The chill in the courtyard had yet to dissipate, and everyone's fear had reached its peak.
Following the trembling fingers of the gang members, they saw two more twisted, indistinct gray-black figures slowly taking shape beyond the moon gate, beneath the pale red moonlight.
They seemed more solid than the one before, their venomous resentment so intense it nearly froze the air.
Lei Tiger was horrified. He had just fought a perilous battle, and the meridians in his arm still throbbed with pain.
Facing one bizarre attack after another, even his fierce resolve couldn't keep a deep sense of helplessness from creeping over him.
"Form up! Back to back! Use fire!"
He roared hoarsely, trying to steady his men.
A few of his bolder confidants managed to gather together. In their panic, someone lit a torch.
But ordinary flames seemed to have little effect on the now-solid resentful spirits. They only made them recoil slightly, without driving them away.
Just as one resentful spirit shrieked and lunged at Scarface, who was frozen with terror...
"Jingle..."
The clear sound of a copper bell rang out in the courtyard without warning.
The bell wasn't loud, but it carried a strange penetrating quality, as if it could reach straight into the depths of the soul.
The two resentful spirits lunging at the crowd froze in unison. Their twisted faces turned toward the sound, and they let out wary hisses.
Lei Tiger whipped around.
Beneath the eaves of the covered walkway connecting to the front hall, a man had appeared from nowhere.
He was tall and slender, with a lean, refined face, and looked to be about forty.
He wore a blue gown beneath a slightly worn black satin jacket, and a matching, equally worn cap. He looked like a clerk or adviser from an old-fashioned government office.
Most striking of all was the white paper lantern in his hand. Its candle burned with an eerie green light, casting a bluish pallor over half his face.
In his other hand, he held a dark yellow copper bell covered in dense, intricate runes.
Lei Tiger recognized him. A few days earlier, when he'd gone outside the city to welcome the new county magistrate, Zhou Wenren, this man had been standing beside him. What was his surname again? Song, he thought.
The newcomer paid no heed to the wounded men scattered across the courtyard. His gaze swept over the two resentful spirits, then settled on the Ghost Head Blade in Lei Tiger's hand. A flicker of understanding passed through his narrow eyes, so brief it was almost imperceptible.
"Resentment gathers into form, and yin spirits attack the residence. Gang Leader Lei, it seems your household won't have a peaceful night." His voice was flat and steady, yet it rang clear over the spirits' howls.
"Mr. Song!" Lei Tiger clutched at him like a drowning man grasping a lifeline. He was wary of the mysterious man at County Magistrate Zhou's side, but right now, he couldn't afford to care. "Please, sir, save me! Lei will repay you handsomely!"
Mr. Song ignored the offer and took a few steps into the courtyard.
Wherever he passed, the white frost on the ground quietly melted away.
"Resentful baleful energy, driven by human hands. Crude methods, but not without interest." He frowned as he studied the scene. "Using an object to draw resentment, then gathering baleful energy to create a deadly force. A crude, unorthodox method. Are there people in Linhe who know this stuff?"
The two resentful spirits seemed extremely wary of Mr. Song. They turned their attention to him, and gray-black yin energy surged toward him like a flood of tentacles!
Mr. Song's expression didn't change. The green lantern in his left hand swayed slightly.
Its eerie light suddenly spread.
The incoming tendrils of yin energy touched the green glow and melted away like snow in the warm sun, far more thoroughly than the baleful energy from the Ghost Head Blade had dispelled them.
At the same time, he shook the copper bell in his right hand again.
"Jingle... jingle..."
This time, the rhythm was different—alternately quick and drawn-out, following a peculiar cadence.
At the sound of the bell, Lei Tiger and the others felt the panic and restlessness in their hearts forcibly ease a little. The two resentful spirits, meanwhile, seemed bound by invisible ropes. Their movements grew sluggish, the gray-black yin energy around them churned violently, and their forms began to waver.
