Chapter 73

Chapter 73: Nightfall One

The eighth earthquake was grand in its scale.

Mountains were crushed, seas were parted, and the ground was peeled back to reveal what lay beneath. The earth cracked to a depth of several dozen meters, and amidst the shaking, countless shadows stirred up whirlwinds. A fierce gust of wind burst from the cracks, blowing people's hair wildly, revealing their hairlines.

Míng Yuè’s left eye was severely affected, her vision asymmetrical. During the quake, she nearly twisted her ankle and fell into a crack in the ground, but fortunately, Lǚ Xīngrú was quick on his feet, grabbing the collar of her shirt and pulling her back up.

The three of them ran quickly to the open space in front of the Yīn Lǜ Sī, crouching down and waiting for the earthquake to pass.

The Eyes Dragon trees shook violently, and fruit began to fall, the orange-yellow fruits rolling round and tempting.

Míng Yuè took the opportunity to pull out some gauze and wrapped several Ba Dou fruits, cleaning them before asking the two boys, "Delicious, do you want some?"

The two boys: "..."

The restroom wasn’t close, okay?

Lǚ Xīngrú quickly pulled the gauze away and pressed Míng Yuè down, saying, "Aftershocks aren’t over. Stay still."

Thus, the three of them maintained the position, heads cradled in their arms, squatting in the open space inside the hall.

In front of the open space was the main hall of Yīn Lǜ Sī. Unlike the previous halls, this one housed living people, so the organizers had placed protective runes on the pillars, gathering yang while warding off evil, protecting the living NPCs.

Míng Yuè stared at the rune paper, distracted, and asked, "Senior, the organizers didn’t seem to put much thought into it this year, did they? Are all the Eight God Spells in the protective runes actually Xuan Yun Spells?"

Lǚ Xīngrú, busy typing out a group message on his communicator, squinted at the tiny keypad, which made one's eyes hurt—thankfully, it was a touch screen.

"Maybe. I encountered two people who were eliminated earlier. The runes they exploded had Xuan Yun spells."

"Don’t worry, the Xuan Yun spells in the Eight God Spell positions are the main protectors."

"They're not so easily defeated. The organizers haven’t been negligent."

Míng Yuè: "…"

Míng Yuè raised an eyebrow and pointed towards the main hall, "Then the quality of the runes is terrible."

Lǚ Xīngrú: "？？？"

Lǚ Xīngrú followed her finger and looked over. Originally, each column in the corridor should have had Xuan Yun spells affixed to them, but now, they were scattered and torn apart. Some had been ripped in half, while others had fallen to the ground. Once the spell text lost its positioning, it was just a piece of waste paper—no longer serving its purpose of being a divine protective pattern.Lǚ Xīngrú was startled: "What's going on here!"

The earthquake around them was still continuing, though its force had lessened. Míng Yuè bent down and quickly ran over. The tiles on the roof of the main hall had fallen, and she even got hit on the head. She picked up the broken rune paper and tried to stick it back onto the column, only to find that the paper was dried and yellow, the vermilion fading. It was a definite substandard product.

Míng Yuè: "…"

Míng Yuè "pia" pulled out a blazing sun talisman from her pocket, licked it with her saliva, and stuck it to the broken Xuan Yun spell, adhering it back onto the column.

She still couldn’t make a complete Xuan Yun spell with a single stroke; the runes were complicated and tedious, not eye-catching. The current fix could only be to use the blazing sun talisman as a replacement, supplementing the insufficient yang energy.

Lǚ Xīngrú’s face darkened as he yanked her back:

"The earthquake isn't over. Do you want to die?"

Míng Yuè crouched down, "Senior, it's not just the rune paper; there are many problems."

"I really want to curse the organizers by name—forget it, forget it." Míng Èr said, then glanced at the stern-looking statue of the judge ghost in the Yīn Lǜ Sī with some apprehension.

This was a fake Fengdu, no doubt.

However, the real Fengdu, the true boundary between the "Yin and Yang realms," overlapped with the tourist area. It's just that they were in different planes, and the mortal world couldn't see it.

Words that reach the heavens.

If Míng Yuè spoke recklessly here, it was possible it might be heard.

Lǚ Xīngrú's curiosity was piqued, and he didn’t let Míng Yuè off:

"Come clean."

"If there’s a problem, it’s better to let me contact the people inside the academy and prepare accordingly."

Míng Yuè furrowed her brows slightly and saw Chéng Ēn coming over. She thought, "Well, if I’m going to say it, might as well say it now. If something unpredictable happens, at least we can prepare earlier."

