Chapter 1 This Night is Destined to Be Long

Sitting in the courtyard, Hu Ma silently pondered what he would face tonight.

He knew that the altar cult’s demons were merely probing and testing for now. Their main objective was probably to provide cover for those seeking blood food. They didn’t yet know that the old shopkeeper wasn’t in the village, and they wouldn’t dare to use their full power until they had figured out the village’s secrets.

However, once they encountered the old shopkeeper, they would know it was just an empty fortress. That was when they would truly become ruthless, and it would be his time to take charge.

And judging by the time, it would be soon.

Hu Ma took a deep breath, brought the half-jar of wine closer, took a large gulp, and wiped his mouth.

Some things were impossible to see clearly from his perspective. He didn’t know the old shopkeeper’s intentions, nor what he truly needed to face.

But Erguotou (a type of strong Chinese liquor) and Miss White Wine could easily see the old shopkeeper’s true purpose and gave him guidance from another perspective. They just couldn’t do anything for him.

Outside the village, a gloomy wind blew in, seemingly mixed with some indescribable strange sounds and giggles.

The shop assistants had all retreated into their rooms, not daring to light the lamps. They had already done very well this night.

After all, even if they had courage, there was a limit. After several times of going above and beyond, they had reached a low point, and their courage was even smaller than usual.

But it didn’t matter, he would hold on.

"Brother Ma Zi…"

Hu Ma was building up his courage when he suddenly heard a shout. He saw Zhou Datong appear behind him.

His knife had been requisitioned by Hu Ma, so he had requisitioned the knives of Xu Ji’s two followers, one for him and one for Zhou Liang, while Zhao Zhu carried his most beloved manure fork.

Smelling a suffocating stench, it had apparently been enchanted.

"What are you doing here?"

Hu Ma asked in a low voice, glancing around the courtyard. It seemed quieter than before. The ghost temple fair didn’t know what it was up to, but it felt even more dangerous.

"Helping…"

Zhou Datong pinched a peanut from the table and threw it into his mouth, saying mischievously, "We don’t know exactly what’s going on, but even you have started talking about the Four Softs, so we know this must be a big deal."

"Don’t hide it from us brothers. We’ll face it together. If we don’t help you now, and something happens to you, won’t our good days in this village be over too?"

"This…"

Hu Ma was originally going to tell them to go back and hide, but when he saw their serious expressions, he was taken aback.

Then he smiled, waved his hand, and said, "Then guard here!"

"But listen to me, don’t be afraid. If you feel scared, you might as well go back to your rooms and sleep!"

"…"

Zhou Datong, Zhou Liang, and Zhao Zhu looked as if they had been scolded. Their faces were flushed, and they shouted, "We’re not afraid."

"Second Master said, why should the living be afraid of the dead?"

"But…"

As he spoke, he couldn’t help but reveal a little panic, and asked in a low voice, "Where did Miss He and the old shopkeeper go? When will they be back?"

Hu Ma could only smile and say in a low voice, "Who can know?"

…

…

At the same time, just as they had successfully survived half the night in the village and were ready to face the second half, the area around the village had already fallen into a deathly silence.

Even those who had been performing tricks outside the village earlier seemed to have heard something. They exchanged glances, and several of them quietly packed up their stalls and entered the dark night. Others looked at the village, revealing smiles that seemed to see through everything.

The night was silent and still. A pale white moon hung in the air, quietly watching the deserted wilderness.

About half an hour ago, less than ten miles from the village, two people quietly walked along a country path that had been trodden out but was now overgrown with weeds.

They were both wearing colorful clothes sewn together from ragged strips of cloth. One walked on each side of the road, each holding a jar in their arms. They walked slowly from the direction of Lao Yin Mountain (Old Yin Mountain), without making a sound.

When they reached the crossroads, they both placed the jars in their arms to the side.

They sat down silently. One lit a pipe and puffed away, while the other chewed on a blade of grass.

When the pipe was finished, they both stood up and waved their sleeves behind them.

Slowly, several more figures emerged from the shadows. They were all people wearing coarse cloth jackets, with carrying poles on their shoulders.

It was now the dead of winter, but they all had their chests open, their skin frozen blue, their hands and feet chapped, and their bare feet stepped on the ground full of gravel and frost, yet they seemed to feel nothing. They just carried their carrying poles blankly and walked forward step by step.

The two colorful-clothed people didn’t move, still waiting with their jars.

After a few more breaths, finally, a tall, round shadow emerged from the darkness, its footsteps heavy, moving little by little.

As it got closer, it became clear that it was also a person, but he had a jar on his back.

That jar could almost be called a vat.

