"Ah, things are getting interesting..."
The people nearby held their breath, not daring to speak loudly.
Some even started to regret underestimating this taciturn man earlier, speaking to him discourteously, and now felt a bit remorseful.
Yet, this taciturn man still had a foolish look, doing whatever he was told, and casually took the knife handed to him.
No one knew if it was just an illusion, but when he took the knife, the people around felt the wind seem more chaotic, with faint sounds of ghostly wails around them.
Only this man appeared unaffected. He merely weighed the broken knife in his hand a little and looked at it closely. It was just a broken knife, black and unremarkable, except for some thick, dark red substance on the blade.
He seemed a bit dissatisfied, saying, "I don't know what city folk are thinking. This thing is unwieldy, not even as useful as a chopper..."
"Uh, don't talk to me. I'm not your master, and I won't be beheading anyone..."
Who... who is he talking to? the Martial Artists nearby wondered as they listened, a chill running down their spines.
This man probably isn't all there, actually believing this knife is talking to him? Or perhaps, it really did speak, but others just couldn't hear it?
"Old Brother Wang, please..."
Even Young Master Lu seemed to feel a profound dread towards this man, unconsciously changing the way he addressed him.
He took a step back, gave this man a slight bow, and spoke in a low voice.
The taciturn man, holding the knife, said to Young Master Lu, "Master, you'll give me Silver when the task is done, right?"
A slight chill touched Young Master Lu's heart as he said in a stern voice, "Of course, not one tael less."
"Thank you, Master. Thank you, Master."
The taciturn man nodded repeatedly. "If the wealthy people where I'm from were as particular as you, Master, I wouldn't have had to flee..."
As he spoke, he lifted the knife and started walking towards the Ancestral Hall ahead, seemingly needing no preparation at all.
Young Master Lu reacted quickly.
Not daring to call him back, he simply waved quickly at Old Monkey, signaling him to bring the donkey cart, and together with the others, hurriedly followed behind this taciturn man.
Sure enough, as they walked forward a bit, a sudden gust of yin qi-laden wind whipped up out of nowhere on the flat ground.
Everyone instantly felt an icy chill permeate their bodies, a creepy sensation crawling over them. They felt as if countless hands were grabbing at them, and countless eerie, pale faces flashed before their eyes. Some even felt a biting pain in certain parts of their bodies.
If they were to undo their clothes, they would discover many bruises of unknown origin.
Each one bloomed on their skin, forming the shapes of handprints or teeth marks.
Yet, as the simple-looking taciturn man strode on ahead with the knife, a strange, intense, and baleful aura suddenly wrapped around his body.
As this ghost qi rushed at him, his eyes inexplicably turned red, as if he had returned to a certain night when he wielded a chopper, running towards the village chief's house.
That night, he first killed his own wife, who had been unfaithful, and then his dying child, for whom there was no medicine.
Then, under the cover of night, he broke into the village chief's house and unleashed a bloody massacre; not a single neighbor dared to intervene.
He slaughtered the entire family so completely that no vindictive souls returned home on the seventh day after their deaths.
He killed so thoroughly that the cats and dogs in the village whined and hid in their dens, and the evil spirits outside the village, smelling the blood, dared not enter.
He had only killed people; he was unaware of any changes in himself.
But those from the Execution Soul Path could see it, as could the knife in his hand that once belonged to an executioner.
The unappeased wandering ghosts in the Ma Family's Ancestral Hall, who lacked sacrificial rites, could also see it.
Thus, as soon as he arrived, these wandering ghosts suddenly transformed into a gust of yin qi-laden wind and rushed at him. This included those behind him, like Young Master Lu, Old Monkey, and Hu Ma, causing everyone to squeeze their eyes shut, daring not to open them.
It felt as if gust after gust of yin qi-laden wind howled against their faces, threatening to dry up the vitality within their bodies and freeze their very blood.
But as the taciturn man's eyes turned red, the surrounding wind seemed to recoil in shock.
Faintly, seven or eight shadows appeared around him, swirling about his body, roaring and roaming, baring claws and fangs, their fierce nature fully revealed.
The dark figures in front of the Ancestral Hall momentarily reacted like hornets from a disturbed nest, lunging forward ferociously and chaotically, then buzzing as they retreated.
Some of the ghastly, pallid, and stiff faces showed a long-unseen terror; others, intimidated by this ferocious aura, knelt dumbly on the ground.
Similarly, some had already lost all sense of discernment and rushed forward in a mindless horde, like a tide of yin qi-laden wind.
This fierce taciturn man, however, seemed entirely devoid of fear. Surrounded by the swirling Evil Ghosts, he actually let out a rare, low chuckle.
He swung the broken knife in his hand chaotically, but each swing stirred up waves of cold, sinister aura, clashing with the mass of Evil Ghosts.
It was as if a massive vortex had formed around him, drawing in all the surrounding evil, which paradoxically gave the others a reprieve.
Hu Ma and the others saw their chance and quickly rushed forward.
Seizing the moment when the endless Evil Ghosts were held back by the taciturn man, they dashed, shaken but unharmed, into the gate of the Ancestral Hall without looking back.
This was a small courtyard, nestled among pine and cypress trees, with an outer wall of waist-high stones circling it. Inside was an overgrown yard.
