Sensing something amiss, Li Huowang's face stiffened. He immediately placed the sacred text on his back and opened the curtain to see what was happening.
He found everyone frozen in fear, whether they were on stage or playing the instruments.
He followed their gaze and was horrified. There, sitting on a stool, was that 'thing'—the 'girl' with tiny feet whom they had encountered in the forest a few nights ago. 'It' was enjoying the performance, sitting beside the black memorial tablets.
This damned thing followed us all the way here? Did it possess one of us?
"Keep going! Don't stop the performance!" Li Huowang commanded as he took one of the wooden stools and sat just below the stage, directly in front of 'it'.
Li Huowang's presence gave the members of the Lu family a surge of courage. They took a deep breath, exchanging uncertain looks, before pushing forward with the performance through sheer will.
Meanwhile, the 'thing' focused its gaze on the stage, completely ignoring Li Huowang's aggressive actions. It was almost as if it was truly there just to enjoy the show.
If it doesn't do anything, then I won't either. I want to see if it can remain here when daylight comes.
Li Huowang would only act if necessary; after all, issuing even a single command to the Wandering God would cost him three months of his lifespan.
A light fog gently embraced the ancestral hall, making the entire place feel slightly oppressive.
At that moment, 'it' suddenly moved. 'It' raised its plump right hand and took two of the red candles before placing them in 'its' mouth. The sound of candles being eaten echoed through the room.
'It' ate quite quickly. Soon, all of the candles on the tables around it had been consumed.
The performance faltered. Lu Xiucai, who had been performing on stage, was on the verge of fainting from fear. Muffled sobs could be heard.
Suddenly, the paper dolls placed by the Hu family started to move. Adorned with black hats and bright red cheeks, they began taking the plates of red candles from the other tables and placing them in front of 'it'.
"Hihihi~" At that moment, 'it' let out an eerily high-pitched laugh.
Everyone from the Lu family was paralyzed with fear, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.
"Don't stop! Keep performing!" Li Huowang's angry voice exploded in the silent ancestral hall, dispelling their fears.
"Sing! A~~Yaaaa~" The oldest and most composed of the group, Lu Zhuangyuan, began singing loudly. Under his lead, the sound of the instruments resumed, growing even louder than before.
They sang with all their might, as if trying to drown the fear in their hearts. They sang until their veins bulged and sweat dripped down their foreheads.
'It' stopped laughing, staring blankly at Li Huowang and all of the paper dolls.
Meanwhile, Li Huowang ignored the paper dolls and continued to focus on 'it'.
The third section of the night soon passed, and it was time for the fourth section. The Lu family had been performing nonstop, not daring to stop. Their voices were hoarse, and their throats were sore, but they continued.
Shit... It's still trying to drag this on? How long is this going to continue?
Li Huowang silently cursed.
Just as he was considering summoning a Wandering God to deal with 'it' at the cost of three months of his lifespan, the situation changed once again. At that moment, the black memorial tablets began shaking and thumping on the tables.
Bata~ Bata~
The memorial tablets thudded on the tables repeatedly, sounding like rain hitting the ground.
At this point, the members of the Lu family were nearly paralyzed with fear. It would already be terrifying if just one of the memorial tablets moved, let alone all of them!
Seeing their reactions, 'it' chuckled. Soon, 'it' erupted into roaring laughter. 'Its' voice was so shrill that even Li Huowang's ears began to hurt.
However, when Li Huowang saw 'its' reaction, he suddenly smiled. "I think I understand now. Every one of your actions was meant to scare them. There are two possibilities. One is that you enjoy scaring others for entertainment; however, I don't think that's the case. The second possibility is that you feed on people's fear. After all, candles shouldn't be your main diet, right?"
When Li Huowang saw the 'thing' stand up in anger, glaring at him with fury, he knew he had guessed correctly.
"Old man, don't stop singing. Didn't Old Man Hu instruct you to perform something jovial? If you're afraid, just close your eyes and sing."
"Hihihi~ Do I look like a human or a god?" Realizing its plan had been uncovered, 'it' snarled and closed in on Li Huowang.
"You look like a bitch!" Li Huowang unsheathed his sword and rushed straight toward 'it'.
Once he understood what 'it' wanted from them, all of his doubts were dispelled. It seemed that the 'thing' wasn't as powerful as he had thought. It was just toying with their hearts.
Soon, the two clashed, and Li Huowang swung his sword.
The cold blade easily split the 'thing' in half, and even the candles in 'its' stomach were split as they fell to the ground.
At the same time, one half of 'its' body continued flying toward Li Huowang's back.
It was trying to touch him!
But when the pale fingers were mere inches from his back, 'it' suddenly recoiled in searing pain.
Oh ho?
Li Huowang noticed what had happened; it seemed the sacred text was capable of repelling such things!
Li Huowang let go of his sword and gripped the block engraved with the sacred text. He swung it hard toward the 'thing's' face.
The 'thing' revealed an expression of fear and tried to dodge as the sacred text swung by it.
The situation had suddenly reversed. Now, Li Huowang was the one holding the sacred text and chasing the 'thing'. Li Huowang was now the source of its fear!
Within the ancestral hall, Li Huowang chased the 'thing' for quite some time.
Despite its tiny feet, 'it' ran with astonishing speed. Li Huowang couldn't even get close to it.
Li Huowang was already panting as he stared at the 'thing' across the table.
This can't go on any longer. Is there any way to chase it away?
"Fuck off! Don't let me see your face again!"
The 'thing' glared at him angrily before moving to a dark corner of the ancestral hall and disappearing.
Li Huowang took a lantern and inspected the corner but found nothing.
At that moment, Lu Zhuangyuan picked up the sword Li Huowang had thrown away and ran over to hand it back to him.
Just as Li Huowang sheathed the sword, he saw Lu Zhuangyuan's smiling face sheepishly asking, "Do I look like a human or a god? Hihihi~"
No, wait! The performance hasn't stopped! This one is a fake!
However, Li Huowang realized it too late.
Just as he reacted, the fake Lu Zhuangyuan pounced, its pale claws piercing through Li Huowang's body.
Li Huowang felt a bone-chilling cold spread throughout his body as if he had been plunged into freezing water. His emotions fluctuated, and everything around him turned dark.