I'm modifying myself into the ultimate demon.

Chapter 11 The Empress's Inspection Tour
Before Chen Mo could react, Xie Dong pulled and pushed him down, forcing him to kneel on the roadside.

Qiu Lan and Ma Tie seemed to have been aware of this all along, and they both knelt down by the roadside.

Chen Mo lay prostrate on the ground and turned to look. He saw that the merchants on both sides of the road, or the shop assistants in the shops, had all put down their work and hurriedly knelt down, showing a very devout appearance.

Chen Mo couldn't help but feel very curious.

Is that really the case?

And... I didn't see any red-light waiters either.

Seeing Chen Mo looking around suspiciously, Qiu Lan secretly tugged at his sleeve and whispered a reminder: "Young Master, don't look around, or you'll anger the Red Lantern Lady. That red light ahead is it."

Because Qiu Lan's reminder was so urgent, and Chen Mo was already uneasy about this world, he lowered his head, but ultimately couldn't resist his curiosity and still glanced at the direction Qiu Lan was pointing out.

In the dimly lit distance of the canyon, a scarlet light could be seen.

It looks quite frightening.

The light was initially far away, but gradually it drew closer.

Ok?
Is that light moving?
Chen Mo's eyes widened in surprise.

Before long, the red light drew closer. Only then could Chen Mo see it clearly…

This is not a red light at all.

It was clearly a red sedan chair with red lanterns hanging on it.

Four women in red dresses carried the sedan chair, hopping and skipping along. The chair seemed almost weightless. An old Taoist priest in a red robe carried a red lantern in one hand and a bell in the other.

As the old Taoist priest shook the bell, it emitted an eerie "ding-a-ling" sound.

This sound...

Chen Mo was very familiar with him.

When Chen Mo was nailed to the wooden altar in the ancestral hall, he was awakened by the sound of this bell. At first, Chen Mo thought it was the old Taoist priest in yellow robes, Li Yuanlong, shaking the bell, but after seeing Li Yuanlong perform rituals several times, he did not see Li Yuanlong holding a bell.

Chen Mo was puzzled at the time, but didn't think much of it. He figured he probably just hadn't seen the old Taoist in the yellow robe shake the bell.

Upon hearing this voice, Chen Mo suddenly woke up.

Could it be that the person who woke me up back then... wasn't Li Yuanlong?

Or is it the Red Lantern Lady?

But no red-light attendants have ever come to the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall...

Could it be that my time travel is also related to this Red Lantern Lady?
Thinking of this, Chen Mo couldn't help but feel a chill.

"Dingling bell~"

The old Taoist priest in red kept shaking the bell, making a piercing sound, while simultaneously making a hoarse, low call:

"The living must retreat, and the wild ghosts must hide."

The hanged ghost on the east ridge, the drowned girl in the west ditch, the headless guest on the south slope, and the white-boned immortal on the north cliff.

The Empress holds the Book of the Third Watch; no living being may obstruct the path to the Yellow Springs!
If a mountain spirit peeks out, I'll skin it and make a lantern; if a wandering soul dares to block the sedan chair, I'll pierce its bones with iron chains and howl…

At this point, the old Taoist priest in red suddenly lowered his voice and said in a sarcastic tone:

"Hehe...did you all hear that?"

hiss!
Chen Mo felt a chill run down his spine, as if the old Taoist priest in red had seen right through him, and his heart pounded wildly. As the sedan chair drew closer, Chen Mo suddenly saw:

The four women in red dresses carrying the sedan chair were not living people, but paper figures.

They are real paper figures.

They are quite similar to the paper figures I saw earlier in the Chen Family Ancestral Hall.

Can the paper doll move?

What's even more chilling is that one of the paper figures actually spoke, uttering a clear, baby-like voice:

"A soul returning from a debt! A roll call at the end of one's lifespan!"
The old woodcutter who stole his lifespan... was hiding in the pickle jar behind the mountain god's temple?

The bloody fingernails on the rim of the jar are still fresh...

Tomorrow... whose Kitchen God will be unable to enjoy the family reunion dinner?

Upon hearing that voice, Chen Mo felt his heart pound wildly, his entire body tingling and numb, and he curled up tightly.

The first female paper figure spoke, and the other three followed suit, each uttering the same childlike voice, spouting nonsense that Chen Mo had never heard before. As the red sedan chair passed by Chen Mo, a thick, chilling aura swept over him, engulfing his entire body, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

What Chen Mo found even more unbearable was that the old Taoist in red actually glared at him menacingly.

That one glance felt as if my liver and gallbladder had been pierced.

Chen Mo was truly terrified.

Fortunately, the old Taoist in red only looked at Chen Mo for a moment before turning his gaze away and continuing to walk forward.

"Ding-a-ling~" The old Taoist in red shook the bell again, saying in a strange tone, "I've come to patrol the mountain on behalf of the Goddess. Believers who kneel in worship receive protection, and mountain spirits and monsters dare not approach. That's Old Master Li... Why aren't you kneeling before the Goddess?"

