Twilight Boundary

The evil presence trembled and slowly lifted its head.

Its face was ethereal, yet clearly recognizable as that of Incense Master Zheng from the Red Lantern Society.

When he saw Hu Ma's face, his expression twisted into one of utter despair.

The flames in the fire basin were extinguished by a breeze. This revealed the ordinary surroundings: only a circle lightly scattered with rice, several vine-woven figures barely resembling humans, an old tree stump, and a few pieces of yin bone jade. There weren't even any proper offerings.

Of course, he also saw Hu Ma sitting on the slope—this little shopkeeper, so young and frail he looked as if a single breath could topple him.

This should have surprised him, yet he felt no shock. It was as if he'd been terrified of some inconceivable thought becoming real, and now that it had, his heart had simply gone numb.

"It's you..."

Hu Ma heard him speak in an eerie whisper, "It really is you..."

"But... how could it be you...?"

"..."

"Surprised it's me?" Hu Ma regarded him coldly, a mix of emotions churning within him towards this Incense Master Zheng. This whole affair has escalated far beyond what it should have. Two people who should never have been involved were dragged into it, people for whom this level of conflict is far too removed from their world.

One was himself. The other was this Incense Master Zheng.

Damn, this fellow was quite a character. How did he even manage to gain the Meng family's trust and then shoulder all the blame?

Anger felt meaningless now, just a sense of helplessness mixed with absurdity. He looked at Zheng and said, "If it weren't for you, I doubt I would have been dragged into this mess at all."

"I just don't understand your reasoning. I wasn't the one who personally killed your brother-in-law. So why target me?"

"..."

"Who else could I target... but you?"

Incense Master Zheng trembled, but knowing there was no escape, he seemed more composed than the green-clothed evil ghost had been.

He shivered, mumbling as if to himself, "When I was lying in a filthy gutter, waiting to die, I swore a solemn oath: whoever saved me, I would repay them with wealth and honor. And then, their family saved me. They got me medicine, even gave me a bowl of hot soup..."

"This immense kindness made me vow to bring prosperity to their entire family. Even if they were foolish and greedy, I always believed my skills could protect them."

"But Niu... just for a little greed, he ended up boiled alive in oil. Such a horrible death..."

"You call him a bad person? In that family, he was simpler than my father-in-law, simpler than my wife. He was even simpler than me. In our whole family, Niu was the purest one..."

"So how could I not seek revenge for him?"

He looked up at Hu Ma, his tone almost self-righteous. "If I didn't avenge him, what would my wife and father-in-law think of me? What would the members of the Red Lantern Society think?"

"But if I were to avenge him, who else could I go after? You think I could target the two protectors? Or the Red Lantern Lady herself?"

"..."

Hearing this, Hu Ma couldn't help but let out a self-deprecating laugh. "So, you targeted me because I was the only one you thought you could afford to provoke?"

Zheng Zhi'en tried to laugh too, but his laughter choked into something like a sob.

Yes, he was the only one I dared to provoke...

But now, that reason seemed like the world's biggest joke.

"The jianghu is treacherous indeed. I almost fell into the hands of someone like you..."

Hu Ma listened, vaguely grasping Zheng Zhi'en's mindset, but he couldn't be bothered to truly understand it. He sighed, looked at him, and said, "But with things having escalated this far, surely you know what awaits you?"

Zheng Zhi'en was stunned for a long moment before shaking his head. "It's too much... I can't even imagine."

"I can't imagine it either," Hu Ma said. "It's certainly gotten big. Perhaps it's an opportunity to see just how far things can go in this world."

"But you must realize one thing: this is no longer something you can shoulder alone, right?"

"..."

"Yes..." Zheng Zhi'en finally let out a low sigh. "There used to be a charge for 'demon people causing chaos' in the court. I just don't know if that's still a thing..."

"Right," Hu Ma said, looking at him with a hint of sympathy. "And I'm afraid your wife's family will blame you for dragging them into this..."

Incense Master Zheng looked as if he wanted to force a bitter smile, but couldn't. He just looked up at Hu Ma.

Hu Ma, however, had no more words for him. He waved his hand and suddenly spat out a True Yang Arrow, striking Zheng Zhi'en and instantly shattering his living soul.

「At that very moment, outside Zhu Men Town, on the wild hill.」

The wooden frame and Yellow Banner erected by Incense Master Zheng, the stones arranged as offerings, and the dry branches he had used as swords, all lay scattered. He himself sat dumbfounded amidst the ruins of his Magic Altar.

Back in Old Yin Mountain, Hu Ma had extinguished his living soul with a single breath. Here, on the hill, Zheng Zhi'en instantly went limp, like a puppet.

This was a symptom of a Spell backlash.

It was far more severe than what Hu Ma had witnessed with the martial artists at the Ma Family Ancestral Hall. Their living souls had been separated from their bodies but still existed; they hadn't died.

Zheng Zhi'en, however, had his living soul dispersed and then suffered the Spell's backlash. All vitality drained from him in an instant.

