“Goddammit! Big brother told me to take you two little bastards out to see the world, and this is how you pay me back, by mouthing off!? Get your asses out there and gather herbs, damn it! Or I’ll break your legs myself! How dare you turn your nose up at easy silver!” Boss Yang roared in fury. He grabbed his two nephews by the collar and gave them a fierce tongue-lashing. Yang Wen and Yang Wu were completely stunned. Though their uncle had always been strict, he had never lost his temper with them. What was going on today? But seeing how furious their uncle was, the two of them exchanged a glance and didn’t dare speak again. Boss Yang turned to Shen Liang and said, “Sir, don’t mind these two useless brats. Sorry to let you see such a joke. We’ll be off now. Till we meet again.” Shen Liang cupped his fists with both hands and said with a deliberately bold air, “You’re far too kind, Mr. Yang. Take care on the road.” Boss Yang cast a glance at the scholar and then hurried off with the two young men. Just as the three of them were about to leave the ruined temple, Miss Wen’s soft voice suddenly called out behind them, “Please wait, you three. It’s a cold and rainy night in the mountains, why don’t you take better care of your health?” She spoke gently, her voice sweet and concerned. Instantly, Yang Wen and Yang Wu felt warmth bloom in their hearts. Miss Wen’s worried about me! Boss Yang turned back, his face calm and unreadable. “Thank you for your concern, Miss Wen. But we’re used to gathering herbs in all conditions, so it doesn’t feel like hardship to us. I’ll take these two and be on our way.” But suddenly, Yang Wen and Yang Wu resisted. “Uncle, now that’s just unfair!” “Miss Wen’s only asking us to stay for our own good. Why not just spend the night here and rest up a bit?” What they didn’t realize was that ordinarily, they would never have dared speak to Boss Yang . Boss Yang shot a glare at his two nephews, his expression full of bitter disappointment and frustration. Suddenly, a gaunt, emaciated young man stepped in from the rainy night. His clothes were soaked through. He wore a tattered, ragged shirt, and paired with his unnaturally thin and skeletal frame, he looked almost like a ghost. Boss Yang’s heart jolted in alarm, and an involuntary chill crept up from his chest. Yang Wen and Yang Wu, however, didn’t sense a thing. They simply continued cozying up to the graceful young woman, fawning over her, asking after her comfort with exaggerated concern. The gaunt young man gave Boss Yang a smile, and in that moment, Boss Yang felt as though he had been locked onto by some terrifying wild beast. The young man’s teeth were unnaturally white, sending shivers down the spine. And on closer inspection, he had strange vertical slit shaped pupils, just like a beast’s! He wasn’t human! Boss Yang instinctively reached for the hilt of the saber at his waist with cold sweat trickling down his forehead, and he unconsciously took several steps back. Suddenly, a wave of cold swept over his back, and he spun around in a flash! Standing behind him was an old woman with snow-white hair, clad in a burial shroud. Boss Yang stumbled back several steps, his entire body feeling as though it had plunged into an icy abyss. The old woman’s face was deeply wrinkled, and it was unmistakably a cat’s face. She was dressed head to toe in traditional burial shrouds, yet, there wasn’t a single trace of moisture on her entire body, not even on the cloth shoes at her feet. “Yang Wen! Yang Wu! What the hell are you two standing around for?!” Boss Yang suddenly bellowed. He drew the long saber at his waist in one swift motion. But Yang Wen, Yang Wu, and even Shen Liang acted as if they hadn’t heard a thing, as if they couldn’t see the horror unfolding around them. Their eyes were fixed solely on the gentle, elegant, yet achingly delicate Miss Wen. The gaunt young man gave a twisted smile and rasped, “Wen Jin, in just a short while, you’ve gathered so many fresh blood offerings.” His voice was like rust grinding against metal; it sounded harsh, dry, and grating. Miss Wen, with