Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 73 Don't be afraid, I'll take you out for a late-night snack.

Chen Anran had a terrible headache.

His originally timid third senior sister instantly became a reckless daring person after acquiring a set of magical artifacts, and her methods were truly unconventional.

I just hope she doesn't cause any major trouble.

"Is she a Sealing Immortal Master? Can she come and help?" Zhao Qiming asked anxiously, as if grasping at another lifeline.

"She's busy with other things and can't come right away," Chen Anran explained, regaining her composure. "But don't worry, Chairman Zhao, I can handle things in Lincheng."

Looking at Chen Anran's youthful yet composed profile, Zhao Qiming felt a sense of calm inexplicably.

"I'm entrusting everything to Master Chen!"

The car sped along, and finally arrived at the outskirts of Lincheng after more than three hours.

By this time, it was completely dark, and the car came to a steady stop at the entrance of the abandoned mental hospital.

The area was cordoned off, and the seals that had been affixed to the rusty iron gate had been torn off. The gate was wide open and crooked, and weeds had grown wildly inside, almost completely obscuring the path.

At this moment, seven or eight muscular men in black suits stood solemnly in front of the gate. They held powerful flashlights and looked vigilant. The one in the lead was Wang Anxi, whom Chen Anran had dealt with before.

As soon as Zhao Qiming's car stopped, Wang Anxi immediately ran forward, opened the car door himself, and his face was full of anxiety.

"Chairman Zhao! You've finally arrived!" His voice was urgent, and when his gaze fell on Chen Anran, who was following closely behind, his eyes instantly blazed with intense hope, even more so than when he saw Zhao Qiming. He bowed deeply, his tone filled with indescribable reverence: "Master Chen, you've come too! That's wonderful! Miss is saved now!"

Zhao Qiming, preoccupied with his daughter, simply nodded absentmindedly and grabbed Wang Anxi's arm, asking, "How's the situation inside? Any new information?"

Wang Anxi shook his head gravely: "No, the signal is completely cut off. Our people tried to get close to the main building, but as soon as they went in, they felt dizzy and their flashlights couldn't shine very far. The walkie-talkies were full of static, so they couldn't go any deeper. They could only keep watch on the outside." As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily glanced at the dark hospital gate, his expression clearly showing fear.

Chen Anran didn't say anything. As soon as he got out of the car, his gaze fell on the abandoned mental hospital in front of him.

In his spiritual perception, the hospital was shrouded in a dense layer of yin energy invisible to ordinary people, with wisps of bloody resentment mixed in with the gray-black color, like a giant cocoon that was constantly writhing.

"Master Chen, look..." Zhao Qiming stood beside Chen Anran, looking very anxious.

Wang Anxi quickly added, "Master Chen, please let me know if you need any tools or manpower! The people I brought are all skilled, and I've also prepared things like black dog blood and glutinous rice."

Chen Anran raised his hand and gestured for Zhao Qiming and Wang Anxi to calm down.

After a moment, Chen Anran instructed, "All of you stay outside and guard the area. Do not go in without my permission, and do not let anyone near." She paused slightly, then turned to Zhao Qiming and added, "Chairman Zhao, you stay outside too. Trust me, I will bring Miss Zhao out safely."

Although Zhao Qiming desperately wanted to go in, he knew he would be a burden.

Chen Anran said no more, asked for a flashlight, and stepped through the iron gate.

Watching Chen Anran's retreating figure, Wang Anxi couldn't help but whisper to Zhao Qiming, "Chairman Zhao, with Master Chen's help, Miss will surely be unharmed!"

…………

On the third floor of the main building of the mental hospital, large areas of the plaster on both sides of the walls have peeled off, revealing the gray-black bricks underneath, which are covered with various graffiti of unknown meaning and dried stains that look like bloodstains.

Abandoned trolleys, broken hospital beds, shattered glass bottles... all sorts of miscellaneous items were piled up haphazardly on both sides of the corridor.

At the end of the corridor was a ward marked "304".

The door was blocked from the inside by a heavy iron cabinet, and tattered strips of cloth were stuffed under the door.

The room was small, and the windows were boarded up, with only a few pale rays of moonlight filtering through the gaps in the boards.

Five or six young people huddled in a corner of the room, their faces pale, their eyes filled with terror, and their bodies trembling uncontrollably. They huddled together, as if only in this way could they draw a tiny bit of security. Scattered on the floor were their backpacks, empty water bottles, and some snack wrappers.

