Xie Jiuyi hurriedly looked up at the sky. He remembered that when he had been chasing the Heavenly Mechanism Coffin earlier... the night sky had still been filled with twinkling stars, and the moon had been bright.
But the problem was... the night sky now was pitch-black. Nothing could be seen.
The surroundings were also unnaturally quiet.
There was no sound of cicadas.
No barking dogs.
Not even the voices of people talking inside the nearby homes.
The entire inn seemed to have been isolated, while the darkness was like a vast ocean.
And this inn was the lone skiff in that vast ocean.
There was nothing beautiful about the scene.
It only made one's blood run cold!
Every hair on his body stood on end!
An ominous premonition weighed on his heart. Xie Jiuyi had already pulled out every weapon he was carrying.
His expression was grave and ugly. "We pursued the Heavenly Mechanism Coffin too hastily this time. I didn't bring many talismans or magical artifacts with me. That was careless."
Although he had not seen where the enemy was, nor sensed much movement, Xie Jiuyi was still so tense that sweat poured down his back.
His palms had broken out in a thin sheen of sweat.
The few talismans clenched in his hand had been dampened slightly.
Beside him, Shen Jiyue had her eyes closed, sensing something.
Very soon, she opened her eyes.
Her complexion was no better than Xie Jiuyi's.
Shen Jiyue gripped the Xuanhua Axe tightly, her wary gaze sweeping over the surroundings of Willow Lane. She said, "It seems we've been forcibly dragged into a special sinister formation. We can't communicate with the outside world in here. For now, I have no way to summon the others from the Imperial Astronomy Bureau."
"Somewhere in the dark, that unknown enemy... is most likely targeting the Heavenly Mechanism Coffin this time! Nothing can happen to the Heavenly Mechanism Coffin. You and I must fight with everything we have, even if it costs us our lives!"
Xie Jiuyi nodded. He was not afraid of death. He had been a beggar adopted by the Imperial Astronomy Bureau in the first place.
Even if they asked him to repay the Imperial Astronomy Bureau with his life right now, he could crush his own throat without hesitation!
Just as he was about to say something...
A sudden change occurred!
The candlelight, which had gone out for some unknown reason, suddenly flared up again. Yet the candlelight was no longer orange-yellow, but a somewhat festive crimson.
Gusts of sinister wind rose and swept through the area, making the lower-cultivated Xie Jiuyi stagger.
Xie Jiuyi hurriedly steadied himself. As if sensing something, he looked toward one side of Willow Lane.
Suddenly!
His pupils contracted!
A wedding procession dressed in gaudy finery had appeared at one end of Willow Lane at some unknown point.
Each of the "people," their faces pale as paper, held a tall, upright pole in their arms. A large red lantern hung from the top of every pole.
The "people" had cut the character 囍 from paper and pasted it onto the red lanterns.
Several "bearers" carried an eight-bearer sedan chair, its entire body a festive crimson. They hummed a deeply unsettling tune in unison.
What made one's scalp crawl was that the eight-bearer sedan chair they carried was actually a coffin that looked extremely much like a sedan chair!
Festive red embroidered flowers were wrapped around the coffin.
It was just like a genuine wedding procession.
They did not walk. Instead, they "floated" slowly toward the inn.
Utterly bizarre!!
"Hiss!!!"
"Great Omen of Disaster!!"
After drawing in a sharp breath, Xie Jiuyi immediately thought of something and was just about to turn around and look.
However, his movement was interrupted by Shen Jiyue's voice beside him.
"There's no need to turn around. There's one on the other side too. This side has the bride being collected—or rather..." Shen Jiyue said in a low voice, "this side has the ghost bride being collected."
In the direction Shen Jiyue was watching, there was also a group of "people" with extremely pale faces.
They stood on the left and right sides of Willow Lane.
In the middle was a large red bridal sedan chair.
