Midnight Terror

This Iron Wolf Protector truly lived up to being a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist.

The rewards in vitality, blood, and martial arts experience were exceedingly generous.

There were also many martial arts techniques to choose from, and their quality was quite respectable.

He just did not know how much participation he would earn from this funeral procession, or whether he could draw any rewards.

In the hall, Daoist Lin performed a round of rituals, raising the temperature in the mourning hall considerably. At least it was no longer so bitterly cold that it chilled one to the bone.

The beautiful woman and many of the funeral guests finally relaxed.

That night, Daoist Lin Jiu had everyone else leave, keeping only himself and Bai Yu in the mourning hall to keep vigil.

The Daoist handed Bai Yu two yellow talismans.

"Little Bai, your vitality and blood are vigorous, so logically this should not affect you. Still, keep these two Evil-Suppressing Talismans with you, just in case."

Bai Yu accepted the yellow talismans and said,

"Alright, I understand."

"By the way, Uncle Jiu, when you threw out that yellow talisman earlier, why did it catch fire on its own?"

Daoist Lin Jiu was only a Third-Rank Martial Artist and had yet to cultivate inner force. It was absolutely impossible for him to ignite talisman paper.

Could it be that Daoist Lin Jiu was actually an immortal cultivator?

Daoist Lin Jiu wore a grave expression.

"There are many reasons why yellow talismans can catch fire on their own."

"The main reasons are devout faith, exquisite skill, and unwavering practice."

"Then, at the end, add a little self-igniting white phosphorus."

Bai Yu nearly bit his tongue.

So he had used white phosphorus, rubbing his hands together to create heat through friction.

Bai Yu felt the Daoist's lofty master image crumble somewhat, and he asked again,

"Then what was the reason for all that sword dancing you did in the daytime, making the mourning hall warm up?"

Daoist Lin slapped his thigh.

"Ah, that was all just fooling people."

"If you don't put on a grand show, will people willingly spend silver?"

"What really worked were those few Transformation Talismans."

He took out a stack of yellow talismans and handed them to Bai Yu, saying,

"Later, paste all these yellow talismans onto the windows and doors. Paste nine onto the coffin."

Bai Yu did not know whether to laugh or cry. He took the talismans and got to work.

Daoist Lin thought highly of Bai Yu and spoke earnestly.

"In our line of Yin-Yang Practitioners, our main work is reading feng shui and dispelling Killing Intent."

"For example, martial artists who have killed too many people will carry a strand of Killing Intent. While alive, their vitality and blood suppress it, but after death, the Killing Intent will backlash."

"To ordinary people, Killing Intent is comparable to poison. Sometimes, when a corpse is saturated with Killing Intent, it turns into a Baleful Corpse and harms people."

"So although our profession is not particularly glamorous, it is extremely important."

Using paste made from rice slurry, Bai Yu stuck the yellow talismans one by one onto the doors, windows, and coffin.

"Uncle Jiu, the yellow talismans are all up. Will this dispel the Killing Intent?"

Daoist Lin Jiu nodded faintly.

"Generally speaking, after leaving them up for three days and replacing the Transformation Talismans with a fresh batch each day, it will be dispelled."

"The first night is what matters most. If there is no return of Baleful Intent on the first night, there will be no problems afterward."

"Little Bai, remember this. After midnight tonight, no matter what you see, you must not make a sound."

"No matter who calls you, you must not answer."

Bai Yu naturally nodded in agreement.

And so, the two began taking turns keeping watch.

During the first half of the night, Bai Yu rested while Daoist Lin sat cross-legged in meditation.

Bai Yu slept on a small bamboo bed, but he always retained a measure of alertness in his heart.

The night gradually deepened, and all was silent.

Only the occasional bark of a dog drifted over from afar.

Bai Yu gradually let down his guard as well.

It seemed there was nothing particularly remarkable about this line of work.

What he did not notice was that one of the yellow talismans pasted on the door was slowly becoming covered in a layer of mist.

The cinnabar on the yellow talisman was gradually soaked through, slowly losing its original shape.

No one knew how long passed, but the cinnabar patterns on that talisman had already become a complete mess.

