“Thank… Thank you, young master.”

The four women hurriedly thanked Ye Qing when they realized he really wouldn’t kill them.

Despite what they said, they really wished they could slice and dice Ye Qing into a million pieces as well. Although Ye Qing was their savior, he had rejected their request to take revenge for them. So, he inevitably became a subject of their ire and loathing.

That said, the women weren’t stupid enough to wear their emotions on their sleeves, not to mention that they could not figure out what kind of person Ye Qing was. They did not dare to say anything else either.

The women had no idea, but Ye Qing sensed their change from gratitude to hatred as clear as day. He could not help but shake his head. This was just an example of how fickle and complex the human mind could be.

He paid it no heed though. The four women were ordinary people. They could hate him as much as they wanted, but there was still nothing they could do against him.

A tiger or a panther would not be concerned with the thoughts of an ant. Such was the way of the world.

“Leave us and go catch some rest.”

Ye Qing waved off the four women and commanded Old Man of Snowy Mountain to rise to his feet. Then, he began drinking once more.

“So? How does it feel to be hated despite having performed a good deed?” Yi Pin teased Ye Qing while drinking his own cup of wine.

Yi Pin was a longtime veteran of the

jianghu

. Naturally, the four women’s true thoughts did not escape his attention.

“Nothing. Whatever others might think, I will continue to obey my heart and act without regrets.” Ye Qing smiled.

“Hahaha! Obey your heart and act without regrets, indeed!”

Yi Pin guffawed. “A toast to you, brother!”

“You’re welcome!”

Yei Qing and Yi Pin clinked glasses with each other before draining their wine in one gulp.

As good food and fine wine flowed into their stomachs, the fatigue and tension they had accumulated for the past couple weeks finally faded into nothing. It wasn’t long before a drunken Yi Pin began snoring like a pig.

Ye Qing waved his hand and lifted Yi Pin into a nearby bed using his force. The old man had been guarding him every night for the past couple days, and they had traveled for the whole day today. He definitely deserved this rest.

Ye Qing then looked at Old Man of Snowy Mountain and ordered, “You’re not recovered yet, so you should go catch some rest as well.”

“As you command, young master.”

Old Man of Snowy Mountain accepted the command without hesitation, walked up to a praying mat, and sat down.

As for Ye Qing, he continued to sit at the table and sip his wine with a leisurely expression on his face. It wasn’t long before the entire pavilion was silent save for Yi Pin’s thunderous snores. It added some liveliness and humanity to the atmosphere.

……

Knock!

Knock!

Knock!

Yi Pin did not know how long he had been asleep, but a series of knocks woke him from his slumber. Drowsy and annoyed, he turned around and covered his ears with the blanket.

It was useless though. The knocks continued to drill into his ears as if the thick blanket was made of thin air. It eventually frustrated him enough that he threw off the blanket and sucked in a deep breath to yell at the fucker who was knocking incessantly at the door.

Suddenly, a silhouette appeared in front of him and covered his mouth. Startled, Yi Pin heard Ye Qing’s voice inside his head. “It’s me. Don’t make a sound.”

It was only now that Yi Pin truly came awake. When he looked, he saw Old Man of Snowy Mountain standing in front of the door with a cautious look on his face. The knocking had come from that door.

Realizing that something was amiss, he asked mentally, “What’s going on?”

They were in the middle of a frigid wasteland. There was no way someone would knock on their door.

“I don’t know.” Ye Qing shook his head.

It was the truth. He had no idea what was going on. Just now, he was drinking wine when he heard a series of knocks coming from outside the pavilion. He was certain that it was a door knock, not the sound of the wind and snow hitting parts of the pavilion.

The door knock was as unhurried as it was clear. Strangely, Ye Qing could not sense anyone or anything outside the pavilion. Hell, there wasn’t even a shadow out there, and yet the knocking kept continuing without end. It was bizarre to put it mildly.

As the knocking continued, Ye Qing’s alarm gradually rose to full heights. It was because the knocks were slowly but surely afflicting him with a sense of irritation. He felt like yelling at whoever was knocking on the door or opening the door.

