Chapter 1617: Heaven's Mandate Seven Children: Monster Hunting Record 08

On the blue stone street of the small town.

The coffin was smooth with no grips; Jin Chen sat on a small stool, being carried and swaying, and from inside the coffin occasional noises could be heard.

He was actually sitting comfortably, occasionally glancing at the small town, which looked completely different from daytime, but the inside of the coffin was noisy.

"Quiet." Jin Chen knocked on the coffin.

He hadn't expected the noise inside the coffin to actually stop abruptly.

"Yo ho."

Jin Chen became interested, tapped again with his finger, and asked with mild curiosity: "Who are you, sir or miss? Please make a sound."

A strange silence fell; only the sound of the night wind howling remained around.

Jin Chen thought for a moment, then asked the coffin-bearers beside him: "Who is inside?"

The response to him was still silence.

【What if I make a sound?】 How embarrassing this is.

Ling Gun Gun was afraid, but worried about the Host's psychological shadow.

Jin Chen:...

And behind the long dragon of coffin-bearers, Rong Zixu and the four others always followed closely.

Xu Qie's steps paused slightly, he gradually clenched his fists, and silently looked toward the houses beside the street.

Under the moonlight, the shadows of the four of them had at some point become five.

The extra one was right beside Rong Zixu.

But Rong Zixu's attention was entirely on Jin Chen ahead, and he didn't even notice an extra shadow under his feet.

Xu Qie wanted to warn them; as he continued forward, he first tugged at Gong Shiyue beside him, letting her see that shadow.

However, over just a dozen steps, that shadow actually moved ahead faster than they did!

Gong Shiyue and Xu Qie's breathing suddenly became erratic; then Jing Xingcan and Rong Zixu also saw it, and the four people tacitly stopped to observe.

One second, two seconds... seven seconds.

The shadow did not stop moving forward because they halted; it drifted forward smoothly.

"Is it a ghost?" Xu Qie asked silently.

"Follow it first."

Rong Zixu spoke concisely; seeing the shadow getting closer to the coffin-bearing team, he quickened his pace considerably.

The shadow continued drifting forward, already reaching the middle of the team, right next to that coffin, less than half a meter from Jin Chen, who sat on the coffin.

Rong Zixu gripped the sword at his waist, ready to draw it at any moment.

But just as he pressed his hand onto the sword, that shadow gradually came to a stop.

Rong Zixu then relaxed his grip, gazed toward both sides of the street, and soon noticed a clue.

The red lanterns swayed, and the shadow moved forward.

But the street wasn't lined with buildings everywhere; in the dim, lamp-less areas the shadow could not move.

The shadow's target was Jin Chen.

Rong Zixu had this thought and, without hesitation, drew his sword.

"Oh no, oh no..."

Jing Xingcan's heart was practically in his throat; he lowered his voice as much as possible: "There are still many shadows behind us!"

"Senior Brother!" Gong Shiyue caught up, speaking softly: "Look ahead!"

Ahead of where the coffin-bearing dragon line had not yet reached, a bun shop quietly opened a crack in its door; a man in dark-colored clothes poked half his body out, pointed at them at the lantern, then made a cutting-off gesture.

Immediately the man glanced fearfully at the hemp-clothed ghosts carrying the coffin, frightened, and grabbed tight and retreated back inside.

Jin Chen, unaware of what had happened behind him, raised his eyebrows in doubt and glanced at the red lanterns everywhere.

Behind them, Jing Xingcan was somewhat excited, and quickly told Rong Zixu: "Yes, Senior Brother, we snuffed out a few lanterns up ahead; those ghostly shadows can't catch up then."

Rong Zixu was not careless, but the situation was urgent and he had to make a decision quickly.

"Good." Rong Zixu still agreed, his gaze fixed on Jin Chen's back shifting away, and sword qi spread out.

Jing Xingcan was even more direct and crude; he pulled a slingshot from his waist, took out a few glass beads, and flicked them at the red lanterns.

