Terrifying Heavens: I Slay Demons by Painting Faces

Outside Renjia Town, the sun, like an egg yolk, radiated a chill.

Chen Hengyi carried a square opera box with iron edges and coated with anti-corrosion tung oil as he walked on the dirt road.

His face was expressionless, his steps were heavy, his sleeves were stained red, and he carried a half-length spear in his hand.

The spearhead reflected an indelible bloodstain in the setting sun, and those around him instinctively kept their distance.

"Goodness, this handsome young man doesn't look like a nice guy..."

At the end of the dirt road was a town. Chen Hengyi narrowed his phoenix eyes and saw the three characters hanging on the city gate—Renjia Town.

The locals, hurrying to the city, chatted about various matters.

Chen Hengyi listened to gossip as he walked, and also learned some useful information.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, adjusting his breathing as he walked, thinking, "Renjia Town, there's a mortuary nearby, and the Taoist priest there is called Uncle Jiu, this must be it."

Chen Hengyi is neither a local nor from this world.

He is a time traveler. His family used to run a small Cantonese opera troupe. Although it went bankrupt later, it could still be considered a theatrical family.

When Chen Hengyi was a child, his grandfather would hold him and stretch his muscles and bones to practice his singing, thus training him to become a skilled martial artist.

Later, Chen Hengyi went to school and never performed on stage again, but he never lost his basic skills.

A year ago, Chen Hengyi lost both his parents in an accident, leaving him all alone. Then he suddenly remembered his grandfather's last wish.

Grandpa hopes his grandson will become a world-renowned figure!

However, most famous actors primarily play female roles, and Chen Hengyi did not want to play women.

Not long ago, Chen Hengyi discovered a theatrical trunk left by his grandfather while tidying up the clutter in the theater.

The opera box was covered in dust and contained costumes, but on top of it was a brand-new black book.

Chen Hengyi curiously picked up the black book, and suddenly everything went black before his eyes, and he was transported here!

The opera box also came with him, and it contained items for his self-defense.

It took him a little while to barely accept the fact that he had traveled through time.

With a flick of his wrist, the black book appeared in his hand as if by magic.

The cover of the black book had two lines of text.

[May good fortune come from vanquishing demons and monsters; may you return home only after your mission is accomplished and fulfilled.]

"The good thing is that exorcising demons and monsters is that you can go home after completing the mission," Chen Hengyi muttered to himself.

Currently, only the first page of this black book can be opened.

Chen Hengyi opened the book, and the first sentence that caught his eye was a single sentence.

[Resolving injustices in Renjia Town.]

Without a doubt, this is the prerequisite for going home.

What is an injustice?

He was a little confused when he first saw those words.

But no matter what, he had to find Renjia Town first. He traveled for two days and one night, witnessing the chaos of the world.

Someone on the road harbored evil intentions, and he had no choice... Thinking of this, Chen Hengyi glanced at the bloodstains on the spearhead that he couldn't wipe away.

"I won't bother others unless they bother me... I just want to go home and play video games..."

From the scattered clues he gathered, he deduced what kind of world he had entered.

That's Mr. Zombie!

Now that they had arrived in Renjia Town, Chen Hengyi pondered the plot of "Mr. Zombie".

The plot of Mr. Zombie is also very simple: 20 years ago, the Ren family seized a feng shui master's "Dragonfly Touching Water" burial site. Later, they were tricked by the feng shui master, and the old master Ren turned into a zombie.

After the zombies escaped, the first person they killed was Ren Fa, the head of the Ren family, causing quite a stir.

After some minor setbacks, the zombies were eliminated by Uncle Nine, resulting in a happy ending for the whole family.

Now Chen Hengyi felt that the injustice must be related to the feng shui master.

He continued walking forward, hearing it in his ears.

"Old Master Ren came back in the afternoon yesterday, but it was completely dark before the sun even set. I don't think that's quite right..."

"Shh, say less. If you keep talking now that we're in town, you'll get yourself killed."

