Bai Family

The woman before him had snow-white skin, a pair of almond-shaped eyes, and a rounded chin. She could not be called beautiful, but she was decent enough.

But what chilled Zhao Ke to the bone was how this woman had appeared behind him.

When he saw that the clothes she wore were identical to those of the female paper effigy from before, Zhao Ke's heartbeat immediately began to race. He swiftly glanced back from the corner of his eye. Sure enough, the female paper effigy he had used as a clothes rack had vanished.

A savage gleam flashed through Zhao Ke's eyes. With one hand held beneath his abdomen, he summoned the heavy black dagger from the Post Album. He calculated how certain he was that he could kill her without alerting the two flower children outside.

However, the woman's next words made Zhao Ke freeze. She gently used a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from his forehead and asked carefully, "Master, why are you crawling?"

"Master!"

Zhao Ke was startled at first, then immediately understood. The master she spoke of was probably some male paper effigy. His eyes rolled as he tested, "You're calling me Master?"

"Master, have you gone muddle-headed? Other than you and me, is there a third person on this boat? Hurry and get up. We're almost there."

Hearing her words, Zhao Ke relaxed slightly, though he did not lower his guard. He nodded. "I may not have been sitting properly earlier and fell down."

As Zhao Ke spoke, he climbed to his feet. At the same time, he casually brushed his hand over the woman's. Her hand was icy cold, and it felt like a stone—cold and hard.

Just as Zhao Ke sat up, he heard a burst of commotion outside. Pulling aside the bamboo curtain, he saw that the other boats were gradually stirring as well.

Zhao Ke watched carefully. Noisy voices came from the boats, but they quickly fell silent. Without turning his head, he asked, "You said we're almost there. Where are we going?"

This horror space was completely different from the last one. Moreover, the two postmen just like him had so easily become corpses. Zhao Ke could not shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

"Of course we're going home. How can you not remember?"

"Home?"

Zhao Ke kept his expression unchanged, but inwardly he was even more confused.

"Mm, I think I hurt my head in the fall. There are some things I can't remember clearly." Zhao Ke rubbed his head and pretended to be in pain.

"Master, are you all right? It doesn't matter if you can't remember. I'll explain it to you."

The moment the woman heard that Zhao Ke had injured his head, she stepped forward anxiously. In a low voice, she explained their identities to him.

It turned out that they were all dowry attendants for this **. Her name was Cui Lan, while Zhao Ke had gained another identity: Wang Gouzi, the steward among this batch of paper effigies.

They had originally all been paper effigies, but now that they had crossed the Yellow Springs River, they had passed Yang Pass and entered the underworld. They could no longer be considered ghosts or humans, only spirit mediums to be commanded by others.

"Past Yang Pass? Into the underworld!"

Zhao Ke's heart jolted. He had not expected the setting of this horror space to leap straight into the underworld.

Just then, Zhao Ke noticed that within the pile of paper ash beneath his feet, which had been used to roast bear meat, a spark flickered. It actually began burning again, and a line of writing gradually became clear amid the embers.

Mission: Stop the **

Mission Hint: The family hosting the ** is the Bai Family of the underworld. Find a way to stop this ** and leave the underworld. But be careful: you carry the yang energy of the living, which can be concealed using the ashes of spirit mediums.

(Note: After consuming the paper ashes of spirit mediums, the yang energy on your body can be concealed for three hours.)

Seeing the mission prompt, Zhao Ke's eyes lit up. While Cui Lan was not paying attention, he grabbed a handful of paper ash and quietly transferred it into the Post Album.

"Master, look! The Bai Family is up ahead. What an imposing place. They truly are a wealthy household."

Cui Lan lifted the bamboo curtain and walked to the bow, pointing ahead. Delight appeared on her snow-white face.

Zhao Ke looked and saw that there really was an old residence standing on the riverbank ahead. Its walls were pure white, its gates vermilion red. It looked exceptionally grand.

But what caught Zhao Ke's attention even more was that figures were gradually emerging from the small boats nearby. Judging by their clothing, they were clearly not spirit mediums.

Zhao Ke's eyelids twitched. "Postmen!"

He did not know how many postmen were taking part in this mission, but one thing was certain: they must have received the prompt as well.

