The path to the shrine was quite difficult to navigate, shrouded in darkness and riddled with uneven terrain that made it easy to twist an ankle.
What Sun Yan never expected was that the Chen Family Village shrine wasn't in the center of the village but rather on its northern outskirts.
"Why didn't anyone from your village mention there was a shrine here?" Sun Yan asked Chen Xijiu.
"We almost forgot ourselves. There used to be one, but later some kind of epidemic swept through the village like a plague, and that shrine vanished. Many villagers no longer wanted to stay, and most left to find work elsewhere," Chen Xijiu replied truthfully.
Under the guidance of the three, the dilapidated shrine gradually came into view in the distance. The wooden plaque at the shrine's entrance was rotten and beyond repair.
The plaster on the shrine's walls had also fallen off, revealing the red bricks beneath.
Weeds were overgrown around the shrine, a testament to its long-neglected state.
Such rural shrines already appear somewhat sinister, and after being left uncared for so long, they exude an aura of malevolence.
Observing the surroundings, Sun Yan noticed several wooden frames about three to four meters high, with frayed brown cloth banners on them. Once bearing clear writing, the words had faded beyond recognition.
"This is the closest we've ever gotten. Beyond this point, we can't be of further help. Be careful,"
Wang Heqiang, still dressed in his Guan Gong costume, turned to remind them.
Through conversations along the way, everyone had briefly introduced themselves to each other.
Sun Yan learned their names were Wang Heqiang, Fang Nuo, and Liu Anshi, and he introduced himself as Jackson.
Now that they decided to act together, they were essentially a temporary team and needed some level of understanding.
"No worries, there's strength in numbers," Zhou Haidong chuckled.
The wooden door of the shrine had long fallen off, allowing Sun Yan and the others to enter with ease.
As Sun Yan stepped inside, illuminated by the flashlight, he immediately noticed a table cluttered with ancestral spiritual tablets.
The candleholders and incense burners were toppled onto the floor by some unknown force, painting a bleak picture.
Zhou Haidong and the others immediately began searching around, hoping to find clues on how to leave this place.
"Hey!"
At that moment, Sun Yan suddenly exclaimed, startling everyone to gather around, alertly scanning their surroundings.
"What did you find?" Zhou Haidong hurriedly inquired.
Sun Yan pointed overhead, prompting everyone to look up.
Suddenly, they were presented with a large, bizarre painting of a Buddha-like figure.
Though the colors had faded over time, the painting's form remained intact.
It depicted a six-armed monstrous Buddha, with six breasts each gnawed by a small green-skinned ghost.
The left three arms held a trident, butcher's knife, and blood-filled bowl.
The right three arms, the first lifted a red-faced, fanged head, the second cradled a six-legged toad, and the third formed a gesture akin to a blooming flower.
The Buddha's head was even more grotesque, featuring three combined faces of a bat, snake, and human.
With just one glance, Sun Yan felt extremely uncomfortable, his heart racing and vision spinning, as though the monstrous Buddha was about to break free from the painting any second.
"What on earth is that..." Zhou Haidong muttered, his voice trembling.
As a spirit medium, his sensitivity to the supernatural was greater than ordinary people's, and he felt the Cyan Stone God calling him to leave immediately, or the consequences would be dire.
"There's no turning back now. Don't be too afraid. Being scared won't help us now. Let's search for anything suspicious. When Wang Heqiang's group came here, they went mad afterwards, implying there's a hidden secret we must uncover first,"
Sun Yan took out the peace talisman Zhao Chuan Yi had given him and distributed one to each of Wang Heqiang, Fang Nuo, and Liu Anshi. He wasn't sure if they would work.
Still, in situations like this, a little self-consolation is necessary. Sometimes, the scariest thing is not the paranormal, but scaring oneself.
The greatest human fear stems from imagination.
As they began searching the shrine, it didn't take long before they made a discovery.
With Wang Heqiang and Chen Xijiu pushing aside the heavy table laden with spiritual tablets, they revealed a small stone chamber resembling a grave mound.
This stone chamber had a wooden door large enough for only two people to enter simultaneously, beyond which lay impenetrable darkness.
The wooden door showed signs of forced entry, split in two, with scattered talisman paper on the ground, likely once affixed to that door.
But after the door was damaged, the talismans' effects were nullified.
"It seems those people must have entered through this door, and encountered something so terrifying that it drove them insane. Should we still go in?" Wang Heqiang asked, his face ashen.
"Is there another choice?" Zhou Haidong took a deep breath, pulled out a red string threaded with copper coins, and placed it on his forehead, leading the way into the stone chamber.
Sun Yan quickly followed. Zhou Haidong seemed the most trustworthy, and together they were formidable against ordinary evil spirits.
Thus, they must act together and not give any evil spirits a singular point of attack.
Seeing the pair take the lead left the others with little choice but to follow, entering the stone chamber in succession.
The stone chamber's path sloped downward, leading them deeper below.
After about a few dozen steps, their flashlight beam caught sight of two figures ahead, causing Zhou Donghai to shiver and instinctively ready his Peach Wood Branch.
"Calm down, it's just mirrors," Sun Yan whispered, restraining his movement.
Regaining composure, Zhou Haidong noticed along the path's sides lay numerous large mirrors.
Some were shattered, with irregular fragments strewn across the floor.
Relieved, Zhou Haidong began to proceed, but suddenly halted, his eyes stunned, fixated on Sun Yan's reflection in one mirror.
In the mirror, behind Sun Yan stood a woman in a red dress with obscured face,
Bent over motionless, her hands silently strangling Sun Yan's throat.
"Watch out!" Zhou Haidong turned, urgently shouted.