Volume One: The Soul-Gathering Gourd and the Soul-Burning Lamp Chapter 76: Fedetick

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The moonlight was sparse, the mist thick and endless. The already dark surroundings were utterly smothered by the dense fog. Breaking out in a cold sweat, Gu Mo crouched before a pile of bleached bones, feeling the empty sockets of that skull boring into him with an unfathomable, deathly gaze.

Startled out of his wits, Gu Mo’s face twisted in fear. He raised his hand and delivered a resounding backhand slap to the skull.

Smack!

The blackened skull spun away, sent flying in another direction. (The poor skeleton must have been completely flabbergasted. Dead already, yet still slapped across the face—this young man truly showed no respect for the dead!)

With his eyes bulging as wide as bull’s eggs, Gu Mo cursed loudly, “What are you staring at? Try staring again!”

Oddly enough, after he vented his anger, the fear in his heart lessened. In that instant, countless questions surged up within him like a rising tide.

Clutching the Heaven-Measuring Ruler tightly, Gu Mo set the Soul-Burning Lantern at his feet and reached for the “Jade Hairpin” and “Wealth of the World,” the two precious artifacts before him.

He examined them closely.

The jade hairpin was about half a span long, cool and smooth to the touch, and fit comfortably in his hand. Though he couldn’t tell what dynasty it came from, his intuition insisted this was a rare treasure indeed.

Exquisite craftsmanship, flawless artistry, elegant design, a vibrant emerald hue, and utter translucence—these words immediately floated through Gu Mo’s mind.

At the tip of the jade hairpin was a nine-petaled lotus flower. In its center glimmered a lotus pod of incomparable beauty, and at the heart of that pod were nine tiny holes.

Nine—corresponding exactly to the “heavenly number” in Daoist tradition.

Gu Mo tucked the jade hairpin into his robe, then turned his attention to the “Wealth of the World.”

The moment the jade hairpin left his palm, a wave of warmth spread through every pore of his body.

As for the palm-sized tortoiseshell, Gu Mo was quite familiar with it. After all, it had helped him out of many a tight spot. The golden glow of the tortoiseshell shield was truly the envy of all!

A sly gleam flickered in Gu Mo’s eyes as a new scheme began to brew.

With one hand he toyed with the “Wealth of the World,” while carefully watching his surroundings out of the corner of his eye, feigning acceptance of the two artifacts. He was, in fact, setting up a stratagem: killing two birds with one stone.

First, Gu Mo would never believe that Xiao Yulou was truly dead. These two magical items were more precious than life itself to Xiao Yulou!

Second, taking these obvious fakes was meant to lure the enemy hiding in the darkness into revealing themselves.

Otherwise, why would someone lurking in the shadows launch a sneak attack first? From any angle, these two counterfeits were almost indistinguishable from the real thing.

If all of this was merely illusion, then the hidden “Earthbound Master” was truly formidable!

Lost in thought, Gu Mo was suddenly startled by the sound of gunfire echoing through the mist. Bullets whizzed past, barely grazing his scalp!

Pale as wax, Gu Mo stared at the bullet holes mere inches away. Cold sweat poured down in great, unending streams.

“Damn it! It must be that bastard Li Hetang!”

But then Gu Mo realized something was off. Wasn’t Li Hetang’s gun smashed to scrap metal? Did he have a backup weapon?

The next moment, Gu Mo gritted his teeth, picked up the Soul-Burning Lantern, and strode toward the direction of the gunfire.

No sooner had he left than those blood-red eyes gleamed again in the thick fog. The skeleton slumped against the boundary stone actually turned its skull to watch him...

Thud, thud—

After a dozen steps, Gu Mo felt increasingly uneasy.

Crossing the stone bridge, he found himself on a muddy village path. As far as the eye could see, wild grass grew tall amid the mist, reaching waist height—perfectly normal for such places. After only a few steps, dew from the grass soaked his trousers.

Each step felt unbearably heavy.

The ever-present mist was already suffocating, and now there was a sea of wild grass as well. The enemy was concealed, while he was exposed; if a fight broke out, he’d be at a disadvantage in no time.

“Could the gunfire just now have been a trap? What if that idiot Li Hetang is nearby? Bullets don’t have eyes! I don’t want to be riddled like a sieve!”

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With this thought, Gu Mo immediately hunched down, furrowing his brows.

Suddenly, the Soul-Burning Lantern in his hand began to blaze furiously.

Whoosh—

A scythe, slicing through the air with a shrill whistle, slashed straight for Gu Mo’s neck!

His ears pricked at the sound. Reacting instantly, he rolled on the ground, disappearing into the waist-high grass.

Now he was thoroughly soaked by dew.

Ssshhh—

A swath of grass was sheared off and fell around him!

Gu Mo held his breath, hiding deep in the tangled grass, cursing in relief at his narrow escape:

“That was close! If I hadn’t ducked just in time, I’d have been toast—literally!”

Peering through a gap in the grass, Gu Mo finally saw the monstrous force he faced.

There, standing amid the wild grass, was a terrifying scarecrow.

