The courtyard hosting the funeral was very large—the only three-story building in the village. Inside and out, it was draped in white cloth and funeral wreaths. Several Soul Summoning Banners stood at the entrance, fluttering in the chilling wind. What exactly they were summoning was unclear; only Fierce Ghosts could exist in this village. Ordinary Remnant Souls wouldn’t survive here at all.
From time to time, a few pieces of joss paper were caught by the wind, swirling in the air, spinning before drifting back down. One piece even floated all the way to Bai Yu, whether intentionally or not.
Bai Yu lifted Zhao Mingyue’s hand—now wrapped in blood threads like a ghostly claw—caught the piece of joss paper, then casually dropped it, watching it spiral away into the night.
“The God’s malicious intent, is it?” she murmured.
Half-crouching on the chimney of a house behind the three-story building, Bai Yu watched the funeral proceedings from a distance.
There were living people in that building, and quite a few at that. She could see at least a dozen moving around.
The funeral arrangements, the lights in the courtyard, the wreaths, and the Soul Summoning Banners had all been set up by these people. After opening the main doors, the dozen or so individuals retreated into the Mourning Hall together, donned their mourning clothes, and began the Wake.
From Bai Yu’s position, she could clearly see the massive black coffin inside the Mourning Hall and the memorial portrait. She was certain she recognized the Old Woman in the portrait. It was definitely the one she and Zhao Mingyue had seen when they first arrived.
The problem was: if the old woman had already been taken away during the day, even her coffin carted off and buried, then what was this coffin in the Mourning Hall?
If the person had already been taken away, whose wake were they keeping?
Of course, none of that was the main point. The main point was the “guests” inside the courtyard.
It was packed, inside and out, with people of all ages, men and women. It looked lively and bustling. But upon closer inspection, the problem became apparent.
With so many “people” at a funeral, it was far, far too quiet.
Bai Yu wondered: what was the purpose of these Wax Corpses coming here? Simply to keep wake?
“What they took away during the day probably wasn’t the corpse, but the old woman’s Ghost. She’s already become a Fierce Ghost. Are these Wax Corpses here to prevent her return, or do they have another purpose?”
“Every household has talismans of the Evil God posted at their doors. They definitely aren’t warding off Wax Corpses.”
“If the Paper Talismans aren’t guarding against the Evil God of eyes, then they must be protecting against these Fierce Ghosts.”
Bai Yu pondered, piecing together the limited clues.
Silently watching the changes at the funeral, she waited until all the Wax Corpses had gathered and were standing motionless in the courtyard. Then, the Wake Keepers inside the house made their move. They removed their mourning clothes and their shirts, baring their upper bodies.
Runes were already drawn all over their backs, and she could see symbols representing the ear.
Once the dozen or so people had gathered, they began chanting something. Then, with clear division of labor, they removed all the Offerings from before the coffin, replacing them with other items brought out from the rooms.
Compared to the chicken and rice from earlier, the new Sacrifices had a completely different appearance.
Bai Yu spotted a pair of eyeballs, a heart, a pair of ears, and a mouth. These four items were placed in black porcelain bowls, one at each corner of the coffin. Then came more things: rotting animal entrails, a lock of hair tied with Red String, a bowl of unidentified black liquid, and a dead snake.
These items clearly weren’t for the deceased in the coffin. In all likelihood, they were Sacrifices to the Evil God, meant to summon the descent of its will.
After arranging the Sacrifices, these people kowtowed once before the coffin. The leader stepped forward and kicked over the Paper-Burning Basin, scattering the burning joss paper. Several people worked together to pry open the coffin lid.
Seeing this, Bai Yu confirmed her earlier judgment.
If she wasn’t mistaken, the next step would definitely be summoning the Evil God’s will to descend and begin sealing the body in wax. At that critical moment, the old woman’s Fierce Ghost would likely return to cause havoc. The Wax Corpses and the Evil God would be her greatest obstacles.
Perhaps the old woman’s Ghost was also part of the Sacrifice. Only by dealing with her through some specific method could this Wax Corpse truly be considered a success.
This would also align with the Evil God’s interests. A deeply resentful Ghost like her was an excellent supplement for these gods, a key to strengthening themselves.
Just as Bai Yu was calculating when she should make her move, a shocking change occurred at the funeral.
The ceremony was at its most critical point when the old woman’s corpse inside the coffin suddenly flew out. It flipped over the side, slammed hard onto the ground, and knocked over the Sacrifices beside the coffin in the process.
And from within the coffin came a woman’s voice.
“Fck, all this racket is annoying the hell out of me! What damn thing keeps whispering in my ear, telling me to piss off? Well, I’m not pissing off!”
