"What happened?"
"How did we end up in the stairwell?"
The three men were pale with shock.
"You were bewitched by ghosts, go back quickly!"
The two who saved them were a young man and a young woman.
The man was dressed as a Daoist disciple, holding a money sword in his hand, escorting the three people back to the main group.
"Die, all of you must die!"
Suddenly, a burst of flames erupted from the brazier, and burning paper money with sparks floated towards them.
"Be careful!"
The woman, wielding a pair of maces, charged decisively toward the flickering flames.
The maces whistled through the air, with runes flowing on their surfaces, smashing all the paper money to pieces.
The flames subsided.
In the stairwell, there was no sign of the old woman who had been burning the paper; only a blackened brazier remained, charred by the fire.
"She's run off?"
The woman frowned, intending to investigate further.
"Miss Shenglan, don't be rash!" Master Xiang shouted at her, "The burnt ghost in the building is starting to move, don't take the risk."
Tie Shenglan looked up at the dark and winding staircase, hesitated for a moment, and then retreated back to the main group.
"Young Brother Molin, Miss Shenglan, thank you..."
The three of them, having narrowly escaped with their lives, thanked the two with lingering fear.
Zhang Molin was a Daoist disciple, with a gentle and honest appearance, exuding a calmness that belied his age in his every move.
Tie Shenglan seemed to be a wandering cultivator, dressed in neat martial arts attire, with her hair tied up high in a ponytail, appearing athletic and spirited.
"Both of them are quite skilled..."
Lu Fei, curious, observed them while catching a whiff of burnt paper again.
The old burnt ghost is still here!
The smell was coming from the direction of the front door.
He turned his head, and his expression immediately changed.
The old woman who had disappeared was now silently standing at the entrance, continuously throwing paper money into the burning brazier.
Her scarred, dark face flickered in and out of sight in the firelight. The paper money burned fiercely, and the billowing smoke gradually obscured the entrance.
"A ghost is blocking the door! This isn't good, this burnt ghost wants to seal us inside the building! Everyone, hurry up..." Master Xiang shouted in alarm after discovering this.
Lu Fei had already rushed forward first.
Jing Jian followed closely behind.
Then, the others reacted.
"Die!"
"All of you must die!"
The old woman cackled sinisterly as the brazier exploded with a boom, scattering sparks and ashes into the air.
Lu Fei hurriedly stopped in his tracks.
As the flames dissipated, the old woman disappeared once again.
Thick smoke billowed at the entrance, completely obscuring the view outside.
"She's run off again?"
Tie Shenglan was very annoyed, waving her twin rods in the smoke a few times, but failing to disperse it. She tried to walk through the fog in search of the old woman.
"We can't go!"
Seeing this, Lu Fei quickly grabbed her arm.
"Why? If we don't find a way to clear this smoke, we won't be able to get out," Tie Shenglan frowned as she looked at Lu Fei.
"Take a closer look, what's inside the smoke?" Lu Fei tilted his head towards her.
Tie Shenglan turned her head, half-believing and half-doubting, squinting her eyes to take a closer look.
In the midst of the gray smoke, paper ashes carrying embers could be seen floating by from time to time.
"Paper ashes?!" Startled, Tieshenglan pulled out a wad of tissue from her pocket and threw it towards the smoke.
The moment the tissue touched the ember, it instantly caught fire and was reduced to ashes in a matter of seconds.
"Thank you!"
Tieshenglan gratefully nodded to Lu Fei.
"You're welcome," Lu Fei smiled. "This smoke is created by the burned ghost. Once it's eliminated, the fog will naturally dissipate."
"But that old ghost is too cunning; where should we start looking for it?"
Tieshenglan scanned her surroundings with force.
Master Xiang immediately took out his compass. To his shock, the needle was spinning wildly, unable to settle on any one direction.
The needle of the compass was spinning frantically, unable to stop at a single point.
"The yin energy in the building is too strong, the compass has failed!"
Master Xiang, with a solemn expression, clasped his hands and bowed to everyone.
"I'm afraid this is the first hurdle of tonight. I hope all of you fellow practitioners will show your skills and quickly drag out that old scorched ghost! The longer we delay, the worse it is for us!"
Everyone exchanged glances and then immediately split into groups, searching every corner of the hall.
The dimly lit hall flickered with light, and footsteps echoed chaotically.
"The night has just begun, and we're already dealing with such troublesome ghosts! Tonight is going to be tough!" Jing Jian frowned, gripping his magic sword tightly, "Lu Fei, have you found anything?"
Unlike the others who were searching aimlessly, Lu Fei stayed near the smoke. After observing for a while, he suddenly strode towards the staircase.
Ku Deng and Tian Yuan followed closely, as if determined to stick with Lu Fei for the night.
Lu Fei glanced into the staircase and noticed that the fire basin from before was missing.
Then, he turned and looked back at the smoke by the entrance.
A black brazier, faintly visible in the smoke.
"Don't you think that brazier is a bit odd?" he mused thoughtfully.
"What's odd about it..." Jing Jian asked.
Before Lu Fei could answer,
"Oh no, how did my clothes catch fire?"
Suddenly, screams filled the hall.
The two exchanged a glance and turned to look, only to be stunned.
They saw that someone's clothes had caught fire for some unknown reason, with blue-green flames engulfing their body.
"Save them!"
"Put out the fire, quick!"
The fellow daoist beside him hurriedly took off his clothes and helped him beat out the flames on his body.
But the fire was extremely bizarre, impossible to put out.
"Ah! It hurts! Help me, help me quickly——"
The fire burned more fiercely, and he screamed as he rolled around on the ground.
Someone found a fire extinguisher from a corner.
"No! That's Yin Fire; ordinary methods can't put it out at all!"
At that moment, a Daoist disciple named Zhang Moli ran over, throwing a talisman towards the burning person.
"Spiritual Water of Blessing, cleanse the world and purify the dust! Vanish!"
The raging flames seemed to be extinguished by water, disappearing instantly. The man's body emitted thick black smoke.
His clothes were burned into tatters, his hair was completely gone, and he had burns all over his body.
It was a horrific sight.
Everyone hurried over with bated breath.
"What happened? How did he catch on fire all of a sudden?"
"There was a child!"
"I think I saw a kid lighting his clothes with a candle. I was just about to warn the kid, but then the kid disappeared, and then he..."
Everyone's faces darkened.
The old arsonist is still at large, and now there's a little one as well!
"He's too badly injured; we need to get him treated as soon as possible!" Zhang Moulun stuffed a pill into the man's mouth and sprinkled some medicinal powder on his wounds, speaking with a grave expression.
"We have to find that old arsonist first if we want to leave!" Tie Shenglan gritted her teeth, "But where is that old wretch?"
Everyone frowned. They had already searched the entire hall, but there was no sign of the old arsonist.
Should we go upstairs to look?
Could there be more charred ghosts upstairs?
"I know where it is!"
At this moment, Lu Fei dashed towards the smoke at the door, already holding the ghost-whipping in his hand.
"That charred ghost is inside the brazier!"