(Extra Story) Tenth Uncle

The bumpy road made Wang Qianyue wail the whole way.

But even so, he refused Little Mouse's idea of going into the city.

"Are you stupid? We're wanted felons now! Felons! First we kill a prefect, and now we've slaughtered a whole village!" At that, Wang Qianyue felt like he was losing his mind.

Why was he so cursed with bad luck?

Originally he'd just been happily working as a swindler, and ever since he discovered that tattered old book was actually useful, he'd seemed to get dragged into some strange circle.

"Little Mouse, burn that damn book! Burn it!" The two of them finally found a rundown, abandoned house to rest in.

Little Mouse, who had just started a fire, looked at Wang Qianyue, then looked outside the door, his expression somewhat grim.

"I was a pure and innocent Taoist, and now I've become a criminal overnight! Heaven help me!" The more Wang Qianyue thought about it, the more miserable he felt.

A gust of wind blew through the gaps of the half-shut door, making the newly lit fire flicker wildly.

"Of course, don't actually burn it—it might still be useful. Worst case, we can make a few more big scores, and then I'll take you out to sea!" Wang Qianyue shouted. He'd been rambling to himself, and even now, he was still thinking about money.

Cold wind kept pouring in from outside.

Little Mouse's gaze slowly shifted to the window, staring fixedly at it.

"I say, Little Mouse, what are you doing? You should at least try to comfort me—you're partly responsible for this too. If you hadn't been able to read that thing, we wouldn't have ended up in this mess. Of course, if you hadn't discovered that the broken book was useful, we wouldn't have made so much money... but what good is money? We barely had it in our hands before it was gone." Wang Qianyue kept chattering until he followed Little Mouse's gaze toward the window—and froze.

The paper window was already old and worn, and cast upon the paper was the shadow of a figure with disheveled hair, as if someone was standing just outside, staring straight at them through the window.

"G-ghost?" Wang Qianyue stopped his complaining.

Faint, faint sounds came from outside the house.

Wang Qianyue struggled to his feet; every movement sent an indescribable pain through every joint in his body.

Now it was obvious—there was indeed something outside.

Wang Qianyue suddenly thought of something: "Little Mouse, where are we right now?"

Little Mouse kept staring at the shadow on the window: "An abandoned village."

Wang Qianyue cursed inwardly. He'd been talking the whole way and hadn't paid any attention to the route. In the wilds, you were supposed to avoid abandoned temples in remote hills, desolate villages, treacherous peaks, and miasma-filled valleys.

He gave Little Mouse a mournful look: "You... why did you have to come somewhere like this? Abandoned villages are the most unclean places..."

But Little Mouse said, "It's not that the village is unclean. These things have been following us the whole way."

"Huh?" Wang Qianyue was shocked.

Little Mouse sighed: "We made too much of a commotion back at Black Mountain Village, and then the thing that was attached to you suddenly dispersed. All the nearby demons and monsters thought some human cultivator had fallen, so they all came hoping to get a piece of the spoils." He paused. "Of course, some are also here purely for revenge—these evil spirits all hate cultivators."

Wang Qianyue listened to this and didn't feel anything was off at all. Instead, he shakily grabbed a bamboo pole and forced himself to stand.

"Is there anything left in that broken book that can help?"

Little Mouse held up the book and wagged it: "Nothing left. What remains is either formations or some ordinary exorcism talismans..."

Wang Qianyue sucked in a cold breath.

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

Everything went quiet around them. The two inside turned to look at the half-shut wooden door.

"Master Taoist, may I come in?" A hoarse voice came from outside.

Little Mouse had just furrowed his brow when Wang Qianyue slapped his hand over Little Mouse's mouth, even though the motion made him wince in pain. But he gritted his teeth and endured it: "Don't answer—those things can't get in."

He looked at Little Mouse's doubtful expression.

"Really. My master told me that as long as the people inside don't open the door or respond of their own accord, evil spirits can't enter on their own."

The knock came again.

"Master Taoist, I'm coming in now."

The voice had grown a bit impatient.

Wang Qianyue was panting heavily, whether from pain or fear, he didn't know.

The window was knocked on too—a shrill voice spoke: "Master Taoist, I'm so hungry..."

"Master Taoist, let me in."

"Master Taoist..."

Wang Qianyue's already bloodless face turned even paler.

"Little Mouse, let me ask you something—when we came in earlier, were door gods posted on the door?" He suddenly thought of the most critical issue. The most basic condition for keeping evil spirits from entering a house was having door gods at the entrance.

But he'd forgotten that he was still covering Little Mouse's mouth.

"Hahahaha..."

"Hehehehe..."

Laughter erupted from outside.

Wang Qianyue was drenched in cold sweat. It was over. Really over.

If this had been any other time, he could have run. But now, just standing took every ounce of strength he had.

He finally noticed Little Mouse's gaze and the hand he'd been using to cover his mouth, and quickly let go.

"Door gods? These abandoned villages don't have door gods. Even if they did, they would have left long ago."

Wang Qianyue's last shred of hope was shattered.

The evil spirits outside were clearly toying with him—no, they were testing him.

They had followed all the way here, naturally sensing that fierce heavenly thunder. None of them were sure whether the Taoist inside was truly at the end of his rope, so they were probing.

Having figured this out, Wang Qianyue mustered his courage: "Bold demons! Get the hell out of here now!"

But pain and fear made his voice carry a slight tremor.

There was a moment of silence outside, then even more clamorous voices came in.

"The Taoist's heart and liver are mine, mine!"

"His primordial spirit is mine."

"Hahaha, hahaha... we actually got to pick up a Taoist today..."

A bizarre, eerie wind suddenly whipped through the room. The half-shut broken door was blown open, and the window was thrown up as well. That gust of evil wind extinguished the small campfire.

By the faint remaining light, Wang Qianyue could see several dark shadows, grotesque in shape—some human-like, some like beasts. Even in the darkness, he could feel the malice and greed in those spirits' eyes.

Little Mouse's gaze darkened. In the next moment, Wang Qianyue gritted his teeth, grabbed him, and pulled him behind him to protect him.

"Damn it! When your luck's bad, even drinking cold water gets stuck in your teeth! Little Mouse, you're not human—when I hold them off, you make a run for it!" He paused, then looked down at his belt with a hint of reluctance. "I've still got some silver stashed in my belt. Remember to take it, and be extra careful in the future."

Little Mouse looked at Wang Qianyue with some surprise.

Wang Qianyue seemed to know what he was thinking and gave a bitter smile: "I have no choice. I've been poor all my life. Ever since I joined the order, my master went out and never came back."