Chapter 257

Chapter 257

◎Big Scene◎

Seeing Ji Nanxing staring intently into her house, Ye Shi felt an eerie chill creeping up her spine. She took another step back toward the doorway. "What are you looking at? Is there really a ghost in my house?"

Ji Nanxing withdrew his gaze and reassured her, "There’s no ghost in your house. There were some lingering traces of dark energy, but they’ve mostly dissipated. You’re fine now. Just go back inside, lock your doors and windows, and don’t open the door for strangers late at night."

With that, he pulled Xiao Ye along and left. Ye Shi stood there dumbfounded. "Wait, you’re just leaving like that? You can’t—this is making me really nervous! Aren’t you Taoist masters? Don’t you have any exorcism charms or protective talismans for sale? Don’t go! Can’t you sell me one?"

Xiao Ye rummaged through his bag and pulled out a fairly ordinary protective charm, glancing at Ye Shi. "Two hundred yuan. Want it?"

Ye Shi bobbed her head. "Yes, yes, yes!"

Xiao Ye deftly folded the charm into a triangle—easy to carry and less likely to tear—then processed the payment via QR code on his phone.

Watching the two enter the elevator, Ye Shi clutched the charm, belatedly wondering if she’d been scammed. Was this some new scam? But two such good-looking guys going out at night to swindle people—was the con artist industry really this cutthroat now?

Despite her doubts, she tightened her grip on the charm. Whether it was just a placebo effect or not, having that protective talisman in hand made her feel a lot safer.

Once they were away from Ye Shi’s place, Xiao Ye couldn’t help but ask, "That ghost had nothing to do with her?"

Ji Nanxing shook his head. "No connection. It probably just saw she was being targeted and spoke up to help."

Xiao Ye: "That ghost’s actually pretty decent. When you were looking into her house earlier, what did you see?"

Ji Nanxing: "I wasn’t looking into her house—I was looking at the hill opposite her balcony. I think there might be something wrong over there. We’ll know once we check."

The area had a large garbage dump—a major transfer station and sorting facility. Though technically within Beijing’s fourth ring road, property prices were rock-bottom. No one wanted to breathe in air thick with garbage stench every day, so even cheap houses were hard to sell.

With few residents, the place was near-deserted at night. Despite not being the suburbs, crossing the road toward the hill felt like stepping into eerie emptiness, where only crickets and owls could be heard—even though the residential area was just across the street.

The mountain path was rough. Though it was just a modest slope, Xiao Ye held a flashlight to light Ji Nanxing’s way as they walked. "Hey, Naonao, there aren’t any surveillance cameras here, are there? With all these big trees blocking the way, it’s perfect for murder and burying bodies. If this hill were ever developed, how many skeletons do you think they’d dig up?"

Ji Nanxing: "Who knows? But the aura here is definitely distorted. What time is it?"

Xiao Ye checked his watch. "Half past one in the morning."

Ji Nanxing checked their bearings and kept climbing. Just as they neared a tree, he reached out and stopped Xiao Ye.

Xiao Ye immediately tensed, scanning their surroundings. "What’s wrong?"

Ji Nanxing looked up, and Xiao Ye followed his gaze. The flashlight beam revealed a tarnished bronze bell tied to the tree with a red string, standing out eerily in the gloomy woods.

Even more unsettling was the fact that it wasn’t the only one. Xiao Ye shone the light ahead—roughly every five steps, another identical bell hung from the trees.

"What’s this for? Is there something wrong with these bells?"

Ji Nanxing: "These are Soul-Snatching Bells."

Xiao Ye: "Soul-Snatching Bells? For capturing souls? Whose souls? And why so many?"

Ji Nanxing looked at him. "Weren’t you just wondering how many skeletons they’d dig up if this hill were developed?"

Xiao Ye blanched. "Seriously?"

Ji Nanxing said flatly, "Count the bells. That’s how many bodies are here."

