackling noise,followed by loud sounds of people fighting. An ufortable feeling rose in my heart. Subconsciously, I watched the teapot.To my surprise, it was shaking.


    Itsworking!


    The teapot started to spin on the ground, movingfaster and faster. It bouncedup and down. Every time the teapot bounced up,thegold light radiatingfrom the medium-level spirit talismans subsided a bit. I was afraid that the talismans couldnt endure it until Lu Ming returned, so Iheldthe Sirius Whip in my handand focused onthe teapot.


    I would strike as soon as the power of the talismanswas gone.


    Fortunately, after bouncing for a while, the teapotndedandstopped moving. Rightafter that, the scenerevertedback to the vige. Lu Ming rushed out with a pale face. When he saw me, he screamed, Master Zhang, where the heck is this ce? Icouldn''tget out of it!


    He choked with sobs, but I didntfeel like making fun of him. We had both underestimated the ghost.


    Afterward, we didnt dare to lingerand returnedto the hostel. Lu Ming was scaredofthe ghost. He didnt want to stay in his room aloneand insistedthat we stay together.


    After hecalmed down, I asked,What did you see in there?


    Lu Mings face turned aswhiteas a sheet of paper. His handsshook as he held acup of water.


    Dont worry. Were all right now, arent we? I tried tofort him.


    He looked a little better after that.


    I saw ghosts, he said gingerly. Right whenIasked if you wantedtowatchthe Dai people dance and sing,everything in front of me changed. Those beautiful women became ghosts with malicious faces. Theyughed and encircled me. They opened their horrible mouths as though they wanted to eat me whole


    Lu Mingshivered. Master Zhang,why dont we goback now? Ill give you yourmission. I would rathersleepduring theday thanseethose female ghosts again!


    You said that a horde of female ghosts encircled you? It was beyond my imagination.


    I hadonlyseenthe ghost of the oldman fornow. Where did those female ghostse from? Moreover, howdidLu Ming escape from those ghosts?


    Yeah, theywerefemale ghosts! Lu Ming confirmed. Then, he described what he sawin detail.


    The female ghosts surrounded him and scared him, but they didnt do anything to him. It was as if they were afraid of something. Afterward, Lu Ming heard a voice in the back of his head. He followed that voice and left the vige.However, his escapedidnt gosmoothly. There were many timeswherethe voice in his head disappeared.When it happened, thehorde of female ghosts swarmed him again.


    He was lucky that the voice returned on time. In the end,the ghosts couldnt do anything to him.


    Lu Ming mocked himself. Ialmost wet myself. Master Zhang, did you know what happened back there?


    I contemted as I was somewhat stunned. I reviewed what Isawin the dreamand then, I had an idea that I could hardly believe.I took out the teapot to observe it. There were a fewthincracks at the spout.


    Will youe with me to that fortified vige one more time? I looked at Lu Ming.


    I was so excited when I thought I had gotten the key clue to thiscase.


    Lu Ming shivered.What? Are we going there now? I haventcalmed downmyself yet.


    Then you should rest in the hotel. You cant help mein this state, I said.


    Every art has itsrules, and onecouldnt ask an ordinary man to take risks with an otherworldly merchant. To assure himintostaying in the hotel, I drew a few talismans and stuck them at the entrance to his room. I even used cinnabar to draw the Heavenly Dipper formationaroundthe bed.


    After everything was done, I smiled at Lu Ming. The Heavenly Dipper formation is the strongest formation I know. Im sure it can protect you well! Even if something foul enters this room, itwont be able totouch you.


    How do you knowthatthe formationwill work? Lu Mingfelt better,but he couldnt ease his mind yet.


    I smiled. Because I used my spirit power to draw this formation. As long as Im alive, nothing can break that formation.


    Thank you! Lu Ming felt touched. Hiseyesturned red.


    No need to thank me. When this is over, just remember to give me abig reward.


    Haha, itsno big deal!AsIcrossedthe door, Lu Ming suddenly called me. Master Zhang!


    Yeah?I turned, feeling skeptical.


    Lu Ming looked hesitantas if he was struggling hard inside. Perhaps he felt embarrassedthathewassafe in the hotel while Iwas abouttorisk my lifeout there. Before he could speak, I stopped him.Theres noneed to feel embarrassed. Youre not specialized in this business. Just wait here for me.


    I closed the door and headed to the vige. I wanted to knowwhat thosefemale ghostsdid toLu Ming back there.


    Menghai Township wasnt abigce.I soonreached the vige. I went to the ce where I had put the Yin and Yang Umbreand checked it.After confirming things, Iwentin.


    The ce wasso dark thatI had to use my shlight. I went around the vige. All the houses here were stilt houses.


    Except for the sizes, the stilt houses here looked almost the same. It was asif they were molded from the same model.


    My heart sankasI thought Iwastrapped in an illusion formation. However, after taking a closer look, I saw that those stilt houseshaddifferent levels of damage. The location of the spider webs varied, too. They shouldnt be part of an illusion.


    Although I didnt know what made the residents here build simr-looking houses, therewasone thing I could confirm: This entire vige was unupied. Ididnt find anylivingpeoplethere.


    Although the night was dark, as long as I opened my eyes wide,Icould see the darkmistemittedfrom theroofsof the houses. If itwere anormal day, I wouldnt hesitate to run away if I saw this. However, tonight, to confirm my assumption, I had to tryno matter thecost.


    When I went to thest stilt house, I climbed on the bamboo stairs to enter the house. The stairs were damaged so badly that Ibrokea few stepsas I walked on them. Ialmostfelloff the stairs.


    After entering the house, I found that thefloorunderneath my feet was both soft and crispy. It was asthoughitwas a mattress. Iloweredmy headandsaw thatthe ce was covered in a thickyer of tea leaves.I had read alot of books about tea in Lu Mings house. At first nce, I recognizedtheywere newandyoung tea leaves, which were also the best. In the market, this sort of tea had a surprisingly high price. However,theleaves wereair-dried. They would break into powder at eventhegentlest touch.


    I checked around. The room was arranged simply. There was a small bed, a chairwith a backrest, a vanity, and some simple tools for tea picking.


    Isawa few small wooden boxes on the vanity. They were cosmetic boxes that women used in ancienttimes.From this, I gathered that the owner of thisstilt housewasa woman. I carefully examined the house to see if I couldfindsomething useful. However, after a while, Ididnt learn anythingnew. I just gota lot of dust in my eyes andnose.


    It seemed thistripwasnthelpful.Feeling dispirited, I brushed the dust off my body.AsI was about to leave the house, I was startledto catchapair ofred eyes gazing at me!


    I pulledmyself togetherand carefully checked what it was.I sawa dried skeleton on the opposite wall. It was hung high so I didnt see it when I first entered the ce.


    I had seen a lot of skeletons andcorpses, but I had never seenanythinglikethis one.The body was awhiteskeleton, but the head was well-preserved.The eyeswere especially lifelike. They looked nodifferentfrom a living humans eyes.


    This skeleton had a womanshead. I guessed she was the owner of this stilt house. I bowed to the skeleton and went to check the other stilt houses.


    The situation in the second house was the sameasthe first house. The floor was covered with tea leaves, and the owner of the house was hung on the wall. Her body was a skeleton, but her head was well-preserved.


    A littleter after midnight, I had checked out every house in this vige. Every housewasthe same.


    I was as tired as a dead dogas Iyon the floor ofthesthouse. Ino longer caredwhy those female ghosts wanted to harm Lu Ming. I just wanted to know why they hadcollectivelmitted suicide!