The ghost shrine mentioned by the Jar Ghost was actually Chu Mingjia’s divine shrine from a thousand years ago. What had once been enshrined in the shrine was the mountain god of Qishan Mountain.
Back then, Qishan Mountain was rich with spiritual energy, and the shrine enjoyed thriving incense offerings. The mountain god was a figure deeply revered by the villagers.
But now, everyone had forgotten that there had once been a deity here, that this mountain had once been a sacred mountain.
Chu Mingjia’s expression was grim. Jiang Meng noticed but dared not say a word. After all, over the years, his sole focus had been on searching for the mountain lord, neglecting the sacred mountain itself. Now that the mountain had been overrun by those things and its reputation dragged through the mud, he felt too guilty to utter a single syllable.
When he finally came face to face with those wretched creatures, he would teach them a proper lesson!
The Jar Ghost poked its head out, stretching its arms and legs from the jar. The lid of the cremation urn was perched on its head as its little short legs scurried along at an astonishing speed.
Han Fengchen watched in sheer amazement. “This little ghost may have short legs, but he sure can run fast!”
He, a fresh-faced high school boy nearly 1.8 meters tall, could barely keep up.
The sky grew darker, and eerie mountain winds howled around them. As they ventured deeper, the path became harder and harder to see.
Han Fengchen couldn’t help murmuring again, “Mr. Jiang, shouldn’t we turn on a light?”
Even though the livestream audience could see just fine, the three of them on-site couldn’t see a thing!
Suddenly, Chu Mingjia spoke in a low voice. “Quiet.”
Han Fengchen immediately shut his mouth.
Squinting through the faint moonlight, he suddenly spotted a stretch of wilderness not far ahead. The vegetation on the wasteland was sparse and desolate, and a dilapidated old building came into view.
Judging by its architecture, it must have been a divine shrine built in ancient times.
The walls and roof had once been adorned with vibrant murals, but they had long since faded beyond recognition. The walls were now pitch-black, covered in dried moss.
The three of them arrived at the shrine’s entrance. Chu Mingjia stepped forward to take a closer look at the place where he had once lived.
The interior of the shrine was spacious. Just inside the entrance stood an altar table at the center of the hall, where a celestial Yaksha responsible for patrolling the mountains had once been enshrined.
But now, the statue of the celestial Yaksha had long since crumbled into dust.
Chu Mingjia turned his head and shot a glance at Jiang Meng.
Jiang Meng, holding the camera, lowered his head in awkward silence.
The Jar Ghost pointed at the empty shrine and said, “Mountain Lord, your Yaksha has run away.”
Jiang Meng said with a dark expression, “Who said he ran away?”
Damn it, who the hell was spreading these rumors!
The Jar Ghost shrank its neck back from being glared at and said in a very small voice, “That’s what everyone says.”
Jiang Meng: “…”
Han Fengchen, while feeling creeped out as he looked around the dilapidated shrine, couldn’t help gossiping, “What is a Yaksha? Is that what we’re fighting today?”
Jiang Meng: “…”
Chu Mingjia shot a teasing glance at Jiang Meng and explained to Han Fengchen, “Yakshas are the foremost of evil spirits. They are divided into Earth-traveling Yakshas and Sky-traveling Yakshas. They are born from heaven and earth and are inherently malicious spirits that harm people.”
Jiang Meng: “…”
Chu Mingjia continued, “Legend has it that they have blue faces, fanged teeth, and hideous appearances. They wield tridents, stand eight feet tall, and would scare anyone to tears at the mere sight of them.”
Jiang Meng: “…”
Han Fengchen, not understanding what was going on, grew nervous. “N-no way? That vicious? Then maybe we should… maybe we should head back for now?”
As he spoke, Han Fengchen had already taken a few steps back, wanting to leave this eerie ghost shrine.
Who did they think they were, daring to storm the shrine of a Sky-traveling Yaksha in the middle of the night?
The Jar Ghost pointed at Han Fengchen and laughed. “This big brother is such a scaredy-cat.”