As soon as he finished speaking, a mountain wind howled like wailing spirits. Brave as he was, Xiao Ye felt a cold prickle at his neck. He instinctively huddled closer to Ji Nanxing, all but glued to him for a sense of safety.

"Naonao, perhaps we should retreat for now and return during the day with colleagues from the Supernatural Management Bureau. If there are truly as many as you say, it's likely a soul-harvesting fiend lurks here."

Ji Nanxing's expression turned icy: "Contact the Supernatural Management Bureau and have them bring people here immediately. I want to see what kind of mass murderer has killed so many and imprisoned their souls. What is he trying to do? Cultivate a Soul Gu Worm?"

Soul Gu Worms and insect Gu worms follow the same principles. If one can cultivate a powerful Gu worm, it can be used for both killing and self-defense. A skilled Gu master could even lay waste to an entire city with just one Gu worm.

Soul Gu Worms are similar—cultivating a powerful lingering ghost that can be controlled through Gu cultivation methods. Unlike spirit servants, these Soul Gu Worms lack independent consciousness, functioning like powerful killing machines that are obedient and controllable.

With so many soul-capturing bells here, he couldn't think of any other possibility besides cultivating a Soul Gu Worm.

What surprised him, however, was when someone with such capabilities had emerged in their area—someone capable of setting up a large-scale array to block Yin energy and evade detection by national surveillance systems, while also suppressing so many souls. In all his years, he had encountered very few Taoists so morally bankrupt.

Seeing Naonao's expression, it was clear he was furious. Xiao Ye quickly took a few steps back to call the Supernatural Management Bureau. Though he didn’t fully understand the situation, he accurately relayed what Naonao had said about the soul-capturing bells and the Soul Gu Worm.

After confirming the address, Xiao Ye thought for a moment and called his bodyguards at the foot of the mountain, instructing them to bring more people to secure the area. No one except Bureau personnel was to be allowed up. If anyone tried to approach, they were to call the police immediately. He also warned them that there might be a soul-harvesting fiend nearby and to be careful.

The bodyguards reacted swiftly, mobilizing people immediately. Vehicles from all directions began converging on the location.

The commotion grew noticeably louder. Perhaps someone had been monitoring the area all along—Ji Nanxing and Xiao Ye’s car parked at the foot of the mountain might have been spotted early. Just as Xiao Ye finished his call, he gasped softly and said urgently, "Naonao, my bracelet and talismans are heating up."

Ji Nanxing picked up a branch and casually drew a circle on the ground: "Stay inside this circle and don’t come out. Someone is trying to steal souls."

Though the circle seemed casually drawn, this technique was one of his sect’s secret techniques. Even Yin Officers couldn’t extract a soul from within the circle unless a flaw was exposed. He refused to believe the Taoist behind this was more powerful than the Yin Officers.

Sure enough, once Xiao Ye stood inside the circle, his bracelet and talismans calmed down. He looked worriedly at Ji Nanxing: "What about you? Could your soul be taken?"

Ji Nanxing chuckled: "What are you thinking? Even Yin Officers can’t take my soul. That person is no match. But he’s acting so fast—he must be nearby."

After a moment’s thought, Ji Nanxing called Deputy Director Dai of the Supernatural Management Bureau himself. Briefly explaining the situation, he said, "The Bureau’s manpower is limited. I suspect the person who set up the soul-capturing array might be in the Old City Stronghold. It’s best to coordinate with the police to cordon off the entire area."

Doing so would undoubtedly cause a significant disturbance. If nothing was found afterward, the Bureau would have a hard time justifying it to higher-ups.

But Deputy Director Dai was decisive by nature, and Taoist Yan Da’s most talented disciple—often praised by the master himself—wouldn’t act recklessly. If the operation turned up nothing, they could just increase the PR department’s bonus and let them handle the fallout. It wasn’t a big deal.

As soon as the call ended, a chain of phone calls went up the chain of command. The final call reached Xiao Ye’s older brother, who was dragged out of bed. Police alone wouldn’t be enough to cordon off such a large old district—they’d need paramilitary forces.