A scene even more bizarre than the funeral itself unfolded.
After the supposed main occupant, the old woman, had flipped out of the coffin, a woman with yellow hair sat up from inside it, cursing without pause.
The woman continued to curse as she calmly got up, dusting herself off.
“Eating these wandering ghosts is useless as hell! You’d be better off following me! Hiding out in this backwater gully, you’ll go nowhere your whole life, got it?”
“And stop your yakking at me!” She kicked one of the Wake Keepers in the face, using his body to vault herself out of the coffin.
The yellow-haired woman tossed her hair, pulling out a rubber band from somewhere and tying it into a ponytail with practiced ease.
“Since I’m here, waiting until your cultists summoned you—well, the point is, I came specifically for you!”
Splat!
The throats of two Wake Keepers were slit by the yellow-haired woman’s knife. The people nearby didn’t even see her move.
“I hid for so long precisely because I had no power. Now we’re just getting started. Cooperating with me is your best option. Or rather, you should be grateful I found you first.”
Stabbing her knife through the eye socket of another cultist charging at her, she kicked yet another one flying.
Seemingly accidental but clearly intentional, as she retracted her foot, she stomped down on the porcelain bowl holding the ears, grinding them with her heel until the already decaying flesh was reduced to mush.
Tossing aside the corpse, the yellow-haired woman took a few steps forward. The man who had been charging at her cowered back, stumbling and falling over himself.
“What are you afraid of, hmm?”
Flames ignited at her fingertip. Her hand, held flat like a blade, slashed open the man’s throat. Upon contacting blood, the flames erupted violently, gradually consuming his entire body.
“Any other friends here? Come out and chat, how about it?”
Flipping her small knife, the yellow-haired woman didn’t advance further. Her gaze swept over the crowd of Wax Corpses inside and outside the courtyard, and briefly glanced in Bai Yu’s direction.
“The ceremony’s already started. Why not come out now? We can still talk things over properly.”
“Fire Devil, your words are still as grating as ever.”
Bang!
Two Wax Corpses were sent flying. A woman emerged from the crowd of Wax Corpses, draped in tattered cloth strips. It was obvious she had been blending in among them.
Truth be told, the cloth strips weren’t the key. She had initially thought she could just wear the skin of a Wax Corpse. But after violently dissecting a few, she discovered their flesh had long since become as brittle as stone; it crumbled at the slightest touch, making skinning them impossible.
So she had simply accepted the curse, letting it entangle her, but kept it within a controlled degree.
This way, she became an “insider” in Pingshan Village without wasting more time hiding.
As for the Power of Curses, who cares?
Gripping a sharp axe, the short-haired woman strode up not far from the Fire Devil.
“Let’s split it. We take the power, then go eliminate the other intruders. I suspect there’s more than one Evil God here. We can monopolize it all when the time comes.”
The game had just begun. Accumulating power early was crucial. If one didn’t strive now, by the time others snowballed their advantage, you’d find yourself perpetually one step behind.
And the consequence of falling behind was death.
“Fine, as you say. But, I should at least know who you are?” Fire Devil put her knife away, her smile deepening.
“I am… a Doctor.” The short-haired woman also wore a smile.
“A Doctor with an axe?” Fire Devil’s expression darkened. The small knife she had just put away reappeared in her hand, flames igniting along its edge. Without another word, she thrust it fiercely at the short-haired woman’s throat.
“Hahaha, brother—no, sister—relax, it’s just a joke.” The short-haired woman dodged with ease. “Scorpion. Friends?”
One moment, a knife was aimed at the other’s throat. The next, Fire Devil’s face beamed with a smile again. “Fine.”
Not far away, Bai Yu stared coldly at the two of them. Blood threads coalesced in her hand, forming a long blade. She leaped from the rooftop, landing in the courtyard. The blade slanted towards the ground, she walked step by step towards the funeral yard.
The long saber flipped in her hand. One after another, the heads of Wax Corpses fell around her. She carved a bloody path straight into the courtyard, leaving a trail of twisted, fallen Wax Corpses behind her.
“What should we call this friend?” Scorpion retreated a few steps, standing almost back-to-back with Fire Devil.
Behind the mask, Bai Yu’s expression remained unchanged. She simply stood motionless, single-handedly holding her blade, yet exuded a suffocating pressure. Before the fight even began, her sheer presence and aura had already overwhelmed the opposition.
The Silver Mask, the leather coat, that sharp, lethal intent, and the long blade…
An answer began to form in Scorpion’s and Fire Devil’s minds.
Clang!
A Blood Thread Blade Aura shot out. Controlling Zhao Mingyue’s body, Bai Yu took a step forward, her speed blinding, almost matching the Blade Aura she’d just unleashed.
