Chapter 52: The Night Parade of a Thousand Ghosts (Part One)
Wang Chenghao felt an ominous premonition and swallowed hard. “This is serious. Maybe... we should just leave?”
Qin Ye shook his head. “We can’t.”
“If I were Cao Youdao, the first thing I’d do after last night would be to seal off every exit immediately. If I dared to leave now, he’d show himself and chase me down, kill me on the spot. Right now... the Special Investigation Bureau is actually my shield. He’s been operating in Baonan City for a century, but humanity... has been here for millennia!”
“If not for the Bureau, he would have acted against Baonan long ago!”
Wang Chenghao nodded, anxious. “Brother Qin... then what do we do?”
“We wait.” Qin Ye licked his lips and sat down. “I’m looking forward to it... the first all-out war between the realms of Yin and Yang... Once they start, that’s when my chance arrives.”
Time passed quickly. Early winter nights always descended fast; by six o’clock, the sun had already sunk beneath the horizon, leaving behind only the lights of countless homes and the glimmer of myriad stars.
At six sharp, a clear voice echoed from every direction in the city: “Attention, citizens. From this moment, a citywide curfew is in effect. If you haven’t reached home yet, or if you anticipate being unable to return by seven, please keep your ID ready and rest nearby.”
“Do not linger alone in the city center. Do not go out alone. Do not keep antiques, mirrors, or similar items...”
Qin Ye stood by the window, watching as pedestrians and vehicles dwindled. Finally, as the city lights flickered on, the street fell eerily silent.
It wasn’t the gradual hush that follows a lively crowd, but a sudden, absolute silence that descended the moment the broadcast ended.
The wind seemed to stop.
Birds and beasts grew still.
Baonan City was left with only the hustle and bustle of human civilization—one percent of its noise—while nature's ninety-nine percent quiet reigned. Together, they created a profound, unknown terror.
Qin Ye’s gaze flickered, his hand unconsciously gripping the window frame. A gust of night wind swept in, ruffling his bangs. In less than ten seconds, the wind grew fiercer—so strong it sent the curtains whipping straight up, as if a crack had opened in the underworld, unleashing the chilling winds of the Nine Netherworlds.
It had begun...
“Xiao Wang,” he said, watching dark clouds gather at the horizon, his voice calm, “Don’t go anywhere tonight. No matter who knocks, don’t open the door.”
Just as he finished, the ground seemed to blur, and in the next moment, endless blue-white Yin energy surged from every corner of the city.
Baonan’s main district covered 130 square kilometers. On this expanse of land—beside buildings, along streets, in basements—Yin energy responded, rolling in like a tsunami!
It grew stronger and more violent. After ten minutes, invisible to ordinary eyes but clear to him, the city’s surface had become a vast sea of blue-white mist.
Within the fog, shadowy figures appeared, retaining their forms from life: office workers in suits, civil servants with briefcases, students with backpacks... Each looked different, but all held a lantern.
Red lanterns, black lettering.
The character for “Cao.”
Countless, dense, endless—like blood-red stars in the night! Then, like rivers breaking their banks, they surged in all directions!
Cao Youdao’s direct Yin spirits!
The souls of all who had died in Baonan over the past century, now unleashed at his command, scouring the city!
“Little A, I remember the Seal of Yama can mask my Yin energy?” Qin Ye asked softly.
“It can... cough... strictly speaking, not mask, but disguise. Just as I once disguised you as the Black and White Impermanence... whew...” Alsace spoke slowly, barely audible. “Each underworld emissary’s Yin energy is unique... cough... Without the Seal’s disguise, you’d have been recorded by the living world long ago... Also, stop calling me ‘Your Highness’... My Yin energy won’t last for another conversation...”
Swish... Black light rippled from Qin Ye’s chest, enveloping him in thick Yin energy, replacing his original aura.
He didn’t act immediately. Like a seasoned hunter, he waited patiently for the right moment.
“I’ve been alive for decades... never been underestimated like this...”
“Not even if I were a ball!”
…………………………
In Baonan City, Yin energy spread silently. Spirits drifted with the wind, slipping into every residential area.
Lin Ming was a sophomore in high school, living on the 13th floor of Building 3 in Fengrun Community, near Hui University. This road was already on the city’s outskirts. At night, walking alone along the broad roadside, the overlapping shadows of trees and houses, coupled with dim lights, made it feel as if something was always lurking behind.
He hurried and finally reached the community at half past six, cursing the “damned curfew” as he pressed the elevator button.
Sss... The elevator doors closed softly. He couldn’t tell if it was just his imagination, but tonight felt especially cold.
Not the cold of winter, but something indescribable—an icy chill that seemed to freeze his heart and nerves, filling him with dread.
Watching the elevator slowly ascend, he was about to check his phone for interesting news when suddenly the elevator stopped.
Second floor.
