Red Candle Guides the Way

Qiulan had bought dried beef and roast chicken, plus a jug of wine, and hurried back to the entrance of the Li Family Residence.

She looked around but didn't see Chen Mo—only Ma Tie pacing anxiously by the gate with his blade in hand, shouting for the young master.

"Ma Tie, where's the young master?"

Ma Tie's face was tight with worry. "I don't know. I turned my back for just a second, and when I looked around, he was gone."

Plop.

The mulberry paper wrapped around the food slipped from Qiulan's hands, the roast chicken and beef tumbling out into the dust.

But Qiulan couldn't care less about that. Her only thought was: if something happened to the young master, how would she ever answer to the Master?

"Go find him! If the young master's hurt, the Master won't let either of us off."

Ma Tie's face flushed red. "I... I've searched everywhere nearby. My throat's hoarse from shouting, but I haven't seen him."

Qiulan was a woman, but she kept her head in a crisis. "Did you go in and ask Brother Xie Dong for help?"

"No."

"You stay here. I'll go in and ask Mr. Xie for help." She left that order, then pounded hard on the door, calling out frantically: "Mr. Xie, come out quickly! Our young master is missing!"

Before long, with a creak, the old mansion's door swung open.

Xie Dong stepped out. Behind him was an old woman around sixty, dressed in a black long robe, her hair disheveled, her face deeply lined, and her eye sockets sunken. She walked unsteadily.

After hearing Qiulan's account, Xie Dong was shocked. "Ma Tie, you're saying... you turned around, and Chen Mo was gone?"

Ma Tie said, "Yes. I didn't even hear the young master's footsteps leaving."

Xie Dong was baffled. He turned to the old woman. "Granny Li, do you know what happened?"

The old woman called Granny Li looked listless and didn't answer.

Xie Dong quickly pressed on. "Granny Li, Chen Mo is my brother. He's Chen Yin Fu's son, and he came here in good faith to buy Qi and Blood Pills. You can't just ignore this. Otherwise, who'd dare do business with the Li family in the future? That's only reasonable, isn't it?"

Granny Li shot Xie Dong a sideways glance before finally speaking. "He's most likely been possessed by evil."

Possessed by evil!

The three of them sucked in a cold breath. Qiulan especially turned pale with fear, her mind involuntarily flashing back to Chen Mo's earlier bout of Mad Demon Disease—it terrified her even more.

Ma Tie asked, "Why wasn't I possessed?"

Granny Li said, "Our Li Manor is heavy with yin energy. People with weak qi and blood are easy targets. You're a martial artist in the Skin Refining Realm—your qi and blood are a bit stronger. Naturally, you won't be possessed so easily."

Qiulan's eyes reddened. "Granny Li, please help our young master."

Granny Li said, "How many Qi and Blood Pills does your young master plan to buy?"

Qiulan found this utterly exasperating. At a time like this... still talking about money.

But Qiulan clearly understood human nature, so she said, "The young master is determined to train in martial arts, and what he lacks most is Qi and Blood Pills. Naturally, the more the better. He'll definitely satisfy Granny Li."

Only then did Granny Li show a satisfied smile. "In that case, I'll give you a hand. Xie Dong, go quickly to Steward Zhou at the Black Market and tell him I need some Red Candle Wax."

Others might not know what Red Candle Wax meant, but Xie Dong clearly did. "You're going to light a Red Candle?"

Granny Li said, "Li Manor is thick with yin and evil energy. The young master of the Chen family has been possessed and entered a ghostly realm. Only a Red Candle blessed by Goddess Hong Deng can dispel evil and light the way for him to come out. But lighting a Red Candle in the Black Market requires notifying the steward."

"Thank you, Granny Li." Xie Dong gave his thanks and hurried off.

Before long, Xie Dong rushed back, drenched in sweat. "Steward Zhou agreed."

Granny Li nodded slightly, then turned back into Li Manor. When she came out again, she held a red candle in her hand. But she didn't light it right away. Instead, she placed it on the stone beside the Ancient Well and muttered something under her breath.

