Chapter 596: Chapter 506: Sea Girl_3
This time, in another small room, everyone found another painting hanging on the wall, with traces of an offering ceremony laid out in front of it, though the ceremony had taken place a very long time ago.
On this painting, Yang Xiao unexpectedly discovered that the male host had changed, but the woman was still the same one from the previous painting.
The other companions also reacted strongly, suggesting that they too had entered various rooms to inspect, and all had a vivid memory of the woman in the paintings.
Besides, there was something off about the man in this painting as well: his expression was just as gloomy and dull as a corpse’s, yet his attire was clearly not from this era. He was dressed in casual sportswear, with a strong build and a pair of black sneakers on his feet.
The moment they saw the sneakers, a shiver ran down everyone’s spine, for they had just seen the same shoes next door.
The man in the painting was the corpse in the next room, yet the painting itself was yellowed with age, obviously not something completed in the last few decades.
At this point, there was no time for further thought; the painting definitely had a problem, and everyone painted on it had died, while the only constant—the woman—was very likely the ghost!
"Whoosh—"
"Whoosh whoosh—"
Suddenly, the sound of crashing waves came from outside the door, with each wave overpowering the last, growing nearer and nearer. At the same time, it brought with it the salty, damp scent of the sea breeze.
As everyone rushed out, they were shocked by the sight: the entrance was already half submerged in seawater, waves were flooding in backward, the milky froth of the waves stark against the pitch-black sea; looking further, a grey fog had once again risen within the village.
The fog arrived alongside the sea, swiftly engulfing much of the village, which reminded Yang Xiao of the scene he had witnessed when he first came to this world: not long after the village had been shrouded in fog, screams had been heard.
Wave after wave crashed in, and the seawater spread to everyone’s feet; that was when Yang Xiao realized the dampness on the ground earlier wasn’t from rain, but erosion by the seawater.
Soon enough, the thick fog, as if harnessed by some force, began to stir inexplicably, and visibility greatly decreased; Yang Xiao heard again the sound of waves, different from the sea’s.
"Whoosh—"
"Whoosh—"
The sound was flat and steady, carrying an oppressive aura that drew steadily closer. A few seconds later, Yang Xiao came to the realization; it was the sound of someone wading through the water.
Something was wading in the water behind the fog, step by step approaching them.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to run; it was that the vicinity had already been enveloped by fog and sea water. The courtyard where they currently found respite was the only high ground, and they were utterly unable to determine the ghost’s location—the splashing sound seemed to come from all around them.
"There it is!"
Someone exclaimed, and the group saw a bloated silhouette faintly emerge behind the fog to their left. Each swinging movement of the silhouette was accompanied by a splashing sound as it took a step.
The girl with number 24 took a pair of rusty, old-fashioned handcuffs out of her embrace and shouted loudly, "Nobody hold back now, attack together once the ghost appears!"
As the ghost was about to emerge from the fog, Yang Xiao summoned the Ghost Lantern; its green glow dispersed the fog around the ghost, enabling everyone to see clearly. This ghost was bloated and rotting all over, its head swollen, eyes bulging out of the sockets, tongue lolling grotesquely. It had the gruesome aspect of a giant, each arm tied to a dirty cloth bag. It wore almost no clothing, just draped in a fishing net stained with blood.
"It’s the Sea Girl!" exclaimed the old man with number 189.
"Attack!" No. 24 yelled, taking the initiative. As she threw the handcuffs, the object moved as if alive, curving accurately and fitting around both ankles of the rotting ghost, despite the cuffs seeming too small to do so. Yet, they mysteriously adapted to the size and clamped on without a gap.
Restricted by the handcuffs, the rotting ghost took slower, shorter steps, but stubbornly kept moving forward towards the group, the fat, rotten legs causing the handcuffs’ chain to creak with each pull.
As Yang Xiao infused spiritual power into the Ghost Lantern, the surreal light illuminated the ghost’s peeling skin, emitting a sizzling sound as if two forces were struggling and clashing.
The man with number 9, who had previously planned to ambush Yang Xiao and another, also made his move. His magic artifact was a smiling, topple-proof doll made entirely of ancient jade. Through the jade skin a fine web of blood stains could be seen. The man aimed the doll’s smiling face at the rotting ghost, and as he gently shook it in his hand, an astonishing occurrence unfolded: the body of the rotting ghost wading through the water started to sway uncontrollably from side to side, with increasing frequency.
"No, it’s not enough!" No. 9 shouted. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead as maintaining the topple-proof doll in his palm was clearly not as easy as it seemed; the cost was a significant loss of spiritual power to disrupt the ghost.
Girl number 127 with the Taoist charm bit her lip, preparing to offer her magic artifact again, but was stopped by Yang Xiao’s empty right hand. She had intended to take action before, but Yang Xiao had stopped her. He swiftly extracted the Human Bone Staff from his waist, gathering energy slowly, and timed his strike for the moment the rotting ghost’s body swayed to the farthest right extent. He lashed out, striking the ghost’s left ankle that was raised above the water.
The timing was perfect, causing the rotting ghost to lose its balance and fall into the water in a most ungainly manner.
"We did it!"
No. 24’s face lit up with joy, but before she could plan her next move, she heard a series of running steps behind her. Turning her head, she saw that no. 189, the old man who had yet to engage, had already run more than ten meters away.
With the ghost overthrown by their joint efforts, the strange forces around them were also affected. Apart from the dark seawater still stretching out in front of them, the sea behind them had receded, vanishing without a trace, leaving only muddy ground behind.
Without needing a reminder from anyone else, those who discovered an escape route turned and fled, "Don’t run together, split up! Run separately!" No. 24 shouted as she plunged into a narrow alley.
