Sir, You Mustn't Take That Road! You Mustn't!

Speak of the devil.

They had barely mentioned Uncle to the guide when Uncle arrived.

The strange operatic singing outside drifted in. Though Jixi Inn muffled it somewhat, it still reached the ears of all three people present.

Not even the rolling thunder could drown it out.

The singing and the thunder seemed to travel in two different ways, neither interfering with the other.

Lin Feng found it strange, too.

He glanced up at the sky.

In his previous lives, after he had fought these Terracotta Figures for a while, lightning had struck.

As though it meant to strike them dead.

Now all these strange things were clustered outside.

Where was the lightning?

Hearing the sounds outside, the guide trembled.

To Lin Feng, it sounded like a regional form of opera. The guide knew it was actually the local Nuo Opera used to drive away spirits.

Nuo Opera was a method used by ancient shamans, who wore masks to portray deities.

Using spirit-expelling Nuo Opera as entertainment.

That was like a cockroach eating cockroach poison as its daily rations.

Arrogant!

Ghost Uncle was no ordinary being!

When it rained, it poured.

Just as Uncle was inviting them outside, the Three Baleful Corpses temporarily suppressed inside the room, Grandpa A-Qing and Granny Ayi among them, gradually began turning their gazes toward the three men.

It seemed that feeding only two of them here, without feeding the Mother-Child Gu—the Mother-and-Child Goddess—would not make them give up.

They would still have to fight.

But this time, the Three Baleful Corpses had picked the wrong people to bully.

Not one of the three men present was a pushover.

Hundred-Household Officer Zhu remained unruffled. He sat on the floor, apparently recovering his strength.

But judging by how he had positioned his goose-feather saber...

At the first sign of trouble, he could draw his weapon and slash straight across the Three Baleful Corpses' waists!

The Embroidered Uniform Guard had its own pride.

See that? I helped the Hongwu Emperor win his empire back in the day. I never feared armies of thousands. What the hell do a few corpses like you amount to?

The thing Hundred-Household Officer Zhu had seen most in his life was corpses.

As for Lin Feng...

He was even calmer.

If I could kill you once, I could kill you a hundred times!

Inside, they stared. Outside, they clamored.

Lin Feng stared blankly at the curtain of raindrops outside, then closed his eyes. His presence grew elusive, and no one knew what he was doing.

A world where only the guide suffered had finally come to pass.

Outside, the twisted figures seemed wary, stopping short of the spot where a stick of heaven-reaching incense had been planted.

Only the toothless old woman stood outside, speaking in a thin voice. "Sir from afar, my uncle requests your presence."

Lin Feng opened his eyes.

That voice grated on his nerves!

The sense of danger granted by Sword Heart Clarity told him that the Three Baleful Corpses were about to revive.

His guess had been right. Unless something went wrong with the Three Baleful Corpses, the people from the Ghost Yamen would not enter this place, though he had no idea why.

Lin Feng walked outside with a few wooden spikes in his hand. The toothless old woman smiled at him, and he smiled back.

Rain poured down outside. He had no idea how the toothless old woman managed it, but despite the downpour, she was not wet at all.

She was perfectly dry.

Compared with Lin Feng, who was soaked to the bone...

The toothless old woman looked far more presentable.

Shhk!

The old woman was still smiling, but Lin Feng's sword was already back in its sheath.

He had drawn and thrust straight ahead, piercing a vital spot with a single strike. Blood splashed onto his clothes, warm to the touch, warmer and thicker than the rain.

The smile remained on the old woman's face.

She was dead.

As she fell, Lin Feng sheathed his sword and flicked his hand, sending the wooden spikes flying. A swath of green blood rained down.

On the ground, the old woman turned into an animal fairly common in Western Hunan.

A clouded leopard.

"So she was a leopard spirit."

The spirits here differed from those in other legends. Taking human form seemed to depend on a lucky opportunity, rather than being a display of strength.

Otherwise, a monster Lin Feng could kill...

Was rather too weak.

Forget riding clouds or mist.

She had not even used any "special abilities."

Other than that enormous stomach.

If taking human form did not depend on some lucky opportunity, and all transformed monsters were this pathetic...

Then Lin Feng could understand why the monsters in the old anecdotal tales he had read got killed by humans.

They really were no good.

This toothless old woman was less dangerous than a tiger roaring through the mountain forests!

A monster in human form was nothing special.

After he killed her, the opera outside continued, and no one paid him any attention. Lin Feng stood in the rain for several minutes, still ignored.

After some thought, he decided to shout something.

Otherwise, it felt awkward.

"Sending a servant to invite me—is that your idea of manners?"

Lin Feng shouted very loudly, but with thunder rolling overhead, he had no idea whether anyone over there could hear him.

He just wanted to shout it.

Once he was done, he headed back. Along the way, he suddenly stopped short.

A voice like a night owl's reached his ears. An old acquaintance: the Head-Taker.

He just did not know whether the Head-Taker was Uncle.

"That was thoughtless of me. My apologies, my friend. Allow me to offer you an apology!"

Lin Feng glanced behind him.

The rain hung like a curtain. He could see nothing.

He had no idea where the Head-Taker was!

"Just my luck."

Lin Feng felt his neck, making sure the Head-Taker had not plucked his head off, and muttered to himself.

Back inside the inn, Lin Feng chopped up a table and lit a fire to warm himself and dry his clothes. Otherwise, he might die of illness here.

"Wait a moment," Lin Feng said. "A corpse driver will be coming soon. We'll take the yin road."

The flames rose.

Firelight played over the guide's face. He looked as though he might be smiling or crying.

"The yin road? Master, you mustn't take it!"

The guide tried to dissuade him again.

Lin Feng rubbed his hands together.

"You say we can't take this road and we can't take that one. Why don't you just go back now?"

The guide had plucked up some courage by now.

"You really mustn't take the yin road, my dear sir!

"The road the underworld officers take is called the yin road, and the road taken by the City God and his subordinate spirits is called the divine path. Yin Roadwalking was never a proper route. It's a road for lowly people like us. A great man like you mustn't take it!

"That road is a little trail for people like us who make a living through dubious means. No one knows what dangers lie along it. Every year, more people die walking the yin road than you could count on one hand!"

The guide desperately wanted to grab Lin Feng's arm and beg.

"Master, please, I'm begging you. Just use your divine powers! Never mind an underworld judge—even a single underworld officer could lead us down the main road! Master, there's no shame in asking for help!"

Lin Feng's expression did not change. He looked cold and unfeeling.

Why couldn't this fellow take a hint?

Was it that I didn't want to ask someone?

I couldn't find anyone to ask!

I wasn't a member of some immortal-cultivating Celestial Court. I was a shaman!

Lin Feng remained immovable. Over on the other side, Grandpa A-Qing finally began to move.

Lin Feng cast a sidelong glance at Grandpa and saw the mist outside growing thicker.

A drawn-out chant drifted from within the mist.

"The happy spirit comes forth! The living, stand aside!"

The guide's expression changed.

Lin Feng clapped his hands.

"There we go," he said. "See? The one footing the bill is here!"