Blue smoke billowed thickly from the stone incense burner, spreading a scorched smell like burning hair. Master Vu stared at the three incense sticks snapped in half, his face darkening.
"It's come faster than I expected..." Master Vu said in a low voice, his hand tightening around the persimmon-wood sword. "The Hour of the Snake has just passed, and the yin energy is already beginning to flourish. Tonight is also the full moon of Ghost Month. It wants to borrow the strength of every ghost under Heaven to devour your soul whole!"
Master Vu hurriedly led Lam An into the inner room and dragged a worn leather-wrapped wooden chest out from beneath the bed. He took out a red brocade cloth pouch and a tarnished brass storm lantern.
"Take this." Master Vu shoved the brocade pouch into An's hand. "Inside is wind ginger powder mixed with Soul-Sealing Talisman ash. If you run into miasma or illusions created by the Grudge-Born Spirit, throw a handful of this powder into the air. As for this storm lantern... it burns oil that has been blessed with an incantation. Its light will help you see the way through the fog of yin energy."
An clutched the spiritual items to his chest, his heart pounding. "Aren't you coming with me, Master?"
Master Vu looked out into the courtyard, where streaks of black shadow had begun crawling over the moss-covered brick walls. "I have to stay here and establish a counter-ritual altar to preserve your true fate. If I leave, the Grudge-Born Spirit will recognize it immediately and send all its power after you. You have to make this journey alone. Lang Co Bai Village—the location of the old ancestral shrine—is five kilometers east of here. You must get there before the Hour of the Rat (11 p.m.)!"
5 p.m. The sun was sinking, but the air had taken on an unusually gloomy quality. Black clouds rolled in from the riverbank, covering the sky in a dull gray like cold ashes.
An slung his backpack over his shoulders and stepped out of Master Vu's wooden house. His master's final warning still echoed in his ears: *Find the ancestral shrine at all costs before the storm lantern's flame goes out.*
The road to Lang Co Bai Village passed along a rough, secluded stretch of river dike, with floodplains on either side planted with corn taller than a person. When An stepped onto the top of the dike, the river wind whipped wildly, making his shirt flap behind him.
The sun vanished completely behind the distant mountain range. Darkness fell with startling speed, like a colossal black carpet dropping over the world.
An hurriedly struck a flame and lit the storm lantern. As soon as the fire caught, the lantern cast a soft yellow glow, spreading in a radius of about two meters around him.
But when An looked through the sunglasses with his ash-gray left eye, he couldn't help shuddering.
In the cornfields on both sides of the dike, hundreds of blurry black shadows stood motionless among the stalks. They had no definite shape, only twisted streams of yin energy writhing as if they wanted to lunge onto the dike, but the storm lantern's yellow light held them back. On the full moon of Ghost Month, the gates of hell had opened, and countless wandering restless spirits were flooding the mortal world!
An kept his head down and walked as fast as he could, his hand gripping the pouch of wind ginger powder.
*Click... click... click...*
Behind him, the sound of footsteps crunching over gravel began to ring out. Not one person, but the hurried footsteps of many people closing in behind him!
"An... why are you walking so fast...?"
"An... give me back my eyes..."
"It's so hot... The river's so cold, An..."
Whispers, sobs, and pleas rang out in unison from every direction. The surrounding air suddenly dropped below freezing, and white steam began billowing from An's breath.
An bit his lip hard. He didn't turn around or answer. He poured all his strength into his legs and ran headlong toward the faint light of the stone bridge leading into Lang Co Bai Village in the distance.
Suddenly, a powerful gust tore through the area! The flame inside the storm lantern went out with a hiss!
Everything plunged into pitch-black darkness. The cornfields on both sides of the road rustled and swayed wildly. And right in front of An—barely one step away—a tall, gaunt figure wearing a white disposable raincoat riddled with bloodstains had been standing there who knew how long.
It slowly extended a pale hand crisscrossed with black stitches and raised its index finger, pointing straight at An's left eye...