Chapter 26: Summoning the Soul

In the 1970s, Jilin University published a book titled *Popular Science of World Fungi*. Due to poor sales, only the first edition was printed. On page 142 of this book, a strange type of fungus was recorded in the form of a rubbing. That thing was the "Cypress Old Face." In the Ten Thousand Mountains of Guangxi, folklore suggests it is used for summoning souls.

Whether one believes in such folk taboos is a matter of personal opinion. While I am not a professional Taoist priest or exorcist, I have witnessed certain things myself, which I may tell you about when the opportunity arises.

...

Back to the matter at hand, as soon as Boss Sun mentioned the words "summoning souls," especially while we were standing inside a tomb, it sent chills down everyone’s spine. "One-Mole" was naturally no exception.

One-Mole took two steps back and glared at Boss Sun. "Boss, could you please say something auspicious? Look at where we are right now."

After that, everyone kept a wide distance from the fungi growing on the logs.

I found it strange at the time. When we first entered, the tomb had been filled with the scent of nanmu wood, but the mountain of logs arranged into the *huangchang ticou* (a burial structure made of logs) by Western Zhou craftsmen was clearly cypress. Cypress wood can remain intact for a millennium for two reasons: its inherent rot-resistant properties and the preservative coating applied to it. This explained why the wood hadn't rotted after a thousand years.

But... where was the scent of nanmu coming from?

Could the tomb owner’s coffin be made of nanmu? I couldn't be sure.

"Everyone, split up and search for gaps between the logs wide enough for a person to crawl through. That might be the path the craftsmen left for themselves," Boss Sun said, holding his torch as he looked at us.

We split up, maintaining a distance of about six or seven meters between each person, keeping each other in sight. I held my torch and searched the southwest corner of the log mountain.

"Huh?" I rubbed my eyes hard.

I thought my vision was playing tricks on me, because a moment ago, I seemed to see a curled-up dark shadow between the gaps in the logs.

I rubbed my eyes again and looked closely.

Aside from the wood, there was nothing.

I was still young and not particularly brave, so I began to feel uneasy and involuntarily took two steps back.

"Third Brother, Boss," I called out twice.

The torch only illuminated a small area in front of me; the surroundings were pitch black.

I called out again, but no one answered.

Swallowing hard, I slowly turned around with the torch.

There was no one there.

One-Mole, Boss Sun, and Third Brother Sun—they had all vanished into thin air.

A sudden, cold gust of wind blew from somewhere, and my pupils widened in terror.

My lips trembled as I shouted, "Third Brother! Boss! Sister Hong!"

Still, no one answered. In this enclosed space, there wasn't even an echo.

The surroundings were pitch black.

My first thought was: have we encountered a "ghost wall"?

When I was a child, the village elders often said that a "ghost wall" was a trick played by spirits to toy with people. If you wandered around inside one, you would end up falling to your death or drowning, forever walking in circles in the same spot.

I was terrified, a layer of cold sweat breaking out on my forehead.

"Yunfeng, what are you doing there?" Suddenly, someone spoke to me from behind.

This familiar voice... I could never forget it.

It was Second Brother.

"Second Brother!" I jerked around with the torch.

There was nothing behind me—only darkness.

Pale-faced, I took two steps back and pulled out the amulet Yao Yumen had given me, clutching it tightly in my palm.

The small amulet case still held the warmth of my own body heat, providing some comfort.

"Yunfeng! I’m here, come find me," Second Brother’s voice came again.

I curled up on the ground, covering my ears, leaning against the log mountain, not daring to breathe loudly.

I looked around in fear, trying to find the others.

Leaning against the logs, at that moment, someone tugged at my clothes from behind.

"Ah!" I jumped in fright, scrambled to my feet, and ran.

*Thud.* In my panicked dash, I felt like I had crashed into a solid mass.

In the darkness, Third Brother Sun’s face slowly emerged.

"Yunfeng, are you crazy? What are you running for! You’re killing me," he gasped, rubbing his chest.

The torchlight flickered.

One-Mole and Boss Sun reappeared before me.

Seeing them, I almost burst into tears. I wiped the cold sweat from my forehead. "Where did you all go? Why couldn't I see you just now?"

Boss Sun looked at me suspiciously. "Calm down, Yunfeng, don't scare us. We’ve been looking for the entrance this whole time."

I took a deep breath. "Boss... just... just now I think I saw Second Brother..."

"What!"

"Impossible!" Third Brother exclaimed. "Where did you see him? There’s no one else here but us. Are your eyes playing tricks on you?"

"No, he’s not hallucinating..." One-Mole’s face was a bit pale. She looked at Third Brother and nodded. "I... I think I saw Second Brother, too."

One person might have been mistaken, but now that both I and One-Mole said the same thing, Boss Sun frowned.

"Is... is it haunted, Boss?" I asked, summoning my courage.

Hearing the word "haunted," One-Mole’s face went even paler.

Boss Sun carefully inspected the surroundings and finally locked his gaze on those "Cypress Old Face" fungi.

He shook his head and said in a deep voice, "Don't be afraid, it’s not haunted." He pointed at the fungi growing on the logs. "If it is haunted, it’s because of this."

He looked at me, then at One-Mole.

"Xiao Hong, Yunfeng, haven't you realized? You two were the first to spot the Cypress Old Face, and you were the ones closest to it."

One-Mole was quicker-witted than me. She glanced at the fungi and said incredulously, "Boss, you mean... what Yunfeng and I saw were hallucinations? It wasn't really Second Brother, and these black mushrooms are to blame?"

"That’s right, I suspect that’s the case," Boss Sun nodded.

"Since rumors say this thing is used to summon souls, it’s likely it has hallucinogenic properties."

I didn't think before I spoke and blurted out, "Then, Boss, do you think it really summoned Second Brother’s ghost?"

"What nonsense are you spouting!" Third Brother slapped the back of my head. "Shut up! We don't even know if Second Brother is dead yet!"

Realizing I had said the wrong thing, I hurriedly apologized.

Not holding it against me, Boss Sun said, "Enough with the useless talk. Follow me this way; I’ve found something."

He led us to the northwest corner on the left side of the log mountain.

Even without him saying anything, I noticed it.

Although the outer layer of logs looked the same, from this angle, there was clearly a slightly larger space inside the *huangchang ticou*.

Compared to the tight fit elsewhere, this gap was just wide enough for a person to squeeze through.

From here, we could crawl into the mountain of logs and enter the *huangchang ticou* structure itself.

Using a sharp dagger, we pried open the outermost cypress logs bit by bit.

Boss Sun turned to look at us.

"Follow behind me. If you notice anything, speak up immediately."

"I’ll crawl in first to take a look."