Startled by the News

The two lackeys abandoned Wang the Scabby and sprinted for their lives toward the street. Only after exiting Funeral Street did they lean against a brick wall, gasping for air.

"D-did... did it follow us?"

Gouzi leaned his back against the cold brick wall, his chest heaving so violently it felt as if it might burst.

The two strained their ears for a long time, but aside from their own ragged breathing, the depths of the alley were deathly silent, save for the occasional distant bark of a wild dog.

Beside him, Er Lu slumped directly onto the ground, his face as pale as paper, his crotch soaked through. "...Ghost... there really is a ghost... Brother Scabby, he..."

"Shut up!"

Gouzi hissed a low reprimand, though he couldn't help but shiver himself.

That bone-chilling sensation from moments ago, and the way Brother Scabby's scream had been cut short...

He forced himself to stand, craning his neck to peer back the way they came. The alley was pitch black, and in the corners where the moonlight couldn't reach, he could see nothing at all.

"We can't stay in this place... we have to go, we have to go now!"

Gouzi hauled up the weak-kneed Er Lu, and the two stumbled forward, supporting each other as they shuffled toward the sound of human activity.

They didn't dare return to their usual sleeping spot, wanting only to find a safe corner to hide in until dawn.

In their panicked state, they turned into a relatively wider old street.

One could still vaguely make out the shapes of former shops here, though most were now dilapidated and shuttered, with only a few window lattices emitting the faint glow of oil lamps.

Piles of debris and trash sat at the street corner, giving off a musty odor.

The two breathed a slight sigh of relief and sat down in a wind-sheltered corner, but suddenly, four figures emerged silently from the shadows at the mouth of the alley ahead.

The four moved in unison with practiced efficiency, forming a loose semi-circle that perfectly blocked Gouzi and Er Lu's path.

Their faces were covered by masks, and their eyes appeared cold in the dim light. As they swept their gazes over the two, there was no intention of questioning them, only an appraisal as if they were evaluating merchandise.

The hair on Gouzi and Er Lu's bodies stood on end.

These weren't the night-patrol constables; the constables didn't possess such murderous intent, and they certainly weren't local street thugs.

"G-gentlemen..." Gouzi's throat went dry, and he forced a smile that looked worse than crying. "We're just passing through... we don't know anything..."

The leader in the tight-fitting suit ignored his words entirely. His gaze lingered for a second on their terrified faces before he gave a slight nod to one of his subordinates.

The subordinate moved with ghostly speed. Gouzi felt a blur before his eyes, and a massive force slammed into his stomach.

"Ugh—!"

He let out a muffled groan, the excruciating pain causing him to double over like a shrimp. His stomach churned violently, and his body pitched forward uncontrollably.

At the same time, Er Lu was struck in the ribs by another man using almost the exact same technique. He couldn't even manage a scream before he collapsed straight to the ground.

Only after both men were down did the leader walk forward, crouch, and reach out to check the pulses and skin temperature at their necks, before prying open their eyelids to take a look.

"Their vitality is still strong; they are perfect for the use."

Another man had already deftly untied two rolls of coarse burlap from his waist. With practiced movements, he wrapped the unconscious Gouzi and Er Lu, leaving only small gaps for their mouths and noses to breathe, before quickly binding them tight with hemp rope.

"Boss, with these two, the bait for the southeast corner is complete," the subordinate in charge of binding whispered.

The leader nodded and glanced at the sky.

The Blood Moon had risen to the zenith, its color growing increasingly dark and viscous, with what looked like blood slowly writhing along the edges of the lunar disc.

"The timing is just right."

He stood up, his gaze sweeping over the two tightly wrapped bundles on the ground. "Take them to the rendezvous point. At the first quarter of the Hour of the Rat, we must deploy the materials on time. No one can afford to ruin Master Liu's grand plan."

Without another word, the four men paired off and hoisted Gouzi and Er Lu up with ease, as if they were carrying two bundles of ordinary cargo, and walked swiftly toward the outskirts of the city.

