An eerie atmosphere pervaded the room. Zhaozhao listened to the regular ticking of the clock and unconsciously started counting the beats.
This rhythm seemed so familiar. Where on earth had she heard it before? Zhaozhao couldn't recall for a moment. Frustrated, she patted her head.
She slowly walked up to the drops of blood and crouched down, looking up along the corner of the wall. Sure enough, the blood was dripping from upstairs.
"Cousin, let's go up and take a look. This blood is coming from above," she pointed at the ceiling and suggested to Song Yao.
Song Yao looked solemn and agreed with her.
After what had happened, someone must be up to no good. As a disciple of the mysterious arts, Song Yao was supposed to investigate such strange occurrences thoroughly.
The two sisters changed their clothes and then went upstairs together.
"Hey, don't you two need this lord's help?" Taotie watched their figures gradually walking away. It couldn't sit still any longer and said impatiently, "If you two beg this lord, this lord will go with you. Let me tell you, these eyes of this lord are—"
"We don't need it!" Zhaozhao turned around and interrupted Taotie's endless chatter. Then she slammed the door shut.
For the first time in its life, Taotie was rejected like this. It felt rather embarrassed and decided never to care about this ungrateful little girl again.
However, one second, two seconds, three seconds passed, and Taotie took out its noble paw and took a step forward.
Humph, I'm not worried about that little girl. I just don't want the Dragon Lord to cause me trouble.
Just like that, the fierce beast found a reasonable excuse for itself and headed upstairs.
Zhaozhao and Song Yao had just climbed one floor when they quickly locked onto their target.
The reason was simple. The room directly above Zhaozhao's was filled with such a heavy aura of yin that it seemed about to overflow. Moreover, the continuous ticking sound of the clock was also coming from inside.
The door of the room was not closed but slightly ajar. There was light inside, but it was not very bright, rather weak, seemingly the light of candles.
"Cousin, let's go in and take a look," Zhaozhao ignored Taotie running out from the corner and turned to Song Yao.
Song Yao nodded. Holding two talismans in her hand, she protected Zhaozhao behind her and pushed open the door. Taotie also followed behind with its head lowered.
As soon as they entered the room, the expressions of Zhaozhao and Song Yao instantly became solemn.
Those who understood the mysterious arts and magic knew that the layout of things in a house was very particular.
Generally speaking, it was not easy to ensure that all the furniture and furnishings were completely correct. However, it was also very difficult to make all the wrong choices.
And in this apartment, every corner revealed this kind of difficulty. Even the most basic mistake of not having the door directly opposite a mirror was made.
Not only was it made, but it was also made very seriously. The place where the mirror reflected light precisely violated the "reflection evil" in feng shui.
"This... even someone who knows nothing at all shouldn't make every taboo so precisely... It's as if someone wanted every person who lived here to meet a bad end," Song Yao shivered as she looked at the strange furnishings in the room.
A gust of wind blew in through the window, and the white curtains fluttered, adding a bit more eerie atmosphere.
There were more white candles lit in the apartment. Many of the candle flames were blown out by the wind, and the room instantly darkened.
Zhaozhao found a lot of copper coins and a bowl of white rice on an antique table in the middle of the living room.
"What is this for?" Zhaozhao didn't know much about ghost-related matters. All she had encountered on Wutong Mountain before were demons. Most of the spells her master had taught her were related to demons, humans, and cultivators. She was a bit confused about these things.
Song Yao stepped forward, stared intently for a long time, and then tentatively formed a hand seal and recited a spell. Suddenly, a cold wind blew in the room, and most of the already few candle flames were extinguished.
"Don't push me. I'll go first!"
"Get out of the way. I go first!"
...
A large group of ghosts pushed and shoved each other and floated over. Zhaozhao was stunned.
"Cousin, why did you summon so many ghosts? The house is going to be crowded," Zhaozhao asked.
Song Yao waved the talisman in her hand, picked up a handful of white rice from the bowl, ignored the group of little ghosts, and explained to Zhaozhao, "It's not summoning the soul. It's 'consulting the rice'. And it wasn't me who summoned them. The props were already set up in this house by someone before. I had a suspicion before, so I tried it. I didn't expect to summon so many at once."
Even Song Yao, who had summoned the ghosts, was quite surprised. According to the rules, "consulting the rice" could only summon the souls of relatives and friends. How did she summon so many unrelated ghosts at once?
Over there, the group of little ghosts were still waiting for instructions. Some were missing arms and legs, and coupled with their noisy chatter, the scene was a bit creepy and comical at the same time.
"Two masters, is there anything we can do for you?" Finally, a little ghost couldn't wait any longer. It bowed to Zhaozhao and Song Yao. Its long tongue was still wagging. It was a hanged ghost.
Ghosts like them who lingered in the mortal world all had unfulfilled obsessions. However, most of them didn't have the ability to fulfill them and could only wait for an opportunity.
Now that they finally met someone with high cultivation who summoned them, of course, they were eager to exchange for something.
Song Yao couldn't bear this kind of impact and silently turned around.
The carefree Zhaozhao covered Taotie's mouth warily and politely asked the group of ghosts, "Hello. I'd like to ask if you've been here before?"
There were so many strange things placed in this room. It was estimated that someone had wanted to do this before. Thinking of the headless ghost that had taken the wrong path and been eaten by Taotie just now, Zhaozhao thought that maybe they had been here more than once. Maybe they could find out something.
But unfortunately, all the ghosts shook their heads. The headless ones also shook their necks, indicating that they had never been here before. This was their first time.
"Master, we've been dead for hundreds of years. Except for you two, ordinary people can't summon us," one of the ghosts who seemed to have died a relatively normal death kindly explained to Zhaozhao.
Was that so?
Since they couldn't find out anything and there was nothing for them to do, they could only send them away.
However, just as Zhaozhao was about to cast a spell to send the group of ghosts back, the sound of a key unlocking the door that they had closed when they entered suddenly came.
Someone was coming!
"Shh!" Zhaozhao used her eyes to stop Song Yao, who was about to take out her electronic peach-wood sword. She snapped her fingers, and the group of ghosts suddenly lost consciousness and looked dazed.
"Let's hide first," Zhaozhao transmitted her voice to Song Yao. Then she crossed her index fingers and pressed them against her forehead. Together with Song Yao and Taotie, they disappeared into thin air.
Everything happened in an instant. The door was opened, and a gentle female voice came, "Master, will it work this time?"
Then another lazy male voice that Zhaozhao and Song Yao both felt familiar with sounded, "Madam Chen, I can't guarantee that for you, but I, Lu Chukong, will do my best."
The two walked in from the door. One was the woman that Zhaozhao had also met at the elevator entrance, and the other was actually Lu Chukong, whom they hadn't seen for a long time!