"I’d rather we all rush into the village together."
"Okay, Xiao Yuan, you decide."
Li Zhiyuan looked at the Feng Shui again, but ultimately could not figure anything out, and had to say: "Everyone check your pockets, see if there’s any snacks or candy left, give them all to Brother Runsheng."
There were some, but not much, just enough to fill the gaps between Run Sheng’s teeth. He lit ten sticks of incense, chewing them all up and swallowing them, along with a bunch of grass and leaves he pulled up.
This behavior was somewhat fierce, but he did it to give himself a sense of fullness.
Actually, incense, to him, was like a seasoning; he could hardly get any energy from it. Maybe what little he could get was not enough to digest the incense.
But regardless, Run Sheng’s belly indeed started bulging.
"Xiao Yuan, I’m ready!"
"Let’s go, into the village before it gets dark."
Continuing to stay here would’ve been the more human choice, but with nothing but bark and leaves to eat here, staying would only make everyone’s condition worse, merely waiting for death.
The four people had just arrived at the entrance of the village when they stopped because they heard noises.
Tan Wenbin asked, "What’s that sound?"
"So chaotic, seems both near and far." Xue Liangliang looked around, but could only hear the sounds without seeing any clues.
Li Zhiyuan’s ears trembled slightly; he said: "There are gongs, drums, and suonas, as well as chanting scriptures; it’s like someone is performing a ritual."
Then, Li Zhiyuan paced around the entrance of the village, he looked down at his feet – this was the central area of the source of the noise.
Looking ahead, Li Zhiyuan noticed a faint set of footprints.
"Move away, be careful!"
Everyone immediately moved aside, all eyes fixed on that spot.
The footprints gradually deepened; in front of where the footprints faced, several more indentations appeared.
"Brother Runsheng, go!"
Run Sheng holding a steel pipe, swung it around the footprints, hitting nothing.
At the same time, nothing unusual happened to him.
"Stop, Brother Runsheng."
Run Sheng ceased his actions and started to breathe steadily.
Li Zhiyuan stepped closer, squatted down, and carefully examined the two closely placed indentations.
Xue Liangliang also squatted down to have a look: "These are footprints, probably from boots, but what are these indents from?"
Li Zhiyuan: "A table."
"Should be a table, also, these sounds of instruments seem like those from a band."
No sooner had he spoken, Tan Wenbin outside the perimeter shouted, "Careful, fire!"
Above Li Zhiyuan and Xue Liangliang’s heads appeared a floating fireball, which set Xue Liangliang’s clothes and hair ablaze. He quickly dodged and patted them with his hands vigorously, extinguishing the flames without harming himself.
Since Li Zhiyuan was shorter, the fireball floated above his head at a distance; he did not dodge, but looked up, observing the fireball’s path.
While watching, his hands waved slightly, as if planning and anticipating.
Suddenly, the fireball started to move fast; it circled around with a much larger amplitude than before.
Li Zhiyuan watched it, while also glancing at the four table leg imprints below.
In his mind, he envisioned the habits of his Grandmaster at home during rituals, starting by holding a piece of yellow paper, lighting it with a candle, then waving it in front of the altar while reciting scriptures, and never missing the part where he would circle the altar with the yellow paper.
When the paper was about to burn down to his hand, he would throw it into a bowl filled with duck, chicken, and pig blood.
Now, he was just waiting for the next step.
The fireball fell down, and in an instant, it was extinguished and disappeared without a spark scattering.
Li Zhiyuan, while patting the mud off his trousers, stood up and told his three companions: "Right where we stand, a ritual is being performed."
Tan Wenbin screamed, "Ghosts performing rituals? That’s just insane!"
Run Sheng drew out a piece of talisman paper and slapped it on Tan Wenbin’s forehead a bit forcefully, causing Tan Wenbin to stagger back several steps.
The talisman paper did not change color.
Tan Wenbin pulled at his collar, gesturing to the talisman on his neck for Run Sheng to see: "I’ve got one here, couldn’t you have checked before slapping on a new one?"
"Who told you to suddenly get so emotional?"
"I do trust Brother Yuan’s words, but the idea of a ghost performing a ritual is truly unbelievable."
Xue Liangliang, with a serious expression, said: "Maybe, it’s not a ghost performing the ritual."
Tan Wenbin: "If it’s not a ghost, then why can’t we see them?"
Li Zhiyuan: "Maybe, we’re the ghosts."
Li Zhiyuan remembered that during his last venture to the Underworld, he heard cursing coming from the village—a curse at some beast that kicked down their door.
Tan Wenbin: "Brother, this ritual, who is it..."
Li Zhiyuan nodded: "It might be for us, because this morning, we kicked down two doors. A ghost capable of kicking down doors should be fierce enough to scare the villagers into inviting a ’Master’ to perform the ritual."
Only, this Daoist or Monk being invited, doesn’t seem too skilled either; such a small effect could probably be on par with Grandmaster’s actual abilities.
Tan Wenbin pinched Run Sheng’s arm forcefully, "Does it hurt?"
Run Sheng shook his head: "No."
Then, Run Sheng pinched Tan Wenbin’s arm:
"Ouch ouch ouch! That hurts!"
Xue Liangliang approached Li Zhiyuan: "Xiao Yuan, are we ghosts now?"
"Brother Liangliang, I don’t understand this matter either, I have never been a ghost. Besides, I think when it comes to this matter, Brother Liangliang, you have more personal expertise to share than I do."