Three hours later, in the outer mountain range of Emerald Peak.
The red moon in the sky had already vanished, replaced by a dim, fish-belly white glow on the horizon.
Ghost Banner Daoist crawled out from behind a patch of low shrubs. His Daoist robe was smeared with mud, his hair hung in disarray, and dark circles shadowed his eyes.
The five people following behind him looked even worse.
Four men and one woman, all of them hung their heads in dejection. Their long robes were tattered, several spots still stained with fresh blood.
They trailed behind Ghost Banner Daoist in a staggered line.
At the front was a sharp-mouthed middle-aged man. Half of his right ear was missing, blood still trickling from the wound.
His name was Liu Qi. His Life-Seeking Bell had earned him a modest reputation within a hundred li.
But tonight, he had gotten off to a bad start. A business with no capital had run into a hard case, and even his bonded artifact had been confiscated.
Behind Liu Qi was a short, fat, bald man. Something had bitten a huge chunk of flesh from his left arm. He had only crudely wrapped it with strips torn from his clothes, and blood was still seeping through.
Further back was a tall, thin woman in her forties. Her fingernails were long and black, and one glance was enough to tell she had cultivated some kind of vicious claw technique.
At the end of the group were two young men. One was empty-handed, while the other had a sword sheath tucked at his waist, looking like a down-and-out wandering Daoist. Ghost Banner Daoist led the five through the last patch of thatch grass and finally saw Chen Mo leaning against a massive bluish-gray boulder.
"Master Chen, it's