Chapter 112: The Night of the Full Moon

After the Heavenly Dog was slain, the remaining skeleton still emanated the aura of the Ghost Realm. Zhou Bai had no choice but to collect it, including the tail vertebrae. While the tail bone would make a fine off-hand weapon, its lingering Ghost Realm aura would have adverse effects on mortals, making it impossible for Zhou Bai to use it frequently.

He sat on the ground. Although the battle had been one-sided, both his physical stamina and yin energy had been heavily depleted, and Zhou Bai struggled to keep going as he took a moment to rest. A sliver of light had already appeared on the horizon; the sun was about to rise, and the darkness was fading. For Zhou Bai, however, the matter was far from over; the aftermath of the Heavenly Dog's rampage continued to fester.

There was one thing he needed to confirm. He started walking toward a point ten miles away, but after only a few steps, he turned back. Unfortunately, he remained unable to leave the confines of Hangdu. Zhou Bai suspected this might be related to the Yin Jade that was destined to be born during the full moon, so he had no choice but to wait a few more days. Deep down, however, he felt a vague sense of unease, as if he were trapped in an invisible game within a game, yet he had no idea how to break it.

The only silver lining was that the points gained from eliminating the Heavenly Dog were substantial—nearly a hundred—though they were far from enough for the two fundamental techniques he required, so he had to let that go.

Zhou Bai returned to the yamen. Wen Meng was already waiting inside, and Daoist Hou arrived tardily. Hou was severely wounded, with nearly eighty percent of his bones fractured. However, thanks to the effects of his corpse-transformation ability, he had regained his mobility in a short time, though it would take a long period to fully heal.

The chaos caused by the ghost continued to spread. The destruction of buildings was a minor issue; the real problem was the people who had been driven mad by the Heavenly Dog. A thick stack of papers detailing the casualties was placed before Zhou Bai, filled with names. Wen Meng sighed bitterly; the names on the paper represented blood-soaked lives. Had Zhou Bai not killed the ghost in time, the aura of the Ghost Realm emitted by the Heavenly Dog would have caused all of Hangdu to fall within a short period.

Daoist Hou feigned composure as he picked up a few sheets to look through them, his scalp tingling. "So many have died?"

"Not all of them. Look further down; the rest are the ones who have gone insane."

Zhou Bai flipped to the end. Just as Wen Meng had said, the majority of the population in Hangdu had been affected by that pervasive aura. Because Daoist Hou had drawn most of the fire, the death toll was relatively low—fewer than a hundred, including those indirectly crushed by collapsing buildings.

"How many in total?" Zhou Bai asked, reaching the final page.

Wen Meng pondered for a moment before answering, "Including those who have gone mad, about fifteen hundred people."

At these words, Zhou Bai and Daoist Hou exchanged glances, both of them stunned. The prophecy in Tang Yin’s paintings had foretold that the Heavenly Dog would swallow fifteen hundred people; the numbers matched perfectly. Zhou Bai, refusing to believe it, re-examined the papers. With his ability to read ten lines at a glance, he did a quick mental tally. The casualties in Hangdu indeed exceeded fifteen hundred. If one excluded those crushed by falling structures, the figure was almost certainly correct.

"What is it?" Sensing the oppressive atmosphere as the two remained silent, Wen Meng could not help but ask.

Zhou Bai shook his head and retrieved the scroll from his storage pouch, laying it on the table. Wen Meng leaned in to observe it closely, his shock growing with every detail. Daoist Hou, though anxious, was unaware of the contents of the fourth painting. "Damn it all! There are only a few days left until the full moon. I hope no more trouble arises."

Zhou Bai, however, was different. He knew the scene depicted on the painting—the arrival of the giant known as Longbo into this world—and it was beyond imagination.

Wen Meng sighed, "Whatever happens, we just need to hold out for these few days. The disaster in Xuzhou will likely also conclude with the full moon." Currently, the forces of the Ministry of the Underworld were in a power vacuum, with most of their strength tied up in Xuzhou, yet so many incidents had plagued Hangdu.

"Why the full moon?" Zhou Bai asked.

Wen Meng explained patiently, "When the full moon arrives, the Gates of the Underworld open wide. It is the time when yin energy is most concentrated, and those who practice the ghost path in the Ministry of the Underworld are at their strongest."

"Let's focus on the immediate problem: how should we handle those who have gone mad?" Daoist Hou rubbed his temples in frustration. The thousands of madmen had been locked in the horse farm, which had now been cleared out to house them. The damaged spirit array had been repaired, and under its influence, these people maintained a modicum of sanity, preventing any major riots. Affected by the Ghost Realm aura, these madmen no longer needed grain or sustenance; it was unclear what was fueling their bodily functions.

Such madness-inducing auras were contagious, and the area around the horse farm had effectively become a restricted zone in Hangdu. Zhou Bai looked helplessly toward the direction of Xuzhou and said, "There is no solution. We must keep them concentrated and wait for the Ministry of the Underworld to handle it."

Wen Meng sighed, "I hope so, otherwise there will be a catastrophe."

The group had no better options. Over a thousand madmen were crammed together. They seemed normal enough during the day, but at night, they would stare fixedly at the moon, muttering strange words. With so many people chanting at once, the cacophony was audible even in the city, forcing Daoist Hou to add a sound-insulation array outside the spirit array.

Thus, several days passed, and the moon in the sky grew fuller and fuller. The Gates of the Underworld were about to open, and it was unknown what strangeness would accompany the birth of the fabled Yin Jade. Zhou Bai noticed that Hangdu had indeed become increasingly bizarre. First, at night, the yin energy grew so thick that it gathered in the sky, creating the sensation of storm clouds pressing down on a fortress. Second, many people in the city had begun to embrace Buddhism simultaneously. Having awakened two Buddhist techniques, Zhou Bai considered himself somewhat knowledgeable about the faith.

The Buddhist sect that had suddenly emerged in Hangdu was called the "Boundless Treasure Light Buddha." Within just a few days, many households had already begun to worship it. Yet, he could not recognize this deity, which meant it was certainly not one of the orthodox Eighty-Eight Buddhas. Zhou Bai ordered the officials to control the spread of this faith and confiscate the statues from people's homes. However, even as they disappeared from the public eye, many continued to worship in secret.

On the morning of the fifteenth, the day of the full moon, Zhou Bai frowned as he looked at the sky. The sun was obscured by thick, dark clouds, while in the opposite position, a full moon, several times larger than usual, hung in the sky. During the day, the sun and moon appeared together, with the sun completely suppressed by the moon—a truly staggering sight.