A Fantasy Love Story Across the Warring States Period

Chapter 109 The Mystery of the Crying and Strange Encounters

The mournful cries echoed eerily in the silent passage, each sound like a cold claw scratching at the hearts of the woman in black, the man in white, and Ling'er, sending chills down their spines. The woman in black took a deep breath, suppressing her fear, tightened her grip on her sword, and took the first step forward. Each step was cautious yet resolute. She thought, "I've come this far; I can't let these cries frighten me into backing down. The key to the divine artifact might be just ahead. I must find out for myself, no matter what."

The man in white followed closely behind, his brow furrowed, his eyes scanning the surroundings warily, his grip on the jade flute tightening. He pondered to himself, the crying was too strange; the place was eerie, and some powerful evil spirit might be at work. But there was no other way out; he could only grit his teeth and continue. Ling'er hid behind the woman in black, her small hands clutching the hem of her dress tightly. Her large eyes were filled with fear, yet she suppressed her curiosity, cautiously peeking out. She silently prayed that it was just a false alarm, but the increasingly clear crying made her heart pound faster.

As they continued forward, the surrounding environment grew increasingly eerie and terrifying. Patches of water had appeared on the walls of the passage, like scars left by time, or perhaps marks of some mysterious force. Water droplets seeped from the walls more frequently, their "drip-drip" sound mingling with the weeping, creating a chilling symphony for the eerie atmosphere.

Suddenly, a faint light appeared ahead, and the crying seemed to be coming from that light. The woman in black stopped, turned slightly, and whispered to the two behind her, "Be careful, the situation is unclear. Let's get closer and take a look." The man in white nodded gently, while Ling'er swallowed hard and shrank further behind the woman in black.

As they slowly approached the faint light, they could see clearly what was before them. A woman dressed in tattered white clothes stood with her back to them, crouching on the ground, her body trembling slightly. The crying was coming from her. The woman in black frowned, becoming more wary, and asked loudly, "Who are you? Why are you crying here?" The woman in white seemed not to hear them, continuing to weep, her cries growing increasingly mournful, as if the surrounding air itself was tinged with sorrow.

The man in white leaned close to the woman in black's ear and whispered, "This is strange. I'll go investigate." With that, he slowly took a few steps forward, his jade flute held horizontally before him, spiritual energy secretly gathering on it as a precaution. When he was a few steps away from the woman in white, he spoke softly, "Miss, if you have any difficulties, you might as well tell us. Perhaps we can help." But the woman in white remained unresponsive. Her crying abruptly stopped, replaced by a chilling chuckle that echoed through the narrow passage, like countless ghosts whispering in her ear.

A strong sense of unease welled up in the black-robed woman's heart. She shouted, "Watch out!" Before she finished speaking, the white-robed woman suddenly turned around. Her face was ashen, her eyes were empty and lifeless, but a strange smile hung on her lips. She murmured, "Come and keep me company, hahahaha..." As she spoke, her figure pounced towards the white-robed woman like a ghost.

The man in white was greatly alarmed and immediately played his jade flute, sending a sonic wave formed from spiritual energy towards the white-clad female ghost. The ghost was struck by the sound wave, swaying slightly but quickly regaining her balance. She let out a sharp howl and charged at them again, this time even faster than before. Seeing this, the woman in black wielded her sword and rushed forward to engage the ghost in combat. However, amidst the flashing sword light, she discovered that the ghost seemed to have no physical form; the blade pierced her body, only bringing with it a chilling aura, unable to harm her in the slightest.

Ling'er watched anxiously from the side. Knowing she couldn't just stand by and watch, she quickly took out the ancient scroll from her bosom and frantically searched through it, hoping to find a way to deal with the female ghost. Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead as she anxiously thought, "There must be a way, otherwise we'll all be stuck here."

Just as the woman in black and the man in white were starting to struggle, Ling'er suddenly had a flash of inspiration and shouted, "Use peach wood! The scroll says peach wood can subdue these kinds of evil spirits!" Upon hearing this, the man in white quickly rummaged through his bag and found a small piece of peach wood, throwing it at the female ghost. The moment the peach wood touched the ghost, she let out a shrill scream, staggered backward, and her face was filled with pain.

Seeing this, the woman in black took the opportunity to catch her breath and said, "It seems this thing is afraid of peach wood. We need to find a way to completely eliminate her, otherwise she definitely won't let it go." The man in white nodded, took out a few more pieces of peach wood, and prepared to launch another attack. But the female ghost seemed to have realized the power of peach wood as well, and no longer rushed forward rashly. Instead, she slowly circled around them, still emitting that eerie low laugh, as if searching for their weakness.

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, a strange light suddenly emanated from the walls of the passage. Ancient runes faintly appeared within the light, and as they flickered, the female ghost, as if summoned, drifted towards the light and quickly vanished within it. The three women, including the woman in black robes, exchanged glances, all seeing a mixture of confusion and relief in each other's eyes.

"What exactly is going on? What's the connection between those runes and the female ghost?" the woman in black asked, frowning. The man in white shook his head and said, "I don't know, but this place is too eerie. We'd better leave as soon as possible and continue searching for the key along this passage." Ling'er nodded obediently, and the three of them continued walking along the passage.

However, they hadn't gone far when a strange howling sound echoed through the passage again, as if some enormous monster was lurking in the shadows, ready to pounce. Their hearts tightened instantly, and their steps became heavy and slow, unsure of what danger they would encounter this time. The howling sound grew closer, but the path ahead remained shrouded in darkness, making it impossible to see what was approaching. They gripped their weapons tightly, bracing themselves for battle, nervously awaiting the arrival of the unknown danger. And the secret hidden in the darkness seemed poised to slowly reveal its even more terrifying side amidst the howling sound…