"I have this feeling that the questions for this exam are somewhat 'beyond the limit'."

"Senior, do you remember, I said on the way here that I teamed up with someone and saved another?"

"The one I saved, the student from Xiang University, I literally pulled his life from the jaws of the underworld."

Lǚ Xīngrú and Chéng Ēn both had their eyelids twitch at the same time."Yin realm, are you sure?" Chéng Ēn asked, pressing further.

Míng Yuè shook her head: "This isn’t my judgment."

"Defeating that water ghost—yes, that thing was a snake-like water ghost—defeating it, I had the advantage of a surprise attack."

"At first, it probably thought the student from Xiang University couldn’t escape, so it spoke freely."

Míng Yuè paused, then added:

"It said it couldn't figure out where the earthquake came from, that it mysteriously came from underground to above ground."

Lǚ Xīngrú and Chéng Ēn: "…"

Lǚ Xīngrú and Chéng Ēn once again fell silent at the same time.

The textbook on Yin and Yang customs had highlighted a key point.

Underground and above ground are relative concepts.

The several dozen kilometers of earth under our feet is divided into many layers.

In the mouths of the living, when you dig a layer of earth and bury a sunflower seed, it’s still considered underground.

But in the mouths of ghosts and monsters, they don’t consider the Yin world, where they usually reside, as "underground." All Yin-born beings share a mutual understanding: the "underground" they refer to has only one meaning—

It's a place where you go down and never come back, where there’s no escape except for reincarnation—the Yin realm.

Though the exam didn’t explicitly mention it, for years, the "monster examiners" rarely encountered beings from the deep Yin realms, most being from the middle to shallow layers. While the exam is rigorous, it’s not a life-and-death situation. They scrutinize the necessary places carefully, but there’s no need to overdo things where it’s not required.

However, Míng Yuè was saying that shortly after entering the exam, she encountered a Yin being from hell.

That was truly a chilling discovery.

Seeing the seniors silent, Míng Yuè added:

"The situation was really dangerous. The student from Xiang University had already been swallowed by the snake's stomach. I exerted myself to the limit before he was vomited back out—"

"—Senior, I know you’re going to ask why the student didn’t use a life-saving talisman when he was about to be killed?"

"He didn’t have time. The change happened in an instant. That water ghost even recognized the Xiang University’s puppet technique tool and was not at all afraid of the life-saving talisman, even though it was in an exam setting. The ferocity of this thing is much stronger than the average wandering soul."

"I wasn’t planning to interfere with the water ghost, but when I saw a living person about to die right in front of me, I…" Míng Yuè shrugged.Lǚ Xīngrú listened, his heart heavy. He glanced at Míng Yuè and rubbed the little freshman's head:

"Don't curse."

Míng Yuè immediately shrank back and tucked her neck: "...Oh."

Lǚ Xīngrú crushed a Bā Dòu fruit in his hand and thoughtfully proposed a hypothesis:

"What if it’s related to the earthquake?"

"For instance, we all assumed that these eight earthquakes were orchestrated by the organizers—what if they weren’t? Or not entirely?"

"All of us are ghost hunters, so we should understand the power of natural disasters." If there is intense energy imbalance underground, causing tectonic shifts, then forget earthquakes—volcanoes and tsunamis could strike without warning.

Chéng Ēn was more optimistic: "Could it just be that the Yin realm wants to manage the quality control of the ghost hunter exam?"

"So, they increased the difficulty without prior notice?"

Then, he looked at the two Spirit-Sealing students beside him, one tall and one short, who both shook their heads at the same time.

Lǚ Xīngrú became sharper when speaking about his brother: "Chéng Ēn, are all Shàng Shī University students as naive as you?"

Míng Yuè, however, was much more diplomatic: "Senior, what you're saying does make sense."

"However, I tend to lean towards a more pessimistic explanation." She recalled the bizarre Black Mountain and the ferocious water ghost she encountered as soon as she entered the exam venue.

"Then there's this completely out-of-control 'protection mechanism for the living'—" Míng Yuè pointed at the torn, fluttering Bā Dòu talismans in the wind not far away.

"Perhaps it’s not that there’s a problem with the protection of the living. Maybe there’s an issue with the Yin realm's management. Just think about the earthquake, which feels like an energy imbalance spiraling out of control."

Lǚ Xīngrú meticulously crushed another Bā Dòu fruit, glancing at Míng Yuè: "What are you trying to suggest?"

