Samuel judged from the words of Old Ghost and the Ghost Lady clinging to him outside the door that the temple gate was keeping many ghosts out. These ghosts might not even know each other. If he could also turn into a ghost, maybe he could blend in among them.

　　Even if he couldn’t blend in, one of the abilities of the Rolling Head was speed, so after transforming, it should be easier for him to escape.

　　In that split second earlier, Samuel had made this decision.

　　He admitted there was an element of risk in this choice.

　　But he won the bet.

　　The dilapidated temple gate could block ghosts, but it couldn’t withstand a human’s pull.

　　Samuel yanked the door open, and at the same time, his blood splattered onto the Rolling Head coin. Immediately, he felt his vision darken.

　　Everything became a bit chaotic, yet there were many places of vivid color.

　　The temple’s crumbling courtyard walls and weathered gate now radiated a golden light from within the white, making him unable to look directly at them.

　　With the door pulled open, a gap appeared, and clusters of ghostly shadows surged through it, like a flood breaking through a collapsed dike.

　　He looked back—the courtyard returned to its normal size. A hanging ghost floated in the air, and at the wellhead, under the shade of trees, and other places, more ghostly figures crouched.

　　The strangest thing was the main hall.

　　By now, the mourning hall had vanished, and he could see the main hall again. Something inside was drawing him in, making him subconsciously want to enter and approach it.

　　He didn’t know exactly what was attracting him, only that it was on the offering table.

　　The statue of the Daoist Lord behind the offering table was gone, and the main hall floor was now littered with broken clay fragments.

　　Did the Daoist Ancestor… run away?

　　He wanted to study it carefully, but there was no time. Suddenly, a chorus of ghostly voices rang in his ears:

　　“Where’s the little Daoist?”

　　“Where did the living person go? Where is he! I’m so resentful, so full of hate!”

　　“Get out of my way, my money, my money, so much money!”

　　“The coin’s eye is here, I see it, I want to squeeze in, I want to squeeze in!”

　　Amid the noisy ghostly cries, a sudden roar: “That little Daoist secretly swallowed the coffin meant for the funeral—I saw it!”

　　As soon as the gate opened, the once tranquil temple was instantly flooded with yin energy and thrown into chaos.

　　The horde of ghosts swarmed into the temple, and Samuel felt himself being pushed backward, his whole body light as air.

　　He shouted once, then darted to the base of the wall, resisting the strange lure from the main hall, trying to slip along the wall and fly out.

　　But when he jumped up, the platinum light on the wall rose with him, always staying higher than his position, preventing him from climbing over.

　　By now, the ghosts had already crowded into the courtyard, so he changed tactics and slipped out through the gate, hugging the wall.

　　Time to get out of here.

　　Night became a blur in his eyes; he no longer needed to walk on the path and could drift wherever he pleased.

　　The bushes and woods now seemed like open roads to him. He quickly floated into the forest and suddenly saw a ball of fire.

　　This ball of fire gave him a brand new sensation:

　　Desire and fear!

　　He longed to obtain this fire, yet was terrified of its existence.

　　What was this fire?

　　A wave of confusion surged in his mind.

　　Logically, escaping was the priority now; he shouldn’t linger in such a dangerous place.

　　But no ghosts were chasing after him; all had entered the temple. So, after thinking it over, he slipped into the woods and quietly circled around from behind to approach the fire.

　　He hid behind a tree and carefully observed the fire.

　　At first glance, it looked like a human-shaped torch.

　　The flames blazed fiercely.

　　The human-shaped torch burned with three tongues of fire, like a trident.

　　Looking closer, he saw it was a person, with three flames burning atop his head and on both shoulders.

　　Looking even more closely, this person had a fat head, big ears, a barrel waist, and a pig-like rear—

　　Who else could it be but David Carter?!

Chapter 006: Explanation

　　From his earlier analysis, Samuel had thought this fat guy was a ghost.

　　But it turned out he was alive!

　　When enemies meet, blades are drawn!

　　Samuel knew that all the dangers he faced tonight were caused by David Carter.

　　He wanted to go out and settle the score, but the three flames burning on David Carter were so fierce, just like real fire, that as he got closer, he felt uncomfortably scorched.

　　So, with a thought, he shed the Rolling Head form and turned back into a human.

　　His vision changed.

　　The blazing flames disappeared.

　　A large, dark figure appeared under a willow tree.

　　It was midsummer, the forest lush and green, and the bright moonlight filtered through the leaves like shredded silver gauze, scattered across the ground.

　　Samuel stepped lightly onto the ground, slowly approaching David Carter.

　　The Four-Eyed Temple sat atop a mountain in the Yunqi range, surrounded by bushes and woods. No one usually cleared the dead grass and leaves, so the forest floor was damp and soft, making footsteps silent.

　　The wind was strong on the mountaintop, so most trees didn’t grow very tall.

　　David Carter was dozing against a low willow tree.

　　Samuel remained silent, standing across from David Carter, quietly watching him.

　　The wind blew on the mountain.

　　Clouds drifted in the sky.

　　Sometimes the clouds covered the moon, sometimes not at all.

　　So Samuel’s face was sometimes pale and cold as snow, sometimes deep and shadowy.