After the black mist dissipated, the ghost of the deceased girl fully revealed itself before everyone. Her disheveled hair, pale and swollen face, and twisted body moved obscurely as if boneless, writhing in a dim, indistinct manner...
A ghost is an indescribable entity, one that cannot be communicated with by any means. All participants were acutely aware of this. Though each possessed special items, facing such an indescribable presence still sent chills deep into their hearts. They wanted to flee, of course, but perhaps in the very moment of turning, they would be inexplicably killed on the spot...
Clenching his teeth tightly, Dai Minghan’s entire body tensed. This feeling of trembling tension surpassed any opponent he had faced in reality. His right hand had already turned ghostly; using this ghost hand, he could directly touch spirits and even inflict a degree of damage on them. At this moment, his eyes grew slightly red, and he resembled a bloodthirsty tiger, seemingly ready to recklessly clash with the entity.
But just then, someone moved faster than him. Pan Long took a wooden box from his bosom and immediately opened it toward the pale female ghost. A mass of black mist, darker and more terrifying than the darkness itself, almost tangible, surged out from the box, as if sensing something, and rushed forward. Within the surging black mist, shadowy figures could be glimpsed, tempting one to look closer but impossible to see clearly. Lin Tianheng was watching, mesmerized, when he suddenly heard Su Mu shout, "Don’t look at what’s in the box! Run!"
"What?!" Lin Tianheng jolted, his scattered focus snapping back. That old wooden box—though he didn’t know what special item it was—had released something absolutely terrifying! If not for the warning, he might have nearly drawn the attention of "that thing." Once targeted, something dreadful would surely happen!
As the black mist surged from the box, Pan Long immediately closed it, stepped back two paces, and turned to run! Dai Minghan was not slow either. Seeing the black mist rush toward the female ghost, he instantly deactivated his ghostly right hand, turned, and followed. Then came Lin Tianheng, Chen Mo, Su Mu, and Jiang Rou. Each of them, honed by long-term training, moved swiftly. Even Jiang Rou, who appeared delicate, did not lag behind the group!
Behind them, the black mist released from the old box gradually spread, enveloping the female ghost’s twisted body. But at that moment, the ghost, already fully wrapped in the mist, suddenly opened its mouth. The mouth split open to her cheeks, growing wider and wider, and with a sudden inhale like drinking water, it sucked all the black mist into its mouth! In the sparse woods, only the pale ghostly figure remained, its body twisting endlessly like a glitchy TV screen, each twist silently shifting it a great distance.
"Split up!"
As soon as they ran out of the sparse woods, Pan Long shouted. All the survivors, seasoned veterans with extensive task experience, immediately understood his intent and split into two groups, running in opposite directions. With only one ghost in this task, dispersing the group increased each person’s chance of survival.
Not far into the run, Pan Long suddenly felt the wooden box in his bosom violently shake. While running, he pulled it out and saw dark red blood seeping from the tightly closed box, as if something inside had been injured. "That female ghost is formidable—even the ghost in the box can’t handle her," Pan Long muttered, stuffing the box back into his bosom and sprinting onward.
This old wooden box was obtained from a task in an ancient mansion. The box supposedly sealed the spirit of a disloyal servant who practiced dark arts. The mansion’s owner had hired a master to destroy the servant’s body and seal his soul in the box, making it a powerful exorcism tool. When opened, the servant’s vengeful spirit would surge out as black mist to attack ghosts, then return to the box as mist afterward. But this time, the mist hadn’t returned; instead, blood flowed from the box, clearly indicating the box’s ghost had been defeated and its spirit injured. This made Pan Long even more wary of the female ghost. He had other exorcism items, but the Death Soul Box was his strongest. Since it couldn’t handle her, he wouldn’t gamble on using others.
Now, all they could do was run... and pray they wouldn’t become the ghost’s primary target.
Just then, Pan Long suddenly heard the gurgling of water ahead. A winding river appeared before him. They were on school grounds—this sparse woods couldn’t possibly have a river. The only explanation was the ghost’s trickery. Pan Long’s heart sank. He immediately turned and ran in another direction, but the winding river stayed close behind him, as if moving with him. The woods, too, seemed endless now. A strong premonition rose in Pan Long’s mind: if he didn’t escape these woods, he couldn’t shake this eerie river.
Elsewhere in the woods, Jiang Rou was also running desperately. She had been with Pan Long initially, but midway, he gritted his teeth and abandoned her, sprinting ahead. Watching him leave her behind, Jiang Rou’s face twisted into a cold smirk. She knew his intent—Pan Long didn’t expect to escape the ghost’s pursuit; he just wanted others to become its priority targets. Naive, she thought. Did he think that would keep him off the ghost’s list? Ghost attacks don’t follow logic.
Just as she thought this, she suddenly saw a pond appear in the woods ahead.
-- PS: Thanks to Ming Bu Jing Chuan for the tip, and thank you all for your support!