Chapter 70: Summoning
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When Christian mentioned "coming," Charlize couldn't help but feel uneasy.
"I shouldn't have followed him, let alone asked him to open my yin and yang eyes." Charlize blamed herself.
Ever since returning from that strange world of wall paintings the previous night, Charlize had sensed that something was amiss. She couldn't control her temper and acted childishly around Christian, even initiating a kiss, and eventually sharing an intimate moment. Well, it should have been on the carpet, not the sheets.
"This isn't like me at all" the blonde girl muttered to herself.
"Alexis, did you secretly manipulate my emotions again?" Charlize secretly questioned the female ghost hidden in her subconscious mind as they drove to Vinales Valley. Alexis replied with a faint sigh, "If you truly want to avoid facing reality, you can think that I interfered with your emotions. But, Sally, why are you doing this, deep down?"
"Yes, I know," Charlize admitted, even though she didn't want to. She knew that amidst all her complaints, there was a simple truth: she liked him.
"Maybe it's not love at first sight, but it's more than just the suspension bridge effect," she pondered.
However, Charlize was aware that Christian remained a mysterious presence in her life. This mystery didn't always captivate her, but it constantly reminded her that she didn't truly know him. This fear stemming from her lack of understanding shattered her mental barriers during their enigmatic journey the previous night.
"Ultimately, the rational mind can't resist the combined power of hormones and adrenaline," Charlize chuckled at herself.
"But is that a bad thing?"
She couldn't discern whether it was Alexis in her subconscious or her inner question, but contemplating it revealed her underlying fear.
"What am I afraid of?" she wondered. "What am I truly afraid of?"
As she looked at Christian walking ahead, Charlize slowly found the answer in her heart.
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Christian was oblivious to the turmoil in Charlize's heart. He believed that safeguarding the girl's life took precedence over his feelings. In front of them, a horde of pale, ghostly figures swarmed like mist in the sky, dark clouds veiling the sun.
"What is this?" Charlize, now fully aware, asked in a panic, her hair standing on end due to fear, as she threw the bag behind her.
"Did you forget?" Christian grinned coldly. "They are Wei Changhui or the ghosts of the people killed by him"
The mention jogged Charlize's memory, and she recognized the former director of "Wrong Turn" Alan McElroy, and the former heroine, Eliza Kunis, among the ghostly throng. Though Charlize had little connection with them, the extensive coverage of the recent case through interviews and publicity helped her identify these two who now "behaved like ghosts."
"But I thought you sealed the Ghost tiger. How are they still here?" she inquired.
"It's precisely because the Ghost tiger is sealed that they can break free," Christian explained. "Like all organizational systems, if they lose their leader, they fall into a certain degree of chaos. At that point, they act on instinct."
Christian lit another stack of yellow money paper and waved it over the burning incense. "As I mentioned earlier when used correctly, this can attract nearby undead spirits."
As the yellow money paper spontaneously ignited in her hand, Christian paused before continuing. "Chinese people typically burn yellow money paper for their deceased loved ones. Naturally, it attracts their spirits. But here in sparsely populated Vinales Valley, what kind of undead is most likely to be attracted?"
"These ghosts" Charlize finally understood. "You brought them intentionally?"
"Yes," Christian laughed heartily and once more flung the partially burnt yellow money paper into the air.
"Without the control of Ghost tiger, they act purely on instinct. Naturally, they can't resist the allure of this thing, just as cats can't resist catnip."
In mid-air, the flaming stack of yellow money paper scattered again, but this time, just before the ghosts could snatch and burn it, a horde of specters rushed towards it, greedily jostling for position.
During their chaotic scramble, the burning yellow money paper swiftly consumed itself, leaving no ashes behind. But this time, Charlize could faintly discern a peculiar smoke arising near the burnt yellow money paper. That smoke was what the ghosts were so fervently vying for.
Whenever a ghost successfully seized and inhaled a puff of that smoke, they would wear an intoxicated expression. Charlize recognized that look from someone she knew well.
"It's almost like they're taking a drug"
"That's right, Sally" Christian overheard her whispering, all the while mockingly continuing to toss the burning yellow money paper.
"For these solitary spirits, they've lost all their emotions and will forever remain in cold, desolation. But the smoke generated by burning the yellow money paper in this manner gives them a taste of life—a touch of warmth. What's the difference between this and the allure of drugs that stimulate the human brain to release dopamine?"
"How is this even possible? Ghosts can take drugs!?" Charlize felt like her worldview had been shattered yet again.
"But why are you doing this? Are you conducting charity for ghosts?" The blonde girl couldn't imagine Christian as a sympathetic person. Based on Alexis's recent incident, it was evident that this man could turn unyielding at any moment once he made up his mind. Charlize didn't think he would undertake so much just out of sympathy.
"Of course, I'm not that boring" Christian swiftly dismissed Charlize's assumption. "For me, the burning yellow paper serves as bait to lure these ghosts. And they," he gestured toward the group of ghosts still competing for the smoky yellow money paper with a cruel smile curling at his lips, "are also bait"
"They are my bait to draw out the remaining power of the Ghost tiger"
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
Dark_Symphony
Dark_Symphony Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
Chapter 71: Hell Gate
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"Bait?"
Charlize was on the brink of asking cautiously when she suddenly felt a strong gust of wind swirling around.
"This is our actual objective" Christian's expression grew increasingly serious as it appeared that the lingering power of the Ghost Tiger had truly emerged.
She looked up and observed the frightened expressions on the faces of the airborne battling ghosts. They found themselves encircled by an unexpected, peculiar wind, desperate to escape but with no means of doing so.