Han Fengchen said with a stern face, “Thanks. You’re not much better yourself.”
Chu Mingjia reassured them, “Don’t be afraid. Although Sky-traveling Yakshas are very ferocious, they were reformed by the gods and now only do good deeds. They no longer harbor harmful intentions toward humans. This place isn’t a ghost shrine, it’s a divine shrine.”
As she spoke, Chu Mingjia walked around to the back of the Yaksha’s shrine, where there was another empty shrine.
“Behind the Yaksha is the very mountain god of Qishan Mountain that he protects.”
Chu Mingjia looked at the shrine that had once been hers, a hint of regret in her eyes.
She had once loved this place very much.
Now, only a crumbling empty shell remained of the entire shrine. The deity and her followers had all vanished.
When this was said, everyone fell silent. Even the viewers in the livestream could feel Chu Mingjia’s sadness.
【What’s going on? Sister Chu seems really upset?】
【Ah, could it be that because the mountain god is gone, the Yaksha left too?】
【Do gods really exist in this world? If they do, then is the relationship between the Yaksha and the god one of mutual protection?】
【That sounds like a touching love story?】
【After watching Sister Chu’s livestream for so long, nothing surprises me anymore. Just now, Han Fengchen was talking to thin air, and I actually thought that was normal…】
【Same here. Even if you told me right now that Sister Chu is the missing mountain god, I’d believe it!】
【This shrine looks so eerie. It’s pitch black everywhere, the walls, the table. There’s even grass growing on the floor. Help, I’m starting to suspect something might be buried under this shrine…】
……
Chu Mingjia walked around the shrine a couple of times but didn’t find anything. The shrine was completely empty, both above ground and below.
Chu Mingjia was silent for a moment, then looked up at Jiang Meng and asked in a low voice, “Where is the spiritual vein?”
Jiang Meng had said that he expended half of his divine power to save the failing spiritual vein of Qishan Mountain, and when Chu Mingjia had ascended the mountain, she had clearly sensed the presence of the spiritual vein.
But it wasn’t in the shrine.
Logically, it should have been there, since the shrine was located on the ridge of Qishan Mountain.
Jiang Meng’s expression turned cold and stern as he looked back at Chu Mingjia. Both of them arrived at the same possibility.
That was, the spiritual vein of Qishan Mountain had been transferred and privately claimed.
If that was the case, then as long as they could find the one who had seized Qishan Mountain’s spiritual vein, they could probably solve the case of the borrowed fortune.
For some reason, that individual needed an overwhelming amount of heavenly fortune to fulfill their own ambitions.
Just as the group’s atmosphere was growing heavy, a bloodcurdling scream suddenly rang out from not too far away. In the silent, pitch-black forest, it was especially terrifying.
Everyone’s expression tightened. They all recognized it as the voice of Chen Li, who had just been taken away by the “luxury car.” Even if they hadn’t recognized it, out here in the desolate wilderness, there was probably no one else besides Chen Li.
Han Fengchen was scared out of his wits. He immediately pressed close to Chu Mingjia, his face pale and his voice trembling. “What… what… what happened to him?”
Livestream chat: 【Whoa, that scream just now, did all you sisters and brothers hear it, or was it just me? Shocked jpg.】
【That shriek sounded just like a pig being slaughtered. Maybe that scumbag missed a step and fell off the mountain?】
【Or maybe he ran into a wild boar or something. Qishan Mountain is so deep; there’s probably all kinds of things out there.】
【@Qishan County Police Department, uncles, time to get to work!】
……
Jiang Meng immediately said to Chu Mingjia in a low voice, “I’ll go out and take a look. You stay here and don’t come out.”
Chu Mingjia shook her head. “We’re going together.”
With that, she reached out and tugged at Han Fengchen. “Will you wait for me in the shrine?”
Han Fengchen immediately shook his head. “No, no, no, no, no! I’m coming too!”
The three of them, along with the little Jar Ghost who was just there for the excitement, ran toward the direction the scream had come from.