Its head was a large, fresh yellow pumpkin, not yet rotted, carved with a knife into a horrifying visage. Two eerie lights glimmered from its eye sockets. Its pumpkin mouth was lined with two rows of rusted iron nails.

Below, the scarecrow wore a tight white shroud riddled with holes, through which frost-covered straw protruded. In its hand gleamed a scythe stained with dried blood.

A cold wind blew, and the pumpkin-headed scarecrow was shrouded in swirling black mist—every bit as terrifying as could be imagined.

Gu Mo gasped in shock.

At first glance, this scarecrow looked exactly like the “Fiddlesticks” from League of Legends!

No wonder Xiao Yulou had just shouted, “Ancient Fear...”—the next word had to be “Fiddlesticks”!

With this realization, Gu Mo’s brows drew tight, and he inwardly cursed the scruffy Daoist priest’s entire family.

“Damn that bastard Daoist! Why didn’t he just yell ‘scarecrow’ at a critical moment? If I didn’t play League of Legends all the time, I never would have guessed it was a scarecrow!”

Even as he cursed, the scarecrow vanished again into the swirling fog.

Panic, anxiety, frustration, and dread all churned within Gu Mo.

“I’m screwed! Someone deliberately modeled this thing after Fiddlesticks from LoL. Maybe those crows earlier were also one of its special skills! If it’s hiding nearby, ready to use its ult, I’ll be feared and drained dry!”

Gu Mo forced himself to calm down and analyze the situation.

“Looks like I’ll have to lie low for now!”

Ssshhh—

Not far away, the grass rustled—a sign the scarecrow was searching for Gu Mo and his companions.

Crouched in hiding, Gu Mo didn’t dare breathe, sweat pouring off him as if just out of a sauna.

But hiding and waiting for death was no plan.

As he prepared to move, he turned his head—and found himself staring into the enormous, terrifying pumpkin head.

“Hehehe, found you!”

A buzzing filled his ears; Gu Mo went numb from head to toe!

Those blood-red eyes locked onto him, and under their gaze, his soul felt as if it were trembling, his mind slipping away.

Whoosh!

The deadly scythe came crashing down at his head.

In a flash, Gu Mo bit his tongue hard, the sharp pain snapping him back to consciousness. He raised the Heaven-Measuring Ruler to shield his head.

With a dull thud, the ruler blocked the killer blow.

In the nick of time, Gu Mo jabbed two fingers at the scarecrow’s blood-red eyes.

Squish—the sensation was wet and slippery.

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Clang!

The scythe, raised high again, seemed poised to claim Gu Mo’s life in the next instant.

But Gu Mo was quick to counterattack, swinging the Heaven-Measuring Ruler with all his might.

Thwack! The pumpkin head was sent flying.

The terrifying scarecrow now reached up with its straw hands to feel the empty space atop its neck.

Gu Mo’s mind screamed a single word: “Run!”

He snatched up the Soul-Burning Lantern and dashed away as fast as he could. After a few steps, he glanced back.

The scarecrow was hopping after its lost head.

In an instant, it picked up the pumpkin and fitted it back onto its straw neck.

Caw, caw, caw!

A flock of black crows suddenly erupted from the mist.

Gu Mo, pale as a ghost, had barely run a few steps when a pair of warm hands clamped over his mouth and nose.

Startled, he swung the Heaven-Measuring Ruler in a wide arc.

Smack!

Li Hetang caught the blow in a firm grip.

He yanked Gu Mo down, and the two huddled together amid the tall grass.

The world went strangely quiet.

Crouching there, Gu Mo caught a strong scent of blood.

He looked up. Li Hetang was drenched in sweat, his face grave and lips drained of color. His left shoulder was tightly bound with a white bandage, already soaked through with blood.

After a moment’s rest, Gu Mo raised his brows, looking at Li Hetang with anxiety. In a voice scarcely louder than a mosquito’s flight, he whispered,

“Li Hetang, how did you two suddenly disappear…”

Li Hetang scanned the area with a frown, swallowed, and replied,

“This thing is too strange. It can take shape from whatever people fear most in their hearts!”

He paused, then continued in a low voice, “Just now, my mind went fuzzy, and suddenly I couldn’t see you or Daoist Xiao. It must be the work of the Earthbound Master!”

Gu Mo felt a chill race up his spine, his world once again turned upside down.

“What the hell? Are Earthbound Masters really so powerful? They can teleport people in an instant?”

Li Hetang glared at him, clearly annoyed at the volume of his whisper.

Chastened, Gu Mo fell silent.

Pale as wax, Li Hetang carefully drew out a special dagger and whispered, “I’m already wounded. If we stay together, we’ll be easier to find. I’ll run out and draw it away—use the chance to destroy that monster!”

Before Gu Mo could nod, Li Hetang vanished into the grass, crouching low.

Gu Mo was left utterly stunned.

“Damn! Doesn’t he know to discuss things first? Hasn’t he ever considered anyone else’s feelings?”

At that moment, the Gluttonous Ghost in Gu Mo’s pocket wriggled free, bounced onto his shoulder, and let out a series of gurgling cries.

Startled, Gu Mo clamped a hand over its mouth.

The sensation was slick and clammy—a feeling that filled him with the deepest foreboding...