Evil Night Descends

Evil Night Descends

"This fog... isn't normal!"

"No kidding. Fog comes in morning and night—when have you ever seen it rise at dusk?"

"When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something sinister at work... So it really is the Great Desolation Evil Night?"

"What do you mean, 'really'? You say that like you've experienced it before."

"But this means we won't be able to see Mei's movements clearly either!"

Compared to the chattering crowd, Luo Qingqing was noticeably calmer. She directly ordered one of her fellow disciples, "Go. Ring the bronze bell. Have the people below light the torches and take up their assigned positions according to the previous arrangements."

"Yes."

As the warning bells spread, the examinees gathered in the small square slowly began to move. Though they remained noisy and utterly lacking in discipline along the way, tempted by the prospect of passing the examination, they more or less followed the arrangements and entered their respective defensive positions.

Xia Fan also left the command post and climbed onto the western "city wall."

Calling it a city wall was rather generous. In truth, it was a combination of two blue-brick houses and a stretch of earthen wall. Most of the roofs had been torn down, crossbeams erected in the middle, and the drainage slopes converted into relatively flat platforms. The entire West Wall could accommodate more than thirty people, and even at its narrowest point, five could walk abreast. That was already a "luxurious setup" many small towns did not possess.

Luo Qingqing had hinted that if he did not wish to face Evil Spirits directly, she could place him in the support team. But Xia Fan had declined her goodwill. Aside from feeling that he ought to take responsibility for his own proposal, he also wanted to observe the Great Desolation Evil Night up close and see exactly how sorcerers fought Evil Spirits.

The examinees who climbed the West Wall were mainly led by members of the Luo Family. They were generally divided into groups of five, with five or six groups stationed on the wall. Behind them were reserve groups and logistical teams. The former would replace injured or incapacitated examinees, while the latter transported supplies and tended to the wounded. Overall, the arrangement was simple and clear.

The leader of Xia Fan's group was Luo Tang, whom he had met once before. She appeared slightly older than Luo Qingqing, around eighteen or nineteen. Her features were quite proper, and her long black hair fell straight down her back, giving her the air of a refined young lady from a distinguished family. Yet for some reason, Xia Fan always felt that her gaze toward him contained a trace of guarded vigilance.

Once everyone had arrived, Luo Tang said, "Although Luo Qingqing has already explained this, to avoid any oversight, I'll repeat it once more. Besides preventing the Evil Spirits from attacking and climbing the wall, your foremost task is to ensure that this torch does not go out—" She pointed to the wooden pole blazing beside her. Similar torch-poles stood every three or four meters, and from afar, the "battlements" seemed to have gained a ring of swaying flame fences. "Once we lose the light, Mei will become far more dangerous. No matter what happens, make sure the torches remain lit."

"What if one goes out?" someone asked.

"Then life and death are in Heaven's hands; each relies on their own skill," Brother Yan said, spitting out the grass root in his mouth as he leaned against the wall.

After spending the past two days together, Xia Fan had learned more about the man. His real name was Zhang Yan, while the one who had called him Brother Yan was his elder brother, Zhang Shi. The brothers came from a hunter's family and had originally been mere village commoners. Only after gaining the ability to sense qi had they caught the county magistrate's eye, who funded their education and literacy so they could take the Scholar Examination.

When he had worn a scholar's blue robe before, every one of his movements had seemed somewhat awkward. Only after he led the hunting party up the mountain to hunt game and changed back into short leather clothes and long boots did he finally look natural. Now, with a short bow slung over his back, he looked every inch a seasoned hunter.

"Of course not!" Luo Tang snapped irritably. "If a torch goes out, you should immediately retreat to somewhere lit. Once the reserve group brings up a new torch, reclaim your position!"

"Exactly... that's what I meant." Zhang Yan whistled.

Luo Tang could not be bothered to respond to him and continued, "Mei are nocturnal creatures. They fear light and scorching heat. Li Technique, Qian Art, and Zhen Technique all have good restraining effects, so most of the allocated herbs are for those two kinds of arts. But everyone excels at different arts. If you aren't skilled in Li Technique or Qian Art, don't waste the herbs—leave them for fellow disciples who are. Peachwood weapons also have decent effects in driving away enemies. Hold your swords properly and guard the area around the torches."

Xia Fan glanced into the wooden basket containing the medicinal materials and indeed saw plenty of powder. That should be the sulfur and Nitrate Powder commonly used for Li Technique.

"What if the entire wall falls?" Zhang Shi asked in a muffled voice. Unlike Brother Yan, he was half a size larger than the average person, with exceptionally thick limbs. He did not look like someone capable of scaling mountains and crossing ridges. Most of the time, he was taciturn, quite fitting for the stone in his name.

"Retreat to the small square. The Luo Family will unleash the final Sorcery Art and set fire to the teahouse and inn. The fuel will be the Source of Spirit Fire gathered earlier," Luo Tang replied slowly.

