Chapter 051

The child’s smartwatch on his wrist started ringing just as Qiao Man was taking a giant pink cloud of cotton candy from a staff member.

The cotton candy was as fluffy and light as a real cloud, even larger than his own head. Holding it in his hand completely blocked his vision. With his left hand occupied by the cotton candy and his right hand holding a hot dog he’d already taken a bite of, he didn’t have a third hand to answer the call. Consequently, the person on the other end hung up before he could get to it.

He squeezed through the crowd in the queue to find Pei Xiwang. Pei Xiwang’s hands were also full. The two of them had just visited a shop inside the amusement park and bought quite a few plushies and souvenirs.

Asking Pei Xiwang to hold his hot dog for him, Qiao Man called back. After two rings, an automated female voice prompted: “The number you have dialed is out of the service area.”

“Huh?”

Qiao Man was completely bewildered. He tapped around on his watch and quickly dialed Lu Jianxing instead.

The automated female voice repeated the prompt: “The number you have dialed is out of the service area…”

“The number you have dialed is out of the service area…”

“That’s strange,” Qiao Man said, confused. “Why can’t I get through to Xingxing’s phone?”

Pei Xiwang, who was also munching on a hot dog, said indistinctly, “Maybe the signal is just bad. This amusement park is pretty remote, basically in the suburbs. When I tried to open a webpage earlier, it took forever to load.”

Qiao Man tilted his head. “Is that so?”

Since they had finished buying their things, the two of them started heading back with their many bags to reunite with Lu Jianxing.

With cotton candy in one hand and a hot dog in the other, Qiao Man nibbled from the left and chewed from the right. A long balloon string was tied to his body, and a plump balloon floated above his head. As he walked forward, the balloon trailed along behind him.

The food in his hands significantly slowed their pace. By the time they returned to the spot where they had parted ways, the bench was empty. Lu Jianxing was nowhere to be seen. Pei Xiwang did a quick sweep of the restrooms, and Qiao Man even bent down to check the space under the bench, but neither of them found him.

“Strange, where did Xingxing go?”

Qiao Man continued to dial the number, but he was still met only by the automated voice saying he was “out of the service area.”

Pei Xiwang looked around. “We didn’t see him on the path we just took. Did he walk off in the other direction?”

“No, the Ferris Wheel is that way.” Qiao Man pointed toward the massive Ferris Wheel in the distance, which was the same direction they had gone to buy the cotton candy. Their original destination was the Ferris Wheel. “Xingxing wouldn’t go anywhere else. He must have gone to look for me.”

Pei Xiwang asked, “Then where should we look for him?”

“Xingxing said that if he and I ever get separated, I should stay in one place and wait for him to come find me.” Qiao Man obediently climbed onto the bench and sat down, calmly continuing to eat his giant cotton candy. “I’ll just wait here for Xingxing to come back for me.”

Pei Xiwang thought about it and sat down beside him. “Fair enough. We’ll wait here for ten minutes. If he’s not back by then, we’ll go to the visitor center and have them make an announcement over the PA system.”

“Okay.”

Ten minutes later, instead of Lu Jianxing returning, the Long-braided Ghost floated back.

He had followed Qiao Man to buy cotton candy earlier, and upon realizing that Master Xiao Man’s son was missing, he had volunteered to help find him. Being a ghost, he moved quickly and had already searched the entire vicinity.

“Little Master, I’ve searched everywhere nearby, but I haven’t seen any sign of your son,” the Long-braided Ghost speculated. “Could he have gone back already?”

“No, Xingxing wouldn’t leave me here alone and go back by himself,” Qiao Man said firmly.

The Long-braided Ghost was puzzled. “Given how fast humans walk, he couldn’t have gone very far in this amount of time. I even floated over to the haunted house area, but there was no one there. Where could he have gone?”

That made it even stranger.

Qiao Man scratched his head, unable to figure it out.

