64: Chapter 64 The Four Ghosts of the Kuai Zai Pavilion

A-He walked quickly to Wu Xi's side and pointed ahead: "Follow this road, and we will reach Kuaizai Pavilion in half an hour."

No one spoke. There was only the wailing of the wind blowing through the ghost mist and the sound of chaotic footsteps.

The air was as heavy as if filled with lead. Everyone could feel that something was staring at them from the shadows. That gaze was cold and greedy, coiling around their necks like a poisonous snake.

They walked for about half an hour.

Suddenly, a burst of laughter came from ahead.

It was not the wailing of ghosts, nor was it a howl; it was laughter. Loud, cheerful, and unbridled laughter.

The laughter was filled with happiness and satisfaction, as if all the beauty in the world had gathered together.

Hearing such laughter, the hair on everyone's skin stood up.

"Stop."

Wu Xi raised his hand abruptly, and the group stopped instantly.

Everyone held their breath and looked in the direction from which the laughter came.

The ghost mist churned, and the outline of a pavilion slowly emerged.

With upturned eaves, carved beams and painted pillars, vermilion columns, and grey tiles, it looked antique and seemed to have a history of several hundred years.

An apricot-yellow flag hung from the pavilion's eaves. As the wind blew, the flag fluttered noisily, and eight large characters were clearly visible on it: "Forget all tastes, find joy in one drunkenness."

But the strangest thing was—there was no Yin Qi here, not even a trace.

In this land of ghost erosion where even breathing meant inhaling Yin Qi, one could not feel even a shred of ghost energy within a hundred feet of Kuaizai Pavilion.

In its place was a rich, fragrant aroma.

The scent of food, the scent of wine. The greasiness of braised pork, the freshness of steamed fish, the charred aroma of roast chicken, and the mellowness of aged fine wine.

Various aromas mixed together like an invisible hand, crawling into everyone's noses and hooking into their internal organs.

"Gurgle."

A loud gulping sound rang out; it was Niu Fei.

He sniffed hard, his eyes widened like copper bells, staring straight at the pavilion in the distance. His stomach let out a "rumbling" sound, so loud that even the passersby next to him could hear it.

"It smells so good..." a gaunt passerby muttered. He licked his chapped lips, his eyes filled with longing, "I haven't eaten for three days..."

"Look at them..." another passerby pointed at the pavilion, their voice filled with envy, "They are so happy..."

The pavilion was filled with people: ragged refugees, travelers carrying bundles searching for relatives, and wayfarers covered in dust.

They sat around tables laden with chicken, duck, fish, meat, and fine wine and delicacies.

Some raised large bowls, drained them in one gulp, and then burst into laughter. Others grabbed chicken legs and gnawed on them, not caring that grease was running down their chins.

Some played finger-guessing games, shouting out chants in loud voices. Others sang songs, their tunes completely off-key, yet they sang with immense devotion.

The entire Kuaizai Pavilion was filled with laughter and was incredibly lively. Sunlight seemed to pierce through the ghost mist, shining down on the pavilion.

It was as if this place were not a Hell on earth, but a paradise away from the world.

All suffering, all pain, all despair—once they reached here, it all vanished like smoke.

"This is Kuaizai Pavilion?" Niu Fei scratched his head, looking incredulous, "I thought it would be some eerie and terrifying place; why does it look like a restaurant?"

"Yes..." Jiang Jiye said softly, her eyes looking somewhat dazed, "It looks... really wonderful here."

If one could forget all the pain, forget those deceased loved ones, and forget this Hell on earth, and just eat and drink happily like this, how wonderful that would be.

This thought was like a seed, taking root and sprouting in everyone's heart.

Even the old man with the cane stopped trembling, and a trace of yearning appeared in his murky eyes.

"Something is wrong."

Ling Muxue's voice was like a bucket of cold water poured over everyone's heads. She frowned, her nose twitching constantly, her eyes sharp as knives.

"What's wrong with it?" Niu Fei turned his head and said with dissatisfaction, "I think it's quite good! There's food and drink, and people singing; it's much better than being on edge outside!"

"It's precisely because it's too good that something is wrong," Ling Muxue said coldly. "Use your brain. In this place where ghosts eat people, how could such a wonderful place exist? Pies don't fall from the sky; only traps do."

Wu Xi nodded. This place was like a meticulously woven dream. A dream from which, once you entered, you would never wake up.

"A-He." Wu Xi turned his head to look at the young girl beside him, "Have you been here before?"

"I've been here a few times." A-He nodded, "Each time, I would bring people here and then leave. Lord Ghost King does not allow me to enter."

"Then have you seen the four ghosts inside?" Wu Xi asked again.

"No." A-He shook his head, "I have never seen them. I only heard Lord Ghost King say that Kuaizai Pavilion is guarded year-round by the Begging Ghost, the Bowl-Playing Ghost, the Gluttonous Ghost, and the Drunken Ghost."

