To the north of Qingshan County Town stood the Beacon Tower.

    Cheng Yi gazed out the window at the pitch-black town.

    A long table was set before him, on which lay a bright yellow charm for suppressing spirits, spread out flat on the surface.

    Upon it were twelve red dots, each in its place, arranged in a circle.

    Cheng Yi pulled out a large bottle of Palace Red and poured it onto the table.

    The Palace Red automatically contracted and bunched together to form a huge, fist-sized red sphere resembling a glass bead.

    Cheng Yi took a deep breath and began to chant lengthy Curse Words.

    At first, it was a low humming by one person; gradually, it seemed as though two voices overlapped, and if continued, it sounded as though a thousand people were chanting at once.

    In the end, it became a bizarre and indescribable Curse Command.

    The crystal ball-like Palace Red instantly turned into a puddle, swiftly seeping into the bright yellow scroll.

    Hum!

    An invisible fluctuation radiated from Cheng Yi as the origin point and rapidly spread along the circle defined by the twelve Soul-Calming Stakes.

    "It''s done," Cheng Yi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to Tu Shan, "I have temporarily suppressed the ghosts in the town, making them unable to manifest. We can send someone into the town tonight."

    "I heard that the rebels to the north slaughtered the city, with tens of thousands dead," Tu Shan squinted.

    "We indeed don''t have enough people, but with the other two families, we will," said Cheng Yi indifferently.

    "Will they be that obedient?" Tu Shan was skeptical.

    "As long as we make a move, they will have to follow," Cheng Yi sneered, "Do you think they would be content to stand by and watch us reap the benefits?"

    "Not content," Tu Shan chuckled.

    "Once the blood sacrifice is initiated, the Thousand Mechanism Token will appear," said Cheng Yi calmly.

    "How much you can grab depends on your skills," Tu Shan hinted at taking him away.

    "Why don''t you go with them? Without you in charge, those eleven guys are no good," Tu Shan said with a look of difficulty.

    Cheng Yi calmly said, "I''m afraid you''ll kill the donkey after the grinding is done and steal my Thousand Mechanism Token."

    Tu Shan chuckled, "How could that be possible."

    Cheng Yi glanced at him but didn''t speak.

    If I weren''t still useful to you, you would have made your move by now, wouldn''t you?

    The incitement and discord sown by Sikou Qing were effective after all.

    ...

    The next morning, Chen Mu continued to wash and chop vegetables with the Logistics Army.

    The group appeared normal, but everyone''s eyes darted around furtively.

    The short and stout Zheng Yuan was especially keen on sidling up to Chen Mu, looking like he had something to say but hesitating.

    "Why don''t you just shout it out loud, saying you want to desert, that you want to run?" Chen Mu teased him when he saw Zheng Yuan''s hesitant look once again.

    "Keep your voice down!" The short and stout man''s face turned white with fear.

    "You sure have some nerve!" Usually, others teased him with that line; this was the first time he used it to tease someone else.

    "Who isn''t scared!" Zheng Yuan glared at Chen Mu, "Look at your uncle Seven, his calves are trembling!"

    "The unclean things have all been driven away by the Tangshan Army."

    "Our time to strike it rich has come!"

    "Later, we will follow the Tangshan Army to clean up Qingshan County Town. The loot we gather will be split in half, with the rest being ours!"

    A wave of excited chatter immediately rippled through the group.

    "Don''t be skeptical," the fat officer continued, "the two dozen people beside me quietly went into town to scout this afternoon. Look at their gains."

    Everyone''s attention shifted to the twenty or so beaming men in front of the platform.

    These men wore ill-fitting, odd clothes of extravagance, their hands full of copper coins, Silver Pieces, pearls, and gold hairpins.

    The already noisy crowd became even more boisterous.

    "Line up, march!" the fat officer waved his hand grandly and took the lead out of the military camp.

    "I never expected such a chance to strike it rich!" Zheng Yuan''s beady eyes instantly bulged out round with excitement.

    "Something''s not right," Chen Mu had a bad premonition, "Why can''t the fortune-making wait until tomorrow? You can''t see anything in the dark."

    "Didn''t Qu Zhang just say we''re going now to beat the clock?" one of the Logistics Army hastily retorted, "If we wait till tomorrow, wouldn''t the loot be snatched away by those other two groups?"

    Chen Mu glanced at the man and then discreetly surveyed a few others.

    "Wealth tempts the heart."

    Civil laborers are just like a field of leeks; if you don''t let the leeks grow properly and suddenly let them strike it rich, then this Qingshan County is off-limits!

    Without speaking further, he quietly retreated to the end of the line.

    Taking advantage of the others'' distraction, he quickly left the formation and arrived at the tent of the Firehead Camp. He lifted the ground cover, revealing a dark, large hole.

    "It''s chaotic outside with too many people; it''s safer to travel through the tunnel."

    With his skills, he could naturally become invisible with the Ghosts.

    But in this chaotic scene, Bai Miaojin and Cui Cui were definitely outside too.

    If the two caught him, they would easily guess that he wanted to leave.

    If they dug deeper, they might speculate that he had obtained the Thousand Mechanism Token. If they turned hostile, he would be caught between a rock and a hard place.

    Just as he was about to jump down, footsteps reached his ears.

    It wasn''t long before a short, sly-looking fat man burrowed into the tent first.

    Following him were Sun Enqi and a slim member of the Logistics Army.

    "Why aren''t you going to get rich?" Chen Mu asked the three in surprise.

    With an awkward stammer, Zheng Yuan responded, "If you, with all your courage, don''t dare to go, I am even less daring."

    The logic was clear and sound.

    Chen Mu couldn''t help but laugh. This little fellow was quite clever.

    "You gotta be alive to spend money," Sun Enqi shook his head and wryly smiled, "With the dark night and strong winds stirring greed, what if someone gets stabbed?"

    "Uncle Seven is a sensible man," Chen Mu nodded in agreement.

    "I...I miss my wife," the last slim Firehead Army soldier spoke, "If we follow them into town, we won''t be able to leave for a short time. Besides, I''ve saved enough military pay."

    Heh!

    Chen Mu instantly laughed, "You are a good man indeed."