The Female Cannon Fodder With Boundless Merits-Chapter 243 - 247: The Old Mansion is Haunted (16)

The mummified corpse let out a piercing scream, and the heavy fog around it was also shattered by its voice.

Then, where it was sprayed with the bio-liquid, a fizzing sound erupted, as if it were being corroded by a strong acid.

It quickly spread to the rest of the body, the limbs falling apart like a broken frame, arms and legs clattering to the ground.

The shriveled head with its mouth wide open rolled around on the ground screaming sharply, but it was useless; in a moment, the thing stopped moving.

With the removal of the mummified body, the thick fog enveloping everyone slowly dissipated.

Team members, who had been wandering around like headless flies, could now see each other’s presence.

"What happened? How did everyone disappear all of a sudden?"

"Yeah, we were all holding hands, and no matter how much I shouted, no one responded."

Su Li asked, "Did you see anything else?"

The others shook their heads in unison, "No."

Shu Yifei suddenly jumped in surprise, "Xiao Li, did you encounter it?"

"What was it?"

Su Li nodded toward the pile of withered bones scattered on the ground, "It’s right there." freēwēbnovel.com

"It even asked me to keep it company."

The other’s faces immediately showed a mix of colors, speechless to the extreme.

Looking at Su Li’s appearance, they all nodded in agreement.

With such beauty, it was no wonder even a ghost would take notice.

Su Li suddenly felt she had let that thing off too easily by allowing it to die again so simply.

Biting her itchy gums, Su Li smiled brilliantly, feeling that the ghost should have come for her alone.

After the fog cleared, the environment around them became distinctly visible to everyone.

The once vibrant entranceway, the lively trees, plants, and flowers were deteriorating before their eyes at a visible rate, like a painting fading away to a gray lifeless scene.

This must be the true appearance of the place, the traces left by the ravages of time.

Peeling gilded paint, thick layers of dust, eroded copper locks, and untamed, decaying trees, overgrown weeds in the flower beds.

Originally, Su Li and the others had thought the garden-like scenery was maintained by regular maintenance from the cultural bureau, not realizing it was a ghostly trickery.

This added another layer of caution to Su Li and the others.

The creature they encountered was just a low-level ghost, but even this low-level being had such tricks; Su Li herself hadn’t seen through it. Presumably, the more powerful entities would have even greater abilities.

They had to be extremely careful; otherwise, they might be ensnared without even realizing it.

Su Li and her group continued on their way, while things were not looking too good for Fang Zheng and his group.

They huddled together, considering retreating, but when they turned to exit the way they had come, the previously clear path was nowhere to be found, and after walking in circles, they found themselves back where they started.

They hadn’t gone far since entering, and logically they shouldn’t be far from the entrance, but they couldn’t find their way back, only able to steel themselves and keep moving forward.

"Do you... hear any screams?"

A timid apprentice, who was nervously following behind his master, hesitantly asked with goosebumps on his arms.

"I, I heard it too."

"So did I."

Lin Mianmian, who had also heard the sound, shrank fearfully into Gu Shi’s arms.

"Gu Shi, I, I’m a bit scared."

The most terrifying thing was not facing the attack of ghosts, but rather facing the unknown — the sense of panic and unease that rose from within.

The deadly situations Lin Mianmian usually encountered were minor skirmishes. Even when she faced something slightly more formidable, there was no need for her to be afraid, as the two masters at Gu Shi’s side would have handled it before she could fear.

She had never before felt like this time, knowing there was danger, but not knowing what form that danger would take; that was what truly frightened her.

Gu Shi felt this even more acutely than the others because of his physical constitution. The heavy yin energy here had caused the Buddha Beads in his hand to start heating up. Upon closer inspection, tiny cracks had begun to form on them.

He had a feeling that the Buddha Beads might no longer suppress the Evil Qi already boiling within his body.

Sweat beads the size of beans had formed on his forehead, and his face turned deathly pale. Just maintaining his own body upright was depleting all his strength.

He had the intention to comfort Lin Mianmian with a few words, but he was utterly spent.

Fatty Cui and Bearded Xue were even less capable. They clearly knew what they would face if the Buddha Beads could no longer suppress it.

With a hardened heart, Fatty Cui bit his finger and, using the blood that oozed from his Heart Blood, he lifted Gu Shi’s clothes and, with his finger as a brush, densely applied Blood Talismans onto his back.

After completing this, Fatty Cui’s figure had visibly slimmed down, even his protruding belly had shrunken back.

His expression was deflated, listlessly supported by Bearded Xue to one side, closing his eyes to rest. He seemed to disregard everything else.

Bearded Xue, seeing the indifferent look from Fang Zheng and the others, angrily said, "Don’t just stand by and do nothing. If he can’t contain the Evil Qi inside him, none of us here will be spared."

Fang Zheng frowned, ominously silent.

Lu Bing, brandishing his horsetail whisk, complained dissatisfiedly, "I was against letting this kid join from the start. You and Fatty Cui insisted over and over again that nothing would go wrong as long as you two were here. What do you have to say now?"

Cheng Zaili followed, "I suggest we split up. I still have three disciples with me. That kid is like a ticking time bomb; who knows when he might drag us down with him."

His words immediately met with Zheng Ping’s agreement.

Although she only had one female disciple at her side, her Taoist Skill was the weakest among them, and the Disciple she brought along hadn’t even mastered the basics. If danger came, they would be the first victims. Naturally, she could not tolerate having Gu Shi, a major threat, among them.

At this moment, Gu Shi was both anxious and angry. His esteemed status in the secular world was not taken into consideration by these people at all.

"Enough, stop talking. They’re already here."

Instinctively, Lin Mianmian asked, "What’s here?"

The next second, they saw a scene that frightened them to the core.

Accompanied by the sounds of music and stringed instruments, two rows of maids wearing traditional hairstyles slowly walked out from the corridor next to them, heading straight for Fang Zheng and his group.

Looking at their lively expressions and antique attire, there was no sign whatsoever that they didn’t belong to the living.

But without a second thought, it was impossible for people dressed as ancient maids to be here.

Leading the way, the dresses and ribbons of the two in front were more luxurious than the others, clearly, they were meant to be the roles of Chief Maids.

The two of them gave a slight bow to Gu Shi’s group, "Our Madam and young Miss have heard of the guests’ arrival and specially sent us to welcome you. If the young masters and misses would please follow us this way."