"Stop working! Everyone go back for tonight—come back tomorrow morning to finish cleaning up!"
Lu Yuan suddenly turned his head. His voice wasn't loud, but it carried a decisiveness that brooked no argument.
The Xu family members were in the middle of filling in Old Master Xu's grave pit. Hearing this, they were all stunned.
But when they followed Lu Yuan's gaze and saw the strange blood-red lantern hanging in the distant night sky, every single one of their faces turned pale.
That was not a good omen.
Panic spread instantly.
The Xu family members dropped their hoes and shovels, and fled this place of trouble in a mad scramble.
"You two leave as well."
Lu Yuan turned around and looked at Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an, who had followed him.
"Huh?"
The moment he said that, both of them were unhappy.
Was Brother Lu planning to go alone?!
"Brother Lu, what are you saying? That's too heartless!"
"We're going together!"
Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an both craned their necks and shouted immediately.
But Lu Yuan frowned and said directly:
"Stop talking nonsense. The evil thing over there is way too strong. We can't handle it!"
Lu Yuan was going.
But he wasn't going to help Wuqing Temple.
To be honest, Lu Yuan wasn't someone without a temper.
After everything that happened earlier, he really didn't like Wuqing Temple at all.
Lu Yuan had no intention of going over there to help them.
...
An eight-star two-legged sheep with a human face, a six-star hanging ghost—those things were already far beyond Lu Yuan's current ability.
He really couldn't deal with them.
The reason he was going was mainly because he was worried about the beautiful and seductive Zhao Qiao'er.
After all, he had eaten her food, worn her clothes—and there was also Aunt Qin's connection.
He couldn't just watch Zhao Qiao'er die.
So the moment he saw the blood-red Kongming lantern, Lu Yuan's goal became crystal clear:
Get Zhao Qiao'er out—and that's it.
As for Wuqing Temple?
Let them live or die, who cares.
And since that was the case, he definitely couldn't bring Xu Erxiao and Wang Cheng'an.
Their level wasn't high. They wouldn't be able to help, and he'd have to distract himself to protect them.
Luckily, neither of them was the nagging type. Seeing Lu Yuan say it so firmly, they didn't argue anymore.
"Brother Lu, be careful! We'll go wait for you at the Xu house!"
They warned him heavily, hoisted the heavy box of ritual tools, and ran down the mountain without looking back.
In the night wind, only Lu Yuan remained.
He glanced at the two figures disappearing into the darkness, then tightened his grip on the wooden sword.
His figure shot forward like lightning, rushing toward the other mountain.
At the same time, Zhao Qiao'er's camp had already turned into a living hell!
The pitch-black night seemed to come alive, thick and sticky like ink that couldn't be dissolved.
Countless pale, twisted figures flickered in the darkness, letting out shrill howls as they pounced at the people around the campfire.
The sound of claws tearing flesh, the shrill screams—one after another.
From the moment the ritual started until now, only a few minutes had passed, yet several Wuqing Temple Taoists and Zhao family guards were already lying in pools of blood.
Their bodies had been torn beyond recognition.
In the chaos, the people from Wuqing Temple finally realized how serious the situation was.
"This hanging ghost… has at least a hundred years of cultivation!!"
"Huang Guanmin!! What the hell is going on?!!"
Uncle Hengmin slashed apart a small ghost that lunged at him. The orange-red light on his sword flared violently, but he had no time to care. He turned his head and roared at Huang Guanmin.
At this moment, Huang Guanmin was completely dumbfounded.
He stood there in a daze, his face pale as paper, his lips trembling.
This was wrong!
Completely wrong!
When he had investigated earlier, there were indeed evil things in this forest—but they were all mindless little ghosts!
...
So how did a hundred-year hanging ghost show up?!
And not just one!
...
A spine-tingling, teeth-achingly strange sound drifted out from deep in the darkness.
It felt like it was ringing directly inside people's brains, carrying an evilness that seeped into the bones.
The moment they heard this sound, every Taoist from Wuqing Temple—including Hengmin—felt their hair stand on end!
Th-this sound…
It's that two-legged sheep?!
The great fiend that Wuqing Temple had been chasing for three whole years—
The human-faced, two-legged sheep?!
