As the female ghost rose, preparing to lead us, Old Mo and I got a clear look at her. She had a face full of slash wounds, crisscrossed with bloody gashes. Her eye sockets were empty, her eyeballs gouged out. Blood streamed from the cavities down her cheeks. The sight sent shivers down our spines, truly chilling.
But ghosts come in countless forms, many retaining the appearance of their death. Though we didn't know what she'd endured in life, her appearance suggested a pitiable soul.
"Are you afraid of how I look?" The ghost's voice was cold and drawn out as she asked us.
I swallowed and cupped my fist in greeting, "A little surprised, but it's alright."
"Yes, alright, alright. We've seen scarier ghosts!" Old Mo chimed in.
The ghost said nothing more, only uttering in a mournful, cold tone, "Follow me! We're entering the territory of Old Lady Cat now..." With that, she drifted past us, carrying a gust of chilling wind.
Hearing "Old Lady Cat," Old Mo and I were instantly bewildered. Old Lady Cat? What was that?
"Miss, is Old Lady Cat a person or a ghost?" I asked.
As the ghost floated ahead, she replied, "Neither ghost nor person. It's a mountain demon that escaped from the mountains some days ago. It seized my graveyard and drove me out here. It's good you've come; help me drive it away, and I can return to my grave..."
Upon hearing this, our hearts sank again. We were even quite surprised. We hadn't expected a demon to be here!
"Is it a cat demon?" Old Mo pressed.
The ghost nodded, "Yes, a cat demon. That zombie was animated by its breath..."
"What? The zombie was animated by that thing?" My heart leaped in shock. I had previously speculated that when Boss Wei was transporting Grandpa Wei to the crematorium, the corpse might have been reanimated by contact with livestock after falling out of the vehicle, thus becoming a zombie. I hadn't anticipated that an accomplished old cat demon was involved.
"Yes, two days ago, one of my sisters saw it," the ghost continued mournfully.
After hearing this, Old Mo and I grew uneasy. The situation had changed drastically, involving other demonic entities. We now needed more intelligence. I turned to the guiding ghost and inquired further, "Miss, how powerful is that cat demon? Is it highly skilled?"
The ghost shook her head slightly, "I'm not sure..." She continued to float forward.
I asked more questions about the cat demon, but the ghost knew little or simply didn't answer. Seeing that we couldn't glean any useful information, Old Mo and I stopped asking. No matter what we encountered now, we had to press on. Of course, we both had our trump cards, and even if we couldn't win, we believed we could escape.
Before long, we arrived at a larger graveyard. The concentration of eerie corpse energy here was palpable, with black mist swirling around the entire area. Numerous stray cats were present – on the ground, in trees, walking or crawling. However, they all kept their distance, not approaching us.
The ghost pointed forward and spoke with her mournful, cold voice, "The zombie you're looking for is at the very back."
"Thank you, Miss!" I said, cupping my fist. Old Mo nodded as well. We then picked up our peach wood swords, ready to move on. But the ghost suddenly called out to us.
"Two Daoist priests, if you come out alive, don't forget my kindness!"
Old Mo and I froze at this, looking at the ghost. It was clear she expected some reward from us. Indeed, there's no such thing as a free lunch, and no one acts without reason, especially when asking a ghost for a favor.
Without further ado, I asked directly, "What do you want?"
The ghost, her empty eye sockets fixed on me, replied without hesitation, mournfully, "This humble woman has lost her eyes. I hope that after you two Daoist priests return successfully, you can make me a pair of eyes."
This condition wasn't difficult to fulfill. I smiled calmly, "Agreed!"
"Then it's settled, Daoist priests." I nodded and stopped wasting time with the ghost. I waved to Old Mo, and we headed deeper into the graveyard. The ghost remained in place, quietly watching us leave.
As we entered the graveyard, we could clearly feel the corpse energy intensifying rapidly. The source seemed to be about forty to fifty meters ahead. We slowed our pace cautiously, inching forward. The surrounding wild cats simply stared at us, neither fearful nor vocal. In the dark forest, dozens of pairs of eyes fixed on us, a truly unsettling feeling.
After a while, we reached the epicenter of the concentrated corpse energy. Before us lay a small cave. This potent Yin-corpse energy emanated from within. The zombie we were pursuing had likely entered this cave. Old Mo and I took a deep breath, stretching our limbs. Although we knew the cave would be dangerous, we intended to venture inside and investigate.