He lifted his eyelids but saw no one, continuing to look at his phone.
He didn’t notice that the elevator lingered at this floor for a full ten seconds.
The doors never closed.
After ten seconds, the doors finally shut and the elevator ascended again. Before Lin Ming could read a few lines, the elevator stopped once more.
Third floor.
“Is this a joke?” He stared at the open doors in disbelief. Who the hell pressed both the second and third floors? Are they insane?
“Idiots.” He muttered, not sure who he was cursing, frowning as he pressed the close button. Nothing happened.
“Damn it! Are my maintenance fees being wasted? This broken elevator hasn’t been fixed?” He jabbed the button several times. Ten seconds later, with a soft hiss, the doors finally closed.
“Tch...” The moment the doors closed, he shivered violently. “Too cold... I didn’t feel it on the road. Is this winter going to be endless?”
Sss... The elevator ascended again.
Three seconds later, it stopped for the second time.
Fourth floor.
Lin Ming stopped cursing.
He blinked, cautiously poking his head out to look down the corridor.
Utter silence.
Except for the pale lights, not a soul was in sight.
He checked the elevator buttons again. No one had touched them.
“Gulp...” He swallowed quietly and hurried back into the elevator.
His heart began pounding for no apparent reason.
Sss... The doors closed for the third time.
The third ascent.
Three seconds later... the third stop!
Buzz! Lin Ming’s scalp tingled. Something was wrong... This wasn’t right! There was a problem!
The elevator floor indicator wasn’t lit... so why was it stopping at every floor?
It was as if... as if something invisible was pressing the buttons at each floor.
In the silent elevator, silent corridor, with not a single encounter, the silence became maddeningly oppressive, leaving his lips dry.
Suddenly, he lunged for the elevator panel, desperately pressing the button for the 13th floor. But as before, it wouldn’t respond!
Ten seconds.
The third ten seconds.
He stared at the doorway, not a single person entering, yet it felt... as if unseen things entered at every floor!
His scalp prickled.
Perhaps... he wasn’t alone in the elevator... This horrifying thought flashed through Lin Ming’s mind. The mirrored glass on all sides reflected his own image, but they looked back at him like complete strangers.
He pressed himself tightly into the corner, trembling as he watched his surroundings. But there was no one.
Sss... The elevator started for the fourth time, stopped for the fourth... Fifth floor, sixth... By the seventh, at every floor, the elevator automatically stopped and opened!
“D-d-d...” Lin Ming hugged himself, his teeth chattering.
He didn’t dare go out.
Outside... was dead silent. He didn’t dare use the stairwell! He was scared; he needed light. The dim stairwell lights couldn’t reassure him—he didn’t know if, rounding the corner, he’d see the stairs going up or... a little girl crying with her back to him.
Only the elevator’s brightness gave him any comfort.
Just then, the overhead light flickered twice and snapped off.
He almost screamed, terror exploding within him, but in the next second, he clamped his hand over his mouth.
When fear reaches its peak, no sound comes out.
He shivered, covering his mouth, fumbling for his phone in the pitch-black elevator—like a morgue—his suppressed sobs echoing. His thumb trembled so much he could barely unlock the screen. After much effort, he managed it, and saw the time.
Six thirty-eight.
The phone’s glow was faint. He immediately searched for the flashlight app; he needed light! If he stayed here any longer, he would go mad!
But just as his finger hovered over the flashlight icon, he froze.
“D-d-d...” His teeth chattered, lips trembling as if caught in a stroke, cold sweat pouring, mouth agape, tears streaming, wanting to say something but unable to make a sound.
Around the dim light of his phone.
On the boundary of light and darkness.
A dozen pale faces stared fixedly at his phone.
Just faces.
Bodies lost to the shadows. Who knows when, who knows how, the elevator... was packed.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!”
His scream echoed in the night, but it wasn’t only his. At that very moment, countless people, countless families, witnessed scenes they’d never imagined seeing in their lives!
At the Second People’s Hospital. Unlike before the curfew, the doors were tightly shut at night; no one would come for treatment. The nurses’ only task was to care for the inpatients.
“Hey, how’s the new intern, 024?” Two nurses chatted at the station. One, a short-haired girl, played on the computer, winking at her colleague. “He’s so handsome—tall, long legs, right?”
The other, with long hair, idly played Hearthstone on her tablet, not even raising her eyelids. “Tall and long-legged isn’t enough. It’s the equipment and skill that matter. If you had to choose between good-looking and good performance... Damn? Mind control?! Aren’t both cards played already? Holy Light is filthy as always!”
Just as she angrily went to tap ‘Sorry’, her hand froze.
Not just her—the nurse next to her, reading a novel on her phone, froze too.
The two exchanged surprised glances, and after two seconds, the Hearthstone nurse hesitantly spoke, “Hey, did you hear anything?”
“Was there... something that just passed by?”