The eerie wind systematically tore the ghosts apart, akin to a wild beast running amok in a crowd. While the ghosts could reassemble after being torn apart, their bodies' color had noticeably faded.
If it weren't for their inability to make a sound, Charlize believed they would be screaming at the top of their lungs.
"Unfortunately, only the heroine in a horror film can confront danger and endure for an hour and a half while screaming."
Charlize couldn't help but admire the confidence of a true horror movie heroine.
"Does this mean it's enraged?"
"Probably," Christian's response wasn't particularly optimistic either.
"Without Wei Changhui's consciousness to control it, the Ghost Tiger's power remains dormant. However, in certain special circumstances, it acts based on its primal instinct, just like now"
He gestured toward the trembling ghosts in mid-air.
"Attracted by the smoke emanating from the burning of spirit money, these individuals unconsciously broke free from the Ghost Tiger's control. This is the indomitable force's instinct at play."
"So it was drawn out?" Charlize fully grasped Christian's plan at this point—to use the smoke from burning spirit money to lure the ghosts, causing them to lose control and thereby infuriating the remaining power of the Ghost tiger, bringing it right in front of them out of instinct.
This was yet another meticulous plan, perfectly aligned with Christian's character. But what should they do next? Charlize unintentionally glanced at Christian beside her and was surprised to find him reciting a poem:
"...I don't believe the sky is blue, I don't believe in echoes of help, I don't believe dreams are false, I don't believe in death without retribution."
With the final line, Charlize felt a chill at her feet. Glancing downward, a faint mist hovered over the ground, and in the haze, a massive dark portal began to open at Christian's feet.
"Sally, stay back. Otherwise, Alexis will get caught too" Christian urgently warned Charlize, but before she could react, a sudden change occurred.
Seemingly influenced by powerful suction, the ghosts originally trapped in the air by the peculiar wind surged toward Christian's location like a wave of pale white.
"Quick, move" Charlize began to say, but the enormous wave swallowed Christian before she could finish.
"That guy will be fine" Alexis reassured the girl in her thoughts.
"It's true that we need to take cover. The door beneath his feet is emitting powerful suction. Staying here any longer is becoming impossible" Charlize exclaimed.
"Is that the gateway to hell?" Charlize muttered to herself, but she still followed Alexis's advice and stepped back a short distance.
She had already realized that Christian was indeed safe. Even though the massive wave of ghosts engulfed him, the actual gate resided at his feet.
The dark door had completely opened, and the ghosts entered in droves without causing any commotion, as though they had descended into a bottomless abyss.
Christian stood there serenely, suspended over the gate, allowing the ghosts to pass through him like a boulder in a stream.
Gradually, the ghosts descended into the door, and the door began to close slowly. Suddenly, a whirlwind swirled around Christian, his clothes billowing and black hair flowing.
"It's the whirlwind brought by the lingering power of the ghost tiger. Don't worry," Christian reassured the girl with a wave of his hand, although he was still intently gazing at the slowly closing dark door beneath his feet.
"When you stare into the abyss, the abyss stares back at you," a thought suddenly crossed Charlize's mind.
The gate at Christian's feet finally closed.
"Is it over?" Charlize inquired cautiously. She seemed to be unharmed, but Christian had previously mentioned the danger posed to Alexis, who was attached to her, by the dark gate.
"It's over," Christian nodded. By now, the door beneath his feet had completely disappeared.
"Sally, if Alexis had still been sealed in that bottle, and you had followed my instructions to break it at the crossroads, you might have seen this gate a long time ago."
"Seen it a long time ago?" Charlize was taken aback. "Are you saying that if I had chosen to break the bottle containing Alexis, I could have seen this"
This revelation was incredibly unsettling. Not only was Charlize shocked, but Alexis, hiding in her subconscious, also voiced her discontent.
"But didn't you say that it had to be broken at a crossroads to be effective?"
"This is a crossroads, a very significant yet forsaken crossroads" Christian's expression grew somber, and he gazed into the distance.
"Sally, do you know about the Pacific Railroad?"
"You mean the railroad that spans the east and west coasts of the United States?" Charlize, compared to the average American, had a fairly good grasp of geography. She looked at Christian and appeared to find an answer.
"Could this be"
"This is the Pacific Railway. To be precise, it's a branch of the Pacific Railway. However, because it was constructed alongside the official Pacific Railway, it's considered a part of the Pacific Railway project."
Christian stomped the ground twice. "Ten years ago, this branch line was dismantled due to mismanagement. And where I'm standing now is the intersection of the branch line and a dirt road from back then, which is"
"a crossroad" Charlize instantly comprehended.
"But even though the Pacific Railway was once a vital transportation route, it's now abandoned. Can such a crossroads still be of use?"
"Absolutely" Christian stated confidently. "In some spells, the remnants of bygone glory can enhance mana more than modern prosperity"
As a transcontinental nation, figuring out how to connect the thriving east and west coasts of the United States had always been a challenge. Before the Panama Canal's opening, the Pacific Railway, linking the two coasts, served as the country's major artery. The United States of that era could be considered a nation on rails.
With the rise of the automobile industry, the Pacific Railway's glory gradually faded. After the 1960s and 1970s, many sections of the railway were abandoned or even demolished due to poor management.
The abandoned railway in the Vinales Valley had also experienced the same cycle of glory and decline, and this vacancy was exactly what Christian needed. Not to mention.
"This segment of the Pacific Railway, especially the western section, was constructed at the cost of many lives."
CREATORS' THOUGHTS
Dark_Symphony
Dark_Symphony
Your gift is the motivation for my creation. Give me more motivation!
Creation is hard, cheer me up!
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