Míng Yuè shrugged: "What I’m trying to suggest definitely won’t be said in the Yin realm’s jurisdiction."

Lǚ Xīngrú shook his head: "Míng Yuè, you need to read more of the A journals. It’s not just about learning how to write papers; it’s more important to understand the latest trends in both academia and industry."

"Last month’s issue of 'Ghost Hunter' published a front-page article correcting the history of the Yin and Yang realms."

"Fēng Dū has already been verified and is no longer under the jurisdiction of the Yin realm."

"It has always been under the jurisdiction of the North Yin Emperor's temple."The twilight glow in the sky swirled, with faint red mixed with smoke purple, filling the ancient and simple architecture of Fēng Dū scenic area with a sense of old charm.

Beneath the Nai He Bridge, a circle of ghost and deity statues was displayed. Under the afterglow of the setting sun, the eerie yet beautiful scene seemed to send a message, signaling to the candidates gathering from all directions: "I am safe, this is the public rest area, welcome to rest here."

From a distance, food packages were already scattered across the grassy land beneath the bridge, simple items like bread, bacon, and yellow fruits.

Many students had already sat down, each with a package of food, beginning to eat.

The active members of the Ghost Hunter Association were patrolling the area, neither too far nor too close.

"……"

Liú Ānrán took out his water bottle to drink, relaxed his legs, which felt like they were about to break from exhaustion, and sat down casually to pick a package of food to eat.

The sunset was blood-red, and the mountains looked like an ocean.

On the distant horizon to the right, the signboard of the Yin Law Division could be vaguely seen.

During meal time, the candidates were very peaceful.

Some familiar faces greeted Liú Ānrán: "How’s it going, Liú Ānrán? You scored a lot, right?"

"Yeah, look at him, he looks all battered and bruised."

Liú Ānrán rubbed the marks left by silver alloy wires and complained:

"Don’t even mention it, I’ve had a terrible run this year."

"First, I ran into a big water ghost right when I entered, and when I tried to fight back, I ended up getting robbed instead. Damn it, I only have a few points right now."

"By the way—how come I don’t see any students from the Spirit-Sealing Academy around here?" He craned his neck, looking around, but couldn’t spot a single figure of the senior students.

One of his colleagues explained:

"Don’t look for them, it seems like the Spirit-Sealing Academy has a plan this year. They eat really fast; they were all gone just after seven o’clock."

"Hey, it’s strange though, they've been fighting all afternoon, who wouldn’t be tired?"

"Finally, they get a rest time where they won’t be attacked, and instead of using it to rest, they’re off running around?"Liú Ānrán: "......"

His plan to complain to the senior students had fallen through, leaving Liú Ānrán quite disappointed. He took a big bite of the bread and muttered, "What’s this about?"

"Really gave that little girl a cheap win."

Colleague: "......What little girl?"

Liú Ānrán tensed up for a moment, then quickly laughed it off:

"Nothing, nothing—hahaha, this year the organizers are pretty conscientious, besides the bread and meat sauce, they even arranged for fruit." No way he was letting anyone know that a lower-year student had turned things around on him—his reputation would be ruined.

His colleague agreed, picking up a yellow fruit, biting into it with a satisfying smack, "Who says not?"

"Mm! It's pretty sweet!"

Liú Ānrán could only suppress his complaints and started chatting casually with his colleague while eating fruit.

Before long—

"Hey, there’s so little, just two." Liú Ānrán smacked his lips, "Not enough to help digestion." After speaking, he drank down a bottle of cool boiled water.

After filling up and looking around, he noticed that the speed at which candidates were eating around Nai He Bridge was about the same. Many people had finished their post-meal fruit and were chatting happily, relaxing in the atmosphere.

"Yeah, Jin Da is pretty tough this year. If you ask me, they're a strong contender."

"Yú Dà isn't bad either. Didn’t they say they’re making a celebratory gift for the 10th anniversary of the Fēng Dū campus?"

"To hell with their celebratory gift! This year, we’re celebrating our 50th anniversary at the Zàng Dà Spirit-Sealing Academy. Has anyone said anything about that?"

Everyone was chatting casually.

Liú Ānrán added a few words: "I’m not optimistic about Spirit-Sealing. Look at how impressive the Imperial University is."

"—Don’t judge for now, look at the long-term. Imperial University specializes in spirit combat, they can take down one ghost at a time."

As he spoke, Liú Ānrán glanced at a few colleagues sitting on the ground eating, then swiftly stood up and ran to the nearby public restroom.

