The blind man continued, "Because there are forests on both sides of the town, plum blossoms to the east and peach blossoms to the west, it was named Erlin Town."

"We were all living well in the town until the son of that family got married, that's where the trouble started."

I interrupted him, "What kind of person was this son? Did he live in the town from the beginning, or did he move here later?"

The blind man shook his head. "That family came to Erlin Town later. They weren't originally from Erlin Town. Later, they built a house in the town and moved in."

"I heard that the family was a military noble from the imperial court who was dismissed from office for offending someone, and that's why they came to the town. When they came, they had many maids and servants, as well as their original personal soldiers, who came along as guards."

"After that family came, they always kept a low profile. The master and young master rarely showed their faces, and the servants who came out to buy things didn't talk to people much."

"The people in the town all said that family wasn't ordinary. The servants who came out from their house always wore two strips of cloth around their waists, one red and one white."

Red and white hanging together, an evil-suppressing military noble?

Although the dynasties of the past didn't participate in the disputes of the mystic arts, when demons caused chaos or sorcerers rebelled, they would definitely send out brave generals to suppress them.

In addition to their official positions, most of the generals who suppressed rebellions also had titles, blessed by the dynasty's fortune.

Dynasty fortune, the fierce aura of a military officer, and mighty military power, all concentrated on one person, coupled with the imperial army, ordinary demons and monsters wouldn't dare to stand in their way.

Before the Qing Dynasty, there were no military generals who specialized in suppressing evil. In other words, any military noble in the court could dispatch troops to subdue demons.

After the Qing Dynasty, the concept of evil-suppressing military nobles appeared. These people didn't have high official positions, and the number of troops they could mobilize wouldn't exceed a thousand at most, but they would definitely have some kind of weapon powerful enough to suppress demons in their hands.

According to legend, the Zhen Guo military nobles of the Qing Dynasty were blessed by shamans, and the red and white strips of cloth they wore were their symbols.

Even today, during some auspicious or inauspicious events in the Northeast, the master of ceremonies will still wear red and white cloths.

When hanging the cloths, they would also shout, "Three feet of red cloth hanging on the body, fearing no demons or monsters. Three feet of white cloth draped on the body, the ghosts and gods of all directions must obey."

In the eyes of sorcerers, those are just pretentious things. The things that can ward off evil and block misfortune are actually stuffed in the master of ceremonies' pockets. However, the custom of hanging red and white cloths originated from shamans.

The evil-suppressing military nobles weren't sorcerers, but some were relatives of shamans. They had titles, but not much real power, and the court's disputes didn't involve them.

The fortune teller's statement about "that family being demoted" wasn't accurate. I suspected that the family's move to Erlin Town was for another purpose.

Unfortunately, just as a key clue appeared, I was trapped in Erlin Town and couldn't find other evidence.

The fortune teller continued, "After the old family lived here for about two or three years, everyone slowly got used to their strangeness."

"The real trouble happened the year the son of that family got married."

"That year, there was a heavy snow in the mountains that blocked the mountain passes, and every household couldn't leave the town. The family's wedding became a major event. Everyone knew that family was wealthy, and they were all waiting for the family to hold a banquet so they could have a good meal."

"Who knew that the family's wedding would become more and more frightening!"

As the fortune teller was speaking, the rope bells outside the house suddenly moved without wind. The sharp sound of the bells, like the wailing of ghosts, vibrated repeatedly close to the eaves. The fortune teller shuddered violently, "She's here, she's going to kill someone!"

I said in a deep voice, "Don't worry, the things outside can't come in, continue talking."

Lin Zhao turned around and kicked the table in the room towards the window. The Eight Immortals table spun several times in the air, its legs facing outwards, and smashed towards the window.

The Eight Immortals table completely sealed the window, and the light in the room dimmed.

Lin Zhao was setting up a coffin!

She knew that the rope bells she had set up could only serve as a warning and couldn't stop ghosts. So, she sealed the window with the table, turning the entire room into a coffin.

The ghosts outside wouldn't be able to break into the coffin easily, and even if they did, they would be trapped in the room. There were three of us here, so protecting this fortune teller wouldn't be too difficult.

I said in a deep voice, "Don't worry about the outside, keep talking. If you want to get out, you have to let us know the truth."

The fortune teller listened for a while before continuing, "I'll talk... I'll talk..."

"That day, the people of the old family were constantly going in and out, but they didn't allow the villagers to get close to their courtyard. It wasn't until dusk that the old family threw out a large number of ropes with knives tied to them from the courtyard."

"The entire courtyard wall was covered with long knives. When the moonlight shone on it, the cold light on the wall was so dazzling that people couldn't open their eyes."

Hanging Knife Gate!

Ye Yang and I looked at each other at the same time.

Hanging Knife Gate is one of the top sects in the world of mystic arts. Although it can't compare to the Upper Four Gates, it definitely has a place in the top ten.

The biggest characteristic of the Hanging Knife Gate is that before making a move, they hang knives as a signal. Those who don't respect this knife will be beheaded.

The blind fortune teller, unaware of our shock, continued, "As soon as that family hung up the knives, we felt that something was wrong. Who hangs knives when they're holding a wedding? Everyone was afraid to get close to that family."