Chapter 61: The Old Man of the Shrine

"These spectral anomalies—if they want to strike, why do they always have to resort to scaring people first?"

Lu Yuan found it deeply baffling.

This was not a horror movie, after all. He had no personal grudges with these entities. Given the natural divide between the living and the dead, he could understand if they simply wanted to attack him, but psychological terror was entirely uncalled for.

Suddenly, Lu Yuan came to a halt.

Behind him, countless footsteps simultaneously ceased, maintaining an eerie synchronization with his own.

Lu Yuan took a step forward.

The footsteps behind him also took a step forward.

Yet, the chill of malice drew steadily closer.

Lu Yuan could feel the skin on his back growing numb and stiff from the biting cold of that hatred.

Lu Yuan did not turn around.

Utilizing the faint crimson glow cast by the blood moon in the sky, he glanced unobtrusively at the ground just behind his heels. The red light failed to reach the pavement, which confirmed that a spectral entity was indeed trailing directly behind him.

Still, why weren't they making a move?

Lu Yuan furrowed his brow slightly.

The next second, he burst into a sprint.

His initial plan had been to keep a low profile and slowly make his way toward Mingzhi Elementary School, but since he had already been targeted by these horrors, stealth was no longer necessary.

Lu Yuan moved with great speed.

Although he hadn't activated his passive skill—Adrenaline Rush—his sudden burst of movement caught the entities behind him off guard.

A few seconds passed before the pursuers reacted and charged after him.

The clamor of chaotic footsteps erupted.

Lu Yuan glanced back over his shoulder.

In an instant, the blood in his entire body seemed to freeze, making his hands and limbs grow stiff.

It turned out that not all spectral entities could fly; the majority of low-level anomalies still ran on foot, just like the living. Yet what truly terrified Lu Yuan wasn't their mode of locomotion—it was their sheer numbers.

The area was packed densely with wraiths.

Their faces still bore the gruesome scars of their respective deaths, and the crimson light of the blood moon looked unremarkable upon them, for the blood dripping from their own bodies was already intensely vivid.

Among this horde, every imaginable form of death was represented.

Some had been crushed down their entire left side by motor vehicles.

Others had plunged from high-rises, their bodies severely mutilated.

There were headless apparitions.

There were bloated, decomposing corpses swollen with gas...

Any nightmare scenario of death one could possibly imagine could be found right here.

Lu Yuan dared not look any further. After all, he was merely a psychological counselor, not a forensic pathologist. Staring at such horrifying sights for too long would inevitably break his mind.

"Run faster!"

Lu Yuan gritted his teeth.

Though he desperately wished to accelerate, he was still flesh and blood; his stamina was rapidly depleting, and coupled with the heavy backpack he wore, his energy was draining away at an alarming rate.

Gradually, the entities behind him closed the distance.

The wave of hatred surged forward once more, attempting to freeze Lu Yuan's blood and paralyze his limbs.

Before long, Lu Yuan reached the first major intersection.

Crossroads were numerous in S City, but large-scale intersections were rare. As luck would have it, the intersection before him was historically one of the busiest pedestrian hubs in S City during daylight hours.

The expanse of the intersection was so vast it rivaled the size of a football field.

Without hesitation, Lu Yuan planted his foot directly onto the crosswalk and prepared to dash across.

At that exact moment, Lu Yuan froze.

His pupils contracted violently, and cold sweat beaded thickly on his forehead.

The surrounding area was choked with spectral entities.

Every corner of the massive intersection was packed with them.

However, these were not the same entities that had been chasing him; this was an entirely different batch. These new arrivals neither pursued Lu Yuan nor even glanced in his direction. They merely stood in absolute silence, rooted to the spot.

Lu Yuan felt as though he had suddenly become one of them.

The sole difference was that Lu Yuan retained the freedom to move, whereas these entities appeared utterly paralyzed.

Lu Yuan swallowed hard.

Clearly, on his journey from An Shi's villa to his counseling clinic, he had only encountered a single singing entity. Why, then, on the path from the clinic to Mingzhi Elementary School, was he suddenly surrounded by such an overwhelming multitude?

Lu Yuan dared not move.

He stood still, observing.

A faint, subtle fragrance lingered in the air.

Wisps of milky-white smoke drifted from the very center of the intersection. There, an elderly man dressed in a blue Zhongshan suit stood with his back to Lu Yuan, tending to a flickering, dim flame.

After leaving the clinic, this was the first external light Lu Yuan had encountered, though the firelight lacked any warmth, radiating instead an ominous and gloomy aura.

All the surrounding entities stood motionlessly in place.

Only this old man moved.

With trembling hands, he tossed sheets of joss paper into the offering basin before him.

Lu Yuan stared at the old man's back. After a long moment, he reached into his storage space and withdrew a utility knife, channeling the power to devour hatred directly into the blade before stepping toward the elder.

*Crackle, pop.*

As he drew closer, Lu Yuan heard the faint, sputtering sound of the fire crackling within the basin.

Lu Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Directly in front of the brazier stood an incense burner holding three sticks of burning incense; the subtle fragrance originated entirely from them.

In front of the burner rested a framed photograph.

The image inside was somewhat blurry, preventing Lu Yuan from making out the face of the person depicted.

"Walking down the Yellow Springs road,"

"Do not look back, neither you nor I."

"When a person dies, the lamp goes out,"

"When a person dies, all debts and grievances are wiped clean."

The old man kept murmuring, reciting phrases Lu Yuan could not comprehend.

Just as Lu Yuan prepared to make his move—intending to drive the utility knife straight into the old man first, having no desire to engage in idle chatter with these horrors—he realized that unless he eliminated this entity, he would never escape the intersection.

At that precise moment, the old man muttered, "Young man, you should offer him a stick of incense as well. To die at such a young age is truly a pity."

The utility knife halted mid-air.

Confusion flickered in Lu Yuan's mind.

What was he about to do just now?

Lu Yuan stood dazed.

Slowly, the utility knife lowered. A frown creaked across his brow. Why had he raised the weapon in the first place?

He looked toward the old man. The elder still kept his back turned, merely holding out a lit stick of incense, silently gesturing for Lu Yuan to place it before the photograph.

Only then did Lu Yuan notice something else.

Resting near the old man's feet was a Buddhist shrine.

It was minuscule.

Perhaps no larger than the palm of a hand.

Lu Yuan mentally retraced his steps. After departing from his clinic, he had followed the designated route map until he arrived here and encountered this bizarre old man.

Ah!

Right!

He remembered now!

He had intended to strike; only by killing this old man could he hope to leave this intersection.

Yet Lu Yuan still refused to take the proffered incense, raising his utility knife once more.

*Jingle.*

The Buddhist shrine chimed softly.

A tiny bell hung from the palm-sized shrine; whenever the old man moved, the bell chimed in response.

In an instant, a dazed, vacant expression clouded Lu Yuan's eyes.

He forgot again.

"Why am I here?"

"Wasn't I just at the psychological clinic?"

Lu Yuan knitted his brows tightly.

It was all gone.

Every single memory of the journey from the clinic to this intersection had vanished entirely.

"Offer a stick of incense."

"To die so young... such a terrible pity."

The old man repeated his words.

A faint gleam crossed Lu Yuan's eyes. This time, he did not refuse. He reached out and took the incense.