My words have become law; I truly have no desire to display my divine power before others.

Between the pages, one can also see densely packed runes drawn with cinnabar.

The "head" rolled to the ground; it was still made of paper, its eyes still moving, its mouth opening and closing, making a strange "hoho" sound.

His body swayed and he fell backward.

The moment it fell to the ground, the paper began to spontaneously combust—not with flames, but with a strange, eerie green phosphorescent fire that quickly engulfed the paper, turning it into a clump of black ash.

From Ye Qingfeng saying "crash the party" to the maid's paper figure being decapitated, the whole process took no more than three breaths.

The guests in the hall finally realized what was happening.

"ah--!!!"

The first scream erupted from the mouth of a wealthy merchant's concubine. She pointed at the still-wriggling paper doll's head on the ground, her eyes rolled back, and she fainted.

Then came the second sound, the third sound...

"Murder!! Murder!!!"

"It's a paper doll! That maid is a paper doll!!"

"A ghost! There's a ghost!!!"

Panic erupted like a plague.

Guests screamed and jumped up from their seats, overturning tables and chairs, smashing cups and plates, and spilling food and soup everywhere.

People scurried around like headless flies, some rushing towards the door, some running upstairs, and some crawling under the table, trembling with fear.

The entire first floor of the Moonlit Pavilion was in complete chaos.

Ye Qingfeng stood still, his expression remaining calm. He flipped his left hand over, palm facing up, and gently rubbed his fingertips together.

"puff."

A tiny spark ignited at his fingertips.

The spark was tiny, like a firefly on a summer night, orange-red and warm, and looked completely harmless.

Ye Qingfeng flicked his finger.

The Mars drifted and flew toward the waist-high stage in the center of the hall, landing on the scarlet carpet.

"boom--!!!"

The moment the Mars touched the ground, it exploded!

It wasn't an explosion, but a burning—pure, blazing, golden-red flames, like an awakened volcano, instantly engulfed the entire stage!

The flames were no ordinary fire; there was no black smoke, no acrid smell, but rather a sacred, burning heat.

Wherever it passed, the scarlet carpet turned to ashes, and the wooden stage beams crackled.

Instead of being charred, it seemed to have been purified, shedding a layer of murky gray-black hue.

The flames spread rapidly.

They climbed along the floor, up the beams, and licked the walls.

Strangely, the flames seemed to possess a spirit—they only burned things imbued with malevolent energy.

Ordinary tables, chairs, cups, plates, and clothes dropped by guests were not ignited by the flames.

However, if a paper decoration, a mural in a certain location, or even a few slow-moving maids gets a spark, it will immediately burst into flames and turn into ashes amidst screams!

"Samadhi True Fire," Ye Qingfeng proclaimed loudly, "It is specifically for burning away evil spirits."

Lin Zhenyuan and Zhao Damang stood behind him, looking at the hellish scene before them.

Even with their extensive experience in the martial world, their palms were sweating at this moment.

They gripped the knife hilts tightly, their eyes scanning their surroundings warily—the pimps and thugs had already realized what was happening.

They were surging towards the door from all corners, carrying sticks and short knives, their eyes fierce.

But what alarmed the two even more was the strange behavior among the guests.

In the chaos, several women ran and their makeup suddenly melted away, revealing the original color of the yellow paper underneath.

Some pimps tore open the outer garment, revealing not flesh and blood inside, but a paper skeleton supported by bamboo strips.

There was even a fat, wealthy businessman with a beautiful woman in his arms as the flames approached.

Suddenly she screamed, and her whole body deflated like a punctured balloon, leaving only a thin piece of paper with a picture of a beautiful woman on it, which floated to the ground.

"How many paper figures are there in this Moon-Viewing Boat?!" Zhao Damang's voice was dry.

Ye Qingfeng did not answer.

He stood at the doorway, sword in hand, his gaze sharp as lightning, sweeping over everyone who tried to rush out the door.

The flames had spread to half of the hall.

A wave of intense heat rushed towards him, and the golden-red flames cast flickering shadows on Ye Qingfeng's profile.

His gray Taoist robe fluttered in the hot wind, but his hand holding the sword remained as steady as a rock.

"Help! Let me out!!"

A wealthy merchant dressed in brocade robes scrambled to the door, carrying a disheveled young woman in his arms.

The woman trembled, tears streaming down her face, and looked utterly pitiful.

The wealthy businessman, seeing Ye Qingfeng, clung to him like a lifeline: "Daoist Master! Daoist Master, spare my life! Let me out! I have money, I'll give you money!!"

Ye Qingfeng's gaze fell on the woman, and he held his jade sword horizontally to block her path.

"You can leave," he said calmly. "She stays."

The wealthy merchant was stunned, and the woman in his arms cried even harder: "Sir! Don't leave me! Please!"

"Master, this..." The wealthy merchant looked troubled.

"She's a paper doll." Ye Qingfeng's tone was flat.

"What?!" The wealthy businessman looked down at the woman in his arms, who was tearful and shaking her head vigorously.

"Master, I'm not! I'm not a paper doll! This Taoist priest has gone mad with murderous intent, you must believe me!"

The wealthy businessman hesitated.

Just then, a fierce glint flashed in the woman's eyes, and her hand, hidden in her sleeve, suddenly shot out.

That wasn't a human hand, but a sharp claw made of folded paper with red nail polish, piercing straight into the wealthy businessman's heart!

"puff!"

The claws pierced three inches into the flesh, but were blocked by a pale golden barrier that suddenly lit up.

Ye Qingfeng flicked his sleeve, and an invisible barrier of energy protected the wealthy merchant.

The woman screamed and pulled back, her pitiful face beginning to twist and melt, revealing the true form of the yellow paper underneath.

On the surface of the paper, cinnabar runes shimmered with a ghostly light.

"Did you see clearly?" Ye Qingfeng looked at the still-shaken businessman.

The wealthy businessman was terrified and scrambled out the door, disappearing into the night without looking back.

Upon realizing her identity had been exposed, the paper doll woman let out a fierce shriek, and her ten fingers transformed into ten sharp paper spikes, lunging towards Ye Qingfeng!

Ye Qingfeng didn't even look at her directly.

With a casual swipe of the iron sword.

A pale golden sword light flashed past, and the paper doll woman froze on the spot. Then it split in two, turning into two burning pieces of paper that fell to the ground and turned to ash.

All of this was witnessed by the guests who had not yet escaped.

The panic was compounded by an even deeper layer of fear.

It turns out that many of the beautiful women and attentive maids around me were not human at all, but paper puppets in human skin!

"Real person on the left, paper figure on the right." Ye Qingfeng's voice echoed in the hall, drowning out the sounds of burning flames and screams.

"This humble Taoist priest is here to punish evil spirits, not to harm the innocent. Those who consider themselves human, exit from the left; as for paper puppets and evil objects, if they dare to approach—"

He tapped the tip of his sword, and a wisp of golden-red flame leaped across the blade.

"Both body and soul were destroyed."

As soon as he finished speaking, the doorway automatically parted into two paths.

Lin Zhenyuan and Zhao Damang stood on either side, holding knives that reflected the firelight, their faces grim.

Behind them was the open gate of the Moon-Viewing Boat, and outside the gate was the quiet, cold night of the street.

Inside the gate, a raging sea of ​​golden-red flames burned, a crowd cried and fled, and the paper puppets shrieked in despair as they materialized.