"Yin spirits linger, born from resentment." Mr. Song murmured an indistinct incantation, then shouted, "Disperse!"
Under the combined force of the green light and the bell, the two resentful spirits' bodies crumbled like sandcastles swept away by the wind.
At last, they dissolved into a few wisps of faint black smoke, which were drawn into the green light inside Mr. Song's lantern and vanished without a trace.
The courtyard fell completely quiet.
Only scattered debris and a few injured gang members groaning in pain remained.
It had all happened quickly. From Mr. Song's appearance to the spirits' disappearance, no more than a dozen breaths had passed.
Compared with Lei Tiger's fierce struggle, Mr. Song's methods had seemed effortless.
Lei Tiger let out a long breath. Cold sweat had soaked his back.
Tonight's battle had been truly perilous, and it had made him even more wary of those people who practiced the unorthodox arts of the Yin Sect.
He put away the Ghost Head Blade, clasped his hands, and said gravely, "Thank you for saving my life, Mr. Song! I will never forget your kindness!"
Mr. Song put away the copper bell, and the lantern's green glow returned to normal.
He looked at Lei Tiger, his gaze resting on the man's still bruised and purplish arm. "You're too kind, Gang Leader Lei. I have come with the county magistrate to take up our posts in Jinmen and protect the people. It's my duty. However..."
He changed tack. "These weren't ordinary wandering ghosts. Someone used a secret art to guide them here and deliberately unleash them on your residence. Has your gang offended anyone you shouldn't have?"
Lei Tiger's heart gave a sharp jolt as his thoughts raced. He couldn't be sure which enemy he might have provoked. "Someone I shouldn't have offended? I've made plenty of enemies trying to earn a living in Jinmen. Or... perhaps some reckless outsiders lately?"
Mr. Song watched him in silence. His wooden eyes seemed able to see straight through people.
But he didn't press the matter. He only said, "This art is insidious. It uses resentment to damage the foundations of a person's soul. Gang Leader Lei, you broke one spirit with your fierce weapon's baleful energy, but that energy has invaded your body. If it isn't removed promptly, it may shorten your life."
Lei Tiger's expression changed. His arm was indeed still cold and painfully numb, and now and then irritation and illusory voices stirred in his mind. "Please, sir, save me!"
Mr. Song took a flat black wooden box about the size of a palm from the inside pocket of his jacket. Inside were several long, slender needles and a small pinch of dark red powder.
"Lie down and roll up your sleeve."
Lei Tiger didn't dare delay. He immediately ordered his men to bring a bamboo couch and did as he was told.
Mr. Song worked swiftly, precisely driving the blue needles into several acupoints on Lei Tiger's arm. He picked up a little of the dark red powder with his fingernail and drew two strange symbols, one over Lei Tiger's heart and the other on his forehead.
As Mr. Song worked his art, Lei Tiger felt the cold, stabbing pain in his arm recede like a tide. The purplish bruising faded rapidly.
At the same time, he sensed an exceedingly faint trace of something lingering in a hidden corner of his body, quietly linked to Mr. Song in a way he couldn't describe.
This alarmed him, but he didn't dare let it show.
A moment later, Mr. Song withdrew the needles and ended the ritual. "The resentment has been temporarily sealed, and the backlash from the baleful energy has been redirected. But the source hasn't been eliminated. Gang Leader Lei, you should keep a low profile for now and spend more time in the sun. Let your own yang energy and blood gradually dispel what remains."
"Thank you, sir!" Lei Tiger moved his arm and found that it felt much better. He quickly thanked Mr. Song and signaled Scarface to fetch a reward.
Mr. Song waved him off. "No need for a reward. The county magistrate has only just arrived, and keeping the peace in Jinmen will require the help of heroes like you, Gang Leader Lei. If you notice anything unusual again... you can come find me at the county office anytime."
With that, he lifted the white paper lantern glowing green, paid no heed to the wreckage in the courtyard, and turned to follow the covered walkway he had come along. He vanished into the darkness without a sound.