The night-watcher walked down West Street and stopped before the shadow where Gao Ming was.
“Mao Shi Yi Gen. It’s dry. Be careful of fire.”
Yi Gen meant 19:00 to 21:00 in real life. Of course, that was not what caught Gao Ming’s attention. The night-watcher had discovered him. The sound of the gong tried to stun the soul out of his body. Resisting the discomfort, Gao Ming retreated backwards. Once he started to move, he realised the spot where he was earlier was covered in mud chips. As the gong continued to chime, more mud fell from his clothes.
“What are these?” Gao Ming used his fingers to rub them. He noticed they were mixed with rice glue. He noticed something and turned to the Tu Di Temple. The temple’s outer wall was built with rice glue and mud bricks. The mud chips on his body appeared to be related to the temple. As the mud fell, he felt lighter. The invisible pressure lifted. After the mud flaked off, Gao Ming realised the Tu Di God in the temple slowly lost his smile. His face blurred. The blessing ribbons around it became drenched in blood. Something wanted to crawl out of the thick layer of ash.
“The God in the temple had targeted me?! When did that happen?” Gao Ming’s heart pounded. His body radiated life. Normal ghosts wouldn’t dare approach him. However, he was the best sacrifice for divine ghosts, especially his burning heart.
The candles on the sacrificial tables on both sides of the Tu Di God figurine lit up. The light twisted the figurine’s face. Snakes crawled under West Street’s brick road. Poisonous bugs fluttered by. Gao Ming felt like the figurine had moved closer to him.
The gong chimed again.
“Mao Shi Yi Gen. It’s dry. Be careful of fire.” An elderly voice came out of the night-watcher. The candlelight in the Tu Di Temple weakened. A wisp of black smoke floated out.
Gao Ming felt something touch his face. It was the night-watcher’s flag. The night-watcher wanted him to leave.
“Is he a good person?” Gao Ming thought this village was filled with ghosts and monsters, but the night-watcher appeared to symbolise the only rule. He didn’t hesitate and hurried to follow the night-watcher.
The night-watcher shuffled out of West Street. His head, with one burning joss stick, turned to Gao Ming as if confused as to why Gao Ming was following him. Gao Ming had misunderstood the night-watcher. The night-watcher wanted to warn him of the danger and get him to hide in one of the houses. However, Gao Ming stuck close to him instead. Every few steps, the night-watcher would turn around to look at Gao Ming. The night-watcher had no face, but Gao Ming gleaned confusion from him.
Gao Ming didn’t know what he was in the night-watcher’s eyes. His current plan was to follow him and walk around the village to get to know the places of interest and see if he could run into Bai Feng.
Dream Break Town looked small from the outside, but when one was in it, one realised how complex it was. The roads were winding and intersecting. The buildings were squashed together irregularly. It was meant to make people lose their bearing. Gao Ming silently followed the night-watcher to the alley at the northeast corner.
As he entered the alley, Gao Ming was assaulted by a sudden chill. Even the lantern at the night-watcher’s waist dimmed. The joss stick in his head was about to get burnt out. The night-watcher’s body trembled. He could barely hold the gong.
“The night-watcher’s power probably comes from the joss stick in his head. When he fought the Tu Di God, the stick burned quicker.” Gao Ming had been observing the night-watcher. Normally, he should be able to finish his route around the village with his one joss stick, but he had exhausted some of it when he fought the Tu Di God at West Street.
The night-watcher stepped on the black mud and found his way to the end of the alley. He pushed open the normal-looking wooden door and almost fell to the ground. His body shook harder. He raised his hand to point at the main hall as if asking Gao Ming to enter first. This place was so creepy. Of course, Gao Ming wouldn’t want to walk into a trap. He didn’t even cross the threshold. He was ready to run.
The gong fell to the ground loudly. The night-watcher looked like he had difficulty even just standing. His finger was still pointed at the main hall.
Gao Ming gritted his teeth, crossed the door and entered the main hall. Yin energy swept over his body. The cold woke him up instantly. He looked around. There was a black sacrificial table in the hall. It had layers of ancestral plaques on it.
“The village’s ancestral hall is to the north. The night-watcher even led me past it earlier. So what is this place?”
There was a bowl of soil in front of the table. There was an unlit joss stick inside it. Gao Ming carried the collapsed night-watcher into the wall. Gao Ming realised that the night-watcher was extremely light despite his size.
The old night-watcher kowtowed at the plaques in spite of his weakness. With Gao Ming’s aid, he finally extended his head to the bowl. He used the nearly-extinguished joss stick in his head to light up the one in the bowl. Then, he led Gao Ming to bow at the plaques before he used both hands to pick up the new joss stick to replace the one in his head. The whole process was absurd. However, the old man appeared to have managed to extend his life. He stopped shaking. He slowly calmed down.
Words of worship came out of his chest. He knelt on the ground for a long time. After he got up, he slowly turned around to face Gao Ming.
“Do you want to be a night-watcher?” An aged voice came out of the old man’s chest and echoed in Gao Ming’s ears. “There were two night-watchers in town. I held the gong, and he carried the drumstick. We worked together as we patrolled the town. However, he was killed not too long ago. The weasel sacrificed his head to the River God, and his body was split by the villagers.”
Gao Ming didn’t answer. He believed good things didn’t happen for no reason. All the modifications in this town came with its own price.
“The night-watchers serve the villagers. We are a neutral party. Once you become a night-watcher, you can stay here without worry.” The elder offered kindly.
“How was your partner killed?”
“He got tired of the job. He didn’t extend the flame and lost his way.” The elder didn’t want to continue on this topic. After getting a new joss stick, his condition improved visibly. He took out a wooden box from under the table. “Your presence is as bright as the sun. You can’t even hide in the dark. The ghosts will eventually get you. Only by becoming a night-watcher would you have the chance to survive.”
Then, he opened the box. He took out a blade meant to carve one’s face and a scrapper meant to clean one’s bones. He lay down an old piece of cloth. The cloth’s original colour was obscured. It was stained by dried blood.
“Do you want to be a night-watcher?”