Chapter 15 The Watchman

At the same time, Fatty also heard the sound, his eyes becoming alert. "What's that?"

Jiang Cheng walked towards the door, but didn't open it, merely peering outside through the crack in the middle. After a moment, the increasingly hurried sound slowly subsided, followed by a series of wooden clapper strikes.

"Dong."

"Dong."

...

The sound was constantly moving, and judging from the direction, it was coming from the courtyard gate, following the path they had taken.

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, seeing someone in the distance carrying a large white lantern, standing beside the wing where Yu Chengmu and the others were.

After a moment, someone came out of the wing, seemingly in conversation.

Jiang Cheng silently calculated the time, then turned to look at Fatty. "Let's go, the night watchman is here." With that, Jiang Cheng opened the door and walked out. Fatty gulped down a mouthful of hot tea and hurriedly followed.

By the time Jiang Cheng and Fatty arrived, Chen Hao and his group, along with Jia Jinliang and A Biao, were already there. Standing before them was an old man wearing a black robe and a white cloth belt around his waist.

The old man also had a tattered piece of red cloth wrapped around his right arm.

Everyone's attention was focused on the lantern the old man was carrying. On the white surface of the lantern was a glaring blood-red character: 奠 (diàn, libation).

The strokes of the character were bold and vigorous, reflecting the flickering candlelight, giving people an unreal feeling.

Yu Chengmu looked at the lantern and the old man's attire, seemingly recognizing something. His eyelids twitched a few times, then he cupped his fist in the other hand, his attitude very respectful. "It is an honor for you, senior, to come and offer guidance. I am humbled."

The old man raised the lantern, and by the light, everyone could barely make out the old man's face. Pang Xiaofeng, the most timid, immediately paled. The old man's right face was completely destroyed, as if torn off by the claws of a ferocious beast. On the remaining half of his left face, a single triangular eye was embedded in the socket, the slightly closed eyelid faintly reflecting a sharp glint.

After a moment, a hoarse voice rang out, like sand rubbing against glass, "You corpse捞尸人 (lāo shī rén, corpse retrievers) and I, 打更人 (dǎ gēng rén, night watchman), shared the same lineage thousands of years ago. Calling me senior does not demean you."

"Enough with the pleasantries. Tonight, the corpse retrievers will go to the spirit hall to keep watch. I have a few words to say, listen carefully."

"Please speak, senior," Yu Chengmu said even more respectfully.

"You cannot all go to keep watch together. Too many people will gather too much yang energy, which may give rise to unforeseen circumstances. Go one by one, each guarding for the time it takes for one incense stick to burn. You may leave once the incense stick is exhausted." The night watchman's voice was mixed in the wind, making it hard to hear clearly.

Chen Hao lowered his voice, "Senior, does everyone have to keep watch?"

His question was apt, after all, it was already close to the third watch of the night (3:00 AM). There were 11 of them, and at half an hour per incense stick, it would be dawn before the last person finished.

The night watchman turned his head to look at him. Being stared at by that gaze, Chen Hao felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. "Hoo--, hoo--" The night watchman made a strange wheezing sound, as if chuckling to himself, "Of course not everyone. Five people, five people are enough."

The night watchman's gaze swept over the people in front of him, then suddenly spoke, "The five people closest to me will do!"

Hearing this, everyone was stunned, but it was too late to back away.

Yu Chengmu, Pang Xiaofeng, Lei Mingyu, A Biao, and Fatty were the lucky five.

The five of them stepped forward one after another, standing in front of the night watchman.

Actually, Jiang Cheng was the fifth person, but before he could step out, Fatty secretly pinched him and stepped forward first, standing next to him.

Just as Jiang Cheng was about to speak, he noticed the night watchman take out a pen holder-like object from his chest, which rattled inside.

It was... a divination stick container!

Were they going to draw lots?

Fatty faced away from Jiang Cheng, giving him a reassuring gesture.

The night watchman's gaze swept over the faces of the five, then handed the stick container to Lei Mingyu. "You can start. Draw lots to decide the order."

Lei Mingyu sneered, not even shaking it, directly pulling out a stick and handing it to the night watchman. "This one will do."

Fatty was close by, and secretly craned his neck to look at the stick. It was covered in a bunch of ghost-like symbols, and he didn't recognize a single character.

The night watchman glanced at it and announced in a formal voice, "A good omen."

Chen Hao breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.

Next was Yu Chengmu. Yu Chengmu respectfully accepted the stick container, first holding it and muttering a few words as if performing a ritual, then shaking the stick container three times to the left and three times to the right, finally gently shaking out a stick.

