"It's here..." Aunt Li leaned closer to the nephew, gripping his arm tightly, her lips pressed together, her whole body taut—trying to appear strong, yet clearly still afraid. "Don't be afraid," Zhang Yuanqing gently released her hand, adding, "Just sit by the bed, don't go with them." This was a personal consideration—he knew that once the werewolves surged into the cottage, the crowd gathered together would be their primary target. That way, Aunt Li, who would be on the other side, would be safer. Of course, he would do his best to protect the civilians. But he wasn't sure if he had that ability after all. He chuckled to himself. As a master-level artifact, protecting Aunt Li would require him to give everything he had. In his ethereal state, his options and powers were limited, and family safety would always remain his top priority. Watching Jiang Yu Ei shrink neatly to the edge of the bed, Zhang Yuanqing gave a satisfied "hush" gesture. His aunt's greatest strength was her politeness and obedience—though she often maintained a formal, elder-like demeanor in his presence, she was remarkably attentive and compliant when it came to matters at hand. She would surely be a well-mannered, obedient wife when she married. Zhang Yuanqing hurried toward the fireplace, lowering his voice and instructing: "All of you, be quiet..." Under the weight of the golden mask, the six nodded in unison. At that moment, heavy footsteps paused outside the door, and the outside remained pitch black and utterly silent. Inside, the group clutched each other tightly, like chicks huddled together, breathless and motionless. The monster outside, for some unknown reason, failed to break through the door. A strange, eerie stillness settled both within and without the wooden house. Ordinary people's hearing was too delicate, and their perception not sharp enough; after listening intently, Zhang Yuanqing failed to detect any unusual sounds and thus moved slowly toward the wooden door. In the silent darkness, he stared fiercely at the wooden door, taking each step with careful caution. One step, two steps, three steps... Zhang Yuanqing held his breath and finally reached the door. He pressed his face close to it, trying to peer through the crack to observe the outside. The moment he looked, his breath caught sharply. Outside the crack was a pale, sickly green eye, filled with brutality and coldness, pressed firmly against the outer surface of the door. It had been watching him through the crack all along. As the two eyes locked onto each other, the green eye suddenly contracted, as if startled by the golden mask. "Hh-hh~" A stream of extremely cold exhalation burst out instinctively. Crack-crack... a delicate sound of freezing, as ice crystals spread from within the crack, like a gust of wind from the Arctic. Zhang Yuanqing, pressed tightly against the door, felt the first impact—his face tingled, and a thin layer of ice swiftly covered half of his face. "Clang!" The next moment, the relatively weak wooden door was violently slammed open, and a tall, broad-shouldered figure bent at the waist, rushing inside. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanqing, who had been on high alert, had already stepped aside and avoided being struck by the flying door. But the ordinary people standing directly in front of the door, near the fireplace, were less fortunate—they took a solid hit from the door. "Ah!" cries erupted instantly, sending the scene into chaos. Zhang Yuanqing leaned against the wall, gazing at the figure that had entered—the creature was nearly four meters tall. Its body was covered in dense, steel-like black fur, with white underfur and black, sharp claws. The figure's tall, well-proportioned frame exuded strength. Its long muzzle jutted out from its face, crowned with sharp fangs that exhaled icy breaths. Its deep, emerald-green eyes shimmered with cruelty and bloodlust. "Crack… crack…" The sound of ice crystals forming echoed continuously throughout the room, spreading rapidly outward from where the werewolf stood, freezing the ground and the tables and chairs. Those huddled against the wall, screaming incessantly, now had scattered ice fragments clinging to their clothes. Even the werewolf, bent double with his head nearly touching the beam, lowered his gaze and fixed his fierce, bloodthirsty stare upon the six ordinary people who were trembling with fear. The physical defense is comparable to that of a Level 4 Mountain God—far weaker than I expected. Could it be this item isn't actually a Sovereign-tier artifact? I'll lure it outside first. Zhang Yuanqing turns and darts off, summoning the Ghost Bride to guard his aunt. This is to prevent the werewolf from being deceived and slaughtering the ordinary civilians inside. The Ghost Bride carries a sparsely haired infant and drifts toward his aunt, standing beside her. "Ah-ah-ah..." The lively toddler, upon seeing Jiang Yuye, acts like an unruly child, struggling desperately to climb out of the Ghost Bride's arms and rush toward the new mother's leg. Yet, when the Ghost Bride raises her darkly polished fingers and gently strokes the toddler's head, he becomes still and motionless. After breaking through the door, he summons the Red Slippers, activates the wearing mode, and steps into a steady glow of deep red light, swiftly retreating. At this moment, just as the werewolf's spiritual pain began to ease, a sharp, burning ache surged in its waist. It turned angrily, swiping its claws, but the cunning human had already slipped out of the cottage and was racing toward the distant forest. "Ahh-wooo!" it cried out in a short, clear roar, lowering itself to the ground and moving on all fours to pursue the fleeing figure. Zhang Yuanqing had barely stepped out of the house when he heard heavy yet