Making Daybreak Again

As Cui He spoke, she casually scooped up a clump of soil from the corner and held it in her hand.

He moved his fingers swiftly around the clump of clay, and in no time, he had pinched out a finger in his palm.

The finger retains the color of the soil, but the wrinkles, bony protrusions, nails and other details are all fully present, making it look lifelike.

"Please take a look, my benefactor."

At this moment, he spoke to Zhou Yang.

A strange fluctuation, like breathing, emanated from the yellow clay finger in his palm.

Zhou Yang stared intently at the yellow mud finger, only to see it suddenly "come alive" right before his eyes. The color of the mud turned into the same skin tone as Cui He, and the finger, whether curled, straightened, or trembling, was indistinguishable from a real human hand!

Even though it was growing in Cui He's palm, Zhou Yang felt that it was perfectly suited to grow there!

There wasn't a single sense of abruptness or incongruity!

Although this breathing method is not as simple and direct as "Breathing of the Ghost," it can be far more effective than Breathing of the Ghost in crucial moments.

Even if targeted by evil spirits, mastering this method will greatly increase your chances of survival!

However... Zhou Yang stared intently at the finger in Cui He's palm for a while. Without even using the "Fat Mirror Lamp" ripples, he gradually discerned the true nature of the clay-molded finger with his naked eyes.

Given his level of Mindfulness, such deceptive methods are unlikely to truly fool him.

If he were to activate his ripples and use himself as a mirror to reflect onto Cui He —no matter how exquisite his breathing technique was, it would all be revealed in the mirror.

"This method is indeed quite ingenious," Zhou Yang exclaimed in admiration, then slowly added, "However, last night in front of Sun San, you must have also used the ripples derived from your family's breathing technique, right? Sun San almost saw through your skill."

"At the Revelation Ceremony, there were probably quite a few Human-Skin Ghost with even better eyesight than Sun San."

"You only have this one method prepared, and you think you can get Official Body in Guan Village?"

"I can tell from the two of you that you deeply resent the officials of the imperial court."

"Why would someone deliberately come to Guan Village and risk their life, hoping to become an official?"

"My benefactor, you don't know this..." Cui He said with a wry smile, "I didn't come to this Human-Skin Guan Village on my own initiative, hoping to gain an Official Body."

I've simply gotten lost in a field of crops!

"When I came to my senses, I was already in this Human-Skin Guan Village, and had become Cui He, the third son of the Apricot Grove Cui Family —but that's not my real name, Luan Xiaofeng is..."

Zhou Yang was slightly surprised upon hearing the voice. He noticed that Cui He, whose real name was Luan Xiaofeng, seemed to know a great deal about Human-Skin Guan Village.

They initially thought the other party had deliberately come to the village to seek Official Body.

Unexpectedly, they got lost in a field of crops in the wild and were led directly into Guan Village. The field of crops that could make people get lost was probably closely related to the strange fields outside Guan Village.

These farmlands near Guan Village would then become the place where those attending the ceremony would "Seedling Sprouting".

When Zhou Yang thought of the farmland, he remembered the last words of the deceased Guan Nu.

--Guan Village has several unique traditions.

Acquiring even one of their skills would greatly increase their chances of establishing themselves in Guan Village.

These inherited skills are: the Cui Family's Possession Method, the Zhou Family's chains, the Ren Family's dogs, the Liu Family's seedlings, and the Cen Family's paintings.

Zhou Yang only knew a little about the Zhou Family's chain and the Ren Family's dog.

I also have a slight impression of the Cui Family's Possession Method.

He had no contact with the remaining lineages of the Liu and Cen families, and was completely clueless about them.

However, could the Seedling Sprouting at the Revelation Ceremony, the crops in the fields outside Guan Village, and even Luan Xiaofeng's disappearance and inexplicable appearance in the fields all be related to the Liu Family? If they are all related, then the Liu Family must be the most prestigious family hidden in Human-Skin Guan Village.

Cui Zhu, who had been listening attentively and occasionally interjecting, wiped away her tears and said to Zhou Yang, "My benefactor, my real name is You Chuntian. I actually found my way into Guan Village on my own initiative—there was no way to make a living outside, so I thought I'd try my luck in Guan Village."

"Although this place is dangerous, I was almost starving when I came here..."

"It was this village, teeming with evil spirits, that allowed me to live a little longer."

Zhou Yang's guess about the reason the two entered Guan Village was exactly the opposite of their actual reason.

After a moment's thought, he felt relieved.

Luan Xiaofeng comes from a family with a strong academic background and may have accumulated some influence among the common people.

Even if he was living a difficult life, there was really no need for him to come to Guan Village to seek death; the possibility of him voluntarily going there was practically zero.

Unlike You Chuntian, who relies on her family and is on the verge of starvation outside, Luan Xiaofeng is highly likely to choose to take the risk in Guan Village.

Zhou Yang sighed, "Of the two of you, one has learned the family's breathing technique, which is enough to deceive ordinary villagers. However, to use it to fool the villagers attending the Revelation Ceremony, I'm afraid it will be beyond his capabilities."

"Little Feng, your idea that the first three stages of the Revelation Ceremony are easy, and only the last two are difficult, is probably an overly optimistic assessment."

Hearing Zhou Yang's words, Luan Xiaofeng slumped down in dejection. "As for You Chuntian, although you try your best to integrate into Guan Village and imitate the villagers' manners in every way, you don't even have a means to protect yourself."

"Passing the Revelation Ceremony is even more difficult," Zhou Yang added.

You Chuntian shook her head.

By this time, he already knew how his fate would be at the Revelation Ceremony in seven days.