Starting from the bun shop's doorway, seven lanterns ahead went out with a sound, and the endless blood-red street suddenly revealed a stretch of darkness.

Jin Chen, still studying the coffin, sat up straight with a swish, "Eh?"

He looked back, and through the darkness saw Rong Zixu sheathe his sword, then in the next instant he vanished.

No, it wasn't Rong Zixu disappearing.

Jin Chen only felt a push from behind; the hemp-clothed ghosts carrying the coffin, who had been moving forward steadily, suddenly sprinted forward several steps, bumping the coffin into the darkness.

"Xiao Chen!!"

Rong Zixu's eyes widened in shock as he saw the coffin and the hemp-clothed ghosts vanish into the darkness; he chased into the darkened street where the walls' black mist could be vaguely seen melting away.

He had no time to think further, and then followed them in.

Gong Shiyue quickly said: "I and Xiao Liu will go find that boss to ask clearly; Xiao Wu, you know tracking technique, quickly go help Senior Brother!"

Jing Xingcan, ever since seeing Jin Chen disappear, had been filled with bewilderment and astonishment; finally, in his guilt, he found a foothold: it was the bun shop owner who had tricked them into extinguishing the red lanterns!

He followed up, swinging his whip with fury as Gong Shiyue charged forward, and also tightly gripped the slingshot that looked like it had little damaging power.

Gong Shiyue endured and knocked three times on the door.

On the third knock, she lifted her leg and kicked; the old wooden door gave way with a sound and fell.

"Get out!" Gong Shiyue shouted sternly; the long whip trembled in the air, emitting a tearing sound, and she lashed it hard at the table and chairs in the room, but in an instant it shattered into pieces.

Only then did the bun shop owner inside slowly move out, head lowered, not daring to meet Gong Shiyue's gaze; almost as soon as he saw the whip, his legs went weak and he knelt down, actually speaking first.

"Immortal... thank you, immortal, for saving my life!"

The bun shop owner seemed to know they wouldn't make things difficult for the child, and he also brought out his still wailing son to kneel together.

A life-saving favor? You really did it on purpose!

Gong Simoyue let Jing Xingcan take the child away, then suddenly lashed his whip, saying, "Who told you that in a dark place, the coffin would disappear?"

Seeing that she had no intention of killing, the bun shop owner wiped his cold sweat and nodded, "I... I'm not..."

The people on our street discovered that after the coffin bearers take someone away that night, they will leave if... there is no red lantern.

I'm really scared... you guys are so strong, definitely, definitely nothing will happen.

The bun shop owner, realizing he was at fault, was frightened by Gong Simoyue's whip into trembling nonstop.

Wuwuwuwu I don't want to, I don't want to become a person in the picture, wuwuwuwu Father, Father save me!

The little boy held by Jing Xingcan cried so much his face was covered in snot and Tears, hiccuping as he tried to break free from Jing Xingcan's embrace, "Let me go... let me go!"

The chubby, sturdy boy squirmed so that Jing Xingcan couldn't hold him, letting out a few ayoyos, "Don't... what picture?"

Jing Xingcan suddenly realized, exchanged a glance with Gong Simoyue, and asked, "What does it mean to become a person in the picture?"

No! Don't spout nonsense, you kid!

The bun shop owner's face changed drastically; summoning unknown strength, he snatched the child from Jing Xingcan's arms and hurried upstairs.

"Stop! Explain yourself!" Gong Simoyue still wanted to intercept, but seeing the bun shop owner turn around, his face was even more terrified than when he saw the coffin.

Please, please don't ask... I really dare not say.

The owner even wanted to kneel and kowtow while saying that.

"Hey, don't." Jing Xingcan hurried to help, giving the owner a chance to grab the child and run upstairs, locking the door tightly.

"What's going on here." Jing Xingcan scratched his head, also at a loss.

"Third Senior Sister, did you see any paintings in town during the day?"

Gong Simoyue shook his head solemnly, "No."

After checking during the day, not to mention paintings, there weren't even any painting studios.

Why are the townspeople so afraid of something that has never appeared in West Ling Town?