Nie Chaoxi dropped Hong Ling and Shitou at the pier before bidding them farewell and swimming toward the Dead Man’s Forest with her cargo.
Hong Ling and Shitou still remembered their promise to Wang Er; with the ghosts still at large, they needed to escort the group back to White Jade City.
Chen Zhou did not leave, following the two from a distance.
He had sensed through the wooden token long ago that there was more than just the aura of ghosts on that ship.
A faint, intermittent trace of death energy still lingered around the hull, becoming even clearer as night fell.
This death energy shared the same source as his own, yet it possessed a strange, discordant quality, as if the ghostly energy mixed within was something attached to it later.
'An evil spirit? Interesting.'
This was the first time Chen Zhou had sensed the presence of one of his own kind.
The Plague Rat had been exhausted by the day’s work and was currently sprawled motionless on Chen Zhou's shoulder, too lazy to even chew on a piece of jerky.
The rat couldn't understand why they didn't just stay by Hong Ling's side instead of following Chen Zhou around to poke into trouble.
Hiss? Could it be that it had some hidden illness?
No! It was definitely staying to keep a close eye on this black-hearted evil spirit, making sure Chen Zhou didn't go back on his word. The promised reward must never be pocketed by this greedy soul!
As night deepened, the river wind carried a sharp chill.
Perhaps because they had seen the Immortal Master manifest his power and slay demons during the day, Wang Er and his workers had grown much bolder. Still, they followed Hong Ling's previous instructions and hid inside the cabin early on.
According to usual patterns, the ghosts would likely appear tonight.
Shitou's injuries were more severe, so he sat cross-legged at the cabin door, regulating his breathing while remaining alert to any movement outside.
As the night grew darker and midnight passed, a thin layer of mist suddenly rose over the once-calm river.
A subtle sound drifted from the deck, like someone walking softly or the rustling of paper.
Hong Ling circulated her cultivation technique, and a wisp of flame condensed in her hand, transforming into a fire charm. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the cabin door and stepped out.
Mist blurred the deck. Under the pale moonlight, Hong Ling saw a rigid figure standing at the bow.
It was a paper man!
Roughly the height of an adult, it was made of crude white paper with stiff, awkward joints.
Facial features were drawn with clumsy brushwork: two large circles of bright rouge were painted on its cheeks, and the corners of its mouth were pulled up in an eerie, grinning arc as if it were laughing.
Hong Ling's heart steadied. She could feel that the ghostly energy radiating from this paper man wasn't particularly strong; it wasn't some ferocious entity.
"What manner of spirit is this!" Hong Ling shouted sternly, a fire charm already gripped between her fingertips.
The paper man did not respond, but its head suddenly snapped around a full one hundred and eighty degrees, staring at Hong Ling with that same unsettling, smiling face.
The mist thickened as ghostly energy surged.
Hong Ling wasted no time, flicking the fire charm forward as it transformed into a ball of fire.
However, the paper man made no move to dodge. Its arm was ignited by the flames, but the fire was quickly extinguished by a surge of death energy.
Hearing the commotion, Shitou immediately rushed out of the cabin, blade in hand, and stood guard beside Hong Ling. "Is this the ghost?"
"Be careful, something is wrong," Hong Ling said, her brows furrowing.
Shitou charged forward, his bone blade slashing down. It collided with the paper man's arm, producing a metallic clanging sound.
Hong Ling took the opportunity to throw more fire charms, which wrapped around the paper man's body and erupted into a raging blaze.
Yet, the paper man remained still, standing rigidly like a target waiting for destruction.
Inside the cabin, Wang Er gathered enough courage to peek through the door Shitou had left ajar. When the firelight illuminated the paper man's face, he let out a piercing scream.
"Third... Third Brother! It's Wang San! That's Wang San's face!!"
Hong Ling's heart jolted. Wang San? The sailor who had gone missing earlier?
Hearing the name, the paper man seemed to react to Wang Er’s words, its head snapping straight toward him.
Wang Er slumped to the ground, his mind a whirlwind of fear and grief.
The paper man burned violently in the flames, making a crackling sound as its eerie smile twisted in the heat.
A cloud of dark gray death energy surged out from the burning paper, splitting into two streams. One coiled toward Wang Er, while the other lunged at Hong Ling.
The death energy unique to an evil spirit possessed a bizarre power to assimilate and infect all living things. Wang Er had only touched a sliver of it when his hands and feet began to turn a paper-like, lifeless white.
Wang Er struggled and cried out for help.
Hong Ling’s expression changed, and she threw out another fire charm in an attempt to intercept it.
At the very moment the fire charm tangled with the death energy, Chen Zhou shifted his will and made a grasping motion in the air. The two streams of death energy were suddenly crushed as if by an invisible hand, instantly shattering and dissipating into nothingness. The burning paper man simultaneously crumbled into ash.
Chen Zhou's gaze did not linger on the ashes. Instead, he looked toward the pitch-black river surface.
In his perception, the ghostly energy on the ship had vanished with the destruction of the paper man, but the death energy had only paused for a moment before sinking into the riverbed like a slick leech.
The paper man was clearly not the evil spirit's true body; there was something else beneath the water.
With a thought, Chen Zhou expanded his Ghost Domain over the river and plunged downward. He followed the trail of the dissipating death energy straight to the riverbed.
Within the Ghost Domain, every sensation was as clear as if it were right before his eyes.
Chen Zhou saw countless paper men standing densely atop the river silt!
They were identical to the one on the ship—crude, motionless, and standing silently like a sleeping army.
Deep within the array of paper men, beyond the reach of his domain and hidden by the silt and darkness, he could vaguely make out the silhouette of a building.
With its upturned eaves and solemn gates, it was a sunken ancient ancestral hall.
Chen Zhou could feel that the hall shared an identical aura with his own altar, but it was colder, more chaotic, and devoid of all emotion.
As Chen Zhou scrutinized the scene, the dense crowd of paper men seemed to sense something. Their heads turned in unison, and countless pale faces, all bearing that same uniform, eerie smile, looked toward Chen Zhou at the exact same moment.
Even with Chen Zhou's mental fortitude, he couldn't help but feel a chill crawl up his spine.
Being locked on by countless hollow gazes made him frown slightly. He disliked the feeling of being watched, like prey being stared at by a predator.
With a flick of his mind, every paper man within the range of his Ghost Domain was crushed by an invisible, massive force. They instantly twisted and shattered, turning into countless paper scraps that mixed into the silt.
Having cleared those "eyes," Chen Zhou did not venture deeper and withdrew his Ghost Domain.
The Plague Rat was still lazily draped over his shoulder. It lifted an eyelid and let out a yawn. "Find anything good down there? Was it worth going for a dip in the middle of the night?"
Chen Zhou shook his head. "Not sure. It's full of paper men down there, and there's a sunken ancestral hall."
"The death energy is very heavy, but... it feels a bit strange. Have you ever seen ghostly energy and death energy mixed together like that?"
"You're asking me?" The Plague Rat looked at him with disdain. "Which one of us is the evil spirit?"
"Alright then... let's head back. Since I haven't figured out what it is yet, I won't touch it for now."
"Yay! Snake ribs, snake ribs! This rat wants salt and pepper crispy snake ribs!"
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