Chapter 354: Chapter 318: Ming Mansion Encounter

In the latter half of the night, Sang Que woke up Qiao Ling and Xia Chan. Xia Chan still wanted to sleep, so Sang Que stuffed her into the painting to sleep enough. The three horses were also temporarily stored in the painting. Holding Xuan Yu and Qiao Ling, they all crowded into the flower sedan to continue the journey.

The direction they needed to take made it difficult to bypass Tangyuan County by horseback, so it was more efficient and safer to use the flower sedan at night.

The Five Ghosts swiftly carried the sedan, and any evil spirits encountered along the way were all killed by the Red Umbrella Ghost leading the way.

Where it would originally take a day on horseback to reach Tangyuan County, the flower sedan only took two hours, and they successfully bypassed Tangyuan County from the back.

Near Tangyuan County, Sang Que heard many infants crying. She was sensitive to this and could sense many baby spirits who died tragically in Tangyuan County, even from a distance.

Liu Tianyou had once told her that on the night of the ghost calamity at Wangshan City, he and Hua Qianmian encountered a dwarf with a clown’s face paint, surrounded by baby spirits who delighted in torturing children.

Perhaps the joker from the Ghost Opera Troupe is now guarding Tangyuan County.

Thinking of this, Sang Que thought of Hua Qianmian. Liu Tianyou said he first lost consciousness, and at that time, Hua Qianmian was already showing signs of losing control, so whether he could survive was uncertain.

The sky began to brighten as the flower sedan entered the woods under Cuiyun Mountain. Sang Que urged the Red Umbrella Ghost to speed up, hoping to get out of Cuiyun Mountain before the sun rose.

Ming Mansion had already sunk into the Hidden Realm, but in this world overrun by ghosts, unusual things couldn’t be judged by common sense, and anything strange was not surprising.

At that moment, the flower sedan suddenly halted abruptly, nearly throwing Sang Que and Qiao Ling out.

Once they settled back, Sang Que lifted the sedan curtain.

Outside, there was a mist all around; the world was a gray and white expanse, and ash fell silently like snow. The world was barren and devoid of life, with only fallen trees under which webs and tiny insects were hidden.

Qiao Ling exclaimed in surprise, “How did we suddenly enter the Hidden Realm?”

Sang Que got out of the sedan, looked around, and saw a fork in the road. Going up from the fork, the long-unseen Ming Mansion was right ahead.

There were white Ghost Face Bellflowers growing around the house, swaying in the wind.

Qiao Ling caught up quickly, covering her mouth and nose, “Let’s find a place to take shelter; we can’t stay long in the Hidden Mist.”

Sang Que pulled Qiao Ling, who was about to enter Ming Mansion, “No need, I can take you out.”

She had a psychological shadow about Ming Mansion; even though she knew Nie God was no longer there, and Ming Wanxi and Huilan might be inside, she didn’t want to go in.

Sang Que pulled Qiao Ling back, preparing to open a door to leave when the tightly closed gate of Ming Mansion made a sound and opened by itself. Sang Que hastened her retreat, nearly dragging Qiao Ling to the ground.

But the gate wasn’t welcoming Sang Que in; instead, two people burst out, and the gate closed tightly behind them.

The two were entangled with red water weeds. When they looked up, they locked eyes with Sang Que from a distance, both showing astonished expressions.

“Sang Er!”

“Qin Liu!”

A piece of Qin Ze’s head was missing, and water weeds wriggled inside, making him look bizarre. The person he was supporting bled profusely from the abdomen, with intestines partly hanging out, severely injured and already unconscious.

Sang Que urgently opened a door so Qin Ze could bring the person and leave the Hidden Realm with her first.

Once outside, it was just dawn. The green woods and morning glow brought a sense of peace.

Qiao Ling took a deep look at the door Sang Que opened but didn’t ask anything. She instructed Qin Ze to quickly lay the person flat on the ground. Qiao Ling first checked Qin Ze’s head and saw his eyes were clear with no signs of passing out, so she didn’t bother him.

“Mulan, give me Xia Chan.”

Sang Que took out the painting to release Xia Chan, feeling like Qiao Ling’s tone sounded similar to ’handing over bandages.’

Once Xia Chan emerged, she was immediately directed by Qiao Ling to assist with suturing, barely having time to finish gnawing her radish.

Qin Ze, seeing Qiao Ling’s posture, understood she was professional and dared not disturb her, sitting down beside a tree to catch his breath.

“Your head… is it okay?” Sang Que asked as she walked over.

Qin Ze raised his hand to feel it, “It’s nothing; it will recover by itself in a few days. I never expected you to really be alive, and if Captain He sees you, he’ll surely be very happy.”

“Where is he now?”

“In Dongyang County.”

Sang Que felt a surge of joy; it seemed they weren’t far. She asked Qin Ze again, “How did you come out from Ming Mansion?”

Qin Ze furrowed his brow with a touch of sadness, still considering Sang Que one of his own and hid nothing from her.

“Old Shi, Qian Er, and I were ordered to investigate the whereabouts of the Qianshou Army’s grain supply. We fell into the trap set by the Puppet Master from the Ghost Opera Troupe. There was no grain at all in Black Mountain Village, but we three were surrounded. Old Shi… Old Shi desperately defended me and Qian Er so we could escape; I originally thought we wouldn’t make it.”

“But Black Mountain Village has something strange. In the courtyard of one house, I saw an old woman standing by a well. She glanced at me and then plunged her head into the well. I distinctly remember there being no well in that courtyard, but with those puppet people closing in, being cornered, I gritted my teeth and jumped into the well with the injured Qian Er.”

“In the water at the bottom of the well, I saw a woman who was all white and another dressed in a bridal gown. They pointed me in a direction and disappeared. So I swam quite a distance, surfaced at another well’s mouth, in another courtyard, and from there, went outside and met you.”

Sang Que nodded. The cursed well at Shouhou’s house in Black Mountain Village and the one at Ming Mansion are indeed connected in a certain way, which cannot be scientifically explained.

Ming Wanxi and Huilan still resided within Ming Mansion. It was their covert assistance allowing Qin Ze’s escape this time.

“Are there still people in Black Mountain Village?” Sang Que asked.

Qin Ze shook his head, “It’s been abandoned for a long time; really strange, there are wheel tracks on the village road, but where did the grain go?”

Sang Que pondered, “Did you see an old locust tree?”

Qin Ze nodded.

“That old locust tree is special; occasionally, a rift leading to the Hidden Realm appears around it. The grain you are searching for is likely in the Hidden Realm.”

Qin Ze was stunned, “That’s troublesome. If it’s in the Hidden Realm, the Five Ghost Transport Technique can’t carry the grain out, and Dongyang County is short on supplies.”

“I came from the Sancha River Pass, and the garrison’s grain supplies are abundant there. Dongyang County’s route for receiving supplies from Jinzhou is closer. How can there be a shortage?”

Qin Ze sighed helplessly, “Don’t you know what kind of person Captain He is? At present, no place accepts civilians outside the young adults, including the Qianshou Army, which doesn’t accept them either. Those elderly, women, and children can only flee on their own, or resign themselves to fate. Captain He has taken in all those elderly, women, and children who fled from several counties around here. Initially, the supplies were sufficient to last until the reinforcements arrived next month. But now, I’m afraid in three to five days, it’ll reach its limit.”

Qiao Ling let out a light laugh from behind, “That sounds like something he’d do.”

Sang Que stood up, looking to the east, “As for the grain, I will help you transport it!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep