bookpub Chapter 88 The Truth
Chapter 88 The Truth
Chapter 88 The Truth
That night, it was late and quiet.
After arranging the chairs and benches in the hall, An Er gave a wink to the counter.
Xiao Mei pretended not to see it.
An Er had no choice but to say, "It's getting late, there are no more guests, go to sleep."
"Ah! Finally, I can go to sleep!"
An Facai, who was dozing off at the counter, immediately stood up.
An Er angrily retorted, "I wasn't talking to you! You stay here and keep watch, let Xiao Mei go to sleep!"
An Facai immediately made a face, muttered a few words, and sat down again.
"Xiaomei, go ahead!"
An Er's tone turned stern, and his face showed a threatening expression.
His face at this moment seemed to be two different faces from the humble and ingratiating face he showed when facing guests.
"oh."
Xiaomei kicked her husband hard under the counter and then stepped out.
An Facai looked bewildered: "What?"
Neither of them paid him any attention, and they went into the inner room one after the other, closing the door behind them.
An Facai continued to doze off, slumped over the counter.
About fifteen minutes later...
He looked up, yawned, rubbed his eyes, then stepped out of the counter and walked into the inner room.
It stopped at the door of the room.
He heard the sound of the wooden bed shaking inside, as well as An Er's excited swearing and his wife's cries.
He stood at the door with his head down, remained silent for a while, then lifted his foot and walked towards the backyard.
We arrived at the backyard.
He listened outside the window for a while longer, then walked toward the wine cellar in the corner.
The small, thin figure quickly disappeared at the entrance of the wine cellar.
Xu Mang and Yuan Zhao, who were following behind, exchanged a glance and immediately followed.
The wine cellar was pitch black.
An Facai didn't carry a lantern; his thin figure walked silently in the darkness.
He walked slowly at first, but soon quickened his pace.
When Xu Mang and Yuan Zhao followed him inside, his thin figure had already disappeared.
"Huh, where did everyone go?"
The two searched the entire wine cellar but couldn't find each other, and looked at each other in bewilderment.
Yuan Zhao's voice began to tremble: "Could it really be a ghost?"
Xu Mang took out a tinderbox, his eyes gleaming, and said, "There's definitely a secret room. Search carefully!"
at the same time.
The intense noise in the room finally subsided.
An Er breathed heavily on the bed for a while, then patted the woman's buttocks covered in fingerprints. As he got out of bed and put on his clothes, he chuckled and said, "Not bad tonight. You know how to wiggle your butt like that slut. Your body is developing better and better."
"When I brought you back from the refugee camp with just a single steamed bun, you were as skinny as a stick."
As he put on his coat, he glanced at him sideways and said, "Don't worry, as long as you serve me well, you won't go hungry or cold anymore. After I die, this inn will be yours."
As he spoke, he picked up her undergarment from the ground, sniffed it, chuckled, and tossed it back onto the bed.
"Wait in bed, I'm going to the outhouse, I'll be back in a bit."
After saying that, he opened the door and went out.
The room fell silent.
The figure on the bed lay there motionless.
After a while, she gently pulled the blanket over herself and wrapped it tightly around her battered body.
An Er, wearing his clothes on, hummed a little tune as he walked into the backyard and went into the outhouse.
"Too bad, it's not that little slut Cui Niang—"
"If it were Cui Niang, I'd have her three or four times in one night—"
"Ah, what a pity—"
As he squatted on the toilet, he thought about his sister-in-law's slender figure.
Tick-tock, tick-tock —
Suddenly, something dripped down from above.
"Is it raining?"
He touched the liquid dripping onto his forehead; it was sticky and didn't feel like rain.
He felt something was amiss and looked up.
Upon seeing this, their eyes widened in surprise!
Above their heads, a face painted with blush and streaked with two lines of bloody tears hung there with an eerie smile!
"hey-hey----"
The face actually grinned, letting out a sinister laugh.
"ah""
A terrified scream suddenly rang out from the outhouse.
Xu Mang and his companion, who were searching for the secret room in the wine cellar, along with the constables from the yamen who were waiting outside the inn, immediately rushed towards the backyard upon hearing the noise.
Xu Mang and Yuan Zhao were the first to arrive.
When they rushed to the latrine door, An Er, covered in blood and excrement, crawled out of the latrine in a disheveled state, screaming pitifully as he crawled.
"A ghost! A ghost!"
Xu Mang hurriedly asked, "Where is the ghost?"
An Er pointed at the outhouse, screaming and wailing.
Xu Mang rushed in immediately.
But apart from the excrement and urine that An Er dragged out of the pit, there was nothing else in the outhouse.
He suppressed his nausea, took out his tinderbox, examined it carefully, then quickly backed away and asked, "What did you just see?"
At this moment, An Er cried out a few times in anguish and then fainted.
"Senior Brother Xu, look at him there!"
At this moment, Yuan Zhao suddenly pointed at An Er's crotch.
Xu Mang held up the tinderbox, took a closer look, and his expression immediately changed, a chill running down his spine.
An Er's body was a bloody mess, with blood gushing out, and that thing had vanished without a trace!
The constables who had just arrived were also startled by what they saw.
"To the wine cellar!"
Xu Mang made a decisive decision and immediately ordered Yuan Zhao to lead his men back to the cellar to continue searching the secret room.
"Senior Brother Xu, what about you?"
Yuan Zhao was puzzled.
Xu Mang didn't answer, but waved his hand and said, "Go quickly!"
Yuan Zhao had no choice but to hurry to the wine cellar with the constables.
At this moment, the guests in the inn were awakened by the screams from the backyard and opened their windows to look out.
"What happened?"
"That sounds like the innkeeper's voice?"
"Did I see a ghost again?"
"Ugh, what a lousy place this is! We see ghosts every day! I wonder when they'll let us leave!"
The wine cellar was illuminated by torches.
Yuan Zhao and several constables began searching for the entrance to the secret room in every corner and on every wall.
In the woods outside the backyard wall, there sits a collapsed mud house.
Next to the mud house, there were piles of garbage.
At this moment, the clods of earth in the corner of the earthen house suddenly moved and slid away in all directions.
Then, a dusty wooden board slowly opened.
A dark hole appeared beneath the wooden plank.
Suddenly, a head peeked out of the hole, looked around, and then came out.
It was small and thin, and could easily pass through the hole.
He went up there, hid behind the half-collapsed wall of the mud house, and peeked out furtively for a while before running away.
He ran along the nearby woods toward the front door of the inn.
But suddenly, as he ran closer to a large tree in front of him, he stopped in his tracks.
Xu Mang slowly emerged from behind the big tree, looking at him with icy eyes.
The air suddenly froze.
After a moment of silence, the slender young man suddenly beamed and said, "Oh, isn't this Lord Xu of the Zhenguo Academy? What are you doing here?"
Xu Mang said coldly, "What are you doing here again?"
The boy laughed and said, "My stomach hurts, so I'm taking a dump in the woods."
Xu Mang smirked coldly: "Isn't there an outhouse in the backyard?"
The boy smiled wryly and said, "The outhouse stinks and is pitch black. I've always liked to poop in this woods since I was a child. Lord Xu, why are you stopping me? Is pooping a crime?"
Just then, Yuan Zhao's voice suddenly came from the backyard: "Senior Brother Xu! We've found it! We've found the entrance!"
The boy's expression changed instantly.
Xu Mang drew the knife from his waist, pursed his lips, and stared at him with icy eyes, saying, "Are you coming with me by yourself?"
"Or should I take you there by force?"
The boy suddenly turned around and ran into the mountains and forests!
A fierce glint flashed in Xu Mang's eyes, and he immediately gave chase.
In the wine cellar.
"Whoosh"
Yuan Zhao and several constables carefully moved a large vat of wine that was placed in the corner of the wall.
Several faint cracks appeared on the wall.
If it weren't for the torches shining nearby, it would be difficult to spot even from close up.
Yuan Zhao stepped forward and pushed against the wall with both hands.
"Click"
The wall was slowly pushed open, revealing a secret room.
The entrance was only about half a person tall.
Looking at the dark space inside, the group dared not go in without permission.
"Where is Lord Xu?"
"I asked the constable."
Yuan Zhao did not answer. After waiting a while, just as he was about to take the lead and go in with his torch, Xu Mang suddenly led the thin boy in through the entrance of the wine cellar.
"Is it this kid?"
Everyone was stunned.
Yuan Zhao quickly pointed to the cave entrance and said, "Senior Brother Xu, it's right here!"
When An Facai saw the hole, his face turned pale.
Xu Mang glanced at him and instructed, "Junior Brother Yuan, just break down this wall. Be careful, there might be traps inside."
"yes!"
Yuan Zhao accepted the order, clenched his fist, and slammed it against the wall.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
After a few punches, the wall finally collapsed completely.
When the torches illuminated the pitch-black space inside, everyone gasped in shock!
The space inside was small and reeked of a foul odor.
A skeleton lay on the ground, and three disheveled women were chained in the corner.
The three women were naked and had whip marks on their bodies.
Hearing the noise, the three women huddled together, trembling, not daring to make a sound.
"Are they the three missing women?"
One of the constables suddenly exclaimed in surprise.
No one answered.
Xu Mang's gaze fell on the thin boy beside him, and he asked, "Tell me, why did you do this?"
The boy lowered his head and remained silent.
Just then, a trembling, cursing voice suddenly rang out from the entrance of the wine cellar: "You little beast! This—this is all the work of yours?"
Supported by Xiaomei, An Er appeared at the entrance of the wine cellar, wearing blood-stained trousers.
At that moment, he was trembling all over, his face filled with disbelief.
The wine cellar was quiet for a few breaths.
The boy slowly raised his head, looked at him, and said calmly, "Father, you should be happy to see this outcome, right? Now that I'm dead, Xiaomei is yours, and no one will be eyeing your inheritance anymore, right?"
"Beast! Beast!"
An Er staggered down the steps, but suddenly fell to the ground, rolled a few times, and ended up in the wine cellar.
He lifted his head from the ground, cursing through gritted teeth, "You coward! You beast! You bastard! How could you do such a thing? I've had the worst luck in eight lifetimes to have given birth to you! I clearly found you a wife, and you still dared to do such a thing!"
The boy suddenly laughed out loud, but didn't say anything more. He just lowered his head and buried his pale face in the shadows beside him.
Xu Mang asked, "Where are the others?"
The boy lowered his head and did not answer.
Yuan Zhao chimed in, "A total of thirteen people have gone missing, possibly more. There are also three children. Did you kill them all? Where are their bodies buried? How were they killed?"
The boy remained silent.
The constable beside him said menacingly, "Lord Xu, Lord Yuan, take this brat back to our yamen jail, and I'll make him confess everything!"
Xu Mang turned to look at the three women chained up and said, "Release them first."
Several constables hurriedly went to release the people.
Xu Mang took off his coat and draped it over the three of them, asking, "Was this the man who brought you here? Was there anyone else?"
The three women trembled, too afraid to look up or answer.
Xu Mang gently comforted her for a while, and then one of the women slowly raised her head, looked at the thin boy, and burst into tears: "It's him! It's him! Day and night, he bullies us every day! Waaah—"
"Where are the others? Are there any other people?"
Xu Mang asked again.
The woman cried for a while longer, then said in a trembling voice, "There was one who didn't listen to him, and he beat him to death—"
Xu Mang looked at the skeleton on the floor of the secret room.
"You beast! You beast—"
An Er was still lying on the ground cursing.
Xu Mang waved his hand and said, "Take them all out. Call a few more people over later to thoroughly check the entire wine cellar and see if there are any other corpses or bones."
"Yes, Lord Xu!"
Several constables immediately agreed and went to restrain the thin boy.
At this moment, An Er suddenly cried out, "Sirs! Sirs! This beast is young and doesn't know any better. Please give him a chance! I'll pay compensation! I'll give them all the silver in my house! I'll give you this inn too! Please, have mercy and let him go!"
The boy slowly raised his head.
Yuan Zhao snorted coldly and said, "He killed so many people; he deserves to die. How could we possibly let him go!"
An Er cried, "People die here every day. Those refugees, one after another, they die in droves. Demons kill an entire village at a time. Why don't you do anything about it? I'll give you silver, I'll give you an inn! You can use that to save more people, okay?"
Yuan Zhao suddenly cursed, "You old beast! If you hadn't cheated on your son with your daughter-in-law and abused him every day, would he have turned out like this? Now you regret it, but it's too late!"
He then said to the constables, "Take them out!"
Tao Erhao cried loudly.
The boy, expressionless and head bowed, was led away by the constables.
As he reached the entrance to the wine cellar, he looked up at the woman leaning against the wall, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he said nothing, lowered his head, and walked out.
Luo Qingchen stood outside the door, and as he passed by, she suddenly asked, "Have you practiced the Ghost Shadow Technique?"
The boy lowered his head, seemingly not hearing, and was led away in a daze.
People gradually emerged from the wine cellar.
When Xu Mang came out, Luo Qingchen asked, "Did you find a piece of skin?"
Xu Mang was taken aback upon hearing this and asked, "What 'skin'?"
Luo Qingchen paused, said nothing more, glanced at the wine cellar again, and turned to leave.
The sun rose quickly.
Luo Qingchen returned to her room and was pondering something when there was a knock on the door.
He went over and opened the door.
The Taoist priest named Yuan Sanzhi stood outside the door with Xu Mang.
Yuan Sanzhi saw him, smiled broadly, and returned the waist token to him, saying, "Young friend Luo, here's your waist token back. You can leave here anytime now. I heard from Junior Nephew Xu that the case was solved thanks to you. Hehe, it seems that the people of your Demon-Slaying Sect are truly skilled at this kind of thing."
Luo Qingchen took the waist tag without saying a word.
Yuan Sanzhi sighed again and said, "Some demons have appeared in the canyon ahead. Your Uncle Shangguan and I have been there for the past few days. We thought this disappearance was the work of demons, but who knew it was actually a family tragedy."
"Alright, you two chat, I'll head down now."
After saying that, he turned and left.
At this moment, Xu Mangcai cupped his hands and said, "Brother Luo, I was in such a hurry earlier that I forgot to thank you. Please forgive me."
Luo Qingchen said, "It's alright."
Xu Mang hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Brother Luo, have you seen Aunt Lan? You mean—my Junior Sister Lu's bodyguard? She suddenly disappeared; it seems she vanished yesterday. We thought she was resting in her room, but she wasn't there. We searched everywhere, but we couldn't find her."
Luo Qingchen shook her head.
"Well, maybe he was too heartbroken and left on his own, or perhaps he went back to Yujing."
77
Xu Mang sighed and prepared to leave.
Luo Qingchen suddenly asked, "Have you fought with An Facai before?"
Xu Mang paused for a moment, then nodded and asked, "What's wrong?"
Luo Qingchen asked, "What is his cultivation level? How strong is he?"
Xu Mang said, "Strengthening Bone Realm, the strength is not bad, but it seems that he has not been tempered much and has no combat skills."
Luo Qingchen fell silent.
Xu Mang looked at him with a puzzled expression: "Brother Luo, what's wrong?"
Luo Qingchen pondered for a moment and said, "An Er has seen the child demon a few times before, and I heard that other merchants have also seen it."
Xu Mang said, "Isn't that An Facai in disguise? He's skinny, with pigtails, wearing a red jacket, and some rouge on his cheeks. He just casually draws on his face, and he looks just like that evil child demon!"
"However, according to An Er and other merchants, the other party always floated away when they left. An Facai only has the cultivation of the Bone Strengthening Realm, so it is obviously impossible for him to float away."
"Brother Luo means—"
Luo Qingchen did not hide anything and said, "That should be a kind of technique called 'Ghost Shadow Technique.' It uses a skin to perform this secret technique, allowing a person to control it from several miles away."
"The Ghost Shadow Technique?"
Xu Mang's expression hardened, and he said, "You mean, An Facai also practiced this technique?"
Luo Qingchen said, "If he is only at the Bone Strengthening Realm, it is impossible for him to cultivate this technique. Because to cultivate this technique, one needs at least the Spirit Nourishing Realm."
Xu Mang's expression immediately turned serious: "So, Brother Luo, you mean An Facai has accomplices? A cultivator of..."
An accomplice to the "Ghost Shadow Technique"?
Luo Qingchen didn't answer. After thinking for a moment, she said, "When you questioned him just now, he didn't answer anything. You didn't find any other bones in the wine cellar, nor did you find that skin. Could it be—"
He suddenly said, "He wasn't the murderer?"
Xu Mang was taken aback and said, "But the three missing women are imprisoned in the wine cellar, and there are also skeletons on the ground—"
"He didn't admit it himself, did he?"
"Yes, but one of the women has already confirmed it's him!"
Luo Qingchen paused for a moment, then said, "Perhaps the light was dim at the time, and the woman was mistaken."
Xu Mang smiled and said, "Brother Luo, this case is closed. You—"
"All right."
Luo Qingchen didn't say anything more: "Indeed, it has nothing to do with me. I should return to my sect."
2
Xu Mang cupped his hands again and said, "Brother Luo, take care. If I have the opportunity to visit Yujing next time, I will definitely do my best to be a good host and thank you properly."
Luo Qingchen didn't say anything more and closed the door.
He walked to the window and looked out at the backyard.
After standing there for a while, he took out the book "The Art of Ghostly Shadows" again and began to read it carefully.
It was almost noon.
He carried his bag and went downstairs.
The merchants and travelers in the inn left one after another after the restrictions were lifted in the morning.
At this time, only government officials and members of the Zhenguo Academy were still discussing something in the front yard.
In the morning, the constables searched the entire inn.
They even dug three feet into the ground, but found no other missing persons or remains.
The boy named An Facai was tied to a large tree nearby. No matter how the constables beat, scolded, or interrogated him, he kept his head down and remained silent.
An Er had been crying and cursing under the eaves all morning, and by this time, he was completely exhausted.
He sat on the ground with his head drooping and looking dejected, his trousers covered in blood, as if he had aged many years in an instant.
Xiaomei sat alone at the counter, her gaze vacant, seemingly lost in thought.
Luo Qingchen checked out of the room and came outside. Just as she was about to leave, her gaze fell on the thin boy who was tied to the tree.
In the sunlight, he stood there with his head down, his body and face covered in bloody whip marks. His thin body was hunched over, motionless, as if he were already dead.
Luo Qingchen paused for a moment, then turned around and came to stand in front of An Er.
Then, he sat down on the ground next to him.
An Er raised his head, glanced at him blankly, and then lowered his head again.
Luo Qingchen looked at the boy in the courtyard and suddenly asked, "I heard you've seen that evil child several times. Is the one who injured you in the outhouse last night the same as the others?"
An Er hung his head, as if he hadn't heard, and didn't answer.
Luo Qingchen turned to look at him and said, "Actually, the person you saw before, and the one who hurt you in the outhouse last night, might not be your son."
An Er slowly raised his head.
Luo Qingchen stared into his eyes and said, "Now, think back carefully. Did those child demons you saw give you a sense of familiarity? Or rather, who was the first person you thought of when you saw them?"
"Or, have you ever had nightmares? Do you dream about children like that?"
After hearing this, An Er was momentarily confused.
But soon, his pupils began to dilate, and then his body jolted violently!
Then, it began to tremble violently.
He seemed to have suddenly thought of something.
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