Spirit Hunters of Maoshan Sect

Although Zhou Jingru had stated that she would not feel afraid, such a spooky sight still made her lose some nerves . She tightly clung to Ye Shaoyang’s arm and closely held onto him . Ye Shaoyang could smell her perfume; it had a rather attractive scent . However, he did not want to have any intentions toward her, so he sat down and looked around . He saw quite a number of graves, but there were not any spirits . So, he led Zhou Jingru to the middle of the cemetery and tried to search harder .

“Brother Shaoyang, why aren’t there any spirits here?” Zhou Jingru held onto his arm, but her grip tightened out of tension .

“Of course, it’s not as easy to find one . Otherwise, they would throw our world into chaos . ”

The duo searched the entire cemetery, but they failed to find a spirit . Ye Shaoyang felt helpless, and he led Zhou Jingru to the hill peak and sat on a rock . If any spirit passed by, they would see it from this vantage point . They waited for another half an hour, but not a single spirit appeared . Ye Shaoyang started to feel a little sleepy, so he laid on the rock and started to take a nap . Suddenly, Zhou Jingru tapped his shoulder and whispered, “Brother Shaoyang, are they spirits?”

Ye Shaoyang got up and looked in the direction that she pointed . It was a group of three—a girl and two guys . They walked in Ye Shaoyang’s direction . As they slowly approached, Ye Shaoyang could see them clearer . It was a group of youngsters in their twenties . They seemed to be hiking since they wore hiking apparels and carried backpacks . Additionally, the girl held a hiking stick too . Soon, they reached the peak and stopped for a rest . They took out some food and water from their backpacks . One of the guys finally noticed Ye Shaoyang and Zhou Jingru, so he greeted them in a friendly manner, “Hey friends . Dating here at a time like this? Aren’t you afraid of bumping into ghosts?”

Zhou Jingru felt relieved after hearing these words . After All, this would not be a concern to them if they were indeed spirits . Ye Shaoyang smiled and asked, “What are you guys doing here?”

“We are students from Polytechnic University . It’s semester break, so we are here on vacation . ” The young guy introduced himself, “My name is Lin Cheng . What’s your name?”

“Just call me Old Wang . ”

Zhou Jingru burst into laughter when she heard Ye Shaoyang’s answer .

Lin Cheng smiled, “Your girlfriend is really beautiful . You are such a lucky guy . ”

Ye Shaoyang replied, “Not as beautiful as your girlfriend . ”

Lin Cheng turned to look at the girl and said, “This is that dude’s girlfriend . I’m not that lucky . ” Then, Lin Cheng signaled to his friends and got them to come over . He introduced them, “Yang Yunfei and Song Xiaoqian . They are a couple . ”

The trio sat down and distributed their food and water . Lin Cheng generously passed two tins of food to Ye Shaoyang, “Eat some . Since we bumped into you, you are our friends . ”

“Thanks, but I already had my dinner . ” Zhou Jingru tactfully declined .

Ye Shaoyang took the tin, but he did not eat .

The trio ate and observed the map to plan their route, while Ye Shaoyang simply sat aside and quietly observed them . Soon, they had rested enough . They got up and parted ways with Ye Shaoyang and Zhou Jingru . Then, they proceeded in another direction .

“I envy them; they seem so happy,” said Zhou Jingru, as she watched them, “Brother Shaoyang, should we organize a vacation like them?”

Ye Shaoyang smiled, “It’s ok if you want a vacation, but you must definitely not envy them . ”

Zhou Jingru asked, “Why?”

“Because…They are spirits . ”

“What? How can that be?” Zhou Jingru yelled out in surprise .

Ye Shaoyang asked, “Do you know what month it is now?”

“It’s almost July . Why?”

Ye Shaoyang pointed at their figures, “Can you see what they are wearing?”

Zhou Jingru carefully observed them from afar . Suddenly, it hit her, “Oh my god! They are wearing down jackets!”

It was an obvious clue, yet the most obvious clues were usually the ones that slipped through a person’s eyes . After all, people usually did not pay too much attention to another person’s attire when they meet .

“This means that they are spirits; they passed away during one winter . ” Ye Shaoyang turned the tins upside down and passed them to Zhou Jingru, “Look at the date . ”

“28th of December, 2013… These tins expired two years ago!”

Before she finished her words, the tins actually disappeared into thin air . Ye Shaoyang continued, “These tins only appear through their imagination and do not actually exist . Once they walk away, these tins will disappear too . ”

Zhou Jingru’s heart started to race . After a while, she suddenly grabbed Ye Shaoyang’s hand nervously, “Oh my! I remember it now! It was two years ago! A few students were here for vacation, and they accidentally fell off a cliff . . . Yes! It was a girl and two boys!

“The Search and Rescue unit despatched a helicopter, and they found the bodies of these students below the cliff! Oh my god! Brother Shaoyang, didn’t you say that after a person dies, they will become aware of it?”

Ye Shaoyang explained, “That is not always the case . After a person dies, the spirit will usually rise up in a confused state, unaware of their own death . Some quickly come to their senses and accept their own fate . They will automatically go and report to the Netherworld Council . However, some will remain confused . A spirit commissioner needs to escort this type of spirit . But this trio seems to be an exception . They have already died for two years, yet there’s no spirit commissioner here to help them . Something must have gone wrong . ”

Zhou Jingru asked, “What should we do?”

“Since we bumped into them, it is naturally my duty to help them . We have to transcend them . Let’s go . ” They got up and headed toward the trio and tried to catch up with them . Zhou Jingru could barely keep up with Ye Shaoyang’s pace . She asked, “Brother Shaoyang, there’s something that I don’t understand . Where would they end up at since they kept walking around like this? Wouldn’t they realize it after two years?”

“They can only remember the last few hours of their deaths . It is a kind of curse . They will walk right to the moments of their own deaths and experience the trauma . However, things start back at the beginning after they relive their deaths . It forms an endless cycle that will never end . ”

Zhou Jingru gasped, “That’s really pitiful . ”

They hastened their pace . Before long, they had caught up with the trio of spirits . Ye Shaoyang called out to them, “Wait for us . Let’s walk together . ”

“Where are you guys going?” Lin Cheng asked .

“To look for someone,” Ye Shaoyang replied .

“It’s the middle of nowhere here . Who are you looking for?”

Ye Shaoyang considered his options . If he explained the situation to them in a straightforward manner, they probably could not accept it . It might trigger them into a state of madness, since they had already repeated the cycle for so long without realizing it . They would have built up the feeling of resentment within themselves . Once triggered, this would definitely turn them into hateful spirits .

“Guys, wait for us . I’ll tell you guys a ghost story . ”

Song Xiaoqian grabbed her boyfriend’s arm and nervously shook her head, “I don’t want to . It’s the middle of the night . I am scared . ”

Ye Shaoyang exchanged a glance of helplessness with Zhou Jingru . A spirit afraid of hearing a ghost story . What an ironic scene .

“What ghost story is it? Tell us,” the two other guys seemed interested .

Ye Shaoyang took some time to compose his story . Then, he began, “Here it goes . Three years ago, three university students just like you, were out on a trip to explore nature . An accident happened . They fell off a cliff and died, becoming spirits . However, they had no idea about this because no spirit commissioner came to tell them what had happened . So, these three spirits kept walking and walking as if they were going somewhere when they were still alive . Now, I need to find these three spirits and tell them what has happened . But I’m worried that they will not believe my words… . ”

Ye Shaoyang scanned their faces to see their reactions, “How about you guys help me out here? Give me an idea; how should I say it so that they will believe me?”