The old man held a knife, looking as though he would scoop out Gao Ming's face and brain at any moment and plant his incense in Gao Ming's neck.
"Is there any choice besides becoming a Night Watchman?" Gao Ming's hand had already found the Butcher's Knife. The Old Night Watchman had genuinely frightened him. One moment they were chatting normally; the next, he had drawn a knife and was ready to gouge out Gao Ming's face. Not only was the change abrupt, it felt utterly natural, as though even that was for Gao Ming's own good.
"Your surging blood qi is like a beacon of smoke shooting into the sky. You can't hide it, and no matter how you seal it away, someone will notice. Then the people inside town will want to sacrifice you, and those outside will want to eat you. Where could you possibly run?" The Old Night Watchman took another step toward Gao Ming. "I'm old. After inhaling incense, I can stay lucid for less and less time. If I fall somewhere in town one day, you'll inscribe my ancestor tablet and take over my rounds."
After hearing the Old Night Watchman's words, Gao Ming's gaze grew complicated. He did not know what was enshrined in the town's Ancestral Hall, but he could roughly guess who had left all those ancestor tablets on the offering table.
"Can't a Night Watchman's ancestor tablet be placed in the Ancestral Hall?"
"Placed there? Why would it be? The town's Ancestral Hall stopped being an ancestral hall long ago. That place isn't for worshipping ancestors at all." The Old Night Watchman approached with his knife. He truly wanted Gao Ming to take over for him. "To patrol at night, a Night Watchman must first have abundant yang energy. Only