Chapter 9: Snatching the Incense Fire

Wang Jing looks helplessly at Xiao Mu.

She didn't know how she could persuade Aunt Chen after hearing her words.

Xiao Mu smiled, "Aunt Chen, even if your deceased husband really is in this room, wouldn't it be alright for us to take a look?"

"Since we're at the door, isn't it natural for us to offer incense to Uncle?"

Upon hearing his words, Aunt Chen was moved. Xiao Mu made a lot of sense.

After all, Xiao Mu and Wang Jing came to her house to offer incense to her husband, which was a courteous gesture no matter how you looked at it.

Wang Jing echoed his sentiment, "Yes, Aunt Chen, Brother Mu is right. Since we're already here, could we not be allowed to offer incense to Uncle?"

Aunt Chen finally agreed, "Alright, since you both insist. Follow me in. Remember, once inside, speak softly so as not to disturb my husband."

Aunt Chen reminded them carefully, lest Xiao Mu and Wang Jing's actions disturb her husband's spirit.

Even without her reminder, Xiao Mu and Wang Jing understood the etiquette clearly.

The dead should be treated with proper respect under any circumstances.

It's acceptable to fool the living, not the dead!

Seeing Xiao Mu and Wang Jing nodding in agreement, Aunt Chen carefully opened the door.

As the door opened, a chilling and gloomy aura filled the room. Except for Xiao Mu, who was protected by Xuanmen Zhenggang, both Aunt Chen and Wang Jing simultaneously shuddered.

It was too cold. An unsettling air permeated, lowering the room's temperature by at least ten degrees.

"So cold!"

Wang Jing, clad in thin clothing, immediately shivered and instinctively moved closer to Xiao Mu.

The room was dimly lit by an everlasting lamp, yet the light appeared eerily dark, as if shrouded by a dense black mist.

In this room, even when facing each other, one's face would be hard to distinguish.

And this was during broad daylight.

Such a dense yin qi could usually only be emitted by a very powerful evil ghost.

Therefore, Xiao Mu could almost immediately deduce that the purpose of worship in this room was definitely not Aunt Chen's husband.

If it were indeed a close relative who was being venerated, what sort of relative would release such strong yin qi in his own house? A yin qi so intense that it could cast out light?

Xiao Mu looked ahead again. Behind the curtain, there was an altar table.

In the center of the altar table stood a black spirit tablet. In front of the tablet was an incense burner, with three sticks of incense burning and billowing smoke.

Seeing all this, Xiao Mu couldn't help but shake his head.

This was serious.

It might have been bearable if just a spirit tablet for an evil ghost was set up, but offering incense was absolutely a dreadful thing to do.

Never mind if the entity being worshipped is an evil ghost or not, just this act of worshipping itself, even if the entity worshipped were an ordinary ghost, is reprehensible.

This means using the incense fire of one's own home to worship outsiders. The ghost being worshipped would directly seize the host family's incense fire.

The consequences of losing one's incense fire are dreadful.

What is incense fire? What does the extinction of incense fire mean?

It signifies the ruin of a family, death, and the end of a lineage.

Anyone with a bit of common sense would absolutely not do such a thing, as the consequences are too terrifying and no one can bear them.

Then, Xiao Mu looked at the spirit tablet, his expression changed slightly, he turned and asked Aunt Chen, "Aunt Chen, could you tell me your late husband's name?"

Aunt Chen, still not fully recovered from the shock, responded nervously, "My husband? His name is Zhao Sinan."

Xiao Mu immediately asked again, "Did he have a thin, long face, big eyes, and a mole on the left side of his face?"

"Yes."

Aunt Chen exclaimed, "How... how do you know that?"

Her husband had been dead for over a decade, and there was no portrait in the room; logically, Xiao Mu shouldn't have known.

Xiao Mu didn't answer, his usually calm face looking troubled as he continued to stare at the spirit tablet on the altar.

At this moment, in his eyes, there were two figures on the Divine Spirits tablet, one large and one small. The larger one was the Starving Ghost, the smaller one was Aunt Chen's husband.

The Starving Ghost was riding on Zhao Sinan, suppressing him and constantly absorbing the soul energy from Zhao Sinan's body.

As the soul energy was being drained, Zhao Sinan's form was getting smaller and smaller, while the figure of the Starving Ghost was becoming more and more solid, and its power was becoming stronger and stronger.

The mutated creatures that entered this world were all trying various methods to evolve.

Take this Starving Ghost as an example, its methods of evolution included not only eating people, seizing incense fire, but also absorbing the souls of this world.

In this world, people were supposed to lack souls after death, but since the world mutation, they now have.

He lowered his head in contemplation. Xiao Mu was considering how to explain to Aunt Chen, and after a while, he said, "Aunt Chen, something has happened to your husband. What you've been worshiping these days isn't actually him."

"How is that possible?"

Aunt Chen's first reaction was disbelief, her face had turned a little unsightly because of Xiao Mu's words, "Little Mu, don't talk nonsense."

"I'm not talking nonsense."

Xiao Mu's face became extremely serious, staring at Aunt Chen, he earnestly said, "As I've said before, there's a Starving Ghost in your house. It's true, I wasn't lying to you. And moreover..."

He paused for a moment, his tone grew even more grave, "Moreover this Starving Ghost is not just living in your house, but it has also taken over your husband's spirit tablet."

"During this time, what you've been worshiping with incense fire, is not your husband, but this Starving Ghost."

"How is that possible?"

Aunt Chen let out a shriek upon hearing this.

The words Xiao Mu spoke were too shocking, giving her a sensation of complete disbelief.

A Starving Ghost in her own house? Not only taking over her husband's spirit tablet, but also her family's incense fire?

Just hearing about it, she knew how terrifying this situation was.

Seizing the spirit tablet meant her husband's soul had been harmed. But what was even more terrifying was the snatching of the incense fire.

A soul being harmed meant her deceased husband had lost the chance of reincarnation. The seizing of incense fire, however, indicated the destruction of her family, breakage of lineage.

The latter was far more terrifying than the former. The former only inflicted harm on one person, the latter harmed the whole family.

"Little Mu, don't deceive Auntie."

Obviously, Aunt Chen still couldn't accept Xiao Mu's words, primarily because the content of his words was too shocking, too frightening.

She would rather believe that his words were false.

"Sigh!"

Xiao Mu sighed, patiently explained, "Aunt Chen, haven't you noticed that this room is quite dark and cold?"

"Dark and cold?"

Aunt Chen shivered at his words. Xiao Mu was correct, this room was indeed very dark and cold.

But what did a dark, cold room have to do with what Xiao Mu had just said?

Xiao Mu discerned Aunt Chen's thoughts and explained, "Dark and cold is because this room has a high concentration of Yin Qi."

"Yin Qi is harmful to the living. Being contaminated with Yin Qi leads to sickness and weakness at best, and loss of life at worst. Aunt Chen, think for yourself, as a close relative, would your husband's spirit release this kind of harmful Yin Qi in his own house?"

"This..."

Aunt Chen was suddenly at a loss for words. Xiao Mu's words made her subtly realize some problems.

Perhaps, Xiao Mu's words were true.

"But, Little Mu..."

Even so, she still held onto that slight hope in her heart. After all, nobody would want to face such a situation in their own home.

"Sigh!"

Xiao Mu sighed again, anticipating Aunt Chen's thoughts, "In that case, see for yourself."

"As swift as the law!"

Xiao Mu's expression became stern. He shouted and swung the Peach Wood Sword, suddenly pointing at the spirit tablet on the altar table.

Suddenly, a golden light shot out, striking the Divine Spirits tablet.