That night, a thin mist blanketed the outskirts of Long Ya City.
The damp air seeped deep into the bones, and only the chirping of crickets broke the silence between the towering trees. In the midst of the darkness, heavy footsteps echoed—branches cracked beneath the stride of a large man.
The man staggered slightly, a limp body slung over his shoulder—a man unconscious, limp, and drenched in blood. After several steps, the large man stopped and roughly dropped his burden to the ground.
Thud!
The body hit the earth like a sack of rice.
"Damn it," the burly man growled, wiping sweat from his forehead. "Ever since those Night Forest bandits were burned alive, I've had to find victims myself for this damned ritual."
His voice was deep and coarse, dripping with irritation. He gave the motionless body a light kick.
"And it's all because of that brat from the Shadow Dragon Clan! He keeps stirring up trouble in this city."
From behind a large tree, a thin, stooped man emerged. His robes hung loosely from his frail frame, his eyes were sunken, and his sharp face looked as though he hadn't slept for days. He spoke in a calm, detached tone, without even glancing at the man beside him.
"Calm yourself, Hiroshi," he said coldly. "Soon, Lord Haikun will awaken his fifth eye. When that happens, he will return to the Central Heavenly Demon Cult. Then we'll be free from these tiresome errands."
The large man—Hiroshi—snorted in frustration. "I hope so. I'm sick of following his troublesome orders. If he's not promoted to Vice Elder of the Black Sky Tao soon, I'll cut off his damn head myself."
The thin man smiled faintly, his tone smooth but cunning. "Don't speak so recklessly, Hiroshi. No matter what you think, it's thanks to him that we possess this kind of power."
He raised his hand, revealing a ring with strange engravings on his index finger. The red gem at its center pulsed faintly—like a beating heart.
Hiroshi glanced at it, then raised his own hand. His ring vibrated softly, emitting a dim red glow. He let out a low, amused chuckle.
"You're right. Thanks to this ring and his elixir, I can absorb the energy of the dead as much as I please."
The moonlight broke through the drifting clouds, spilling over their faces.
And beneath that pale light, the truth was laid bare—these two were no ordinary men.
The gray-haired giant was none other than Hiroshi, the head of the Long Ya Law Hall—the city's so-called guardian of justice and fairness.
And the thin man standing beside him… was Physician Yuto, the same doctor who had once tended to Mo Long when he lay unconscious—the same one Yaohua had trusted.
The moonlight illuminated their faces, and the truth gleamed like a dark stain upon a sheet of white silk.
Hiroshi snorted in annoyance. "If that parasite in my head isn't removed as promised, I'll strike at Haikun myself. Better to die than remain his slave forever."
Physician Yuto answered without emotion, his voice flat and cold. "Calm down. I don't want to be enslaved any longer either. Now fetch the jar under that tree."
Hiroshi turned, grabbed a clay jar from among the roots, while Yuto crouched at the side of the bearded man they'd carried. With his fingertip he drew a cut across his own chest—dark red blood trickled slowly. He smeared it onto the fallen man's breast, inscribing an odd symbol within the circle carved on the skin.
Soft incantations began to hiss through his breath.
"So you can use mind-control techniques as well?" Hiroshi sneered, half-challenging.
Yuto cast him a sharp look, mildly affronted. "Of course I can. I am a Taoist, not a roadside medic. Lord Haikun only taught me once… and I mastered it immediately."
Hiroshi snorted derisively and handed over the jar of thick, black liquid. "I hope your control lasts longer than last time. We won't be facing ordinary men—there's one talented youth and three bodyguards with him."
Yuto scoffed. "Silence. This man's realm is only Early Peak. At least he'll stay under my control until nearly dawn."
He tipped the bearded man's head back and forced his mouth open. The liquid from the jar poured slowly down his throat. The man convulsed reflexively, as if trying to reject something inside.
Yuto whispered, and strange incantations—part demonic syllable, part human prayer—slithered from his lips. The air around them trembled faintly.
Suddenly the fallen man's body stiffened. His eyelids snapped open; his pupils dilated. His face drained of color; veins burst from his neck; his jaw quivered. A guttural, terrible sound tore from his throat—
"GERRR… GHRRAAAGHH!!"
His eyes rolled wildly and aimlessly. The red light of Yuto's ring flared stronger, and a satisfied smile crept across the thin physician's face.
"Rise," he whispered coldly, "and carry out your master's commands…"
In the distance, a lone wolf's howl cut through the trees—as if nature itself shuddered at the darkness just born.
"Now is the best time to strike that boy. His body hasn't fully recovered… his strength hasn't finished rising," Yuto said, a terrifying grin spreading across his gaunt features.
***
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in the forest slowly shifted toward Yaohua's residence, where a thin mist crept down from the slopes.
On the tiled roof of a pavilion beside her house, two figures kept silent watch under the moonlight.
Gao Shan yawned wide, rubbing his eyes so hard they turned red.
"Damn it," he grumbled, shivering. "He's in there having fun with a woman while we freeze our asses off out here. The world really isn't fair."
Gao Shui, sitting with his back against a roof beam, chuckled without turning his head.
"If you want an easy life, be rich," he said lazily. "Besides, you don't even have a woman to sleep with. So quit whining—at least you're getting paid for standing guard."
