Chapter 315

Chapter 315

“Why does this gate keep doing that?” Yellow Hair demanded.

After entering, no one continued onward. They stopped and stared at the gate.

Was it automatic? Did it sense when people entered and close by itself? If so, why did it not also open automatically?

Then again, if its closing signaled some unexpected event, they had searched the residence safely yesterday without encountering danger. They had later opened the gate with ease as well.

At that thought, Qin Nan suggested, “Should we test it?”

He was already taking several steps forward.

No one stopped him.

Qin Nan reached the gate and opened it effortlessly.

What?

Then why did it keep closing?

Was it really automatic?

Qin Nan withdrew his hand and stood beside the open gate, looking at Jian Fan in confusion.

Just then–

Bang.

The gate closed again.

Qin Nan stared.

Was automatic closing truly its only function?

As Qin Weiyi watched the scene, his mind began working rapidly. After studying the gate for a while, he turned toward the courtyard filled with tables and chairs.

“That’s the only place with something wrong,” he said.

Yellow Hair followed his gaze. “You mean the gate is connected to that area?”

“How could they be connected?” Qin Nan asked. There was certainly something wrong with the tables and chairs, but the gate did not stand within that area.

Jian Fan had remained silent. Now he suddenly walked aside and casually picked up a pebble. He was about to act when he paused and looked back at everyone standing by the gate. “Move aside. Don’t stand in the middle.”

Although no one understood why, they moved at his instruction.

Unsure where to stand, they ultimately gathered beside Jian Fan.

Jian Fan fell silent.

Forget it. It would not matter.

Once everyone had moved out of the way, Jian Fan threw the stone forward.

His aim was quite good.

The stone struck a chair directly, landed on it, then bounced to the ground with several crisp clacks as it hit other objects.

The action appeared perfectly ordinary, yet everyone held their breath, afraid to make a sound.

Nothing seemed to change in the courtyard, but sinister gusts suddenly rose around them, carrying a particularly chilling presence.

It felt as though…

The ghosts were all nearby.

Everyone stared fixedly into the courtyard, but nothing changed.

They watched for a long time. The sinister wind eventually faded without anything unusual occurring in the courtyard, apart from the wind itself.

“What are you thinking?” Once the wind and the oppressive chill had dispersed, Qin Weiyi turned to Jian Fan.

Jian Fan did not answer. His gaze moved slowly from the courtyard toward the main gate, then stopped.

Seeing this, Qin Weiyi looked over as well.

He froze.

Their reactions naturally drew everyone else’s attention. Before long, all of them were looking toward the gate.
Then they all went still.

Several bloody handprints had appeared on the ground leading to the gate. Beside them was a long smear of blood, as though someone had been dragged away with a hand scraping across the ground.

“When did those appear?” Lin Junruo’s eyes widened slightly as she quietly moved closer to Yang Zhen.

They had been standing there the entire time and had seen nothing happen apart from the sinister wind. Surely the handprints had not been left by the wind?

“Did Jian Fan throwing the stone cause it?” Yellow Hair asked in surprise, then seemed to analyze the matter aloud. “We entered that area before. We heard all kinds of voices, but nothing dangerous happened, and there were no bloody handprints on the ground. That means the key to triggering it was–Jian Fan’s stone hitting the chair.”

“That reminds me of a belief,” Qin Nan said as Yellow Hair finished.

Yang Zhen and the others immediately looked at him.

“Where I’m from, there’s a custom during New Year and other important occasions. A feast is laid out at home for the ancestors, and incense and candles are lit. The adults warn the children not to touch the chairs,” Qin Nan explained.

Yang Zhen was unfamiliar with Chinese customs and asked at once, “Why?”

“Because the ancestors are sitting on those stools and eating. Touching their chairs will disturb them,” Lin Junruo explained softly.

Qin Nan nodded.

Yang Zhen understood.

“So the same principle applies here. We entered the area without touching the tables or chairs, so nothing happened. Once the furniture moved, the ghosts eating at the wedding feast were disturbed. That caused the sinister wind. But because a stone entered the area rather than any of us, the ghosts did not treat us as prey. They left a few bloody handprints and departed?” Yang Zhen reasoned, following their logic.

Then another question occurred to her. “But aren’t the ghosts supposed to appear only at night? They’re here in broad daylight. Being invisible to us is one thing, but aren’t they afraid of sunlight?”

“It appears this isn’t a simple mirage, but an overlapping junction. This area isn’t affected by day and night,” Qin Weiyi said.

Mu Xin nodded. “The area is special enough to let the ghosts act during the day, but their actions are restricted. Their range may be limited, for instance. And before they can act, someone has to disturb them. They can’t initiate an attack.” Then she remembered something else. “Wouldn’t that disprove our theory that they live in the scholar-tree grove?”

“Not necessarily,” Qin Nan countered.

“How so?” Mu Xin asked.

“I still think it’s a mirage, just an advanced one,” Qin Nan said.

“Hm?” Mu Xin was surprised.

Lin Junruo’s brain finally kicked into gear, and she immediately understood. “You mean what happened in the past remained here, and not only as sound, but as ghostly images too? The sinister wind and bloody handprints came from those images rather than the actual ghosts. Since they’re only images, sunlight doesn’t affect them?”

Qin Nan snapped his fingers. “Exactly.”