Barney asked Lin Beichen in a terrified voice, "What on earth is going on?"
Lin Beichen replied with a smile, "Isn't this proof enough?"
When Barney asked what he meant by proof, Lin Beichen casually said, "Proof that ghosts really do exist."
Christmas and Barney were speechless; just moments ago, they were denying the existence of ghosts, and Lin Beichen immediately provided such "proof."
With a glimmer of hope, Christmas asked, "Are these really ghosts?"
Lin Beichen quipped, "How about I let them introduce themselves to you?" Christmas quickly waved his hand in refusal.
Subsequently, Lin Beichen directed the paper figures to fly into the dungeon, where a terrifying scream echoed from within.
Once the noise subsided, Lin Beichen suggested they go in and take a look.
Leisurely, the group walked into the dungeon, observing the guards fainted along the way. Flying Eagle remarked with disdain, "How can they be guards with such little courage?"
Lin Beichen explained that these guards didn't faint from fear but were tormented into unconsciousness by the spirits.
While explaining the presence of spirits and how they could cause harm, Lin Beichen mentioned their crafted paper figures and affirmed Xia Luyao's speculation that the crux of the matter lay with those paper figures.
This added even more mystery and intrigue to the whole story.
Lin Beichen agreed with Xia Luyao's deduction: "Your mind is indeed sharp, worthy of being a descendant of Xuanzhen Temple. You're right, the paper figures are made to provide a vessel for spirits in the third dimension, enabling them to affect the material world."
Everyone showed an enlightened expression upon hearing this.
They understood that after a person dies, the soul separates from the body, whether reincarnated or turning into a vengeful spirit, it can't directly touch anything in the world.
Today, however, the crafted paper figures serve as custom-made "bodies" for these spirits, allowing them to interact with the world as they did in life.
These spirits were all people who perished in this dungeon, harboring deep resentment against the guards here.
Now equipped with "bodies," their long-suppressed grievances finally had an outlet, vented against these guards.
As a result, the guards were taken down by the spirits in corporeal form, collapsing onto the ground.
Barney and Christmas looked at the others who seemed to comprehend, yet their eyes still brimmed with confusion.
To them, Huaxia's culture was too profound; many words were hard to understand.
But they grasped at least this much: the spirits leveraged the paper figures to knock down the guards.
Both were astonished by this strange occurrence, the likes of which they had never encountered before, and were incredulous to be part of it.
The group chatted as they delved deeper into the dungeon.
"Lin Beichen, maybe we should be cautious; I've heard the dungeon is riddled with traps."
Thunder cautioned, even though the guards had been neutralized, the traps still posed a threat.
Lin Beichen was confident: "Don't worry, with the ghosts guiding us ahead, they'll warn us if there's danger."
"Ghosts warning us?" Christmas asked incredulously, finding it too novel.
"Yes, the spirits," Lin Beichen explained, "having died here, they know the dungeon inside out. With them leading us, we need not worry about traps."
These spirits, long burdened with resentment, now that Lin Beichen had created an opportunity for them to connect with the world and avenge those they loathe, naturally felt grateful, hence leading and warning them ahead.
With Lin Beichen at the lead, they continued forward, despite the numerous traps along the way, aided by the spirits, they were safe and sound.
Only occasionally did they see fallen paper figures.
"Why are the paper figures falling?" Xia Luyao curiously asked.
"Paper figures are fragile, once damaged, they can no longer house the spirits." Lin Beichen explained, akin to a body being unable to sustain life after severe harm.
Everyone nodded in understanding and continued onward.
As they prepared to pass through a stone door, Lin Beichen suddenly heard a strange sound and signaled everyone to stop.
"What's wrong?" Flying Eagle asked.
"There's something inside." Lin Beichen said gravely, he heard the spirits warning; there seemed to be an ambush inside.
Flame puzzledly asked, "Didn't you say the ghosts are scouting ahead?"
"Indeed, it's the ghosts informing us of the ambush inside." Lin Beichen explained.
Christmas was bewildered: "How come I didn't hear anything?"
"Just because you didn't hear doesn't mean Lin Beichen didn't." Wild Ox retorted, "Lin Beichen can summon spirits, can you?"
Christmas was speechless, left to listen to Lin Beichen's arrangements.
Lin Beichen decided to split into two teams, one to ambush, one to lure the enemy.
Everyone nodded in agreement, acting according to plan.
With the spirits' aid, they prepared to face the unknown challenges and continue searching for Long Chuzhi's whereabouts.
Those spirits were indeed thoughtful; they even marked the switch positions clear as day for us.
Lin Beichen pressed a button, and the stone door slowly revolved around its axis, revealing two passageways.
We walked in cautiously, scanning our surroundings vigilantly.
Inside the stone chamber, it was dim and unclear, with only two faint lamps flickering in the corners, illuminating a very limited area.
The whole space was shrouded in a haze, with the chamber's outline barely discernible.
We proceeded step by step, concentrating and holding our breath, closely watching everything around.
Once we all stepped into the chamber, a row of lights suddenly flickered on, and the entire room instantly became as bright as day.
However, the sound of the stone door slamming shut followed immediately.
We turned our heads, only to see the stone door tightly closed, trapping us inside this stone chamber.
Suddenly, there was a commotion from the depths of the room.
"I told you long ago, their target is the dungeon, now do you believe it?"
This voice led us to turn, and we saw a group of people slowly stepping out from the other side of the room.
At the forefront were two striking figures: a middle-aged man in a dark green uniform, rotund in stature, with two distinct little mustaches drawing attention.
The other looked much younger, roughly in his thirties or forties, standing tall, with sharp features, neatly brushed deep chestnut hair.
Faced with this sudden scene, we didn't appear panicked.
Because Lin Beichen had already warned us there might be an ambush here.
Nevertheless, Xia Luyao still feigned a panicked look and asked, "Who are you? Why are you here?"
The slender man chuckled and said to the middle-aged man beside him, "Galsa, look, this group broke into your territory at night yet still asks who you are. Don't you think you should introduce yourself?"
Upon hearing this, we comprehended; it turns out this fat man is the island owner Galsa, and the man beside him should be Monroe.
We exchanged silent glances, realizing their prior relaxation was all a facade aimed at luring us into a trap.
"So you deliberately made us lower our guard, just to ensnare us here!"
Lin Beichen said with a seemingly amused expression.
I always felt Sandra's message was odd; now it seems my worries weren't unfounded.
Monroe nonchalantly smiled: "Indeed, your reaction isn't slow. But I didn't expect you all to reach here so quickly."
They originally thought the dungeon's guards and traps sufficient to block any intruder, yet they didn't anticipate our rapid arrival and swift neutralization of all guards. This was indeed unbelievable.
"There's much you haven't anticipated yet." Lin Beichen chuckled lightly.
"Oh? Such as?" Monroe raised an eyebrow and asked.
Though curious about how we overcame the numerous obstacles, he was confident we were already in a predicament.
"For instance, now you exude a dark aura, a fierce glint, a sign of great misfortune! I'm afraid your days are numbered." Lin Beichen said calmly.
Monroe was taken aback, then frowned: "What rubbish are you talking about? What sign of great misfortune? Don't use these ridiculous things to scare me!"
He clearly didn't believe Lin Beichen's words.