It was big enough for two people to hug, and it was fixed securely to a frame made of thick ropes and wooden sticks, which was carried on his back.

"Great Aunt…"

When the two colorful-clothed people saw the figure carrying the big jar, they both bowed.

But their bow was first directed at the jar, or rather, the vat on the person’s back, and then at the man: "Ninth Grandpa…"

"Is that Wu still in the village?"

The person carrying the vat slowly stood still, took a few breaths, and then asked with a sneer.

"The lantern hasn’t gone out."

One of the colorful-clothed people said in a low voice, "The children are still working hard. It’s not yet time to ask Auntie to take action. First, we’ll stretch out his old flame, surnamed Wu, and say hello."

"Hehe, in that case, let’s open the storehouse!"

The Ninth Grandpa, who was carrying a big vat, chuckled a few times, noncommittally, and then slowly walked forward again.

He was carrying such a heavy object, so he naturally walked extremely slowly, but no one dared to urge him. They could only follow him silently. After walking for half an hour, they finally saw an inconspicuous small grave mound in the wilderness ahead.

It was overgrown with grass, and there was no tombstone, nor any signs of burning paper or banners. It looked like an unremarkable small hill.

When he reached this grave, the Ninth Grandpa stopped and held out his hand to the side.

One of the colorful-clothed people hurriedly handed him a broom, while the other quickly burned incense next to him.

The Ninth Grandpa took the broom and slowly swept the dirt in front of the grave.

As he swept, he muttered, "First sweep, the gods can’t see; second sweep, the enemies close their eyes."

"Third sweep, everything is quiet in the ears; fourth sweep, the master arrives at the door…"

"…"

The grave mound looked ordinary. Countless villagers had passed by it throughout the year. There was nothing unusual about it, and it had never attracted anyone’s attention.

He didn’t sweep hard, just moving the broom back and forth, only sweeping away the surface layer of dust.

But a strange scene appeared. As he swept left and right, chanting, a gust of wind suddenly blew in front of the grave, and the surroundings seemed to become quieter and quieter. Even the dim moon in the sky was slowly covered by a layer of dark clouds.

The night became even darker, but the soil in front of the grave became thinner and thinner, gradually revealing two wooden doors.

The wooden doors stood slanted on the ground, and there were even two rusty iron rings on them.

When the Ninth Grandpa saw the door appear, he stopped sweeping, looking very pleased. He looked around and said in a low voice, "Open the storehouse!"

The colorful-clothed people were immediately excited. One on each side, they grabbed the iron rings and pulled open the door panels.

And then they saw…

"Go in quickly!"

Seeing the earthen kiln, the two colorful-clothed people were a little excited. One of them turned around, took out a bell from his arms, and shook it, making an extremely low sound.

Following behind them, the several porter-like men, blank and dull, seemed to jolt awake. They slowly stepped forward, crawled into the earthen kiln, and soon carried out seven or eight cloth bags from the kiln.

These cloth bags looked golden yellow on the outside, and it was impossible to tell what material they were made of.

Strangely, after they were carried out, something was wriggling inside the bags, as if it wanted to break out.

Whether it was the Ninth Grandpa or the two colorful-clothed people, their eyes were curved with smiles when they saw this.

They waved their hands and said to the porters, "Pick them up and go!"

"After guarding for a year, this blood food has finally fallen into our hands…"

"…"

The porters had been waiting for a long time. Hearing this, they mechanically and stiffly stepped forward with their carrying poles, picked up the cloth bags, formed a line, and prepared to leave, following the sound of the bell.

But at this moment, in the silent night, a cough suddenly sounded, right behind them.

Everyone was shocked and hurriedly turned their heads. They saw that on the opposite side of the dark night, two figures had appeared by the road they had come from. One was an old man with his hands behind his back, and the other was emitting a low, muffled growl, which turned out to be a large black dog.

"Sweeping graves and calling at the door in the dead of night."

The old man’s face couldn’t be seen clearly, but his voice was heard sighing softly, "The altar cult’s tricks are getting more and more numerous."

"Who is it?"

When the two colorful-clothed people saw them, they couldn’t help but be shocked and hurriedly held the jars in front of them.

But the Ninth Grandpa, who was carrying the big vat, didn’t panic. He sneered and said, "Shopkeeper Wu, you’ve become smart…"

"Leaving a bunch of shop assistants as bait and hiding outside yourself?"

"It’s because your work is too rough."

The person who came was Shopkeeper Wu. He said in a low voice, slowly stepping forward. Gradually, they could all see each other’s faces clearly, and the smile on his face had disappeared. He sneered, "If I hadn’t helped you hide it, did you really think the Red Lantern Society people were fools and wouldn’t discover your tricks?"

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