Pei Xiwang couldn’t see the Long-braided Ghost, but he could tell from Qiao Man’s reaction that the search had yielded nothing. He said, “Lu Jianxing is an adult, surely he hasn’t managed to get himself lost? Nothing bad should happen inside an amusement park. Since the phone calls aren’t going through, let’s just go to the broadcast station. He’ll come find us once he hears the announcement.”

Qiao Man was about to nod when something suddenly occurred to him, and he froze.

Wait! There was a Vengeful Ghost in this amusement park that liked to hurt people!

As soon as that possibility crossed his mind, Qiao Man panicked. His small hands immediately began performing a divination. The Yin Energy here was too heavy, clouding his judgment, so he could only calculate a vague direction. More seriously, his calculation showed that Lu Jianxing’s fortune was currently covered by dark clouds, a sign of impending disaster.

He tried to calculate the Vengeful Ghost’s location again. He still couldn’t get a precise reading, only a vague direction, but this time, he found that the ghost’s location overlapped with Lu Jianxing’s fate.

There was only one answer!

“This is bad!” Qiao Man said in a panic. “Xingxing has been caught by the Vengeful Ghost!”

Pei Xiwang was shocked. “What?!”

Qiao Man was beside himself!

He had only stepped away for a moment, and in that brief lapse of attention, that Vengeful Ghost had actually seized the opportunity to snatch Xingxing away from right under his nose! Qiao Man had never been so provoked! Moreover, the person who had been taken wasn’t just anyone – this was the dear son that Xiao Man had worked so hard to find!

He only had this one son!!

Qiao Man couldn’t sit still any longer. He jumped down from the bench and, with his short legs moving as fast as they could, he dashed toward the Ferris Wheel, the balloon trailing wildly behind him.

“I’m going to save Xingxing!”

“Wait for me, Master Xiao Man!” Pei Xiwang hurriedly followed. “I’m coming too.”

The Long-braided Ghost also scrambled to float off in another direction. “Little Master, I’ll go ask the other ghosts in this park and see if they have any leads.”

…

Lu Jianxing encountered the same signpost for the sixth time.

Looking at the “500m” marker on the sign, he let out a sigh.

After several attempts, he realized he was trapped in a strange space, likely the legendary Ghost Wall¹. He was still within the amusement park, but he couldn’t leave this short stretch of path. Every time he thought he had reached the end, he would find the same familiar decorations around him, simply going in circles in the same spot.

Since he couldn’t find a way out, Lu Jianxing stood obediently by the side of the road and began to ponder how to escape.

Qiao Man would definitely come looking for him once he realized he was gone, but the child hadn’t brought his tools today. Lu Jianxing didn’t know how long it would take for the boy to find him. Or rather, when would Xiao Man even notice he was missing?

The one trapping him here probably wasn’t one of the employee ghosts from the amusement park, but rather one of the “wild ghosts” they had mentioned. He didn’t know what its goal was. If it was just a prank, that would be fine, but he feared it might have malicious intent.

Although there was a Little Master with superb Taoist skills in his household, Lu Jianxing hadn’t learned even a shred of ability from Qiao Man. He couldn’t catch ghosts, let alone engage in a battle of spiritual arts.

Lu Jianxing searched through all his pockets before finally pulling a thin Yellow Talisman Paper from an inner pocket of his jacket.

Qiao Man had given this to him. He didn’t know its specific use, but it was likely an Amulet. The child had said that since Lu Jianxing had been harmed by someone before, this was a layer of insurance to prevent him from being targeted again.

Well, Qiao Man’s toy cars and bicycles also had talisman papers with similar functions.

Clutching the talisman paper in his palm, Lu Jianxing felt slightly more at ease.

He had been trapped here for so long, and since the talisman Qiao Man gave him hadn’t reacted, did that mean this ghost didn’t intend to harm him?

Was it really just a prank?

If it was just a prank, was there room for negotiation?

He looked around. There wasn’t a breath of wind. In this vast, silent world, he could only hear the sound of his own breathing.

After a moment’s thought, Lu Jianxing raised his voice and spoke, “Is there a ghost here?”