The source of the sound wasn’t far, just a few dozen meters from the shrine. Jiang Meng, holding the small camera, led the way. From the livestream viewers’ perspective, all they could see through the shaking footage was dark, overgrown wasteland everywhere. They could hear the howling wind and the sound of three people panting as they ran quickly.
Livestream chat: 【Help, this is so thrilling, I’m scared but I can’t stop watching.】
【I don’t dare look at the livestream right now. I’m afraid something terrifying might suddenly appear in this shaky footage…】
【I’m too scared to watch, but I really want to know what happened to that scumbag! Hurry up, hurry up!】
……
Jiang Meng was the first to reach a small hillside. He pointed the camera downward, and the viewers immediately saw the drunkard, still wearing his vest and shorts, lying stiff-eyed at the bottom of the slope, his entire body covered in wounds from being scratched by rocks and thorns.
The slope wasn’t high, but the ground below was littered with jagged rocks and overgrown with tall grass. While a fall wouldn’t kill a person, given Chen Li’s current state, drunk and under an evil influence, if Chu Mingjia and the others hadn’t found him, by tomorrow or the day after, he might very well have met his end there.
What’s more, there were so many poisonous insects on this mountain. Even if no wild animals showed up, the wounds all over his body would surely attract them.
Jiang Meng had a stern face, his brows tightly furrowed.
Han Fengchen exclaimed in shock, “How did he fall? Did the luxury car lead him the wrong way?”
Jiang Meng handed the camera to Han Fengchen and carefully made his way down the slope. He checked Chen Li’s breath. Just then, Chen Li suddenly gasped heavily and then broke into a violent coughing fit.
Chu Mingjia said coldly, “Never mind him for now. The police are probably almost here. Leave it to them to handle.”
With that, she turned and walked away.
After just a few steps, a gust of wind suddenly blew in. The slope, which had been faintly visible under the moonlight, was now shrouded in white mist. Thick fog blanketed the entire mountainside, reducing visibility to less than a meter.
Han Fengchen pressed tightly against Chu Mingjia, clutching the hem of her clothes, too tense to even speak.
Suddenly, Chu Mingjia raised her hand and swept it heavily through the air. Instantly, a fierce wind arose. Han Fengchen was even forced to squint against the blast, completely dumbfounded.
Where did this mountain wind come from so suddenly? He hadn’t even been prepared!
The livestream viewers watched as the sudden gale swept through, clearing the thick white mist from the mountains in an instant.
【Is there something out there in the wilderness? I think I see a lot of huge black shadows!】
【Can anyone give a scientific explanation? Why would there be such enormous shadows in an open wasteland? It looks like a mirage.】
【My guess is a ghost market. The surrounding trees couldn’t cast shadows like that unless it’s some supernatural phenomenon that can’t be explained.】
【A thousand analyses from you guys are nothing compared to just looking at Chenchen’s face! His mouth is wide enough to fit an egg!】
【So it really is a ghost market! Why aren’t they running?】
【Chenchen, run! Don’t come to a place like this! You can come back during the day!】
……
Chu Mingjia said in a low voice, “Han Fengchen, stand behind me.”
Han Fengchen, his face pale, hid behind Chu Mingjia.
Straight ahead of them, less than ten meters away, stood a nine-story tavern in the middle of the wilderness. Outside the tavern was a golden archway inscribed with four large characters: 【Mountain Lord’s Divine Palace】.
Han Fengchen: “…”
Han Fengchen: “No wonder the shrine was so empty. Turns out the mountain god struck it rich and bought a golden villa!”
Chu Mingjia: “…”
Chu Mingjia smiled. “Shut up.”
Jiang Meng walked over and looked at the enormous structure not far away. From within came the raucous sounds of ghosts and the melody of music. And right there, Jiang Meng could sense the presence of the spiritual vein.
Jiang Meng’s expression turned cold and stern. “It seems this is their lair.”
Chu Mingjia said, “Don’t make a move yet. I want to go in personally and meet this mountain god.”