Chapter Nineteen: Breaking Free

“You charlatan!” Lan Shentong, son of Lan Gaoda, caught sight of Chen Jin and, boiling with rage, charged at him, his burly arm reaching out to grab him.

“Step aside.” With a gentle motion, Chen Jin pushed Lan Shentong to the ground.

“You killed my father, you fraud, and now you dare—”

Before Lan Shentong could finish his curse, Chen Jin slapped him across the face, knocking him senseless.

“Senior Brother (Master), you—” Both Lei Dazhu and the village chief cried out in shock.

“I’m going to the Lan family.” Chen Jin hoisted Lan Shentong and headed for the Lan household.

By now, the situation spoke for itself: Chen Jin suspected he was trapped in an illusion, and these people might not even be real.

With Lan Shentong in tow, Chen Jin sped toward the Lan estate, where he found the residence draped in mourning white, chrysanthemums arrayed throughout the courtyard.

He felt this was the origin of it all. He had been lured here first, and everything else followed. Lei Dazhu, Zhang Chunlan, and Lan Gaoda were certainly keys to unraveling the mystery.

Resolved, Chen Jin didn't waste time. He rushed into the Lan house and seized Zhang Chunlan.

Just then, Lei Dazhu arrived, and Chen Jin effortlessly grabbed him as well.

He dragged them both into the ancestral shrine of the Lan family.

“Senior Brother, what…what are you planning?” Lei Dazhu eyed Chen Jin warily.

“I have a question for you. Answer honestly,” Chen Jin said.

“Ask away, Senior Brother, ask anything. I swear I’ll tell you everything I know!” Lei Dazhu stammered, thoroughly intimidated by Chen Jin’s demeanor.

“Mm, mm…” Zhang Chunlan nodded fervently.

“Have you two committed adultery?” Chen Jin asked gravely.

Lei Dazhu and Zhang Chunlan exchanged a bewildered glance.

“It seems you have.” Chen Jin nodded.

“No, no…” The two vehemently denied it.

“Did you conspire to harm Lan Gaoda?” Chen Jin ignored their protests and pressed on.

“No, Senior Brother, I only met Zhang Chunlan today. How could we be adulterers? I just arrived—how could I have plotted against Lan Gaoda? You can’t accuse me! I’m honest; I could never do such a thing…” Lei Dazhu protested desperately.

“I…” Zhang Chunlan began.

“I’ll summon Lan Gaoda to confront you,” Chen Jin interrupted, not giving Zhang Chunlan the chance to plead her case.

“Ah?” Both were seized by terror.

Chen Jin’s attention remained fixed on Lei Dazhu; everything so far had involved him directly, so Chen Jin watched carefully for any abnormal behavior.

Yet Lei Dazhu only glanced fearfully around the shrine and at Zhang Chunlan.

Then, Chen Jin stepped into the ritual dance, reciting the “Scripture of Deliverance by the Sacred Treasure.”

With his chanting, strange phenomena stirred in the ancestral shrine—just as before. The two dim, yellowish oil lamps flared, stretching into greenish ghostly flames.

Two serpents of fire coiled around the shrine; Zhang Chunlan fainted instantly, while Lei Dazhu trembled uncontrollably, the pungent odor of urine rising from below.

Within the eerie green light, Lan Gaoda’s ghostly form slowly materialized. His entire spectral body was colorless, his weathered face devoid of expression, frozen and wooden.

Even so, the sight nearly scared Lei Dazhu to death.

“Ah…Lan Gaoda…you…you…I didn’t kill you, you did this to yourself…” Lei Dazhu, terrified, scooted backward on the floor, inadvertently exposing his earlier lies.

But Lan Gaoda showed no sign of sentience—his ghostly form floated, emotionless, puppet-like.

Chen Jin observed, unconcerned with Lei Dazhu’s confession. He scrutinized Lan Gaoda’s ghost; it seemed utterly devoid of intelligence.

And…something else…what was it…

Chen Jin felt as though he had forgotten something crucial.

‘Earlier, someone lured me down the mountain—that was Lan Gaoda’s ghost. After I arrived at the Lan house, he vanished. I subdued the family, then drove Lei Dazhu away. Later, during the ritual, Lan Gaoda’s ghost appeared and hid in the ancestral shrine. I brought everyone there and revealed Lan Gaoda’s ghost, then the truth came out: Lei Dazhu had used a demon to scare Lan Gaoda to death. Afterward, Lei Dazhu appeared, I battled him, he fled, I went after him, and the whole thing started over—except now I wasn’t coming down from the mountain…’

Chen Jin pondered deeply, sensing a conflict in his memories.

“Damn, I’ve been affected too!” he realized uneasily.

Without caring for Lei Dazhu and Zhang Chunhua sprawled on the floor, nor the drifting ghost of Lan Gaoda, Chen Jin rushed out of the shrine, out of the Lan estate, and finally out of the village itself.

Once he had run a mile from the village, Chen Jin felt his memories were disjointed, two versions vying for clarity. He hastily sorted them out, and now he knew for certain he had fallen victim to some strange sorcery.

In truth, he never had a junior named Lei Dazhu. The Lan family housed two ghosts—Lan Gaoda and Lei Dazhu—but wait, there should be three. There was one more, a wild ghost, the one who had led Chen Jin to the Lan house.

With his thoughts straightened, Chen Jin turned to look back at the village.

The place had changed dramatically. Once, the houses stood in neat rows, smoke curling from every chimney, lively voices filling the air. Now, wild grass choked crumbling ruins, not a trace of human life remained—a world apart from the earlier scene.

As Chen Jin surveyed the desolate village, shades in gray and white began to emerge from the collapsed picket fence beyond its bounds.

He recognized them all: the entire Lan family—Lan Gaoda, Zhang Chunlan, thirty-odd members—Lei Dazhu and his apprentice, the village chief he’d met just once, other villagers both familiar and unknown. In total, over three hundred specters…

Their eyes were empty and lifeless, staring fixedly at Chen Jin. Under the gaze of three hundred pairs of stark black-and-white eyes, his scalp tingled and his mind reeled.

Amid his daze, whispers crowded his ears: “Come back,” “Don’t leave,” “Stay with us…”

Chen Jin hurriedly recited the Metal Energy Incantation, stepped into the ritual dance, and turned away, striding step by step away from the village.

…