Why is it here?!
That was a terrifying evil with over two hundred years of cultivation!
In an instant, an icy chill shot from everyone's soles straight to the top of their heads.
It's over.
With the current situation, at least five Heavenly Masters would need to join forces in a formation to have even a slim chance of survival!
But right now, there was only Hengmin, who had barely touched the threshold of a Heavenly Master—and didn't even truly count as one yet!
"We've been set up!!! We've definitely been set up!!!"
Huang Guanmin finally snapped out of it and roared through clenched teeth.
But what was the point of saying this now?
Whether it was a real setup or not, that was something to investigate only if they survived.
Right now, they were surrounded.
They couldn't get out.
Even though the blood-red Kongming lantern had been lit, it was useless.
This godforsaken place wasn't some big city. There was no powerful Heavenly Master nearby who could come save them.
"Everyone break out separately!!"
"This job can't be done anymore!!"
A ruthless light flashed in Hengmin's eyes as he made the decision on the spot.
The moment he said that, Huang Guanmin's face changed drastically.
"Uncle-Master!!"
"If we leave, what about the client?!"
"These things are obviously coming for the client!"
Hengmin turned around abruptly, his eyes vicious as if he wanted to eat someone, and cursed:
"To hell with the client!!"
"If we can even crawl out alive ourselves, that's already thanking the heavens!!"
Huang Guanmin turned his head and looked at Zhao Qiao'er not far away—her stunningly beautiful face full of panic—and pleaded unwillingly:
"Uncle-Master!! At least take the client with us!!"
"If this gets out, Wuqing Temple's reputation will be completely ruined…"
Slap!!
A crisp, loud slap landed hard on Huang Guanmin's face.
Hengmin finally couldn't hold back anymore and turned around and slapped him.
From the moment they arrived, Hengmin had already noticed that Huang Guanmin was infatuated with Zhao Qiao'er.
That eager-to-impress look—just like a dog in heat.
Not surprising. With such a sexy, beautiful mature woman, who wouldn't be tempted?
But before, fine.
Now, when their lives were on the line, he was still thinking about this nonsense—this was being blinded by lust!!
That slap knocked Huang Guanmin completely dizzy.
And at this moment, the junior sister next to him was also tugging at his arm, crying in terror:
"Senior Brother!! Let's go!! Stop caring about that slutty fox!!"
Every word of this argument and those slaps reached Zhao Qiao'er's ears clearly.
They weren't far from her.
Wuqing Temple…
Was going to abandon her and run?
That thought made her whole body turn ice-cold.
If they left…
Then she really was dead for sure.
Beside her, the butler Wang Fu was commanding the guards, forming a tight circle around her.
But how could mortal guards stand against hundred-year ghosts?
This was nothing more than a mantis trying to stop a chariot.
"Little Daoist… little Daoist, save me…"
Zhao Qiao'er used all the charm she had as a woman. Her voice trembled, carrying sobs, as she looked pitifully at Huang Guanmin.
Under normal circumstances, with her calling him like this, Huang Guanmin would've rushed over like a lapdog.
But now…
After being slapped, Huang Guanmin only waved his wooden sword in silence, mechanically chopping at the little ghosts around him.
From beginning to end, he didn't turn his head even once.
He heard her.
He definitely heard her.
And not turning back…
Meant that he had listened to Hengmin and decided not to care about her anymore.
Zhao Qiao'er had been abandoned.
Her heart sank, inch by inch.
She called Huang Guanmin's name again and again in panic—her voice went from pleading, to hoarse, to completely gone.
But that figure who had once flattered her in every possible way never turned back.
Despair, like a tide, completely drowned her.
Was she really going to die here today?
Just when Zhao Qiao'er had completely given up, closed her eyes, and prepared to wait for death—
A familiar young voice, like a blade tearing through the ghostly cries of the night, rang clearly in her ears:
"Aunt Qiao'er, hurry!"
Zhao Qiao'er's beautiful eyes flew open.
A swift white figure had already broken through layers of ghost shadows and stopped firmly in front of her.
The man squatted halfway down, revealing a handsome and resolute face in the firelight.
"Get on my back!"
"I'll take you out!"