I wield power with my innate talents, and forge the Heavenly Court.

After confirming that the blood-red moonlight outside did not have a significant impact, Ye Jianxing cautiously stepped out of the inn.

When fully exposed to the blood-red moonlight, Ye Jianxing felt an overwhelming chill creeping into his body.

Fortunately, he did not find any adverse effects. On the contrary, he felt refreshed and became more ethereal and clear-headed.

The internal energy within the body seemed to be constantly being purified, becoming increasingly refined.

If this continues, it probably won't be long before he can take another step forward and break through to the mid-stage of the Innate Realm.

Could it be that he was overthinking things?

In reality, these blood-red moonlights do not have any drawbacks.

Seeing that Ye Jianxing was not in any trouble, the rest of the group also left the inn and basked in the blood-red moonlight.

Feeling their minds become clearer, and their internal energy being purified little by little, everyone couldn't help but show surprise on their faces.

"I never expected the blood moon to have such an effect!"

"I feel that I only need two or three days under this blood moon to break through to the Innate Realm."

Then, I can become a flag bearer too.
When the time comes, if you, sir, are qualified to serve as the commander-in-chief, I will be a junior officer under your command.

In the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard, only those with strength exceeding the Innate Realm were allowed to hold official positions with real power.

Just like Ye Jianxing, who was a strongman in the early stage of the Innate Realm, he was able to serve as a junior officer or even a captain, leading fifty Imperial Guards.

If one reaches the middle stage of the Innate Realm, one can serve as a trial centurion or a centurion official.

In the later stages of the innate realm, one can serve as a commander of a thousand households.

Those who reach the Grandmaster level can serve as Commander-in-Chief, Deputy Commander, and Commander.

Of course, this is a rough division at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty.

By now, many of the rules have actually been broken.

In particular, many of the positions in the Embroidered Uniform Guard were passed down from father to son.

Naturally, many generals simply did not possess the corresponding abilities.

Of course, although these people inherited official positions and received corresponding salaries, they actually had little ability to control their subordinates.

After all, if you ask someone who has acquired skills to command someone who has acquired skills, even the person who has acquired skills would probably feel apprehensive.

One wrong move and you could be slapped to death.

As a result, many of the Imperial Guards who succeeded their fathers in their positions were unable to even fill their quotas.

The rank of junior officer and senior officer are considered relatively good. Even if they are only acquired through training, most of their subordinates are also acquired through training, so they can still be barely suppressed by the prestige of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

However, if one holds a higher position but lacks the corresponding ability, one will definitely be all alone.

Of course, there are also many people who, despite having reached the required level of ability, are unable to get promoted for a long time.

Although after Wei Zhongxian came to power, both the Eastern Depot and the Embroidered Uniform Guard regained some of their former glory.

However, many of its drawbacks are still difficult to completely eliminate.

Or rather, many of these problems are also due to Wei Zhongxian.

In short, the Ming Dynasty's Imperial Guards are no longer what they once were.

Otherwise, given Ye Jianxing's achievements and abilities, he would be more than qualified to serve as a captain.

For ordinary people to get promoted, the corresponding strength and merit are just the most basic requirements.

In other words, for an ordinary person to be promoted to the rank of Junior Flag, they need at least the Innate Realm and sufficient merit.

As junior officers who rose through the ranks, Ye Jianxing's Jinyiwei (Imperial Guards) had accumulated considerable merit.

The only thing lacking is strength.

Once you improve your skills, getting promoted is quite easy.

At the Innate Realm, one is already considered a powerful figure. Even if one is not as strong as a Grandmaster or Great Grandmaster, one is still worth recruiting by the Embroidered Uniform Guard with the position of a junior officer.

In fact, only now is the Ming Dynasty relatively stable, and the reputation of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has been revived.

Otherwise, trying to win over innate experts by offering only minor positions would be rather petty.

If placed in a prestigious sect or family, he would at least be a pillar of strength.

On the other side, after realizing the benefits of the crimson moonlight, it took a while for everyone's excited emotions to calm down.

Immediately afterwards, everyone began to look around at their surroundings.

