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"Invite others as guests, but the host is nowhere to be found. Is this how hospitality works?" Christian cautiously voiced his thoughts as he examined the cave's furnishings in the moonlight.
He's using Chinese.
From the archaic-sounding invitation, Christian inferred that they were supposed to meet fellow villagers. Although negotiating with the dense group of ghostly figures resembling a forest seemed challenging, Christian, prioritizing courtesy and realizing he might not be a match for the other party, responded that he didn't know the whereabouts of the mysterious man who extended the invitation.
Even with a Western appearance, delivering these Chinese lines in a martial arts style always feels odd.
"Don't be afraid, The other party controls so many ghosts. Since they didn't attack us directly earlier, there must be a reason. We should be safe for the time being," Christian reassured Charlize, who trembled beside him. Her hand, slender and cold, felt almost lifeless upon the initial touch.
"Yes, you're right" Charlize replied, her initial shock at the sight of numerous pale ghosts gradually subsiding. Knowing that Christian, an exorcist, was by her side, she gained some composure, even though the eerie scene still sent shivers down her spine.
At this moment, Christian and Charlize found themselves in a hidden cave, with a dozen pale ghosts guarding the entrance, like a group of prison wardens.
"Why did you agree to the mysterious man's invitation earlier?" Charlize scolded her director. While she was currently an actress under Christian's guidance, the horror they were experiencing was clearly beyond the scope of their contract. If it were not for the inappropriate setting, nobody would believe it. Charlize even considered filing a complaint with the Screen Actors Guild.
'Do you think I wouldn't run if I could? We can't escape with hundreds of ghosts around us '
Christian forced a bitter smile, keeping the morale-damaging truth to himself. Instead, he gently removed his jacket and draped it over Charlize, who was in nothing but pajamas.
"Excuse me, Sally. I forgot you didn't have much on when we left," he said before rolling up his sleeves casually.
"Ghost King?"
After the two were invited into the cave, the mysterious voice that had been silent resurfaced, full of surprise.
"Are you finally willing to come out?" Christian followed the voice and turned toward the deepest part of the cave. In the darkest corner, two yellow lights suddenly gleamed.
"Ah"
Startled by the sudden sound, Charlize couldn't help but scream. Instinctively, she clutched Christian's arm and discovered a peculiar tattoo on his arm.
"Ghost King?"
She couldn't comprehend the significance of the tattoo but inadvertently uttered those words. In the next moment, she realized that it was the unused Plan B Christian had used to seal Alexis for her, the strange name written in the so-called Yin Rune.
"Yes, it's indeed a Ghost King"
As if answering Charlize's question, the mysterious voice sounded again. Unfortunately, the voice was still in Chinese, leaving Charlize bewildered. At that moment, she noticed that the two yellow lights deep in the cave were a pair of demonic, frightening eyes.
"I never expected that, after all these years, someone would still know how to inscribe true Yin Runes and summon ghosts..."
The mysterious voice, filled with surprise or irritation, continued speaking, addressing the entrance of the cave:
"You trash, go away"
Half of this sentence was in English.
At this point, Charlize noticed that the dozen or so ghosts at the entrance of the cave had huddled together as if they had witnessed something terrifying. Following the command of the mysterious voice, they promptly dispersed.
"Well, when faced with a Ghost King, even if God Himself were here, these ghosts wouldn't have the courage. You foreigners are quite intriguing. I don't know where you learned the Blindness spell, and how you managed to summon a Ghost King. It's a shame you don't have his blood; otherwise, I'd be truly helpless."
Although the voice expressed admiration, it was clear that the mysterious figure remained confident about dealing with Christian. Unfazed, Christian had already achieved his goal of using the Ghost King's power to compel the other party to reveal themselves. He softly repeated words like "Heavenly Brother" with a smirk on his face.
"He isn't a Ghost King; he's just exceptionally skilled at harnessing a Ghost King's power. Ghost Kings excel at devouring spirits and warding off numerous ghosts. It's a pity that, like countless prehistoric gods and monsters, they've been wiped out by the tides of history. Otherwise, how would he have emerged later on? Right, old man from heaven?"
"Are you listening?"
The mysterious voice seemed somewhat surprised.
"Unexpectedly, there are still people who remember us from heaven."
"It's unclear if most people remember, but people like me do," Christian replied, gazing at those terrifying yellow eyes. His expression gradually relaxed.
"But I've learned spells of Chinese origin and studied Chinese history. I've even heard of your Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which, in the name of God, employed mandrills to create things."
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References-
1. Taiping Heavenly Kingdom- it was a Chinese theocratic absolute monarchy that sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty
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