A little while later, a few others ran there too.

Liú Ānrán: "......"Liú Ānrán was confused.

Was the food this tasty and this diuretic this year? Was everyone unable to sit still?

He stared at the restroom, not knowing why he was also feeling "an urge."

Suddenly, his colleague beside him frowned, clutching his stomach and running off, leaving a quick shout: "Keep an eye on my stuff, Ānrán, I’m going to the restroom!"

Liú Ānrán chuckled, just about to tease his colleague for looking like a dog, when a sharp pain, like a drill, shot through his lower abdomen, piercing through his intestines. The pain was intense, as though it were tearing him apart—

He groaned, feeling a wave of heat rush down, blocking the [beep—] entrance, desperately needing to pull down his pants—

Liú Ānrán cursed under his breath, tossed his things aside, grabbed his pants, and hurried after his colleague.

"Wait for me—Li Ge!"

The public restroom next to Nai He Bridge was "spacious" with dozens of pits arranged in a long line like a waterway. There was an exhaust vent overhead, and small partitions made of cement walls with a pit for each person to sit comfortably.

Liú Ānrán hurried in, seeing a few empty spots, and quickly took a seat.

A satisfying sound came from him.

Ah, that was nice.

Another round, and the satisfying sounds continued.

In no time, the public restroom was filled with the sounds of people relieving themselves.

After a meal, it truly was one of life’s greatest joys.

Liú Ānrán thought to himself contentedly, but just then, as he was in the midst of enjoying his third round, he suddenly heard a voice from outside the restroom."Prepare——!"

"Fire the bombs!"

The sound was so loud it seemed to shake the very heavens!

Liú Ānrán hurriedly lifted his head, his butt still in the air, and saw dozens of water balloons wrapped in talismans flying into the restroom from the exhaust vent above.

The talismans fell closer and closer to him—

He finally saw clearly!

These were fire talismans!

Damn it!

What happens when a fire talisman meets water?!

It turns into boiling water! Ahhhhh!

Liú Ānrán: "......"

Liú Ānrán quickly realized what was happening, but it was already too late. He watched as the boiling water balloon, meant for his cubicle, "whoosh~" and fell straight into the waterway under him—who the hell had such precise skills to make this happen?!

The waterway, carrying a mix of cold water and waste, collided with the boiling water, causing it to explode!

Hot water splashed everywhere!

Straight for Liú Ānrán's pale butt!

With a sizzling sound.

"Ahhhhh——!"

Liú Ānrán immediately screamed, clutching his butt in agony, but his pants weren’t pulled up, and there was no toilet paper to wipe. As he jumped around, he nearly lost his balance and fell into the cesspool.

A whole pool of filth awaited him with open arms.

The water balloon explosion spell completed in less than three seconds, with some landing in the toilet paper bin, others in the cesspit. In an instant, the restroom was filled with the sound of "bang-bang-bang" explosions.

The boys in the restroom were screaming, "Dingling clanging!" as they tried to pull up their pants and jump around in chaos. The restroom had turned into a warzone."Ahhhhh! It fell into the cesspit!"

"So hot!"

"Damn it, I haven't even wiped my butt yet!"

"F***ing hell! It exploded! It exploded my ass!"

"I've got it too! How am I supposed to put on pants? Aahhh!"

"Who did this?!"

"Someone! Help! Help me!"

As if summoned by the cries, the "rescue team" arrived with lightning speed. They were equipped with only the bare minimum, their faces covered, with many of the male students from the Sealing Spirit Institute borrowing sunscreen shirts from the female students in their institute. They used the shirts to cover their heads, holding bundles of fire talismans wrapped in gauze, and rushed into the restroom, waving their makeshift fire-fighting tools frantically.

The brother who had been bombed with a load of crap: "......"

What is this? A fire drill?

A moment later, thick smoke filled the restroom, and everyone couldn’t recognize each other.

The "Sealing Spirit Rescue Team" exchanged knowing smiles.

Soon, terrified and pained screams rang out through the smoke:

"Ahhhhh! My score got wiped out!"

"Damn it! Don’t steal my communicator!"

"F***! I swear, once I put my pants on, I’m going to kill you!"

"Who did it? Who took my forty points?"

"Pervert! Who touched my butt? I haven’t even wiped yet!"

Liú Ānrán, who had just been violently robbed of his points: "......"

Great, six hours into the exam, and I've been stripped twice.The exam really is against me.

Liú Ānrán thought sadly.