```
Guided by the light of the lantern piercing through the fog, an old man with white hair pushing a vermilion-colored cart came along, incessantly muttering, "Knives for sale, knives for sale."
"Damn, scared the shit out of me." Wang Dazhu charged forward, thudding his foot against the white-haired old man's cart, "Old guy, out selling in the middle of the night instead of sleeping—selling your own mother, are you?"
At each gate of Fengyun County, there was a Bagua mirror to ward off evil spirits; generally, evil spirits couldn't enter. Plus, with long-standing peace within the city walls, Wang Dazhu was relieved when he saw that it was just an old man emerging from the mist.
How many evil spirits could there be? Inside the city wasn't like outside the city; he was indeed overthinking it.
He figured it was just a slightly addled old man, a sight he had seen before. He had even seen people running naked in the middle of the night.
He noisily kicked at the old man's cart, flaunting his bravery as if the person who had been scared just moments ago had nothing to do with him.
Wang Qi and Wang Ba naturally followed suit.
After all, if the boss kicked, and you just stood by watching, wouldn't it seem like you weren't on the same page as him?
However, to his surprise, the cart, although appearing decrepit, was astonishingly sturdy. He kicked several times, but it didn't fall apart at all.
"Sir, would you like to buy a knife? They're very cheap," said the white-haired old man, looking at their actions without any anger, speaking in a ghostly manner.
The light of the lantern shone on the old man's face, highlighting his strange smile, making him look very creepy in the night.
"Buy your mother, get lost. Your damn knives are all rusty. It'd be hard to even kill a chicken with them. If people didn't know better, they'd think they were dug up from a graveyard. Get out, get out, hurry up and get out."
After venting their frustrations, the trio saw the old man's creepy smile and couldn't help feeling a chill in their hearts as Wang Dazhu mustered his courage and roared.
"My knives are very fast, cutting through bone and flesh is nothing to them. Just take a look, sirs," the white-haired old man replied unperturbed. He picked up a rusty kitchen knife from his cart and, with a swift motion, chopped off his own head, which rolled to Wang Dazhu's feet.
The head's mouth kept opening and closing on the ground: "Sir, are my knives fast? They only cost a hundred years of your lifespan. Or you could trade with your liver; I want your livers."
The lantern went out again.
This eerie turn of events petrified the trio of Wang Dazhu, and although they wanted to run, their legs seemed to have rooted to the ground, incapable of moving.
They wanted to scream, but the words wouldn't come out, stuck in their throats.
Wang Dazhu's eyes filled with intense despair—had he been able to look in a mirror, he would have seen he looked just like the old village chief of the Li family, whom he had crippled by breaking all his limbs.
A foul smell spread through the air, leaving the ground damp.
Some people might look fierce, and Wang Dazhu always prided himself on being a tough guy, but when disaster befell him, his weak nature was exposed.
The old man's body walked over to the head, dusted off the dust, and reattached it to the neck.
Realizing it was backwards, he held his head and twisted it one hundred and eighty degrees.
The stench in the air grew stronger.
"Sirs, would you like to buy a knife? I told you my knives were fast," the old man said as he approached them, speaking ominously.
"If you don't speak, you agree. I want your livers."
Wang Dazhu and the others struggled fiercely, but it was as if an invisible force was upon them, rendering them mute and motionless.
They shook their bodies furiously, wanting to shout, "I don't want it, I don't want your damn knife, I want my liver."
Unfortunately, the old man didn't care about their protests and started carving with his rusty knife.
Blood flowed profusely.
In no time, Wang Dazhu and the others had their bellies slit open, their livers and gallbladders exposed, bearing it all.
Wang Dazhu's case was particularly tragic since the well-developed iron cloth shirt he wore was tough, so he took a few more slices than the others while being cut open, suffering a terrible fate.
The white-haired old man, as if by magic, pulled a gray cloth bag from somewhere, reached in with both hands and, one by one, plucked the livers and put them into the bag.
While doing so, he muttered, "These livers are a bit bad, ah, poor quality, such a loss, such a big loss. If I had known, I wouldn't have sold to you."