Chen Mo looked in the direction of the sound and indeed saw an old man with disheveled hair standing at the intersection, blocking the red sedan chair.

Could this be the old master of the Li family that Xie Dong mentioned?
Just then, the disheveled old man suddenly rushed towards the red sedan chair in a frenzy, shouting, "Give me back my daughter! Give me back my daughter!"

Jie Jie Jie.

The old Taoist priest in red smiled sinisterly, "Your daughter has ascended to heaven, why linger in mortal affairs? You've been interfering with the Empress's patrol; today I'll use you as a lamp to light her way!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than the old Taoist in red did nothing special. He simply raised his hand and patted the old man's forehead. The old man, as if possessed, hunched over woodenly, took the lantern from the old Taoist in red, and began to explore the path ahead.

"Dingling bell~"

The old Taoist priest shook the bell while repeating those words.

"The living must retreat, and the wild ghosts must hide."

The hanged ghost on the east ridge, the drowned girl in the west ditch, the headless guest on the south slope, and the white-boned immortal on the north cliff.

"The Empress holds the Book of the Third Watch; no living being may obstruct the path to the Yellow Springs..."

The red sedan chair and its entourage gradually disappeared into the distance, until only a red light remained, walking further and further into the dim canyon until it vanished completely.

pat.

Chen Mo collapsed to the ground, as if all his soul and strength had been drained away. Fine beads of sweat streamed down his forehead, soaking his undershirt and underwear.

Suddenly, a hand grabbed Chen Mo's wrist tightly.

Chen Mo was startled and trembled all over. He looked up and saw that it was Xie Dong, and then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Xie Dong shook his head and laughed, "You don't go out of the city often, so you don't see many Red Lantern attendants. That's why you feel nervous. Actually, the Red Lantern Goddess is very kind. She works tirelessly to protect the people of Honghe County. If it weren't for the Red Lantern Goddess's protection, Honghe County would have been in chaos long ago."

Chen Mo nodded repeatedly in agreement, but in his mind he was thinking: Would such a Red Lantern Goddess really be kind enough to protect the people of this area?
It just doesn't seem right.

Xie Dong, however, was used to these things and was not alarmed. He simply said, "Alright, enough said. Let's go to the Li family's house as soon as possible and buy you some Qi and Blood Pills. We need to get back to the city before dark, otherwise we might encounter evil spirits."

Chen Mo also wanted to leave this awful place as soon as possible, so he agreed.

Following Xie Dong through numerous twists and turns, we finally arrived at an old house on the edge of the canyon's black market.

The canyon was already poorly lit, and the two towering, century-old pine trees at the entrance, with their lush foliage blocking the light, made the old house appear dark and gloomy. The stone walls were covered with moss and ivy, and there was an abandoned ancient well not far away, adding to the eeriness of the place.

Xie Dong patted Chen Mo on the shoulder: "The Li family doesn't welcome strangers. I only came here a few times with my third uncle in the past, so I'm quite familiar with them. You guys wait here and don't wander off. I'll go in and announce your arrival."

After leaving a message, Xie Dong entered the old house. Only Chen Mo, Qiu Lan, and Ma Tie remained at the door.

Chen Mo had thought Xie Dong would come out soon, but after waiting for a long time, he still hadn't arrived. Feeling inexplicably tired, he found a clean rock nearby and sat down.

"Qiulan, go buy some meat and pancakes to eat."

Qiulan nodded in agreement, then left with light, quick steps.

Chen Mo instructed Ma Tie, "Ma Tie, I feel something's not right here. Keep an eye on your surroundings."

Ma Tie nodded in agreement.

And so Chen Mo sat down and waited quietly.

After waiting for a long time without Qiulan returning, Chen Mo felt a wave of weariness wash over him. Glancing at Ma Tie, who was carrying a knife, beside him, Chen Mo remained relatively calm. He dozed off for a moment, only to be startled awake by a chill.

He instinctively shuddered, and as soon as he opened his eyes, he saw a fog rising around him.

The airflow in the canyon is stagnant, so it's normal for fog to appear occasionally. Chen Mo didn't think much of it and got up to look around. He saw a person not far away lying by an ancient well, with half of his body submerged in it, scooping something out.

The fog was so thick that it was hard to make out the person's features.

Chen Mo thought it was Ma Tie, so he called out, "Ma Tie, what are you fishing for?"

No response has been received.

Chen Mo thought his voice wasn't loud enough, so he called out "Ma Tie" a couple more times.

Still no response.

Chen Mo became increasingly curious, and slowly approached while remaining vigilant.

With each step closer, Chen Mo felt a chilling aura.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out not to be Ma Tie at all, but rather a disheveled man dressed in tattered white clothes, emanating a foul stench.

hiss!
Chen Mo immediately gasped.

Where is Ma Tieren?

Just then, the disheveled man suddenly stopped retrieving something from the well, slowly pulled his upper body back, and turned to look at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo saw that it was a withered and wrinkled old face.

It was none other than Old Master Li, who had previously blocked the sedan chair of the Red Lantern Goddess and whose lamp had been lit by the old Taoist priest in red.

(End of this chapter)