There's a Ghost!

Xu Zhibao charged forward with his blade, carrying a fierce whistle through the air as he chopped straight at the black-faced leader's face!

This strike was swift and ruthless, without the slightest flourish—a killing blade technique honed through real combat!

A trace of gravity flashed through the black-faced leader's eyes.

He dared not be careless. His long blade flipped and swept upward.

With a clang, the two blades collided, spraying a string of dazzling sparks through the night!

The two broke apart at the first clash, only to tangle together again in the next instant.

Blade light crisscrossed through the night, the clash of steel ringing without end as dirt beneath their feet flew in every direction.

Xu Zhibao's blade style was broad and unrestrained, majestic in force, every strike carrying the savage resolve to perish together with his enemy;

the black-faced leader's blade style, meanwhile, was more tricky and sinister, every slash aimed at Xu Zhibao's vital points.

For a time, the two were evenly matched, neither able to gain the upper hand!

Amid this flashing storm of blades,

Shen Chu crouched silently in the shadows like a rock.

He had activated the [Breath Concealment] skill, drawing his presence in to the utmost limit.

Even the moths fluttering inches away failed to notice he was there.

In the melee of flashing blades at the center of the courtyard,

Xu Zhibao and the black-faced leader were fighting fiercely, their long blades striking each other in showers of sparks. For the moment, neither could defeat the other.

Shen Chu assessed the situation.

Judging from the black-faced leader's fight with Xu Zhibao, his martial skill was inferior to both of theirs.

So he decided

not to interfere in that battle for now, instead turning his attention to the battlefield on the other side of the courtyard.

Over there, more than a dozen Red Lotus Sect cultists had already pressed up before the constables and guards.

Yet the cultists' movements seemed somewhat hesitant.

Though they held the advantage in numbers, each of their faces bore a trace of undisguised panic.

So many of them had clearly rushed in during the battle just now, yet there were only a dozen or so still standing here.

Where were the rest of their brothers?

How had they vanished for no reason at all?

Had they run?

But the black-faced leader was behind them, overseeing the battle. Who could possibly escape?

Then were they dead?

But if they were dead, there should at least be corpses, right!?

Yet only a handful of corpses lay on the ground!

It was as if those people had evaporated into thin air, not even leaving behind a shadow!

This strange situation was like an invisible thorn piercing every cultist's heart!

"Fuck... what's going on here?"

"Fuck, I feel like this place is haunted. I clearly rushed in with Seventh just now, but when I turned around, he was gone!?"

"Stop fucking talking about it. It's making my skin crawl..."

Several cultists muttered in low voices, exchanging uneasy looks.

The cultist in the lead swallowed, gritted his teeth, then suddenly waved his hand and roared:

"Stop fucking scaring yourselves! Follow the leader's orders—deal with these people in front of us first! Charge!"

His roar seemed intended to bolster both his own courage and that of his companions.

The dozen or so cultists shouted in unison as well, raising their weapons and lunging fiercely at the constables and guards!

Of the four constables guarding the entrance, one had already been wounded, leaving only three capable of fighting back.

The two guards were also covered in wounds.

But fortunately, several grooms had summoned up their ferocity.

At a time like this,

if they did not fight, they were dead for certain!

Using the doorframe and walls to their advantage, they formed a crude defensive line.

One constable swung his long staff, smashing the foremost charging cultist back two steps. Another guard seized the chance to thrust out his blade, slicing open the cultist's arm.

The two sides launched into a fierce tug-of-war at the narrow entrance, deadlocked for the time being.

Amid the chaos, Shen Chu's figure once again moved silently along the edge of the battlefield like a ghost.

As he watched the fighting nearby, he slowly approached the Red Lotus Sect members from the shadows.

Before long, he had slipped up behind a cultist who was wholly focused on the fight.

All of that cultist's attention was fixed on the opponent before him as he tried to break through the defensive line.

He had not noticed at all that someone had appeared behind him!

Now!

A cold gleam flashed through Shen Chu's eyes. Seizing the moment, his left hand shot out and clamped tightly over the cultist's mouth and nose.

The long blade in his right hand thrust upward from below, precisely piercing the man's heart from behind.

The cultist's body stiffened sharply. After struggling a few times, his arms drooped limply.

Supporting the corpse, Shen Chu retreated into the shadows. With a thought,

a wisp of green smoke rose, and the corpse vanished without a trace.

[Incense Offering to All Living Beings absorption progress:...]

After taking care of one cultist, Shen Chu did not pause in the slightest. His figure flickered, melting back into the darkness.

Moments later, he appeared in another position and repeated the same method.

This time, his target was a cultist at the very back of the group.

The cultist had just pushed his mask back up over his nose and had not even caught his breath when an icy blade pressed against his throat from behind.

A light slash!

Another wisp of green smoke!

[Incense Offering to All Living Beings absorption progress:...]

The battle continued,

but the Red Lotus Sect cultists gradually discovered something that made their hair stand on end.

The people around them were disappearing one after another!

At first, no one noticed.

Everyone was attacking with all their strength. Who had the mind to worry about others?

But when someone casually glanced back, he found that the companion who had been standing behind him was gone.

He froze, then turned to look to the other side.

The person who had just been swinging his blade there was gone too!

"Third? Third?!"

A cultist could not help shouting.

No one answered!

"Fourth?! Sixth?!"

His voice began to tremble.

Still, no one answered!

He looked down at the ground again. The corpses lying there were still only those same few!

At last, he completely panicked!

Looking around, he discovered that of the dozen or so people who had originally formed their group, only seven or eight remained standing in the courtyard!

And those who had disappeared had left behind no trace whatsoever!

No tracks, no corpses—not even a single scream had been heard. They had simply vanished into thin air!

"Th-there's a ghost! This place has a ghost!"

With a clatter, the blade in his hand fell to the ground. It was as though every bit of strength had been drained from him; his legs gave way, and he scrambled backward on hands and knees.

That cry from the cultist was like setting off a powder keg.

The remaining cultists collapsed as well!

They no longer cared about attacking. One after another, they threw down their weapons and fled toward the courtyard wall in a frantic stampede,

their mouths filled with terrified cries:

"Run! Run now! This place is haunted!"

In the blink of an eye, only the constables and the Li Family's people remained at the courtyard entrance where fierce battle had just raged, staring at one another in bewilderment.