Global Ghost Stories: I'm Investigating Ghosts in My Nightmare!

Chapter 25 Heading into the Cave

"How are you feeling? Are there any signs of a mental breakdown?" An Mu asked quickly as he helped him lean against a twisted, dead tree.

"I'm not going to die yet." Bai Yu shook his head. He could feel that the tiny cracks deep in his soul had been covered by a gentle force. Although the huge main cracks still existed menacingly, at least he was no longer a broken porcelain vase that could "collapse" completely at any moment.

Bai Yu looked up and surveyed his surroundings. This forest was even more eerie than he had imagined. Beneath his feet lay countless years' worth of withered leaves and bones, soft and slippery to the touch. The surrounding trees twisted into agonizing, struggling human figures, appearing and disappearing in the swirling mist of blood, like a silent yet malevolent spectator.

“Captain, we must formulate a new plan immediately.” Bai Yu’s tone was more serious and urgent than ever before. “Our previous deduction was half right, but the other half… was quite wrong.”

An Mu, Mo Fei, and Lan Ce's gazes instantly focused on him. They could sense that Bai Yu, who had just woken from his coma, seemed different in some way.

His face was still pale and weak, but his eyes held a clarity that seemed to have seen through all the truth.

“While I was unconscious,” Bai Yu didn’t say it was a dream, but chose a way that was easier for his teammates to understand and accept, “the immense resentment contained in that glass of wine had not completely disappeared. It was like a key that forcibly unlocked the memories of this village that had been sealed for a hundred years. I ‘saw’ something, something about the real cause of this tragedy.”

He paused, organized the massive flow of information, and then slowly began to tell the story that had been buried for a century.

As Bai Yu began to narrate, Mo Fei, Lan Ce, and An Mu's eyes instantly became incredibly focused; they knew this must be crucial intelligence capable of overturning the entire mission.

Bai Yu recounted everything he experienced in his dream in its entirety.

After listening, even Mo Fei, a rough-around-the-edges man, fell into a long silence. A mixture of sympathy and sorrow appeared on his face. He finally understood that the terrifying corpse of the groom in the ancestral hall had once been a pitiful person who loved so deeply yet was hurt so thoroughly.

Lan Ce adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses gleaming with rationality. "Based on Bai Yu's intelligence, we can construct a new model. Lin Sheng's resentment is the foundation and 'shell' of this rule-based space, but he has likely been corrupted and exploited by the higher-ranking 'Mountain God.' He is both a victim and a perpetrator, and one of the 'cores' of this space. Our true enemy is the 'Mountain God' hiding behind all of this."

"So what should we do now?" Mo Fei asked. "Since Lin Sheng is also a victim, we can't... really eliminate him completely, can we?"

"That's exactly what I wanted to say. Our mission objective must be completely changed." Bai Yu looked at everyone, her eyes filled with unwavering determination. "We can no longer aim for 'annihilation.' Although Lin Sheng's resentment is the source of the curse, Awan told me that at the deepest level of that resentment, there must still be the purest 'love' for him. That is the last part of him that belongs to 'humanity.' The mountain god can use his hatred, but it cannot taint his love. What we need to do is not kill him, but awaken him!"

"Wake them up?" An Mu frowned. "How exactly do we do that?"

Bai Yu did not answer, but slowly took out the wooden ladle with golden water ripples flowing on its surface from his pocket.

The moment it appeared, an aura filled with compassion and purification emanated from the small wooden ladle, forcing back the surrounding cursed blood-red mist and creating an unpolluted sanctuary around the four of them.

"What is this?" Mo Fei and Lan Ce stared in shock at the "sacred object" that exuded a holy aura, completely unable to associate it with this place filled with death and resentment.

Bai Yu stroked the warm surface of the wooden ladle and said softly, "This is the embodiment of Awan's last obsession and power, and also the only key for us to awaken Lin Sheng."

Just as Bai Yu was explaining all this, a cold yet elegant voice finally rang out again from the depths of his soul, which had been somewhat repaired.

