The Protagonist

Xiao Fan sighed. "Last night, I ran into a gang of vicious bandits as soon as I entered the mountains, then stumbled into some evil occurrences afterward. You could say I barely escaped with my life."

At those words, the innkeeper's face filled with confusion. "Oh my, Golden Glow Mountain really has been wicked strange lately."

As he spoke, he helped Xiao Fan into the inn and told the waiter to bring out two cold steamed buns and a pot of cool water.

Starving to the point of collapse, Xiao Fan set the nobleman down, took the buns, and began wolfing them down. "Th... thank you!"

"Hey! Slow down! Look how hungry you are—I was just about to have them warmed up for you." The innkeeper was stunned by the sight. Those cold, hard buns were being devoured like braised pork knuckles!

Xiao Fan had no sense of taste at the moment. The cold buns were like chewing wax in his mouth, but in his current state, he could not care less about flavor.

Before long, the two buns were gone, and Xiao Fan finally recovered a little strength. "Right, what did you mean just now about Golden Glow Mountain lately?"

At the mention of the strange happenings on Golden Glow Mountain, the innkeeper immediately perked up. "You're from out of town, aren't you? No wonder you don't know."

"There's plenty of strange stuff in these mountains. Daytime is one thing—we have the Radiant One in the heavens watching over us!"

"But once night falls, all kinds of natural disasters, human calamities, evil spirits, and ghosts come out to make trouble!"

Xiao Fan deeply agreed. He had just escaped from a night that devoured people without even spitting out their bones...

This world was strange everywhere, especially after nightfall.

The origin of it all was tied to certain ancient legends.

Ancient texts recorded that, long ago, there were two deities in the heavens. One governed the day and was reverently known as the Radiant One; the sun was Its incarnation.

The other governed the night and was reverently known as the Dark One; the moon was Its incarnation.

But at some unknown point, the moon vanished from the night sky...

From then on, the nights became exceedingly bizarre. All manner of demons and monsters appeared among mankind, the earth came alive, and all things underwent strange transformations.

To survive, people prayed to the sun, hoping to receive the Day God's protection and drive away the evil things of the night.

Fortunately, the Radiant One answered the prayers of all living beings, bestowing pure white flames to disperse the evil things of the night.

The Great Liang Astronomical Bureau used special formations to spread the lingering glow of the pure white sacred fire across entire cities, driving away the evil things of the night.

Thus, virtually every territory under Great Liang's official rule possessed sacred-fire formations. Cloud Hidden Village, for instance, had fewer than a hundred residents, yet it too was protected by one.

However, maintaining the sacred fire's flame required a special wax oil known as red crystal wax.

This wax was extraordinarily expensive, and red crystal ore veins were strictly controlled by the imperial court. Ordinary people simply could not buy it.

Xiao Fan did not entirely believe such ancient legends. He always felt there was some unknown secret hidden behind them.

After filling his stomach, Xiao Fan used the guest-room key given to him by the innkeeper to enter a room on the second floor. He laid the unconscious nobleman on the bedding beside the bed.

Then he went to a barren hill outside the village and built empty graves for each of those who had died tragically on this journey...

Their corpses had already been devoured by the night corrosion, so this was all he could do for now. Once he returned to the capital, he would find a way to console their families.

After finishing everything, Xiao Fan returned to his room at the inn, collapsed onto the bed, and fell asleep at once.

He was simply too exhausted to hold on any longer.

When he woke again, night had already fallen.

Having developed nighttime PTSD, Xiao Fan instinctively shuddered. He quickly rolled out of bed and rushed to the window. Only when he saw pure white flames burning in the village square did he finally let out a breath of relief.

No matter what, seeing that pure white sacred fire, like a tiny sun illuminating the entire village, always gave people a sense of security. They no longer feared the darkness.

"Cough... cough... Water... water..."

From the bedding beside the bed, the nobleman mumbled as if in a dream.

Yes, a certain exceptionally responsible and utterly dedicated temporary worker had tossed the nobleman onto the floor bedding while taking the bed for himself...

