On this day, early in the morning, the manor opened its gates and hung the lantern of the Red Lantern Lady in the courtyard. If nearby villagers came to burn paper and fulfill their vows, they were asked to wait and come back in a day or two.
Everyone in the manor was prepared for their arrival, but unexpectedly, from morning till evening, not a trace of any Green-clothed Child or Great Incense Master Zheng was seen.
As night fell and Hu Ma was about to send people out for a night patrol, a gong suddenly sounded outside the manor.
The workers in the manor quickly looked out but were met with a chilling yin wind that made them shiver. Outside, a thin mist had appeared from nowhere, chilling to the bone. People's gazes and the light from the manor's lanterns seemed to be blocked, hardly illuminating beyond seven yards.
