I brought Wang Baochang back to Hongqi Village, and as soon as Elder Yu saw him, he became furious. Since the incident of Uncle Qi's corpse transformation, Elder Yu had held a grudge against Wang Baochang. Now, whenever Wang Baochang saw Elder Yu, he would try to hide, fearing that Elder Yu would hit him.

Elder Yu suppressed his anger and asked me privately, "Yang Cheng, why did you invite that ** here?"

I replied, "That ** isn't completely useless. Let's give him a chance to redeem himself this time!"

Elder Yu sighed, "Since Ku Xian isn't home, we have no choice but to resort to desperate measures. Since you say so, I'll give him one more chance. But let me make it clear upfront, don't cause any trouble. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite!"

I conveyed Elder Yu's words to Wang Baochang, patting his shoulder and saying, "Don't say I didn't give you a chance. This is a great opportunity for you to turn things around. Make sure you seize it!"

Wang Baochang repeatedly thanked me, patting his chest and promising that he wouldn't let down the expectations and mission of the villagers.

As the Ghost Festival arrived as scheduled, Wang Baochang and I had dinner and prepared to go to the river to deal with the two little ghosts tonight.

Before leaving, according to custom, I burned some paper in the yard as a tribute to my Yang ancestors.

My mother even specifically made a pot of undercooked rice for me to place at the doorstep, for the wandering spirits passing by to enjoy.

I walked with Wang Baochang towards the river. Today was the day when the gates of the underworld opened. Both heaven and earth were enveloped in a heavy Yin aura, sending shivers down our spines.

A cold moon hung in the sky, perhaps influenced by the invading Yin energy. Tonight, the moon faintly emitted a reddish hue, appearing especially eerie.

Wang Baochang touched the peachwood sword in his arms, not knowing if he was comforting me or himself, saying, "Don't worry, with this ancestral peachwood sword from my Wang family, I can slay all evil spirits in the world. Those two water ghosts will flee at the sight of my peachwood sword from ten li away!"

Although Wang Baochang's words were somewhat boastful, it was undeniable that his ancestral peachwood sword was indeed formidable.

Curious, I asked him how he obtained this peachwood sword.

Proudly, Wang Baochang told me that his ancestors were renowned Taoist priests from Maoshan. The raw material for this peachwood sword was selected from the heartwood of a thousand-year-old peach tree growing at the peak of Maoshan. That peach tree stood tall at the summit of Maoshan, absorbing thousands of years of spiritual energy from heaven and earth. All its spiritual power converged in its heartwood, which was used to forge this peachwood sword. Its power was naturally extraordinary.

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As we spoke, we arrived at the riverbank. Wang Baochang exclaimed, "**! Why are there so many people?"

Looking around, the riverbank was densely packed with people, and there were flickering candlelights on the river, as if the stars had fallen into the water. The water surface shimmered with waves, creating a beautiful scene.

Hundreds of villagers gathered by the river, releasing river lanterns. Various types of lanterns floated on the river, numbering in the hundreds, gently flowing downstream in the darkness.

Releasing river lanterns on the Ghost Festival was a custom observed in many places. Every year on the Ghost Festival, people from Hongqi Village would come to release river lanterns. However, in recent days, due to the water ghost incidents, the village committee had issued a ban on going to the riverside. But these villagers seemed to disregard the ban and still came to release river lanterns. Were they risking their lives?

I was shocked and quickly ran to the riverbank. From a distance, I saw Elder Yu standing there, hands behind his back, sighing repeatedly.

I asked Elder Yu what was going on and why so many people came to release river lanterns despite the ban. Didn't they fear the water ghosts in the river?

Elder Yu looked helpless and said, "I've been shouting myself hoarse, but no one listens to me. How can I stop them? Let them be!"

I understood Elder Yu's predicament and felt anxious. Today was the Ghost Festival, a day when the Yin energy was heavy. Those two water ghosts must be unusually active, and these villagers were lingering by the river, which was really dangerous.

But being anxious was useless. Even Elder Yu couldn't stop hundreds of villagers, so I definitely couldn't either. Now, all I could hope for was that nothing would happen during the release of the river lanterns, and that everyone would go home quickly after.

As the saying goes, the more worried you are, the more troubles you invite.

Before I could even digest my worries, cries of wailing came from the river. A village woman was screaming, "Save my son... Quickly save my son..."

I was suddenly alarmed. Oh no, something had indeed happened!

Elder Yu's face changed drastically and urged me to go save the person immediately.

Wang Baochang and I wasted no time. We ran towards the riverbank against the crowd.

"Water ghosts are coming! Run! Water ghosts are coming!"

The riverbank descended into chaos. The villagers scrambled to flee, leaving behind even their river lanterns, which toppled and burned on the ground.

Those who had been praying and releasing lanterns a moment ago now resembled frightened rabbits. Everyone focused on escaping for their lives, and no one had the courage to help the woman.

The crowd rushed towards the riverbank like a tide, but Wang Baochang and I swam upstream against the flow, heading towards the river.

Our backs, as we went against the current, may have gone unnoticed, but I knew that our backs were definitely the most heroic.

"Make way! Make way!"

Wang Baochang and I pushed through the crowd, swiftly reaching the riverbank.

There, a young woman sat helplessly by the river, pounding the ground and pleading for someone to save her child. Her face displayed nothing but helplessness and despair.

People are inherently selfish. In such life-or-death moments, instinctively, everyone focuses on saving themselves. Although it may not appear noble, those villagers weren't entirely at fault.

"Save my child... Save my child..."

The village woman's voice had become hoarse from crying. In desperation, she decided to take matters into her own hands and ran towards the river, intending to save her son herself.

Maternal love is great. This village woman probably couldn't swim at all, and perhaps she knew that going into the water meant certain death. But she disregarded everything and rushed into the river, wanting to exchange her own life for her son's.