her calm and graceful demeanor, smiled sweetly. “This scholar I picked up along the way. As for these three... well, they walked right into the trap on their own.” She glanced at Yang Wen and Yang Wu, her voice soft as silk. “Isn’t that right?” “Yes, yes, we came of our own will!” “Miss Wen, you’re so beautiful...” Their expressions were calm, but their words were deeply disturbing and utterly unnatural. Shen Liang frowned, clearly displeased. “Miss Wen, pay no mind to those two. They’re just coarse jianghu martial artists, how could they ever compare to a well-read scholar like me? If I place high in the imperial exams one day, I will marry you in a grand ceremony with eight litters, a phoenix crown, and silken robes. You’ll live a life of luxury and honor.” Miss Wen smiled. “Are those your true feelings?” “They are! From the moment I saw you, my heart was yours. If you accept me, I will see you ennobled, dressed in brocade, living in endless wealth.” “Mr. Shen, you won’t deceive me, will you?” “If you don’t believe me, I’ll rip my heart out to prove it!” Suddenly, Shen Liang thrust his hand into his chest with a sickening squelch. Splat! ɴᴇᴡ ɴᴏᴠᴇʟ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀʀᴇ ᴘᴜʙʟɪsʜᴇᴅ ᴏɴ N0velFire.ɴet A bloody hole burst open in his chest, and in his hand was a freshly torn, steaming, still-beating human heart. This frail scholar had ripped out his own heart in an instant. “Miss Wen, look, my love for you is true!” Shen Liang showed no sign of pain. Boss Yang stared at the scene in stunned horror, cold sweat pouring down his back. His heart was filled with an icy dread. Yang Wen shouted loudly, “What’s the big deal? I can pull out my own heart for Miss Wen too!” “That’s right! I’ll tear out my heart and liver to show my devotion to Miss Wen!” Yang Wu chimed in from the side, clearly displeased with Shen Liang’s act of hogging the spotlight. “Stop!” Boss Yang couldn’t bear to see his two nephews die for nothing. He shouted sharply and at the same time, hurled a wine pouch from his waist. Boss Yang was a man of the jianghu and had trained in hard techniques like the Tiger Claw. The wine pouch burst violently. But what spilled out wasn’t clear, fragrant wine, it was blood. It was black dog’s blood! Miss Wen’s brow furrowed, and she abruptly stepped back several paces. Yang Wen and Yang Wu, however, were hit directly. It was as if they’d been struck by lightning, and they instantly snapped out of their trance. When they looked around and saw the eerie, gaunt young man and the old woman in a burial shroud standing nearby, they let out horrified screams. “What the hell are these things?!” Terrified, the two of them didn’t even bother to wipe the black dog’s blood from their faces. They scrambled and crawled their way to Boss Yang’s side. Then, seeing the scholarly-looking Shen Liang holding a heart in his hands, fawning over Miss Wen, they felt a chill rush straight to the tops of their skulls. “Uncle... what the hell is going on?” Yang Wen asked, his voice trembling. This is too terrifying. How had the temple suddenly filled with so many demons and ghosts in the blink of an eye? Boss Yang’s expression was grim. Gripping his long saber tightly, he said in a low voice, “None of these things are human. Just now, your minds were bewitched by that demoness, and you nearly lost your lives!” The two men exchanged a glance, their faces filled with shock and fear. “You really are a killjoy,” Miss Wen said with a slight frown. “Ruining people’s fun for no reason at all.” Now, looking at this once gentle and graceful young lady, everything about her felt off. She gave off a chilling, bone-deep unease. “Kill them,” Miss Wen said softly. Shen Liang, whose heart had been torn out yet still hadn’t died, immediately lunged at the three of them upon hearing her command. His movements were swift and agile beyond belief. Boss Yang suddenly swung his saber down with force, the saber biting deep into Shen Liang’s neck. But Shen Liang didn’t react in the slightest. He tackled Boss Yang, who was no amateur in combat, straight to the ground.