Upon seeing the ghost-like symbols on the stick, Yu Chengmu frowned slightly, but didn't seem too worried.

"A moderate omen," the night watchman announced.

Next was Fatty. Fatty reached into the stick container, but because his hand was too fat, it almost got stuck. Yu Chengmu couldn't help but sneer and shake his head when he saw this. This person truly had no reverence, daring to be so presumptuous in such a place, not afraid of retribution.

But the next second, he couldn't laugh anymore. The night watchman looked at the stick, then raised his head to look at Fatty's innocent face. "An excellent omen."

The weight in Jiang Cheng's heart lessened.

The hearts of the remaining two people, however, were now in suspense.

The excellent omen was gone, the good omen was gone, the moderate omen was gone, so... what was left?

A Biao's peaceful face couldn't help but show a trace of fear when he heard the news that he had drawn the worst omen, while Pang Xiaofeng's legs were now weak.

"The one with the excellent omen will keep watch first," the night watchman said calmly as he put away the stick container. "Then the order will proceed down the line, with the one with the worst omen keeping watch last."

A Biao and Pang Xiaofeng's expressions were now quite interesting.

Fatty: "???"

The night watchman didn't prepare to explain, lifting his leg to walk towards Yu Chengmu's wing. Everyone followed in confusion, only to see the night watchman take out two cone-shaped trinkets from his chest and throw them on the table.

"You can find the incense for calculating time in the spirit hall. You must use the thickest white candle in front of the spirit hall to light the incense. Remember, no matter what happens in the middle, you must not leave."

"These two small things are for your use in case of emergency." As he spoke, the night watchman took out some more from his chest, dividing them among everyone. "Two for each wing, keep them safe."

Jiang Cheng took one, weighing it in his hand. The texture was relatively heavy, and also quite hard, covered in a layer of dark green shell. Jiang Cheng couldn't guess what was inside.

"Senior," Jia Jinliang said with a smile, "How are these things used, and when should we take them out?"

"Light them with fire," the night watchman said quietly, "As for when to use them, you will naturally know when the time comes."

Meeting with a rebuff, Jia Jinliang didn't dare ask any more questions. The night watchman in front of him was clearly not someone to trifle with.

Standing up, the night watchman walked outside. When he reached the door, he turned his head. "Also, remember, the spirit hall is located on the westernmost side of the residence. There is an old locust tree planted in front of the hall, and a bell under the tree. Before you five enter, and when you leave, you must strike the bell once. Hearing the bell sound is the time for the changeover."

"Five people, five incense sticks. At half an hour per stick, we may not make it to dawn," Jiang Cheng suddenly said. "Does that matter, senior?"

A hint of anger appeared on the night watchman's terrifying face. "Did you not understand what I said? I..."

The next second, the night watchman suddenly stopped, his mouth slightly open. That single eye stared at Jiang Cheng, first narrowing slightly, then suddenly widening.

Yu Chengmu looked on curiously, asking in a low voice, "Senior?"

The night watchman seemed to wake up from a dream at this moment, then leaving a sentence of "Start in a quarter of an hour, good luck to you all," he staggered away with his lantern. His right leg seemed to be injured.

After the night watchman left, everyone turned their attention to Jiang Cheng, but Jiang Cheng himself didn't know why.

With time being tight, Jiang Cheng wanted to leave quickly with Fatty, but Jia Jinliang, with his thick skin, stopped him. "Everyone, don't leave yet. It's fate that we met in this place. We should help each other."

"In my opinion, we should all exchange contact information, and share any intelligence we gather. What do you think?"

Although they knew he didn't have good intentions, they hadn't completely fallen out, so they exchanged contact information.

"We're first, we need to go prepare," Jiang Cheng said, pulling Fatty away.

On the way, Fatty wore a mournful face. "Doctor, what the hell is going on? Am I being targeted? How can I be the first to keep watch with the excellent omen? Isn't that the best omen?"

"It's quite strange, but you don't need to worry too much. The probability of someone dying right away is not high. The danger may increase as we get closer to the end," Jiang Cheng said after thinking. "But you need to be careful. If you accidentally touch a taboo, then it's hard to say."

Mentioning taboos, Fatty curiously sized up Jiang Cheng, taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, lowering his voice to say, "The night watchman looked at you strangely just now. It was like he noticed something."

Hearing this, Jiang Cheng slowed his pace, seemingly thinking about this question.

"Did he discover Wu Xiongdi (无兄弟, No Brothers)?" Fatty asked in a low voice.

Jiang Cheng shook his head. "Doesn't seem like it. I thought of that too, but I tried to awaken Wu just now, and he didn't react at all. I don't believe the night watchman could discover Wu if Wu didn't take the initiative to appear."

