They got out of the forest in a relatively short time. Behind the forest was a cemetery that spread wide and far, with will-o’-wisps flickering all over the place. Seemed like the Hanged Ghost had reached his territory, as his silhouette became more mystical. Zhou Zishu was not sure if his mind was playing tricks on him, but he felt like he heard someone cackling. The laugh was right next to his ears for a sec, then far away the other, making his hair stand on end.

Then the Hanged Ghost disappeared into thin air among the will-o’-wisps.

Zhou Zishu abruptly stopped walking.

Wen Kexing stood beside him, the greenish light casted onto his handsome face, giving him a slightly more demonic look. Some kind of animal let out a howl from far away; and a rat crawled out from underground, staring at the two without fear. It might have devoured the flesh of the dead, since its tiny eyes were pure red.

The Hanged Ghost disappeared under an old locust tree with an owl perched on its branch. The animal tilted its head at the two uninvited guests.

Zhou Zishu and Wen Kexing checked around the tree but found no more clues. Zhou Zishu frowned, “We’ve really met a ghost…”

The he heard a creepy laugh, turning to Wen Kexing with gooseflesh prickling his skin. His companion pointed at the owl; turned out the sound was from this ghostly animal.

The owl and Zhou Zishu had a decently long staring contest before the former spread its wings and flew away without warning.

Wen Kexing said, “There’s this thing I heard when I was little, that owls are only scary when they laugh because there will be death whenever they do. Are you afraid?”

Zhou Zishu was examining the tombstone under the tree, which didn’t have any writings on it. He replied with indifference, “There’re already two bodies.”

It was likely that Wen Kexing felt particularly in the mood, so he ignored the answer, continuing with enthusiasm. “I also heard that one day at this small village there was a person carrying a bowl with red water inside. An owl knocked the bowl over, and that year twenty people lost their lives.”

Zhou Zishu raised his head to look at him.

Wen Kexing lowered his voice on purpose, “It’s true.”

“Why did that villager carry a bowl with red water?” Zhou Zishu asked in confusion.

Wen Kexing choked on his words, turning away to cough.

A faint smile appeared on Zhou Zishu’s face. All of a sudden, he put his hands on the tombstone, and with just a bit of strength applied, it moved. He tried harder to push it to one side, and with a squashing sound, an entrance was revealed, leading into a dark space with unknown depth.