"Red lanterns shine through the night, and all is well..."
In the pitch-black countryside, a red lantern swayed gently as it approached from afar.
The workers' voices broke the silence, carrying a little excitement and a little tremble.
Who knew how many rustling things had spotted the red lantern from a distance, only to quietly retreat and hide in the depths of the night?
The ghost fires drifting above the lonely, desolate graves also vanished as the red lantern drew near.
Hu Ma carried the red lantern. Zhou Datong walked on his left, brimming with excitement and occasionally stretching his voice to call out. Zhou Liang walked on his right, followed by three or five workers who had come along to patrol the night.
They were all excited by the novelty. Their footsteps crunched along the dirt road, and when they passed the graves in the distance, they didn't avoid them. They simply walked right by.
They almost seemed to be showing off on purpose.
"Wooo..."
After they passed the graves, they faintly heard what seemed like mournful sobbing mixed into the wind blowing from that direction.
When they turned to look, they could just make out several figures sitting beside the graves, staring fixedly at their backs.
Hu Ma stopped and glanced over his shoulder, then suddenly walked back.
As the red lantern drew near, a gust of Yin wind swirled around the graves. But when it reached them, there was nothing there.
"We were sent by the Red Lantern Goddess Society to patrol the night. We have no intention of disturbing the peace of our neighbors."
Holding up the lantern, Hu Ma said coldly, "But you should take note of us, so things don't get ugly later and leave neither side able to settle it."
The desolate graves