The Black Market, under the moonlight, with snow yet to melt, had night watchmen seated under the eaves at the market entrance, cursing and swearing.

"In this damn cold winter, still have to do night duty, it's freaking cold... What goods would even come at this time?"

"Hey, enough complaining, fancy a cup?" Another watchman laughed, pulling a bottle from his jacket, and un-stoppering it.

"What kind of wine is this, smells so good?"

"Snow Brew from Hengwu Restaurant, only available in deep winter."

"Alright, alright... pour me a cup."

The two watchmen each held a cup, filling them with wine. One downed it in one go, exclaiming: "Good wine, instantly warmed me up!"

After speaking, he stared in surprise at the other watchman, whose hand holding the cup was trembling, eyes bulging with fear.

Being stared at like this made him uncomfortable, and he couldn't help but ask: "Why... why aren't you drinking?"

Before finishing his sentence, a blood-stained, ghastly pale hand emerged from his clothes and clutched his neck...

The other watchman screamed in fright, "A ghost!" He dropped the cup, scrambled to his feet and ran, stumbling forward.

His body felt frozen stiff, yet his heart raced with fear, wanting desperately to jump up and continue running, though he had no clue or care where to.

But as he tried to move, he found he couldn't rise because something had grabbed his ankle.

The watchman, terrified, turned his head, seeing a ghastly pale, bloated, blood-stained "woman" with black hair draping down, grabbing his ankle and crawling towards him.

...

"Why are you screaming for ghosts in the middle of the night?! Don't you know people are trying to sleep?"

The shouting from outside irritated Ding Cunfu, an outer disciple of the Blood Saber Sect, who was sleeping in the Eastern Market guard room.

He pulled up the warm quilt, snuggling closer to the maid warming his embrace.

The maid, awakened, murmured: "Master, again?"

Ding Cunfu replied: "Again for what? Just sleep."

The maid dared not speak more, closing her eyes.

Though they tried to sleep, neither could, due to the noise outside.

Suddenly, Ding Cunfu angrily exclaimed: "Why are you nudging me?"

The maid quickly responded: "Master, I... I didn't move..."

"Didn't move? Didn't move? Didn't..."

Ding Cunfu looked towards the quilt, only to see a person slowly appearing between him and the maid, the quilt rising, yet the maid's head was nowhere near the rising mound.

All of a sudden, Ding Cunfu saw the maid's head start to spin, accompanied by the creepy cracking of bones...

The maid's head spun several times, twisting her neck into a pretzel while her eyes bulged.

From beneath the rising quilt emerged a ghastly pale "woman", face contorted and eyes devoid of whites...

...

Despite it being dawn, the black market was in an uproar, filled with screams of fear and hurried movements everywhere...

Master Li awoke with a start, quickly sitting up. He sensed the darkness around him, swiftly put on his boots, and grabbed the long blade by his bedside.

The cold, familiar grip of the blade calmed him somewhat.

This blade was passed down by the ancestors of the Yanyue Sect...

The first ancestor, the founder of the Yanyue Sect.

The ancestors' glory, unseen by Master Li, only left to his imagination and lamentation.

Originally disheartened, he only intended to find a disciple capable of peacefully inheriting the Yanyue Sect's cultivation skill, unexpectedly discovering a genius.

This brought him both joy and disappointment, yet also expectation.

The source of his joy was obvious.

His disappointment lay in that, during the Yanyue Sect's glorious era, Li Yuansheng's achievements would have been higher. No! Even if not during those times, had it been just during his own era, perhaps he could have perfectly drawn the "Life Atlas" from the "Soul-Throwing Technique", unlike his own inadequacy.

The expectation was whether such a gifted disciple might complete the "Life Atlas," breathing soul into the lifeless map, to better pass down the Yanyue Sect. Master Li held great hope; it brought a spark to his dull life.

No matter what, having such a disciple, Master Li was satisfied, and his junior encouraged, also satisfied. At that moment... his first thought was an enemy attack, swiftly donning his robe, grabbing his long blade, and vaulting through the window, he quickly reached the courtyard to activate the puppets.

The puppets moved instantly, patrolling the courtyard.

Anyone else entering would face an attack from the puppets.

Master Li knew the few "safe zones" in the courtyard, after all, he had set the puppet's parameters.

Having established an exit strategy, he planned to go outside and inspect.

Yet no need to look, for behind him, the red lantern abruptly dimmed, and the ghastly moonlight revealed moving puppet shadows, with an eerie "clack" sound coming from behind a wooden pillar.

Master Li quickly turned, just in time to see a pale figure slowly emerge from behind the pillar...

Master Li shouted sharply: "Who goes there?!"

Being an old hand in the social world, while shouting, he flipped his palm, shooting several Plum Blossom Darts from his sleeve, the gleaming trajectory describing arcs through the air, instantly striking the pale figure.

Yet Master Li felt no elation, only a sense of wrongness.

Indeed, the darts passed through the figure, "clang, clang, clang" embedding in the stone slab, their points buried deep...

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