The Head

The Patrol Team was made up of six people per group.

Normally, in the first half of the night, even an experienced Patrol Team like Brother Yong's wouldn't light a Soul Fire torch, to conserve their Lifespan, unless something happened.

But in the second half of the night, most Patrol Teams lit Soul Fire torches, burning some Lifespan in exchange for visibility and safety.

After all, the deeper into the night it got, the more active the strange beings became.

Of course, that didn't mean they never appeared during the day. It was just less likely.

Someone had apparently studied this phenomenon. According to the rumor, strange beings preferred the conditions at night.

"But didn't Lin Ling say we usually didn't need to light Soul Fire torches?"

Shi Wuliao immediately grew anxious.

Lighting a Soul Fire torch required burning Lifespan.

Their Lifespan was just enough to get them through the night patrol.

Only after handing over their duties and collecting their Lifespan reward could they keep clinging to life.

But if they burned Lifespan now, they wouldn't last until the mission was complete.

So if they lit a Soul Fire torch, they could only count on Fang Yue or Niu Niu, the two who had obtained Bronze Lifespan Tokens in advance.

"With Lin Ling's strength as a captain, he really doesn't need to light a Soul Fire torch under normal circumstances. But guards as weak as us are different. If we don't light one and run into a strange being, we might be killed before we even see what it looks like, dying silently and without knowing why."

Brother Yong had told Fang Yue this, and Fang Yue thought it made sense.

With visibility this poor, Fang Yue already felt they were in danger—and this was only the first half of the night.

"Do we really have to light one...?"

Everyone hesitated.

"It's still the first half of the night. How about we skip it?"

"Yeah, we should save our Lifespan whenever we can."

Fang Yue shook his head.

"No! We're lighting the torches now."

"But... why?"

Everyone was confused.

Fang Yue patiently explained.

"Brother Yong has years of patrol experience. He can lead a team through the first half of the night in the dark. The five of you players are all beginners. You can't compare."

"Take what just happened. If it hadn't been Brother Yong but a strange being, all five of you would be lying dead right now. But with the torches lit, we can spot trouble early and be ready to run or fight instead of noticing it only when it's right in front of us."

Everyone fell silent.

They knew Fang Yue was right, but they couldn't bring themselves to part with their Lifespan.

They'd burn Lifespan in the first half of the night, then keep burning it in the second half. They'd run out before the patrol ended!

And that was a very real problem.

Fang Yue thought for a moment, then said, "How about this: I'll cover the Lifespan cost of the Soul Fire torches for now. Once the patrol ends and you've received your rewards, you can pay me back. There are six of us, and if the Soul Fire burns for six hours, we'll each only need to contribute one hour of Lifespan."

"One hour"—easy for him to say.

They hadn't even received their rewards yet, but the thought of handing over their Lifespan already made them wince.

Shi Wuliao's eyes darted around. "Brother Ye, the Bronze Lifespan Token should be able to allocate Lifespan to other people, right? I want to buy one hour of Lifespan from you!"

The others were tempted, too, and chimed in one after another.

Their offers rose from one thousand to ten thousand, which left Fang Yue speechless.

But Fang Yue still refused.

He had a lot of Lifespan, but practicing martial arts consumed it quickly.

Besides, he hadn't found a way to earn large amounts of Lifespan yet. Every bit he spent was gone for good. Such a precious resource was something he had to keep for himself.

Fang Yue understood that only by making his character stronger could he earn more money.

Seeing how firmly Fang Yue refused, they turned to Niu Niu instead, raising their offer to twenty thousand.

Niu Niu finally gave in and sold one hour of his Lifespan.

Fang Yue shook his head, saying nothing about the choice.

After seeing Shi Wuliao buy an hour of Lifespan, everyone kept trying to convince Niu Niu to sell more.

At last, Niu Niu was persuaded again. Thinking he'd receive a Lifespan reward when the patrol ended, he sold another four hours, keeping only one hour for himself.

Watching Niu Niu suddenly get rich, Fang Yue's resolve wavered.

But he thought about the bright future ahead and how much money he could make once his character was powerful, and finally resisted the temptation.

"Now that everyone has some Lifespan to spare, each of us can contribute one hour to light the Soul Fire torches. Any objections?"

"None."

He burned Soul Fire and lit the torch.

With a soft whoosh, flames flared in the darkness, illuminating their surroundings.

Looking at the little flame, they realized for the first time how luxurious light was.

The holder had to burn Lifespan to keep a Soul Fire torch lit.

Fang Yue was first on watch. When the next hour came, he would pass the torch to the second person, who would hold it and burn Lifespan.

Holding the torch, Fang Yue continued along the patrol route.

The others followed behind him, all a little excited.

With light, they felt braver.

They'd heard that Soul Fire torches could also repel strange beings. That meant if one entered the village, the chance of them being attacked would be lower.

Fang Yue's team patrolled a small area north of the village, near its center. Their route passed Captain Chen's house, making it one of the safer routes among all the night patrols.

After all, it was close to the Chen residence, where Captain Chen usually slept. If anything happened, he could provide backup right away.

Fang Yue hadn't chosen this route. Lin Ling had picked it for him.

After Fang Yue had become a "cripple," Lin Ling's attitude toward him had improved a lot. He was practically taking special care of him.

Fang Yue even hesitated over whether to tell him the "bad news" that he had completely recovered.

Brother Yong's patrol route happened to overlap with Fang Yue's along one stretch of road.

But everyone patrolled at a different pace, so under normal circumstances, they'd only run into each other two or three times a night.

With Fang Yue leading the way, his calm demeanor and the broad illumination of the Soul Fire torch gradually emboldened everyone.

They went from being cautious at first to occasionally chatting.

By the time the first hour had passed and they'd completed two loops of their route, Shi Wuliao had taken over the Soul Fire torch. Everyone was already chatting freely, completely relaxed.

"What was I worried about? Night patrol's no big deal."

"Exactly. I thought we'd definitely run into a strange being, so I was on edge the whole time."

"Those villagers said Ancient Moon Village had Lord Han, so strange beings entered it far less often than they did other villages. The odds of us running into one were low."

"That's not all. Apparently, Ancient Moon Village's core is bigger than those of the neighboring villages. Besides resisting the [Cold Night], it can also repel most low-level strange beings and make them loathe the place, stopping them from entering the village. Of course, some still slip through, which is why the Patrol Team exists."

The second half was information Fang Yue already knew, but the first half made him pause.

Lord Han?

Lin Ling had said Lord Han went to the neighboring village to find medicine for him, so he shouldn't be in the village now...

It should be fine, right? He'd only been gone for a day.

Fang Yue was still mulling it over when the light around them suddenly shifted.

He looked up in surprise and saw Shi Wuliao slumped on the ground, pointing ahead. His face was full of terror, and though his mouth opened and closed, no sound came out.

They said some people couldn't make a sound when they were terrified.

Shi Wuliao was clearly one of them.

"What's going on?!"

"The torch is going out! Someone, pick it up!"

"Did we run into a strange being? Leave it to me!"

The last voice belonged to Niu Niu.

He strode forward, picked up the torch from the ground, and swept it toward what lay ahead.

The light fell on it, and everyone saw clearly.

A human head lay on the ground.

Brother Yong's head.