bookpub Chapter 87 Evil Spirits
Chapter 87 Evil Spirits
Chapter 87 Evil Spirits
"Who?"
The sounds abruptly ceased in the woodshed.
An Er seemed to suddenly see something, hurriedly pulled up his pants, and pushed open the window.
Outside the window, a small, thin figure fled in panic.
"Pah! It's that kid again!"
An Er sneered, closed the window, and took off his pants.
The woman inside the house said, "Aren't you afraid he'll hate you?"
"Heh heh, what's there to be afraid of? He's my own son, what can I do even if I hate him? Blame it on his own incompetence. He married a beautiful wife but doesn't cherish her. If I don't help him cherish her, what if someone else benefits from her?"
"Hmph, you probably don't want to hurt me, do you?"
"Hehe, haven't I pampered you enough? I pamper you every day, every night."
Night fell quickly.
Dawn was breaking on the horizon.
When Luo Qingchen entered the inn, he found the thin boy named An Facai sitting at the counter, dozing off.
After observing for a while, he quietly went to the inner room next door.
The door was closed, and no one was inside.
He glanced around and then pushed open the door.
The room was a mess, with pillows lying sideways and blankets on the floor.
The air was filled with the smell of food and the musty smell of something that hadn't seen sunlight or been properly ventilated for a long time.
He went into the room and searched it carefully.
Suddenly, he discovered a sharp knife in the corner under the bed.
There seemed to be a trace of blood on the dagger.
Just as he was about to bend down and take out the dagger, the door creaked open.
The thin boy stood in the doorway, staring at him coldly.
Luo Qingchen also looked at him.
The air fell silent for a moment.
Suddenly, the young man's face broke into his signature smile: "Sir, what brings you here? This is where I sleep. Are you looking for something?"
Luo Qingchen said, "I was bored in my room, so I just wandered around."
The boy smiled broadly: "It is quite boring. Everyone has been locked up here for the past few days, and it's been very boring."
He glanced around and lowered his voice, saying, "I see you're staying alone, sir, with no one to keep you company in your room. Perhaps you're feeling a bit lonely? If you'd like my wife, I can have her come to your room tonight to keep you company, what do you say?"
Luo Qingchen narrowed her eyes slightly but did not speak.
The boy chuckled, held up five fingers, and whispered, "It's cheap, five coins a night."
Luo Qingchen hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is she willing?"
The young man gave a sly smile and said, "Don't worry, sir, she'll definitely agree. These days, making money isn't easy, and who doesn't like making money? Besides, she's a little slut anyway. If she sees someone as young and handsome as you, she'd probably do it for free, hehe."
When he grinned, his face was slightly distorted.
Luo Qingchen seemed to think for a moment, then nodded: "Then let her come to my room tonight."
As he spoke, he walked outside.
"Okay!"
The young man quickly bowed and made way for him, his face beaming with a smile, "Don't worry, sir, I guarantee you'll be satisfied!"
Luo Qingchen went upstairs and glanced back.
The boy returned to the counter, lay down there, yawned, and then closed his eyes.
Back in my room, I felt wide awake.
After locking the doors and windows and setting up the traps, he sat cross-legged on the bed and began to meditate and cultivate.
at the same time.
In the canyon ahead.
The people of Xueyu Palace, who had been busy all night, were lighting a fire to roast their dry rations.
Han Yunshu sat alone to one side, meditating with her eyes closed.
Beside the campfire, the other disciples were talking quietly, their faces full of excitement.
"I never imagined monsters could look so disgusting, with a human head and a dog's body! I chopped its head off last night, and its lower body could still run away—how terrifying!"
"Uncle Han said that if it's not completely killed, it can grow its head back in a few days."
"Only by destroying its heart can it be completely killed."
"I saw a book about demons in the sect's library. Guess what it said? It said that the Demon-Slaying Sect's techniques are the most effective against demons!"
"That's strange. I've heard that disciples of the Demon-Slaying Sect need demon stones and blood to cultivate. Could that be the reason?"
The round-faced girl named Han Zhenzhen suddenly looked at Xue Feixue, who was silent to the side, and asked in a low voice, "Feixue, your childhood sweetheart and fiancé is a disciple of the Demon-Suppressing Sect. Do you know anything about their cultivation techniques? Do they really need to use blood to cultivate?"
Xue Feixue was holding a wooden stick, propping her chin up with one hand and idly poking at the fire in front of her with the other. Hearing this, she casually replied, "I guess so."
"No wonder I've met several people from the Demon Extermination Sect; they were either pale or had gray or white hair. It's probably because they used too much blood."
"I heard that their lifespan is also very short, many of them die in their forties."
"Shh"
Han Zhenzhen quickly stopped the two people next to her from talking and pointed at Xue Feixue.
The others exchanged glances.
A young man with thick eyebrows and large eyes couldn't help but ask, "Junior Sister Xue, are you really going to make that disciple from the Demon-Suppressing Sect go to Snow Jade Palace to annul the engagement?"
Upon hearing this, everyone else also looked at her.
Xue Feixue poked at the firewood in front of her again and said, "Of course, I'll make him kneel on the ground and beg me. Otherwise, I won't give him the marriage certificate."
Upon hearing this, everyone looked at each other in bewilderment.
Han Zhenzhen frowned and said, "Feixue, are you out of your mind?"
A girl named Zhou Ling chimed in, "Junior Sister Xue, you are a genius disciple of our Snow Jade Palace, and he is a disciple of the Demonic Sect. Are you sure he will take the initiative to break off the engagement with you? Under normal circumstances, he would probably resort to any means necessary, using all sorts of despicable and insidious methods to make you fulfill the engagement and marry him, right?"
Another disciple chimed in, "That's right. That kid would be laughing in his sleep if he could marry the genius fairy of our Snow Jade Palace. How could he possibly take the initiative to break off the engagement?"
Xue Feixue lowered her head and fiddled with the flames in front of her; the wooden stick in her hand had already caught fire.
Two flickering flames were reflected in her dark, deep pupils. After a moment of silence, she suddenly sighed almost imperceptibly, but said nothing.
The sun quickly began to set in the west.
As evening fell, Luo Qingchen finished his practice and opened his eyes.
Within his body, the cultivation progress suddenly increased from 80/2000 to 160/2000!
It actually doubled!
Moreover, he only meditated for one day and didn't even have a medicinal bath!
It seems that the upgrade of the gilded blood has brought about a tremendous change in his physique.
His cultivation speed increased even further.
He was now looking forward to seeing what the combination of gilded blood and magic stone would produce.
Once he got back, he immediately took a medicinal bath!
Of course, if he can go back.
"Squeak—"
He went over, opened the window, and looked outside.
In the distance, the setting sun had already sunk below the horizon.
Night was falling in the surrounding mountains and forests, about to envelop everything.
Soon, it got dark.
The noise in the lobby downstairs gradually quieted down as the night deepened outside the window.
It was around midnight.
As Luo Qingchen was reading at her desk, she suddenly heard a series of light footsteps in the corridor.
Then, a soft knock sounded on the door.
Luo Qingchen put away her books, looked at the door, and said, "The door isn't locked, just push it open and come in."
"Squeak—"
The door is pushed open.
The woman named Xiaomei walked in, wearing a coarse cloth floral dress.
She closed the door behind her, stared at him intently for a moment, her face expressionless, then walked directly to the bedside, took off her pants, lifted her skirt, and lay down there, saying, "Five coins is only enough for one time, the sooner the better, I still need to go to other people's places."
Luo Qingchen looked at her and remained seated at the table.
Xiaomei turned to look at him: "The one night he mentioned is a normal night. There are too many guests staying here now, and I can't possibly waste a night here."
"6
Luo Qingchen looked at her for a while longer before asking, "Did you do this voluntarily?"
Xiao Mei sneered: "So, did you become a disciple of the Demonic Sect voluntarily?"
Luo Qingchen remained silent.
Xiaomei raised her hand and untied her bodice, saying, "Hurry up, I don't have much time."
Luo Qingchen didn't say anything more, got up and walked over.
Xiaomei's face was hidden in her soft, flowing hair. She bit her lip and gripped the blanket tightly with both hands.
"what!"
She suddenly exclaimed and turned to look.
Luo Qingchen held a dagger in her hand and made a cut on her bare shoulder.
Bright red blood oozed from the wound.
"What—what are you going to do?"
Xiaomei hurriedly turned over, her face turning terrified.
She also knew that the disciples of the Demonic Sect enjoyed killing and skinning people, and that a young lady from Jade Capital had already been skinned alive at the inn.
"Feel sorry."
Luo Qingchen revealed a strange expression: "I want to smell your blood first."
Xiaomei trembled with fear, hurriedly rolled off the bed, and ran towards the door, shouting, "I'm not serving you anymore! I'm not serving you anymore!"
She opened the door and ran out.
The hurried and frantic footsteps quickly faded away down the corridor.
"It seems like there's no problem—"
Luo Qingchen twitched her nose and sniffed the trace of blood remaining on the dagger.
A short while later, footsteps sounded outside the door again.
The young man named An Facai walked in with a forced smile, bowing as he said, "I'm sorry, sir, but my wife isn't quite used to your way of playing. However—if you're willing to pay a little more, I can try to persuade her again."
Luo Qingchen said, "No need, I'm not in the mood anymore."
"I'm so sorry, I'm really sorry. We'll talk about it tomorrow night. I'll definitely persuade her to come and serve you tomorrow night!"
The boy smiled apologetically, apologized repeatedly, then bowed and left, closing the door behind him.
The footsteps gradually faded into the distance.
Luo Qingchen looked solemn as she gently pushed open the window and looked outside.
It was pitch black outside, with only a dilapidated lantern hanging outside the outhouse, flickering with a faint flame.
At the fourth watch of the night, all was quiet.
After An Er came out of the outhouse, he looked around and then quietly slipped out through the back door.
He skillfully traversed the path and arrived at the Anjia Teahouse ahead.
Then he nimbly climbed over the courtyard wall.
After listening for a while in the darkness of the corner, he crouched down and tiptoed through the backyard to a window at the back of a house.
The paper covering the window had several holes in it.
He opened his eyes wide and looked into the room through the opening, his eyes shining.
The room was pitch black.
But upon closer inspection, two figures can be seen sleeping in the bed.
An Er looked at the tall, slender figure propping up the blanket and the long, flowing hair, and couldn't help but swallow hard.
He watched for a while longer before reluctantly leaving.
Just as he was about to climb over the wall, his eyes suddenly lit up when he saw the clothes hanging on the clothesline not far away.
He quickly tiptoed over, tore off a bellyband, and immediately climbed over the wall to leave.
He sniffed the undergarment in his hand as he walked briskly, his face flushed red.
Back at the inn.
He pushed open the door, entered his son's room, kicked his still-snoring son, and yelled, "Get up! Go to the counter and watch over the money! If it's lost, I'll beat you to death!"
An Facai got up groggily, glanced at him, threw on some clothes, and left the room.
An Er immediately closed the door, lit the oil lamp on the table, and then impatiently pounced on the bed, throwing the undergarment he was holding onto the pillow. While taking off his clothes, he said urgently, "Hurry! Little thing, put it on! I'm about to suffocate!"
Xiaomei glanced at him, said nothing, and blankly took off her clothes and put on the undergarment.
An Er's eyes lit up immediately, and he pounced on him like a hungry wolf.
Just then, a small, thin figure was suddenly reflected in the window next to them, and a "hehe" sound came out from its mouth.
An Er flew into a rage, leaped out of bed, rushed to the window, and opened it while yelling, "You bastard! What, you don't want me to serve your wife anymore? Believe me or not, I'll beat you to death!"
"Whoosh!"
The window suddenly opened.
He raised his fist to deliver a vicious punch, but suddenly, his fist froze in mid-air.
Outside the window stood a thin figure.
It had two pigtails, a childlike face, thick blush on its pale cheeks, no eyeballs in its eyes, two streaks of scarlet tears on its face, and a slit at the corners of its mouth, giving him a strange smile.
Then, it made another sound: "Hehehe————"
"ah"
An Er screamed and threw a punch in terror.