swift footsteps behind him. He turned to see a massive wolf, its shoulders towering above an ordinary adult, rushing through the moonlight. With each stride, soil and wild grass quickly solidified into white frost, inch by inch freezing over. In just two heartbeats, the wolf closed the distance and caught up, leaping high to pounce. What on earth was this speed? Zhang Yuanqing was stunned. The light above dimmed as the giant wolf's broad form blocked the moonlight, and it seemed certain to knock him down. Suddenly, as the wolf charged, Zhang Yuanqing surged forward with a sudden burst of speed, sliding and clearing ten meters in a single motion, leaving the wolf's pounce empty. In terms of evasion, Red Dance Shoes never fail. With high defense, strong power, and swift speed, she's essentially a perfect replica of the Enchantress, complete with an ice-based skill that makes close combat nearly impossible. Zhang Yuanqing sadly realized that in this world resembling a quest realm, he simply couldn't defeat the werewolf. At least, not while embodied in a regular human form. After the slide-and-dash maneuver, he rose and continued to sprint, the two of them pursuing each other under the moonlight, leaving behind trails of ice that froze all living things in their path. Gradually, Zhang Yuanqing noticed that Red Dance Shoes' evasive abilities began to falter. On several occasions, he nearly fell to the werewolf's attack, his back brushed twice by the wolf's claws. Though he managed to evade at critical moments, the ice damage caused muscle strain. On one hand, Red Dance Shoes' evasion isn't flawless—it has a ceiling to its effectiveness. On the other hand, the werewolf's icy damage was steadily eroding his muscles, freezing his blood, and gradually slowing his movements. It can't go on like this. If close combat isn't possible, let's try the spirit bride's methods. Zhang Yuanqing didn't hesitate—he immediately summoned his wife to join the fight. This is the ethereal aura of a werewolf—now it suddenly makes sense why the ghost bride could not contain the wolf. His arrival had disrupted the balance, and the werewolf had completely lost the upper hand. With the ghost bride's assistance, Zhang Yuanqing suppressed the werewolf's spiritual force while maneuvering within this body, lifting his left claw and driving it fiercely into the heart. Unable to engage in close combat, he would instead strike from within the enemy's core—this is precisely the strength of the Night Wandering Deity. For other lawful-class professions, facing such a situation would typically mean certain death, unless they were at the peak of a Saint's rank. "Plunged!" The claw struggled slightly to pierce the chest, finally extracting the vibrant, beating heart. With a gentle squeeze, the wolf's claw crushed the heart to pulp. Just as Zhang Yuanqing exhaled in relief, the dying werewolf managed to lift his head and howl toward the moon. "Aah, aah-woo!" The resonant wolf's cry echoed through the night, rippling through the forest. The moonlight suddenly brightened, awakening the negative energies in the forest. Within the hollow chest of the werewolf, a powerful pulsation surged once more—its heart had grown anew. At the same time, the negative energies nourished and strengthened the werewolf’s spiritual essence, while a tidal wave of chaotic, violent mental forces surged through its consciousness. Zhang Yuanqing and the ghost bride were suddenly propelled out. "Roar of the moon?" It seemed the werewolf could indeed roar at the moon. No—this amplification was even more astonishing. Zhang Yuanqing could hardly believe it. Since becoming a night wanderer, he had never encountered a creature more adept at harnessing the power of the lunar energy than this one. While the night wanderer, though belonging to the yin domain, leaned more toward the realm of lingering grievances, this werewolf was a pure embodiment of yin essence. The former utilized yin energy; the latter seemed to be the very embodiment of it. To put it more vividly, this werewolf was like a night wanderer who specialized in the power of the full moon, yet lacked the authority over the spiritual realm. At this moment, the werewolf, nurtured by the feminine energy, had grown several inches taller, now standing at five meters, its thick fur revealing powerful, sinewy muscles, radiating a terrifying black aura that quickly solidified a thin layer of ice on the ground. "Hmph-hmph~" Its deep emerald eyes, streaked with blood, were filled with chaos and fierce determination. It locked onto the ghost bride floating in the air and Zhang Yuanqing, repeatedly leaping and lunging, only to miss each time. Though a creature of the feminine nature, it lacked the means to strike at ethereal beings. "Ah!!" Suddenly, a cry rang out at the edge of the forest. The young man, whom Zhang Yuanqing had been kneeling beside, regained his composure and gasped in terror to find himself no longer inside the wooden cottage—his monstrous adversary now stood just beyond. Overwhelmed by fear, he could no longer contain his shrieks. This cry drew the werewolf's attention; it swayed its massive head toward the young man in the distance. Driven by its primal instinct for slaughter, the werewolf roared deeply and surged forward, transforming into a dark shadow, charging straight at him. Damn it! Zhang Yuanqing's face paled slightly, and without hesitation, he activated the Golden Face Mask. In his ethereal form, golden light radiated from his eyes, cutting through the night. With no other options, he decided to adopt the most extreme strategy—seizing the wolf's spirit and directly consuming it. But before that, he needed to first deliver a mental assault to weaken the wolf's spiritual resilience. "Aaaah!" The charging wolf, as if struck by