Chapter Nine: The Gate of Ancestral Spirits

"This! It's a Sun-Swallowing Ghost Bat!" Tong Jin practically shouted these words.

The Ghost Doctor nodded with satisfaction. "Correct. It seems you have indeed studied that secret manual carefully to be able to identify the Sun-Swallowing Ghost Bat at a single glance!"

The book provided a fairly detailed description of the Sun-Swallowing Ghost Bat, vividly depicting its physical characteristics, which allowed Tong Jin to recognize this venomous creature instantly.

"I never imagined a real Sun-Swallowing Ghost Bat would be so revolting," Tong Jin muttered, frowning as he suppressed a wave of nausea.

Compared to an ordinary bat, this Sun-Swallowing Ghost Bat appeared much darker and glossier, as if its skin had been coated in oil. Amidst this blackness, however, were tiny, bright red spots. Its wings were relatively small, but its head was disproportionately large, featuring a pair of blood-red eyes that blinked above a gaping mouth filled with bared fangs.

Beyond its appearance, what made it truly unbearable was the pungent, sulfurous odor it emitted.

Tong Jin recalled the description in the "Secret Manual of Insect Rearing": the Sun-Swallowing Ghost Bat was highly venomous. A single one was not particularly frightening, but they always appeared in swarms of tens of thousands. When one moved, they all moved, blotting out the sun like a dark cloud, which was how they earned their name. One could easily imagine that anyone encountering such a massive swarm of lethal bats would flee in terror.

For the rest of the time, the Ghost Doctor introduced every venomous insect in the stone boxes, leaving none out. Tong Jin committed each one to memory, understanding that these seemingly disgusting, lethal creatures were his only means of survival.

...

Deep in the night in Tai'an City, inside a secluded two-story residence.

Amidst the flickering candlelight and the curling smoke of fragrant tea, the heavy wooden tea table exuded an air of wealth and grandeur, yet the person drinking the tea felt entirely out of place. His face was iron-blue, as cold as the surface of a lake in the dead of winter.

Opposite him, a gaunt man knelt halfway. The man was so ordinary in appearance and dress that he could be lost in a crowd in an instant.

"Pavilion Master, Yin Sha has failed," the thin man said.

"Clack." The cold-faced man gently set down his purple clay teacup. "Useless." He uttered a sharp reprimand, the candlelight casting a harsh, sinister glow upon his iron-blue face.

"Subordinate..." the thin man hesitated.

"Speak your mind," the man addressed as Pavilion Master commanded with a cold snort.

"Yes. I discovered a secret chamber beneath the ruins of the Tong family estate, but my incompetence prevented me from proceeding; the mechanisms guarding the chamber are far too formidable."

"Oh?" The cold-faced man froze, his hand mid-air as he poured more tea. "Let's go. Take me there!"

In the cold, clear night, under the bright moonlight, the cold-faced man followed the thin man into the ruins of the Tong estate. After traveling another half-mile, the two came to a halt. "Pavilion Master, this is the place," the thin man said respectfully.

"Open it," the cold-faced man ordered.

As the thin man pushed aside the broken, collapsed stone slabs, an ancient stone gate was revealed. Under the moonlight, the gate emitted a ghastly, pale luster. The gate opened downward, clearly leading to an underground passage. Flanking the gate were two broken, thick stone pillars carved with intricate patterns.

"This is..." The cold-faced man appeared before the gate in a flash, his hands tracing the faint, cryptic lines etched into the stone. "This is actually the Ancestral Spirit Gate."

The cold-faced man did not attempt to force the gate open. Brows furrowed, he suddenly turned to the thin man and asked, "Who is left of the Tong family?"

The thin man was taken aback but answered honestly, "According to the intelligence I have received, the only person not executed was the grandson of the Tong family patriarch. However, he fell into the hands of Yin Sha, and it is unknown whether he is dead or alive."

"Send my orders at once! Have Yin Sha bring him here immediately!" A rare ripple of emotion crossed the cold-faced man's features. Upon seeing the Ancestral Spirit Gate, he knew the situation was dire. This gate was a peerless inheritance; only a handful of colossal families still possessed such secret arts. He had never expected such a small family as the Tongs to be able to manifest such a gate. This stone gate was forged and condensed by the ancestors of the family, and only items vital to the family's survival would be hidden behind it. The only way to open it was through the secret methods known only to those with the family's pure bloodline.

It was not that the cold-faced man lacked the strength to break the gate by force; it was rumored that if the gate were destroyed by force, the items hidden behind it would vanish without a trace, as if sent to another dimension, leaving nothing behind. He did not want to take that risk; the contents were too important.

The night grew deeper, the moon bright and the stars sparse. The entire earth was draped in silver light.

"Yawn..." Having followed the Ghost Doctor and listened to every explanation for every insect in the stone boxes, Tong Jin's eyelids were fighting a losing battle.

The Ghost Doctor, conversely, grew more spirited. "Boy, inside this last box is the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ant."

At these words, Tong Jin felt a jolt of energy, his sleepiness vanishing instantly.

This final box, which housed the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ant, was embedded into the wall of the grotto. Tong Jin clicked his tongue, the image of the poison ant he had envisioned earlier reappearing in his mind, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"Click." As the heavy bronze door opened and a buzzing sound filled the air, Tong Jin paused in confusion. "Where are the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ants?"

The Ghost Doctor was clearly bewildered by the question. Before he could even think, Tong Jin’s jaw practically hit the floor. "Old ghost, don't tell me these little gnats are the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ants?"

The Ghost Doctor cast a look of disdain at Tong Jin. "Is this how you treat your benefactor?"

Realizing his gaffe, Tong Jin chuckled sheepishly. "I just thought the Corpse-Sinking Poison Ants would be more terrifying."

The Ghost Doctor rolled his eyes. "You really don't know quality when you see it. These ants rank ninth among all strange insects; naturally, they have their terrifying aspects. It's just that these are currently immature larvae."

"Oh? Then what do they look like as adults?" Tong Jin asked curiously.

The Ghost Doctor replied, "You only half-understand what you read. If you had finished the later volumes, you wouldn't be asking such childish questions."

Tong Jin grumbled a few words of protest but kept his silence.

Just as Tong Jin leaned in closer to take a better look at the ants, a sudden "whoosh" cut through the air. Before he could react, he felt a sharp pain in his arm. It was the largest ant of the lot, biting down fiercely into a piece of flesh on his fair arm.

The Ghost Doctor was caught off guard as well. By the time his brain caught up with the situation, he rushed toward a stone table covered in bottles and jars.

Tong Jin felt like crying. "How much of a grudge could they possibly hold against me?" he thought.