“…”

“Do you know Xiao Yuan? He’s one of the ghosts working at the Haunted House in this park. If you live here, you must have seen them.”

“…”

By first indicating that he knew some of the local ghosts, Lu Jianxing was showing he wasn’t without connections in this park. He waited for a while, but there was no response. He paused, then continued, “My companion is outside looking for me. If possible, please let me out.”

“…”

“You must have an unfulfilled wish, right?”

Having gone on many “business trips” with Qiao Man and seen quite a few ghosts, Lu Jianxing had picked up on certain patterns.

Ghosts generally rarely went out of their way to cause trouble for people unless they had some sort of obsession. For instance, the Long-braided Ghost had nearly gone astray because his burial goods had been stolen. Most of the time, the paths of the living and the dead were separate, and ghosts behaved themselves.

He hadn’t offended any ghosts, nor had he damaged anyone’s property. He had been walking on a path frequented by many people. Yet, a ghost had snatched him and left him ignored in this space.

Lu Jianxing speculated, “…Is there some wish you want me to help you with?”

“…”

Suddenly, a blast of icy Yin Energy swept past.

The sky, which had been clear just a moment ago, turned grey in an instant. Gloomy dark clouds gathered overhead, and a wild wind swirled the withered fallen leaves on the ground. The bone-chilling cold wind felt like a frozen blade dancing against his skin.

Lu Jianxing shielded his eyes from the blowing sand. When he lowered his hand, a ghostly, sinister shadow had materialized a short distance in front of him.

The ghost was a middle-aged man who still looked as he did at the moment of his death. He appeared dusty and was covered in bloodstains from head to toe. He wore a bright red work vest.

His face was a sickly pale green, and his eyes were blood-red. He had almost lost his human appearance, with fangs faintly visible and red light flickering within the black mist swirling around his body.

The moment the ghost manifested, the talisman in Lu Jianxing’s hand suddenly began to grow hot.

Lu Jianxing tightened his grip on the talisman. He quietly adjusted his stance, his muscles tensing, ready to bolt at any moment.

He watched the ghost before him warily.

Xiao Man had told him that those wearing red were Vengeful Ghosts who had died with intense resentment.

He had originally thought it was just a prank by a wild ghost. It seemed his luck was quite poor; he had run into the very Vengeful Ghost that Xiao Man had been looking for but couldn’t find.

…

Beneath the Ferris Wheel.

The entrance to this attraction had been temporarily cordoned off, and visitors were prohibited from entering. After the last group of guests left, the staff began clearing the area.

The departing tourists couldn’t help but look back at the group of strangely dressed Taoists who had suddenly appeared.

That’s right, Taoists.

Several Taoists had arrived at the amusement park, personally invited by the park manager.

Master Ding stroked his beard, looking somewhat displeased at the tourists who were lingering and openly staring at them.

“Since you’ve asked us to come and perform a ritual, couldn’t you close the park for a day?” Master Ding looked around, his frown deepening. “Aren’t there a bit too many ghosts here?”

The park manager said with a forced smile, “Well, we’re running a business. This park covers a large area, and the daily operating costs are very high. Closing for even one day means losing money. Business hasn’t been great lately, and we simply can’t afford the loss.”

“As for those ghosts, they’re all our employees.” The park manager couldn’t see ghosts, so he naturally didn’t know that many of the ghosts watching the commotion nearby were wild ghosts who hadn’t signed any contracts. Even knowing there were ghosts around, he showed no fear. After all, he had two Masters standing beside him.

The manager added eagerly, “It was Master Yu who helped us find these ghost employees. They’ve really been a huge help.” They had saved a lot on labor costs.

Master Ding snorted. “With such heavy Yin Energy, it’s easy to attract wandering souls and wild ghosts. The more ghosts there are, the heavier the Yin Energy becomes. It’s no wonder something bad was drawn here.”

The manager, knowing he was in the wrong, wiped his sweat guiltily. “That’s why we’ve invited Master Yu back to assist us again.”

As he spoke, he looked toward Master Yu and his assistant, who were preparing to set up an altar nearby.

