26: Hello! Are you visiting the underworld?

Above the sky, thick dark clouds covered the tree canopy like a pot lid, and as the gale raged, it bent the tall locust tree.

The surrounding air pressure continued to drop, making it difficult for Jiang Nan and Du Wenqing to breathe.

The howling yin wind whistled through the bushes, creating a series of eerie sounds that were hair-raising.

Suddenly, an invisible skeletal hand reached out from the yin wind, gripping the bushes and shaking them violently, sweeping dead leaves into the gale.

Jiang Nan covered her mouth, shivering in a corner with Du Wenqing.

Her phone had lost its signal, making it impossible to check the underworld app, and the nearest ghost messenger was still very far away.

At that moment, a bone-chilling cold poured out from all directions, suddenly boring into the space between Jiang Nan's eyebrows.

Du Wenqing's eyes widened in horror as she instinctively checked on Jiang Nan's condition.

Jiang Nan had a dazed expression on her face as she muttered to herself, "The wedding night... Jiang Family Town... Husband..."

"Nan Nan, wake up! Wake up!" Du Wenqing shouted anxiously. In her urgency, she didn't hesitate to raise her palm and slap Jiang Nan's cheek hard.

"Slap, slap, slap..." The crisp sound of slaps echoed through the silent bushes.

"Stop, stop, stop... Don't hit me anymore, it hurts!" Jiang Nan frowned and grabbed Du Wenqing's wrist to stop the slapping. Rubbing her cheek, she complained, "My face is swollen."

Du Wenqing stopped and said happily, "It seems slaps really do work!"

Realization dawned on Jiang Nan as she remembered the pain in her face when she woke up earlier. She opened her eyes and happened to meet Du Wenqing's gaze.

The moment their eyes met, Du Wenqing slightly raised her eyebrows and curled her lips into a knowing smile.

She whispered, "I'll watch my strength next time. Trust me, Nan Nan, I already have experience now."

Jiang Nan rolled her eyes helplessly and replied crossly, "Well, thank you so much, Qing Qing!"

Right then, the Ghost Nightmare suddenly caught an unpleasant scent.

Realizing something was wrong, it immediately stopped teasing Jiang Nan and Du Wenqing. It withdrew its skeletal hand, and its ethereal phantom gradually condensed into a giant venomous snake.

The snake's body was massive, exuding a sinister aura. Its eyes were like two red lanterns flashing with an eerie light; the fangs in its bloody maw were incredibly sharp, like knives glinting coldly.

Its long, blood-red tongue flickered like a flexible red whip; a single glance was enough to send an endless chill through anyone.

"Jie jie jie..." The venomous snake let out a hair-raising laugh, opened its mouth to reveal sharp fangs, and lunged at Jiang Nan and Du Wenqing.

It intended to swallow Jiang Nan's soul in one bite and keep her by its side forever.

At the critical moment, Ghost Messenger Team 009 arrived just in time. The team leader raised the soul locking chain and lashed out at the Ghost Nightmare.

Sensing danger, the Ghost Nightmare retreated, flickering its tongue. "The underworld's sycophants sure arrive quickly!"

"You really are ugly!" Team leader You Xiaoqian remarked.

"You... you... ant, give me your life!" The Ghost Nightmare was instantly enraged, wanting to tear You Xiaoqian apart and swallow her whole.

Both sides were at each other's throats, and the battle was about to erupt.

The venomous snake swung its tail like a steel whip, sweeping toward You Xiaoqian.

You Xiaoqian dodged to the side while swinging her soul locking chain; the chain turned into a streak of silver light, aiming straight for the snake's head.

With a "clang," the soul locking chain only left a shallow mark on the snake's head.

Seeing her strike fail, You Xiaoqian swung her hand back, and the soul locking chain wrapped around the snake's body.

"Bind!" You Xiaoqian shouted.

Seeing this, the other ghost messenger team members all attacked.

For a moment, various magical artifacts flew through the air, their light radiating as brilliantly as fireworks.

The venomous snake was forced back repeatedly. Its eyes darted around before it suddenly raised its head and spat a blast of black flames from its massive maw.

"Watch out! It's Ghost Flame!" You Xiaoqian warned loudly.

As the flames swept toward them, You Xiaoqian and the others quickly dodged. However, the cunning Ghost Nightmare made the Ghost Flame turn, splitting into over a dozen flexible snakes that lunged straight for Jiang Nan.

"Dammit!" You Xiaoqian gritted her teeth. Her figure blurred as she used her soul locking chain to block several of the snakes.

But the other snakes were unstoppable; she could only tank them with her ghost body—the venom instantly corroded You Xiaoqian into a "green" ghost messenger.

"Other ghost messengers, retreat! This is a Tier 3 Ghost Nightmare clone. You Xiang, call headquarters for backup immediately; I can only hold out for a few more minutes." You Xiaoqian touched her new hairstyle, dropping her usual temper as her eyes filled with vigilance.

"Yes, Captain. Backup is three minutes away." You Xiang tapped on her Underworld Token, inputting the distress code.

Jiang Nan clutched her phone tightly and asked anxiously, "Miss ghost messenger, what exactly is this thing?"

Compared to her terror, You Xiang appeared exceptionally calm. "A Ghost Nightmare is a special existence, something between spiritual and physical—both ghost and demon. As long as its main body isn't harmed, it can quickly re-condense."

What You Xiang said was like gibberish to Jiang Nan, far too difficult to understand.

She didn't care about the details; she just desperately wanted an answer: "ghost messenger sister, I just want to know if you can beat it!"

You Xiang let out a soft huff. "If it were a real Ghost Nightmare, our souls would have dissipated long ago. This is just a clone; we can hold on for a few more minutes at most."

Jiang Nan, being a little genius at picking out the key point, immediately wailed in despair, "Soul dissipation!!!"

The veins on You Xiang's forehead throbbed. This pretty girl was indeed used to picking out the most alarming points.

"Don't worry! We're very close to headquarters, and backup will be here soon."

"What if the ghost messenger guy who comes can't beat it either?" Jiang Nan asked with teary eyes.

"If we can't beat it, then let's go down to the underworld together! You can come visit my house then!" You Xiang teased Jiang Nan on purpose.

Likely due to being in a state of high tension, Jiang Nan was frightened into fainting once again.

"Nan Nan... Nan Nan..." Du Wenqing shot You Xiang a cross look. She knew the mischievous ghost messenger lady was only joking, but she couldn't help but reproach her: "Stop scaring her, she's already terrified."

You Xiang scratched her ponytail awkwardly and explained, "Oh, I really didn't expect her to be so easily scared. Um, please, whatever you do, don't give me a bad review!"

Du Wenqing sighed helplessly and said, "We'll see how you perform. If you keep messing around like this, I'll definitely give you a bad review."

At that moment, You Xiaoqian was struck by the snake's tail and sent flying to the ground, but she scrambled back up with a roll.

"Damn it! You Xiang, you're scaring the clients again? That's the seventh time this month! Don't you know the customer comes first? A bad review will affect my per—" Before You Xiaoqian could finish, the Ghost Nightmare's flames came at her again.