The Chill

Rumble!

Thunder rolled, and torrential rain came pouring down. Countless streams of rainwater converged, and soon the ground was awash in muddy floods.

The whole world was a vast, indistinct blur, dark as ink.

Tap, tap, tap.

Jiang Yan held his sword in one hand. The water reached his calves, and all of Yuyang Village was already submerged beneath the curtain of rain.

With a sudden leap, he crossed the ravine and entered the Village Boundary.

Suddenly, a Black Shadow darted out of the ditch. A plaintive sob echoed in his mind, drawing in his attention.

Without even turning his head, Jiang Yan swept his long sword back and cleaved the Black Shadow into ash.

Weird Value: 2

In rainy weather, the strange things were more eager to stir.

He turned. Beyond the ditch at the Village Boundary, a blurred figure stood. She had a curvaceous figure, seemingly a beautiful woman, and was beckoning to him.

Jiang Yan glanced at it. The figure only beckoned to him, but no matter what, it couldn't come in.

After staring at each other for a while, Jiang Yan said nothing and turned to leave.

Back at his lodgings, Jiang Yan dried himself off and changed his clothes.

He sat quietly on his bed alone, silently wiping his long sword.

Rustle, rustle, rustle. Footsteps sounded.

Jiang Yan sheathed his sword and looked toward the door with a cold gaze.

The door swung open with a bang, and at the same time, a familiar voice called out, "Jiang Yan, Jiang Yan, are you back? I brought you—"

Hiss!

Ren Tao stepped into the room and suddenly felt every hair on his body stand on end, as if some strange thing were watching him coldly.

He was just about to back out.

"What's wrong?" Jiang Yan's voice came from beside him, and that strange feeling receded like the tide.

It was almost as if he'd imagined it.

"Uh... Jiang Yan, your room's a little cold."

Ren Tao patted himself and moved around a bit. "Really, your room's a little cold."

Jiang Yan made room for Ren Tao and let him sit. He didn't respond to what Ren Tao had just said, only asked as if in passing, "Nothing happened in the village today, did it?"

Ren Tao shook his head. "A team ran into something strange at noon, but they dealt with it."

"Oh, right. I saw you didn't come to eat, so I brought some back for you. Hurry up and eat; it'll soon be time for the night watch."

"Mm, thanks."

Jiang Yan accepted the food: a bowl of porridge, a piece of dried meat, and a few steamed buns. He put it straight on the bed and began eating in silence.

Ren Tao had been on day duty and was a little tired, but still felt like chatting. After bringing Jiang Yan his meal, he'd planned to stay and talk for a while.

But for some reason, watching Jiang Yan silently eat, he felt a strange, cold, fierce aura radiating from him. Ren Tao opened his mouth several times, ready to bring up the topics he'd prepared, but couldn't get the words out.

As soon as he left, he suddenly felt his whole body relax. "That's strange. Jiang Yan, that taciturn gourd, has gotten even quieter."

After finishing his meal and preparing his things for the outing, Jiang Yan put on his rain cape and left the room, walking out into the downpour.

At the square, Shan Renhu was already waiting for everyone, looking rather anxious.

When he saw Jiang Yan approaching, he went straight over and asked, "Young Brother Jiang, have you seen Tang Long and Fei Shan?"

Jiang Yan and the others had gone out during the day and were originally expected to return safely that afternoon. They hadn't told the rest of the Patrol Team, since it was Sheng Fuwu's personal business.

"I haven't." Jiang Yan's voice drifted faintly through the rain, which hid his expression and made it impossible to tell what he was feeling. "You haven't seen them at all?"

"No!"

Shan Renhu answered firmly. "I got here early today. Tang Long and Fei Shan haven't shown up once."

Then he looked vexed again. "In rainy weather, we can't use the usual big lanterns. We need Brightness Gathering Talismans instead, and usually only they have any..."

"Enough. They're here."

Jiang Yan raised a hand and pointed. Two blurred figures approached in the distance. They were hard to make out, but anyone familiar with them could still recognize Tang and Fei.

