Ghost Compendium

Winter in the Capital City is still just as cold.

Even though the season has now reached the late winter, almost turning to spring, the chill in the evenings remains below freezing.

This climate means that in this rundown village without central heating and air conditioning, the only way to bring a sliver of warmth is by adding wood and coal to the stove.

Because there's no electricity here, and it's mainly elderly people who are early to bed due to tiredness, by about eight or nine at night, when it's completely dark, they're all in bed.

"Heh! This is strange! Hasn't this house been abandoned for a long time? How can there still be someone living in it now? And the lights are on?"

An old man, leaning on a cane and reeking of alcohol, was making his way home to sleep when he stumbled across a house with lights on and shadows moving inside, and he was surprised.

He had gone to drink with an old friend in the nearby village today.

After all, they are both at that age where they never know when they might be separated by life and death.

That old friend is already bedridden, so while he can still move around, he visits him now and then, having a drink to accompany him on this last leg of his journey.

But who would have guessed that after a few cups of liquor, with the chatter going on, he lost track of time and they talked all the way from the afternoon to now.

If it weren't for living here for so many years, hardly anyone could find their way back to the village in such pitch-black conditions.

Perhaps because of the alcohol, he seemed to have taken quite a detour, which is how he discovered this eerie house in front of him.

There is clearly no electricity in the village!

So why is there light here?

As the saying goes, alcohol is the courage of the timid.

Buoyed by his drunkenness, the old man lifted his legs to go inside without a hint of fear, not caring what's inside, be it ox demons or serpent gods.

Crunch crunch—

The sound of small twigs snapping beneath his feet kept echoing, unnaturally sharp in the pitch-black, inky environment.

After walking for a few minutes, leaning on his cane, the old man began to feel chills running down his spine.

Because that house with the lights on was still so far away from him!

It seemed as though he'd been walking on the spot for several minutes without advancing at all!

"Damn it, is this an encounter with the supernatural?" he cursed with a tremor, his entire demeanor sobering up considerably from the fear.

The eerie situation frightened him so he didn't dare continue toward the lit place. He turned around and quickly ran back toward the rundown village.

The cane in his hand was flailing wildly, as though slowing down even a bit would bring him face to face with a Fierce Ghost.

Once the old man had completely run off.

From where he was standing moments ago, a dozen shadows appeared from behind the clawing branches of dried-up trees.

"Why didn't you let me kill that old thing just now? Why carefully trap him?"

A member of the Promised Land, wearing a night-black outfit and under the hood, impatiently questioned, referring to the capture operation at the nightclub a few days earlier.

Beside him stood the trendy youth from before, who, with a scowl, pointed at the man's head and cursed in disappointment, "You really think the monkey from the mountain is easy pickings? This Five Finger Mountain operation is about a surprise attack! Quick, ruthless, precise!"

"And if we killed that old fellow, can you guarantee that they wouldn't smell the blood across the woods and become alert? Did you leave your brain at home?"

The companion, drenched by the tirade, was visibly shocked, never expecting the trendy youth to have such a day of calm and calculated strategy.

In past operations, he was always the most aggressive!

It seems that Old Cheng's warning when he killed the hostess had indeed had some effect, tempering the trendy youth's personality considerably.

"Now, according to the plan, split into two teams and attack the house front and back, don't keep those Supernatural Objects hidden like treasures, use them all, just be careful not to harm the Black Swan."

Upon hearing the trendy youth's instructions, all the companions nodded, signaling their understanding of the plan.

The leaders of the two teams extended their wrists to check the time, ensuring the assault timings would align perfectly without any mishap.

But just as they finalized the attack timing, preparing to stealthily approach the house where the Monkey and Black Swan were located, a member of the Promised Land at the back of the group suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He sighed heavily and said, "Hey, isn't your plan a bit too simplistic?"

"!"

The use of "your" clearly showed he wasn't one of their companions.

The trendy youth and the other members of the Promised Land jumped back in alarm, quickly encircling the stranger.

"Who are you?" The trendy youth hissed as quietly as possible at the man, not wanting to alert the Monkey inside the house just yet.

Wu Liang, with a helpless expression, took off his night-hood and conjured a Sun Wukong mask out of thin air to cover his face, speaking coldly, "Aren't you here to find me? Don't you know who I am?"

"!?"

No one anticipated this turn of events!

They hadn't realized their greatest obstacle in obtaining the Black Swan was right by their side!

When exactly had this guy infiltrated their group?

"Activate the array!" the trendy youth finally yelled without restraint.

Everyone, in the blink of an eye, was holding an odd, blood-red flag, evoking the eerie feeling of a sacrificial site.

Given that these members of the Promised Land dared to lurk in the Capital City for so long, none of them were the type to falter at any point.

Almost simultaneously, the flags were inserted into the ground, and an indescribable scent of blood quickly spread.

"Heh, we intended to use this array to trap the house; didn't expect you to come out voluntarily, which means we won't accidentally harm the Black Swan," the trendy youth said expressionlessly, biting his thumb to smear blood on the strange little flag at his feet.

Standing in the center of the Flag Array, Wu Liang instantly felt various abnormal states washing over him.

Dizziness, fatigue, stomachache, fever...

It was as if his body suddenly contracted numerous bizarre diseases all at once!

"Viper! Thorns! Go up the mountain and capture the Black Swan, we'll hold this Monkey back!" the trendy youth instructed his two companions nearby.

He wasn't sure how long the Flag Array would contain the Monkey, but every second mattered.

After all, the Black Swan wouldn't have much combat ability, just needing her to be knocked out and taken away.

Watching the two Promised Land members turn to head up the mountain, Wu Liang grinned and said nonchalantly, "Mist, activate your array too."

As his voice fell, an eerie mist suddenly appeared out of nowhere in the forest, trapping everyone inside.

They looked incredulously at the Monkey in the center of the Flag Array, wondering why he wasn't affected by any negative statuses?

The group raised their heads only to find, to their disbelief, a blood-red, eerie Oil Paper Umbrella floating above the head of the Zodiac Monkey.

It hovered and spun silently, shielding the Monkey below from the wind and rain…