The eerie child outside the window suddenly floated away, facing him as it did so, revealing a sinister grin.
An Er was so scared he wet himself on the spot.
Soon, Xu Mang and the others who had been waiting in the shadows rushed over upon hearing the noise.
An Er collapsed to the ground, his pants still on, sitting in a puddle of urine, pointing at the window with a terrified expression, shouting, "Ghost! There's a ghost!"
Xiao Mei, lying on the bed, was also huddled under the covers, shivering.
"What kind of ghost was it? Where did it escape from?"
Xu Mang quickly asked.
He had been keeping watch in the woods behind the building and hadn't seen anyone escape.
An Er stammered, "A child! It's a child! It's a child demon! It floated away, it floated away from the backyard!"
"A child demon?"
Xu Mang's expression changed, and he exchanged glances with the others.
"What does it look like? Did you get a good look at it?"
95
"Her hair was tied in pigtails, her face was flushed, she had no pupils, and her mouth was split open—"
An Er's description was the same as that of the previous merchant.
Is there really a child demon?
Xu Mang and the others looked solemn upon hearing this.
If only one person saw it, it would be an illusion, but now, even the innkeeper has seen it.
"What was it doing at the time? And what were you doing?"
Xu Mang asked again.
"It—I—"
An Er suddenly stopped speaking, stammering and unable to get the words out.
Xu Mang raised his head, glanced at the woman on the bed, then looked at him. He immediately realized what was happening, and a look of disgust flashed in his eyes. He said coldly, "Was it standing outside the window at the time? What did it do? Or say anything?"
An Er exclaimed in horror, "It—it just stood there without moving, and when I opened the window, it—it looked at me, grinned, and chuckled—"
"Oh right! I even punched it, but—it didn't touch me, it just floated away—"
Xu Mang pondered for a moment, then suddenly looked at the bed and asked, "Where's your son?"
An Er said with a mournful face, "He—he's at the front counter—"
"Father! Father!"
At that moment, the thin An Facai ran in from the doorway, his face full of concern, and asked, "What's wrong?"
Then she ran to the window and asked, "Xiaomei, what's wrong? Who was screaming just now?"
No one spoke inside the room.
Xiaomei covered her face with the blanket, shivering.
Xu Mang glanced at the window again and said to the people behind him, "Let's go take another look at the backyard."
The group immediately went to the backyard to examine it carefully.
Once only the three of them were left in the room, An Facai glanced indifferently at An Er on the ground and said, "Father, I'm going to the counter."
After saying that, he left the room.
The small, thin figure was suddenly stretched long by the newly lit lights outside.
The night quickly faded away.
Xu Mang and the others searched the backyard carefully for a long time, but found no trace.
Not even a footprint was left, not a trace of scent. "Could it really be a ghost?"
"Senior Brother Xu, do ghosts really exist in this world?"
Yuan Zhao asked.
Xu Mang frowned, pondered for a moment, and said, "You all go back to your rooms and rest first. I'm going to find someone to talk to."
Yuan Zhao and several constables from the government nodded and withdrew.
Xu Mang went straight into the inn, went up to the second floor, and arrived at the door of room number six. He raised his hand and knocked on the door.
"Brother Luo, may I ask you something?"
A moment later, the door opened.
Xu Mang immediately inquired about ghosts.
"I've heard that your Demon-Slaying Sect is skilled in corpse refining and even has the art of controlling ghosts?"
Luo Qingchen said, "I have just joined the sect and have not yet made contact."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mang sighed and said, "This case seems to be getting more and more complicated now, and it doesn't feel like something a human could do."
Luo Qingchen paused for a moment, then told him something.
"Just now, when the innkeeper saw the child outside the window in his room, his son wasn't at the front desk. Finally, I saw him run back from the backyard."
Upon hearing this, Xu Mang's eyes lit up!
Luo Qingchen added, "Actually, children aren't necessarily children. Some adults are quite small in stature."
"Snapped!"
Xu Mang suddenly clapped her hands, then grabbed his shoulders excitedly, shaking him and exclaiming with delight, "That's right! How could I not have thought of that! How could I not have thought of that!"
"It's him! It must be him!"