Shen Mu put away the gold ingot and said, "Big fellow, focus on your cultivation. I'll come back for you tomorrow. Whatever you do, don't go into the side hall—that demon is crafty!" The Xuan Liao Demon Ape nodded. Shen Mu set out for the village at once, and before long he reached the outskirts of Hidden Remnant Village. From a distance he saw two paper boats moored in midair at the village gate, and a paper crane perched beneath the tree by the entrance; but the boats and the crane all stood empty—the newcomers must already have gone in. He walked into the village and saw the old man who had spoken from the boat sitting opposite the village head, saying, "I heard that Granny Zhu of your village has excellent skill with her hands, so I came to ask her to cut out a few garments." The village head asked, "What kind of garments would you like, and in what sizes?" The old man said, "I need burial clothes, nine sets in all. Cut them according to the measurements of your villagers. I also hear Master Huo is quite a fine carpenter, so I must trouble him to make nine coffins, with their lengths also based on your figures." Suddenly the old man caught sight of Shen Mu approaching, showed surprise, and changed his words: "I misspoke—ten burial clothes and ten coffins. Yan Qing, pay the deposit." The man named Yan Qing stepped forward and gave a slight wave. A paper boat from the village entrance drifted over and landed beside the village head, and Shen Mu saw that its cargo was nothing but unlucky objects: spirit money, paper ingots, candles, mourning staffs, white funeral banners, and the like. The old man told him to moor the boat at the village entrance, then said, "This is the deposit for the ten burial clothes and ten coffins. May I ask whether Granny and Master Huo can finish them today? To be honest, I am in a hurry." The lame old man, the blacksmith, the alchemist, and the others had each been busy with their own work, but now all fell silent. Granny Zhu came over with unsteady steps and said with a smile, "Ten burial clothes, and you want them today? Guest, that's a bit rushed." Master Huo came over and said coldly, "I work fast. The coffins can be done today. Can the old gentleman wait?" The old man laughed. "It is a bit rushed, but all of you are capable people—surely you can manage." Granny Zhu glanced at the paper ingots and candles on the boat, gave a cold laugh, and said, "If you're in a hurry to wear them, I can make them right now. As it happens, I bought some cloth a few days ago." The old man inclined his body and said, "I'll trouble Granny, then." Granny Zhu went back into her house, brought out several bolts of cloth, and tossed them with a flick of her wrist. The bolts floated in midair, and a pair of scissors flew out of her basket on its own, snipping snip-snip through the air. Before long, the shapes of garments took form. Silver needles flew out of the little basket one after another, threading themselves and drawing thread, darting back and forth in the air with a whisking sound, and soon the burial clothes were all sewn up. Master Huo, meanwhile, went out of the village to the great willows by the river. Green qi flew from between his fingers and whirled around the willow trees with a hissing sound; in no time the massive trunks were cut into white-wood coffins, which flew over and landed at the village entrance. Granny Zhu's garments were finished as well. The old woman waved lightly, and the burial clothes each settled onto a coffin. Master Huo strode over and said coldly, "Since you brought no small amount of money, we made two extra coffins for free—twelve in all, made to measure. When you lie down in them, I guarantee they won't be an inch too long or a hair too short! Is the old gentleman satisfied?" Granny Zhu laughed. "This old woman also made two extra burial suits at no charge, guaranteed to fit." The old man chuckled. "Satisfied, satisfied." Shen Mu found the atmosphere growing more and more sinister. He counted on the sly: the blue-clothed men, together with the old man, came to exactly twelve. The alchemist came over. His face was grim, but his voice was soft. "Old sir, from your accent, you're not a local—you sound like the Southern Wilderness." The old man smiled warmly. "We are indeed from the Southern Wilderness, from the Lanjiang region." The lame old man walked over, beaming, and said, "By the Lanjiang River there is a Lanjiang Sect. I hear it is a great sect, dwelling by the river and numbering many masters. I've heard its sect master is Ling Hanchuan, with divine powers so profound that he can cut off a river's flow with a reach of his hand." The old man said quickly, "You flatter me, you flatter me. This old man is indeed Ling Hanchuan. My Lanjiang Sect is really only a small school scraping a living—we live off the land and the water, making our livelihood on the river. I have five junior brothers, whom fellow Daoists are kind enough to call the Five Elders of Lanjiang." Shen Mu's heart gave a lurch, and his expression changed slightly. Were the Five Elders of Lanjiang not the very five old men who had died at Granny Zhu's hands? Could this Ling Hanchuan be leading his men here to avenge the Five Elders? His explicit order for ten coffins and ten burial clothes had plainly been meant for everyone in Hidden Remnant Village: after killing the villagers, he would dress them in burial clothes, lay them in coffins, bury them on the spot, and then burn paper ingots and candles! And these paper boats and paper cranes had also been prepared for the villagers' deaths. Twirling the jade thumb ring on his thumb, Ling Hanchuan said unhurriedly, "Two years ago, the imperial court offered amnesty. The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping came in person to my Lanjiang Sect bearing the imperial edict and sat with me in discourse on the Dao. Within the burning of one incense stick, I submitted with heartfelt sincerity, accepted the edict, and thanked His Majesty for his boundless favor. My Lanjiang Sect was honored by the emperor and the Imperial Preceptor: this old man was appointed Prefect of Qili Prefecture in the Southern Wilderness, with rank of the second grade and governance over the Five Miao. The Imperial Preceptor of Jingping also appointed the Five Elders of Lanjiang as Deputy Protector-General of the Miao Frontier, with rank of the third grade. We are, after all, idle clouds and wild cranes; though we have taken office, we still like to roam." The village head smiled. "The Jingping State is a sect disguised as a nation. With the emperor aided by the Imperial Preceptor of Jingping, known as the foremost man beneath the gods, the state's fortunes have grown ever more flourishing. It has subdued no small number of sects and brought their disciples into the army to expand its territory. Brother Mu, you were always free and unbound; once you entered officialdom, you had to be swayed by court law, so some discomfort was only natural." Ling Hanchuan said, "And so my five junior brothers, restless after long quiet, wanted to go out for a walk. They took the Five Sons of Lanjiang into the Ruins. The Five Sons of Lanjiang are disciples my five junior brothers accepted; they have a little skill, and my brothers meant to temper them through trials." The blind old man came over, leaning on his bamboo staff, and said, "The Five Elders of Lanjiang went into the Ruins to train? And with disciples? The Ruins are a perilous place—I cannot help worrying for them." Ling Hanchuan sighed. "Yes. The Ruins are far too dangerous, filled with vicious fiends on every side. They had been gone two months, and when I still saw no sign of their return, I knew in my heart that something must have gone wrong. So I searched all along the way and, by luck, found the spot where my five junior brothers lost their lives. They died horribly. From the wounds on their shattered bones, the one who killed them should be an expert from the Nether Demon Cult—not