Candlelight Shadow Puppet

Even cultivators of the Nine Streams, if suddenly attacked by the wails of five Hanged Ghosts, would have their souls shaken on the spot, their bodies and souls separating for three to five breaths, rendering them immobile.

When Old Qian works for the Master, it usually ends with a charge from five Hanged Ghosts.

The five Hanged Ghosts split into three teams, each targeting the main door and the two windows, launching their assault.

Stepmother hid beneath the window, while the bamboo dragonfly outside in the courtyard relayed the scene from various angles.

Stepmother crouched down into a pose resembling a "kick to the sky," her slender body unbelievably flexible. She swept her long legs upwards, and with a CLANG, kicked the entire window out!

Crack...

The window landed in the courtyard, but instead of shattering, it reassembled itself with a series of clicks and clacks, forming a cage.

Then it automatically rose into the air!

The five Hanged Ghosts were drawn and pulled by some irresistible force, and the whole group was sucked into the cage.

With a CLANG, the cage door fell shut, locking all the Hanged Ghosts inside.

These Hanged Ghosts were also Yin Soldiers, without physical forms. The cage was only three feet square, and with five Hanged Ghosts inside, they became entangled like water weeds, struggling desperately but unable to escape.

The bars of the cage were the previous window frames, only as thick as a thumb. They were surprisingly imbued with the power of lightning, crackling with electricity, causing the Hanged Ghosts to let out screams of agony.

Old Qian stood outside the courtyard, his old face as still as a calm ancient well.

If Hanged Ghosts wouldn't work, then other methods would be used.

No matter what, the task assigned by the Master had to be completed.

He pulled out a wet, net-like cage from the shadow behind him. Upon opening it, the Drowned Ghosts inside immediately lunged out with ferocious expressions.

These Drowned Ghosts were half-human, half-fish. Some had human bodies and fish tails, some had fish heads and human feet, some had fish bodies but human arms, and others looked human but were covered in scales.

But without exception, they all had gaping maws, with long fangs protruding beyond their lips, and long fish whiskers fluttering on either side of their mouths, covered in thorn-like barbs!

In the viscous Yin energy, this group of Drowned Ghosts moved as freely as fish in the sea, their speed even faster than the Hanged Ghosts from before.

Each of them had devoured countless unfortunate souls who had fallen into the water, thus carrying the bloody, fishy stench. They lunged into the courtyard, intending to slip through the now empty window.

A lamp flickered in the room, its light swaying.

A beautiful woman could be seen standing behind the window, with a young man sitting behind her with a helpless expression.

What delicious Blood Food!

The Drowned Ghosts opened their gaping maws and lunged.

The window was not large, only able to accommodate two Drowned Ghosts at a time.

But there were only two portions of Blood Food, and they scrambled, several Drowned Ghosts crowding the window together.

One of the strongest among them broke free with effort and was the first to rush into the room.

It lunged at the woman, but though she appeared stiff, her speed was inexplicably fast, moving with a "flash and flicker" sensation.

It lunged and bit several times, but all missed.

The Drowned Ghost wasn't particularly intelligent, so it abandoned the woman and turned to lunge at the young man.

Behind it, the other Drowned Ghosts also rushed in.

Suddenly, the lamp in the room went out. They didn't care; without light, they were even more effective.

But immediately after, they felt the world spin. The originally square room suddenly became spherical and rapidly shrank.

They were inside a sphere!

The tables, chairs, benches, and various furnishings in the room, along with the man and woman, all turned into thin slices and were rapidly pulled away.

The Drowned Ghosts bumped into each other, all caught in one net.

This was not a real house, but a Shadow Puppet technique, using light to project shadows and deceive the Drowned Ghosts and Old Qian outside.

The Drowned Ghosts rushed into the net, mistaking it for an opening.

The mouth of the bag was opened behind the real window!

Stepmother tied the mouth of the bag in her hand, shrinking it to the size of a ladle. The group of Drowned Ghosts was contained within, still struggling incessantly.

Xu Yuan's inherited "family business" was the opera stage next door.

This old opera stage could host troupes or perform shadow plays.

Xu Yuan's father was skilled in shadow puppetry, not only able to perform and sing but also to craft shadow puppets from various materials.

This was naturally the craft of an "Artisan Cultivator," and it was passed down to Stepmother.

Old Qian frowned this time, feeling it was getting tricky.

He began fiddling with some dilapidated jars and bottles.

"I've seen the world with the Master in Nandou."

"Do these tricks stand a chance of trapping me?"

This Shanhe County wasn't even as big as one "district" in Nandou.

He found a small, dusty, unremarkable jar, which he dug out from under the corner of the wall, still covered in dirt.

A bowl was placed upside down on top of a jar. When the bowl was lifted, the jar's opening was sealed with mulberry bark paper smeared with pig's blood, lime, rice paste, and other substances.

At this moment, the contents within the jar seemed to sense something and became exceptionally excited, slamming against the outside with force. The tough mulberry bark paper made a bang, bang sound, bulging outward with each impact.

"No need to rush, no need to rush," Old Qian said to the things in his jars and bottles. He appeared very patient, a kind smile on his face.

When he had released the Hanged Ghost and the Drowned Ghost earlier, it was like chasing off hired laborers to do their work.

But now, it was as if he were calling his own grandsons to wake up and study.

Old Qian aimed the mouth of the jar towards the courtyard and murmured, "Eat well, eat until you're full." Then, he yanked off the mulberry bark paper sealing the jar's opening.

Whoosh--

In an instant, dense, turbid Yin energy surged forward like flames. A massive shadow, like viscous slime, crawled up the courtyard wall, quickly flipping over and sticking close to the ground as it rushed toward the house where Xu Yuan and Stepmother were.

Wherever this thing passed, it left behind a massive trace of Yin energy erosion, as if it had been scrubbed with strong acid.

Stepmother let out a cold snort and stood proudly by the window, the candlestick from the table now held in her hand.

In the darkness, the monster approached rapidly, its foul stench hitting them head-on!

The creature had no visible organs. It was just a large, black, sticky mass, about ten feet in size.

Utilizing its unique characteristics, it could freely form limbs, claws, horns, and other appendages.

As it reached the house, countless tendrils extended from its body, attempting to burrow in through any opening, such as the windows and door cracks.

Seeing this thing, Stepmother's expression shifted slightly, and she angrily exclaimed, "Madness! You've actually cultivated a Corpse Water Monster! It takes at least one hundred and fifty corpses, and the putrid fluid seeping from them, to nurture it to this stage!"

Outside the courtyard, Old Qian heard Stepmother's words and actually showed an expression of "meeting a kindred spirit in a foreign land."

Shanhe County was simply too small and too backward.

It was rare for his "children" in the jars and bottles to encounter someone who truly appreciated them.

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