Lao Chu was a suspicious person who didn't trust anyone, gave everyone a bad attitude, and spoke in a way that was as sharp as a knife.
Lao Gong, being naturally talkative, had been worn down to breaking point.
I thought Lao Gong was still angry, as he had returned to the night soil bucket without finishing his sentence.
The next second, Yang Guijin suddenly raised his hand and swung it down towards Lao Chu.
This slap came suddenly and left everyone caught off guard!
Lao Chu, however, reacted incredibly fast, seizing Yang Guijin's wrist in one swift move.
"Is that all you've got? You're not even tall enough to reach my waist…"
Yang Guijin suddenly opened his mouth, and with a flick, spat a glob of saliva directly onto the center of Lao Chu's forehead.
The sound of his words suddenly cut off!
Lao Gong's head reappeared above the night soil bucket.
Yang Guijin looked dumbfounded at Lao Chu, as if nothing had happened.
Lao Gong hummed a bawdy tune, his head tilted back like a victorious rooster.
"Master, one cannot enter here during the day, the heavy yang energy makes the path unseen. And one cannot walk ahead at night, as the corpses lie on the rock wall, attacking anyone who approaches."
"You thoughtless brat, if you want to go, go by yourself. Don't drag down Yang Guijin with you."
The first half of the sentence was Lao Gong explaining to me, while the second half was directed at Lao Chu.
Lao Gong lost the verbal duel, but he didn't lose in terms of physical combat.
Suddenly, it was Lao Chu who suffered the disadvantage, as saliva splattered on his face.
For a moment, I was unable to persuade either party.
Xie Na had to consider my feelings, and given the difference in status, she was relatively kind to Lao Chu.
As for me, due to the matters concerning the Luo family, and also because only Lao Chu could properly look after Yang Guijin, I also gave him some leeway.
Clearly, Lao Gong had no such concerns and wouldn't pamper him.
"Alright, Lao Gong, stop talking. Uncle Lao Chu, you also stop. After all, Lao Gong is a ghost, and the night soil bucket is his place of residence."
Mo Ying spoke softly, though she was biased towards Lao Gong, her words also pointed out his shortcomings, giving face to both sides.
"Look at what Miss Mo Ying said. One doesn't hit people on the face, and one doesn't expose someone's shortcomings when cursing," Lao Gong stretched his neck, speaking softly and faintly.
Lao Chu remained silent, silently wiping the saliva from his forehead, keeping his head low and refraining from any further actions.
Yang Guijin then grinned at Lao Gong.
I cast an extra glance at Lao Chu, feeling slightly more vigilant.
Looking up again, I gazed at the narrow and dark path in front of me, with even deeper darkness behind it.
However, on both sides of the passage, one could faintly see some symbols. Someone had tampered with things here.
Slightly frowning, I stepped forward and walked on.
Lao Gong seemed to want to call out to me, but then shut his mouth.
I'm not trying to leave here, but rather walking around the range of the symbols.
After walking about seven or eight meters, Mo Ying did not follow me, and neither did Lao Chu.
This mountain cave passage, leaning against the mountain wall, led to another obscure exit.
Ahead lay a steeper mountain wall, almost devoid of vines.
It was like a hole on the edge of a cliff and crag.
The moonlight illuminating the mountain wall revealed a dense array of coffins.
Some were pitch black, others deep yellow, with a few white coffins occasionally visible, mostly without red ones, propped up against the mountain wall by several protruding wooden beams.
This is what Mo Ying referred to as the hanging coffins!
The rumbling sound of water continued, at the end of the hanging coffin wall was a mountain wall continuously cascading with waterfalls, with several cave openings and hanging coffins at the same level, spewing streams of water like a torrent.
Some coffin lids were open, and one could not see what was inside.
For a moment, sweat gathered on my forehead in large beads.
Where is the path?
The exit was parallel to the mountain wall, with no platforms extending outwards at all. The vines below were fewer, and a thick layer of moss covered the surface.
Even without the moss, these vines could not serve as a path to go down the mountain.
Looking ahead, I felt like I had found the path.
The exit was on the side closest to the mountain wall, which appeared to be completely vertical. Carefully looking, there was a narrow path less than a foot wide, with wet and shiny black rocks. The narrow path went through the hanging coffins and formed an endless overlapping Z-shape on the mountain wall.
And... I also noticed something different.
The old clothing was severely weathered, and with their original white or black fur, they adhered to the mountain wall in an eerie manner.
They were all coffins, like geckos climbing the mountain wall!
Had they not slightly raised their heads to look at me, I wouldn't have noticed them!
During the day, you could fall to your death.
At night, you could be scared to death.
Lao Gong wasn't wrong...
Just that, he can only help us get here. The rest of the way, we have to rely on ourselves to make it to dawn.
I have some confidence in myself, but for Lao Chu, Mo Ying, my confidence isn't enough...
