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Translator's note: 'Private Lesson After School,' 'Avatar,' 'Superman vs. Catwoman,' and 'Batman Interrogates Harley Quinn!' are all names for adult movies.
"Get out. Walk up the hill." Fang Xiu led the way, walking briskly toward the graveyard.
Seeing Fang Xiu walking in front, other people felt that the eerie place seemed less scary. So they followed him closely.
"I remember visiting Putuo Temple before. Back then, there wasn't a graveyard at the base of the hill."
"This is Nightmare's Specter Zone, where dreams and reality merge. It's no surprise to see anything weird here."
"Look! There's a sign over there."
Everyone looked where the person pointed and saw a peculiar sign standing among the graves. It was taller than the normal tombstones, sticking out noticeably.
The sign read, "Forbidden for the Dead, Open to the Living."
"What nonsense is this? A graveyard forbidden for the dead but open for the living?"
"Yeah, shouldn't it be 'Forbidden for the Living, Open to the Dead'?"
"Let's stay alert. Any oddity in the Specter Zone could be deadly…"
Suddenly, before the guy could even finish, there was a flash of silver light, and the stone monument split in two.
Fang Xiu had made his move.
Everyone was a bit taken aback. They really wanted to be cautious and not act hastily.
However, since it was done by Fang Xiu, who could see the future, they seemed to be fine with it. They assumed he must've done that for a reason, which may be key to solving the puzzle.
In truth, Fang Xiu was just testing the waters. He wanted to see if cutting the stone would stir up something.
A few seconds passed, and nothing happened.
"Let's go," Fang Xiu said calmly.
He led the way forward, and the others followed closely.
They quickly reached the big gate at the end of the graveyard.
How strange. This was such a spooky, sudden scene, and nothing happened?
As they stepped out of the graveyard gate, however, they were surprised to see another graveyard.
It seemed to be the same graveyard.
Some skeptics walked back, and indeed, there were two identical graveyards divided by a gate.
"Could there really be two graveyards? Or are we trapped again?"
"Captain Fang, what's your take?"
"Keep going," Fang Xiu said calmly.
So, the group continued forward, quickly reaching the gate again. After passing through, they found another identical graveyard.
They shuttled back and forth several times, only to find the same thing: endless identical graveyards. It was as if countless graveyards were linked together.
But when they tried to return the way they came, they were horrified to discover they couldn't go back. The original entrance they came through also led to a graveyard.
They were stuck in an infinite loop of graveyards.
"Captain Fang, what do you think?"
Ever since they knew Fang Xiu could foresee the future, everyone seemed to have stopped thinking for themselves, always asking for his opinion.
It was like knowing the answers to an exam beforehand and not wanting to bother studying.
"If we're trapped, it means there's definitely a Specter here, or it's Nightmare's doing. It looks like the core of the graveyard might be hidden in the graves. Everyone, start digging up the graves, and if you find bodies, reduce them to ashes," Fang Xiu calmly gave the orders.
Everyone listened to him now and began digging up graves.
As they unearthed grave after grave, they were surprised to find coffins in each one, all identical and painted black. Opening these coffins, they found nothing but skeletons inside.
There was no scene of skeletons coming back to life and crawling out of the graves.
Although the skeletons looked creepy, they were all psychics, and the dead were the last thing they'd fear.
Or rather, psychics never fear dead bodies; it was Specters that truly frightened them.
So, they began to turn the skeletons to ashes. In a short time, dozens of graves were dug up and the ashes scattered.
But even after doing as Fang Xiu instructed, nothing happened.
Just then, a shout of surprise came from nearby.
"Damn, what the hell? This dead dude was also named Zhao Hao!" Zhao Hao shouted, standing in front of a grave with his name written on it.
No wonder Zhao Hao cursed his luck—in such a spooky place, seeing a tombstone with your own name on it was not a good omen.
At first, no one paid much attention, thinking that Zhao Hao was a common name and it could just be a coincidence.
But when Zhao Hao uncovered the coffin, a shocking turn of events occurred.
THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!
The coffin started making loud banging noises.
Everyone reacted swiftly, rushing over.
"Could this coffin hold the core of the graveyard?"
"Maybe if we kill the Specter inside, we can get out?"
The psychics widened their circle, creating a sizable perimeter around the coffin.
They all stared intently at the coffin, ready for any unexpected movements.
Zhao Hao, standing to one side, cursed his bad luck. He never imagined that the Specter of this creepy graveyard would share his name.
Fang Xiu sensed something amiss. The thudding sounds from the coffin didn't seem like they were made by a Specter. It sounded more like a living person was inside, making faint cries for help.
Without hesitation, Fang Xiu used a strand of his silver hair to pry open the coffin lid. As it opened, everyone gasped in shock.
Inside the coffin lay Zhao Hao himself.
The Zhao Hao in the coffin sat up abruptly, gasping for fresh air.
Seeing the other Zhao Hao outside, his face turned pale. "Who are you? Why do you look exactly like me?" he demanded.
The Zhao Hao outside was equally shocked. "Specter! You damn Specter, daring to take my form!" he accused.
"Nonsense! You're the Specter, disguising yourself as me to blend in with the team!" the one in the coffin retorted.
"And you're popping out of a coffin and still claiming you're not a Specter?" the outside Zhao Hao shot back.
The Zhao Hao in the coffin, desperate, turned to Fang Xiu, "Xiu, I was walking with you guys when suddenly everything went dark, and then I found myself in this coffin. It has to be him! He’s the one behind this!"
The Zhao Hao outside was quick to defend himself, "Xiu, don't listen to his nonsense. I've been with you the whole time. I'm the real one. He's the Specter in disguise. Ask me anything only we two would know."
"Xiu! Ask me; I'm the real one," the Zhao Hao in the coffin shouted, even divulging personal secrets without waiting for a question.
"Xiu, you know me. I've battled Specters and… even… even fucked Nightmare! The fake one can never be as good as me!"
There was a sudden silence.
The others dropped their jaws.
Hearing this, the Zhao Hao outside grew frantic and blurted out, "Xiu, you know me. My favorite movies are 'Private Lesson After School,' 'Avatar,' 'Superman vs. Catwoman,' and 'Batman Interrogates Harley Quinn!'"
The others were at a loss for words.