Sensing something was wrong, Li Huowang's expression stiffened. Backstage, he swiftly tucked away the Heavenly Book and drew back the curtain to look outside. He discovered that everyone—both the performers on stage and the musicians beside it—wore expressions of terror as they shook uncontrollably.
His gaze shot toward the front of the stage, his pupils shrinking to pinpricks. On a stool below the stage sat the woman with bound feet he had encountered in the forest. She had her legs crossed, watching the performance alongside the black memorial tablets.
This thing actually followed us. Did it latch onto us?
"Don't stop. Keep singing," Li Huowang ordered. He pulled over a wooden stool and sat down commandingly directly below the stage, his eyes locked on the woman with bound feet.
The sight of Li Huowang's back gave the Lv Family courage. Swallowing their fear, they exchanged glances, and the sounds of the suona and the opera resumed.
The woman with bound feet kept her gaze fixed on the stage, completely indifferent to Li Huowang's hostility. It was as if her only reason for being here was to enjoy the performance.
If the enemy doesn't move, neither will I. I refuse to believe it can stay until daylight. Li Huowang decided to act on this thought, determined to avoid expending any of his remaining three months of life if possible.
A faint mist began to rise from the floor of the Ancestral Temple, and the atmosphere grew increasingly oppressive.
Suddenly, the woman with bound feet moved. She slowly extended her plump right hand, grabbed two red candles from a plate, and popped them into her mouth, crunching away. She ate quickly. Before long, she had finished all the precious candles on the Eight Immortals table beside her.
Then, the opera singing halted abruptly once again. On stage, Scholar Lv, who was playing the role of the young male lead, was so frightened he burst into tears.
The paper effigies placed between the Eight Immortals tables by the Hu Family began to move without warning. Their heads were adorned with black melon-rind hats and their faces painted with bright red blush. They lifted plates of red precious candles from other tables and floated them over to the woman with bound feet.
"HEE HEE HEE..." The woman with bound feet let out a shrill, high-pitched laugh, causing everyone in Lv's Troupe to tremble violently.
"Don't stop! Keep singing!" Li Huowang's roar echoed through the silent Ancestral Temple, shattering the fear in everyone's hearts.
"Sing... Ahhh!" Top Scholar Lv, dressed as an old man, belted out the line. The music and singing started up again, even louder than before.
Everyone sang with all their might, as if trying to scream the fear from their bodies. Veins bulged on their necks and sweat poured down their faces.
This time, the woman with bound feet did not laugh. Instead, she glared sullenly at Li Huowang. She was not alone; all the paper effigies did the same.
Unfazed, Li Huowang stared right back at her.
「The third watch of the night passed in this eerie atmosphere, and the fourth watch began.」
Lv's Troupe, still singing with great effort on stage, were nearly hoarse, but they dared not stop.
Is it trying to wear me down? How long does this thing plan to keep this up? Li Huowang wondered.
Just as he was hesitating—wondering if he should spend three months of his life to summon Master You and deal with the woman for good—the situation changed again. The memorial tablets below the stage began to tremble inexplicably.
TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP! The sound of the tablets knocking in unison against the tops of the Eight Immortals tables was incessant, like raindrops hammering the ground.
This time, the members of the Lv Family completely broke down. They could barely handle one spirit, but now all of them seemed to be active!
Seeing this, the woman with bound feet began to laugh with disturbing glee. Her high-pitched cackling was so piercing that Li Huowang's ears ached.
However, as he watched the woman, the corners of Li Huowang's own mouth lifted into a faint smile. "I think I've figured it out," he said softly. "All of your actions seem designed to make them fear you."
"If you don't share the same cruel humor as humans, then I can only make one guess. Your food isn't those candles. It's the fear that blossoms in their hearts, isn't it?"
When Li Huowang saw the woman suddenly stand and glare at him with pure venom, he knew he had guessed correctly.
"Band Leader Lv, don't stop! Keep singing! Didn't Master Hu say his ancestors wanted to hear something cheerful? If you're afraid the wind might get in your eyes, just close them and keep on singing!"
"HEE HEE HEE... So tell me, do I look more like a human, or a god?" Seeing her plan fall apart, the woman stood up with a sinister laugh. She swayed her body as she moved closer to Li Huowang.
"I think you look like some half-wit demon!" With a CLANG, Li Huowang drew his Longsword with one hand from his back and charged at the woman.
Once he understood the creature's goal, Li Huowang's worries vanished. This thing, putting on a show of being a god or a ghost, wasn't nearly as powerful as he had first thought. It had just been a case of mutual fear.
They clashed in just a few steps. Li Huowang swung his Longsword, and with a flash of cold light, the woman was split in two. The halves of red precious candles spilled from her stomach.
The woman's severed upper torso flew behind Li Huowang, its hand reaching for his back. But before its pale fingers could touch him, they recoiled as if burned.
"Oh?" Li Huowang noticed this immediately, and joy filled his heart. This thing fears the Heavenly Book!
Li Huowang tossed his Longsword aside and pulled out the Heavenly Book. He swung it in a wide arc, aiming to slap the woman right in the face.
Faced with the approaching Heavenly Book, the woman's face twisted in terror, and she turned to flee.
In that instant, their roles reversed. Now it was Li Huowang, wielding the Heavenly Book, who inspired fear.
Li Huowang chased the woman around in circles inside the Hu Family's Ancestral Temple for some time. But despite her bound feet, she was surprisingly fast. After a long chase, he still hadn't managed to land a single blow.
Panting, Li Huowang stared at the woman from across a table. This can't go on. I have to try and drive her away.
"Get lost! Do you hear me? Don't let me see you again!"
The woman glared at him with venomous eyes one last time, then swayed as she retreated into a dark corner and vanished. When Li Huowang approached the corner with his lantern, he found it empty.
Top Scholar Lv picked up the Longsword Li Huowang had thrown. He jogged over and presented it to Li Huowang with both hands.
Li Huowang grabbed the hilt and sheathed the blade on his back. He then looked up to see Top Scholar Lv smiling ingratiatingly at him. "HEE HEE HEE... So tell me, do I look more like a human, or a god?"
Li Huowang's heart jolted. Something's wrong! The opera singing hasn't stopped! This Top Scholar Lv is a fake!
The moment the realization hit him, the Top Scholar Lv before him lunged, his ghastly white hands passing straight through Li Huowang's body.
An instant, bone-chilling cold washed over him. His spirits plummeted, and everything around him sank into darkness.