Knocking at Midnight

With a few last rays of sunset remaining, the group lit a fire in the courtyard and gathered around it for a simple meal of dried rations, none of them speaking.

After all, they were martial artists temporarily assembled for the magistrate's task. There was no real bond between them.

After eating, they each found a room in the large residence.

"Our rooms are close together. If anything happens tonight, call for me," Peng Huo reminded them.

"Okay." x6

All six answered in unison.

"Creak."

Lin Nan shut his door, set his bundle on the bed, and gave the room a cursory look around.

The courtyard was extremely dilapidated, riddled with holes everywhere. The door was somewhat rotten and would not close fully, leaving a narrow gap through which he could vaguely see the courtyard outside.

Night quickly fell. Lin Nan picked up the jade talisman and hung it from a beam.

The faint, gentle glow radiating from it gave him a trace of reassurance.

Then he took the last small piece of demon flesh from his bundle, drew his steel blade, and sliced it bit by bit into thin pieces, swallowing them with the cool water he carried.

Buzz!

As the furnace roared, strands of sinister energy were continuously refined by the [Creation Furnace], transforming into yin energy points.

The yin energy points became proficiency, and Lin Nan poured all of it into the progress bar for "White Snake Stance."

In an instant, memories of countless days and nights spent tirelessly practicing stances flashed past. Lin Nan suddenly felt as though a surge of warmth had exploded from his dantian.

Beneath his skin, the blood energy throughout his body flowed like boiling water through his limbs and bones, washing over his entire body again and again as countless flecks of black grime seeped from his pores.

Qi coursed through his body, and his muscles and bones opened!

"It worked—third level of blood energy!"

Lin Nan closed his eyes and steadied his breathing. Feeling the abundant blood energy within him, a sliver of security finally rose in his heart.

[Technique: White Snake Stance (Level 3, 30/400)]

Having reached the third level of blood energy, his next step would be to return to the martial hall for assessment. By tempering his skin and flesh and forging his body, he would enter the stage also known as "skin-grinding."

"Unfortunately, I've run out of demon flesh. I'll have to find time to restock at the black market. It'll be hard to advance this fiercely again anytime soon."

Just as Lin Nan was pondering this—

A few light knocks suddenly came from outside the door.

Knock, knock, knock...

A Corpse Ghost?

Lin Nan was delighted. He had just been worrying about running out of demon flesh and having no source of yin energy points.

He bent down and peered through the crack in the door. Through the narrow gap, he saw someone who greatly surprised him.

Yu Qianqian of the White Snake Martial School, a newly promoted inner disciple just like him.

Yu Qianqian was dressed in black, her brows slightly furrowed as though she had something urgent to say.

"What are you doing here?" Lin Nan asked warily, tightening his grip on the hilt at his waist.

"I'm not a Corpse Ghost. Open the door. I'll come in and explain."

Yu Qianqian seemed to have seen through Lin Nan's concerns. She took a jade talisman from her robes, its gentle glow enveloping her body.

"So she really wasn't a Corpse Ghost?"

Lin Nan calculated the time in his head. It was roughly the hour of Xu; there were still two hours until midnight at the hour of Zi. It was not the time when evil things emerged.

But whether she was a Corpse Ghost or not, what did that have to do with whether I opened the door?

"If you have something to say, say it there," Lin Nan said in a low voice.

Yu Qianqian fell silent for a moment before speaking. "You seem to be overly cautious."

"Since that's the case, I'll keep it brief. This afternoon, I noticed something strange about Peng Huo and the village chief. I suspect this mission isn't as simple as it seems. Be careful."

"Something strange?" Lin Nan nodded slightly.

"Anyway, watch out for yourselves. Once we collect the flower dew tomorrow morning, leave as soon as possible. Whatever you do, don't come back to this village..."

After saying that, Yu Qianqian glanced around. Seeming afraid someone might spot her, she did not linger and left directly.

Watching Yu Qianqian's figure disappear into the night, Lin Nan stroked his chin thoughtfully.

"She came all the way here this late just to tell me that? I don't remember having any friendship with her."

"Forget it..."

Lin Nan stopped dwelling on it. He moved a table and chairs against the door, then lay down on the bed to rest.

Who knew how much time passed.

Bang, bang, bang.

Another round of knocking sounded outside the door.

Lin Nan groggily opened his eyes and looked through the window, discovering that the sky outside had already turned a leaden gray.

"We're setting off. If we're any later and miss the right time, we won't be able to collect the flower dew."

"Okay."

Lin Nan hurriedly got up, quickly packed his bundle, fastened his steel blade at his waist, and headed out.

When he reached the courtyard, the other six were already waiting and ready.

Every one of them yawned repeatedly. Only Peng Huo looked as composed as ever. Holding a yellowed map in his hand, he led the group slowly toward the village road.

"Soul-Congealing Flowers grow among graves year-round. They wither under sunlight, and only at dawn do they condense flower dew. You need jade purification bottles to collect it. You all prepared them, right?"

As Peng Huo reminded them, he led the group through twists and turns for about half a mile before arriving at a hillside.

Looking upward from below, earthen mounds rose and fell unevenly. Wild graves covered the entire hill, while clusters of blue flowers lay scattered through the gaps between tombs like starlight.

"Quickly."

At the sight of the blue Soul-Congealing Flowers, joy immediately appeared on everyone's faces. They took out their white porcelain jade purification bottles and rushed forward.

One by one, they carefully tilted the mouths of their bottles beneath the flowers' stamens. The newly condensed flower dew rolled down along the petals.

Before long, bottle after bottle of Soul-Congealing Flower Dew had been collected.

Peng Huo took out a black wooden box lined with brocade and neatly arranged the bottles of Soul-Congealing Flower Dew inside.

Click.

As the box closed, the stone in everyone's hearts finally dropped. They all let out breaths of relief.

"This mission went unbelievably smoothly. As expected of a collection mission."

Xiong Hui of Gale Martial Hall looked thoroughly pleased. In the past, whenever they took on missions to eliminate bandits or clear out Corpse Ghosts—

Which time had they not risked life and limb, licking blood from the edge of a blade?

A mission that went this smoothly was practically like a dream.

"Let's go. We'll return to the village to rest for a while, then head back."

Even Peng Huo's usually icy face showed a rare smile.

The rewards for this Soul-Congealing Flower Dew collection mission were quite generous. Besides money, there were jade talismans and medicinal herbs that replenished blood energy. It was highly worthwhile.

The group slowly made their way back along the village road, all of them much more relaxed.

Lin Nan followed at the very back of the group. Something had felt off to him all along, but he could not put his finger on what was wrong.

He raised a hand and tapped Yu Qianqian, who was walking in front of him, lowering his voice.

"Did you notice anything strange just now?"

Yu Qianqian turned around, her face full of confusion.

"What are you talking about? Strange how?"

Hm?

Lin Nan suddenly recalled a point that did not add up.

"When you secretly came to see me last night, didn't you say we should leave as soon as we collected the flower dew? When Peng Huo said just now that we should return to the village to rest, why didn't you object?"

"Last night? Did I speak to you last night?"

Yu Qianqian looked baffled. "After I ate last night, I went back to rest. I never left my room at all. How could I have gone to see you?"

"You..."

Lin Nan's pupils contracted as he froze on the spot. Yu Qianqian's expression did not seem fake.

Then who was the person who had knocked on his door and delivered that message last night?