At Xiao Zhan's signal, everyone held their breath and followed him slowly out of the brightly lit council hall into the spacious courtyard bathed in moonlight. The moon shone especially brightly that night, its cool silver radiance pouring like flowing water into every corner of the courtyard and stretching their shadows long.
Strings of eerie red lanterns had already been hung all around the courtyard, as Xiao Yi had instructed earlier. The candle flames flickering inside them mingled with the light of the blazing torches mounted overhead, illuminating the entire courtyard as brightly as day, yet the red glow and firelight lent it an added air of strangeness and mystery.
At some point, a simple ritual altar had been erected in the very center of the courtyard. Draped in yellow silk, it held an incense burner, the Peachwood Sword, several yellow talismans covered in indecipherable symbols, and a bowl of clear water. It actually looked reasonably convincing.
Xiao Yan drew a deep breath and silently cursed Xiao Yi a hundred times, but things had already come this far. He could only grit his teeth and go through with it. Expressionless, he stepped quietly out of the crowd and, under everyone's sympathetic, anxious gazes, walked up to the front of the ritual altar one step at a time before coming to a stop.
Just then, a small stir ran through the crowd. At some point, Xiao Yi had changed into a bright yellow Daoist robe. Its flowing sleeves and loose folds were embroidered in gold thread with vaguely plausible cloud motifs and bagua patterns. Combined with his deliberately unfathomable expression, he really did have something of an immortal sage's bearing... or perhaps a swindler's. Holding a whisk, he gave it a gentle flick and ambled up onto the ritual altar with