"Source of Spirit Fire?" Xia Fan frowned.

"That's right. Spirit Fire is yin in nature and cannot drive off Mei, but blazing buildings can. In other words, this 'city wall' is our final torch."

That part had not been included in his plan.

Clearly, Luo Qingqing had come up with this countermeasure.

It'll be troublesome if it really comes to that, Xia Fan thought.

The Fox Demon was still recovering from her injuries in his room. He could neither abandon her nor bring her out before everyone's eyes. Therefore, he had to prevent the worst-case scenario.

Half an hour later, the sun sank completely below the mountains. The purplish-red sky turned utterly ink-black, and the already hazy visibility worsened further, shrinking back to the foot of the "fortress." Xia Fan estimated that even if not a single torch on the wall went out, they would only be able to see around twenty meters beyond the street. Farther away, the firelight seemed to be blocked by thick, viscous fog and could advance no farther.

At the same time, gusts of evening wind began to blow over their heads. They were nothing like the normal movement of air during the transition from day to night, carrying warmth touched with a hint of coolness. Instead, they came and went without trace, as though they could pass through human bodies, sending chills down one's spine.

The torches began to sway with them.

The crowd, which had been clamorous moments ago, had unknowingly fallen silent. The examinees held their breath without realizing it, staring fixedly into the darkness ahead, scarcely daring to breathe.

Everyone understood that this night would not pass easily.

Suddenly, Xia Fan saw a strange change at the edge of the wavering firelight. A portion of darkness seemed to peel itself away from the night and fog, slipping down onto the dim ground.

It did not overlap with the ground but remained upright. That meant it was neither a shadow nor an illusion, but something close to a physical entity!

Because it was too far away, Xia Fan could make out little more than a vaguely humanoid shape.

Yet the black figure moved extraordinarily slowly, even with an unnatural sense of discontinuity, as though each step was not connected to the next but arrived in the blink of an eye.

"They're here," Luo Tang said quietly.

"That... is Mei?" Zhang Yan took down his short bow and gripped it in his hand, all his earlier ease gone.

"Mei is only a general term... This is also my first time seeing the Evil Spirits of the Great Desolation Evil Night." She swallowed, trying to hide the tension in her voice.

As more darkness peeled away, the sinister wind seemed to intensify as well, and the torches atop the wall began to sway noticeably.

Xia Fan keenly noticed that the areas covered by night no longer seemed able to brighten again. Once the firelight contracted, darkness would occupy its place. At first, he thought it was an illusion, but comparing the visible width of the street made the truth clear: the area they could see was indeed shrinking!

The ink-blackness between Heaven and earth seemed to merge into one at this moment, while this fortress was the only frail glimmer in the darkness.

As the black figures gradually drew near, Xia Fan saw them more clearly. Their numbers were not yet large. Around eight or nine had appeared before the West Wall, and the first had already come within ten meters of it. When its appearance was fully revealed beneath the firelight, Xia Fan could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

"Fuck."

This Evil Spirit looked far too different from what he had imagined!

He had thought it would be a zombie siege, but the thing before him had completely escaped the definition of a corpse. Only its outline resembled a human. Its head was large and its limbs thin, while most of its body was covered in a shell made of mud, branches, and other debris. Where the shell was broken, its interior was completely empty—as though beneath it lay a bottomless hollow, or as though great clouds of black mist churned within.

Other than a pair of swaying "hollows" atop its head, Mei possessed no other features. There was no nose, no mouth; its head and torso were seamlessly fused together. It reminded Xia Fan of the monsters from Silent Hill. Though their appearances differed, they gave off an extremely similar feeling: they were embodiments of pure malice, enough to make one shudder merely by looking at them.

"Ugh..."

Someone beside him began to vomit.

Xia Fan also felt his stomach churning. No matter how terrifying a monster was, it should not make one vomit simply by looking at it. This nauseating discomfort had nothing to do with appearance, but with something far deeper...

He had never experienced anything similar and found it difficult to describe. He only felt that the thing before him was innately opposed to the living. Any living creature would instinctively feel hatred and rejection toward it.

The only fortunate thing was that their movement speed had not changed. Covering a mere ten meters took nearly five or six minutes. Even zombies missing all four limbs could crawl faster than them.

That at least gave everyone ample time to prepare their Sorcery Arts.

"Don't be afraid, everyone! As long as the torches don't go out, Mei cannot threaten us!"

Someone suddenly shouted from the West Wall.

Xia Fan turned toward the voice and discovered that it was Fei Nian.

He held a Talisman high, then scattered the white powder in his hand—

"Li Technique Guiyou, Flying Flower Flame!"

The instant the Talisman turned to ash, a bright bridge of fire bloomed between the wall and Mei.

The raging flames were like a flying long serpent, lunging fiercely toward its target and swallowing Mei whole in an instant!