Dao Qi Wu Zang Guan Guan: I became a Daoist Master in the 1990s

Chapter 31 Roadblock

Everyone stared in disbelief as the green bus silently slid into the dark rain, as if it had never existed.

A deathly silence descended instantly, with only the roar of the wind and rain growing ever more piercing.

"Was...that...was that a ghost?"

Zhang Qiang's teeth chattered, and when he said the word "ghost," his body trembled violently, and the beam of his broken flashlight flickered wildly in the mud.

"What else could it be but a ghost?!" The straggling stranger's voice was hoarse, filled with the terror of surviving a near-death experience. "You didn't see that train conductor? He was a completely dried-up corpse! Muddy water was oozing from his eye sockets! He'd been dead for who knows how long!"

"Damn it, there's an old saying about encountering a ghost while walking at night, and this time it's really happened!"

"There really are ghosts in this world!" Liu Wen lay sprawled in the mud, the warmth of his crotch long since drenched by the cold rain, leaving only a bone-chilling cold.

All eyes, involuntarily drawn to Qi Yun, were filled with the lingering fear of surviving a disaster and a hint of indescribable curiosity.

In the dim light, Qi Yun's short, wet hair clung to his forehead, his coat was covered in mud, and although he wasn't particularly burly, he stood ramrod straight, like an iron nail driven into the mud.

Zhang Qiang's Adam's apple bobbed, his voice was dry, and he spoke with unprecedented awe: "Brother Qi...you...you just now, that ghost...that thing seemed a little...a little afraid of you?"

He recalled the scene of the mummified "train conductor" staring at Qi Yun with his dark eye sockets, then slowly lowering his arm, turning around and getting on the train.

Combined with Qi Yun's mysterious disappearance in the mountains for five days and five nights, and his unusual strength.

An absurd yet seemingly the only reasonable idea began to grow wildly in their minds.

“Yes, Brother Qi,” Liu Wen struggled to his feet, not caring about his disheveled appearance, his voice urgent, “That thing stopped when it saw you! You…you’ve trained before, haven’t you?”
Like the kind of highly skilled people portrayed in movies?
"The swordsman of Mount Shu? Internal energy cultivation? During those days you went into the mountains, were you... were you searching for immortal treasures? Did you find any?"

The passengers who had fallen behind also stared intently at Qi Yun, their eyes filled with a complex light that was a mixture of hope and fear.

Qi Yun immediately shook his head, "What expert! I'm just a bit brave and have good eyesight. I really did get lost in the mountains that time!"

Stop guessing! We're in the middle of nowhere, the most important thing is to get back to the train!

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with skepticism.

"Then...then those people who got on the bus just now..."

Liu Wen pointed tremblingly in the direction the ghost car had disappeared, his voice trembling with tears, "The entire carriage... was dragged away by that ghost...they..."

"If someone is taken away by a ghost, can they possibly have a good ending?"

Qi Yun interrupted him, her voice icy.

His gaze swept over the pale faces of the crowd. "The fact that we few have survived is a miracle!"

"I can't worry about others! My priority is to save my own life. I'll go back and report to the government so that someone special can handle it!"

He felt a chill run down his spine: Sure enough, ghosts and monsters roam the real world! At the national level, there must be some hidden force to deal with them, right?
Fear overwhelmed all other emotions.

No one dared to ask any more questions. Like startled quails, they huddled closely behind Qi Yun and stumbled back along the way they had come.

The icy rain streamed down my neck, the chill seeping into my bones.

The fear intensified when I passed by that desolate graveyard again, damp and reeking of decaying earth and the stench of stones.

suddenly!

Qi Yun, who was walking at the front, suddenly stopped in his tracks!

A dim beam of light pierced through the rain ahead, revealing a dark figure standing in the middle of the road!
It remained motionless and silent, like a cold boundary marker, blocking the way.

"Ah—! A ghost! There's another ghost!"

Zhang Qiang was so frightened that he almost dropped his flashlight and scrambled to hide behind Qi Yun.

The others were in complete chaos, their terrified screams torn apart by the wind and rain.