Wu Xi's gaze turned once again to the people laughing and talking in the pavilion.

He could see very clearly that those people's smiles were stiff, as if they were painted on their faces.

"Listen up, everyone." Wu Xi's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable authority, "After we go in, do not eat anything here, and do not drink a single drop of wine. Stay close to me and do not get separated."

Everyone nodded hurriedly. Wu Xi took a deep breath, gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist, and led the way toward Kuaizai Pavilion.

The others followed behind him, walking forward cautiously. The closer they got to Kuaizai Pavilion, the richer the aroma became.

The aroma seemed to have magic, constantly tempting them.

Niu Fei's drool was almost dripping out. He gulped hard, his eyes staring straight at the shiny, greasy roast pig in the pavilion, and his steps were a bit unsteady.

"Brother Wu..." Niu Fei said in a low voice, his tone tearful, "I'm really so hungry... just one bite, okay? Just one bite..."

"Hold it in." Wu Xi said without turning his head. Niu Fei pouted and had to bite his lip hard, forcing himself not to look at the delicacies.

Soon, they walked to the entrance of Kuaizai Pavilion.

Three small ghosts dressed as waiters were standing at the entrance welcoming guests.

They wore enthusiastic smiles on their faces, bowing and bending at the waist with impeccable standard movements. They looked no different from waiters in a human restaurant.

"Guests, please come in!" the leading small ghost said with a smile, its voice crisp, "We have everything here—things that fly in the sky, run on the ground, and swim in the water! We guarantee you will eat to your satisfaction and drink to your heart's content!"

"Yes, yes!" the second small ghost also said, "No matter what troubles or pain you have, as long as you drink our 'Worry-Forgetting Wine' and eat our 'Joyful Dishes,' we guarantee you will forget everything completely!"

"Forget all tastes, find joy in one drunkenness!" the third small ghost shouted loudly, its voice resonant, "Guests, hurry in and enjoy the ultimate bliss! If you miss this village, you won't find this shop again!"

The guests in the pavilion also turned their heads one after another to look at them. They all had happy smiles on their faces and beckoned to them.

"Come in! Hurry and come in!" "It's so wonderful here! Come and enjoy it together!"

"Forget all that pain! Here, you will find eternal happiness!"

Their voices were gentle and magnetic, as if they were hypnotizing them. The eyes of several passersby began to grow dazed.

Their footsteps moved involuntarily toward the pavilion.

"Don't go in!" Wu Xi shouted.

The sound was like thunder, exploding at the entrance of Kuaizai Pavilion.

The few passersby trembled all over, as if splashed with a bucket of cold water, and suddenly woke up.

Looking at the feet they had already stepped out, expressions of lingering fear appeared on their faces, and cold sweat instantly soaked their backs.

"That was close..." a passerby patted his chest, panting heavily, "Just now, it was as if I was controlled by something. My mind went blank, and I only thought about going in to eat something..."

"Me too..." another passerby said, "I even felt just now that even if I died here, it would be worth it..."

Wu Xi's expression darkened. Sure enough, there was a problem.

He looked at the three waiters, his eyes cold as knives: "We are not here to eat. We are here to find the Begging Ghost, the Bowl-Playing Ghost, the Gluttonous Ghost, and the Drunken Ghost. Make them come out."

As soon as he finished speaking, the smiles on the faces of the three waiters vanished instantly.

Their eyes became pitch black, without a trace of white. The skin on their faces began to rot and fall off in chunks, revealing the ghastly white bone beneath.

Black blood flowed from the corners of their mouths.

"Since you don't know what's good for you, don't blame us for being impolite!" the leading small ghost shrieked, its voice grating like fingernails scratching on glass.

As it spoke, they opened their sharp claws and lunged at the group.

"You're courting death!" Qiu Chuanxing shouted.

A flash of a blade, fast as lightning.

The small ghost that lunged at the front didn't even have a chance to react before it was split in two. Black blood splattered all over the ground.

The remaining two small ghosts screamed in terror and turned to run into the pavilion.

"Chase!"

Niu Fei yelled, took large strides, and gave chase. His massive fists clenched with a cracking sound; he couldn't wait to smash these two small ghosts into a pulp with one punch.

The others also rushed in after them.

The moment they rushed into the pavilion, everyone froze.

Inside the pavilion, it was still filled with laughter and joy. Those guests were still sitting at the tables, drinking heavily and eating meat in large chunks.

It was as if everything that happened at the entrance just now had nothing to do with them. Their faces still wore happy smiles.

But if one looked closely, one would find that their eyes were empty and lifeless.

There was not a trace of luster, just like puppets without a Soul.

A man wearing ragged clothes was sitting at a table, constantly stuffing braised pork into his mouth.