If the night watchman really had that ability, then Jiang Cheng suspected that he was the big boss in this copy world.

After a moment, Jiang Cheng said an analysis that made Fatty's hair stand on end. "If I were to look at someone with that kind of gaze, then I would be thinking that this person looks familiar, I just can't remember where I've seen them, or that I know this person, but I don't understand why he suddenly appeared here."

"You're saying the night watchman... once saw you before?" Fatty couldn't help but shiver. This guess was truly terrifying. The night wind blew, and the goosebumps on his body stood up.

It wasn't until he could see the large locust tree in the distance that Jiang Cheng stopped. "I won't see you off, Fatty. Be smart." As he spoke, Jiang Cheng took out one of the things the night watchman had given him and handed it to Fatty, telling him, "We don't know if this thing is good or bad, but remember, unless you're in dire straits, don't use this thing..."

"I... I understand, Doctor," Fatty said nervously, taking it. Feeling like it wasn't safe to hold in his hand, he put it in his pocket.

"Also, observe more after you arrive, but only look, try not to touch with your hands, and don't use your phone. I won't call you, and don't call me either."

"Okay!"

After giving the instructions, Jiang Cheng immediately returned. He had taken a risk to send Fatty off, so he tried to return to his residence before the third watch of the night arrived, otherwise he might be haunted.

But halfway there, Jiang Cheng's worries were still realized.

It was just that what haunted him wasn't a ghost, or at least not yet a ghost, but... a white lantern swaying in the distance, about tens of meters away from him.

It was the night watchman!

The night watchman hadn't left, but was watching him from afar!

A chill ran down his spine. It wasn't that Jiang Cheng was afraid of him, but that he didn't understand why he was like this to him. Jiang Cheng didn't remember the night watchman's face, and being in two different worlds, they should be strangers to each other.

What was even more bizarre was that from the night watchman's eyes, he also detected the other's confusion.

"Dong--"

The muffled bell sound echoed in the dilapidated residence, like a stone thrown into still water.

After striking the bell, Fatty encouraged himself and walked into the spirit hall in front of him.

After getting closer, Fatty realized that the building setting up the spirit hall was a bit strange. It didn't seem like it should be in a normal residence, but more like... a temple.

Yes, it was a temple!

The coarse hemp white cloth and white streamers hanging outside had been blown into disarray by the night wind, and some had fallen to the ground. After stepping over the high threshold, what came into view was a statue.

It was a statue of a woman.

Fatty didn't know much about the things that were worshipped as gods, so he didn't know which goddess or which female bodhisattva this was. He just thought that the sculpture was really exquisite.

The woman was beautiful, and it was an unpretentious kind of beauty. The woman's eyebrows, the corners of her lips, and even the wrinkles on her clothes were all lifelike, and there was even a feeling that if a gust of wind blew, the woman would dance with the wind.

Fatty shivered involuntarily. "Why do I have this ridiculous feeling?"

He immediately looked away from the woman, his gaze moving down. In front of the sculpture was a table of offerings, and on both sides were various white paper flowers and suspended white lanterns.

The lanterns had large characters of 奠 (diàn, libation) written on them in black ink.

Fatty found the incense burner from the table of offerings, with a few scattered sticks of incense beside it.

Fatty picked a pleasing one, remembered what the night watchman said, found the thickest white candle in front of the spirit hall, and lit the incense, inserting it into the incense burner.

Afterwards, Fatty knelt piously in front of the woman's statue, respectfully kowtowing three times to the statue, muttering in a low voice, "I'm sorry, fairy sister. I know that burning incense for gods should be three at a time, but I have no way. I only have one incense stick. You are beautiful, kind, and have the heart of a bodhisattva, so please don't be so calculative with me. When I get out of here, I myself... no, I'll pull the doctor, we'll burn incense for you together, please, fairy sister, don't blame me!"

As if sensing his kindness, a "creak" sound suddenly came from the direction of the sculpture, like someone stepping on rotten wood.

Fatty was startled, jumping up from the ground with a "whoosh."

He carefully identified that the sound seemed to be coming from behind the sculpture. Behind the sculpture, several large pieces of white cloth were pieced together. When the wind blew, a large black gap was revealed at the point where the white cloth was connected. There was obviously space behind it.

Fatty cautiously approached, not daring to move the white cloth, but slowly bringing his face closer.

The next second, his pupils suddenly shrunk into a line. He saw several large coffins placed side by side close to the back of the sculpture, and at this moment, all the coffin lids were lifted, and water was constantly dripping down the edges.