The two people who were talking quickly stopped, looked around, and then focused their attention on Chen Hengyi.

The man gave an awkward smile.

Upon hearing this, Chen Hengyi's eyes darted around, and he immediately realized that Old Master Ren was going to come out tonight.

Chen Hengyi soon arrived at the city gate of Renjia Town.

Two security guards stood on either side, yawning, with a basket beside them. Each person entering the city had to throw in three copper coins.

Chen Hengyi frowned and reached into his pocket.

No money.

"Let's not go into the city for now."

Chen Hengyi immediately grabbed someone on the spot and asked them for directions to the mortuary.

The man looked like an honest and simple young man.

The young man noticed Chen Hengyi's smooth skin, which seemed to have seen little sun, and his clothes without any patches...

Most importantly, Chen Hengyi did not put away the eighteen-foot spear in his hand.

He naturally understood that this must be a young master... judging from his physique, he was a young master who knew martial arts.

"Sir, Uncle Jiu's mortuary is in the east of the city. Just walk straight this way and you'll see it."

As the other person spoke, they pointed in the direction with their hand.

Chen Hengyi thanked the other party, then turned around and headed towards Uncle Nine's mortuary.

In the storyline, the old man will break out of his coffin and cause trouble tonight.

But... a zombie?

It's just a hard, moving corpse.

Chen Hengyi grew up watching horror movies, and far from being scared, he was even somewhat eager to try it out.

Watch me take him down and claim the reward!

By the time Chen Hengyi arrived at the mortuary, it was already late.

Standing in front of the mortuary, Chen Hengyi smelled a foul odor of rotting incense ash, as if it had seeped into the wood of the door.

A thought struck him, and he took a deep breath.

First, disassemble the spear in your hand into two pieces, and then put it into the opera box.

Bringing a weapon when you visit someone is very impolite.

Then Chen Hengyi gently knocked on the door.

Knock knock knock!

"Is Uncle Nine home?"

Before long, the door opened, revealing a listless and haggard face.

"Who are you?" Wen Cai asked impatiently, frowning.

Chen Hengyi smiled politely: "Excuse me, is Uncle Jiu here? I, Chen Hengyi, would like to stay the night."

The next second, Wen Cai's head rattled like a rattle: "No, no, this isn't a hotel, we can't just let anyone stay here."

Chen Hengyi asked again, but Wencai refused once more.

Just then, a strong, clear voice came from inside the mortuary: "Wencai, why did it take so long?"

"It's all your fault! Master is angry. You'd better leave now. My master is scarier than a ghost when he gets angry!"

As Wencai was speaking, he didn't notice that Uncle Jiu had appeared behind him with a dark expression.

He continued, "Don't be fooled by the fact that we're surrounded by corpses; my master is the most terrifying one. You're so young..."

Chen Hengyi's lips twitched, then he coughed lightly and looked past Wen Cai to behind him.

"Hello, Uncle Jiu."

Wen Cai's face paled, and before he could say anything, Uncle Jiu grabbed his ear: "Master loves you! Say what you have to say now!"

Wen Cai naturally dared not say anything more and could only stand there as punishment, not daring to move.

Uncle Nine looked Chen Hengyi up and down and found that the young man was tall and strong with healthy white skin, unlike the working class. His phoenix eyebrows and eyes showed confidence, and he was not afraid to come to the mortuary alone.

He can be described as having an extraordinary demeanor.

But... Uncle Nine suddenly smelled a very faint scent of blood.

Chen Hengyi noticed that Uncle Jiu's gaze was fixed on his cuffs.

"The world is chaotic and there are many bad people. If you accidentally get this stain, there's nowhere to wash it off." Chen Hengyi did not hide anything and truthfully told the story of how the bloodstain came about.

Uncle Nine nodded, then glanced around and saw Wen Cai's unfortunate face, and couldn't help but shake his head.

He saw a young man and couldn't help but compare him to his own apprentice.

"Only Qiu Sheng is somewhat better... but in terms of temperament, he can't compare to this young man..." Uncle Jiu couldn't help but think to himself.