As that bloody Blade Aura flew towards her, Scorpion’s pupils constricted. It was too fast; she could only desperately raise her arms to block.
She stopped the aura, but Bai Yu’s kick arrived right after.
Sending Scorpion flying with one kick, Bai Yu closed in on Fire Devil. Her blade sliced through the air with a terrifying wail that sent chills down one’s spine. A thread of blood flashed, and the blade of Fire Devil’s short sword burst out a spark before snapping.
A left jab struck Fire Devil’s abdomen, a Blood Thorn piercing through her body. Bai Yu flipped her long blade. Too close for a full swing, she slammed the pommel hard into Fire Devil’s face. Fire Devil reacted quickly, enduring the pain in her gut, raising her hand to her face to grab the pommel.
Boom! Flames and Blood Thorns erupted simultaneously. Fire Devil’s hand was pierced; without that instinctive jerk of her head backward, her entire skull would have been skewered.
The explosion pushed Bai Yu back two steps. She glanced at the injury on her right hand.
The charred outer shell of blood threads automatically sloughed off, and a new one grew in its place.
Compared to Fire Devil’s injuries, hers didn’t even qualify as a light wound.
An axe cleaved down fiercely from above, carrying immense force.
Bai Yu had just dodged sideways when a sharp awl came stabbing, predicting her new position.
This strike didn’t need to deal heavy damage, just a scratch was enough. The poison within would erupt the instant it pierced her skin.
Bai Yu’s long blade swept out at a tricky angle, slicing the awl in two. Colorless, odorless venom spilled out, hissing upon hitting the ground.
Her first strike failing, dozens of steel needles flew at Bai Yu from various angles.
Bai Yu stepped back again, her blade dancing as she sliced every single needle in half.
One against two, she had the upper hand from the very start. But Bai Yu didn’t press forward recklessly.
“Heh heh heh… long time no see, Doctor.” Fire Devil used her flames to cauterize her wounds. Painful as it was, at least she wouldn’t bleed out. Heavy blood loss in combat was fatal.
“Even a pathetic Evil God like this could catch your interest?”
Bai Yu remained silent. She glanced down, then kicked two severed Wax Corpse heads at the two women. Immediately after, she slashed several times, the Blood Thread Blade Aura she flung out splitting into hundreds of tiny energy blades, sealing off their every escape route.
Scorpion cleaved one of the Wax Corpse heads apart, but when she looked up, the dense net of Blade Auras was already upon her.
Even a veteran of countless storms, Scorpion couldn’t help but curse under her breath, forced to use her trump card.
She flung something out. Upon being shredded by the auras, a colorless, odorless Poison Mist erupted, corroding all the blood thread projectiles cleanly.
The hem of the long leather coat swept forward, the gust dispersing most of the poison mist.
At that moment, Bai Yu’s movements suddenly halted. She stabilized her center of gravity on her left foot, her waist twisting powerfully to whip her right leg around, kicking the descending axe aside.
The axe veered uncontrollably to the side. Before Scorpion could steady it, it was too late.
The blade tore through the air, a fleeting crimson line. A spray of blood—a hand, still gripping the axe, went flying into the air.
“So fast!” Scorpion couldn’t believe it.
Bai Yu stepped forward, this time pivoting on her right foot, her left leg sweeping upwards in a diagonal kick aimed at Scorpion’s chin.
Like Fire Devil before her, Scorpion instinctively lowered her remaining hand to guard her chin, leaning her body back.
Bai Yu’s foot grazed right past Scorpion’s chin. The blood thread blade extending from her heel sliced through some skin and flesh.
It was then that Scorpion realized something crucial.
From the wound on her chin, blood threads burst into frenzied growth, blossoming into a Blood Lotus that tore away a large chunk of flesh.
Scorpion was, after all, still just a regular human, albeit slightly stronger than average. The pain from such an injury, the horror of it, was more than mere Willpower could suppress.
The blade swept across her throat, bringing a bloom of crimson.
Scorpion stumbled back two steps, disbelief etched on her face. Then, in the moment before her consciousness faded, her expression turned to relief.
Well, at least this freed her from the pain.
How fitting… truly worthy of the “Doctor.”
The long blade in Bai Yu’s hand dissipated. Ignoring Fire Devil completely, she turned and left.
Fire Devil watched Bai Yu’s departing figure, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
She hadn’t intervened to help earlier, mainly because of a look she’d exchanged with Bai Yu. She understood what Bai Yu meant.
“Is she… trusting me somewhat?”
She didn’t understand why the Doctor hadn’t killed her. But this feeling of having her life spared… it was truly quite nice.
