Chapter 133

A protective spell fell on An He Guang, and the group of swallows surrounding him were immediately frightened and scattered. An He Guang was able to escape the predicament of having his backside pecked and, with the help of Xie An and Ke Yuanbai, ran back to the safety of the crowd.

Ke Xingzhou pinched the stack of talismans, and it was clear that there were fewer than before.

Since his second disciple had been absent, he sometimes forgot to replenish the number of talismans. These were still leftovers from the Immortal Sect.

He roughly counted them and figured they were enough to get these people out of here.

At the same time, the wild cats, seeing him take out the talismans to disperse the swallows, were startled. The leading fat orange cat suddenly stood upright, opened its mouth, and spoke human words: "Get lost!"

Everyone: "???"

This scene was even more unbelievable than the earlier swallow attack. Everyone was stunned for a moment—how could a cat speak?

Did they hear wrong?

An He Guang and the others behind Ke Xingzhou, however, trembled.

They had seen ghosts before, so hearing that there were animals who had transformed into spirits seemed not so impossible to accept. What was hard to believe, however, was that right here, so close to the crowd, in a famous 5A tourist area, there were indeed animals who had transformed into spirits.

If this orange cat could speak, what about the other wild cats behind it?

The swallows that had been chasing An He Guang earlier—could they also have transformed into spirits?

Even An He Guang, who usually remained calm, was now on edge. Facing so many spirits, it felt as though they were charging toward him, and he couldn't remain calm.

He looked at the strangely standing orange cat in front of him, his gaze pausing on its vicious fangs showing at the corner of its mouth. He immediately covered his backside and said to Ke Xingzhou, "Ke Ke Ke... Master Ke, these... these wouldn't be—"

Before he could say the word "spirits," Ke Xingzhou interrupted, "They're humans in disguise."

An He Guang: "…?"

The orange cat, which had been showing its fangs and preparing to show the ferocity of a spirit, was stunned. "…???"

Its pupils suddenly contracted, coldly staring at Ke Xingzhou, arching its back and letting out a low growl, as if it was ready to attack the crowd at any moment.

The contestants and cameramen were indeed frightened by its presence. They instinctively took a few steps back and hid behind the young male human who had no sense of danger.

The orange cat smugly shook its whiskers, thinking, "Tremble, foolish humans!"

The young male human in front of the crowd held talismans in his hand, which, though somewhat threatening, wouldn't scare the grand orange cat lord.

In the age of decline, with spiritual energy falling, there hadn't been any practitioners among humans for a long time!What can today's humans use to compete with their demon clan?

The young male human was indeed frightened by him, his hands trembling with the talismans. He then decisively called for the other humans behind him to run away together.

The orange cat grew even more inflated, yet it was not willing to let the contestants off so easily.

It let out a sharp, long howl, and suddenly more small animals appeared from every corner of the inner palace.

In addition to the swallows and wild cats from before, there were also wild dogs, rats, and more.

"There's even a snake!" A contestant, who was afraid of snakes, screamed, and his face turned pale.

He took a step back, about to flee, but before he could move, someone grabbed him by the collar.

Ke Xingzhou calmly looked into his eyes. "Follow me. I won’t let anything happen to you."

His voice seemed to have a strange magic, and the contestant, who had been terrified just moments ago, now had a momentary loss of focus in his eyes after hearing his words.

A few seconds later, the terrified expression on his face faded and he became much calmer.

The contestant next to him nervously asked, "Is... is it true? Can we still get out?"

Under such circumstances, the other contestants could no longer maintain their composure, and they all looked toward Ke Xingzhou.

Ke Xingzhou nodded decisively. "Yes."

Gu Xicheng suddenly stood up from his chair with a start.

It wasn’t because he was shocked by Ke Xingzhou’s ability to make big claims, but because—he and Xie Baiqiu were still here!

Due to the nature of the building, the outer area of the palace was a tourist attraction, accessible to anyone. Only the inner palace section was considered private, so the Gu family had set up the monitoring room not far from the living room.

It was located behind the rooms that had been provided to the program group for filming.

As soon as An He Guang was being chased by a group of swallows that appeared out of nowhere, he felt itchy, but since Xie Baiqiu was nearby, he had endured without saying anything.

Until just now, when a group of wild cats appeared, he was startled and looked down to see a spider, the size of a green bean, crawling on the back of his hand.

This kind of spider was small and round, its body not entirely black, with very short legs. If you weren’t careful, you’d easily miss it and think it was some kind of candy stuck to your body.

Gu Xicheng immediately felt his scalp tingle.

When he was very young, he had a nightmare where he chased after a rolling candy. He ran from inside to outside the house and finally caught the candy that was about to fall off the edge of the platform, grabbed it, and without looking, put it in his mouth.