With three thuds, Wang Dazhu and his companions fell to the ground, blood pooling around them.
"Sirs, don't you want the knives then? I'll take them away, but let me ask someone else if they want them," said the white-haired old man, lifting his head to gaze at the gilded plaque above that read "Wang's Mansion" and glanced at the words "Home of Accumulated Goodness" engraved on the stone lion beside him, revealing a benign smile.
"This Wang family must be missing a good knife; I should ask them," he mused.
He pushed his cart, slowly heading into the Wang family estate. The large gates, as if being pulled by some great force, slowly opened. As the old man entered, they suddenly closed behind him.
Inside the Wang family compound, all was deathly still as if no one had heard the commotion outside.
Under the moonlight, a dark iron curtain suddenly descended, cutting off the moonlight, plunging the entire Wang Mansion into darkness.
The thin mist on the streets began to churn, furiously seeping through the cracks of the Wang family's gate, and in a moment, the streets cleared up once more.
Inside the Wang family estate, the sleeping people suddenly awoke.
```
A strange sound arose in everyone's ears.
"Would you like to buy a knife? Esteemed sirs."
"If you're buying, I'd like your livers."
The mansion instantly boiled over with activity, as someone lit an oil lamp and tried to step out to see what had happened, only to find that the door couldn't be opened, no matter how hard they tried.
The wooden door was as firm as an iron wall, impossible to break open.
Those servants who were patrolling within the mansion found themselves trapped by the fog, unable to walk out, and weirdly began walking in circles on the spot.
A demonic wind blew through, extinguishing all the candles, lanterns, and any other sources of light; the Wang residence plunged into complete darkness.
Then came the sounds of knives cutting through flesh and people falling to the ground from the darkness.
Tonight, the Wang family's house was especially quiet.
...
...
The next day, dawn's early light was faint.
Hidden Dragon Temple.
Yi Chen was still soundly asleep, when suddenly he was awoken by frantic knocking at the door.
"Master, Master, quickly open the door, something terrible has happened."
It was Chief Zhang's voice.
Yi Chen, with sleepy eyes, opened the door of Hidden Dragon Temple.
"Why the panic, disciple? Let me teach you again to be calm in the face of trouble. Flustering about like this, what does that look like?"
"Yes, Master." Seeing Yi Chen's towering figure, Chief Zhang seemed to find his backbone and calmed down a bit.
The two went to the guest room in the courtyard, where Qing Yunzi had also been woken up and started brewing two cups of clear tea for them.
"Speak, what has happened to cause such a flurry?"
"Surely the county prefect hasn't just up and vanished."
Yi Chen picked up his tea cup, gently blew on the froth, and then gulped down the scalding hot tea at once.
With his current physique, he could easily withstand such temperature.
Drinking boiling water was the real deal.
It benefited the accumulation of Origin Point.
After finishing one cup, he poured another and was about to take a sip.
Watching Yi Chen's exaggerated actions, Chief Zhang also had a face full of disbelief. He put down his tea cup and said urgently:
"Master, stop joking around, there really has been a disaster," he said.
"There's been a haunting in Fengyun County. The entire household of the wealthy Wang family, two to three hundred people, all dead, a dreadful scene, not a chicken or dog left alive."
"And the Wang family's young miss had it worst; her mouth was split open."
"There was minced flesh and dismembered corpses everywhere, not enough pieces to even make a complete pair of pants for ten people."
Yi Chen: "....."
Pfft!
All the hot tea he just drank sprayed out.
He widened his eyes and said, "What did you say? Say it again?"
"Master, remember to keep your composure in the face of important matters," Chief Zhang wiped the tea from his face and repeated the previous statement, then continued.
"The Wang family has been wiped out by an evil spirit."
"Master, the county prefect has issued invites, calling on all well-known Taoist temples, Buddhist monasteries, and loner experts to discuss the matter at the county office today."
"The county prefect specifically asked me to inquire about your thoughts?"
"I think it's badass," Yi Chen had returned to his laid-back demeanor and spoke indifferently.
Chief Zhang: "..." How am I supposed to respond to that?
For a moment, Chief Zhang was utterly confused.