He was a Great Grandmaster with a powerful mind. Normally, there was no chance such a simple annoyance could affect him in any way. Knowing that it was probably some sort of mental coercion, he immediately killed the impulse and awakened Old Man of Snowy Mountain from his meditation. Then, he knocked out the four women inside their room and protected them using the Profound Yellow Mother Qi.

He did not know what would happen if he responded to the knocker or opened the door, but it could not be good.

The knocks were still coming. Maybe it was because it failed to elicit a response despite knocking for a long time, but they were becoming increasingly rapid, loud, and hurried. If before the knocking was casual and unhurried, now it sounded like countless people were slamming their fists against the door.

The strange knocks were such that even a Great Trueman like Old Man of Snowy Mountain was unable to resist its influence. He was slowly but surely growing increasingly irritated and muddle-headed.

On the contrary, Yi Pin was fine. He had deposited some sort of orb into his mouth a while ago, and that seemed to be enough to protect him from the evil influence.

Sensing Old Man of Snowy Mountain’s weakness, Ye Qing split out a wisp of Profound Yellow Mother Qi and protected him. It was only then the Great Trueman regained full clarity of mind.

An entire teatime later, when no one answered the knocking or opened the door despite all its efforts, the knocks finally, thankfully, faded into nothing.

“It’s safe now. You may return to your rest.”

After confirming that it was truly safe, Ye Qing assured Yi Pin and Old Man of Snowy Mountain.

“Phew. That scared the shit out of me.”

Yi Pin let out an audible sigh of relief before asking, “Do you know what that was, Brother Bai?”

Old Man of Snowy Mountain shook his head. “I don’t know. Countless strange things happen in the snowy mountains every day, and the dangers are only worse during the night. You should always be on your guard, young master, Reverend.”

Old Man of Snowy Mountain’s true name was Bai Xuesong. Therefore, Yi Pin addressed him as Brother Bai.

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. We have Joyless.” Yi Pin let out a chuckle while glancing at Ye Qing.

Ye Qing rolled his eyes. “Thank you for the vote of confidence, I guess.”

Although the danger was gone, their sleepiness had also fled entirely. So, they began making idle chat with one another.

Ye Qing and Yi Pin would quickly find out Old Man of Snowy Mountain wasn’t kidding about his warning. More anomalous events would take place throughout the night.

Not long after the knocks had ended, countless red lanterns suddenly appeared outside the pavilion. They were floating about one meter above the ground and aligned in a row. They were slowly circling around the pavilion.

It was strange enough to find red lanterns in this god forsaken place, but they could sing as well. Their singing voices were childish and innocent as if invisible children were carrying the red lanterns and standing in a row outside the pavilion, hopping and singing with joy.

As the trio listened to the song, they began empathizing with the red lanterns and felt happy as well. They began experiencing all sorts of wonderful illusions and felt the urge to exit the pavilion and join the red lanterns in their song and dance.

The influence wasn’t as intense as the knocks, but it was subtle and almost undetectable. In fact, Yi Pin and Old Man of Snowy Mountain had lost their consciousness by the time they realized that something was amiss.

Ye Qing was the only one who was unaffected because he was protected by the Profound Yellow Mother Qi. At a critical moment, he protected the duo using the qi and woke them from their impromptu slumber. If not for him, they would probably be singing and dancing outside the pavilion right now.

To be honest, Ye Qing wanted to see Yi Pin singing and laughing like a kid. Unfortunately, he did not recognize these red lanterns. Although he hadn’t sensed any malice or danger from them, there was a definite chance that Yi Pin would hop, skip and jump all the way to the afterlife if he allowed him to join the red lanterns. Therefore, he had no choice but to wake the old Taoist.

It was a shame though. It really was.

The red lanterns would circle the pavilions nine times. Then, they flew away.

The snowy mountain did not return to peace and tranquility after their departure though. On the contrary, it was getting more and more lively.

For example, they heard an anomalous and ephemeral half-laugh and cry coming from somewhere within the mountains.

For example, they saw a golden temple and Buddha statue shining indistinctly at a distant peak.

For example, they saw eerie, terrifying shadows floating here and there in the black sky.

For example, they heard the sounds of drums, gongs, firecrackers, and laughter in the howling wind as if it was New Year.

……

It was a restless night from the start until the end.