Chapter 71: Midnight Unease

The moment the Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation was activated, aside from Zhou Bai and his companions, Wen Meng in the county office also sensed something amiss.

A faint white mist enveloped the surroundings, even the moonlight could barely penetrate it. In an instant, the entire office was plunged into a deathly silence.

At first, Wen Meng thought it was simply the stillness of night, but he quickly realized something was wrong. There should have been plenty of constables on duty in the office; there was no way it could be so quiet.

He opened his door and stepped outside. It was so dark he could not see his hand in front of his face, save for the faint glow of a few lanterns in the corridor, their lights flickering uncertainly.

Wen Meng’s expression grew taut. He drew his life-bound ghost tool from his sleeve and gripped it so tightly his knuckles turned white.

He stood at the end of the corridor, peering into the darkness. It was hard to see, but he thought he could make out several objects placed in the courtyard.

The compass in his hand shone with spiritual light, enveloping his body. Gathering his courage, he reached up and took down a lantern from the wall.

The lantern’s glow seemed to be devoured by the darkness, barely illuminating half a meter. On any other night, a swarm of insects would have been drawn to the light, but now there was only deathly silence.

First, Wen Meng tried to use his Underworld Registrar token to contact the outside world, but quickly discovered it was futile. His heart sank.

After a moment’s hesitation, he remained alert to his surroundings as he stepped lightly into the courtyard.

Though he was a veteran of decades, Wen Meng found himself more tense than ever. The faintest whisper of wind made him jump.

Upon reaching the courtyard, he was shocked to discover coffins arranged in the darkness. Their pitch-black surfaces made them almost invisible at night.

He drew a deep breath. Having come this far, there could be no thought of retreat—especially since he was the Underworld Registrar’s representative in Hangdu. He had to uncover what had happened.

From his breast, he took a small ceramic vial and dripped a drop of ox-eye tears into each eye. As the yin energy circulated, he opened his “earth-sight”—the ability to perceive spirits.

Had he not opened his earth-sight, things would have been better. The moment he did, he was startled out of his wits. Cracks spidered across the ground, forming intricate, unnatural patterns—clearly the components of a grand array.

“Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation… What manner of evil is this…?” he muttered, cold sweat soaking through his clothes. By his estimation, this formation would cover at least half of Hangdu.

Wen Meng knew something of the Ghost Valley Earth-Locking Formation, but compared to the one who laid this array, his knowledge was paltry. This realization made him all the more anxious.

“If the purpose of the formation is to trap people, then these coffins must be the array’s nodes,” he mused. His insight surpassed that of the Daoist Hou; with a glance, he discerned part of the mystery. The coffins were indeed the key points of the formation.

But among the tens of thousands of coffins, only one was the true node—the rest were decoys. To distinguish the real one among so many was a Herculean task. Worse, the true node might well shift between coffins, making it impossible to locate.

To test his theory, Wen Meng forcefully pried open a coffin lid. Inside lay a young constable from the county office.

The constable’s eyes fluttered open, but his mind seemed stuck in the moment before the array was triggered. His expression was vacant, his gaze wandering.

Wen Meng’s idea was only confirmed by this; he closed the coffin once more. The constable was an ordinary man, and being dragged into this was hardly to his benefit. For now, the array only trapped them. Staying inside the coffin might actually keep him safe.

But seeking out the true node now was pointless. The only way to break the formation was to kill its creator.

This formation required vast amounts of yin energy to maintain. Once the creator died, or at dawn, the array would naturally collapse.

Wen Meng calmed himself. With tens of thousands of lives at stake, he immediately considered rallying what forces remained.

Zhou Bai and the others had gone out to confront the ghosts, and once the formation was triggered, they would hurry back to the county office—but that would take some time.

Meanwhile, Bai Wanming was just next door. He should find him first.

With that thought, Wen Meng picked up his lantern and hurried back down the corridor. Turning a corner, he arrived at Bai Wanming’s door.

The room was eerily quiet, with no sign of anything amiss. Wen Meng shoved the door open and was startled to find the room filled with vines.

The vines blanketed every surface, leaving not a single gap. Bai Wanming sat calmly at the bedside, his deep eyes fixed on the doorway.

Wen Meng was startled by the boy’s behavior, but before he could speak, the dense vines withdrew from Bai Wanming’s body, vanishing within him without the slightest change in his blank expression.

“You’re here…” Bai Wanming said quietly.

“Ah?” Wen Meng was caught off guard by the boy’s initiative and found himself at a loss for words. For a moment, he felt his wits inadequate before this child.

“Let’s go.” Bai Wanming jumped down from the bed and strode toward the door.

After a few steps, seeing Wen Meng still rooted to the spot, Bai Wanming turned and said, “What are you waiting for? Let’s find Magistrate Zhao. Tonight’s schemer must have set their sights on him.”

“Why?” Wen Meng asked, forcing a smile. He was nearly seventy, yet it felt awkward to press a child not yet ten for answers.

Bai Wanming glanced back at him, saying nothing. But Wen Meng, for reasons he could not explain, blurted out, “Could it be the authorities really possess means to counter demons and spirits?!”

Bai Wanming shook his head, his expression as indifferent as ever. “I don’t know. But if the one who laid the array hasn’t simply blood-sacrificed everyone in Hangdu, he must have his reasons for restraint.”

He gave a short laugh and asked with an odd tone, “You know, most of the Underworld Registrar’s true experts are gathered in Xuzhou. That person may not be afraid of us at all.”

Looking at Bai Wanming’s calm demeanor, Wen Meng felt his heart lighten. “That’s true… I just tried to contact the Registrar, but within this array it seems impossible. We’re cut off from the outside.”

“Mm.” Bai Wanming replied simply, striding quickly down a narrow path. Though the darkness was so deep one could see nothing, he navigated easily, guided by the lush plants in the yard.

Their pace was swift. In just a few minutes, they reached a larger building—the office where Magistrate Zhao handled his affairs.