"Peh." Gao Shan spat to the side. "Heaven truly has no justice. Young Master Mo Long has it all—power, strength, and beautiful women… everything just falls into his lap without him even asking."
Suddenly—woop!
A faint sound brushed the night air behind them.
Hu Wei landed silently on the roof, his movements light as mist, his black cloak fluttering briefly before he straightened.
"I've circled the perimeter," he said quietly but firmly. "Everything looks fine. But…" He scanned the surroundings, his brow furrowing. "Something's off. The night's too quiet. No crickets. Not even the sound of animals."
Gao Shui nodded grimly. His fingers unconsciously tightened around the hilt of the bronze dragon sword at his waist. The night air grew colder—biting deep into the bone.
"Not just quiet," Gao Shan added, his tone uneasy. He crossed his arms. "Isn't it too cold tonight? It feels like something's sucking the warmth out of the air."
They exchanged wary glances.
Then—
A faint sound drifted through the mist.
A child's cry.
Weak, trembling, pleading.
"Help me… help…"
Gao Shan's head snapped toward the sound, his body already tensing to leap. "What was that?" he barked, muscles coiling like a spring.
But Hu Wei's hand clamped onto his shoulder, stopping him.
"Don't," he said sharply. "It's an illusion. Someone's trying to scatter us."
The cry twisted into laughter—shrill, mocking, a woman's laugh laced with sobs—before it vanished completely.
Then came the scent.
Faint at first, then spreading—sweet, alluring, suffocating.
"Uhh… that fragrance…" Hu Wei muttered, eyes narrowing as his hand went to his sword. "It's her. That creature is here."
Without a word of command, the three men leapt down from the pavilion to the roof of Yaohua's house.
The tiles trembled softly beneath their boots. The mist thickened, rolling upward from the courtyard, swallowing the air around them.
The woman's voice echoed again—soft moans, then laughter.
Hu Wei narrowed his eyes. "If her voice sounds close…" he murmured.
"…then she's actually far away," Gao Shui finished.
Gao Shan rolled his eyes. "Ahh, what are you two babbling about again? Close, far—it all sounds the same to me!"
Hu Wei shot him a cold glance. "That's a Taoist illusion. She's summoning a woman's spirit to attack us."
All three drew their swords in unison. The silver gleam of the blades flashed under the moonlight, cutting through the thickening fog.
The laughter and weeping drifted away—
Then—
BRUSSH!
A blur flashed before their eyes.
Three shadows burst from the mist, rushing straight at them!
One slashed its long claws toward Gao Shan—
CLANG!
He blocked in time, his qi strike crashing hard enough to crack the roof tiles beneath his feet.
Another shadow lunged at Hu Wei, but he spun sideways and struck diagonally—
SWOOSH!
The shadow split in two and dissolved into black smoke.
The third assailed Gao Shui from the flank, nearly knocking him off balance. But in a blink, his bronze dragon sword spun and—SRUK!—pierced straight through the creature's chest.
A swirl of white mist rose. The three figures they had just fought melted back into fog, twisting violently before merging into one.
Out of the mist, a figure slowly took shape—
A woman with deathly pale skin. Her eyes were entirely black, her mouth torn open to her cheeks. Long hair fell past her ankles, and her body was draped in white qi that shimmered like living fog.
Hu Wei stepped back, eyes wide. "That's…" His voice caught in his throat.
"Kuchisake-onna!" he finally shouted.
The demon woman turned her head slowly, her smile revealing rows of jagged teeth.
"Am I beautiful?" she hissed, her voice like stone scraping on stone.
Gao Shan raised his sword. "Beautiful, my ass!"
In an instant, the three ghostly women lunged forward again, their claws glinting beneath the moon.
Hu Wei parried the first strike—CLANG!—then spun, slashing back in a swift counter.
Gao Shui moved with him, crossing his blade to block two simultaneous attacks from the left.
Gao Shan barely kept his footing as he met the third strike, his breathing ragged. "Damn it, these spirits hit like monsters!"
Suddenly, from the other end of the roof, a loud BOOM! erupted.
A huge figure burst out of the mist—a man wearing a red demon mask, cloaked in a black hooded robe. His movements were unnaturally fast, almost shadow-like. Without warning, he struck at Gao Shan from behind!
CLANG!!
The impact sent Gao Shan staggering back three steps, nearly falling off the roof.
SRAK! SRAK!
Three slashing orange qi waves tore through the air from the masked man's claws, hurling Gao Shan downward. The attacker followed, leaping after him to strike again midair.
"Who the hell is that?!" Gao Shui shouted.
Hu Wei had no time to answer—three kuchisake-onna closed in around them, while another winged creature descended from the dark sky.
At that very moment, from the front of Yaohua's house came a thunderous CRACK!
The main doors shattered inward, splinters flying.
From the doorway emerged a red-eyed man, black veins bulging across his face. His voice was no longer human—it was a beast's roar. He bellowed and charged into the house with terrifying force.
Hu Wei immediately leapt down from the roof, slashing through a kuchisake-onna that blocked his path. His blade cleaved through its skull, and the creature exploded into a cloud of white mist.
"YOUNG MASTER!!" Hu Wei roared, sprinting at lightning speed toward Yaohua's house—now echoing with crashes, shouts, and the sound of destruction.