Eli had just helped the woman in green up. After subconsciously glancing at her face, he was so startled that he fell straight onto the ground.

Clark saw the woman in green’s face. Although he didn’t cry out, his pupils contracted slightly.

The upper half of the woman’s face looked no different from that of an ordinary girl of sixteen or seventeen—her skin was fair and delicate, her features as beautiful as a painting. But from the nose down, her mouth was a ferocious beast’s maw with yellow-green markings, and both cheeks were covered in shaggy animal fur.

“Monster!”

The three woodcutters also saw the woman’s face clearly. Each was so terrified their souls nearly left their bodies, scrambling and crawling out of the hall without looking back.

“A demon beast? No, there’s no demonic aura on her at all—otherwise I would have noticed immediately. Could she be a half-demon? That’s possible, but it’s said half-demons are born with astonishing magical power, and there’s not the slightest fluctuation of power from her. She seems just like a mortal. Unless…”

This Clark paid no attention to the woodcutters’ actions. Instead, he stared at the terrifying face of the girl in green, a contemplative look on his face.

Eli, seeing that Clark said nothing, could only get up again. After swallowing a few times to steady his nerves, he bravely fed the girl a pill from a small bottle, then took out a gourd from his robe and poured a few mouthfuls of water down her throat.

It seemed the Spring Transformation Pill was remarkably effective. Moments later, the woman in green slowly regained consciousness from her coma. She first looked around in panic, then seemed to understand something, and after a sigh of relief, managed to sit up straight. She bowed to Clark and said, “Thank you, benefactor, for saving me. But I must leave here at once, or I’ll bring you mortal danger.”

Though her face was terrifying, her voice was surprisingly gentle and sweet.

“Miss, who exactly are you? And how did you get these injuries?”

“I’m afraid I don’t have time to explain, benefactor. I really must leave right now.” The girl gave a bitter smile, struggled to her feet, and headed for the hall’s entrance.

Clark watched, his gaze flickering, but said nothing more. Just then, three faint screams came from outside the hall—it sounded like the three woodcutters who had just left.

“This is bad, they’ve caught up.” The beast-faced girl’s face turned deathly pale when she heard the sounds. She hurried a few steps, trying to rush out the door, but after only a few yards, she collapsed to the ground again with a thud.

“With your injuries, where do you think you can go?” Clark shook his head at the sight.

By now, a thick, gloomy gray mist had appeared outside the hall, so dense you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face, as if the entire temple was shrouded within it.

Seeing the scene outside, the beast-faced girl’s face was full of despair. She knew it was too late to escape.

Eli blinked and looked curiously toward the hall door.

Clark glanced at the idol on the offering table, then at the mist outside the door, and couldn’t help but sigh. Just as he was about to say something to the girl, a series of low, ghostly wails came from the mist, followed by the sound of shuffling footsteps.

Clark immediately fell silent.

The rolling mist outside the hall suddenly parted to both sides, and four strange figures wearing different masks walked in.

The first two wore blue bronze armor. One was tall and wore a blue ox-faced mask; the other was thin and wore a yellow horse-faced mask.

The other two were graceful women with voluptuous figures, but their faces were covered by even more hideous skull masks—one blue, one red.

Chapter Three: The Four Ghosts of East Kiln

Clark saw the four and his face darkened slightly, showing a rare look of seriousness.

Eli, seeing the four masked men and women, darted behind Grant Sullivan with a “whoosh,” moving with such practiced ease it was as if he’d done it countless times before.

“Very good, very good! Wooden girl, you finally know what’s good for you and didn’t keep running. So, are you going to cut off your own legs, or do you want me to do it for you?” The ox-faced man looked over the three people in the temple, his gaze landing on the girl, and said viciously.

“I didn’t expect that after running for so long, you’d still catch me. Fine, according to the rules of the manor, I’ll cut off my own legs. But this has nothing to do with these two—just take me back.” The beast-faced girl, seeing the four appear, actually calmed down a lot and replied through gritted teeth.

“A mere beast slave dares to bargain with us! Have you forgotten the rules of the Ghost Manor? Anyone who sees the ghostly ones at work must be cleaned up. Fire Girl, these two mortals are yours. If I recall, your Bone Fire Technique still needs a lot of materials.” The ox-faced man sneered at her words.

“Ox-head, are you blind? You make it sound easy—these two aren’t mortals, they’re cultivators.” The woman in the red skull mask beside him replied with a cold laugh.

“Cultivators too? In such a remote place, what are the odds!” The ox-faced man was stunned, his gaze sweeping over the two again, finally settling on the cloth bundle beside Clark that glowed with a white light.