The domain of eerie nights, precisely at eleven PM, the final sliver of the moon vanished.
A dim twilight slowly descended, as if the heavens and earth had been stitched together. Crows perched on barren branches, their rigid bodies casting shadows over pools of viscous, crimson liquid. Hundreds of people were gathered in the square of Fengqing Village, yet apart from a few scattered sobs, they were as silent as the dead.
The wind rustled tattered white cloths. In the open space, villagers held torches. Village chief Li Fengtian sat on the ground, his face filled with sorrow. Beneath the white cloth lay his deceased son.
"Grandfather, that brat Xu Mu must have gotten scared and hidden away. When I find him, I'll tear him to shreds and avenge my father!"
Beside Li Fengtian, a young man in his early twenties, supported by two companions, stepped forward. His eyes were red, clearly having just wept.
His name was Li Ancheng, the grandson of Village Chief Li Fengtian.
His father had just been killed by an eerie creature.
The reason for this, however, dated back to four years ago when Li Ancheng was sent to the city to study.
He attended the academy established by the Jin Yin Merchant House, the foremost commercial establishment in the land. His studies were highly specialized, designed to cultivate individuals with supernatural abilities.
Yet, he spent his days skipping classes, frequenting restaurants and entertainment houses, squandering his tuition fees, and narrowly avoiding expulsion.
Li Fengtian was also at a loss regarding his unaccomplished grandson, and could only turn a blind eye.
Awakening supernatural abilities couldn't be forced, so he didn't expect Li Ancheng to achieve great wealth or prominence, only that he remain safe.
Besides, the money wasn't entirely wasted; at least he could acquire professional knowledge, and becoming a night watchman in the future would be a decent occupation.
But Li Fengtian never imagined that today, his grandson would suddenly bring several classmates back to Fengqing Village.
Among them was someone who had just awakened their supernatural abilities. Thus, Li Ancheng's father, Li Anhua, dismissed all dissenting opinions and hosted a banquet for all the elders and villagers to welcome Li Ancheng and his classmates.
And it was this event that brought about Li Anhua's demise.
The welcoming banquet concluded around nine in the evening, when the sky was completely dark. Normally, people would stay home, waiting for the eerie night, but because Li Anhua had consumed some alcohol and lived a life of suppressed frustration, he went around visiting old friends, bragging.
Precisely at ten o'clock, Li Anhua passed by an ancient tree. Who would have thought that three eerie creatures would crawl out from beneath the tree at that moment, instantly biting the unfortunate man to death.
Li Anhua's screams echoed through the night, heard by a large portion of Fengqing Village. The villagers then came out of their homes, wanting to see what had happened.
It would have been better if they hadn't looked. The moment they appeared, several more people were killed by the eerie creatures. Fengqing Village descended into chaos. Only a few who maintained their composure immediately ran to Xu Mu's house for help.
And it was at this moment that they discovered Xu Mu was nowhere to be found.
...
"There was nothing in Xu Mu's room. Only these two items were found."
Before an open space, four villagers carrying large red lanterns and copper bells pushed into the crowd. Then, one lost his grip, and with a "dong" sound, the copper bell fell to the ground, making Li Ancheng's head buzz.
"This Xu Mu probably heard about what happened in the neighboring Xiaokang Village and got scared and ran away!"
"Such a spineless coward!"
Li Ancheng cursed furiously. He and Xu Mu had a grievance from years ago. The girl he liked had a crush on Xu Mu, and what was most infuriating was that Xu Mu had actually rejected her.
Li Ancheng, unable to contain his anger, went to fight Xu Mu. He never expected that Xu Mu had merely pushed him, causing him to lose his balance and crash into a rock, sustaining a serious injury that kept him bedridden for half a month and subjected him to ridicule.
He had intended to use his classmates' presence tonight to find trouble with Xu Mu, the night watchman, but unexpectedly, this incident occurred.
"My father is gone, Xu Mu, this isn't over between us!"
"Shut up, you scoundrel! What does this have to do with Xu Mu?" Li Fengtian, who had been sitting silently on the ground, couldn't stand it anymore and yelled at Li Ancheng. "Don't blame everything on others. Your father was careless. Besides, it all happened so suddenly. Even if Xu Mu had been here, he couldn't have saved him!"
"But people still died later!" Li Ancheng retorted, unwilling to back down. "If Xu Mu hadn't run, he could have at least saved one or two more people. These people were killed because of him!"
"If I hadn't brought Brother Chen here, how many of us would have survived? When the eerie night truly descends, our Fengqing Village will be just like Xiaokang Village, and the eerie creatures will devour us until nothing is left!"
Thinking of that consequence, Li Fengtian's body stiffened, and he sighed, swallowing his words.
In truth, his grandson was right. If not for the extraordinary individual named Liang Chen, they would have had to sacrifice at least a dozen more lives to deal with those three eerie creatures.
And Xu Mu had indeed disappeared. Regardless of whether he had fled or not, it was certain that if Fengqing Village had no night watchman tonight... their fate would be unquestionable. They would be massacred by the eerie creatures, just like Xiaokang Village!
