"Wind's chilly—put the sheepskin coat back on. Don't catch a cold later."
Lu Yuan returned to his own territory and glanced at the two junior brothers beneath the dead tree. They had taken off their coats, and heat was still rising from their bodies. His eyebrows lifted slightly.
After downing a huge bowl of lamb soup each earlier, the cold of the night had indeed been driven away—the warmth burned all the way through their insides.
The two junior brothers were always obedient. Upon hearing this, they immediately put their sheepskin coats back on.
Lu Yuan reached into his pocket and took out an old, worn brass pocket watch, glancing at it under the moonlight.
Seven in the evening.
There were still three hours until midnight.
"It's getting late. Do a final check of the ritual—and treat the locals to their 'dinner' while we're at it."
As Lu Yuan spoke, he walked toward a heavy wooden chest nearby.
Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an immediately followed. The three of them lit a candle, its dim flame illuminating three serious faces.
Lu Yuan took out a large handful of incense sticks and lit them from the candle. Crimson embers flickered in the night.
"Split up. Same rules as always."
The three men separated at once, each holding a bundle of incense and heading in different directions across the hill, offering incense one grave at a time.
Xu Erxiao headed toward the farthest area. Holding the incense, his steps were light, and he muttered softly:
"To all neighbors of the four directions—we pass through your treasured land and mean no offense.Those with homes, return home.Those with temples, return to your temples.Those with neither, follow the light ahead—do not linger here in desolation.Having accepted the incense, we share a bond.Rest in peace, each of you, and blessings shall follow…"
Wang Cheng'an went in another direction, chanting in a more professional cadence:
"Pure incense reaches the Dharma Realm, offered to the masterless spirits.By decree of the Most High, transcend your lonely souls.Incense clouds rise and veil the heavens, directly reaching the netherworld.Accept this offering of incense and dwell in peace."
Lu Yuan handled the nearby graves. His movements were unhurried. At each grave, he respectfully placed three incense sticks and prayed:
"Lonely souls of the ten directions, spirits of past and present—Today I pass through and offer incense in reverence.One stick of pure incense, given equally to all.Do not disturb the living world; each find your own peace."
After a full day here, Lu Yuan's impression of the "locals" was fairly good.
They were all well-behaved.
As long as the offerings were sufficient, they promised not to cause trouble.
How did they promise?
Eating the incense was the promise.
Ghosts were simpler than humans—especially these lonely wandering spirits with shallow cultivation and unopened intelligence. They didn't understand schemes or twists.
Accepting incense meant entering an agreement.
Those with ill intentions who planned to stir trouble at night would never touch the incense.
Over the course of the day, every grave's incense had been completely "eaten," which meant the locals were giving him face.
There were actually quite a few wandering spirits nearby, but the [Demon-Slaying and Exorcising] system did not mark them.
The system only issued alerts for beings capable of threatening Lu Yuan's safety.
Everything else relied on Lu Yuan's own Daoist skills to perceive.
As he planted incense, his steps suddenly paused.
He had arrived at a rather special grave.
This grave stood alone, far from the clustered burial grounds.
Anyone who has lived in the countryside would know—village graveyards are always grouped together.
People like company when alive.
After death, no one wants to lie alone in the wilderness.
But this grave was clearly separated from the others, standing alone.
There were many reasons for such a situation.
Either the deceased had been deeply disliked in life and was not allowed into the ancestral burial ground—
or the death had been too tragic, too inauspicious, and the villagers feared she might turn into a vengeful spirit, so they dared not bury her with their ancestors.
Lu Yuan lowered his gaze to the weather-worn inscription on the tombstone.
The deceased: Gu Qingwan.Age at death: twenty.
So young…
What a pity.
"Meeting again, Miss Qingwan."
Lu Yuan spoke softly and inserted all the remaining ordinary incense—over a dozen sticks—into the soil before her grave.
He glanced around. Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an were still in the distance, not yet back.
Lu Yuan's hand shifted slightly within his sleeve.
When it emerged again, three unusual incense sticks rested between his fingers.
They were dark green-black in color, smooth and fine like jade, with a faint glow barely visible to the naked eye.
These were items he had brought from Earth.
As mentioned before, most people transmigrated through soul transfer.
Their souls entered the body of someone already dead in this era and lived on in their place.
But Lu Yuan was different.
Lu Yuan had transmigrated with his physical body intact.
His body was the same one he had on Earth.
Back then, he had been climbing Mount Tai to watch the sunrise. He dozed off briefly—and when he woke up, he was here.
Naturally, he had brought quite a few things from Earth with him.
The incense in his hand was one of them.
Incense from the Jade Emperor Temple on Mount Tai—the very first incense offering. Legend said ancient emperors used this incense when performing the Fengshan sacrifices to Heaven and Earth.
He usually kept it in his system storage.
Only when he encountered someone truly pitiful would he take it out.
Even after a full year, only a few sticks remained.
"Well?"
"The flavor from my hometown… different from yours, right?"
"Probably… better?"
Lu Yuan struck a match.
The flame licked the incense tip—
and an indescribably pure, refreshing fragrance instantly spread.
Unlike any incense of this world, the scent seemed to pierce through Yin and Yang, reaching straight into the depths of the soul.
Lu Yuan gazed at the name on the tombstone, thinking.
Dying at twenty and not being allowed burial within the village…
It likely wasn't because she was hated in life.
More likely, her death had been especially tragic.
Lu Yuan silently bowed three times—deeply and sincerely.
His incantation differed from before, now solemn and weighty:
"Heaven clear, earth tranquil—by the law's command, be it carried out.Spirits of the nether realm, heed my incense prayer.Your past ties are severed, old debts unresolved—I offer Heavenly Incense to soothe your soul.Wrongs have their cause, debts their debtor—do not linger here and miss reincarnation.Three sticks of bright incense point the way,One lamp of the heart illuminates the underworld.Having received this offering, regain clarity at once.Each seek your destined path—do not stay, do not delay!"
A cultivator who walks between Yin and Yang—
without even a trace of kindness in their heart—
will, after long dealings with malevolent beings, become as cold as iron and stone,
and eventually turn into nothing more than a walking corpse wearing human skin.
This was a truth Lu Yuan had realized on his own.
"Rest easy on your journey…"
Lu Yuan firmly planted the three Heavenly Incense sticks before the grave and straightened his back, sighing softly.
Just as his words fell—
a slightly surprised voice came from behind him.
"Huh?"
"Brother Lu, you know this local?"
"Why'd you give her special treatment and even chant a separate incantation?"
Lu Yuan turned around.
Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an had returned at some point and were staring at him curiously.
Lu Yuan shrugged casually.
"Don't know her. Just thought it was a pity to die at twenty."
The two nodded and said nothing more.
After all, they'd always known that Brother Lu had a good heart.
Wang Cheng'an glanced at the lonely grave behind Lu Yuan and grinned teasingly.
"Then she sure got lucky~"
"Brother Lu doing a proper chant like that usually costs at least ten silver coins~"
"She really struck it rich~"
Lu Yuan walked over and kicked him lightly.
"Enough nonsense. Everything on your side settled?"
Both nodded quickly—everything was smooth. The incense offerings were intact, and the ritual arrangements were stable.
Everything was ready.
All that remained was waiting for Old Master Xu's corpse to transform.
The three were talking as they turned to head back.
At that moment—
Lu Yuan suddenly felt a bone-chilling gust of Yin wind brush against the back of his neck.
Then—
a broken, halting voice, as if squeezed out from deep within a throat, sounded behind his ear.
The voice was extremely soft, carrying a bubbling, gurgling sound—
"Th… thank… you…"