But when he removed his hand, half of a spider’s body was stuck between his fingers.

He used to be the kind of child who wasn’t afraid of anything and loved playing with bugs, but since then, he developed a psychological allergy and would itch all over whenever he thought there were bugs around.

Gu Xicheng quickly jumped up and flicked the small spider off his hand.

Fortunately, this little spider wasn’t poisonous and wouldn’t bite. It was easily brushed off. But just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he looked up and saw that the wood grain on the floor and wall seemed to be moving.

He squinted his eyes to take a closer look and realized that those weren’t wood patterns at all, but countless tiny spiders arranged in lines!Even the chair he had just sat on was covered with these small spiders.

The palace had always hired people to regularly exterminate pests. How could there be so many small spiders?

Gu Xicheng didn't have time to think much more. He now felt as though bugs were crawling all over his body, itching like crazy, so much so that he wanted to scratch his skin off.

He had never encountered such a scene before. His face turned pale, and while pulling Xie Baiqiu to avoid the spiders, he quickly walked toward the door. "Where did these spiders come from? We spend tens of thousands every year on pest control, and it’s still crawling with bugs! When we get back, I’m going to make that pest control company pay… Why won’t the door open?!"

Xie Baiqiu was also terrified by the situation.

Even though she wasn’t particularly afraid of insects, seeing so many of them crawling towards her made her feel uneasy.

Fortunately, she remembered the layout of the palace and knew that Ke Xingzhou and the others were nearby recording the show. She quickly shouted for help, "Master Ke! I’m Xie An's sister, Xie Baiqiu! We’re trapped in this side room! Master Ke!!"

However, after only shouting a couple of times, Gu Xicheng pulled her back.

His face had turned pale from the scare of the spiders, but now it had turned a bit grim. "Baiqiu, wait. Don’t shout... they have cameras over there."

Xie Baiqiu thought he was concerned about being seen on camera with the Gu family’s name, and was about to suggest telling them he was a distant relative, when she heard Gu Xicheng continue, "Why are you calling for another man’s help?"

Xie Baiqiu: "?"

She thought she had heard wrong. She stared at Gu Xicheng for a while and then confirmed that he was serious.

Gu Xicheng glared at Xie Baiqiu with eyes full of fire, as if his precious possession was being taken away.

Xie Baiqiu’s expression instantly turned cold.

She broke free from his grip and moved toward the swarm of spiders. Frowning, she looked at Gu Xicheng. "Mr. Gu, I think you might have some misunderstanding about our relationship. Now is not the time to discuss this, so I’ll let the earlier matter go, but please understand the situation—if you don’t need help, then stay away and don’t block me from calling for help."

She finished speaking and once again loudly called toward the window, "Master Ke!! Xie An!!"

Xie An jolted, instinctively answering, and looked toward the direction of the voice.

An He Guang, his mind preoccupied with his swollen, painful bottom from being pecked, hadn’t heard anything else. Seeing Xie An stop, he urged him, "Why are you standing there? Hurry and follow Master Ke! The swallows are back!"

It felt like a ghostly experience. The swallows had apparently been hiding somewhere before, as he hadn’t found a single bird while searching the nest. But now, after coming down, they all suddenly appeared in a swarm.

There were at least dozens of them, diving in a way that seemed to promise a life-and-death struggle.

Just watching made everyone’s buttocks hurt, let alone An He Guang.

Thus, under the protection of Xie An and Ke Yuanbai, he stuck closely to Ke Xingzhou, fearing that one step behind would result in another peck on his behind. He couldn’t stop urging Xie An.

A certain fear buried deep in his genes prevented Xie An from taking a step forward. Instead, he asked Ke Xingzhou, who was ahead, "Brother, did you hear my sister’s voice?"

He wasn’t sure.

His sister had been very busy recently. A couple of days ago, she mentioned a business collaboration that required a lot of focus, so she shouldn’t have been here.

Ke Xingzhou had excellent hearing, and if he hadn’t heard anything, then maybe Xie An was just imagining it.

To Xie An's surprise, Ke Xingzhou nodded. "I heard it. She said she’s in the side room of the small courtyard, and there's someone lagging behind."Xie An: "!!!"

His sister is really here!

Upon hearing the latter half of Ke Xingzhou's sentence, Xie An, who had been hesitating, immediately became fierce. Who dared to slow down his sister?!

Since his sister had called for help, it seemed she too had been trapped in this Wangfu. Xie An didn’t have time to think more and immediately rushed over to rescue her.

Ke Xingzhou stopped him.

He calculated the types and number of talisman papers he had in hand. If he took a detour, they probably wouldn’t be enough. Ke Xingzhou looked up and hesitated as he glanced at Xie An.

Xie An immediately understood and his expression became serious.