Not far behind them, a paper doll the size of a palm glided silently along the ground, maintaining a constant distance from the four men ahead.

Outside the west gate of Linhe County lay a mass grave mound.

The area was filled with desolate graves and crooked, broken tombstones.

The group did not stop; they bypassed several collapsed burial pits and arrived at a relatively flat clearing.

Seven or eight figures in similar tight-fitting masks stood in silent, solemn formation. In their midst lay five other human-shaped bundles, all bound in the same coarse burlap.

The four men carrying Gouzi and Er Lu stepped forward quickly and piled their bundles with the others.

The leader bowed to a man in black standing with his hands behind his back in the center. "Master Liu, the bait for the southeast corner is complete."

The man in black, addressed as Master Liu, also had his face covered by a mask, revealing only a pair of narrow, sinister eyes.

He glanced at the two newly arrived bundles. "Have they been verified?"

"Verified, Master. Their vitality is strong; they are of the highest quality," the leader replied respectfully.

Master Liu nodded slightly, his gaze shifting to the eerie, complex pattern of the grand formation in the center of the clearing, then looking up at the increasingly ominous Blood Moon in the sky. "What of the other locations?"

"Reporting to Master Liu, the primary bait for the east, north, and west sectors are all in place, totaling twelve. The auxiliary firewood for each location is also being transported; we will certainly reach the count of three hundred and sixty-five before the Hour of the Rat."

Another man nearby whispered his report.

"Firewood..." Master Liu repeated softly, his eyes devoid of ripples, as if he were speaking not of living people, but of actual kindling.

"Linhe, Qingshi, and Baisha—these three counties are filled with starving people. The officials are currently unable to care for themselves, and those so-called righteous sects are in total disarray. It is a heaven-sent opportunity."

He paused, his tone revealing a trace of near-fanatical anticipation: "At a quarter past midnight, when the Blood Moon is at its peak, we shall first use the blood and qi of these three hundred and sixty-five pieces of 'kindling' to ignite the array, then let it simmer for three days. Once the array's momentum fully connects with the ley line Sha Qi, it will shroud the land of three counties..."

A subordinate nearby couldn't help but ask in a low voice: "Master Liu, three days from now... will it truly be possible to drain the life force of three entire counties?"

Master Liu sneered: "It will be far more than just the living creatures currently in those three counties. Once the Life-Seizing Array is fully activated, the life force flowing through the ley lines, the blood and qi hidden within all things, and even the final sparks of life ignited by those refugees in their death throes will all be ruthlessly absorbed by this array."

"Three days of torment, with all living beings as kindling—what will finally condense is the Vitality Creation Pill, capable of bringing the dead back to life, regrowing flesh on bones, and helping those of our Sacred Sect break through their bottlenecks!"

His gaze swept over the subordinates standing solemnly around him: "If you all serve with diligence this time, once the deed is done, each of you shall be granted a sliver of this creation vitality; extending your lifespan and increasing your cultivation will be a matter of course."

Upon hearing this, a flicker of fervor flashed in everyone's eyes, and they spoke in unison in low voices: "We are willing to die for the Sacred Sect! May Master Liu's divine art be completed soon!"

Master Liu waved his hand in satisfaction: "Take your positions and prepare for the midnight ritual. The core of the array must be guarded at all times; there must be no mistakes."

"Three days from now, the time of creation shall descend!"

The Paper Doll lay quietly behind a toppled stone beast, transmitting every word of the conversation and every scene back to its master.

Chen Mo's spirit, peering through the Paper Doll at the massive evil array, felt a chill rise sharply in his heart.

To use the land of three counties and countless living beings as fuel, all for the sake of refining that so-called Vitality Creation Pill?

What utter, unhinged madness!

The Paper Doll dared not linger, and just as it prepared to quietly retreat, it saw Master Liu suddenly seem to sense something; his sinister gaze swept sharply toward the darkness on the outskirts of the Mass Grave Mound, his brows furrowed.

"It seems... there is a little bug?"