Xie Dong urged, "Granny Li, light the candle already! The longer Chen Mo stays in there, the more dangerous it gets."

"This isn't an ordinary candle. What's your hurry? If the young master of the Chen family is clever enough, he won't die. If he's reckless, that's another story." Granny Li scolded him irritably, then knelt before the candle and kowtowed.

"The Li family of Honghe County humbly beseech the Goddess to grant your blessing. Today, with blood as the guide, we light the Red Candle. For the young master of the Chen family, we light the Red Candle to illuminate the path ahead."

With that, Granny Li bit her finger and let a drop of blood fall onto the wick. With a pop, the wick ignited, blazing with a crimson flame.

Then Granny Li stood up, holding the Red Candle with both hands, and chanted with deep reverence: "Oh, young master of the Chen family, do not lose your soul, do not scrape the red wax, do not be afraid. If you see the light of the Red Candle, follow the light and come out..."

Xie Dong, Ma Tie, and Qiulan stared fixedly at the flickering Red Candle in Granny Li's hands.

Before long, the Red Candle gave off a red mist that spread around them, blurring their sight. The next moment, a figure slowly walked out from within the red mist—it was Chen Mo.

"Young master!"

Qiulan rushed forward, tears streaming. "You're finally out! Just now, you scared Qiulan to death."

Ma Tie also let out a huge sigh of relief and stepped forward to apologize. "Thank goodness the young master is safe. It was my carelessness that put you in danger."

Xie Dong, on the other hand, gave Chen Mo a big hug and punched him twice in the chest. "Brother Chen, you're finally out. If something had happened to you, going to Spring Breeze Tower alone would've been so boring."

Chen Mo stared blankly at everything before him, feeling like none of it was real. For a moment, he forgot to reply.

No one knew what he had just been through.

He'd nearly been killed by that female ghost.

Luckily, Chen Mo had discovered the effect of the red wax. In the end, he'd held onto it... and sure enough, he hadn't run into a Ghost Wall. He'd actually walked out. At the most critical moment, he'd even seen a red light guiding the way and heard an old woman's voice: Oh, young master of the Chen family, do not lose your soul, do not scrape the red wax, do not be afraid. If you see the light of the Red Candle, follow the light and come out...

Then, following that voice and the red light, Chen Mo had finally walked out, returning to the entrance of the Li Family Mansion.

He had truly walked through the gates of death.

It also made Chen Mo feel, for the first time, just how terrifying this world was.

Too terrifying!

Chen Mo swept his gaze around and found that it was already dark, and he was indeed far from the ghosts and monsters. He let out a long sigh of relief. "I'm fine. What just happened?"

Ma Tie recounted the whole story in detail, and only then did Chen Mo understand the cause.

Possessed by evil... and even dragged into a ghost domain.

And as long as you lit the Red Candle of Goddess Hong Deng, you could break through the ghost domain and illuminate the path out.

It seemed this Goddess Hong Deng was no simple figure.

No wonder so many people in Honghe County burned incense for her.

It even made Chen Mo want to worship Goddess Hong Deng...

Coming back to his senses, Chen Mo looked toward the old woman at the back of the crowd, especially at the Red Candle in her hand.

Chen Mo cupped his hands toward Granny Li. "Thank you, Granny Li, for lending a hand."

Granny Li blew out the Red Candle and snorted. "Your maidservant just said you'd buy as many Qi and Blood Pills as it takes to satisfy me. Don't be stingy, or it'll be a waste of me lighting that Red Candle for you."

Chen Mo said, "Naturally."

A problem that could be solved with money—was it still a problem?

Granny Li carefully put away the Red Candle. "Come inside with me and we'll talk."

Seeing that Chen Mo was safe and sound, everyone happily followed Granny Li through the door. Only Chen Mo, walking at the very back, couldn't help but glance at the Ancient Well not far away as he stepped inside.