As the Nether Lantern shattered, the Hundred Ghost Night Parade paused briefly as if they had lost their way. The other Nether Lanterns, which had shifted their positions because of that one misplaced lantern, gradually returned to their proper tracks.
Amidst his shock, Jingkong finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
He never expected that someone could actually stop the Hundred Ghost Night Parade by their own power. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would have surely thought it was a ridiculous joke.
But just as the group relaxed, the procession of the Hundred Ghost Night Parade suddenly began to move again.
More importantly, even though the directions of the Nether Lanterns had returned to normal, the ghosts continued to follow the incorrect path, heading straight for Ning’an Village.
“How is this possible? That Nether Lantern was clearly shattered!”
Jingkong turned pale with fright, unable to understand what was happening.
Even Chen Ning frowned slightly, his eyes veiled with a layer of Purple Qi as he carefully observed the movements of the Hundred Ghost Night Parade.
“I see.”
He finally noticed that while the direction of the Nether Lanterns had changed, there was a strangely dressed person running directly in front of the Hundred Ghost Night Parade, constantly luring them toward Ning’an Village.
Just as Jingkong had suspected, the accident that occurred during this Hundred Ghost Night Parade was highly likely to be man-made.
Though the wine was gone, the intoxication remained.
Chen Ning drew his sword and struck once more.
Sharp sword qi pierced through the air, directly skewering the figure.
The body fell with a thud.
Without this bait, the massive Hundred Ghost Night Parade finally came to its senses. After a moment of hesitation, it returned to its original path.
At this moment, they were only a few hundred meters away from Ning’an Village.
If he had been a step slower, nearly half the village would likely have been trampled.
“We finally succeeded.”
Jingkong and the others finally let out a sigh of relief.
Although they hadn't contributed much just now, simply watching from the side had been enough to keep them on edge.
As far as the eye could see, the area the Hundred Ghost Night Parade had just passed through was now littered with the corpses of animals, livestock, and even a dozen villagers who had been out farming.
It was clear how severe the consequences would have been if the Hundred Ghost Night Parade had passed through a human settlement.
“However, what did that person do? The Hundred Ghost Night Parade shouldn't change direction just because of a human’s scent,” Jingkong wondered aloud, lost in thought.
At the same time, a system prompt appeared before Chen Ning’s eyes.
【Successfully prevented the Hundred Ghost Night Parade, obtained Noble Qi * 100】
【Slayed one Painted Skin Slave, obtained Noble Qi * 3】
“A Painted Skin Slave? The fellow who deliberately lured the Hundred Ghost Night Parade just now wasn't human?”
Chen Ning frowned and said, “Let’s go take a look. His body is still there; we might find some clues.”
The group quickly reached the foot of the mountain and found the body that had been pierced by the sword.
But the moment he saw the body, Jingkong’s expression suddenly changed.
There was no corpse on the ground. It was clearly just an empty, hollow human skin without flesh or blood!
“This is... a Painted Skin Slave!”
Jingkong’s face turned extremely pale in an instant, and the pupils of the young monastics beside him couldn't help but shrink.
“Do you know what a Painted Skin Slave is?”
“Yes, they are a type of humanoid puppet created by a Painted Skin Ghost.”
Jingkong’s gaze was now even more solemn than when he had seen the Hundred Ghost Night Parade with his own eyes.
“I also heard about this from my master.
“Painted Skin Ghosts are a type of extremely ancient ghost. They can transform into anyone's appearance by painting a skin.
“But what is most feared is their eerie ability to create Painted Skin Slaves.
“After a Painted Skin Ghost kills someone, it strips away their flesh and blood, leaving only an empty shell of skin.
“On the surface, a Painted Skin Slave looks exactly as they did when they were alive; even those closest to them cannot detect the difference.
“But in reality, they have long since become eternal servants of the Painted Skin Ghost. They will continue to mingle among people using their former identities, silently killing more people and turning them into Painted Skin Slaves just like themselves.
“They could be living beside anyone—a friend, a relative, or even a spouse.
“This is the true horror of a Painted Skin Ghost.
“Because once the existence of one Painted Skin Slave is discovered, it means there may be an unknown number of others.
“No one knows how many there are. It is even possible that the entities who have become Painted Skin Slaves do not realize they are no longer human.”
Jingkong’s voice trembled slightly.
“I never expected this extremely rare ancient ghost to appear here!
“There have been many tragic cases where entire villages or towns fell to Painted Skin Slaves. If we don't find the Painted Skin Ghost's true form in time, I fear a similar tragedy is likely to happen again!”
After hearing this, Chen Ning also realized the severity of the problem.
According to Jingkong, the existence of a Painted Skin Ghost was like the source of a plague. If it couldn't be found, it would eventually spread at a terrifying speed.
By then, from commoners to government officials, an entire massive town could become a deserted ghost city.
Chen Ning immediately flipped over the human skin and found that the face was actually very familiar.
“This is... Yang Si?”
“Brother Chen, do you know him?” Seeing this, Jingkong quickly asked.
“Yes, this man is the fourth brother of the Yang family. He has three older brothers at home. What do you think? Can you find any clues based on this?”
Jingkong shook his head.
“The true body of a Painted Skin Ghost is often hidden very deep; there’s even a high probability it isn't in Ning’an Village at all.
“It’s almost impossible to find it based only on the skin of a single Painted Skin Slave.
“However, Painted Skin Slaves usually strike their own family members first.
“Since one has already appeared, it’s very likely that Painted Skin Slaves also exist among the other three brothers of the Yang family.
“If we can kill a few more Painted Skin Slaves and bring them back to the temple, my master might have a chance to deduce something from these skins.”
“Then let’s go.”
Such a disaster naturally had to be eradicated as early as possible.
...
By the time they returned to Ning’an Village, the sky had completely darkened without them noticing.
As Chen Ning knocked on the door, an angry roar immediately came from the courtyard.
“It’s so late! Who the hell is knocking on my door?”
“Chen Ning? Why is it you? What are you doing at my house this late?”
The person who opened the door was Yang Da, his face still carrying a trace of anger.
“I heard someone in the village has gone missing. I’m here to look for them.”
“Only we four brothers live in the Yang house. What does you looking for someone have to do with us?”
“The person I’m looking for is your fourth brother.”
As Chen Ning’s voice fell, Yang Da’s expression suddenly froze.
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