Is that a Wisp?

During the middle of the night, the tavern owner closed the tavern, sighing as he climbed above a table and grabbed the lantern, gazing at the purple flame within.

He then exited the tavern, carrying it as he walked through the streets. For some reason, despite the people walking past him, they didn't seem to have recognized him, assuming him to be some stranger. On top of that, they were unable to see the lantern he was holding.

Sporting a gentle smile, the tavern owner exited the city, arriving atop an inconspicuous hill, opening his mouth to unleash a certain bird's cry.

Caw! Caw!

There was silence after that, the eerie sounds of winds being the only thing present in the scene. The tavern owner calmly awaited at the place in silence, using the light from the purple flame to gaze at his surroundings.

Using the vantage point of the hilltop, he gazed at the town he was from.

"You're here?" After a couple of hours passed in such a fashion, a raspy voice resounded before a robed creature arrived, standing behind a large tree, only causing its beak to peek out.

"Yes." The tavern owner didn't say anything, extending the lantern as he nodded. "It's full."

"Good job," the creature muttered, exiting its hiding spot from behind the tree, revealing its bulky figure that reached a height of five meters. It seemed humanoid at first glance but sported winged limbs and a head that resembled a bird, displaying an unnaturally large beak.

It arrived before the tavern owner, opening its beak before making an inhaling action, sucking in the purple flames from the lantern, eating up all the flames.

"Come find me next month, same time," the creature said before disappearing in the shade of the night.

The tavern owner calmly stared at the scene for a couple of minutes before turning around, beginning to scale down the hill. Even though it was dark, his eyes had adjusted enough to barely make out his surroundings.

"After losing my family to that blasted lord, this is my only way of seeking revenge," he spoke casually, as if he was commenting about an unconcerned person's life. It was as if he was ready to destroy the entire town without even having a tinge of regret.

He then returned to his home, resting during the night. He was mostly devoid of negative emotions, for everything that he was able to generate had already been absorbed by the lantern. So, he was someone that was actually at a mental peace, no longer able to harbor any negative feelings.

Then again, without any negative feelings, he also lost the thought process capable of nurturing positive feelings.

So, he was like a vegetable that was able to think, move, and converse.

During the morning of the next day, he hung the lantern in the tavern, watching a small purple flame manifest by the end of the day. As he had a relatively large tavern, quite a lot of people streamed to it daily.

Since matters of importance among the common populace were typically discussed here, it also meant a gathering place for both positive and negative emotions. But thanks to the recent times where the Yin Beasts and Nightmares were constantly harassing the various towns and cities, not to mention the drop in public security, sanitation, food, water, and other basic resources due to the immigration, mostly negative emotions were abundant in the place.

'The Empire has some means to discover Nightmares and Yin Beasts. However, through this lantern, they are only partially created, at a level weak enough to escape detection. The Yin Ghost stores the flames in its body in discrete packets until it has gathered enough to make at least a couple of Nightmares,' he thought.

Yin Ghost!

It was on the same level as the Yin Dragon, one of the legendary Yin Beasts that had lived for more than two centuries. Unlike the Yin Dragon, it had only managed to kill one Imperial Meister. Then again, that was because it wasn't a battle-type Yin Beast but a strategic type.

It had mysterious powers that the Empire barely had much knowledge of and was elusive in nature. It always lived on mountain peaks, capable of escaping at tremendous speeds and was also able to glide through the air for short distances.

So, chasing after it was difficult. On top of that, it always had a habit of moving around, having an erratic pattern.

And now, the tavern owner was working together with such a creature, intending to destroy the town.

Moreover, the lantern wasn't a Demon Arms, but something produced using its ability, created with a part of its body. So, it wasn't registered in Daxia Ting's senses that oversaw the entire Empire.

Once the tavern owner had left the mountain, the Yin Ghost returned to its prior spot, continuing to stare at the town that glimmered like a large piece of necklace in the night. "I hate working with that weakling Demon, but there are some benefits with this trade. I'll be able to improve my strength once again after having been at an impasse for more than four decades."

It then began to walk away, muttering, "Well, it'll be fun to see how the Daxia Empire deals with such a threat. I'll finally be able to free master from his seal. Only he can rule over this world."

Smirking, its beak opened to exhale a purple smoke, vanishing soon after.

…

Krune bode farewell to his family and the rest of the Liu Clan, holding his baggage as he accompanied the imperial caravan to head towards the capital.

He had already put forth joining the Imperial Academy for a year now. With the County Arms being distributed, he was informed that those in the Imperial Academy were prioritized first by their respective families.

So, they would form the core of the fighting force against the Demons, who were also multiplying in number recently. The cause was discovered because all the Nightmares and Yin Beasts, even though they were rampaging throughout the Daxia Empire, they were heading towards the Demon City.

During all these rampages, countless talented Ghost Appeasers had been kidnapped. That explained the influx of Demons recently.

So, Krune understood that he had to personally guide their generation forth in this war against the Demons, Yin Beasts, and Nightmares.. Only then would he be able to clear this realm of suffering and return to the God Realm.