This Master Yu was the one the manager had specifically brought in to eliminate the ghost.

Of course, they weren’t eliminating the employee ghosts, but rather the Vengeful Ghost hiding within the park.

There was a Vengeful Ghost in their park that harmed people.

Perhaps because there were too many ghosts in the park and the Yin Energy was so heavy, that Vengeful Ghost was hidden very deep and was usually difficult to find. They had hired several Masters to eliminate it before, but none had succeeded after their battles. Seeing that the ghost wasn’t harming anyone at the time, they had stopped looking. Originally, everything had been peaceful enough to leave it alone, but not long ago, a life had been lost in the amusement park.

The news reported that the heart patient had been scared to death after a thrilling ride, but the manager had checked the park’s surveillance footage afterward. The deceased had just stepped off the Ferris Wheel before dying of fright.

Who could a Ferris Wheel scare to death? It wasn’t as if the deceased had a phobia of heights!

Others might not know, but the manager certainly did: there was a real ghost in this amusement park!

That was why he had gone to such lengths to invite Master Yu back, hoping to eliminate that Vengeful Ghost before another tragedy occurred. Business at the amusement park was already struggling; they couldn’t afford any more incidents.

“Master Yu, can you eliminate that Vengeful Ghost?” the amusement park manager asked anxiously. “That ghost has already killed someone. With people coming and going every day, if it happens again…”

Master Yu was a Taoist who possessed a transcendent, immortal air.

With his eyes half-closed, he didn’t give the manager a definitive answer. “This humble Taoist will do his best.”

“Master Yu, I’m leaving everything in your hands!”

Master Yu shook his head slightly, signaling him to clear the area. He didn’t want any bystanders nearby, lest innocent passersby be caught in the crossfire during the ghost-catching process.

The manager complied immediately. Fortunately, there weren’t many guests in the park that day, and most were gathered near the haunted house. After clearing the area and cordoning it off with fences, no one approached. The manager even sent the park staff away.

The ritual site was prepared, and Master Yu picked up his Peach Wood Sword, his expression solemn.

Master Ding stood behind Master Yu with his hands behind his back. Today, he wasn’t the protagonist of this ritual; his senior brother was.

Unlike his own mediocre skills, his senior brother, Master Yu, was a true Master whose Peach Wood Sword had vanquished many evil spirits.

As Master Yu raised the Peach Wood Sword, the ritual began.

They had to seize the time to eliminate the ghost during the day while it was weak. Once the sun set and the moon rose, the evil spirit would grow powerful and become much harder to deal with.

However, not long after the ritual began, it hit a snag.

Master Yu looked at the Luo Pan in his hand. The needle was spinning rapidly and refused to stop. It sensed the Yin Energy and trembled slightly, yet it couldn’t point in the right direction.

Master Yu frowned, his expression turning grim.

The amusement park manager watched him with a racing heart. “Master Yu, how is it going…”

“Not good,” Master Yu said, shaking his head. “The Vengeful Ghost refuses to show itself. The Yin Energy here is too dense, and the spirit is skilled at hiding. I cannot find its lair.”

“Then what should we do?” The manager paced frantically. “We can’t just let it stay in our park and keep hurting people!”

“If my previous assessment was correct, it should be near this Ferris Wheel,” Master Yu mused. “I will set up a formation to force this Vengeful Ghost out. However, the formation consumes a great deal of energy. Even if I do drag it out, I’m afraid…”

The manager was puzzled. “Isn’t there another Master right here?”

Master Ding’s expression stiffened.

Master Yu knew exactly how much skill his junior brother actually possessed, so he didn’t bother responding to the manager’s suggestion.

Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps approached.

In the empty, silent area, the sudden sound of footsteps was particularly striking. Everyone instinctively turned their heads to see a child nimbly climbing over the guardrail and running straight toward the center of the ritual site.

Wearing a little bear beanie, short in stature with round cheeks, the boy looked adorable yet aggressive. Who else could it be but the child from his nightmares?!