Although I felt fear, I also felt a sense of calm.

He said, "That's why I wanted to give these paper coins to my benefactor."

"It's useless for me to keep it. When my family returns, they'll desperately try to take it from me. I'd rather give it to my benefactor to help him through this difficult time and turn misfortune into good fortune. This is my last act of kindness."

"That's what I was thinking too." Luan Xiaofeng glanced at You Chuntian again, then said to Zhou Yang, "Since we know we probably won't be able to get through the Revelation Ceremony, we might as well take out the money to repay our benefactor for saving our lives."

Zhou Yang heard the sound but did not respond. He just stared at the two bundles of paper money, lost in thought.

Seeing his expression, Luan and You thought he had finally been persuaded, so they pushed the two bundles of paper money towards Zhou Yang again.

At this moment, Zhou Yang said, "You just said that whether the living people in the Human-Skin Guan Village can pass the Revelation Ceremony depends entirely on whether they know how to use the rules of the Human-Skin Guan Village or how to completely integrate themselves into this place. If they can pass the Revelation Ceremony in this way, they can do so as if they were fish in water."

"These are the means used to deal with the Revelation Ceremony; minor flaws are not a big deal."

"The important thing is that as long as the Guan Village believe that they really 'cut us open,' then everything will be fine."

Luan Xiaofeng didn't know why Zhou Yang brought this up again, but she still nodded in agreement. "Yes, that's exactly it."

"If the Guan Village are all mortals—they can't see through ordinary illusions—wouldn't your ' Kneaded Clay Body and Flesh Bodhisattva Breath have allowed you to pass the first three trials of the Revelation Ceremony smoothly?"

"Friend You Chuntian, I'll teach him another trick so he can perform a magic show for them and pass the first three stages of the Revelation Ceremony," Zhou Yang said suddenly, as if he had finally thought of something.

Luan Xiaofeng paused for a moment, then nodded in agreement. "There's no need for you to trouble yourself to teach Brother You any new methods. My family's breathing technique will be just as effective if I teach it to him."

"Even if there are rules within the family, the law cannot be revealed to outsiders."

"But now that we're about to die, we can't care about these rules anymore."

"However, the Guan Village are all Human-Skin Ghost; how could they possibly be 'mortal beings'?"

"Among them, those leaders of the Patrol Team might be able to sense an aura completely different from their own Ghost Rhyme. If they detect this unusual aura, we'll inevitably be exposed in front of them."

"That makes sense." Zhou Yang did not deny Luan Xiaofeng's words.

He rubbed his hands together excitedly and grinned, "The reason these people of Guancun can distinguish between ghostly sounds and human scents is because of the ghosts beneath their human skin. Human skin can't completely cover the ghosts, so the ghosts inside can come out to breathe from time to time. This means that these Guancun human-skin ghosts no longer just observe their surroundings with 'human eyes,' but also have a pair of 'ghost eyes,' which allow them to accurately distinguish between their own kind and those of different kinds."

"But what if I could temporarily blindfold their ghostly eyes?"

"What if I could make those human skins tightly wrap around the ghosts inside them, preventing them from getting any air?"

Upon hearing this, Luan Xiaofeng You Chuntian felt as if the sky had suddenly brightened!

Luan Xiaofeng's voice trembled as she cautiously asked Zhou Yang, "Do you have a way to lock the ghosts inside their skins so they can't get out for the time being?"

If they could live, who would willingly stare blankly and wait to die?

He and You Chuntian felt hopeless about passing the Revelation Ceremony.

Who would have thought that after all the darkness, a new opportunity would arise—a turning point would fall upon our benefactor!

I have an idea.

Zhou Yang then thought of the white light that suddenly appeared on the fire tower during the fourth hour of its operation.

I recalled the white paper lanterns carried by the Patrol Team, and the light they emitted was exactly the same as that white light.

He remembered clearly that there were no candles inside those white paper lanterns, only a small round tin box. Inside the tin box was a pale yellow ointment.

Perhaps the fat is the "fuel" for that white light!

That white light can repair all the pits and damage on everyone's skin.

Under the white light, the ghost had no way to escape from the human skin!

Even Sun San —who had kept a close eye on the Cui Zhu brothers last night—completely forgot this morning that he had identified the Cui Zhu brothers as not being one of his own. He simply sent two of his Patrol Team to the Cui Family to deliver their wages!

It was that white light that sealed the ghost within Sun San's human skin.

The demon's invasion and slaughter of the living was halted!

Zhou Yang wanted to borrow this white light to plan for another dawn for Guan Village!

"Can you use fat to create a clay body for yourself?" Zhou Yang asked Cui He.

Upon hearing this, Cui He pondered for a moment and said, "The fat from Guan Village is a strange substance. My family's breathing technique also needs to be imbued with Ghost Rhyme, ghostly shadows, and aura to create a ' Flesh Bodhisattva Body '."

"Therefore, if one were to wrap the entire body in this fat and use the family's traditional breathing techniques to create a ' Flesh Bodhisattva,' it would naturally not be too difficult."

Zhou Yang nodded and pushed the two bundles of paper money back. "In the remaining few days, you need to teach your You Chuntian your family's breathing technique. Then, on the day of the Revelation Ceremony, each of you will create a ' Flesh Bodhisattva Body ' for yourself."

"This body only needs to conceal itself from the eyes of ordinary villagers and be able to sustain itself until the formal commencement of the Revelation Ceremony."

"You don't need to worry about anything else. Just do your own thing step by step and wait for the Revelation Ceremony to begin."

"These paper money are for you to use when you go back to buy cosmetics."