The old man holding the lantern — the palace minister of the Ministry of Rites' Ritual Office — chose to walk down quiet and empty streets. After walking for a while, he eventually arrived at Red Candle Town's city god pavilion. Before he stepped over the door threshold, the lantern in his hand swung inside the temple first. It was as if the lantern had crashed through a curtain of rippling water that was used to separate yin and yang — a sheet of water that prevented yin and yang from mingling. However, this ripple disappeared in a flash. Even so, wisps of whizzing light appeared inside the old man's large red lantern, crashing into its walls and illuminating the surroundings.

On the old man's lantern, someone had used bright red ink to write four small and ancient-looking characters — souls, homeward ye go.

Inside the city god pavilion that dealt with matters pertaining to yin and yang along with the county office, a red-cheeked old man in Confucian robes bowed and said loudly, "The city god of Red Candle Town pays his respects to Lord Palace Minister."

To the left of the old man in Confucian robes was an official holding a jade ritual baton, while to the right of him was a military officer suited in armor and wearing a sword by his hip, with a leopard cat also sitting on his shoulder. Both of them were deities and heroic spirits who could be categorized as yin entities. The appearances of the three people were identical to the clay statue of the city god in the city god pavilion and the statues of the official and general in the Wenchang pavilion.

The old man holding the lantern nodded in reply. His expression was solemn as he said, "I'm sure the three of you have already received the secret order from the imperial court. Everyone within a radius of 500 kilometers — whether they be major or minor mountain gods and river gods, mountain lords, river guardians, or deities honored in the city god pavilions and Wenchang pavilions — you all have to hunt a saber-wielding man called A'Liang. His path of retreat is unknown, and it's possible that he might head toward either the north, south, east, or west.

"If anyone dares to shirk or flee from conflict, or if anyone dares to conceal their true strength, the punishment will be the obliteration of their gold statue when everything is over. The shattered statues of river gods will be buried under mountains, and the shattered statues of mountain...