"Brother, why don’t you send them out first? I’ll go to my sister. Don’t worry, I’ve always been lucky, and those animals haven’t attacked me. I’ll pick up my sister and come out."

He said this and was about to run in that direction, but couldn’t shake off Ke Xingzhou’s hand.

Ke Xingzhou looked at him, recalling how the Xie family had given him a reward to thank him for his reminder, a reward so large it could’ve killed him instantly at that time.

After Ke Xingzhou’s merits increased, he returned the money to the Xie family, but at that time, Xie An had also helped him buy a financial product. In just two months, it had appreciated to an even more considerable sum.

Ke Xingzhou had always been thinking about when he could repay this favor.

He thought for a moment, then quickly made up his mind. His eyes, once hesitant, now filled with determination. "We’ll go together."

For some reason, Xie An felt that Ke Xingzhou’s glance toward the camera contained a hint of caution, and perhaps even a trace of guilt.

Before he could figure out why, Ke Xingzhou had already thrown out a talisman paper and began chanting a spell: "I humbly invite all the heroic spirits of this temple, with courage and valor to change the world. Judgment of the human realm is clear…"

As his words finished, the sound of the animals’ rustling footsteps around them disappeared.

The world became momentarily silent. Then, a sudden cold wind appeared from nowhere, growing fiercer and colder, sweeping up the leaves on the plants, some of which hadn’t even fallen yet.

The contestants, who had just been about to complain, urging Ke Xingzhou to send the surviving participants out first, were suddenly hit with a flood of sand and leaves.

When they cleared the obstacles and looked forward, they were horrified to see that the courtyard, which had been empty moments ago, now had a group of figures draped in black robes.

Just as they looked, several of the figures moved, and the large hoods above their heads were blown open by the wind, revealing ox heads and horse heads underneath.

Contestants: "???"

Audience: "！！！！"

But in just a moment, when the cold wind blew again, and they looked back in disbelief, the figures had already taken off their hoods, revealing completely normal human faces.

Even the two they had just thought were ox-headed and horse-headed simply had rather unusual appearances.

The audience, after some confusion, gradually began to get muddled: [Wait, so this is really just a particularly scary game?]

[Is it even possible… but those swallows, and the wild cats and dogs... can humans train animals to that extent?]

[Forget it, I don't want to think about it anymore. After all, someone already called the police, and others have called to complain to the production team. I'll just wait for the result.]

[But speaking of which, those two people really do look like oxen and horses…]Outside the Wangfu, the chief director looked at the sudden turn of events on the live stream, and his heart almost stopped.

He trembled as he raised three fingers, swearing to Nie Chen, "Mr. Nie, I really didn’t know the venue provided by the Gu family was like this! If I had known, no matter how much they offered, I wouldn’t have agreed to change the location at the last minute!"

Nie Chen's expression didn't change. He simply nodded at a few Taoist priests from the capital behind him, signaling them to enter.

Assistant Liu helplessly reminded the chief director, "The sponsorship from the Gu family was recommended by me to you, you shouldn’t have forgotten."

The chief director belatedly remembered, oh yes, the sponsorship from the Gu family was indeed arranged by Assistant Liu, which must have been cleared with Mr. Nie beforehand.

No wonder Mr. Nie arrived so promptly and brought so many masters of different styles!

Looking at the eccentric-looking masters behind the Taoist priests, the chief director’s wildly beating heart finally settled a little.

Nie Chen stared at the grand gates of the Wangfu, but his gaze was cold.

When Gu Xicheng found him, he had indeed mentioned needing Ke Xingzhou's help, saying that the old man from the Gu family had recently encountered some inexplicable scientific phenomena, and despite seeking many masters, none could solve the issue. It was thanks to Xie Baiqiu’s introduction that they had come to him.

He agreed to the request, partly out of respect for the old man of the Gu family, who had made many contributions to the country and the people, and even though he was cold-hearted, he could not stand by when the old man needed help.

The second reason was because of Xie An.

Xie An was a friend he could at least talk to on Ke Xingzhou's side.

Xie Baiqiu personally accompanied him, and after much consideration, Nie Chen agreed, but to be cautious, he still brought people to stay watch here.

Unexpectedly, a problem arose.

The masters in eccentric clothes behind the Taoist priests were all invited by the Gu family, and besides that, people from the Special Incident Handling Bureau had also inexplicably appeared here.

After parting ways last time, Xiang Ting had not appeared for a long time. This time, his condition didn’t seem good, and he glanced at Nie Chen with a pale face.

Nie Chen couldn't tell if it was his illusion, but he felt that Xiang Ting’s gaze toward him seemed meaningful.

However, compared to the last time they met, he was much friendlier, almost returning to the time when he first took him to meet Ke Xingzhou.

Xiang Ting even nodded at him before leading his people inside.