His belly was already swollen like a ball, but he still kept stuffing it.

Meat spilled from his mouth, running down his chin onto his clothes and dripping onto the table, but he didn't care at all.

A young woman was holding a wine jar, continuously pouring wine into her mouth. The wine flowed from the corners of her mouth, wetting her clothes and running onto the ground.

Her face was flushed red like pig's liver from drinking, and her eyes were bloodshot, but she still kept drinking, as if she wanted to drown herself in the wine.

There was also a child who looked only seven or eight years old, holding a chicken leg and gnawing on it until his mouth was full of grease. His fingers had been cut by the bones. Fresh blood stained the chicken leg, but he still gnawed on it with great relish.

Wu Xi walked up to that man, reached out, and patted his shoulder.

"Hey." The man had no reaction.

He continued to stuff meat into his mouth, as if Wu Xi did not exist at all. Wu Xi frowned, increased his strength, and patted his shoulder again.

"Wake up!"

The man finally stopped his movements, and he slowly turned his head to look at Wu Xi.

His face still wore a happy smile, but in his eyes, there was no emotion at all. No anger, no surprise, no confusion.

"Why do you want to disturb my meal?" the man's voice was flat, without a trace of inflection, "The food here is so delicious, why don't you eat?"

"How long have you been here?" Wu Xi asked.

The man shook his head: "I don't know. I only know that it is very happy here. I don't want to leave."

"Where is your family?" Wu Xi asked again, "Your wife, your children, where are they?"

"Family?" The man paused for a moment.

In his eyes, a trace of extremely faint confusion flashed, but that trace of confusion quickly vanished.

"What family?" The man shook his head, and a happy smile appeared on his face again, "I don't remember. Eating is the happiest thing."

Having said that, he turned his head and continued to stuff meat into his mouth.

These people had forgotten all their pain and had also forgotten all their joy.

They had forgotten their families, forgotten their pasts, and even forgotten who they were.

They were left only with the most primitive instincts—eating and drinking.

They had become walking corpses, becoming fertilizer for Kuaizai Pavilion.

"It's too cruel..." Jiang Jiye covered her mouth, her eyes welling up with tears, "How can they do this..."

"What is cruel about this?"

A lazy voice drifted down from the second floor of the pavilion.

Everyone looked up abruptly.

They saw four ghosts sitting on the railing of the second floor, looking down at them from a high vantage point.

On the far left was the Begging Ghost.

He was wearing a ragged beggar's outfit, his hair was messy, and his face was covered in filth. In his hand, he held a chipped, broken bowl, looking at everyone pitifully, his eyes filled with longing.

In the middle was the Bowl-Playing Ghost, wearing a colorful theatrical costume, with heavy makeup on its face.

It held eight blue and white porcelain bowls in its hands, juggling them continuously. The bowls in its hands seemed alive, flying up and down, spinning and leaping, making one's eyes dazzle.

On the right was the Gluttonous Ghost. He was a super fat man, his belly as big as an overturned pot.

His face was shiny and greasy. He held a giant pig's trotter in his hand, gnawing on it continuously. The grease from the corners of his mouth flowed down his chin onto his belly.

On the far right was the Drunken Ghost. He was wearing a rumpled long gown, his hair disheveled.

He was clutching a wine jar, pouring wine into his mouth. His face was flushed red from drinking, his eyes dazed, and his body swayed, looking as if he could fall off the railing at any moment.

The Begging Ghost looked at everyone and said pitifully: "Dear guests, these people have suffered countless hardships outside, living in fear and despair every day. We let them forget their pain and enjoy happiness; isn't that good?"

"Good my ass!" Niu Fei cursed angrily. He pointed at the guests who were like walking corpses, his eyes turning red, "You turned them into monsters without a Soul and still talk about enjoying happiness! You damned ghost things!"

The Bowl-Playing Ghost stopped its movements.

It looked at Niu Fei, a strange smile appearing on its face: "Yo, isn't this the big guy? Last time at the mass grave, you punched me; I still remember it. I didn't expect you to deliver yourself to my door today. Just as well, we can settle old and new scores together."

Niu Fei said, preparing to rush forward, "This time, I'll definitely beat you into a meat patty!"

"Wait."

Wu Xi reached out and pulled him back.

He looked up, watching the four ghosts on the second floor, his voice cold: "Where is King Zhengmu? Where are the people from Xinghua Village being held by you? Tell me, and I can give you a quick death."

The Drunken Ghost took a sip of wine and let out a loud belch.

He said incoherently: "King? What King? I don't know... Here, there is food and drink, it's happy, how wonderful... Why bother about some King or little king..."

The Gluttonous Ghost also nodded, gnawing on a pig's trotter while saying vaguely: "Yes, yes! I only know that the pig's trotter is really delicious... Do you want one too? It's so fragrant..."