Although it looked close, the winding alleys made the way complicated. By the time the two hurried over, the huge, ghostly green shadow had already vanished, replaced by a sky full of flames!

The raging fire and billowing smoke seemed to appear out of nowhere, and in the blink of an eye, had engulfed the entire backyard of the shop. The sounds of crying and shouting filled the air.

The surrounding residents, startled awake by the sounds of burning and cries for help, hurriedly threw on clothes and grabbed water to come fight the fire.

Just moments ago, there hadn’t been a single spark—how did it suddenly become like this?

“I clearly checked everything before going to bed! Where did this fire start from?”

“Help—!”

“It’s a ghost, definitely a ghost!”

Amid the commotion, George Lambert quickly scanned the surroundings but didn’t spot any suspicious figures. In the vast darkness of the night, the wind sounded like a strange laugh.

Could it be...

Was there really some evil spirit at work?

Chapter 2: Lantern Monster?

“Cough, cough... It was definitely a ghost! I saw it with my own eyes!”

Thanks to the joint efforts of the neighbors, the fire didn’t spread and was extinguished in the backyard where it started. The entire courtyard was almost completely burned, but fortunately, there were no casualties.

Such a fierce fire—luckily it was discovered in time.

In the charred remains, the owner of the courtyard was miserably searching for whatever was left, while Daniel Parker was helping out with his strength.

George Lambert, on the other hand, was observing the area, looking for traces of where the fire had started, while also listening to the crowd’s discussions about the blaze.

Hearing someone insist it was a ghost, he looked over and asked, “You saw the ghost itself?”

“Yes!” The man began to recount, “I was relieving myself by the backyard wall when I suddenly saw a green light shoot up from the tavern’s backyard next door. It scared me so much I almost fell over. I’ve heard that outside the city, in the old graveyard, there are always restless spirits that turn into lantern monsters to look for substitutes. If you run into one, it’ll possess you!”

“Thinking about it now, I’m still a bit scared—my legs are still weak.” The man exaggerated his expression, making the listeners feel as if they were there. He grabbed a neighbor’s shoulder, “Help me up so I can keep talking.”

A kind neighbor immediately supported him.

“That ghostly shadow appeared out of nowhere, and then there was a thick cloud of smoke, and suddenly the whole place was on fire.” The man looked a bit proud. “Anyone else would have been scared to death! But I was brave, quickly pulled up my pants, and called for help. If I’d been any slower, the shops in front would have been gone!”

“You’re lying!” someone nearby shouted back. “When I came out, I clearly saw you hadn’t pulled up your pants.”

“Hey!” The man waved his hand angrily. “We’re talking about evil spirits here—why do you care whether I pulled up my pants or not?”

“Well, you still shouldn’t lie...” the neighbor retorted weakly. “I clearly saw... something small there...”

“Yeah, yeah, do I really have to admit I didn’t have time to pull up my pants?” The man was now both angry and embarrassed. “And do I have to mention I got it all over my hands and didn’t have time to wash? Or that I can still smell it myself? Do I have no dignity?”

“Ew—”

The neighbors all stepped back in disgust.

Only the neighbor supporting him shuddered, looking at the man’s hand rubbing his own arm in agitation, with a look of disbelief, as if to say: “Is this how you treat someone who’s helping you?”

Whether or not the man had pulled up his pants was not George Lambert’s concern. He had already lowered his head to continue searching the area, and suddenly made a discovery.

He bent down and saw white traces mixed in with the charred soil. Using a piece of cloth, he picked up the clump of scorched earth and examined it carefully.

His expression grew thoughtful.

Just then, a middle-aged woman in the crowd said, “I heard the tailor shop across the street caught fire the other day too. Such a shame about all that fine fabric—more than half of it burned up. The shopkeeper tried to save some and ended up with half his body burned! How did our good old Linmen Street suddenly get so unlucky?”

An old man who looked a bit eccentric chimed in, “I heard there are a lot of wronged souls from the previous dynasty buried under this street. Now they’ve all turned into lantern monsters to take revenge.”

“Huh?” Panic immediately spread through the crowd. “What are we supposed to do?”

Squatting on the ground, rummaging through the debris, George Lambert finally stood up. He tucked a bundle into his chest, cleared his throat, and his tall figure and handsome face immediately stood out in the crowd.

“Ahem!”

Everyone looked over.

“Neighbors, the cause of the fire will be investigated by the authorities, so there’s no need to panic or believe in baseless rumors,” George Lambert said loudly. “Don’t talk about lantern monsters causing trouble before anything is confirmed. Even if there really is such a thing, it’s not some powerful demon or evil spirit—the court can deal with it easily.”

“If the court can handle it, I beg them to hurry up,” someone immediately lamented. “Otherwise, with fires breaking out every day, who knows whose turn it’ll be next? How are we supposed to live in constant fear?”

Someone else muttered, “If you ask me, we should have sold our houses a few days ago. Where can you get such a good price now?”