The entire town was eerily quiet, without a sound, completely devoid of the daytime hustle and bustle, not even the chirping of insects or birds.

A hazy, blood-red moonlight shone down, casting a crimson hue over the streets and houses, making the scene appear eerie and sinister.

Looking up, a blood moon, seemingly capable of dripping blood, hung in the sky, surrounded by thick, dark clouds. Only where the blood moon was, there was a thin layer of mist.

It was as if it were done on purpose, reserved specifically for the blood moon's light to fall.

Overall, it looks like a blood-red single eye, looking down on the town from the sky.

After staring at it for a while, Li Jianxing and the others even felt that the blood-red single eye seemed to blink slightly, revealing a hint of mockery.

Upon seeing this, everyone couldn't help but rub their eyes hard and gaze at the blood moon in the sky once more.

The blood moon hung silently in the sky, seemingly unchanged.

"Hoo~!"

Seeing this, everyone couldn't help but secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Immediately, Ye Jianxing directed the group of five to begin a thorough inspection of the inn.

After checking, everyone was horrified to discover that not only the innkeeper and waiter, but also all the surrounding residents had vanished without a trace.

It was as if all the people in the town had vanished in an instant.

This strange situation immediately put Ye Jianxing and the others on high alert.

"Ah~!"

Just as Ye Jianxing was preparing to leave the town once everyone had returned, he suddenly heard a scream coming from the back door of the inn.

"Hmm~?"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately looked in that direction. Ye Jianxing quickly mobilized his inner energy, leaped onto the courtyard wall in a flash, and sped towards the back door.

Seeing this, the others also jumped up and ran quickly towards the back door.

When Ye Jianxing arrived at the back gate, he saw three Imperial Guards fleeing in panic toward the front yard.

Ye Jianxing flashed and instantly appeared in front of the three of them.

"Ah~! Ghost!"

In an instant, the three of them screamed again and turned to run away.

"it's me!"

Frowning at the disheveled three, Ye Jianxing couldn't help but raise his voice in annoyance and shout.

Upon hearing Ye Jianxing's voice, the three of them relaxed slightly, their running figures gradually stopping as they nervously turned around to look.

Seeing that it was indeed Ye Jianxing, the three of them finally relaxed completely and quickly stepped forward, saying in a panicked tone:
"grown ups!"

"What happened? What's going on here? Where are the other two? Didn't we tell you not to separate?"

"It's gone! It's disappeared!"

It has melted.

There are ghosts here, unseen ghosts.

"It was...it was eaten up by money."

"Dead, dead, they're all dead."

Hearing the three men's incoherent answers, Ye Jianxing frowned. What ghost? What was eaten by the silver?

Without thinking, Ye Jianxing once again took a deep breath and shouted.

"Quiet! One at a time, speak slowly, tell me from beginning to end what exactly happened?" "Yes! Yes, yes!"

After being intimidated by Ye Jianxing's innate true energy, the three of them finally calmed down a bit and then recounted the whole story.

Just now, the group of five of them were scouting the situation at the back door and entered a house across the street from the back door.

Then they found dozens of taels of silver in a hidden compartment, and the two men, overcome by greed, took it.

Originally, they were going to share some with the three of them.

However, before they could even distribute the silver to them, just as the two reached the door, a burst of bloody light suddenly erupted from the silver coins, quickly enveloping them.

Under this blood-red light, the two bodies rapidly dissolved, quickly turning into blood-red light as well, and then merging into the silver.

The remaining three were immediately terrified and fled, where they encountered Ye Jianxing.

Upon hearing this, Ye Jianxing's heart stirred slightly, and he spoke in a deep voice:
"Where is it? Take me there."

"This"

Upon hearing Ye Jianxing's words, the three exchanged hesitant glances, none of them willing to return to that eerie place.

However, as members of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, they dared not disobey Ye Jianxing's orders.

Finally, after Ye Jianxing's expression suddenly darkened and a faint aura of innate power locked onto the three of them, the three of them still hesitantly led Ye Jianxing and the others who arrived later towards the courtyard opposite the back door of the inn.

Sure enough, the back door of the inn and the courtyard opposite were both wide open, clearly the work of the group.

