The chain abruptly constricted, clearly intending to break her bones.
Yet the woman didn’t let out a single groan of pain, though cold sweat beaded on her face. Hunched over, she lost her footing and collapsed into the snow with a thud.
The lantern-bearer laughed loudly, “Cost me so many talismans, but I’ve got you now! Let’s see where you can run this time!”
He bent over, peering at her sarcastically. “First time getting a good look at you. I’ve never seen a woman with such ugly makeup.”
The woman still didn’t speak, merely glaring at him coldly.
The lantern-bearer grinned. “How about next time around the sacrificial rites, we send you into the Altar of the Abandoned? Being burned alive must be a terrible feeling.”
The Altar of the Abandoned was for sacrificing to unworshipped ghosts. Why would it be used to burn people alive?
Yinyu understood. The “terrible things” the woman had mentioned likely referred to exactly this.
But no matter how others threatened, no matter how they spewed filth, the woman never said a word, not a single syllable. Disdainful to the extreme. Perhaps she had a throat affliction.
Having served as a human shield, Yinyu was roughly shoved away, stumbling and nearly falling.
Suddenly, a flash of Golden Light appeared. All the lightning spells and curses were neutralized, and even the chains binding the woman shattered.
The Kang family was horrified. Then, in sheer terror, they realized the talismans they hadn’t even used yet were turning to dust in their hands.
A hand shot out, steadying Yinyu. Among the red and white sleeves, a string of Bodhi Wood Beads was faintly visible.
Yinyu steadied herself. Slouching lazily backward, she said, feigning sincerity, “They grabbed me as a human shield. How terrifying.” The words were so dramatically delivered, she might as well have been purposely throwing herself onto someone’s sword tip.
Lian Sheng let out a cold, flat scoff. “Do you want me to seek justice for you?”
The Kang family had never expected another person to appear out of thin air so late at night. Looking at that Golden Light, they had no idea what grade of talisman could summon such a thing.
The lantern-bearer gnashed his teeth. “Do not meddle in affairs that don’t concern you! Or the Kang family will make sure you never leave Dark Snow Heaven!”
Lian Sheng shifted her gaze, letting out a puzzled and indifferent “Oh?” She asked, “Does Dark Snow Heaven answer to you now?”
The lantern-bearer bared his teeth in a grin, pointing at the ground beneath his feet. “Ask anyone in Dark Snow Heaven who dares not to respect the Kang family! They’ve all received plenty of favors from us!”
The woman who had been lying on the ground suddenly sprang up, the tip of her sword aimed at the man again.
The lantern-bearer stumbled back a step, frantically digging into his pockets. But all the talismans on him had been destroyed by that Golden Light. He couldn’t produce a single defensive item.
The people beside him hastily stepped forward to block her, shouting, “Steward! Go first!”
The man actually did spin around and flee, and the rest scattered with him.
Though these people had imitated “cultivation,” they couldn’t even summon a breeze. Without their talismans, they didn’t even have the strength to fight.
The group having fled without a trace, the woman didn’t pursue. She flicked out a silk cloth, wiped her sword blade, and sheathed it with a clink. Then she turned to leave.
Yinyu narrowed her eyes, watching her. This woman had no Servitude Nails and seemed to have had many “dealings” with the Kang family. She spoke up, “Miss, does the Kang family seek substitutes daily?”
The woman turned around but stopped. She didn’t say a word, only rummaged in her sleeve for a moment, then held something out.
Yinyu reached out and took it. Only then did she see it was a red talisman folded into a triangle.
Strangely, upon contact, her entire body felt uncomfortable, especially the points where the Servitude Nails were embedded. It wasn’t agonizing pain, but an unbearable ache and itchiness.
Yinyu hurriedly tossed the red talisman to Lian Sheng, pretending to be calm. “Catch, Boss Yu.”
After giving the talisman, the woman leaped onto the eaves without a word, her steps clattering on the tiles as she left. Truly gone in a rush.
“Miss!” Yinyu tilted her head up toward the flying eaves.
