With a loud crack, the stone was split in two. I saw a faint layer of white light shimmering on Mason Yu's Celestial Chord Sword.
Nothing strange happened, except inside there was a human skeleton, fossilized, its bones barely visible protruding from the stone. The bones had been sealed within the rock for years, turning black.
"There's nothing wrong. All right, let's keep going, Justin Huang," Mason Yu said. Justin ran over, and we drove the car after him, but my cousin was still suspicious, glancing behind us.
"Cousin, I'm sure I saw something. I definitely saw a face—someone's face."
I sighed.
"It's fine, cousin. The stone's split, and there's nothing seriously wrong. It's okay."
Justin Huang tossed stones as he went, and we slowly followed behind. It had already been half an hour, but when we looked back, we'd only moved less than fifty meters.
Suddenly, my cousin screamed again.
"Damn it, cousin, stop scaring us!" Not just me—everyone else was startled by his scream. With a thud, Justin Huang clutched his foot and howled. He'd just picked up a stone, ready to throw it, but my cousin's sudden scream made him lose focus, and the stone dropped onto his foot.
"Are you okay, Justin Huang?" I rushed over. Justin smiled, limping, and I glared fiercely at my cousin.
"It was a woman's face. I swear, I saw it just now, right here on this stone. I'm not lying to you."
My cousin repeated himself, pointing at a stone beside the car. Hugh Thompson walked over calmly, and we realized my cousin wasn't lying—at a time like this, no one would joke.
"Move aside, all of you."
Rufina Howard said, sitting cross-legged in front of the stone. She raised both hands and produced a white talisman.
With a rustle, the white talisman edged with gold thread unfolded with a crackling sound.
"Zhonghai namo, heed my heart... Ghost appraisal, spirit discernment, Thirteen Wraith Aspects Rite..."
Rufina Howard chanted the incantation, slowly stood up, and the talisman unfurled, spinning in the air. Suddenly, a pale blue humanoid figure emerged from it.
Ghost Seal, Ghost Palace, Ghost Rampart, Ghost Den, Ghost Road, Ghost Market, Ghost Hall, Ghost Pillow, Ghost Heart, Ghost Leg, Ghost Faith, Ghost Camp, Ghost Cache, Ghost Minister—Thirteen Wraith Aspects Rite, appraise...
Thirteen translucent, pale blue threads shot out from the humanoid figure, like silkworm filaments, sticking to different spots on the stone.
Everyone was astonished. We knew little about Yin-Yang Masters, only that it was a popular profession during the Tang Dynasty. We'd seen it in some TV dramas.
After a while, Rufina Howard put away the talisman scroll. This time I saw it clearly—the scroll, accompanied by a flash of light, seemed to be swallowed into Rufina's head.
"So, how is it, kiddo?"
My cousin asked.
"There's definitely a ghost inside, but it's nothing serious. I can't tell the specifics. The Thirteen Wraith Aspects Rite is a Yin-Yang technique to identify ghost types. These thirteen aspects are supposed to be present on every ghost, but the one here is missing eight. It's abnormal. Howard Zhang, stop yelling."
I looked at Rufina Howard in confusion. This was the first time I'd heard her call my cousin by his full name. She used to call him 'pervert' or 'creep.' Was the sun rising in the west today?
I thought about it, glanced at the sky, and smiled.
Justin Huang rested for a while, applying some trauma ointment Mr. Cooper gave us to his foot. It worked well—soon Justin was up again. But Mr. Cooper warned us only Justin and I could use it, as it's meant for ghosts; anyone else would get hurt.
Justin continued clearing the path. I felt a bit guilty; I'd considered using Deathbane Aura to pierce through the stones, but Hugh Thompson stopped me. If something went wrong and the ground was covered in rubble, it'd be even more troublesome.
Gradually, after about an hour, we saw the road ahead was only a dozen meters away.
"Justin, take a break and have some fruit."
My cousin said, taking his backpack from the car roof and pulling out a bunch of apples. We all gathered around. Unexpectedly, my cousin was quite considerate—the apples were all about the same size, but some were crushed from being packed together.