a heavy blow, suffered a devastating mental shock, instantly losing consciousness while its body, due to inertia, rolled forward. The massive form rolled in a series of arcs and came to rest in front of the young man. The wolf staggered to its feet, dazed and disoriented, shaking its head vigorously before finally regaining awareness. The black aura swirling around its body had noticeably diminished. The young man sat down heavily on the ground, pale-faced, lifting his head to gaze at the fierce and terrifying creature, his groin flushed with a steady stream of warmth. Zhang Yuanqing emitted two more radiant golden beams, cutting off the werewolf's chance to recover and launching his final mental assault. The werewolf's body suddenly stiffened, its surface black aura growing weaker. "Wife, enter its body," roared Zhang Yuanqing—a sound only audible to the spirit of regret. The ghost bride's wedding gown swayed gently, successfully entering the werewolf's form and completing the spirit attachment during its mental disarray. Meanwhile, Zhang Yuanqing lifted his head and cried out toward the full moon in the sky. A bright, clear beam of moonlight descended directly upon him, instantly surging his spiritual essence. The vast expanse of negative energy, like an army summoned by a king, gathered around him. Then, he swiftly brushed his hand across his face. Immediately, the deep, earthy yellow tone covered the golden paint, and the red-black hues at his eyes, forehead, and mouth transformed, outlining a face marked with fury and agitation. Yellow-faced ability: +20% enhancement in physical conditioning and skill strength. The spiritual energy surged once more, and the surrounding yin qi began to boil. After completing all this, Zhang Yuanqing carried the wave of yin qi, crashing into the wolf's body and occupying its mind realm. This time, he did not suppress the chaotic and powerful spiritual essence, but instead employed the technique of devouring spirit, directly consuming it. Instantly, Zhang Yuanqing felt as though he had drunk a cup of poison—the frenzied, turbulent spiritual essence carried within concealed emotions of slaughter, bloodthirst, rage, and brutality, relentlessly damaging his consciousness and corrupting his spirit. This spiritual essence had no memory, composed solely of negative emotions and instinct. Without a mental assault to weaken it, without the enhancement from Xiao Yue's presence or the beneficial attributes of the Yellow-Faced entity, he doubted he would directly transform into a malevolent spirit. Yet even so, Zhang Yuanqing sensed his rationality rapidly fading, steadily shifting toward madness. There was no Fengmo杵 here, no Poshai seal. For heaven's sake, the medicine can't be taken haphazardly, nor can the spiritual essence—definitely not. Zhang Yuanqing forcibly gathered a thread of rationality, switched to the military spirit persona, and activated the blue face. The pollution that the Night Wandering Spirit absorbs never fades away—instead, it settles within the spirit like toxins, tolerated as long as the dosage is manageable. Once it exceeds the threshold, however, it causes mental confusion or dramatic shifts in temperament. Yet this is not a spiritual assault, and Lan faces no immunity. The wolf's spirit is even more impure than that of evil-class professions. Right now, my mind is flooded with relentless slaughter—because it belongs to a pure monster. How terrifying, then, is the mental pollution? In contrast, evil-class professions, at least, are still human, possessing humanity. In this state, I can no longer fight. If I can't escort my aunt out of here, I'll have to leave first, return to reality, and use the Purifying Seal to cleanse my negative emotions. Thinking this, Zhang Yuanqing lowered his gaze to the wolf's body. He had already prepared for the worst—he knew the wolf, though powerful, was not of master-tier status, clearly mismatched with the artifact's level. Therefore, there must be even more terrifying monsters awaiting him. But Zhang Yuanqing has another speculation: the "red-hat girl" is not a master-tier item, but rather a special-function item from the Saint-tier realm. For instance, it may incorporate certain functions of the master-tier items from the Eternal Night profession. While it exhibits some master-tier characteristics, its offensive power does not reach that level. This scenario is not uncommon—excellent examples include the sliding cleats and the perfect human skin. Though neither of these items possesses characteristics at the Saint-tier level, they fall short of the genuine master-tier items in terms of value and quality. Such items are typically considered top-tier among Saint-tier items. The Yin-Yang wheel is another example. Given that the "red-hat girl" has not appeared at any point throughout the story, Zhang Yuanqing finds the second hypothesis more credible. This isn't a dungeon raid where the main boss holds back—there's no reason for the major antagonist to remain concealed. More likely, the only real threat here is the werewolf, and the werewolf himself is the "red-hat girl." The information left behind by the cottage's owner also supports this point. Another piece of evidence is that the spirit of the werewolf has no memory—after all, even an animal should possess memory, unless it is merely a prop, not a genuine living being. In the span of a thought, Zhang Yuanqing saw the werewolf's body rise in a thick plume of black smoke, which then gradually dissipated. Only a triangular red hat remained in place. The ghost bride materialized and drifted back to her husband. Indeed, so it was—relieved, he felt a lightness throughout his body. Zhang Yuanqing landed before the triangular red hat, bent down to "pick it up," and examined its item properties.