But the woman didn’t stop for a moment, darting dozens of yards away like a wildcat.
Yinyu rubbed her wrist. She didn’t want Lian Sheng accusing her of complaining again, so she simply didn’t voice her discomfort. She just turned her head and said, “Boss Yu, examine this talisman.”
Lian Sheng glanced at it dismissively. “An evil-warding talisman. Nothing special.”
Yinyu’s heart jolted. Puzzled, she asked, “Then why, the moment I touched it, did my whole body ache and itch?”
Lian Sheng made as if to stuff the triangle talisman back into Yinyu’s hand. Yinyu hastily retreated several steps. “Boss Yu, if I say it hurts, do you still not believe me?”
Lian Sheng gave a light scoff and tucked the talisman into her own sleeve instead. “Just scaring you.”
Yinyu let out a long breath of relief. Given that Lian Sheng had placed the talisman on her person, Yinyu was even less inclined to lean close to her. “But earlier, I had a distinct feeling. The Kang family members all seem to have Servitude Nails.”
Lian Sheng’s expression darkened. “Are you certain?”
“Certain.” Yinyu felt puzzled again. She looked at Lian Sheng’s sleeve. “Is that talisman really only useful for warding off evil?”
“Naturally,” Lian Sheng said.
“That’s odd.” Yinyu had rubbed her wrist red. “Those people had plenty of evil-warding items on them. How come they weren’t affected at all?”
Lian Sheng suddenly stared at her, her expression becoming extremely complex.
Yinyu joked, “What is it? Are my Servitude Nails different?”
Lian Sheng lowered her gaze. In her composure, it was as if holding back a torrent of indescribable sorrow. She silently took Yinyu’s wrist and began warming her hand without a word.
The moment her wrist grew warm, Yinyu’s delicate slothfulness was exposed again. She said meaningfully, “Be honest with me. You thought I was secretly harming people, yet your care for me never changed. Is it because you once owed me a great deal, and now you want me to owe you back, to wipe the slate clean?”
“Wipe the slate clean?” Lian Sheng lifted the corner of her mouth, her tone flat. “I owe you a personal debt. Wiping it clean is likely impossible.”
“A personal debt?” Yinyu teased. “That’s not something you can measure with numbers. Offset naturally won’t work.”
“Then what would work in your terms?” Lian Sheng looked open to negotiation.
Yinyu pulled her hand back, refusing to let the other warm it further. Her eyes curved in a smile. “We’ll talk about it later.”
Lian Sheng withdrew her hand as well. “Servitude Nails are connected to demonic evils. The longer they remain embedded, the more the evil energy within seeps into the Divine Soul. Over time, one becomes affected by objects that ward off evil.”
Yinyu rubbed her own wrist and jutted her chin. “Shouldn’t you throw away that talisman you just took?”
“Throw it away?” Lian Sheng fumbled inside her sleeve.
“Otherwise, if you keep it on you, how can I dare get close?” Yinyu hugged the wooden puppet. Only when she saw the triangle talisman crumble into paper scraps in Lian Sheng’s hand did she leisurely ask, “When I left Wisdom Water Red Mountain, did I already have Servitude Nails on me?”
Lian Sheng only said “Yes,” mentioning nothing more.
Yinyu was tired. Even if no one told her, she was certain that with time, she would eventually remember.
Snowflakes still drifted from the sky. Just as the woman had said, this place had winters year-round, and the snow never stopped.
Pavilions, terraces, and houses were everywhere, but not a single one had its lights on. The area was deathly quiet. Some shops still had signboards, but their thresholds were dust-laden, long since closed down.
As if guided by an instinct, Yinyu lifted her hand and pointed. “There might be one over there.” After speaking, she herself was momentarily stunned. She realized she was far more familiar with this place than she had imagined.
Walking along, they even found blank scrolls hanging in the pavilions open to the elements on all sides. This place must have once been cultured, but alas, times had changed.
Continuing onward, they indeed saw an inn with its door open. The inn was unlit. If it weren’t for a hunched figure standing at the entrance beckoning guests, they might have naturally passed right by.
