Chapter 297 - 115 【Demons and Ghosts in the Secret Realm】（8200 words）
Chapter 115: The Monsters in the Secret Realm (8200 characters)
The small building in the courtyard didn’t seem very large, but the moment they stepped into the courtyard entrance, the air instantly felt clearer.
The fine drizzle that had been interspersed in the air suddenly stopped!
Chen Yan stood in the courtyard, looking around, and it seemed as if the courtyard walls had become a dividing line; outside the walls, the drizzle continued, but inside, not a single drop of rain fell.
Chen Yan saw this and felt a slight chill in his heart: It’s an array!
In front of them stood a two-story building, the door on the first floor was open, and standing outside, one could see a screen inside, upon which was a traditional ink painting of a landscape.
The mountains in the painting were jagged and dangerous, with black ink used to render the fog surrounding the peaks, giving an oppressive feeling of black clouds pressing down, evoking a ghostly atmosphere. It was somewhat unsettling to look at.
Through the screen, the hall beyond showed dim yellow lights, and the sound of music played softly, as if gentle singing and dancing were taking place inside. There was even a faint scent of alcohol in the air.
As they passed through the door and around the screen, a black-clad waiter approached with a deep bow, maintaining a subservient posture—still in the form of a wooden puppet.
However, this wooden puppet could not speak, only bending at the waist almost parallel to the ground, showing utmost humility, and leading the two towards the hall.
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The hall on the first floor was obviously much larger inside than it appeared from outside.
It was clearly due to some unknown spell creating an illusion; from the outside, the building seemed no more than a few dozen square meters per floor at most.
But once inside, the hall on this first floor spanned no less than two hundred square meters.
They ascended the wooden stairs, removing their shoes and walking in socks.
The hall was spacious, with long, rectangular paper lanterns hanging around, emitting a dim yellow light which illuminated the hall’s outline, but strangely, despite the apparent brightness, everything under this light seemed shrouded in a certain mist, becoming more and more indistinct.
On either side of the hall were rows of tables, four on the left and four on the right, with some already occupied, leaving only the two closest to the door empty.
In the center of the hall, four women in black kimonos were dancing, stepping lightly and gracefully, yet there was an almost mechanical stiffness to their movements.
Upon closer inspection, their faces were painted ghostly white, and when they opened their mouths, their teeth were stained black!
Chen Yan’s face darkened at the sight! Through Qi Observation Skill, he saw that the kabuki girls had no life in them, only deathly aura!
The air was filled with a strong, indescribable fragrance—yet this scent was not pleasant, instead giving a sense of dizziness and unease.
An unknown fragrance... and within it, that foul stench of...
Deathly aura!
Both Chen Yan and Chu Keqing sensed the oppressive aura of death, their expressions becoming serious.
Then, they were led by the black-clad waiter puppet to the closest table on the left by the door, where they knelt down and saw across from them the man they had encountered outside, the one riding the papery horse, dressed in white robes and a high hat.
His face was ghostly pale, and he gave Chen Yan a grin, though it was far from friendly, carrying a hint of eerie malevolence.
There were drinks and dishes on the tables, appearing simple but exquisitely prepared—white porcelain bottles and bowls and chopsticks that were typically sharp-ended as seen in Japanese style.
Nonetheless, neither Chen Yan nor Gu Qingyi had any inclination to touch the food.
After sitting down, they pretended to survey the hall casually. In addition to the two tables they occupied, there were five more tables occupied, making a total of seven.
They observed the other guests, noticing their bizarre and unique attires.
At the table directly across from them, on the right side of the hall, sat an old man alone.
This elder wore a long dark robe, his face covered with thick, long beard and hair disheveled, exuding a rather dignified aura.
However, he was leaning sideways rather than kneeling properly, with his robe open at the chest, revealing an old scar from the right shoulder down to the left abdomen.
At the next table beneath the long-haired elder, sat two individuals resembling large-headed dolls, dressed identically in black and white patterned kimonos.
Their statures were short, their heads disproportionately large, and bald. They each wore a white mask—one with a smiling face, the other with a crying face.
The table following the two doll-like figures was occupied by the man in white robes and high hat, who had ridden the papery horse.