Having just experienced the ghostly train, and now encountering a ghost blocking their path in this graveyard, their fear reached its peak. "Don't panic!" Qi Yun whispered, forcibly suppressing the trembling in his heart.

He carefully put Li Juan down from his back and handed her over to Liu Wen and Zhang Qiang, who were trembling beside him, for support. "You two step back, I'll go up and take a look!"

He took a deep breath, the cold air carrying the pungent smell of grave soil rushing straight into his lungs.

Within the heart and spleen orifices, the warm Crimson Hunting Fire was fully activated, and the scorching airflow silently gathered in the palms of both hands. A faint red glow seemed to flow beneath the skin, poised to be unleashed.

He approached step by step, each step sinking into the mud with a "plop" sound that was particularly jarring in the deathly silence.

The beam of light finally illuminated the "thing" clearly.

a man.

He was dressed in an old-fashioned silk shroud that had been starched until stiff, was pale in color, and was embroidered with rough, dark patterns.

Its skin was a deathly bluish-gray, covered with fine, cracked lines resembling the fissures of porcelain. Rainwater flowed along these cracks, making it appear even more eerie. Its face was bloodless, its eyes were cloudy and lifeless, staring blankly ahead, and its lips were a deep purple.

It reeked of incense, damp mud, and an indescribable stench of decay.

It stood there, blocking the middle of the road, completely unresponsive to Qi Yun's approach, like a stone statue standing on a grave.

Qi Yunxin's heart leaped into her throat, and her palms burned.

He stopped three steps away from his opponent, his muscles tense, the Crimson Hunting Flame pulsating in his palm, ready to burst forth at any moment.

He tried, extremely slowly, to take another half step forward...

Just as his foot was about to land!

The dark blue "man's" figure suddenly swayed!
It wasn't an attack, but rather it vanished without warning, like wisps of smoke scattered by the wind!

Only the nauseating stench of decay remained in the cold air.

gone?

Qi Yun's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and the burning sensation in his palm subsided a little.

"In the end, he still fears the Crimson Hunting Fire..." he thought to himself.

However, the idea had barely formed in his mind.

"Brother Qi! Behind you!!" Zhang Qiang's shrill, distorted scream rang out behind him like a thunderclap!
A chilling, bone-deep cold, carrying the pungent stench of death, instantly enveloped the back of Qi Yun's neck!

A large, dark blue hand with skin as hard as tree bark appeared out of nowhere like an iron clamp and gripped his neck tightly!
The immense force nearly crushed his cervical spine in an instant!

Even more terrifying, a chilling, needle-like aura crept into his flesh and blood vessels through that palm, rushing straight to his brain!

"Ugh!" Qi Yun was caught off guard, and the feeling of suffocation and the chill made his vision go black!
But his reaction was extremely fast, his survival instinct kicked in!
As his neck was being choked, his right hand swiftly retaliated, gripping the cold, stiff wrist tightly! His mind raced!
"burn!"

The crimson flames gathered in the palm were no longer a lukewarm current, but transformed into a scorching, sharp, and evil-dispelling crimson thread that pierced fiercely into the ghostly hand!
"laugh--!"

Like a red-hot branding iron pressed onto wet cowhide!
A stench of burning flesh, accompanied by thick black smoke, suddenly rose up! The ghostly hand trembled violently, and the immense force instantly dissipated!
Qi Yun broke free of his restraints, turned around abruptly, and simultaneously emitted crimson light from his palms as he assumed a defensive stance!
Behind me—there was nothing!
There was only cold rain and an impenetrable darkness.

The ghost seemed to have never appeared.

Then he looked at where Zhang Qiang and the others were, and his eyes narrowed instantly.

"Behind you!" Qi Yun practically roared.

late!

Just as Qi Yun shouted, a blurry black shadow emerged from the rain and grabbed the straggling passenger by the neck!
"Help..." The passenger's cry for help was only uttered half a syllable before he was violently dragged away by a tremendous force!
The human figure and the shadowy figure disappeared into the darkness together.

Everyone turned around and saw only an empty muddy field.

(End of this chapter)