Zhao Mengmeng leaned against the wall, her hands tightly clutching the jade pendant emitting a soft blue light in front of her chest; it was her only support at that moment.

The phone was fixed to the ground in front of her on a stand, the cold light from the screen illuminating her face, which was filled with terror yet still undeniably beautiful. She was about eighteen or nineteen years old, with chestnut curly hair, and her face still held a hint of childishness, but her features had already matured and were quite delicate. At this moment, because of fear, her once bright eyes were wide open, and long, curled eyelashes still held wet tears.

Zhao Mengmeng was dressed fashionably in a cropped black tank top that exposed her midriff, paired with distressed light blue high-waisted denim shorts with frayed hems, revealing a pair of straight, slender, and fair legs that were striking even in dim lighting.

"Why would there really be such strange things?" Zhao Mengmeng hugged her legs with both hands and buried her face in her knees. As a member of the new generation, Zhao Mengmeng had never thought that there could really be strange things in this world.

Just then, several boys started arguing.

"It's all your fault, Zhang Hao!" A boy with dyed yellow hair and wearing a skull T-shirt suddenly stood up and yelled at another boy wearing glasses, "If you hadn't insisted on coming here, we wouldn't have been stuck in this godforsaken place for two days! No cell phone signal, and we can't get out!"

The bespectacled man, Zhang Hao, whose face had been pale, instantly flushed red. He adjusted his crooked glasses and retorted defiantly, "Wang Rui, you're talking nonsense! Who was the first to clamor to come here when they heard there was something 'exciting' about it? The plan was made by everyone, and now that things have gone wrong, you're blaming me for it? If you hadn't touched that overturned IV stand and alerted... alerted those things, we might have found a way out already!"

"I touched it randomly?" Wang Rui was so angry that veins bulged on his forehead. He took a step forward, almost touching Zhang Hao's face. "That broken frame fell down by itself! Why don't you say that Li Ming was just being nosy and had to tear off that talisman in the corridor!"

The tall, thin boy, Li Ming, whose name was called, suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "Enough! What time is it and you're still arguing! That talisman is tattered and torn, who knows if it's suppressing something... We're all in this together now, what's the point of arguing?!"

"Useless? Then what do you suggest we do?!" Wang Rui suddenly turned to Li Ming, spitting almost onto his face. "We're almost out of food and water! We don't even know how long Mengmeng's jade pendant will last! Are we just going to sit here and wait to die?!"

"That's still better than you running around like a headless fly!" Zhang Hao shoved Wang Rui, his voice sharp with excitement. "Last time, you insisted on running back, and we ended up back at this shabby hospital ward! What a waste of energy!"

Wang Rui was pushed and staggered, his anger completely ignited. He roared, "You fucking dare to lay a hand on me!" As he spoke, he grabbed Zhang Hao by the collar, and the two of them instantly started wrestling, knocking over an empty mineral water bottle next to them, making a screeching sound as it rolled.

"Stop fighting! Please stop fighting!" a girl in a dress cried out, trying to break up the fight, but was pushed away by arms waving in the chaos.

Zhao Mengmeng suddenly raised her head, "Stop! Wang Rui! Zhang Hao! Stop it now!"

Before the actual paranormal events occurred, the three boys were cheerful, outgoing, bold, and meticulous. Wang Rui, in particular, was the core figure of their group, confident yet with a touch of roguish charm, making him very popular with the girls.

Zhao Mengmeng initially had some affection for him, but seeing Wang Rui's ugly behavior under the pressure of life and death made her feel nauseous.

"Fight! Fight! What's the use of fighting!" She pointed at Wang Rui and Zhang Hao, tears finally streaming down her face. "Now we can only rely on this jade and wait for the expert my dad brought to save us! If we keep making a mess of things, we'll be finished before any of those ghostly things outside even get in!"

Wang Rui, panting heavily, looked at Zhao Mengmeng's tear-streaked face, then glanced at the jade pendant radiating a mysterious aura. Finally, he reluctantly loosened his clenched fist, muttered a curse, and slid down against the wall. Zhang Hao also silently straightened his disheveled collar, his face ashen.

A heavy silence enveloped the small ward once again, with only the heavy breathing of a few people and the faint sound of the wind coming from outside the window.

I don't know how much time passed, but suddenly a series of footsteps came from the corridor outside the room.

The young people in the ward froze instantly, as if under a spell. Wang Rui and Zhang Hao forgot their past grievances, their eyes wide with terror as they stared intently at the door blocked by the cabinet. Li Ming instinctively shrank back, his breathing becoming heavy. The girl in the dress covered her mouth to prevent herself from screaming.

