Chapter 19 Desperate Gamble

　　The fatty shuddered, nearly dropping the mirror in his hand.

　　At that moment, Luo Tianhe stared intently at the mirror in the fatty’s hand, the doubt in his heart vanishing completely. He had sensed something amiss when dealing with the renhou sha (human head demon). Given the level of skill of these people from Jiangcheng, it was impossible for them to suppress the renhou sha with just a butcher knife. Yet, they had not only done it but everyone had. From that moment on, Luo Tianhe was certain that they must be carrying some kind of treasure to ward off evil spirits.

　　Seeing the mirror, Luo Tianhe immediately thought of the Ming Mirror in the Roman Hotel. There seemed to be some inexplicable connection between the two.

　　It would be best to get his hands on this treasure, or at least make the Jiangcheng group lose it. Without this treasure to protect them, Luo Tianhe wanted to see what they would use to fight him.

　　"It's... it's coming!"

　　In the mirror, the long-necked female ghost released her hand and walked towards the fatty step by step.

　　The most terrifying thing was the female ghost's movements. She was walking with her back to everyone, but her face was facing the fatty. Her limbs were twisted, and her movements were jerky, like a marionette, indescribably strange.

　　As the female ghost approached, everyone saw a deep purple strangulation mark around her neck. The area around the mark was already rotten. A bizarre image entered the fatty's mind, as if this female ghost had been hanged, her body left unattended, hanging from a crooked-necked tree, her neck stretching longer and longer.

　　Only by finding a scapegoat to hang in her place under that crooked-necked tree could she be freed.

　　Without the female ghost tightening the noose, Yao Shunyu finally had a chance to catch his breath. His mind seemed clearer, but the noose was still around his head, his toes barely touching the old tree stump. If he relaxed even slightly, he would be unable to breathe.

　　At this moment, he looked at the fatty with a complex expression. No one knew what he was thinking.

　　"Look! The road, the road has appeared!"

　　Lin Qianqian's voice was filled with the joy of surviving a disaster. Sure enough, the scene had changed. The two intersecting crossroads arranged as mirror images had disappeared, leaving only a straight road.

　　"Quick, leave now!"

　　"What about Yao Shunyu? He's not dead yet!"

　　The fatty knew that Yao Shunyu's last glimmer of life was in his hands. Although they hadn't known each other for long, Yao Shunyu seemed like an honest person. Besides, he and Li Bai had saved their lives before.

　　After catching his breath, Yao Shunyu quickly began to save himself. He struggled with all his might, grabbing the rope and desperately trying to pull his head out of the noose. But no matter how hard he tried, he always fell short. The rope seemed to be custom-made for him, fitting perfectly around his ears. Several attempts ended in failure.

　　"See? He has no chance. Let's go!"

　　Lin Qianqian urged anxiously. She was truly afraid of being trapped in such a place again. If Yao Shunyu's death wasn't enough, then it was likely that she would be next to pay with her life.

　　This long-necked female ghost looked extremely sinister, not like someone who could be appeased with just one life.

　　Just when everyone thought Yao Shunyu had given up, they saw him open his mouth wide, adjust his angle, and bite the hanging rope with his teeth. Then, he freed one hand, tore open his clothes, and pulled something out of the innermost pocket.

　　They were too far away to see what it was, but what happened next completely silenced Lin Qianqian.

　　Yao Shunyu grabbed the small object, brought it close to his left ear, pressed it tightly, and then pulled hard. The next second, blood spurted out, and his ear fell to the ground. He had cut off his own ear!

　　Without hesitation, Yao Shunyu continued to try to save himself. This time, without the obstruction of his ear, he finally removed the noose, and his body fell from the tree stump.

　　"Not a bad kid."

　　Yuan Shanyuan couldn't help but praise. It wasn't about Yao Shunyu daring to cut off his own ear, which didn't seem special to Yuan Shanyuan. He had met many people who had sacrificed to survive. What he admired was that even in such a dangerous situation, Yao Shunyu could maintain enough clarity to choose to cut off his ear with a knife rather than foolishly cut the rope.

　　Because Yao Shunyu knew that the rope was impossible to cut, and second, the rope must have some inexplicable connection with the long-necked female ghost. If he cut the rope, he would likely anger the female ghost, and the one who died might not be just him, but also Wang Fugui, who was holding the mirror.

　　Without the restriction of the rope, Yao Shunyu was now at the end of his strength. He struggled to stand up and ran towards the others, stumbling and staggering, his left face covered in blood, as well as mud and fallen leaves from falling to the ground.

　　"Faster, brother, you've almost made it!"

　　Because he was holding the mirror, the fatty didn't dare to do anything too rash, so he just cheered Yao Shunyu on in his heart.

　　Now it depended on whether the female ghost reached the fatty first and killed him, or whether Yao Shunyu ran back first, and then everyone could get out safely.

　　Because the fatty needed to control the mirror, Jiangcheng temporarily took his place. Seeing this, Jiangcheng shouted to the others, "Someone go and drag him back!"

　　"I'll go!"

　　Li Bai gritted his teeth and was about to move.

　　"No, no one is allowed to go!" Luo Tianhe's roaring voice directly stunned everyone. "That place is no longer the world we see with our eyes. Going there now will not only endanger your own life, but if you anger the female ghost, all of us will have to be buried with him!"

　　After observing, Yuan Shanyuan couldn't help but shake his head. "It's a pity, his yang qi is too weak, and he's been struggling for so long. He can't hold on any longer. There's no chance. Let's leave."

　　As soon as he finished speaking, Yao Shunyu, stumbling and staggering, fell to the ground. His face was fixedly staring in the direction of the coffin, still trying his best to crawl on his hands and feet, but his speed was far behind the female ghost.

　　Also, as the female ghost got closer and closer, the surrounding scene changed again. The originally straight road in front of them now looked somewhat illusory, as if it would soon turn back into a crossroads.

　　Hesitation leads to trouble. Jiangcheng gritted his teeth, knowing that there was nothing they could do about the situation now.

　　At this moment, the coffin had been dragged forward by Luo Tianhe, Yuan Shanyuan, and the others. Jiangcheng had no choice but to follow along. "Fatty, he can't be saved, retreat!"

　　After running about 20 meters along the road, everyone suddenly felt lighter. Then, the originally blurred road in front of them became clear again, and a night breeze brought a long-lost coolness.

　　Looking back, everything had disappeared. They had finally returned to the forest path.

　　But what made Jiangcheng nervous was that he didn't see the fatty's figure. The fatty... hadn't followed them out.

　　At this moment, the fatty was standing at the boundary between reality and illusion. If he took another step back, he could leave this place like the others and be reborn.

　　He stared blankly at Yao Shunyu, who was lying on the ground, no longer moving, but also looking at him.