"I think Ancheng is right. Although Xu Mu usually acts as a night watchman, he's eccentric and doesn't have many friends in the village," a young man in his twenties frowned. "Someone like that is prone to faltering at crucial moments. Perhaps he's already abandoned us and fled!"
"Hiss, that's right! I saw Little Xu Zi this afternoon. He was dressed strangely, his clothes bulging, as if he was going on a long trip!"
"Now that Granny Sun mentions it, I remember too. This afternoon, I did see Xu Mu leaving the village. Did he run away then?"
"Xu Mu, I've always felt about him..."
With the topic ignited, the villagers of Fengqing Village began to chatter. Like a wall that has fallen, everyone began to push.
Li Ancheng, seeing everyone cursing Xu Mu, felt a slight alleviation of his grief and secretly rejoiced.
Years ago, his grandfather had told him to learn more from Xu Mu and often compared them. But now, he had returned in glory, while Xu Mu had become a sinner reviled by the villagers!
The villagers' words became increasingly harsh. Even the theft of a chicken from a neighboring household was blamed on Xu Mu. Zhao Dayong's face turned a mottled green and red.
Others might not know, but how could he not know Xu Mu's character? This was the person who had saved his life!
"Impossible! Brother Xu wouldn't run!"
"He's guarded Fengqing Village for three years. Think about it, how many people have died in our village due to eerie nights in the past three years? Xiaokang Village was destroyed last night, and we only lost two!"
"Despite that, Brother Xu worked tirelessly without complaint. He never asked us for anything. You remember Brother Xu's kindness, yet you speak ill of him behind his back. Are you even human?"
Zhao Dayong's eyes widened, his voice filled with angry shouts.
"Zhao Dayong, don't think I don't know you're Xu Mu's only friend, and he saved your life, so of course, you're defending him!" Li Ancheng, who was inwardly chuckling with glee, was displeased to hear someone contradict him.
"I admit Xu Mu has done a lot for Fengqing Village, but that's what he's supposed to do. He receives a salary from the imperial court!"
"And don't forget, before he was a night watchman, when he returned from hunting, he never shared a single bite of meat with us!"
Upon hearing this, Zhao Dayong clenched his fists, his eyes bulging like a bull's, his neck turning red with anger: kuAiδugg
"What do you mean he didn't share any meat? That game was caught by Brother Xu himself. Why should you eat it? Are you worthy of it!"
"Li Ancheng, I think you've gone too far. We're talking about tonight's eerie night, and other matters shouldn't be blamed on Xu Mu. Besides, it hasn't been confirmed whether he ran away or not!"
Among the crowd, a young woman dressed in simple student attire also retorted.
Her name was Wu Peihuan. She had liked Xu Mu since she was studying at the private school.
Back then, they were both students, memorizing the Four Books and Five Classics and learning theoretical knowledge of survival in the wilderness.
One day, Wu Peihuan, lost in thought, happened to see a boy of the same age walking past the academy's entrance, dragging the corpse of a tiger.
Afterward, Wu Peihuan learned that the boy was Xu Mu. What shocked her was that the village hunter, Wu Kui, had personally admitted that this tiger was killed by Xu Mu, who had set traps and personally engaged in hand-to-hand combat!
A hunter who dared to face a tiger in close combat during his youth, how could he flee out of fear of eerie creatures after guarding the village for three years? She absolutely refused to believe it!
"Peihuan, why are you still defending this lowly fellow? What kind of spell has he put on you!"
Li Ancheng looked incredulous, his anger making him laugh. At such a time, the woman he liked was still defending his rival?
"If my classmates hadn't been invited today, and if Brother Liang Chen hadn't offered his help, we would have likely been devoured by the eerie creatures by now. Xu Mu, Xu Mu, when the eerie creatures were eating people just now, where was your beloved Xu Mu!"
Li Ancheng's emotions ran high, and he pointed at Wu Peihuan's face, unleashing a torrent of abuse. Liang Chen, standing nearby, frowned.
Liang Chen glanced at Wu Peihuan's sweet face, then shifted his gaze downward, paying slight attention to her subtly prominent chest. He then unconsciously licked his lips and sneered inwardly:
"You think this good-for-nothing likes Peihuan?"
Liang Chen smiled outwardly. He had been eyeing Wu Peihuan for some time, but he hadn't expected this little girl to be so unresponsive.
He wasn't worried about Li Ancheng; this guy's existence was purely to highlight his own heroism.
His purpose in returning to this impoverished village was to get closer to Wu Peihuan, but now he suddenly realized that Wu Peihuan's heart belonged to another man?
"Is the name of that traitor Xu Mu? He can't escape," Liang Chen said righteously, putting on an air of a gentleman, "When I find him, I will..."
"Will what?"
At that moment, a deep, familiar male voice sounded from the back of the crowd.
Li Ancheng froze abruptly upon hearing the voice.
Liang Chen's words were interrupted. He raised an eyebrow and looked back with a subtle expression.
The dense crowd parted like a tide, creating a passage in the middle.
"I am Xu Mu."
From the darkness, a young man covered in wounds walked forward. He squinted his eyes and met Liang Chen's gaze:
"Do you need something?"
...