The green-clothed child had been killed by enraged commoners in various places. The Meng family had departed without a word. This place had become forgotten. If no one came for Zheng Zhi'en, he would be left on this hilltop, exposed to the wind and sun, until he rotted away.

If that were truly his end, it might have been a mercy.

「A small sedan chair and a donkey approached from the foot of the mountain.」

Inside the sedan sat a woman weighing nearly three hundred pounds, her face heavily painted with makeup. Two gaunt bearers carried her. When they reached the base of the hill, the bearers collapsed on the ground, refusing to go any further, swearing they'd rather die than carry her up.

The woman kicked and cursed them viciously. The old man on the donkey tried to placate her. "Stop hitting them! Look at the time! Hurry up and see what's going on."

"I don't know what 'important business' he's up to, not home for days," the woman fumed silently. "Just wait till I get my hands on him, I'll slap him across the face!"

She felt aggrieved but had no choice. She climbed out of the sedan, took the food basket herself, and, along with the old man who had dismounted, began the arduous climb up the hill, panting and using their hands and feet.

The short, wild hill felt like climbing a mountain to heaven for her. It took the old woman and the old man a full hour to finally reach the summit, drenched in sweat. There, they saw Zheng Zhi'en sitting, disheveled and dazed.

"You f*cking worthless thing!" the woman shrieked, seeing him. "Sitting there! Don't you know enough to come down and help?" She seemed to find a new surge of energy and charged at him, ready to strike, but then she noticed his vacant expression.

With a WAIL, she burst into tears. She grabbed him, shaking him violently, pounding on his chest as she cried, "Zheng! Don't you dare scare me! Don't let anything happen to you! If something happens to you, how will I go on living?"

The old man, terrified, rushed forward to look. "Help! Help!" he yelled hoarsely. "You bearers down there! Come quick! Take my son-in-law to a doctor!"

But the sedan bearers were long gone. As the old man and woman shouted in panic, they realized that several figures had appeared on the mountainside, seemingly from nowhere.

They were people they never would have expected to see: government officials from the local government office, clad in black soap clothes, with sabers at their waists and official hats on their heads.

The residents of Mingzhou Prefecture had almost forgotten such people even existed.

The woman and the old man were stunned by their appearance. They hesitated for a moment, about to cry for help, but then they saw the leader of the officials. He coldly glanced at the ruined Magic Altar, then at the oblivious Zheng Zhi'en sitting beneath the tattered Yellow Banner. The leader's eyes turned fierce.

He pointed abruptly and barked, "A demon person causing chaos, using ghost-expelling to harm the populace! The Magic Altar is proof! Seize him!"

The other government officials, trembling, their skills long out of practice, fumbled for their chains, preparing to secure them around Zheng Zhi'en's neck.

"Who dares?!"

The portly woman, now frenzied, fought back ferociously. "Who dares touch my husband?" she shrieked, grappling with them. "Do you know who he is? He's an incense master of the Red Lantern Society!"

Hearing "Red Lantern Society," the officials grew even more fearful. Combined with the woman's ferocity and the old man now daring to join the fray, they were momentarily pushed back.

The leader, however, gritted his teeth. "A demon person causing chaos!" he roared. "By law, such a crime warrants death by lingchi and execution by young flock! How dare you obstruct officials in the execution of their duty?"

"Arrest them all!"

That shout instantly terrified the woman and the old man. The officials, realizing this situation was different from their usual encounters, kicked the old man and woman to the ground and shackled them. Then, they moved to put shackles on Zheng Zhi'en.

But as their fingers touched his body, one of them cried out in surprise, "Leader, he's... he's already dead!"

"Dead?"

The head official whirled around to look at Zheng Zhi'en. He gritted his teeth and whispered, "Dead or not, shackle him! Prop his legs with wooden splints! Make it look like he's walking."

How could he die? How could he die now?

He committed such a heinous crime! If he doesn't make a show on the Lingchi Platform, he doesn't even deserve a burial!

"..."

The officials understood at once. They quickly produced various vials and jars, rubbing concoctions onto Zheng Zhi'en's body and legs to soften his stiffening limbs. They pulled his tangled hair into even greater disarray, letting it fall to cover his livid, pale, and utterly lifeless face.

Iron rods were inserted into his trousers and tied to his legs. Others then pulled on ropes attached to the rods, making it seem as if he were still alive, still capable of walking.

"Let him go! I said, let him go!"

The woman and the old man, seeing Zheng Zhi'en's corpse being desecrated in this way, were heartbroken. They screamed desperately, but the officials beat them until their mouths were bloody and their teeth broken.

「In the end, the entire family was bound in iron chains and led down the mountain.」

The wooden frame and the tattered Yellow Banner were also carried down as evidence.

「As they paraded their prisoners through the streets and alleys into Mingzhou Prefecture, a huge crowd gathered to watch.」

The onlookers were a mixture of resentful and astonished. Those who had suffered from the recent disturbances were filled with hatred, glaring at the "demon person" who had brought chaos to their state, shouting curses and throwing refuse.

The astonishment stemmed from a different source: These government officials... they actually dared to get involved in something like this?