Thriller Zone: From the Mental Hospital to the Ghostly World

"whee....."

A silvery laugh echoed beneath the offering table.

With a childlike crispness, but in this environment, it sent chills down Chen Ji's spine!

The mud doll's upside-down face looks bizarre no matter how you look at it, and its mouth is sealed with red clay. Who knows where its laughter is coming from!

Chen Ji kicked the mud doll on the head, feeling as if he had kicked a steel plate!

The clay doll remained completely still.

Chen Yuetan, who was behind, grabbed Chen Ji and dragged him outside the offering table.

Only then did they finally see...

The main hall has changed.

Above their heads are now two white paper lanterns!

But it was definitely black before!

If it weren't for the absence of the word "奠" (meaning "offering sacrifice") on the sign, Chen Ji would have suspected that they had entered a mourning hall instead of a temple!

But what's even more terrifying is...

With a muffled thud, Chen Ji saw the clay doll, whose feet were hooked on the offering table and whose head was sticking down, suddenly straighten up.

Then, it suddenly "slammed" to the ground!

Its body is made entirely of mud and has absolutely no elasticity.

Therefore, it didn't make any "walking" motion at all, but instead jumped stiffly towards Chen Ji and the other person!

Bang!

Bang!

Beside her crescent-shaped eyes, wrinkles seemed to burst open, and the soil cracked slightly.

He was holding two incense sticks in each hand!

"Lighting incense but not two sticks is considered worshipping ghosts."

Chen Yuetan frowned and was about to step back when he suddenly tripped over his foot.

They somehow escaped to the altar.

Chen Yuetan quickly glanced behind him, his expression suddenly changing drastically:

"go!"

However, he suddenly knelt on the ground!

Chen Ji was startled, but at that very moment...

He suddenly felt a tremendous force pressing down on his shoulder, forcing him to kneel down as well!

He was only half a meter away from the altar, so close that he could clearly see that there was a thick layer of ash on it.

This makes sense, since no one has come to clean it for many years.

However, at the very center of the altar, Chen Ji actually saw a small, clean area, free of dirt and dust.

Judging from the shape...

A pair of footprints, tightly pressed together, belonging to a child.

Even from a distance, there were two identical marks.

Their feet were also together.

This process is repeated until the edge of the altar.

Chen Ji instantly understood.

Those are the marks left by the jump.

The objects enshrined in this temple are clay dolls!

Bang!

Bang!

The mud doll jumped in front of them.

The uncle and nephew stood with their backs straight, staring directly into the cheerful face of the clay doll.

Chen Ji felt an inexplicable sense of unease.

In the same environment, if the other party were a blue-faced, fanged demon, or a pale female corpse dressed in a funeral shroud... Chen Ji would not feel anything.

But it turned out to be a clay statue.

A clay statue with a beaming smile, resembling a child from a traditional Chinese New Year painting.

Moreover... it is about 50% similar to Wusu.

Thinking of this, Chen Ji's body suddenly trembled. He suddenly realized that Wu Su was not kneeling with them!

Chen Yuetan remained silent.

Chen Ji's heart tightened, and he was about to turn his head—

The mud doll's head suddenly shot up in front of Chen Ji's face the instant he turned his neck.

The distance... is no more than 5 centimeters.

His expression changed.

Her eyes, no longer squinting with laughter, suddenly widened, staring intently at Chen Ji!

The slightly upturned lips tensed up in an instant.

The pupils, which were originally painted with oil paint, now exuded a strong sense of malice.

Chen Ji stopped moving.

He had no doubt that if his head had deviated even slightly, he would have died on the spot.

Perhaps, like the statues underground, his head was smashed... and his brains spilled onto his uncle beside him.

Thinking of this scene, Chen Ji felt a little suffocated.

The mud doll stared at Chen Ji for a few seconds before jumping back a step.

Like a face-changing act in Sichuan opera, it changed back to its previous smiling face.

click-

Its hands were raised high, spread apart to the left and right, and thrust in front of Chen Ji and the other person.

There were two incense sticks, each only a quarter of the way burned.

This is a signal for them to take the incense.

Chen Ji's expression was complicated; he already knew what the mud doll wanted them to do.

Offering sacrifices.

Three branches are used for worshipping gods, and two branches are used for worshipping ghosts.

The answer is clear: the person worshipping this temple's ghost statue is the real-life clay doll!

You can't move until you finish bowing.

This reminded Chen Ji of a time when he had performed the same ritual in the realm of ghost stories.

At that time, they were worshipping the portrait of the deceased.

If he prays three times, Old Lady Liang will crawl out of the portrait and kill him on the spot.

Chen Ji's heart sank. He felt that this scene was very similar to what had happened before, and there must be a trap in the process of worship.

Take the incense.

He glanced at Chen Yuetan out of the corner of his eye and saw that the other man was still sitting upright with his eyes fixed on the altar.

It seems to be waiting for something to happen.

Bang!

The mud doll jumped onto the altar, its feet landing precisely on the markings on the altar.

We eventually arrived at the very center.

The white face made of clay, though smiling, looked extremely fake.

At this moment, the incense in Chen Ji's hand also underwent a strange change!

The smoke spread rapidly, and a damp, rotten wood smell assaulted his nostrils, making his head feel dizzy and throbbing.

Through the hazy smoke, he could vaguely see...

The clay doll's mouth seemed to be slightly open.

It's eating incense!

The next second, a tremendous force pressed down on Chen Ji's back, forcing him to bend over and slam his head against the stone bricks with a loud thud!

The same applies to Chen Yuetan's side.

A crackling sound followed...

The incense in their hands had burned down by a quarter in the time it took to kowtow, and now only half remained!

Chen Ji did not raise his head immediately.

Instead, he looked at the ground.

Upon closer inspection, a few bits of dirt were mixed into the incense ash on the stone bricks.

At the same time, Chen Ji felt a sharp pain in his forehead; the force he had just experienced must have broken his forehead.

But he didn't smell a trace of blood.

There's only one explanation...

His face was slowly turning into mud!

Chen Ji controlled his strength and slowly raised his head. Through the hazy smoke, he confirmed his guess.

The clay dolls on the altar became more lifelike than before.

When this incense stick burns out, that will be the moment when they and the clay doll... completely exchange places.

At that time, the clay doll's earthen body will become flesh, and Chen Ji and the other person will become two statues.

They'll die after two more prayers!

But if they don't worship, they can't move!

This can already be considered a certain death situation.

Chen Ji sighed softly and decided to use the pen's skill.

He originally intended to keep it for use in the tomb.

However.....

Just then, a barely perceptible hissing sound drifted from beside him.

"The incense points to the left."

It's Chen Yuetan!

Chen Ji was taken aback and immediately glanced at Chen Yuetan out of the corner of his eye, only to find that the other man's face was completely unharmed!

Chen Yuetan's eyes were slightly turned to the left.

Chen Ji's heart stirred slightly.