"Hoo~!"

Taking a deep breath, the group cautiously stepped into the courtyard. Right in front of a bedroom, they saw the dozens of carts of silver that the three men had mentioned earlier.

But now, they lay scattered on the ground, their blood-red bodies gleaming with a metallic sheen under the crimson moonlight.

but
After careful observation, Ye Jianxing suddenly asked the three of them a question.

"Are you sure it's several tens of taels of silver?"

"Ok!"

"Of course. In a small town like this, it's already quite rare for a family to have a few dozen taels of silver."

"It definitely won't exceed one hundred taels."

"is it?"

Ye Jianxing pointed to the scattered silver coins in front of him and spoke solemnly.

“Take a closer look, does it look like it only contains a few dozen taels of silver?”

"Uh"

Upon hearing this, everyone was slightly taken aback, and then they all began to examine the person carefully.

"Hmm? I have a feeling that it's at least two hundred taels of silver?"

"Yes, how could it only be a few dozen taels? It must be over two hundred taels, right?"

"Could it be that those two were lying, trying to take the lion's share?"

Some people couldn't help but speculate.

"It's indeed possible!"

Many people nodded in agreement.

Well, that's over two hundred taels of silver, so it's not impossible for something like that to happen.

In fact, most people will keep a portion of it.

At least, that's what they think.

However, Ye Jianxing offered a different opinion.

"Hmm, is it possible that there are other possibilities?"

"Other possibilities?"

For a moment, everyone was a little confused.

Looking at everyone, Ye Jianxing spoke slowly and inexplicably.

"For example, the silver increased in value after it consumed the two of them."

"."

The moment Ye Jianxing finished speaking, everyone fell silent. A chill ran down their spines and made the hairs on their bodies stand on end.

After a long while, someone swallowed hard and forced a smile, saying:
"Heh, heh heh, how... how is this possible?"

"How is this impossible?"

Ye Jianxing surveyed the courtyard bathed in the crimson moonlight and offered a calm rebuttal.

"Uh"

Everyone stared at the blood-red world, speechless.

Then think back to what the three men had said earlier: that silver had swallowed them both.

In this strange place, it seems not impossible that the silver could increase by devouring humans.

After a long silence, Ye Jianxing spoke again.

"Let's go back to the inn and check on its condition."

Be careful not to take things without permission.

Then we check if any valuable items have fallen from the ground.

".yes!"

Upon hearing Ye Jianxing's order, everyone was taken aback at first, but then they all seemed to understand what he meant.

Ye Jianxing believed that perhaps the person who had gone missing earlier had disturbed the valuables here and was then consumed by them.

The thought of that situation sent chills down everyone's spine.

Who could have imagined this?

Given the usual practices of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, it would be perfectly normal for them to collect money and valuables while on duty.

If they hadn't focused more on searching for missing persons and clues earlier, they might not have failed to collect gold, silver, and valuables.

Upon returning to the inn, after searching the area, the group indeed discovered several places where gold, silver, and other valuable items had been left behind.

Once they were all gathered together again, they fell silent.

Unexpectedly, it really is true.

Some of their past bad habits have now become their downfall.

However, as long as you don't just take things randomly, there shouldn't be any problems.

After some deliberation, Ye Jianxing decided that everyone should go to different parts of the town to check on its condition.

Watching everyone leave, Ye Jianxing looked at the restaurant across the street with its hanging white paper lanterns.

With his internal energy circulating, Ye Jianxing's figure flashed, and he instantly leaped into the restaurant through an open window.

The restaurant was eerily quiet, without a soul in sight, like a long-abandoned ghost town.

After checking the surroundings thoroughly and finding nothing, Ye Jianxing moved on to other places.

However, there was no one in several places, including the town mayor's residence and the houses on the outermost edge of the town.

Around dawn, Ye Jianxing and the others returned.

After exchanging information, it was finally confirmed that the entire town was completely empty, as if everyone had left.

Just as Ye Jianxing was contemplating whether to leave the town, the sound of a night watchman striking the gong suddenly came from afar.

"~!!"

One long and four short sips signal the approaching dawn. (End of Chapter)