Only I Cultivate
Chapter 54: Ghost Village

Chapter 54: Ghost Village

Feng Fan drove through the dirt roads, the car cutting through the stillness of Red River Village. His destination was Huang Xiaotong’s house, the very place where she had been murdered. More specifically, her bedroom.

As Feng Fan navigated the narrow streets, he couldn’t help but notice a peculiar detail—every single house had a horseshoe nailed above the door. Each one bore exactly seven holes—no more, no less.

’Horseshoes with seven holes...’ Feng Fan thought, his gaze narrowing. ’They’re supposed to ward off evil spirits and negative energy. But why would an entire village need them? There’s something much darker lurking here than just a simple murder.’

Huang Xiaotong had lived with her parents in a modest, single-story house located at the village’s center. Like most homes in small towns, it sprawled horizontally, covering over a hundred square meters, its worn brick walls and sloping roof covered in a thin layer of dust. Despite its size, there was a sense of emptiness, as if even the house itself mourned her death.

When they finally arrived, Lai Niu took the lead, stepping out and approaching the door. She pressed the bell, and the hollow chime echoed through the air. Seconds passed in silence, stretching into nearly a full minute without a response.

Lai Niu rang the bell again and raised her voice to be heard inside.

"Excuse me," she called out, her tone polite. "We’re here to investigate Huang Xiaotong’s death. Are her parents home?"

For a moment, nothing but silence replied. Then a voice—rough and trembling—broke through from the other side of the door.

"G-Go away! You won’t trick me, damn ghosts!" a man shouted, his tone drenched in fear.

Lai Niu frowned, exchanging a confused glance with the others. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Huang De, right? Huang Xiaotong’s father? Why would you think we’re ghosts?"

"N-No! You’re not fooling me! Leave now!"

Her patience waning, Lai Niu gave a huff of annoyance. "If you won’t open up, we’ll do it ourselves."

She raised her hand, gathering wind in the palm of her hand with a graceful movement. A subtle yet controlled gust flowed toward the door’s lock, and within moments, a soft click sounded as the mechanism gave way. Another wave of her hand pushed the door open, revealing a cramped living room where a middle-aged couple stood trembling in terror.

The man, Huang De, clutched a branding iron, his knuckles white with strain. The woman stood behind him, her body quivering as she tried to make herself smaller.

Lai Niu arched an eyebrow, suppressing a sigh. "Mind putting that down? Even if we were ghosts, that wouldn’t do much against them, you know?"

The man ignored her words, his face twisted in desperation as he lunged forward, thrusting the branding iron toward Lai Niu. She didn’t flinch. With a casual flick of her sleeve, a gust of wind swept beneath his legs, sending him sprawling face-first onto the floor.

The branding iron clattered from his grip, rolling to a stop at Feng Fan’s feet.

"P-Please, don’t hurt us!" The woman, though clearly terrified, rushed to her husband’s side and spread her arms defensively, shielding him from harm.

Lou Li stepped forward and spoke, trying to ease the tension. "Calm down. We’re not here to hurt you. We’re here to help."

Noticing they hadn’t attacked despite the opportunity, the woman’s shoulders sagged with relief, and she sank to the floor, exhaustion etched into her features. "If you’re not ghosts... then please... close the door," she pleaded, her voice trembling.

Feng Fan closed the door before taking a quick glance around the room. Despite it being around ten in the morning, the house was cloaked in shadows. Not a single ray of sunlight pierced through the windows, which had been boarded up with wooden planks, leaving the space illuminated by the ceiling lamps.

"You must be Huang Lan, Huang Xiaotong’s mother, right?" Luo Li asked gently as the woman crouched beside her husband, carefully tending to his broken nose with trembling hands.

Huang Lan gave a hesitant nod, her expression still wary, though the overwhelming fear from earlier had faded.

Luo Li softened her tone, keeping her movements slow and non-threatening. "Can you explain what’s going on? Why did you think we were ghosts?"

At first, Huang Lan hesitated, her lips quivering as she tried to put her thoughts into words. Eventually, she took a shaky breath and spoke, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Three days ago... people started acting strange. They would attack others without warning or reason, like... like they weren’t themselves anymore. At first, we thought they were sick, so we tied them up and took them to the village doctor, hoping he could figure out what was wrong. But... it just kept spreading. More and more people went mad, turning violent for no reason."

Her hands trembled as she continued to clean the blood from Huang De’s nose, her eyes reflecting a deep, bone-chilling fear.

"We tried to call for help, but... nothing worked. Phones, radios—everything just stopped. Even when we tried to leave the village... it was like something pulled us back. Anyone who managed to cross the village’s edge came back... different. Possessed. As if... something evil had taken over them."

A shiver ran down her spine, and she clutched her husband’s hand as if afraid he would vanish if she let go.

"The village itself has been cursed," she whispered. "And no matter how hard we try to escape, we’re trapped... with them."

Feng Fan, Wu Yunru, Lai Niu, and Luo Li frowned, their expressions growing grim. It was hard to believe, but there was only one possible explanation—they had entered a ghost zone!

"Shouldn’t ghost zones be hard to enter? Even more so than leaving?" Feng Fan asked. Being less experienced than the others, he couldn’t wrap his mind around how they had crossed the boundary so effortlessly.

"Usually, that’s the case. Ghost zones are notoriously difficult to enter, but sometimes the opposite happens—especially when a powerful ghost is deliberately manipulating it."

Wu Yunru nodded, adding in a low voice, "If the ghost wants more prey, it might intentionally lower the entry barrier while sealing off any exit. That way, it lures people in but makes sure no one leaves."

Lai Niu glanced at the boarded windows and muttered, "So we’re dealing with a powerful ghost that’s intentionally drawing people inside. It must be confident that no one can escape once they’re in."