The cold wind was chilling, and I squatted on the ground, shivering after a while.

The bowl of half-cooked rice had already become stiff and cold, but no ghost came to taste it for a long time.

I tightened my collar and muttered to myself, "What's going on? Could it be that the half-cooked rice made by my mother doesn't suit the taste of these ghosts? Would it be better if I added some diced preserved meat?"

Lost in my thoughts, I suddenly glanced up and saw a black figure crouching in front of the bowl.

I was startled and instinctively tightened my grip on the Samadhi True Fire Talisman in my hand.

But soon, I relaxed. I came here tonight to summon ghosts, not to fight them. Now that there was finally a ghost appearing, did I really need to use the Samadhi True Fire Talisman to destroy it?

At first, the black figure was a vague mass of dark energy, but gradually, the darkness dispersed, revealing the true form of the ghost.

The ghost was wearing a training suit, which was patched up and looked ragged.

It surprised me that the first ghost I summoned turned out to be a veteran.

According to the elder generation, Ghost Cry Gully used to be a dangerous place for soldiers, where battles frequently occurred.

At that time, everyone was busy trying to save their lives, and no one cared about proper burials. So many people were buried haphazardly in Ghost Cry Gully, and it gradually became a cemetery of chaos.

The man squatted in front of the half-cooked rice, reached out, grabbed a handful, and sniffed it before shaking his head.

Anxious, I couldn't help but say, "Go ahead, it's just out of the pot. Why aren't you eating?"

The soldier looked up, and only then could I see his appearance. He had a square face, dark complexion, and a thick circle of black beard on his lips. He exuded a strong masculine aura. Judging from his appearance, he must have been a brave man in his lifetime.

The first words from the bearded soldier's mouth almost shocked me. He said, "How come there's no meat?"

I was at a loss for words. I said that there was no hunting this year, no harvest, and not much meat at home for the New Year.

The bearded soldier said, "You're clearly a novice. It's hard to attract ghosts without meat in the half-cooked rice. Well, it's New Year's, I won't be picky. Although there's no meat, the rice in your house smells good!"

As the bearded soldier spoke, he grabbed the half-cooked rice and stuffed it into his mouth, bite after bite.

Watching the half-cooked rice gradually disappear, I felt a sense of joy. The first ghost I summoned seemed promising, with a righteous spirit. By eating my half-cooked rice, it indicated that he was willing to negotiate with me. I hoped more "good ghosts" would come so that I could quickly complete the task of summoning five ghosts.

Stolen story; please report.

The bearded soldier suddenly exclaimed in excitement. It turned out that he had found the live chicken head buried in the half-cooked rice.

For ghosts, a live chicken head had a deadly allure. The bearded soldier revealed a greedy expression, happily holding the chicken head, about to take a bite.

But at that moment, another hand reached out from the side and snatched the chicken head away.

I focused my gaze and saw another ghost figure appear next to the bearded soldier. Judging from their attire, they were dressed the same way.

This one was bald, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and had a stern look on his square face.

The bald ghost snatched the chicken head and said to the bearded soldier, "Boss, you're really thoughtless. How can you eat chicken alone without calling your brothers?"

The bearded soldier became displeased. "Weren't you all going to Ms. Zhang's house for the Lunar New Year?"

I couldn't help but laugh when I heard this and interjected, "Excuse me, may I ask, both of you are also celebrating the Lunar New Year?"

The bald man said in a deep voice, "Why can't we celebrate the Lunar New Year? The reason why not many ghosts came to eat your half-cooked rice tonight is because most of them went to Ms. Zhang's house to celebrate the Lunar New Year!"

I nodded, realizing that I had come at the wrong time tonight, no wonder there weren't many ghosts appearing.

Curious, I asked the bald man, "Who is this Ms. Zhang?"

As soon as Ms. Zhang was mentioned, the bald man's face immediately lit up with joy. He said, "Ms. Zhang is the daughter of a wealthy family. Later, during the war, her family fled and ended up in Ghost Cry Gully, where they were betrayed by a servant. Ms. Zhang is rich and generous, so every New Year and festival, she would hold a grand banquet and invite people to her house as guests! Oh, Ms. Zhang is so beautiful..."

Smack!

A hand reached out in the air and slapped the bald man on the head.

A rough voice sounded from behind, "Baldy, don't think we don't know that you've always been covetingMs. Zhang's beauty!"

As the voice fell, another ghost figure appeared behind the bald man.

I looked and felt another sense of joy. Hey, the third ghost had arrived, and he was a soldier too.

This person was tall and powerful, but his appearance was rough, giving off a fierce vibe, like the ox-headed and horse-faced guards in the underworld.

The bald man rubbed his head and smiled embarrassedly, "Go away, stop picking on me. Why don't you tell us, why did you go to Ms. Zhang's house? Weren't you also there to catch a glimpse of Ms. Zhang's beauty?"

The horse-faced ghost crossed his arms and said with a serious expression, "Nonsense, I was worried that someone would cause trouble at the banquet, so I went to protect Ms. Zhang!"

It was clear that even the horse-faced ghost was infatuated with Ms. Zhang, but he insisted on finding a noble reason, which made me couldn't help but laugh.

I wondered how beautiful Ms. Zhang must be. If I had the chance, I would like to see her and understand why she could captivate these heroic men.

"We finally found you guys. Why did you leave early without telling us?"

Two ghost figures emerged from the chilly wind, dressed similarly. The one on the left was small and thin, while the one on the right was a whole head taller than him.

The horse-faced ghost said to the two soldiers who arrived later, "I saw you two enjoying your drinks so much, so I didn't bother you!"

The smaller one said, "What's so enjoyable? We were just busy drinking and didn't even eat any food. Our stomachs are growling, and when we smelled the aroma of rice, we realized you guys were here!"

Saying that, the smaller one didn't hesitate and squatted directly in front of the bowl, grabbing handfuls of half-cooked rice and stuffing them into his mouth, praising as he ate, "Mmm, it tastes good, delicious!"

Taking advantage of the bald man's inattention, the bearded soldier snatched the chicken head back and started devouring it.

The bald man stomped his foot in anger, "You're the oldest among us, how can you lack the demeanor of an elder?"

The bearded soldier hummed, "Don't bring age into this, I'm only three years older than you!"

The bald man said, "One day older, one hour older, you're still older. Can't you be more generous?"