Chapter 1

"All beings must die; in death, they return to the earth. This is what we call ghosts." ①

On the fifteenth day of the seventh lunar month, the gates of the underworld open wide, when yin energy reaches its peak.

Legend has it that if living souls fail to return home early on this day, they risk attracting malevolent spirits. Worse yet, they may be preyed upon by these spirits in the streets, their souls denied reincarnation.

However, folklore offers a way for the living to safely return home during this time: they must take the yang path while the deceased take the yin path. Yang and yin paths do not interfere or intersect. To safely return home during the ghost festival, one must walk the yang path.

"If one's righteousness can withstand the evil aura during the ghost festival, whichever path they take will be considered the yang path," the folklore lecturer, Mr. Bu Kao Pu, said with a smile behind his sunglasses as Lam Ching Ying's "Mr. Vampire" played in the background.

With only a few students in attendance, each was captivated by his words.

"How do you distinguish between the yang and yin paths?" asked a student in a duckbill cap.

"Good question! I don't have an answer for that. But if a person's righteousness can suppress the evil aura during the ghost festival, whichever path they take will be the yang path for them," Mr. Bu Kao Pu chuckled.

Seeing no further questions, Mr. Bu Kao Pu continued his lecture.

"Since we're discussing the ghost festival, there are many taboos, such as returning home at night or nighttime wandering. Also, during the ghost festival, never pick up items used for offerings from the ground, avoid drying clothes at night, and never turn back when someone calls your name on the street at night. Speaking of which, any students from Guangdong here?" Mr. Bu Kao Pu singled out a student from Guangdong who raised his hand. ②

"Come on, handsome guy, it's your turn. Could you explain why you shouldn't turn back when someone calls your name at night?"

"Wow, that's really scary! My grandma③ said during the ghost festival, it's best not to call out your companion's name. If the spirits hear it, it could be disastrous! If they hear it, they'll call you on the street! At that moment, if you turn back, the three fires on your body will extinguish, and then you won't be safe anymore!" The guy from Guangdong spoke in his distinctive Hong Kong-style Mandarin, leaving some in the audience bewildered. Nevertheless, his words aroused more curiosity about these 'three fires.'

"Three fires? Come on, in this day and age, do you still believe in these things?" A rebellious-looking teenager dressed in all black spoke up.

He disdainfully looked at the Guangdong guy who spoke and mocked, "I've never believed in any of this my whole life. I've done everything that's supposedly forbidden, and nothing has happened to me. Seriously, let's move beyond these feudal superstitions. Let's start with ourselves and stop spreading this superstitious nonsense, alright?"

"You... You know nothing! What I said is all true!" The Guangdong guy was visibly flustered, pointing his finger at the other guy in agitation.

"Oh? Please continue," the teenager replied, surprising everyone by sitting back down and patiently waiting for the Guangdong guy to continue speaking.

"The three fires on a person are located on their shoulders and the top of their head. These three fires are what we call yang fire. If you are called by a spirit at night and you turn back, these three fires will extinguish, and that's when they'll take advantage of you." Mr. Bu Kao Pu intervened at a critical moment, effectively diverting the teenager's attention and giving the Guangdong guy a chance to catch his breath.

"A superstition without any scientific basis," the teenager retorted once more. With that said, he packed up his bag and prepared to leave, paying no mind to the others present.

Before leaving, Mr. Bu Kao Pu stopped him.

"Young man, you may not believe in these things, but it's important to respect certain rules." Mr. Bu Kao Pu frowned. Then, he briefly calculated something, and his frown relaxed somewhat.

"Since we've crossed paths, let me kindly advise you: the ghost festival is approaching. Be cautious, or one day you might regret your recklessness." Mr. Bu Kao Pu pushed up his sunglasses slightly, a faint smile playing at his lips, his expression oddly eerie.

"You must be seriously ill or something," the teenager replied, picking up his bag and striding away.

"Young people these days are so naive. Soon enough, you'll see for yourself," Mr. Bu Kao Pu thought to himself.

A few days later, the gates of the underworld opened wide, yin energy surged, a blood moon rose, and calamity ensued.

＊＊＊＊

Due to his early habit, Chu Yi arrived at the classroom well before 8 a.m., holding a cup of hot cocoa in one hand and a tablet in the other, apparently reviewing yesterday's lecture content.

Chu Yi was a second-year graduate student in criminology at Guangzhou Xinxian University. Although he didn't need to suffer through the intense preparation for graduate school exams like ordinary seniors, allowing him to fully enjoy university life, he had developed a diligent study habit and was accustomed to arriving early each day to study.

However, on this day, as usual, he arrived early but felt something peculiar. He sensed as if he was being watched by a large crowd, their elusive gazes clinging to him, scorching enough to blister his skin. Yet, whenever he turned around to survey the surroundings, there was no one to be found.