The Ancestral Hall itself was a large stone building with a decaying wooden door left ajar and some spider-webbed eaves; it looked as if no one had set foot in it for ages.
"Finally, we're in..."
Once Young Master Lu entered the courtyard, he immediately turned around, positioning himself to block the entrance to the Ancestral Hall's small courtyard.
Outside, the taciturn, fierce man was entangled with the ancestors of the Ma Family, locked in a desperate struggle. Vaguely, it looked as if the evil entities in the Ma Family Ancestral Hall had the upper hand due to their sheer numbers. But he had no intention of helping that man now; he would leave him outside to his fate... He shut the door—though "door" was a generous term for the rotten wooden fence.
"Quick, give them to me!" he barked, standing before the gate. He rapidly made gestures as if casting a curse upon the wooden fence, simultaneously calling in a low voice over his shoulder.
Old Monkey promptly handed two paper men to him. He placed the paper men on either side of the gate and swiftly pulled out a pen to dot their eyes.
The very moment he drew the eyes, the paper men stiffly turned halfway, gazing out of the yard, seemingly guarding the entrance.
At this point, Old Monkey also handed over the white lantern.
The lantern was still lit. The number of moths inside had diminished by seven or eight due to the soul-calling ritual on the road, but a dozen or so still remained, fluttering within.
He then hung this white lantern behind the paper men and poked a hole in it. The moths immediately flew out.
Yet, they didn't fly away, just hovered restlessly above and around the lantern.
The surrounding people watched him perform these actions, no one daring to disturb him.
Only after he had hung up the lantern did he seem to exhale a sigh of relief. He turned to face the half-open wooden door of the Ancestral Hall.
His face twisted into a sinister smile. "Finally, it's time for the real show."
"Gentlemen, my Junior Sister is in there. Practitioners of the Path of Punishment Soul lack combat skills; she's far inferior to you. I spent a great deal of Silver to hire you. I need you to go in and restrain her, to prevent anyone from interrupting me while I retrieve the treasure."
Whether it was the man who wielded the Flying blade or the few Martial Artists from the jianghu, everyone looked troubled.
They had all been hired with a substantial sum of Silver by this employer. However, from the moment they started climbing the mountain until now, they'd had no real opportunity to be of service. Only the one with the Flying blade had a chance to be useful, but he proved incapable. Not only did he fail to help, but he also embarrassed himself greatly.
Now, at this crucial moment, everyone naturally wanted to make an effort, lest the employer be ungenerous with their payment later.
But having witnessed so much of the strange methods of those on the Path of Punishment Soul along the way, their hearts were already pounding with anxiety. How could they possibly feel confident?
"Better be careful," Old Monkey said. "Master, don't be stingy. At such a critical moment, give us a few soul-protection talismans."
Young Master Lu frowned slightly but still reached into his robes and pulled out a few pieces of paper marked with strange symbols. He whispered, "Up here, the most she can do is call souls. Paste this yellow paper on, and you won't need to fear her."
He distributed these pieces of yellow paper one by one.
Old Monkey didn't hesitate. He dabbed some saliva on a paper and stuck it to his own face.
It was a perfect palm-sized piece, enough to cover his large face.
The other two sallow-faced men followed suit, pasting the papers on their faces. Seeing them do so, the man wielding the Flying blade and the other jianghu men hesitated for a moment. However, they had been thoroughly frightened along the way and had no time for further thought, so they too stuck the papers on their faces.
When it was Hu Ma's turn, he was already prepared. He also accepted one, but as he looked at the yellow paper, his heart gave an inexplicable little jump...
Yellow paper pasted on the face...
He suddenly thought of that job he had taken: to investigate the cause of death of the wealthy merchants of the Shen Family, who were loyal to the Red Lantern Lady.
That entire family had been tragically killed overnight. Each of the deceased had a piece of yellow paper pasted on their face, eerily similar to this one...
This is also within the Green Clothes Gang's sphere of activity... This person seems to have connections with the Green Clothes Gang as well...
It can't be such a coincidence...
As Hu Ma took the yellow paper, his hesitation evident, Young Master Lu looked over and said, "Brother Zhou, what are you hesitating for?"
"Don't you trust me?"
With that, all eyes around them turned towards Hu Ma.
Hu Ma paused for a moment, then smiled. "It's nothing. We've come this far; surely we're not going to back out now?"
Saying this, he also pasted the yellow paper on his face. He didn't even need saliva; his face was already sweaty, so the paper stuck easily.
Next to him, Old Monkey, who also had yellow paper pasted on his face, exchanged a subtle glance with Young Master Lu. A faint, knowing smile touched the corners of their eyes.
Only when they saw Hu Ma also paste the yellow paper on his face did the attention of those around shift away.
When everyone working together had applied the paper, it would have created a rather awkward atmosphere if one person refused.
Moreover, having come this far through such peril, this was the moment of truth. No one dared to be careless. They all turned around, drew their weapons, and kept a close watch on that half-open door, cautiously approaching it step by step.
As they neared the wooden door, they increasingly felt an eerie chill, seemingly emanating from within. However, when the chill neared the yellow paper on their faces, it was blocked.
This yellow paper was indeed effective!