Delight appeared on Xiao Fan's face. He hurriedly lifted the nobleman from the floor bedding onto the bed and poured him a cup of hot water.

After all, only if the nobleman lived would Xiao Fan have any hope of living himself! If the nobleman died, Xiao Fan would most likely end up on an imperial wanted poster and be hunted by the woman in black. He would be caught between a rock and a hard place.

Even worse, this matter might very well bring disaster upon his family. Escorting the nobleman had been his assignment—if the man was gone, would his whole family have any good days ahead?

"My lord? My... thing? You're awake?"

The fair-faced young master in splendid brocade clothes suddenly jolted awake in terror, like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. "N-no... Don't... don't kill me!"

Xiao Fan let out a long breath. The great nobleman is finally awake.

"Don't be afraid! It's me, Xiao Fan! Do you remember? The gray-robed escort assigned to take you east." Xiao Fan hurriedly reassured him and handed over the cup.

The fair-faced young master shrank back against the headboard, secretly studying Xiao Fan. He did look somewhat familiar...

In truth, he did not remember the name Xiao Fan at all. Or rather, to high officials and nobles like him, gray-robed people were no different from the weeds by the roadside.

Fortunately, Xiao Fan was no ordinary escort. He was the leader of this escort party, so the young master naturally had a somewhat deeper impression of him.

"Ah! I remember now. You're that... Xiao... Xiao Fan?"

Xiao Fan maintained a polite smile. "Xiao Fan."

"Oh, oh, oh! Right, Gray-Robed Xiao!" Only then did the fair-faced young master relax. He took the cup and drained it in one gulp, drinking so hastily that he nearly choked to death...

Gulp, gulp...

The fair-faced young master clutched his growling stomach, looking troubled. "Um... is there anything to eat?"

"Only steamed buns. Please make do with these for now."

Xiao Fan happened to have two steamed buns prepared, so he handed them to the young master to stave off his hunger.

Chomp, chomp—within a few bites, the young master wolfed down both snowy-white steamed buns.

He truly had been starving.

"Right... I remember now. After we entered the mountains, we ran into a gang of fierce bandits. They kidnapped me! They even threatened to kill me! Then... then I passed out..."

Xiao Fan's expression turned grave. "They took you away, then slaughtered everyone else... I was the only one who escaped death by the skin of my teeth."

After that, Xiao Fan briefly recounted the rough course of events... largely restoring what had happened from beginning to end, with just a touch of artistic embellishment.

For instance, the heroic tale of how he had defied death, braved the danger of the Night Eclipse, fought those bandits for his life without regard for his own, and finally rescued the young master from their demonic clutches!

As for the matter of using underhanded tricks against the woman in black, that naturally could not be mentioned... after all, he still had some pride.

As he spoke with impassioned fervor, he deliberately—or seemingly inadvertently—revealed the knife wounds on his body and the puncture wound in his palm. Sound and sight worked in tandem, heightening the story's impact!

The fair-faced young master listened, at times horrified, at times tense, at times sorrowful, at times sighing in awe...

"What a hero!!! You are my benefactor!"

That generous helping of embellishment moved the young master to tears and snot...

As he cried, his wrist began to throb painfully. Looking at the several knife wounds on his arm, the young master said in shock, "Th-this is..."

Xiao Fan shook his head, looking heartbroken and indignant. "Those thieves were worse than beasts! Do you know that not only did they kidnap you, they also slashed open your arm and bled you!"

The words nearly frightened the young master into passing out again.

The truth was that, in order to muddy the waters and escape the woman in black's clutches, Xiao Fan had cut his benefactor's wrist and used his blood to create false traces to mislead her...

"Fortunately, I arrived in time! I stopped their evil deed!" Xiao Fan declared with righteous solemnity. His large peach-blossom eyes shone brightly, and coupled with his refined, handsome features, he looked every inch the upright hero!

The young master seized Xiao Fan's callused, scar-covered hands and said excitedly, "From this day forth, you and I shall become sworn brothers of different surnames!"

Xiao Fan followed up on his words and asked, "Right, I still don't know who you are..."