Master Ding nearly plucked out his own beard.

Why was it him again?! He had already left City X, so why did he keep running into this kid no matter where he went!!!

And that ancient ghost floating behind the child, why did he look so familiar?!

“Hey! Where did this kid come from?”

The amusement park manager was startled and rushed to stop him. “Kid, you can’t come in here!”

Qiao Man ducked to avoid him, his small body slipping nimbly under the manager’s arm and leaving the man grasping at thin air.

He had come with a purpose. He dashed straight into the ritual area and grabbed the brush, Cinnabar, and blank Talisman Paper laid out on the altar. “I’m borrowing these for a moment!”

Spreading the Talisman Paper on the table, he seized the brush and dipped it in Cinnabar. His strokes were fluid and powerful, completed in a single breath without a second glance. Guided by his intent, he gave the brush a casual flick, and several Yellow Talismans took shape, lining up neatly on the table.

Master Yu’s eyes widened in disbelief. “This is…”

Having finished the talismans, Qiao Man looked around and quickly spotted the Luo Pan in the Master’s hand.

He immediately said, “I’m borrowing this too!”

Before Master Yu could react, his junior brother had already snatched the Luo Pan from his hand and held it out.

Qiao Man quickly recognized Master Ding.

But in his urgency to save someone, he didn’t have time for pleasantries. He took the Luo Pan and began searching for the ghost.

Just as it had in Master Yu’s hands, the Luo Pan sensed the Yin Energy and trembled slightly, but its surface shifted constantly, unable to lock onto an accurate direction.

Master Yu realized that this child who had suddenly appeared likely shared the same goal. Seeing the situation, he spoke up to warn him, “This…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the anxious Qiao Man delivered a rough, sharp slap to the Luo Pan. The device, which had been spinning violently, immediately went still and obediently pointed out the direction for him.

Master Ding: “…”

Master Yu: “…”

With a direction established, Qiao Man looked up into the air. He identified the position, his dark pupils reflecting the invisible world, where everything unseen became tangible to his eyes.

He took a step forward and reached into the void with his small hand, as if grabbing onto something. He tore a hole through the roiling Yin Energy, and right before everyone’s eyes, he forcefully dragged out an evil ghost in a red vest that was radiating black aura!

Master Yu’s eyes went wide as he immediately shouted, “It’s the Vengeful Ghost!”

The amusement park manager gasped, “What!?”

Yin Energy swirled around the evil spirit. He had died with heavy resentment and had already taken a human life, causing his entire body to radiate a sinister, bloody light. His face was a ghastly blue-black, his eyes blood-red and bulging. Caught off guard by being dragged from his hiding place, black mist surged around him, and his bloodlust roiled violently.

“This is bad.” Master Yu’s expression turned solemn. “This ghost is about to go berserk!”

Qiao Man was already prepared.

He raised a small hand, and the Yellow Talismans he’d just drawn, the cinnabar still wet, soared up in a neat line. They shot toward the Vengeful Ghost, surrounding it and quickly pinning its movements.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! The Yellow Talismans landed all over the Vengeful Ghost’s body, sealing it in place. Before the ghost could even unleash its power, it was rendered immobile. Like a stiff stone statue, it fell straight backward, hitting the ground with a heavy thud. Its crimson eyes stared up at the sky, looking like it couldn’t rest in peace even in death.

But it couldn’t die yet.

Qiao Man lunged forward and plopped himself down on the ghost’s chest. He raised his fists and started pummeling the spirit. “Where’s Xingxing? Where did you take him?”

Master Yu, who had just raised his Peach Wood Sword: “…”

The amusement park manager watched the scene of a child beating a ghost in horror. “This… this… which one is the ghost?”

Pei Xiwang, who had caught up while carrying several bags: “Master Xiao Man… Holy crap! Is this the ghost?!”

The Long-braided Ghost remained silent, drifting a little further away, then a little further still.

Master Ding stroked his handlebar mustache².

Among everyone present, he was likely the most composed.

Translator’s Notes