Chapter 54: Silencing the Witness

Ahead, three burly men were running hurriedly, shouting something as they fled. They were clearly in grave danger.
"Help! Help!"
"There's a ghost! There's a ghost!"
The three men screamed at the top of their lungs, their expressions twisted with utter panic, evidently terrified out of their wits.

Plump looked at Yang Xuan in confusion, asking, "Where's the ghost? I don't see anything."
"Stop talking nonsense! Let's get out of here!" Yang Xuan urged.
He had a lingering feeling that the three men ahead were acting abnormally, especially the two young men in the middle whose eyes were glowing with an ominous red light, just like beasts, sending chills down his spine.

"Huh?"
Suddenly, Yang Xuan's pupils contracted sharply, and his expression changed drastically.
"Damn it! This is bad, let's move!"
Yang Xuan grabbed Plump by the arm and broke into a fast sprint.

Dragged along by Yang Xuan, Plump stumbled a few steps and almost fell to the ground. He couldn't understand why Yang Xuan was suddenly running.
At that exact moment, the three men ahead turned around and started chasing directly after Plump and Yang Xuan.
"Damn it! What rotten luck!"
Yang Xuan cursed under his breath, never expecting to be dragged into such a mess.
Those three men had clearly provoked some filthy entity. But to make matters worse, they were actually trying to lead that foul thing right toward them—that was simply going too far.
Trouble like this brought nothing but misfortune to anyone who touched it!
More importantly, those ghosts were all surging toward his direction. Weren't they trying to drag him down into the abyss?
Forget it, run first, ask questions later!
Yang Xuan dragged Plump and ran wildly.

"Huff, huff..."
The two of them ran half a street in one breath. Seeing that they had finally shaken off those three men, they stopped to catch their breath.
"Can you tell me now? What on earth is going on?"
Plump had transformed from an agile chubby guy into a nearly dying fat man. It was the first time in his life he realized running could be this exhausting.
"Those three men were possessed by ghosts, didn't you notice?" Yang Xuan shot Plump a sidelong glance. "Those three men didn't have shadows."
"I reckon the villagers knew we were investigating the matters of Huang Erya and Huang Daya, so they deliberately wanted to get rid of both of us together."

As he spoke, Yang Xuan's eyes narrowed slightly. The village chief had seemed kind-hearted on the surface, but he never expected him to be so malicious behind the scenes.

Plump froze for a second, then his anger flared up to the heavens. "Damn it! I'm going to tear those bastards apart!"
Yang Xuan glanced indifferently at the enraged Plump. "What we need to do most right now is conserve our strength, find Huang Erya's soul, and get out of here as fast as possible."
"You mean..." Plump widened his eyes, looking at Yang Xuan in astonishment.
"That's right. I suspect Huang Erya's death is connected to those three men from earlier."
"They must have been possessed by ghosts, and what we need to do is eliminate these ghostly entities and leave this place immediately," Yang Xuan said solemnly.
Although his cultivation level wasn't high, it was more than enough to deal with ordinary ghosts.
After all, he was a bigshot with the Shadow Playwright System; dealing with mere ghosts was naturally a piece of cake.
Even if he couldn't handle it himself, he still had the Underworld Ghost King.
Yang Xuan's confidence doubled. His panicked flight earlier was solely because he hadn't figured out the truth yet. Now that he understood everything, he naturally had nothing to fear.
"Alright! Let's team up today and take down those sons of bitches!" Plump rubbed his hands together, looking eager and excited.

"Wait!"
Yang Xuan suddenly knitted his brows. "Why do I feel like the surroundings are getting eerie?"
Yang Xuan looked around; the street was completely empty.
Hearing this, Plump immediately became vigilant as well. He observed carefully for a moment and indeed found the place unusually quiet, without a single sound.
He raised his head and looked out into the distant night sky. With a rustling sound, the sky was suddenly hung densely with blood-red moons.
These blood moons were extremely bizarre. Suspended in the dark night, they emitted a bewitching, eerie glow that illuminated the entire village, making it feel as though they had been plunged into an Asura purgatory.
This bizarre and desolate sight made Yang Xuan's hair stand on end. A chill crept up his spine, and he couldn't help shivering.
Plump felt the same way. Goosebumps broke out all over his body, and he instinctively hugged his arms tighter, trembling as he said, "What kind of cursed place is this? I've got a really bad feeling about it."

Yang Xuan's face turned pale.
"Damn it! We accidentally stumbled into the ghost's domain."
If he had known earlier, he would have brought Huang Daya along. Although she wasn't a powerful ghost, in a situation like this, they wouldn't be caught so defenselessly passive.
If worst came to worst, he would just have to release the cleaver-wielding imp and the Underworld Ghost King later.
Yang Xuan could no longer afford to worry about exposing his identity.
Besides, if he really exposed himself, he could always threaten Plump and force him to become a member of his theatrical troupe as well.

"What should we do now?" Plump asked, feeling somewhat helpless and disoriented.
"You, stay back and hide," Yang Xuan instructed, while constantly calling out to the system in his mind.
"Do you have any ghost-repelling talismans?"
[A ghost-repelling talisman costs 3,000 merit points. Does the host wish to redeem it?]
"Yes, redeem it."
Saving his life took priority; how could Yang Xuan care about the price right now?
He still had a little over 50,000 merit points left in total, and he hoped they would last until dawn.
[Congratulations to the host for spending 3,000 merit points to redeem a Corpse-Slaying Talisman.]

Confirming that the talisman had arrived in his inventory, Yang Xuan hurriedly took it out, bit his finger, and drew the ghost-repelling talisman.
Instantly, Yang Xuan felt a surge of intense heat in his chest, as if something was burning.
Simultaneously, the previously silent surroundings suddenly erupted with whispers, resembling the weeping of ghosts and howling of wolves.
Terrified, Yang Xuan and Plump quickly covered their ears and squatted down.

"BOOM—"
A muffled thunderclap exploded out of nowhere, deafening and causing a buzzing ring in the heads of both Yang Xuan and Plump.
Following that, a ball of pitch-black mist slowly drifted out, transforming into a girl dressed in red.
She possessed delicate features and exquisitely refined facial traits, while her dark, glossy eyes flashed with a cold, resentful light.
The girl's lips were thin, and her cheeks were sunken, bearing a pale, sickly complexion.
She parted her lips in a wide grin, revealing sharp, snow-white teeth, with fresh blood still lingering at the corners of her mouth.
Word by word, she spoke, "Huang Erya? Huang Daya? Heh, those two bitches!"
With that, the girl abruptly turned her head and glared at Yang Xuan and Plump.

Yang Xuan felt a chill run down his spine under her gaze, and he couldn't help swallowing hard. "You... what grievance do you have with Huang Daya and Huang Erya? I was invited here by the village chief to perform rites, and I don't know the specifics of what happened. Please don't drag an innocent person into this."
Yang Xuan's heart was fluttering with fright.
If he had known better, he wouldn't have taken this commission. How did he manage to get himself wrapped up in this mess?
"Innocent? Heh, back then she stole my fiancé and ruined my chastity—do you really think I wouldn't seek revenge?"
The girl roared with a ferocious expression, and she suddenly thrust out her hands, lunging straight toward Yang Xuan.