Chapter 101: Chapter 95: Yingjiang: So What Did You Find? Oil!
The campus had been abandoned for a long time, and with no one to manage it, it had become a haven for the wild.
Wild grass grew waist-high everywhere, and under the moonlight, crisp insect chirps could be heard from time to time.
At first, Ning An and his two companions didn’t find anything unusual in the first two teaching buildings.
The third teaching building was located at the back of the village; not far away was the mountain, and from a distance, Ning An sensed something was amiss.
It was midsummer, and even at night, there should be some warmth, but outside this dormitory building, it was chillingly cold.
Even though they purposely wore an extra layer, all three of them had goosebumps, and even their once-bright flashlight had dimmed.
Without waiting for Lin Nanbei and Li Jingye to have other thoughts, Ning An decisively headed upstairs first.
However.
If nothing unexpected happened, then surprise would ensue.
This building appeared to be three stories high, but upon entering, they only ascended the stairs twice before reaching the top.
Lin Nanbei, unwilling to accept defeat, tried various methods but couldn’t find the third floor.
"Daoist Ning, are our eyes playing tricks on us? Or has the third floor been modified to be a top floor, so there’s no third floor?"
"And the Pen Immortal we invited just happened to be mistaken, thinking it was on the third floor, so it gave us the hint of the third floor?"
Seeing the uneasy Lin Nanbei, Ning An took out the Thunder Strike Token from his chest and smiled lightly:
"Five Thunder Generals, Fire Train General, Sky-Soaring and Earth-Sinking, Driving Thunder and Chasing Clouds..."
In an instant, a bolt of lightning flashed.
At the same time, at the end of the second-floor staircase, it seemed like a bubble burst, and through the watery ripples, a staircase leading to the third floor was revealed.
Both Lin Nanbei and Li Jingye took a step back, their eyes filled with indescribable shock.
Lin Nanbei then looked charmingly at the Thunder Strike Token: "Daoist Ning, is this thing of yours advanced technology or an undisclosed Daoist Family secret?"
Li Jingye also looked on with envy.
Then, as if thinking of something, he took out his phone from his pocket and aimed the camera at me:
"Daoist Master, do it again, I’ll post it online and you’ll definitely go viral!"
Ning An gently pushed his phone back: "Be good, don’t force me to give you a taste too."
This dormitory building was rather peculiar; the stairs to the third floor were narrower than those of the first and second floors, under the dim moonlight, they had to rely on intuition.
Ghosts may not have physical bodies, but they have brains. They deliberately set up a deceitful illusion and used the narrowness of the third floor to combine with the roof, so most people who come here would just grumble without suspecting anything.
At the top of the staircase on the third floor, an iron door blocked the way, tightly entangled with chains, interlocked like teeth, impossible to unravel.
Without hesitation, Ning An once again took out the Thunder Strike Token, and after the lightning, the chain snapped accordingly.
The flashlight revealed thick dust on the ground, and two lines of footprints extended into the distance.
Li Jingye also saw this and cursed:
"Don’t let me find out which bastard released the ghost, or I’ll kill him!"
Lin Nanbei stroked his chin, speaking slowly: "I looked over everyone when the director gathered the staff, and everyone was there, no one was missing."
"It couldn’t have been the villagers, right?"
Ning An looked deeply at Lin Nanbei.
Worthy of being mixed in the metaphysics circle, certainly a capable guy.
Following the footprints, the three arrived in front of a classroom, exchanged glances, and Li Jingye went forward and kicked the door.
The door was easily kicked open, and as the flashlight swept across, the scene inside the classroom tightened their hearts.
Inside, instead of being filled with the expected dust, it was relatively neat and clean.
All the desks were arranged orderly, with two beds laid on top, the podium’s table served as a dining table with several leftover fast-food boxes and ash residue on it.
"This is bad."
This meant that before the film crew entered this school, someone had been living here for quite a while.
Ning An and his two companions quickly turned the place inside out, even checking around the stove, yet didn’t find any trace of ghosts.
"Could it have jumped out the window?"
Li Jingye pulled open the window leading outside, and outside was an intact security window without any signs of tampering.
Ning An glanced around and suddenly noticed something odd about the position of the blackboard.
In a normal classroom, the blackboard is usually centrally and prominently placed on the wall.
But in this classroom, the blackboard was extremely low, almost reaching the ground.
Quickly moving forward, Ning An tapped the blackboard lightly twice.
Indeed.
It was not the solid feel of bone tapping stone, but a crisply hollow sound.
Lin Nanbei also came forward, gave a helping hand, and alongside Ning An took down the blackboard. Instantly, a dark hole appeared before them.
Lin Nanbei flashed his flashlight inside, but could only see about two meters down, and then two ropes hanging vertically, with the cave bending; without something reflective like a mirror, the bottom was invisible.
With ghosts ahead, and the night deep, such a sudden, eerie black hole would make anyone’s skin crawl.
Even the usually bold Li Jingye hesitated as he glanced down, ready to retreat.
"How about we go back? Anyway, the director has saved a lot of money over the years, this film isn’t that crucial."
"You two wait here, let me go down first and check it out."
Taking out a Golden Light Talisman painted by a junior sister with ambitious dreams, Ning An twisted his fingers, and it ignited without wind. He casually tossed it down.
Before long, the entire outside of the cave was brightly illuminated.
Holding the Seven-Star Copper Coin Sword tightly in one hand, the Five Ghosts Transport Skill was driven to its peak, senses fully alert to avoid being ambushed by evil spirits.
The Golden Light Talisman could dispel darkness but didn’t have the ability to exorcise ghosts.
When the rope was nearing the bottom, Ning An jumped down, a trick to hopefully disrupt any potential attackers.
Just as Ning An expected, jumping down he instantly felt contact with a humanoid creature, followed by a ghostly scream as they landed squarely on his foot.
Not daring to hesitate, Ning An immediately delivered a powerful punch, preparing a second strike, but the person slipped and quickly vanished down a path.
Hearing the commotion inside the cave, Li Jingye called anxiously from above:
"Master, what’s happening?"
Ning An was too occupied to respond, immediately igniting a Golden Imperial City talisman, and the surrounding environment instantly came into view.
All around, the walls were pitted, just like the traces left after rural dirt is excavated.
"A thief tunnel."
Ning An frowned, his heart tightening.
And above, Li Jingye and Lin Nanbei, seeing Ning An’s delayed response, gritted their teeth and slid down the rope.
Once they surveyed the surroundings, both instantly realized this was not a place to mess around with.
"Master, should we go back?"
"Yeah, I’ve got an eighty-year-old mother and a three-year-old child. Let’s retreat tactically for now."
