Chen Miao brushed the dust off himself and picked up the wine cup he had dropped.
He glanced at the sky.
It was roughly eight in the evening.
Given the distance between Twin Bridge Town and Qingjiang Town, Chen Miao would need about an hour on foot at a brisk pace. But tonight, he had General Effigy's horse to ride, which could cut that time to under half an hour. He would certainly encounter some ghosts blocking the road, so he added another half hour... an hour for contingencies.
In other words, if he left Twin Bridge Town before nine thirty, he could return to the Paper Effigy Shop by midnight.
If he also allowed half an hour to patrol Qingjiang Town, he only needed to leave before nine.
"Another hour, then? I'll search for another half hour, then patrol Twin Bridge Town for half an hour before leaving." With that thought, Chen Miao walked another few hundred meters, raised his cup, and triggered [Status: three figures in the mirror].
This time, it worked quickly. In less than five minutes, Chen Miao's soul power began draining.
A ghost had taken the bait!
Soon, Chen Miao spotted the ghost.
It was another water ghost, much like the last one, with aquatic weeds wrapped around its body.
Chen Miao stood where he was, waiting for the water ghost to approach, but just then, he suddenly sensed a surge of malice.
It did not come from the water ghost, but from the wooded hillside to one side.
Chen Miao opened his third eye and looked that way.
With his night vision active, Chen Miao scanned the area but found no target.
Yet the malice was unmistakably coming from there.
"Another ghost capable of taking on a Dao Form?"
Chen Miao grew interested. He