"Oh? That really surprises me. My 'work of art' on the verge of collapse has been repaired by the 'tears' of some sentimental losers? Ha... How boring, how tedious, how... nauseatingly pure power."

It's black language.

He woke up.

“However,” Hei Yan’s voice shifted, tinged with excitement and curiosity, “this ‘mountain god’ can orchestrate events for a century, using the love and hatred of an entire village as his canvas, recklessly splashing paint called ‘despair’… This skill, this taste, is far more refined than this weeping saintess in your hands. I’m starting to look forward to a formal meeting with this ‘fellow traveler.’” Bai Yu ignored the demon’s whispers in his mind, but Hei Yan’s awakening was definitely good news for him.

“With this, our plan becomes feasible.” An Mu’s gaze shifted from the sacred wooden gourd, regaining the calm and decisiveness of a commander. He looked at the rugged mountain path before him, covered with withered leaves and bones, and a brand-new battle plan quickly took shape in his mind.

“We have two objectives,” An Mu’s voice rang out clearly in the mental link. “The primary objective is to find and enter the sacrificial cave, and use Bai Yu’s ‘sacred relic’ and A Wan’s obsession to try to awaken Lin Sheng’s consciousness and dismantle this cursed space from within. The secondary objective, and the most dangerous one, is that if the awakening fails or we encounter the true mastermind, the ‘Mountain God,’ then our mission will shift to destroying the energy core of this space at all costs and smuggling out as much information about the ‘Mountain God’ as possible!”

"Understood!" Mo Fei and Lan Ce replied in unison, their eyes rekindling with the flames of battle. The truth, though cruel, had shown them their true enemy and the meaning of their fight.

“The operation plan is as follows,” Anmu continued, “We must reach the cave as quickly as possible and not be bothered by any more resentment along the way. Baiyu, you lead the way.”

He looked at Bai Yu with a solemn expression. “The wooden ladle in your hand is our ‘holy light.’ It can purify and suppress the mountain god’s curse. You will walk in front and clear a safe path for us. Mo Fei and I will be on your left and right flanks behind you, responsible for eliminating any physical threats that try to get close to you. Lan Ce, you will cover the rear and monitor any abnormal fluctuations in the surrounding environment, alerting us at any time.”

"Yes!"

“Remember, the core of our operation is ‘infiltration’ and ‘awakening,’ not ‘frontal assault.’ Unless absolutely necessary, avoid direct confrontation with the monster that’s currently fusing inside the shrine. We don’t have much time.” An Mu’s gaze swept across each team member’s face. “Does everyone understand?”

"clear!"

The unified response was filled with a determination to fight to the death.

Bai Yu took a deep breath and gripped the pristine white wooden ladle tightly in his hand. A warm yet sorrowful power flowed slowly into his body through his palm, soothing his still-aching soul and giving him unprecedented courage.

He is no longer a broken vessel that can only passively endure. At this moment, he holds in his hands a soul's century-long love and hope, and will become the first ray of light to pierce through this endless darkness.

He was the first to take a step into the darkness shrouded in blood mist.

A strange scene happened.

When the soft glow emanating from the white wooden ladle in Bai Yu's hand touched the surrounding swirling fog, the fog, filled with curses and malice, emitted a soft "sizzling" sound and quickly dispersed to both sides.

A safe passage, about three meters wide and untouched by the blood mist, slowly unfolded before them, winding its way into the unknown depths of the mountains and forests.

"...It's a success!" Mo Fei exclaimed in surprise.

"Go!" An Mu gave the order without the slightest hesitation.

The four-person group, with Bai Yu as the spearhead, An Mu and Mo Fei as the wings, and Lan Ce at the rear, formed a solid assault formation. They resolutely marched along the path of hope opened up by the tears of the saintess towards the final stage of the entire tragedy—the sacrificial cave.

Before them lay a malevolent force capable of devouring everything.

But this time, they harbored a love for a departed soul.

In this final battle, a tale of despair and hope, resentment and love, they will represent the deep affection that has been betrayed for a century, and seek final justice.

(End of this chapter)