Qiu Sheng is a bit dark-skinned and has a carefree, irresponsible attitude.

Wencai noticed the slightly disgusted look in Uncle Jiu's eyes, and he couldn't help but puff out his chest.

But after glancing at Chen Hengyi, he hunched over again.

Forget it, the hardware can't compare.

However, Wencai was confident that he had some strengths, such as knowing a little bit of Taoist magic!

That pretty boy isn't as good as him!

Looking at Chen Hengyi, Uncle Jiu first ruled out the possibility that the young man didn't have the money to stay in the city, which meant that this young man had ulterior motives for coming to his mortuary!

Uncle Nine: "Young man, what do you do for a living?"

"You must be Uncle Jiu. I've heard that because of your protection, no filthy creature within a hundred miles of Renjia Town dares to show its face."

"To meet you in person today, you are indeed extraordinary."

Uncle Jiu's lips curled up slightly upon hearing this, but he humbly replied, "Alas, the villagers are exaggerating."

Uncle Nine looked at Chen Hengyi, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

He's a talkative young man.

He glanced at Wencai, who was still there, and immediately felt a surge of disappointment.

This person can't even say the right thing!

It's true that comparisons are odious. Although he's called an apprentice, he's actually treated like one's own child.

Although Uncle Nine was dissatisfied with Wen Cai, he didn't know what to do.

In other words, it means being dissatisfied.

At this moment, Chen Hengyi pointed to the opera box on the ground and said, "My name is Chen Hengyi. I am a member of the Peking Opera circle and would like to ask to stay for the night. I would be grateful if you could make it convenient for me, Uncle Jiu."

Uncle Nine raised an eyebrow upon hearing this: "Singing opera? Just you alone?"

Chen Hengyi nodded.

"Aren't you afraid of bad luck? The beds in my mortuary are all used to put the dead."

"People die all the time. I've done nothing wrong, so why would I be afraid of these pitiful people?"

Aren't you afraid of ghosts?

Upon hearing this, Chen Hengyi laughed and said, "Ghosts are just people from the underworld. I, in the mortal realm, play the role of a judge, specializing in judging matters concerning ghosts!"

Upon hearing this, Uncle Nine immediately understood: "So you're a shady character. Perhaps I'll need your help again in the future... If you're not afraid, then come on over."

Uncle Jiu was just being polite. Generally speaking, when Taoist priests need to perform yin operas, they will have a cooperating opera troupe.

For example, during the Ghost Festival, operas are performed for ghosts to appease their spirits.

Where would they find someone like Chen Hengyi, who has no connections or connections?

Uncle Nine was simply kind-hearted and highly skilled, so when he saw that people had come to his door, he decided to entertain them.

Looking at the young man's face, he didn't think he was a bad person; Uncle Nine was quite confident in this regard.

Chen Hengyi is not a performer of shamanic operas; he has never performed on stage!

His knowledge in this area comes entirely from the ghost stories his grandfather told him when he was a child, as well as what he has seen and heard on the internet.

Uncle Nine pointed out a room to Chen Hengyi, saying that it was the guest room, and specifically instructed him not to go out at night, not to touch the coffin, and so on.

He even pointed to a room specifically to remind him.

"You absolutely must not go near that room."

Chen Hengyi looked over and immediately saw a large red coffin with earth-colored ink lines stuck to it.

A faint, rotten smell wafted from the room.

Two paper figures of a boy and a girl were hanging under the window behind the coffin.

The paper figure had no eyes, but when the wind blew, it seemed to be dancing.

Chen Hengyi glanced at the coffin; he knew there were zombies inside.

But he still asked with doubt, "This was flicked with an ink line, Uncle Nine, could it be that...?"

"Not bad, it seems you know a lot about this. The thing inside is indeed abnormal, so it needs to be sealed inside."

"Then why did the ink line break off under the coffin and not finish drawing?"

Uncle Nine was stunned when he heard this. He quickly ran over and bent down to take a look.

The next second, a furious roar rang out: "Wencai!!!"