The production team looked at so many people going inside and couldn’t help but panic. The chief director's heart rose to his throat again: "Nie... Mr. Nie, why are there so many people? The live stream is still on..."

It wasn't that they didn’t want to turn off the live stream, but this Wangfu was so strange, it had blocked the signal, and not only did the live stream not cut off, but the cameramen also had to keep carrying the cameras to continue working, or else they would immediately start suffocating and couldn’t even walk.

This situation clearly looked like they were cursed!

The people outside could only worry anxiously. Ordinary people couldn’t get near the Wangfu, and it seemed like even the sounds couldn’t be transmitted inside. They could only anxiously wait for the fire brigade to come and rescue them while watching the live stream.

Looking at the dozens of screens packed on the monitor, the chief director couldn't help but want to slap himself.

What had he been thinking back then, insisting on having individual live streams for everyone?

Now, they couldn’t even switch the screens, and could only nervously stare, ready to take heart medicine at any moment.

He was afraid that something unscientific would be captured on the live stream, causing the whole program to be ruined, and he tremblingly asked Nie Chen for instructions.The latter, however, did not pay him any attention.

Watching the Taoist priests successfully enter, Nie Chen's narrow eyes squinted, and a few traces of hostility suddenly appeared on his usually impassive face. He stood up and followed them inside.

The chief director was startled: "Hey? Mr. Nie? Mr. Nie, you can't go in! That door is off-limits to ordinary people..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Nie Chen stepped through the door without any hindrance, and the chief director's eyes widened in shock, his jaw dropping.

Was this door looking down on him or what?!

The gates of the Wangfu slammed shut behind them, and the few eccentrically dressed masters flinched, as if startled.

When Nie Chen’s gaze swept past, they nervously began to shake the ritual bells in their hands and looked around to inspect the surroundings.

Xiang Ting coldly spoke: "Southwestern witchcraft is not used like this. The bells you're holding are for summoning and controlling spirits. Do you want to summon all the ghosts from underground?"

The masters: "…"

The Taoist priests: "…"

The Taoist priests had clearly been holding back for a long time, and upon hearing this, they couldn't help but give Xiang Ting a thumbs-up.

Finally, someone said what they were thinking!

These so-called masters looked flashy and intimidating, but as soon as they met, it was obvious to the Taoist priests that the other party had even gotten their clothing wrong. Clearly, they were frauds, outsiders trying to deceive others.

And yet, they still dared to continue their deception by entering, as if they had never seen real southwestern witches before.

Although the frequency of religious ceremonies by the domestic religious associations was low, at least they happened once every few years!

The Taoist priests shook their heads and quickly diverted their gaze from the trembling fake witches, raising their heads to carefully discern the surroundings.

The Wangfu was surrounded by a barrier, and external sounds were cut off the moment they stepped inside the gates. But it seemed like there was also a barrier inside, as they listened carefully for a while, yet there was no sound coming from the inner quarters.

They could only use the art of Qi Men Dun Jia to infer where Ke Xingzhou and the others were.

The Taoist priests took out their tools and began casting spells around them. Before the results could come out, Xiang Ting twitched his ear, and his gaze suddenly fixed on a certain direction: "Got it, over there."

The personnel from the Special Incident Handling Bureau were all capable individuals, so the local Taoist priests weren’t too surprised. They packed up their things and followed.

However, seeing the other party's light, graceful movements and still thick, dark hair, their hearts grew even heavier.

Was it really the world of the young now...

No one noticed that before Xiang Ting identified the direction, Nie Chen's gaze had already fallen there. Now that his premonition was confirmed, his face showed no sign of joy.

His gray-green eyes reflected the lush plants around him, but the color seemed even darker than before.

At the same time, with the help of those strange figures, Ke Xingzhou and the others finally reached the ear room of another small courtyard, despite the animals' resistance.

Xie An shouted towards the door: "Sister! Are you inside? I’m here with my brother to rescue you!"

Strangely, the door that had previously been impossible to open, now opened easily after Ke Xingzhou and the others arrived.Xie Baiqiu, who was using a stick to pry open the door, staggered and rolled out, almost falling face-first to the ground.

Who knew, however, that she suddenly felt a chill and her body seemed to be supported by some unseen force, halting in mid-air for a moment before steadying herself.

Xie Baiqiu ended up squatting in place in a strange position. After she regained her senses, she turned around in a daze and saw a slender figure hidden under a black robe tilting its head toward her and giving an "OK" gesture.

Her body passed right through the figure's body, creating a very strange scene.

Xie Baiqiu didn’t feel scared at all. Instead, her eyes suddenly grew warm and quickly filled with tears.

She hesitantly opened her mouth: "…Xiao Ai, is that you?"

The expression, the movement—only her deceased best friend would do that.

"—Did you come back to find me?"