Chapter 99: “I Don’t Understand”

The northern slope was unique on the entire mountain.

Those within it felt the torrential rain pouring down, struggling to find ways to avoid the deadly spirit rain.

From his high vantage point, the long-haired man noticed something was wrong.

Supporting himself with one arm on a tree trunk, his body swayed slightly, but his gaze burned with intensity. He observed the misery of Tongguan and the others and discerned the key point.

In his view, though the sky remained overcast, there were no piercing winds or corrosive rain above him.

The rainclouds only hovered over Tongguan and his group, moving as they moved.

In other words, the rain had been summoned specifically for the funeral procession.

The man had a vague idea of the purpose but remained silent.

Meanwhile, the other group he had been waiting for finally appeared at the mountain pass, approaching the northern slope from a different direction.

Though both groups aimed for the same destination, their intentions were entirely different.

The long-haired man glanced at Tongguan and the others, shook his head slightly, then leapt from the tree to follow the other group.

The staff, upon noticing the strange behavior of the coffin, surprisingly acted in unison.

At this point, the theory of two opposing, sabotaging ghosts had become reality.

Since the living could not confront the ghosts, they decided to leverage the conflict between them.

Tongguan’s umbrella was ruined. Now standing with Chang Nian, they huddled together under the same umbrella.

Tao Xiaoyi, without an umbrella, shared one with Yu Guo.

Fang Shenyan had removed his coat, spread it on the ground, and coated it with yellow mud, covering his head and shielding his back. The mud’s stickiness temporarily protected him from the spirit rain.

With a shout from Tongguan, all five staff dashed out of the forest.

In that instant, each felt the sky raining silver needles, striking their backs with unstoppable force, some even hitting their cheeks in the wind.

No one’s face remained intact; once-handsome and beautiful features twisted into demonic grimaces.

Gritting their teeth, Tongguan and Chang Nian were the first to reach the coffin, never pausing.

They picked up the rope and lifted one corner of the coffin.

Meanwhile, Yu Guo and Tao Xiaoyi rushed over. Yu Guo hoisted another corner, while Tao Xiaoyi kept glancing back.

“What are you still looking at?”

Yu Guo cursed silently but restrained his words. Tao Xiaoyi hesitated, unwilling to touch the coffin, sensing bad luck.

Yet being so close, she realized the coffin shielded them from the spirit rain.

“I…”

She didn’t want to lift it, planning to wait for Fang Shenyan to arrive and sneak through the ordeal.

But upon seeing his gaping wound and fragile state, she swallowed her reluctance.

Fang Shenyan’s condition was poor; his mind already clouded, and the rain had struck his exposed neck as he rushed forward.

Pain seared like thousands of termites gnawing at him, yet he dared not scratch, fearing further injury.

Supporting himself on Yu Guo’s shoulder, he gasped heavily.

Yu Guo’s eyes widened. Seeing Chen Fu and the rest approaching, he nudged the stunned Tao Xiaoyi:

“The coffin must stay in our hands! Do you want to die?”

Tao Xiaoyi was not foolish, just overly cautious. Seeing the white-robed men realizing the coffin could resist the rain, she steeled herself.

Gripping the rope, she hoisted her end onto her shoulder. Though almost empty, it made her knees weak.

Covered in mud, she almost cried. She had never been so helpless.

But Tongguan and the others gave her no chance to adjust. Once the four were together, they charged forward.

Chen Fu, with ten remaining white-robed men, hurried to the coffin.

He glanced at the staff, then turned his back to them, signaling a temporary alliance.

The white-robed men hesitated to advance, but seeing one die instantly two steps from the coffin shattered any thought of escape.

The speed of death indicated the spirit rain’s concentration was extremely high.

Touch it—and you die.

Tongguan grimaced and quickened his pace; he didn’t want any more white-robed men to die.

Chen Fu’s goal was to sacrifice five living humans, while Tongguan could at most accept four.

The key was ensuring the ghost bride didn’t reach her full quota and that the spirit-rain ghost didn’t wipe everyone out.

This way, the two ghosts could maintain some balance.

The temporary buffer this balance created would give him time to search for a way to survive.

Chen Fu moved forward, leading the way while calculating between the white-robed men and the staff.

Who was sacrificed didn’t matter, only the numbers. Originally, only one could be sacrificed per day, but now he had to accelerate the process.

He hoped to complete the sacrifice today, bringing that thing to life.

Chen Fu looked up at the pouring rain with a pang of regret. If it weren’t for the rain, perhaps everything would have gone much smoother.

Now, he was forced to complete the sacrifice, and with the spirit rain present, he couldn’t use his bells. The only way to finish the ritual was with the white-robed men’s lives.

Yet he had deep enmity with the staff; even though they were temporarily allies, the future remained uncertain. Most importantly, he still didn’t know the true purpose of their mission.

He had thought they were unlucky pawns he had captured, but in reality, they were a group with their own dangerous agenda.

The white-robed men, knowing they couldn’t escape, picked up the nearly destroyed paper effigies and funeral tools, pushing forward.

A steeper, rougher slope gradually yielded to their effort.

When Tongguan stood with the coffin on the slope, he noticed a particular spot below.

It was a tomb built of bluestone, surrounded by several smaller graves like stars around the moon—clearly the burial of a person of great importance.

“This must be the grave of the Li family patriarch, our destination,” Yu Guo said cheerfully, even noticing the spirit rain seemed to weaken slightly as he stood atop the hill.

He glanced at the calm Fang Shenyan, who was staring blankly at something on the ground.

Yu Guo tightened the rope on his shoulder and tiptoed to follow Fang Shenyan’s gaze.

It was a small puddle, unremarkable, but what froze both of them was the reflection on the water’s surface.

A female ghost appeared, dressed in a red wedding robe with long black hair.

The sight instantly sent shivers down Yu Guo’s spine. His eyes widened in horror and disbelief.

He didn’t understand why this ghost would appear here.