Incense Ash Scattered

The night was somewhat cold.

Wind slipped in through a hole in the window. Outside came a rustling, strange sound, yet it carried an eerie silence.

Inside the room, amid darkness so black one could not see one's own hand.

Yang An lay facedown on the bed, hiding his whole body beneath the thin blanket.

His hand slowly reached out, making every effort not to make a sound. It then touched a soft lump beneath the pillow, and only then did he feel slightly more at ease.

Beneath the pillow was a fist-sized piece of red cloth, wrapped around a small pinch of incense ash that still carried a faint scent of pine.

Over the past few days, quite a few commoners in town had been spreading word of this method. It was said to ward off the demons and monsters that had often appeared at night lately.

All one had to do was burn incense at White Buddha Temple north of town, pray for a pinch of incense ash, bring it home, wrap it in red cloth, and place it beneath the pillow.

Even if a demon entered the house, it would keep one safe and hidden from its notice.

But obtaining even such a tiny pinch of incense ash was no easy matter.

The monks of White Buddha Temple had raised their prices on the spot. The incense offering alone started at thirty copper coins, and that only bought a thumb-sized bit of ash.

It had made Yang An's heart ache terribly.

He had only crossed over into this world not long ago. The former owner of this body had already been poor to begin with. Though not quite destitute, he had barely managed to keep himself fed and clothed. Thirty copper coins were no small sum to him.

But compared to his own life, money was ultimately only something outside the body. He did not want to kick the bucket just days after arriving in this world, so he had no choice but to obediently pay up.

He could only hope the incense ash truly worked as the townspeople claimed.

When Yang An had first arrived in this world, he had deeply doubted the tales of demons and monsters, believing they might merely be rumors fabricated by people.

But as the days passed and he gradually absorbed the former owner's memories, he finally understood just how terrifying this world was.

Ahead lay a dynasty collapsing into pieces, war raging everywhere, and people left unable to live.

Behind came demons and monsters wreaking havoc across the land, emerging one after another to choose people and devour them.

The impoverished common folk, already drowning in misery, suffered still more under years of unending disaster.

In such an age, even in tiny Jiu Nan Town, tucked away far from the flames of war, thick shadows of despair hung over everyone's faces.

More recently, rumors had spread that a man-eating demon had appeared in Jiu Nan Town. Then, after one night ten days ago, several corpses with exceptionally gruesome deaths had inexplicably appeared in town.

One of the dead had lived less than a hundred paces from Yang An's house.

Yang An had gone to take a look with the others and had nearly vomited on the spot. He had been unable to eat for two days afterward.

Over the following days, he would occasionally hear rumors in the streets that another household had vanished, or that so-and-so was gone. But Yang An never went to join the commotion again.

Looking at the situation, anyone could tell that demons were causing trouble. It could not be fake.

In such a chaotic age, one might find peace for a moment, but never for a lifetime. Even Jiu Nan Town had demons now; there was no need to mention other places. There was nowhere to run.

For this reason, the wealthy merchants in town had spent great sums to hire monks from White Buddha Temple to guard their doors and courtyards.

The penniless commoners could only seek other ways to survive. In the end, they still turned their eyes toward White Buddha Temple, exchanging money for a little incense ash in hopes of gaining temporary protection.

Yang An had no choice either. He could only follow the crowd and buy some incense ash, while praying that whatever demon it was would never come looking for him.

After struggling through a mediocre life in his previous world, Heaven had finally given him another chance.

He truly did not want to waste this hard-won second life so quickly.

Still, the existence of demons in this world reminded Yang An of something from the former owner's memories.

It was a fragment of a scripture passed down by his ancestors. According to his father, it recorded an immortal art and was buried in the earth beneath the water vat.

But before his father died, he had warned him never to take it out unless he stood at the brink of life and death. Otherwise, disaster would befall him.

The former owner had always believed his father's final words without question, and had never once grown curious about it.

Now that Yang An was here, he was different.

From the perspective of his previous life, in such a terrifying world, where there were demons there had to be immortals and gods. At the very least, there had to be people with formidable martial strength.

He simply could not understand why, when there was clearly something so precious in the house, the former owner's father had warned him on his deathbed not to touch it.

That was an immortal art.

Yang An had never seen what the legendary arts of immortals were truly like.

Why, exactly?

Just as Yang An pondered this question, a piercing scream suddenly came from the street outside.

It seemed to be a woman's voice, screaming desperately, especially loud in the silent night.

But the sound lasted less than a breath before abruptly cutting off, and the surroundings sank once more into eerie silence.

Hidden beneath the blanket, Yang An's body suddenly trembled. He could not help clutching the blanket tighter around himself.

A demon had come!

At that moment, his breathing involuntarily grew rapid, and his heart raced with terror.

The source of the sound seemed very close to him. It made him worry for his own safety, throwing his mind into panic.

What if the demon came knocking?

Did the incense ash from White Buddha Temple actually work?

What should he do if it did not?

Countless thoughts flashed through Yang An's mind, filling him with unbearable tension. Even the air beneath the blanket seemed to grow scorching hot.

After quite a while, the outside remained silent, as though nothing had happened.

After those few piercing screams, everything seemed to have returned to calm waters and gentle winds.

Yet Yang An did not dare lower his guard in the slightest. Sweat beaded across his forehead. The heat had become unbearable, and his consciousness seemed to grow hazy.

Some more time passed.

In his muddled state, Yang An seemed to hear an extremely light set of footsteps inside the room, slowly drawing nearer from afar.

Something seemed to have entered his house!

But Yang An could no longer focus at all. His mind grew increasingly heavy, his entire body weak, until he could not even move a finger.

He only felt that something had already drawn close and reached the bedside.

Then—

He completely lost consciousness.

Who knew how long had passed.

When Yang An opened his eyes and gently lifted the blanket, he discovered that daylight had already broken outside.

White Light streamed through the doors, windows, and cracks, filling the room with brightness. Tiny specks of dust drifted clearly through the air.

"Did I... fall asleep last night?"

He rubbed his eyes, threw back the blanket, and examined his body.

It was completely unharmed.

Yang An immediately sighed in relief, yet for some reason, he still felt uneasy.

Thinking back to before he lost consciousness in the middle of the night, he had clearly felt something walk to his bedside.

Had it been a hallucination?

The air beneath the blanket had not circulated. Could lack of oxygen have caused him to hallucinate?

That seemed plausible enough.

As long as he was fine, that was all that mattered.

In the end, Yang An did not dwell on what had happened last night.

After rubbing his eyes, he felt much more awake. Yang An turned back, casually folded the blanket, then lifted the pillow. The red cloth bundle containing the incense ash was still there.

He decided to carry it on his person. Whether because of its value or simply for peace of mind, he could not leave it lying around carelessly.

But just as he reached out, grabbed the red cloth bundle, and prepared to pick it up—

Before his hand could even exert any force—

The red cloth containing the incense ash, along with the ash inside, visibly and abruptly turned into black ashes that slipped through his fingers and scattered across the bed.

Yang An was instantly dumbfounded.