"Captain Tang." Old Shan saw the two men and sounded a little aggrieved. "Where have you two been? It's pouring today..."

Whatever Shan Renhu was saying, Tang Long and Fei Shan couldn't hear him anymore. They stared fixedly at the figure beside Old Shan.

Unbelievable!

Jiang Yan sensed their gaze. His eyes held deep, cold indifference. Then he split his lips in a grin, showing them a row of white teeth.

Tang Long watched Jiang Yan smile at him and suddenly felt a chill. A gust of wind blew, and he tightened his clothes.

"Captain Tang, it's almost time. Hurry and hand out the Brightness Gathering Talismans to everyone."

Just then, several squad leaders came over and urged him.

"Right."

With no time to think about anything else, Tang Long handed out the illumination talismans one by one.

Once they'd all been distributed, the teams set off.

"Jiang Yan."

Tang Long couldn't help calling out.

Jiang Yan turned around but said nothing. He only gave the two men a long look, then left with Shan Renhu and the others.

"Am I seeing things? That was Jiang Yan."

"He came back alive. How is that possible?"

Tang Long murmured, shock and doubt in his eyes.

Fei Shan hadn't said a word since seeing Jiang Yan. At last, he spoke. "Believe it or not, Jiang Yan came back alive."

His gaze shifted to the Big Carp Talisman Soldier. In truth, from the moment he'd seen Jiang Yan, he hadn't taken his eyes off the talisman soldier.

From beginning to end, the carp talisman soldier hadn't moved at all, showing no reaction.

That meant Jiang Yan hadn't been possessed by anything strange.

Fei Shan's words brought Tang Long back from his shock.

"He came back alive, so we have to do something to ease his resentment toward us."

Tang Long said, displeased, "In that situation, if we'd stayed behind, we'd have been throwing our lives away. I did nothing wrong, and neither did you."

"Right. We did nothing wrong."

Fei Shan didn't argue. They truly hadn't been wrong; they'd made the most rational choice.

"We did nothing wrong, but Jiang Yan came back. Even if he understands our decision was rational—"

"But what about how he really feels? Do you think he might be unhappy about it?"

Tang Long fell silent.

The wind and rain grew more violent. Fei Shan gazed at the distant, dark sky. "Old Tang, do you want a talented young man keeping you in mind?"

After a long while, Tang Long spat out four words. "I'm not afraid of him!"

Fei Shan shook his head. "Do you remember how he killed a Yin Ghost by himself a few days ago?"

"Being able to kill a Yin Ghost alone means his strength is no less than yours or mine."

He paused. "After what happened today, he came back alive. I watched him closely just now and saw that his emotions were calm, without a trace of bloodlust."

Fei Shan patted Tang Long on the shoulder and continued, "A temperament like that is even more frightening than his talent."

"Listen to me. I may not have many other abilities, but I'm a pretty good judge of character!"

Fei Shan, who usually hardly spoke, had said a great deal in one breath. Tang Long knew his temperament well, and couldn't help listening.

He sighed. "I'll listen to you. No matter what, we were in the wrong."

Fei Shan nodded. "There's another purpose to this. We can clear ourselves of the blame for abandoning our brothers in the gang, and all it takes is for Jiang Yan to let up a little."

Tang Long nodded in agreement.

The two men walked toward the building by the square.

Fei Shan walked slowly. There was something he hadn't said: Jiang Yan was talented, and after surviving this ordeal, his temperament had been tempered too. Sooner or later, his standing would surpass theirs.

I'm willing to make peace just in case. If trouble ever finds me, I'm not asking him to lend a hand—just not to kick me while I'm down, he said silently to himself.

He'd originally wanted to get close to Jiang Yan, hoping that one day Jiang Yan might help him rise. But now...

What a pity. It had been a good opportunity.

With such heavy rain tonight, strange things were more likely to appear. They had to stand night watch here, ready to reinforce any place where trouble might arise.

Inside the room, Tang Long's voice was heavy. "Brother, what do you think Big Captain Sheng will make of Jiang Yan?"

No matter what, the two of them had no way of knowing that Sheng Fuwu was already dead and would never return.