Mo Ying can't use Dīshù during the day, so she can't afford any mistakes...
If we set off now, relying on the previous move by Lao Gong where he possessed Yang Guijin, he can continue to possess him. In that case, Lao Chu would find it much easier to navigate here alone.
Mo Ying has Dīshù to protect her, and she wears talismans as well.
The problem has become a lot simpler.
It's just those coffins in front of us...
At this thought, a glimmer of ruthlessness flashed across my eyes.
Turning around, I returned to the group.
"The dawn will make things right, once the sun rises, they will all return."
Lao Gong was babbling incessantly.
"No good at all," I shook my head, deeply watching Lao Gong as I said, "Slipping and falling could lead to death."
"That's not slippery, then it's fine, right?" Lao Gong smiled sheepishly.
"We can't walk right now, the 100 corpses are digging out their hearts, it's hard to withstand...," Lao Gong's head was shaking like a rattle drum.
"We can only walk now." I took a deep breath, my gaze growing more intense: "Lao Gong, listen to me."
Lao Gong's head stopped shaking abruptly, and he stared at me in a daze.
Mo Ying was slightly unsettled, and Lao Chu finally lifted his head.
"You want to possess Yang Guijin, otherwise, he will definitely have an accident. The path on the mountain wall is less than a foot wide, how could he be so alert?"
"Lao Chu, do you have the willpower to walk that path? Well, you can go and check it out now, as long as you don't leave the cave mouth."
"I have no problem, as long as I can use Dīshù now, and even if you guys have problems, I can help as well," Mo Ying whispered.
Lao Chu didn't go forward but just nodded slightly, indicating that he had no problem.
"Four rules, clear mirror," I and Mo Ying extended our hands.
With Dīshù being used, Mo Ying couldn't manipulate the Four Rules Mirror. I had to use all means to clear the path in front of me.
Mo Ying handed me the Four Rules Mirror.
Lao Gong didn't express any other opinions.
I did not destroy the symbols on this passage. If I had, those coffins might have crawled beyond this range and climbed up the mountain, even approaching the Duoyue Taoist Monastery.
Even if Mo Ying had developed some enmity towards us for certain reasons, I couldn't sabotage them or leave them with hidden dangers.
Turning around, I walked back to the entrance, with Lao Chu leading Yang Guijin following me behind. Mo Ying was further back, and when she walked by the symbols, Lao Gong would disappear from sight.
Taking a deep breath, I walked towards the connection between the entrance and the mountain wall.
When I stepped onto the damp mountain wall, I had a sense of solid ground, but there was also a feeling of weightlessness. The drop below was too great, with nothing to grab onto for climbing, so I had to overcome my fear of heights.
Taking a deep breath, I tried not to look down. My body pressed against the mountain wall, and the one-foot-long path barely allowed movement.
This should be the path left behind by the person who placed the hanging coffins in the first place.
They must have gone through this narrow path to nail the coffins onto the mountain wall.
I walked about two or three meters before stopping.
Lao Chu and Yang Guijin followed up behind.
To be honest, although Lao Chu is not very intelligent, he is incredibly calm in this environment. However, Yang Guijin standing on the narrow path kept twitching his body, as if he was eager to try something.
Only after Mo Ying also came out, Lao Gong appeared on the night soil pot and then fell onto Yang Guijin's shoulder.
He did not possess Yang Guijin like before. Yang Guijin's eyes became vacant, as if his soul was being suppressed.
From the shadow of Mo Ying pressed against the cliff wall, emerged one after another black Dīshù.
In front of us, the corpses lying on the mountain wall looked like cats smelling blood, crawling towards us.
More than the few corpses I saw, the mountain wall seemed to have shifted as a whole. Then at least dozens of corpses, all began to move!
I quickly raised the Four Rules Mirror and shone it on the nearest coffin!
The moonlight condensed on the surface of the mirror, shooting out a beam of copper light. The corpse was just a black demon, and its fur instantly dispersed, falling off the mountain and plummeting over the cliff with a howl...
That's also why I dare to move in the darkness!
For the other Daoists, and even for Mo Ying, dealing with so many demonic corpses would require them to use so many symbols that their hands would ache.
The Four Rules Mirror is different; when the severity of the corpses is not high, it's like cutting melons and vegetables.
Plus, I have a certain level of Daoist magic, and with Lao Gong's assistance nearby, the safety factor has actually increased a lot!
The rest of the demonic corpses seemed to have been deterred, no longer approaching us. They remained silent and dormant in their place.
They didn't retreat either, like venomous snakes ready to strike at any moment.
"Go," I said softly, then moved forward slowly, pressing against the mountain wall.
Behind me, Lao Chu, Yang Guijin, and Mo Ying followed cautiously.
At this moment, the situation took a turn.
The demonic corpses on the mountain wall not only did not continue to approach me, but actually moved in a different direction.
