Feng Ruoxing said, "What should we do next?"

I narrowed my eyes and said, "The more the Reincarnation Division values Trap Yang River, the more we need to go and take a look."

"However, we can't let Liangjie Tang go to their deaths in this battle. Tomorrow, we'll go find Xia Zhou and Bei Yan Yungui."

Feng Ruoxing said, "Didn't the Immortal in the Painting say there would be a third person coming tonight?"

"The third person won't be coming." As I spoke, I leaned against a tree next to the bonfire and closed my eyes.

Not long after, I felt someone tugging at my clothes.

Instinctively, I rolled over to the side, but I didn't expect that the person grabbing my clothes would actually hug my arm and turn me back to my original position.

A hand even patted me gently on the back, like哄孩子 (hong haizi, lulling a child).

Damn it!

This is *gui pai chuang* (ghost patting the bed)!

*Gui pai chuang* is also a type of nightmare, but it's even more terrifying than a regular nightmare.

Many people have experienced nightmares while sleeping, which is commonly known as "ghost压床 (ya chuang, pressing the bed)."

When a person is being pressed down, their mind is exceptionally clear, but their body can't move at all. However, there is still a chance to break free from a *gui ya chuang*.

But it's not so easy to escape when you're being *gui pai chuang*.

When a person tries to break free from the nightmare, it pats you a couple of times like哄孩子 (hong haizi, lulling a child), causing you to lose your strength to struggle. Either you fall back asleep, or you get pressed down by the ghost again.

A chill ran through my heart as I clearly saw the old man appear before my eyes, holding a blood-stained rope in his hand, trying to measure it against my face.

Before the rope even reached my face, the stench of blood assaulted my nostrils.

A suicide rope!

Only a suicide rope, worn smooth by the neck of the dead, would be stained with blood.

Generally, those who clean up corpses will burn the suicide rope to prevent the ghost from attaching itself to the rope and seeking a substitute.

If a rope has been used to hang too many people, the rope itself can become a cursed artifact used for killing.

If a sorcerer holds it in their hand, they can control ghosts to kill people.

As the noose was brought towards my neck, my hands felt like they were being held down, refusing to obey my commands.

The Black and White Twin Blades were within reach, but I couldn't even touch the hilts.

I could only watch helplessly as the rope wrapped around the underside of my chin. Just as the other party was about to tighten the rope, a flash of cold light suddenly burst out from my pocket.

A blade of light rose from below, cutting the rope and the ghostly figure into two pieces.

I sat up abruptly and reached under my neck, but felt nothing.

Was I just dreaming?

As I wondered, I saw a hand holding two leaves emerge from my pocket.

Did Cang Jian take action in time to save my life?

After I took the leaves from Cang Jian's hand, I couldn't help but gasp.

Someone had actually drawn runes on the leaves.

The art of runes seems simple, but it's actually very difficult to master.

Runes themselves possess a certain power, and you can't just draw them anywhere. At the very least, the object bearing the rune must be able to withstand its power.

At this moment, Feng Ruoxing and the others also rushed over. Wang Xiaohuan picked up the leaf in my hand and said, "This is a Nightmare Rune, specifically for killing people in dreams."

"A sorcerer, no matter how great their abilities are when awake, can't resist this talisman in a dream."

As Feng Ruoxing spoke, she put the two leaves together.

The moment the Nightmare Rune in her hand closed, I saw Feng Ruoxing's eyes suddenly lose their luster, like a sleepwalker, and her body was writhing uncontrollably.

In the next second, a strangulation mark appeared on Feng Ruoxing's neck. The mark of the rope tightening against her skin appeared and immediately began to constrict her throat.

Ye Yang, who was closest to Feng Ruoxing, timely released a burst of sword energy, shattering the leaves in Feng Ruoxing's hand.

However, the strangulation mark on Feng Ruoxing's neck continued to deepen.

Ye Yang picked Feng Ruoxing up by the waist. "Quick, find out where the talisman is on her body!"

Wang Xiaohuan and I worked together, searching her from top to bottom several times, but we couldn't find where the talisman was.

Cang Jian, however, pulled a blade of grass with a rune drawn on it from under Feng Ruoxing's shoe.

Seeing that Feng Ruoxing was alright, Ye Yang put her down. "We've run into an expert!"

I turned to look at the tree in the distance, and my expression couldn't help but darken.

The other party didn't tamper with anything near the bonfire; instead, they hid their killing move in the tree.

If the wind didn't pick up at night, we might have been able to get through the night safely.

But once the night wind came, that leaf would have fallen on one of us.

The four of us each occupied a position to rest. If anyone encountered a problem, someone would rush from the middle of the clearing to rescue them.

And that person would definitely step on the blade of grass.

This plan seemed simple, but it was very precise.

If it weren't for the fact that we had Cang Jian, this top-notch assassin, hiding beside us, Wang Xiaohuan and the others would have seen me as a corpse strangled in my sleep tomorrow morning.

A cold light flickered in Ye Yang's eyes. "Is this a provocation or a warning?"

"Both!" I replied, "The one who made the move was the Immortal in the Painting. Only she had the chance to tamper with things near us."

"The Immortal in the Painting's little tricks can't scare me!"

"I'm determined to enter this Black Water Fort."