Otherwise, they would not have emerged so openly. As for the spirit mediums in their cabins, Zhao Ke had not seen them, but the faint scorched smell in the air had already given him the answer.

Zhao Ke noticed them, and naturally, the others noticed him as well. One gaze after another settled on him.

Some were puzzled, some disdainful. Zhao Ke could even sense hostile eyes inspecting him over and over.

What confused them, however, was why a spirit medium stood beside Zhao Ke.

"Ring, ring, ring..."

At that moment, the ringing bells made Zhao Ke's heart tighten. Following the sound, he saw the Bai Family's vermilion gates slowly open. The sounds of gongs and drums rose, and the pitch-black sedan chair was gradually carried into the Bai Family residence.

Although it was obvious that their mission was to stop this **, not one of them dared make a move as they watched the sedan chair enter the Bai Family's gates.

The fate of the two postmen from before was still vivid in their minds. If they tried to force their way in, with only a few postmen like them, they would be courting death.

"Cui Lan, do you know how to return to the world of the living?"

"Go back? We can't go back. Our true bodies have already been burned. How could we possibly return? Master, why are you so muddle-headed?"

Hearing Cui Lan's words, Zhao Ke frowned, unable to stop himself from cursing inwardly, Damn it!

The true difficulty of this mission was not simply destroying this **. The truly difficult part was first finding a way back to the world of the living.

At the very least, until they found a way to leave, they could not take action. Otherwise... what awaited them would be endless pursuit and being trapped here forever, until they became wandering ghosts.

One small boat after another gradually docked at the pier near the Bai Family residence. Zhao Ke first swallowed a mouthful of paper ash, then followed Cui Lan off the boat.

The moment they stepped ashore, Zhao Ke looked back and saw that the small boat behind them had begun to sink. In the blink of an eye, it vanished beneath the river.

Clearly, the idea of taking the boat back was impossible.

"Hey, you two, follow me."

At that moment, someone dressed in white mourning clothes walked up to Zhao Ke. His face was expressionless as he waved them over and told them to follow.

"Master, that's the Bai Family's steward. We should hurry and follow him."

Afraid that Zhao Ke would not understand, Cui Lan hurriedly urged him onward.

As spirit mediums sent as dowry attendants, Zhao Ke and the others naturally had no right to enter through the main gate. Instead, they were led in through a side entrance.

After they arrived at a small courtyard, the Bai Family steward pointed with one hand. "This is where you will stay from now on."

Cui Lan looked around the courtyard, then walked up to the steward. Without drawing attention, she took out a stack of joss paper and slipped it into his hand, smiling ingratiatingly. "Sir Steward, our master..."

"Your master does not need servants like you. From now on, your duty is to serve the masters and madams of every branch of the Bai Family here. If anyone dares to slack off or neglect their duties, be careful or I'll throw them into the Yellow Springs River."

Cui Lan froze upon hearing this. It seemed different from what she had expected. She hurriedly said, "No, Sir Steward, this... isn't according to the rules, is it?"

"Rules?"

The steward gave a cold laugh, his eyes sweeping over Zhao Ke and the other spirit mediums. With a smile that did not reach his eyes, he said, "In the Bai Family, I am the rule."

"Yes, yes, yes!"

Although Cui Lan looked troubled, she nodded repeatedly in agreement.

"You'll stay here today. Tomorrow morning, I'll assign you work. Let me warn you: don't run around. If you wander into the wrong place, not even King Yama can save you."

With that, the steward turned and left.

After the steward left, Cui Lan began assigning rooms. Zhao Ke glanced back and saw that the other postmen had no intention of gathering together to act as a group either.

Zhao Ke was not surprised by this. He had already confirmed it through Qi Liang.

The more people participated in a mission together, the fewer rewards each person received. If a reward could clearly be claimed by one person alone, then having others join in would only divide it further and further.

Rather than that, it was better to separate for now and decide whether to join forces after the situation became clearer.

"Master!"

At that moment, Cui Lan pulled Zhao Ke into a room. It was not large, but it was clean.

Cui Lan closed the door, turned to Zhao Ke, and said, "Master, we should rest too." As she spoke, Cui Lan slowly undid the buttons at her chest and walked toward Zhao Ke with a seductive expression.

Luckily, I made it in time. Starting tomorrow, I had to get up early and write. I couldn't stay up this late again.