We started eating, but my cousin held an apple, glancing around.
"What's wrong, cousin? Why aren't you eating?"
"Hey, little brother, did you forget? I never liked eating the peel." As he spoke, he took out a small knife and handed it to my cousin.
"Ouch!" My cousin cried out, clutching his thumb.
"Such a big guy, and he still cuts his hand peeling apples."
Rufina Howard said, walked over, took the knife from my cousin, picked up an apple, and started peeling it.
Something's off. I stared at Rufina Howard, wondering why her attitude toward my cousin had changed so drastically.
I blinked, and the others also looked at the two in disbelief.
My cousin chuckled.
"Ah, I've been like this since I was a kid. Don't mind me, haha."
I heard a creak behind me, turned around, and let out a scream. A face of an old man appeared on a black stone behind me.
"Pack up and move out."
Hugh Thompson shouted urgently. Not only on the black stone behind me, but on all the stones, human faces appeared, all seeming to sniff at something.
Without hesitation, Justin Huang rushed forward, grunting as he lifted and hurled stones into the distance.
With a crack, all the stones around us sprouted arms and legs—blackened limbs. The faces broke through the stone, each mouth torn wide to the ears, black smoke billowing out.
A chorus of wails erupted around us as the car started up.
"Everyone, be careful—don't let them damage the car."
Hugh Thompson was already driving slowly forward.
Gradually, a mass of black stones with limbs and heads rose, crawling slowly toward us.
"What are these things? So gross." My cousin said, pulling out a ritual drumstick, his hand still bleeding.
"It's the blood!" Dalton Fang shouted. Sure enough, the stone ghosts all moved toward my cousin.
With a bang, one shot toward my cousin like a cannonball.
I shouted, Deathbane Aura surging from my body, stabbing at the stone ghost. With a bang, it shattered, scattering debris everywhere.
"Justin, take my cousin and go!"
I shouted. Mason Yu leapt up, slashing a flying stone ghost in two. With two thuds, it landed beside us, still alive, its limbs and head twitching.
Justin Huang's massive frame jumped over, hoisting my cousin. With a shout, he smashed a flying stone ghost to pieces, then ran, quickly dodging the stone ghosts and reaching the open field.
Then the stone ghosts behind us crawled quickly, chasing after them.
"Get in the car first."
Hugh Thompson spoke as Miles Mao, Mason Yu, and I sat on the car roof, keeping watch for stone ghosts. The car started slowly, Justin Huang carrying my cousin was already far ahead, while we could only move slowly.
Seeing the stone ghosts about to hit our car, I released Deathbane Aura, instantly shattering two stone ghosts.
"Hope they don't run too far." Hugh Thompson said as we continued to drive slowly.
Large groups of stone ghosts had already passed us, chasing ahead.
At this moment, I noticed some black stone ghosts without limbs, rolling forward.
"It's up to you, Qingyuan." Miles Mao summoned a Yellow Talisman, a burst of flame hit a stone, but did nothing. I raised my hands, Deathbane Aura forming spikes. I had thought about turning it into blades before, but it was too exhausting.
With a bang, I shattered another rolling stone ghost.
After a while, we finally cleared the rolling stone ghosts. Ahead, a field of black round stones rolled quickly forward. Seeing no more danger, Hugh Thompson floored the accelerator and we gave chase.
But we couldn't catch up—the black stone ghost horde was far ahead. I worried, but my cousin was with Justin Huang, so it should be fine. Still, there were so many stone ghosts.
The car jolted violently.
"Faster, Thompson!"
"This is already the fastest." I checked the speedometer—180 kilometers per hour. The car was nearly falling apart, racing across the wilderness.
No matter how fast we drove, we couldn't see the black stone ghosts anymore. The dust had settled, and the road ahead was clear.
"Do you think my cousin and Justin will be alright?" I asked worriedly.
"Don't worry, they're fine. I gave each of them a Soul Charm. If their souls are in danger, I'll know."
Rufina Howard spoke, her face serious.