"Help! Help me—"
Luo Xingfa was being lifted upward by an upside-down person, flailing his hands and feet desperately, struggling like a frightened insect.
That evil spirit was actually not afraid of the ghost-repelling characters and cinnabar beads!
"Mr. Luo!"
Master Xiang's scalp went numb. They had been sufficiently vigilant, yet they didn't expect the hanged man to suddenly approach without a sound. He hastily flicked out a copper coin.
The copper coin sliced across the hanged man's arm, cutting through his skin, but it did not inflict a fatal wound.
The hanged man seemed to feel no pain. His deathly pale face was expressionless, and in his hollow eyes, two tiny red dots flashed with an eerie light.
Just as Mr. Luo Xingfa was about to be dragged into the bushes.
Strands of black hair flew over, sharp as steel wires, and suddenly slashed across the hanged man's arms.
Pfft!
The deathly pale arms were cut off, falling to the ground along with Mr. Luo Xingfa, while the rest of the body recoiled in panic up the tree.
"Help! Help!"
Mr. Luo Xingfa rolled around on the ground in terror, the more panicked he became, the harder it was for him to shake off those deathly pale hands.
The black umbrella paid no attention to him and drifted to the other side.
The hair fluttered like ghostly hands, as if challenging the other two inverted figures.
Those two figures paused for a moment with a sinister air, their small pupils flickering. Suddenly, they retracted into the treetops and disappeared.
"Mr. Luo, Mr. Luo, it's all clear now!"
Master Xiang heaved a slight sigh of relief and quickly reminded Luo Xingfa.
Luo Xingfa shook off those two pale hands and scuttled back to Master Xiang on all fours.
"Manager Lu's magic treasure is very powerful. Don't worry, we won't let anything happen to you." Master Xiang comforted him while also asking his assistant to set him down, giving the assistant a chance to catch his breath.
"Th-Thank you... Thank you so much!" Luo Xingfa forced himself to calm down, his whole body drenched in cold sweat.
Master Xiang examined the two pale severed hands on the ground, feeling that something was not right.
How can they be so dry and boneless, looking just like a pair of gloves?
"Well done, Little Umbrella!"
Lu Fei was relieved to see that the black umbrella could fend off the Hanged Man, so he focused on dealing with the one in front of him.
Rustling sounds.
The pale face of the Hanged Man floated up and down in the dark treetops. It wanted to attack Lu Fei but was afraid of the thunderstruck wood in Lu Fei's hand, and thus hesitated to make a move.
Lu Fei furrowed his brow.
They still needed to find Luo Youliang, and continuing to waste time like this was not an option.
But if he called the black umbrella over, the remaining Hanged Man would surely take the opportunity to attack the others.
"Since you want to catch me, I'll give you a chance."
Lu Fei deliberately lowered his guard, withdrew his gaze, and even put the thunderstruck wood into his sleeve, lowering his head to expose his shoulders under the treetops.
The Hanged Man observed for a while and soon couldn't resist. As expected, it rushed down from the treetops and grabbed Lu Fei's shoulders with both hands, lifting him up.
The cold head of the Hanged Man was right next to Lu Fei's ear. Lu Fei turned his head and saw the red dots in its pupils flickering, its mouth wide open towards his throat.
Inside that mouth, there were actually several more eerie small mouths!
Those small mouths also opened together, revealing tiny but sharp fangs.
What the hell is this?!
Lu Fei's eyes widened, feeling as if he had just gained some new, bizarre knowledge.
"Suck my blood? Not even in your next life!" Although he was shocked, his expression remained calm as he pulled out the lightning rod from his sleeve.
The flashing electricity terrified the Hanged Man. It tried to retreat back into the treetop, but Lu Fei grabbed its wrist with a swift move.
"Why are you running? Wasn't it you who came looking for me first?"
Lu Fei gave a cold laugh.
He forcefully thrust the rod into the Hanged Man's eerie mouth.
Boom!
Electric light flickered within the hanged man's body.
After a bout of intense convulsions, black smoke spewed from the hanged man's eyes, ears, mouth, and nose, and his body fell softly downward like a kite with severed strings.
Lu Fei released the hand of this malevolent entity, and after rolling to dissipate the force of the fall, he got up calmly.
He turned around.
The malevolent entity landed lightly, its body deflating like a punctured ball, leaving only a limp, sagging skin.
"Human skin?"
Lu Fei found it strange, but he didn't have time to think about what exactly this malevolent entity was; first, he needed to clean it up.
Without pause, he rushed to find the next hanged man.
Although these filthy things were hidden in the bushes, the interwoven dark umbrella threads formed an arrow shape, pointing Lu Fei in the right direction.
"Very good!"
Lu Fei was greatly relieved.
After taking the black umbrella for a nourishment, it seemed to have become smarter and more obedient.
In a few steps, Lu Fei arrived under the big tree where the black umbrella pointed.
Looking up, the hanged man was lurking sinisterly within the treetop.
They faced each other for a moment.
A deathly pale face suddenly emerged, extending its arms toward Lu Fei.
"Actually seeking death on its own!"
Lu Fei smiled faintly, with the thunderstruck wood already ready in his hand.
He had been worried that this guy wouldn't come out, but it had delivered itself.
A chill spread through his skin as the hanged man grabbed his shoulders and suddenly lifted him up.
He had just picked up the thunderstruck wood.
In the treetops, two more deathly pale faces emerged!
"So you were lying in ambush here!" Lu Fei instantly understood.
The two faces opened their mouths together, spewing a cloud of green, foul-smelling gas at Lu Fei.
This stench was not the gas of the dead, but it carried a force that made one thoroughly uncomfortable; even a slight whiff could make one's internal organs feel like they were molding.
He channeled his magical power and held his breath.
Without hesitation, he struck with the thunderstruck wood in his hand.
Boom!
Lu Fei landed, and another piece of soft human skin fell to the ground.
"There are two more! Little Umbrella, come and help!"
Lu Fei pressed his advantage.
The black umbrella immediately flew over, its fine strands of hair drilling into the treetop and entangling the two hanging people who were trying to escape. With a strong pull, it brought both of them down.
Lu Fei seized the opportunity and finished off the one in front of him with one strike of his staff.
Unexpectedly, he didn't need to deal with the last one himself.
A cloud of black mist spewed out from the mouth of the last one, whooshing away into the distance and vanishing into the night in an instant.
"It must be that old ghost!"
At the sight of this black mist, he knew these hanged people were the work of Luo Youliang.
This black mist was not like ordinary fog; there was something inside it!
"Manager Lu is truly formidable!" Master Xiang was filled with admiration.
In less than the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, Lu Fei had taken care of all these eerie malevolent spirits.
Luo Xingfa looked at Lu Fei as if he were a deity.
The crisis was over.
Only then did everyone start to examine those human skins.
Luo Xingfa didn't dare to look too much.
Master Xiang and his assistant also found it quite unsettling, but Lu Fei remained calm as he observed them.
"Mr. Lu, I've heard of a type of burial object called a corpse cocoon, made from human skin, which looks very similar to these evil spirits," said Master Xiang, suppressing his goosebumps.
"A burial object?"
The human skins were dressed in clothes. Lu Fei put on gloves and found ropes and grappling hooks in one of the pockets.
"Could they also be grave robbers?"
"Could they be Luo Youliang's companions?! How could they end up like this?" Master Xiang was astounded.