Feeling uneasy, he scratched his head absentmindedly and glanced at his phone screen. Suddenly, his pupils contracted as if he had realized something.

The date displayed on his phone screen was "Lunar July Fourteenth," even though he hadn't set his lock screen to display the lunar calendar. Who could have accessed his phone without his knowledge? Could it be...

It was then that he remembered the words of Bu Kao Pu in his folklore class before leaving.

"Since we've crossed paths, let me kindly advise you: the ghost festival is approaching. Be cautious, or one day you might regret your recklessness."

With this realization, those countless, nauseating gazes seemed to once again focus on him, as if the tide were about to engulf him.

Chu Yi stared fixedly at his now-darkened phone screen. After a long moment, he sighed deeply, making a conscious effort to ignore those gazes. He resumed studying with his tablet.

What's the point of worrying about the ghost festival? If ghosts really exist, why did I study criminology? It would be better to blame it on ghosts and gods.

This thought was like a soothing pill. Once he convinced himself simply, Chu Yi felt the indistinct stares dissipate suddenly, leaving him feeling much lighter.

Chu Yi lifted his head with a relaxed expression, but suddenly felt a pang in his heart. He accidentally met eyes with a boy dressed entirely in white. Feeling slightly embarrassed, Chu Yi could only raise an eyebrow as if playfully teasing a naive young man. The boy, however, wasn't offended. He simply examined Chu Yi from head to toe with his only color—black eyes, then walked straight to the back of the classroom.

Seeing that the person didn't respond to him, Chu Yi didn't want to be boring. Just as it was time for class, he went to listen to the lecture.

Finally, he got to the end of class, he leisurely packed up the things on the table, was stop

ped by the mentor.

"Chu Yi, come with me to the office. There's something I need to discuss with you," the mentor, named Li Cui, said. Li Cui is a well-known criminal psychologist in the south. He mainly focuses on criminal psychology, and currently serves as a consultant at the Guangzhou Police Headquarters. Studying under him is indeed a great honor, as many of the things learned accumulate from examples, and more fittingly, are easier to understand.

"Okay." So, Chu Yi walked over and helped his mentor carry the computer, and the two went to the office together.

At the office, Li Cui turned over the files on the table and immediately got to the point, saying, "Guangzhou has been restless lately, with the frequency of murder cases much higher than in previous years, and many places are short of manpower." Speaking, he raised his head from the pile of documents and looked directly at Chu Yi on the opposite side, with a slight smile on his face and continued, "So, I want to ask you, are you interested in joining the case?"

Hearing this, Chu Yi was stunned for a moment, but he thought of...

"Teacher, but I'm young and have no experience..." Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Li Cui: "No experience? I know a few months ago, the case in Fuxi Village was solved by you. This case shouldn't be more difficult than that one. I believe you can solve it. Do you want to give it a try?" He said, and he had already found the relevant documents for the case in his hand and didn't let Chu Yi take a look.

Chu Yi thought for a moment and then agreed. He studied criminal psychology to put it into practice. Without practice, what experience can he talk about? Moreover, the difficulty of this case should not be difficult, otherwise, the teacher would not have handed this case to himself.

"Well, this is the information for this case. There's a contract here that you need to sign so that you can really participate in the task. You take a look at it first."

Chu Yi took the contract and carefully looked at it after a long while, and then signed the signature and handed it to Li Cui.

"Well, that's it. You go back and take a look first." The order was given, Chu Yi did not stay longer, carrying the relevant documents of the case and left.

He took the files to a bustling 24-hour café, found a corner and sat down.

Whether it was his illusion, since leaving the classroom, the flaming eyes seemed to have returned to him again. The whole person only felt very heavy, even some of the breathless. But whenever he looked around again, it was the same as the morning that there was no discovery.

Chu Yi doubted that these were illusions produced by his own heat, and he couldn't help but raise his hand and touch his forehead. The temperature was not hot, he didn't have a fever, but it couldn't explain the discomfort on his body.

"Ring..." His diffuse thoughts were pulled back by the sound of his cell phone, and he sent a message from a few steps away.

The two of them had just met by chance in the classroom, there was no place for communication, and they didn't know how they had gotten his contact information.

He clicked on the social software on his phone, and an unread message hung on it.

"Hello, classmate, tonight is the time for the ghost gate to open. I wanted to scare you at this time, but I just made a glimpse of you. The word is not good. Remember to go home early and don't linger outside."

Seeing the message, Chu Yi couldn't help laughing.

Isn't this just pure jokes? In previous years, he stayed up all night at the library day after day and bumped into the day of the ghost gate. There was nothing at all, and it was safe.

However, the other party also kindly reminded himself, these words think about enough, always should not be said in person.

Therefore, after Chu Yi replied with an "OK" expression, he carefully reviewed the relevant documents of the case until late at night.