The man, looking like a thief, glanced left and right before asking in a stealthy, impatient whisper, “You two, looking for a room?”
Yinyu glanced at the signboard over the door, then at this man’s furtive manner and the pitch-black interior. She wasn’t sure if this was a legitimate establishment.
The person who came out seemed to have poor eyesight, leaning in so close to Yinyu’s face he appeared as an elderly gentleman. He blinked and pointed inside, saying, “Stay here. Even if you searched all of Dark Snow Heaven, ours is the only place still welcoming guests.”
Who knew what hidden intentions this man harbored? Yinyu looked at Lian Sheng, wanting her to make the decision.
Lian Sheng gazed at the signboard, a trace of pensive nostalgia in her eyes. She nodded. “We’ll stay here.”
Only after receiving that affirmation did Yinyu smile at the old Innkeeper. “Sorry for the trouble.”
The old innkeeper’s face creased into a prominent smile. He immediately ushered them inside. Once they were in, he rubbed his hands together and barred the door. Shuffling behind the counter, he slowly lit an oil lamp, flipped open an old ledger, and asked, “Where have you two come from, and how many nights will you be staying?”
“One night. From outside,” Lian Sheng answered.
The innkeeper didn’t press further. His eyes practically pressed against the ledger, he dipped ink and began writing, rambling, “It’s been a long time since this place had guests. So most inns and taverns have closed down. Only ours still has its doors open.”
Yinyu carried the wooden puppet to the side on her own and looked up at the wall.
A painting hung there, blank again, not a speck of dust on it.
The Ear Whisperer God couldn’t hold back. It whispered, “What’s hanging there? No life energy at all. Inauspiciously unlucky. Don’t tell me it’s some emperor’s painting that only clever people can see.”
Yinyu smiled. Turning her head and seeing the innkeeper still writing, she secretly reached up and pinched a corner of the scroll.
Like the other scrolls they’d seen, it was cold to the touch, unlike ordinary paper.
The innkeeper happened to look up. He squinted and said, “There used to be something on that painting. An autumn landscape, I think. I can’t remember exactly what.”
“Faded?” Yinyu asked.
The innkeeper sighed heavily and shook his head. “Every household in Dark Snow Heaven has a painting scroll like this. The scenes were all different. Then, well… all the flying birds and flowers, the landscapes and beauties… they all vanished.”
Yinyu paused, then asked slowly, “When did this start?”
“Twenty-some years ago now.” The innkeeper pondered for a moment, then his eyes lit up as if he’d had a sudden realization. “Yes, that’s also when the sky here changed. No more sun, just constant snow. And all those demon ghosts and evil entities increased too.”
“I heard it was because the deity protecting this place left,” Yinyu said, walking toward the counter and tapping the wooden puppet’s mouth to keep the Ear Whisperer God from blurting out anything careless.
The innkeeper closed the ledger, lifted the lamp, and stepped out from behind the counter. “Follow me upstairs. That…”
He lowered his voice. “That deity… nobody knows why they left. They left without a sound.”
Yinyu felt a wave of unease. Her heart pounded wildly.
The lamp in the innkeeper’s hand flickered. He led them to the door of a room, sighing with emotion. “This place used to be wonderful. Who knew the deity would just up and leave? No new one ever came to take over. Once the sky changed, Dark Snow Heaven fell into chaos.”
He pushed the door open, lit the lamp inside, and looked around the room. “Even though guests are rare, we don’t slack off at all. The room was tidied up this morning, perfectly clean. If you two don’t like it, you can take a look at another room.”
“This is fine.” Yinyu couldn’t see much difference. With no electricity, no internet, one place was the same as another.
The innkeeper forced a smile. “Alright then. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head down.”
“Take your time.” Yinyu sat down and placed the wooden puppet, which she’d been carrying all this way, onto the table.
Once the door was shut and the innkeeper’s footsteps faded, Lian Sheng looked at her and said, her voice softening, “Do you know who the deity protecting this place once was?”
Yinyu rested her chin in her hand, as languid as if her mind were elsewhere. “Me?”
