Luring the tiger away from the mountain

"Boss Qian, someone's climbing the east wall! Hurry, attack!"

Shen Lang shouted.

While Rich Merchant was still agonizing over what to do, he naturally had no patience to deal slowly with the rat climbing the wall, so he simply turned and hurled his entire abacus!

He caught his target unprepared, and his fury was blazing!

So even though the Golden Abacus was nothing but a frame now and unleashed no special attack, the throw carried enough crushing force to knock the man right off.

But the moment Rich Merchant threw the abacus, his vision went black!

"Shen... Shen Lang..."

After feeling the world darken around him, Rich Merchant didn't dare touch his face. Instead, he asked Shen Lang beside him, "Help me take a look. My eyes... my eyes, what happened to them?"

"Hiss!"

Shen Lang didn't answer. He merely sucked in a sharp breath.

Hearing that, Rich Merchant immediately staggered a huge step backward. But blinded and reeling from the shock, he caught his trailing foot on something and nearly fell...

Just then, however, a hand as cold as a corpse caught him!

Then...

That person, without a trace of warmth, pressed something soft into his hand!

Rich Merchant felt it with his fingers. It seemed like cloth and could be unfolded. Could it be...

Bang!

Just as Rich Merchant was about to ask, the answer came in the sound of a head exploding!

Rich Merchant's heart pounded even harder. Of the three Human-Skin Lanterns that had sprouted faces in the night sky, two had already burst.

He was the last one. His turn was probably coming soon!

But after a long wait...

Rich Merchant discovered that not only was he unharmed, but when he opened his eyes again, he could see once more!

Dim firelight, Human-Skin Lanterns filling the sky, and...

A red headscarf!

That was right.

What he held in his hand was precisely that life-saving Red Headscarf!

When Rich Merchant looked back at the human-head lanterns in the sky, he discovered that the Human-Skin Lantern resembling him had vanished, replaced by a face he didn't recognize.

"Brother Ye, you're finally back."

Shen Lang said excitedly, "If you'd stayed away any longer, we might not have been able to hold out!"

"The wine was hidden somewhere pretty obscure, but luckily, I found it!" Ye Qianfan pointed at the jars of wine set by the main hall's entrance. "Is what I asked for ready?"

"It's ready!"

Shen Lang pointed at the bowls of blood beneath the dead tree.

After the corpses hanging from the tree had their throats slit, blood had dripped from them into the chipped earthenware bowls Shen Lang had laid out!

At first glance, it did seem rather cruel!

But...

According to the clues...

The key to clearing this stage was Blood Wine!

Another reason was that Ye Qianfan planned to use the blood to make fake red headscarves and lure away the swarm of flies outside the temple. Otherwise, he would have no chance to make an offering to the Evil God alone.

Not to mention risking his life to cover the Evil God with the Red Headscarf!

Ye Qianfan suspected...

The Blood Wine was very likely meant to get the Evil God drunk. Only once the Evil God had drunk too much would they have a chance to approach him and return the Red Headscarf to its rightful owner!

"Thanks for your hard work, Brother Shen Lang!"

Ye Qianfan patted Shen Lang on the shoulder.

Only then did he run beneath the dead tree and strip the clothes off a corpse.

"Please forgive the offense!"

"Let me borrow your underclothes, brother!"

"If I make it out alive, I'll burn a few sets of clothes for you in repayment!"

With that said!

Ye Qianfan tore the white underclothes into pieces!

Then he soaked the white fabric in the bowls of blood until every piece had been dyed bloodred.

After wringing them out a little, Ye Qianfan handed the cloths to Shen Lang and Fugui. "The rest is up to you!"

"Use these cloths as fake red bridal veils and lure away the people outside the temple!"

"While I coax the Evil God into drinking the Blood Wine, absolutely no one can be allowed to disturb me, or all our efforts could come to nothing!"

"Understood!"

"Thank you, Brother Ye!"

Rich Merchant returned the real Red Headscarf to Ye Qianfan.

Since the Human-Skin Lantern resembling Rich Merchant had vanished, his turn probably wouldn't come again anytime soon!

"Boss Qian, I treated you like a brother, and you actually stole from me!"

After shouting, Ye Qianfan winked at the two of them, signaling that the show had begun.

Rich Merchant didn't react right away. Only after Shen Lang nudged him with exaggerated facial gestures did he hastily raise his voice and shout, "Brotherhood is one thing, but didn't you see that human-head lantern turn into my face just now? I don't want to die either!"

"What's wrong with wanting to live?"

"If you're my brother, you should've offered me the Red Headscarf yourself!"

"But I was about to die, and you still clung to your Red Headscarf and refused to hand it over! You call that brotherhood? Then to hell with being brothers!"

"I'll say it one more time. Give it back!"

As Ye Qianfan shouted, he picked up two swords left behind by the Sword Sect and tossed them to Rich Merchant.

Then the two began making a show of hacking at each other!

Clang, clang!

As the clashing rang out, Ye Qianfan gave Shen Lang another meaningful look.

Shen Lang understood.

He joined in the shouting. "Boss Qian, what's the meaning of this?"

"You actually stole from my brother! Give it back right now, or I won't let you off!"

And...

As fierce arguing and fighting erupted inside the temple!

The people outside exchanged glances, a gleam of delight appearing in every pair of eyes!

The temple was easy to defend and hard to attack. If those fellows remained united and kept guarding the entrance, the people outside truly couldn't do anything to them. But now that they were fighting among themselves, they naturally had no time to guard the door!

Now...

Wasn't this the perfect chance to break through?

But just as someone climbed onto the temple wall, he saw Shen Lang clutching a strip of red cloth as he vaulted out of the temple and sprinted into the dilapidated residential district.

"Shen Lang, you bastard! Stop running!"

Ye Qianfan shouted.

Hearing this, everyone naturally assumed that what Shen Lang held was the real Red Headscarf, so they rushed off in the direction he had fled!

Once Shen Lang had run far away, Rich Merchant flung open the temple doors and roared a stream of curses. "Shen Lang, you think you can get away just because you stole the Red Headscarf?"

"You think my Flower-Seeking Art is just for show? Don't let me catch you, or I'll tear you apart!"

"You damned bastard!"

As Rich Merchant cursed, his hands never stopped forming seals.

Then...

He pretended to have calculated Shen Lang's whereabouts.

Then Rich Merchant raced off in the direction Shen Lang had fled!

Some people at the temple entrance hadn't believed the three had fallen out and were about to go inside to investigate. But when they saw the fat man chasing Shen Lang, they suddenly felt it must be true!

They didn't want anyone else to seize the Red Headscarf first, but they were also worried they couldn't beat the fat man and Shen Lang. So they simply raised their arms and cried, "The flute player has the Red Headscarf! Everyone, after him!"

"You fat bastard, stop running!"

Ye Qianfan glanced in the direction the two had gone, grateful to have two teammates who trusted him.

If those two hadn't stubbornly kept the crowd outside occupied, everyone would probably already have been fighting over the Red Headscarf until rivers of blood flowed!

And he knew perfectly well...

Even if he told those people outside about the clues, they might not believe him!

After all, who could think calmly when life and death hung in the balance?