The Night

Ning Ming was given a shock and quickly took a deep breath to try to calm down.

Was he afraid? Definitely afraid.

Even in his previous life, he was just a 19-year-old college freshman. After transmigrating to this world, he had never left the village.

At this moment, there were people both inside and outside the house. He didn't know who was a monster, or if they had all become abnormal.

Under these circumstances...

No!

Ning Ming suddenly realized that after the tide of fear receded, his mind had become extremely clear.

Even all the cells in his body were excited and active.

The 13 years of life here were overturned in one night. The mysterious veil of this world had truly been lifted!

"Could this be what Grandpa Village Chief wanted me to see?" Ning Ming thought to himself. "The mysteries of this strange cultivating world...the taboos of cultivating..."

He looked at Wu Xue and the tall, thin man sitting in the corner.

The tall, thin man hadn't stopped sweating. Bean-sized beads of sweat slid down from his forehead, drenching his clothes as if he had been caught in the rain.

The fat man Wu Xue suddenly had a sneaky look. He kept glancing at Ning Ming, then back at the room behind him.

Outside, Chen Jianjia's entire face was plastered against the window. Her beautiful features and snow-white skin now looked more like a ghost's face, frightening indeed.

"Hurry up and escape with the Long Life Lamp..."

Her eyes were wide open, as if she wanted to save Ning Ming who was inside the house.

"The Long Life Lamp, that's right, the Long Life Lamp can guarantee safety."

Ning Ming hurriedly looked at the Long Life Lamp in his hand.

The candle had already burned down a little. Strangely, the wax oil seemed to be evaporating into the air, disappearing as it burned.

"I'm afraid it won't last the whole night."

Ning Ming estimated that at most, the remaining candle could burn for another two hours. He had to think of a way to survive.

Also, from the beginning, Ning Ming had actually noticed.

After Wu Xue and the others left the room and came back in, not only did they not light the Long Life Lamp to ward off evil spirits, but they also deliberately kept their distance from him...

"Go find Uncle Lin!"

Ning Ming didn't dare to waste time and immediately turned around into the inner room.

The moment he entered the room, the outer room immediately fell into darkness.

At the same time, the expressions of Wu Xue and the tall, thin man became strange.

"Wu Qing, why are you sweating so much?"

The fat man Wu Xue looked at the tall, thin man.

The tall, thin man kept murmuring, "When is the young miss coming back... What on earth happened to the young miss..."

Outside, Chen Jianjia's face was plastered against the window, staring with wide eyes straight at the pitch-black room.

...

"Brother, just now a woman was plastered against the window staring at me."

Inside the inner room, Ning Yao was already dressed and standing on the floor.

The young girl had a petite, delicate build. Her limbs were slender and her skin was pale, clearly malnourished, which made people feel distress when looking at her.

Ning Ming was startled at first, then thought it was Chen Jianjia.

Why did she run to the inner room again and stare at Ning Yao? And his sister wasn't even scared enough to scream...

Without thinking too much, Ning Ming grabbed the young girl's little hand, "Stay with brother later. No matter what happens, don't panic."

"Oh."

The young girl responded lightly. Her little face didn't change much.

Leaving the room, Ning Ming held Ning Yao's hand with one hand and the Long Life Lamp in the other.

The two walked towards the door and out into the night. The light source moved, and Wu Xue and the tall, thin man also followed, as if avoiding it.

"What are you doing? Don't go out."

Wu Xue warned them good-naturedly from outside the firelight.

This was Ning Yao's first time seeing these outsiders.

She blinked curiously.

The tall, thin man also spoke, "The young miss and Young Master Tang are outside at night, it's dangerous."

But at that moment, Ning Yao suddenly pointed at the tall, thin man and said, "Brother, this person was so scared he peed his pants."

Ning Ming was taken aback. He never imagined his sister would say something like this at a time like this.

The tall, thin man's face also turned blue. There was indeed a puddle of water under his feet. His whole body was drenched in sweat.

"Don't blurt out the truth so bluntly."

Ning Ming admonished his sister, "Adults care a lot about face."

Ning Yao thought about it. "His pants got wet."

Ning Ming nodded. "Yes, that's more tactful."

Wu Xue glanced at the tall, thin man. For some reason, he distanced himself a bit from the other man.

On the other side, the tall, thin man's face turned extremely ugly.