Zhao Mengmeng's heart nearly leaped out of her chest. She grabbed her phone, but the screen remained black; there was no signal. She clutched the Soul-Soothing Jade to her chest, the warmth emanating from its surface offering her only solace.

Soon, the footsteps stopped outside the door of room 304.

The air seemed to freeze. Everyone held their breath; even the sound of swallowing sounded particularly jarring.

"Thump, thump".

Two soft knocks landed on the door, not loud, but they made the person inside tremble.

Then, a young male voice came through the crack in the door.

"Is Zhao Mengmeng here? Mr. Zhao Qiming asked me to take you out."

Upon hearing the voice, Zhao Mengmeng was so excited that she almost cried. She struggled to stand up, but Li Ming next to her grabbed her arm.

"Mengmeng! Don't panic! What if it's... what if it's a ghost lying to us?" Li Ming lowered his voice, his face filled with fear and doubt. "Isn't that how it's always portrayed in the movies?"

Wang Rui also realized what was happening and, trying to remain calm, shouted towards the door, "How can you prove you're a person? Were you invited by Uncle Zhao?"

There was a moment of silence outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, a deafening explosion rang out!

"boom--!!"

The already rotten wooden door, blocked by the iron cabinet, along with the heavy iron cabinet behind it, shattered instantly, as if it had been hit head-on by an out-of-control truck! Wood chips mixed with rusted metal fragments shot inward like a torrential rain!

Wang Rui and Zhang Hao, who were blocking the door, were the first to be thrown out by an irresistible force, and fell into the pile of debris with screams.

Amidst the dust and flying debris, a figure stepped through the mess and entered ward 304.

As the dust settled at the entrance, the outline of a person came into view. It was a young man who looked no older than them, dressed in simple casual clothes, with a tall and straight figure, his face somewhat blurred in the dim light.

Chen Anran held a flashlight in one hand and put the other in his pocket. He twisted his ankle, as if the earth-shattering kick he had just delivered was nothing more than a casual gesture.

Chen Anran saw the phone stand and the Soul-Soothing Jade on Zhao Mengmeng's chest.

"Let's go, if we go out early we can grab a late-night snack."

The ward was deathly silent.

Wang Rui and Zhang Hao lay sprawled in the pile of debris, oblivious to their pain, staring blankly at the young man at the doorway, hands in his pockets, expression indifferent. Li Ming and the girl in the dress huddled together, trembling with fear.

Zhao Mengmeng was also stunned. She looked at Chen Anran, and for a moment she was in a daze.

"Can you still walk?" Chen Anran asked Zhao Mengmeng.

"I can walk!" Zhao Mengmeng suddenly came to her senses and nodded hurriedly. She struggled to stand up, but her legs were a little weak because she had been in one position for a long time and was frightened.

Chen Anran stepped forward and reached out to help her up.

"Stay close to me." Chen Anran let go of his hand and turned to walk out the door.

Zhao Mengmeng quickly followed. Seeing this, the others didn't dare to linger any longer. They scrambled to their feet and followed closely behind Zhao Mengmeng, afraid of falling behind.

In the corridor, Chen Anran strolled leisurely, even joking with the others, "Don't do these kinds of haunted house adventure live streams anymore, they're very dangerous."

His words broke the tension that was on the verge of collapse, but also left the young people somewhat bewildered.

Zhao Mengmeng paused for a moment before saying, "We just thought it was exciting, we didn't expect..."

Chen Anran interrupted with a laugh, "I didn't expect these things to actually exist in this world?"

Zhao Mengmeng and the others burst into laughter.

Looking at Chen Anran's profile, Zhao Mengmeng couldn't help but ask, "Are you the 'Master Chen' my father invited?"

"My name is Chen Anran. I wouldn't call myself a Celestial Master, but I do have some experience in handling these kinds of matters." Then, Chen Anran joked, "What, do I look too young?"

"No, no," Zhao Mengmeng quickly shook her head, her chestnut curly hair swaying gently with the movement. Her eyes sparkled with a curiosity born of relief. "You seem like... um... an exceptionally capable senior."

Chen Anran chuckled upon hearing this, "I heard from your father that you returned from studying abroad, but you don't look like you've graduated from university yet."

Zhao Mengmeng pursed her lips a little shyly, "I finished my credits ahead of schedule, so I can be considered to have skipped a grade and graduated..."

Listening to the two chatting idly, the others who were following them began to feel increasingly frustrated.

Big brother and big sister, we haven't gone out yet!