Taking a look, it turned out to be a call from Guo Yunping.
I immediately answered the call.
There was a moment of silence on the other side, followed by two sobs, interspersed with a trembling sound.
"Luo Xianshen...are you alright?"
I heaved a sigh of relief.
In fact, when Uncle Huang took Guo Yunping away earlier, I knew it would probably be alright.
Uncle Huang was completely neutral, and there's no way he would harm Guo Yunping.
Plus, they had a relationship before. As long as Guo Yunping doesn't need him to spend effort on rescuing her, simply maintaining a few contacts would be just a matter of lifting a hand.
"I'm fine, of course." My tone had become much steadier.
"I'll be waiting for you at the City God Temple. Meet me there," Guo Yunping said, her tone resolute.
I furrowed my brow, but didn't respond or speak.
Mo San left me near the Muofang Pavilion and also marked me, so no one dares to make any trouble within this range of the street.
That creature, neither human nor ghost, had been following my belongings without revealing itself. There's a strong likelihood that it's still lurking outside the street.
As soon as I step out, I'll have to face him!
There's even a chance that it might not just be him, but also overseers who are Daoists.
The old Daoist Zhang Xu had suffered a major loss in front of Mao Sanyou.
Can they really listen to Mao Sanqiu?
That's not certain.
At most, Mao Sanqiu is just protecting me, and they wouldn't dare do anything. If I were caught on my own, even Mao Sanqiu would find it hard to save me...
"Why aren't you speaking?" Guo Yunping asked again, her trembling sound increasing.
I gradually detected a hint of different emotions in her tone.
I can't quite put it into words. It's gratitude, but it's not just gratitude.
Similarly, I can't describe the current state of my mind.
"Not safe." I replied in a hoarse voice to Guo Yunping.
I explained my situation to Guo Yunping, including my conversation with Mao Sanyou.
The tone of my voice slightly paused, and I added, "Even if you come out, it's not safe either. The overseers say they're upright, but are they really? Moreover, there are officials in the shadows who are definitely watching you closely."
Guo Yunping's tone has finally calmed down a bit, asking me what I plan to do.
Her question took me by surprise.
To be honest, asking myself, I haven't actually thought about what I should do.
At least, there's no clear point in sight that can break my deadlock.
My strength is too weak...
I have always believed that I am strong...
In fact, the Hell Gate was afraid of me before because I had no-pig-skin ghosts in my possession.
After that, if it weren't for the Headless Ghost, the Hell Gate would have captured me by now.
Even I cannot deal with the Hell Gate, let alone overseers?
It seemed that I was secretly following Sun Dahai and waiting for the right opportunity to strike. In reality, I fell into Sun Dahai's trap, almost not coming back.
Apart from my weakened physical strength, there's also the problem of being stripped of a strand of soul, and the potential danger left behind when I saved Tang Chenqian.
"I'll go ahead and see what happens…I haven't made up my mind yet."
I don't want my tone to be too low, but the current situation and the events happening before me make it difficult for me to maintain a positive attitude.
In fact, I feel that I am like a tightly stretched string, and any slight exertion will cause it to snap...
The phone suddenly fell silent.
I picked up my phone and looked at it, only to realize that it had run out of battery.
My luggage, backpack, is all at Guo Yunping's place. Right now, I can't even find a charger.
I can only temporarily put the phone away.
Knowing that Guo Yunping is okay, I don't have to worry so much anymore.
I glanced at the night jar on my waist again.
Mao Sanyou wasn't concerned about that object at all.
The old Gong at the bottom of the night jar was gone, so it seemed that he should have recovered.
I didn't call out to Old Gong; I left the room directly.
The living room was filled with coffins, and the passageways on both sides were cluttered with them. The other rooms' doors were tightly closed, giving off an unidentifiable sense of oppression.
I'm not denying my curiosity, but I don't go into those rooms to look around either, just in case it leads to unnecessary complications.
Stepping out of the old residential area, at the end of the commercial street, there were many small street vendors, making it particularly lively.
I found a mobile phone screen protector vendor's mobile stand and bought a charging cable. Then, I stood next to it, borrowing the place to charge my phone and turn it on.
Guo Yunping has made at least ten calls to me, but I haven't responded.
After charging for a while, until it was enough, I found a street stall to satisfy my hunger.
After eating, my thinking has become more flexible.
The sense of despondency was suppressed.
No matter how difficult the situation is, can it be more desperate than when Sun Dahai left me in the snow?
There must be a way to break the deadlock!
My thoughts kept scattering.
Quietly, Old Gong's head poked out from the night jar.
Its beady eyes darted around, scanning everything on the street.
Especially when he saw some women walking by, his eyes widened roundly.
I didn't scold Old Gong.
If it wasn't for his deliberate actions, ordinary people couldn't even see him.
It was at this moment that I suddenly snapped to attention, recalling an earlier conjecture of mine.
That Daoist Han Qiu was likely searching for something to control the retribution ghosts when he died.
Retribution ghosts belong to the highest level of conventional ghosts, which are called "blue." Their strength is certainly higher than that of the headless woman.
Furthermore, there is one very suspicious point.
Only if Old Gong wants to say something, does he need something from the owner.
But how could he know where I would enter the ghost barrier?
With my thoughts settled, I immediately got up and walked towards the corner of the street.
The corner was deserted, so I called out to Old Gong.
He made a sound of acknowledgement, raised his head and looked at me, and the wrinkled face was full of smiles, without any treachery.
I first asked him about his condition.
Old Gong was taken aback, and his parched lips responded dryly, "I'm fine, nothing's wrong."
I frowned slightly.
It seemed that Old Gong had little recollection of the previous events.
I hesitated for a moment and then asked, "How do you know where to let me enter the ghost barrier of Qili Village? And how could you remember that?"
Old Gong was stunned for a moment and didn't respond, as if he were thinking.
The next second, his cunning eyes actually leaked two rows of blood tears!
Then, blood tears flowed out of his mouth, nose, and ears simultaneously!
Bang! Old Gong's head shattered into a dense gray mist and was sucked into the night jar.
This sudden and eerie scene gave me the creeps, making my skin crawl!
Before that, when I asked Old Gong about the direction he mentioned, he only had blood pouring out of his seven apertures, but he didn't collapse.
At this moment, why is he unable to withstand even these questions?
I took a deep breath and sighed heavily.
At this moment, I noticed that there were two people on both sides, who were unintentionally getting closer to me.
That sensation of sharpness and being followed is exactly the same as before!
Mao Sanyou said that no one would dare to cause trouble within the Muofang area, didn't he?
How did they follow me here!?
I didn't have time to think about it, so I quickly entered the crowd, and hurriedly walked towards the entrance of the Muofang Pavilion.
The phone buzzed again, so I took it out and glanced at it—it was another call from Guo Yunping.
I hesitated for a moment, picked it up and placed it to my ear. However, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my ear, as if an electric shock had hit me. Then, I heard Guo Yunping's voice.
She didn't ask anything else, but instead said with utmost caution: "Turn left! Don't go into the Muofang Pavilion!"
I was taken aback at heart. How did Guo Yunping know I was going to enter the Muofang Pavilion?
She wasn't in the city temple, how could she possibly know about my current situation?
My instinctive trust was to turn left...
But another instinct made my body stiffen, and I felt coldness coursing through every bone and muscle in my body.