Only then did he seem to notice his own abnormal state. Looking down at his pants, he said, "How could this be? Why do I keep sweating? Why?"

It was an extremely bizarre scene...

The wooden door had been smashed by that man in green earlier. Ning Ming walked right out with his sister.

This was the first time he had ventured out into the night.

Even in this relatively safe desolate village, the villagers had warned them before―if there was nothing urgent, never go out at night.

Outside the house, it was pitch-black all around. The temperature was a bit low.

Although there was no wind, it felt as if a chill was caressing their bare arms. Their hair stood on end.

It was truly too quiet...

So quiet they could hear their own breathing.

This made Ning Ming's heartbeat gradually quicken. His grip on Ning Yao's hand tightened. "Yao Yao, don't worry. This is the village. There's nothing to be afraid of."

"You, brother..." Ning Yao looked at Ning Ming and suddenly changed what she was saying. "I'm not afraid."

"Phew~"

Ning Ming let out a breath.

In the darkness, the rows of rammed earth houses looked like grave mounds.

Some houses hadn't been lived in for years. Lin Zuo's house was about 500 meters ahead to the left. The village chief's house was about 300 meters behind them.

Although the village chief's house was closer, they would have to pass through a bamboo forest, and there really were some tombstones in that bamboo forest!

Ning Ming chose to go to Lin Zuo's house up ahead.

Also, the light cast by the Long Life Lamp had a range of about three meters. Beyond five meters, it already blended into the night.

The firelight enveloped them in a circular area. Relying on a single candlestick, Ning Ming and his sister walked carefully through the dark night.

It was deathly still all around.

Ning Ming had thought Ning Yao would be scared, but the little girl was unexpectedly very calm. On the contrary, he was the one having trouble staying calm.

Before long, a human silhouette suddenly appeared on their right.

Ning Ming's heart quivered. Peering through the hazy firelight, he saw it was Chen Jianjia.

At this moment, terrifying changes had also happened to her. Her previously shoulder-length black hair now cascaded all the way down to her feet, and seemed to still be growing.

"Sizzle..."

The Long Life Lamp's flame suddenly changed from blue to a faint black. At the same time, its burning speed accelerated.

Ning Ming's eyes changed slightly. This was bad.

But Chen Jianjia said, "Hurry and come with me. This village isn't normal. Wu Xue and the others have all become monsters too."

Hearing this, Ning Ming thought for a moment, then said, "You should be a good person."

Chen Jianjia was startled. "What...what do you mean?"

Ning Yao looked at Ning Ming, then back at Chen Jianjia. "What my brother means is, stop bothering him."

In an instant, Chen Jianjia's face changed.

Ning Ming muttered, "Why does this feel strange?"

By now, Chen Jianjia was no longer normal. Her aura was completely different from the cultivating young miss from before. It was as if she had been possessed by a female ghost.

Yet she seemed unaware of it herself.

Not knowing if she was deliberately trying to harm them or what, Chen Jianjia suddenly walked towards Ning Ming.

But as soon as she got close and came in contact with the firelight, her skin made a "sizzle" sound, melting like snow and ice meeting sunlight.

"How can this be?"

Chen Jianjia stopped abruptly, as if unable to believe it. "Why is this happening?"

"Looks like the Long Life Lamp really can protect lives."

Ning Ming breathed a sigh of relief.

Before this, he wasn't too sure just how much use this candle could be.

The effect of the Long Life Lamp was probably similar to ancient times when humans used bonfires in the night to scare away small animals. If they ran into large beasts, it would probably still be useless.

But being able to drive Chen Jianjia away for now was good enough.

Just then, a chill suddenly ran down Ning Ming's back.

Wu Xue and the tall, thin man from the house had also come out after them at some point, following closely behind.

"Young miss?"

When Wu Xue and the other man saw Chen Jianjia now, they cried out in frightened voices.

The tall thin man hurriedly said, "Miss, quickly throw away that stone! That thing has already made you abnormal."

Chen Jianjia's face was ghastly pale, and she also said in horror, "Wu Xue, Wu Qing, you few actually wanted to make a move against me just now! You are the ones who are abnormal!"

Attacks from both the front and back.

At this moment, Ning Ming only felt that the surrounding black night was like black water, about to surge until he suffocated.

Sizzling...

The flame in his hand burned more vigorously, consuming at a rate dozens of times faster.