Ji Nanxing hadn’t expected that a late-night distress call from lingering ghosts would escalate into such a massive operation. But the Taoist who dared to set up so many soul-capturing bells had to be caught. People like him were more terrifying than vengeful spirits. If they missed this chance and the culprit went into hiding, finding him again would be nearly impossible.

After arranging everything, Ji Nanxing stepped a few paces away from Xiao Ye and repeated, "Don’t leave this circle."

Xiao Ye nodded: "Don’t worry, I won’t step out."

Ji Nanxing walked into the range of the soul-capturing bells.

The moment he stepped in, the bells tied to the trees began swaying violently. The ringing echoed across the haunted mountainside, and one after another, figures slowly materialized—almost every tree with a soul-capturing bell now had a lingering ghost standing beneath it.

On the moon-obscured mountain at midnight, the ghosts appeared one by one. Even Xiao Ye, standing inside the circle, could clearly see their forms.

And there, in the center, stood his Ji Naonao, surrounded by the lingering ghosts.

Xiao Ye watched nervously, picking up his phone again to urge the backup teams to hurry. But the call wouldn’t go through—whether it was because he was inside the circle or the mountain’s Yin energy had distorted the magnetic field, every number he dialed, even emergency services, returned a dead signal.

Several golden lights flickered in the distance. Xiao Ye looked up and saw talismans erupting forth from Ji Nanxing’s body, their vermilion sigils glowing brightly.

He had seen Ji Naonao control talismans many times, but this was the first time he’d seen them shine like this. Perhaps being forced to open his "third eye" here, he was witnessing a supernatural spectacle.

Standing amidst the soul-capturing bells, Ji Nanxing remained calm. The lingering ghosts closing in on him had no visible effect. As the array of talismans formed, a fierce Yin Wind swirled around him on the mountain.

His slightly long hair was tousled by the wind. In the darkness, Ji Nanxing’s alabaster complexion showed unusual gravity. These lingering ghosts were broken souls—too weak to withstand the talismans’ power. The slightest force could disperse them completely.

The person behind this is truly sinister. If a Taoist encountering this situation is ruthless, dispersing so many lingering ghosts would cost them immense virtue. But if they're too soft-hearted to act decisively, they might be worn down to death by these lingering ghosts.

Unfortunately for them, today they met him. She Mountain disciples are not only skilled in lightning arrays but are even more adept at opening the Ghost Gate. Lingering ghosts? No problem—just toss them all in once the Ghost Gate opens.

But first, he needed to lure and trap all the lingering ghosts before opening the Ghost Gate.

A huge array hovered above, its spiritual light shimmering but restrained, not a shred of the talismans' power leaking—all because the Taoist below had yet to issue the command.

Standing beneath the array, Ji Nanxing clasped his hands, fingers tightly woven, his index fingers touching as he softly uttered:

"Lin."

An invisible force burst outward from him, rippling through the air. The lingering ghosts creeping toward him shuddered, their movements growing sluggish.

Ji Nanxing didn’t stop. His deft fingers shifted again, retracting his index fingers and extending his middle fingers to meet.

"Bing."

His hands moved once more, clasped together, thumbs, index fingers, and pinkies stretching to connect.

"Dou..."

"Xing!"

With the last word of the incantation, Ji Nanxing slammed a palm against the ground. The array above erupted in a flash, golden light engulfing the entire mountaintop. Every lingering ghost froze in place.

The soul-capturing bells weren’t just tinkling now—they now slammed violently against the trees, their clanging fierce and frantic.

Ji Nanxing drew a circle in the air beneath the array. "Ghost Gate—open!"

A low, thunderous groan rumbled as a massive, imposing gate slowly materialized, emanating an eerie green glow. From within, the doors began to creak open.

Author's Note:

Ghost Gate: Open 24/7 for all your haunting needs...