The curtains of the red bridal sedan chair had been drawn shut, but one could still vaguely see an indistinct figure within, radiating a terrifying sinister aura.
It was horrifying!
It made people tremble!
The wedding procession seemed to have seen the arrival of the bridal procession, and it began to move as well.
The pale-faced "people" on either side lifted the red bridal sedan chair and headed toward the wedding procession.
And the inn behind Xie Jiuyi and Shen Jiyue happened to stand where the two processions were about to meet!
"I am Shen Jiyue, Squad Leader of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau!"
Shen Jiyue swept away the distracting thoughts in her heart, her gaze turning razor-sharp.
She tightened her grip on the Xuanhua Axe and shouted sternly, "The Heavenly Mechanism Coffin belongs to the Imperial Astronomy Bureau! Whoever dares lay a hand on it, I will send its soul flying!"
Her warning seemed to have no effect.
The entrances at both ends of Willow Lane had been completely blocked. Two swarms of evil ghosts surging with dense sinister energy came rushing toward them.
Their purpose was crystal clear!
They were not intimidated by the warning in the slightest!
"...Damn it!"
Seeing that even invoking the Imperial Astronomy Bureau's name had been useless, Shen Jiyue said in a deep voice to Xie Jiuyi beside her, "You hold off the ghost groom. I'll hold off the ghost bride!"
"Understood." Although Xie Jiuyi knew that today would likely end in disaster, he could only brace himself and charge forward.
Since the other side knew the name of the Imperial Astronomy Bureau and still showed no intention of retreating... that meant tonight's battle was unavoidable!
Seeing the huge swarm of evil ghosts about to attack, Xie Jiuyi showed no courtesy and struck first!
While they were at a disadvantage, if they did not seize the initiative...
they might not get the chance to strike at all!
Xie Jiuyi had already seized a stack of talismans and immediately formed a hand seal with both hands. As his hands moved, the crisp sound of a bell rang out distinctly in the quiet night.
That was because an ancient copper bell was tied to the little finger of his right hand. Whenever his finger moved, the bell would ring.
When the bell rang, Xie Jiuyi's state of mind became even clearer than before.
The magical power within his body also grew more lively.
Faint fluctuations of magical power already swirled around his fingertips.
This was clearly a magical artifact!
"The Supreme Lord Laozi commands me to kill ghosts!" Xie Jiuyi muttered, chanting under his breath. Only that one sentence was shouted aloud.
The next moment!
The stack of talismans in his hand burst into flame, erupting at the same time with a dazzling golden light! The golden light seemed to carry the power to sweep away all obstacles as it shot straight toward the swarm of evil ghosts!
The evil ghosts that had been silently approaching finally made their move.
Several of the evil ghosts carrying large red lanterns immediately flew to the front of the eight-bearer sedan chair.
They raised the red lanterns in their hands together.
In the blink of an eye, ghostly green candlelight ignited inside the red lanterns. Rolling sinister energy condensed into a thick wall of mist, which stood before the eight-bearer sedan chair like a gigantic shield.
The golden light slammed into the wall of sinister mist!
At once!
The wall of sinister mist began to melt rapidly with a sizzling sound, like butter scoured by a stream of heat!
The golden light soon dimmed as well.
When the golden light finally pierced through the wall of sinister mist and was about to strike the eight-bearer sedan chair...
"Disperse!"
A voice that made one's blood run cold rang out.
With only that single word, the already dim golden light immediately collapsed!
Seeing this, Xie Jiuyi bit through the tip of his tongue, which had only just healed. He opened his mouth and spat out a mouthful of tongue-tip blood brimming with vital yang energy.
His index and middle fingers were stained with the tongue-tip blood.
Using his own tongue-tip blood as ink, Xie Jiuyi drew through the air in sweeping, soaring strokes!
His hands immediately formed a seal. "Hundred Killings of the Divine Path—by decree!"
"Edict!!!"
Before you continue