According to rural customs, when there is a funeral in a family, the villagers will help with the arrangements and then organize a thank-you banquet. This is done to express gratitude to the villagers, enhance friendship among everyone, and also to dispel any bad luck. Funerals themselves are considered inauspicious, and when others help you, they may inadvertently absorb some of that bad luck. The purpose of this thank-you banquet is to cleanse oneself of any lingering bad luck.

In preparation for this banquet, the Xie family specifically hired a team of rural chefs. They set up several tables in a row in the courtyard, serving a variety of delicious dishes one after another, steaming hot. Although the weather was cold, the warmth between neighbors was heartwarming.

Many lamps were hung around, illuminating the yard as bright as day, driving away the darkness.

Before the feast began, Xie Qiang led us to the backyard to pay respects to his late brother, Xie Lao Er.

A brand new tombstone had been erected above the grave pit where the body was buried last night. It must have just been completed today.

Xie Qiang said, "I've thought it over, there's no need to relocate the grave. It's good to bury him in our own backyard. My father has always been with us, never left!"

We each lit a stick of incense for Xie Lao Er and returned to the front yard to eat.

With so many people gathered together, it was as lively as celebrating the New Year.

The dead cannot come back to life, so those who are alive must live well.

After three rounds of drinks, the atmosphere became cheerful, and everyone started playing drinking games and joking around, continuing until early morning when they gradually dispersed.

I also had a few drinks, most of which were offered by Xie Qiang himself.

Xie Qiang was already seventeen or eighteen years old, and he had learned how to drink a long time ago. He had quite a high alcohol tolerance. He boasted that he was the number one drinker in their school.

I was still in elementary school and hadn't really drunk much before. After a few drinks, I clearly felt a bit overwhelmed, and my head started to spin. I had a floating sensation.

Finally, I understood why so many people enjoyed drinking. When alcohol numbs the nerves, it truly makes one feel euphoric.

By the end, Xie Qiang was also drunk, holding my hand and repeatedly calling me his brother.

I felt quite happy in my heart, a sense of pride emerged because this whole incident should be considered my achievement. I was satisfied with my abilities and became even more obsessed with the book "The Three Clears." Given enough time, I believed I could become a master like Ku Quezi.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Grandfather was getting old. After having a few glasses of white wine, he had gone back to rest early.

Anyway, my home was not far from the Xie family's, and although the night road was pitch black, there was no real danger. I hiccupped while walking slowly toward my house alone.

As soon as I pushed open the courtyard gate, a gust of cold wind hit me, causing me to stagger and almost fall to the ground.

Half of my drunkenness immediately disappeared, and I thought to myself, "This wind feels quite strange!"

I shivered, feeling quite cold, so I tightened my collar.

At this moment, the voice of Liu Qingqing suddenly sounded in my ear, "Yang Cheng, come back quickly!"

Liu Qingqing must have used some kind of secret technique like "whispering transmission" because her voice wasn't in the air, and others couldn't hear her speaking. Her voice directly entered my ears, and only I could hear it.

I was stunned for a moment, and Liu Qingqing's voice sounded again, "Don't stand foolishly at the door. It's dangerous. Hurry inside!"

Liu Qingqing's tone carried a hint of urgency, clearly not joking with me.

Although I didn't know what the danger was, I believed Liu Qingqing, so I immediately ran into the courtyard.

As soon as I entered the yard, I felt that something was off. There was a cold, eerie feeling that seemed to follow me, making me very uncomfortable.

How should I describe this feeling?

It's like... it's like there are many pairs of eyes spying on me in the darkness, sending shivers down my spine.

My heart chilled, and I quickly walked into the bedroom.

Everyone in the house was already asleep, and it was quiet, pitch dark.

I rushed into the bedroom, about to turn on the lights, when a cold and slender jade hand grabbed my wrist. Liu Qingqing's voice sounded in my ear, "Don't turn on the lights!"

In the darkness, I could vaguely see Liu Qingqing's figure and smell the fragrance of a young girl coming from her.

Perhaps the alcohol had stimulated the male hormones in me, I suddenly felt impulsive and pulled Liu Qingqing into my embrace. "What's going on?"

"Look outside, and you'll know!"

Liu Qingqing held my hand and led me to the edge of the window sill.

The window was tightly closed, and Liu Qingqing didn't open it. She just lifted a corner of the curtain, allowing me to widen my eyes and look into the yard.

As soon as I looked, chills ran down my spine, and even the last trace of alcohol-induced drowsiness vanished.

On top of the walls in the yard, many pairs of eyes appeared, emitting a dim green light.

One pair, two pairs, three pairs...

They were densely packed, and I couldn't count them all. The wall tops were filled with those eerie green eyes.

No wonder I had felt like I was being watched when I ran into the yard earlier. It turned out there were indeed so many pairs of eyes secretly observing me.

Those eyes were narrow and deep, exuding an extremely chilling gaze.

Even though the window was tightly shut, I could still sense the murderous intent behind those eyes, sending shivers down my spine.

My intuition told me that those ghostly eyes were definitely aimed at me.

I was astonished. What on earth were these things?

The dark clouds in the sky dispersed, revealing a bright silver crescent moon.

Moonlight shone into the yard, pale and eerie. Behind those eyes, one by one, hairy faces emerged.

I took a deep breath and couldn't help but exclaim, "Yellow-skinned demons?!"

Oh my god!

At least a hundred yellow-skinned demons were squatting on the wall tops of my yard, squeezing and crowding each other as if they were about to crush the walls.

I had never before seen so many yellow-skinned demons at once, and fear gripped my heart.

Were these persistent yellow-skinned demons coming for me?

My drunkenness completely subsided, and cold sweat covered my body. It would be a lie to say that I wasn't scared by this scene.

The fact that I was able to severely injure Huang San Ye before was mostly due to luck, relying on the power of the Samadhi True Fire Talisman.

Now, I didn't even have a life-saving talisman. How could I contend with these yellow-skinned demons?

Liu Qingqing sensed my nervousness and gently held my hand, comforting me, "Don't be afraid. These yellow-skinned demons dare not come in!"

I was puzzled. Why wouldn't the yellow-skinned demons on the wall tops dare to enter?

Suddenly, rustling sounds came from all directions. The sound started off faintly but quickly became clear and intense, as if something was continuously crawling into my yard.

I leaned against the window, pressing my cheek against the glass, staring in disbelief.

Lit by the moonlight, I was astonished to see that the ground in the yard was crawling with hundreds of colorful snakes!