"Creak—"

The doors of the mourning hall opened for no reason at all.

A gust of icy wind blew in, circling through the mourning hall as the temperature inside plummeted.

Bai Yu jolted upright from the bamboo mat.

At the doorway, a string of dripping wet footprints had appeared at some unknown time.

There was clearly not a trace of anyone at the door, yet the footprints on the ground drew closer step by step.

They crossed the threshold and headed toward the coffin in the mourning hall.

Bai Yu was about to call for Daoist Lin Jiu, only to see that Daoist Lin Jiu had already reacted.

He pulled out a handful of yellow talismans and flung them toward the footprints.

Strangely enough, those yellow talismans seemed to possess spirits of their own, actually dancing around the foremost footprint.

Immediately afterward, Daoist Lin held the Peach Wood Sword and seemed to begin fighting someone in midair.

He did not say a word, as though he were acting in a silent film.

Bai Yu watched from the side, dumbfounded and utterly unable to make sense of the situation.

In the hall, yellow talismans drifted down while the wooden sword swung through the air.

The watery footprints on the ground slowly dried up, and the icy wind inside the hall gradually dispersed.

Only then did Daoist Lin Jiu let out a long breath and say,

"Alright, the returning Baleful Intent has been dealt with. There will be no danger from now on."

Bai Yu nodded heavily, thinking,

It seems Yin-Yang Practitioners do have some real skills. Perhaps they are inferior to immortal cultivators, but they certainly possess their own mysterious wonders.

Just as he was pondering in secret, another gust of icy wind suddenly blew in from outside.

This time, the icy wind was even fiercer. It felt as though winter had descended upon the room, the cold piercing straight to the bone.

The watery footprints reappeared on the ground.

With every bit the icy wind advanced, the footprints took another step forward.

Daoist Lin Jiu turned pale with shock and once again pulled out a handful of yellow talismans, scattering them toward the icy wind.

Sword in his right hand and talismans in his left, he seemed to be fighting someone again.

Yet in only a few blinks of an eye, the yellow talismans in his hand were exhausted.

"Crack—"

A crisp sound rang out, and the Peach Wood Sword snapped in two.

That gust of icy wind blew toward the coffin in the mourning hall.

"Slap—"

"Slap—"

One wet footprint after another fell onto the ground.

"This is bad! Little Bai, stop it quickly! We absolutely cannot let the Killing Intent enter the dead person's body, or it will turn into a Baleful Corpse!"

"Buy me a moment!"

Bai Yu was anxious as well.

Who knew what the hell a Baleful Corpse was?

And if the deceased turned into a Baleful Corpse and escaped, his funeral procession reward would go down the drain.

He tore the two Evil-Suppressing Talismans from his chest and hurled them toward the icy wind.

The yellow talismans struck the icy wind and truly made it pause for a moment.

Bai Yu felt as though a pair of eyes within that icy wind cast him a malicious glance.

Yet the icy wind paused only briefly before continuing toward the deceased.

Bai Yu was frantic, yet helpless.

He could not even figure out what his enemy was, much less possess any means to deal with this so-called Killing Intent.

As the footprints on the ground drew closer to the coffin step by step,

Bai Yu suddenly had an idea.

Suppressing souls and transforming Baleful Intent—perhaps it was worth a try.

He took out the Suona and began playing a funeral dirge.

"Whose land lies in the haoli wilds, gathering souls without regard for wise or foolish?"

"How relentlessly the Ghost Elder urges them on; human lives are not allowed even the slightest hesitation."

"Have you not seen it? Heroes of all ages are worn away to nothing, all becoming earth beneath Mount Beimang."

As the Suona sounded again and again, that sense of having seen life and death countless times, of all things returning to stillness, emerged once more.

Unexpectedly, that gust of icy wind truly stopped, and the footprints on the ground no longer spread.

After playing this piece, Bai Yu felt more exhausted than ever before.

Though it was a tune he knew like the back of his hand, playing it felt as though he were carrying a burden weighing a thousand catties.

When the piece ended, that gust of icy wind began howling and circling once more.