Chapter 134
Chapter 134
“You guessed right. Sister Yuqiong died that very night.”
“She couldn’t bear the humiliation, so she took her own life.”
“She was always so afraid of pain, and yet she threw herself headfirst into the wall. There was so much blood…”
At the time, when those traveling merchants realized someone had died, they were at least somewhat frightened.
But their leader spat at the corpse and cursed, “Damn it, what rotten luck!”
Rumors outside said that this widow was “wanton to the bone,” a “loose woman” who never turned anyone away.
They cursed her as shameless, claiming she knew even more tricks than the prostitutes in the pleasure quarters.
They spoke of it so vividly, as if they had truly experienced it themselves.
But was that really the truth?
Just like that, she died without warning.
The leader began to grow faintly anxious.
The second-in-command immediately came up with an idea. “Don’t be afraid, Big Brother. We have some connections in the Yan County Government Office. As long as we spend a little money, this matter can definitely be settled.”
The leader kicked him hard and snapped, “Who the hell listened to all those rumors and said this woman was fair game?”
The second-in-command hemmed and hawed. “Isn’t that what everyone outside is saying…?”
“Saying, saying, saying-say your mother’s head!”
After being kicked several more times, the second-in-command turned and glanced at the inn worker lying on the ground, eyes wide open. Suddenly, an idea came to him.
“Big Brother, this worker looks shifty to me. He was probably up to no good!”
“Once day breaks, we’ll drag him to the authorities and say that he… coveted the innkeeper’s wife’s beauty and intended to do something improper to her, but just happened to be caught in the act by us brothers!”
He spoke as if it were the absolute truth, and the others beside him immediately echoed, “Second Brother is right. When we get to the government office, that’s what we’ll say!”
Only then did the leader’s expression ease. The corner of his mouth stretched into a grin. “You little bastard. That’s wicked enough.”
Everyone burst into roaring laughter.
Thirteen lay on the floor, hating them so much his teeth nearly cracked from how hard he clenched them.
He let out an enraged roar. In the dry well in the courtyard, Fourteen seemed to sense his emotions and opened his mouth to answer him.
Those low growls, one after another, made everyone inside the Earth-Class Room feel a creeping terror.
The leader said, “That sound… could it be some wild beast from the mountains?”
No sooner had he spoken than a tremendous crash came from the courtyard. From the noise, it did indeed sound like some mountain beast.
The second-in-command couldn’t help edging over to the window and peering outside.
With just one glance, his soul nearly fled his body.
“Big Brother! It’s-”
Before he could finish, a wisp of white smoke suddenly drifted into the room. The doors and windows slammed shut in an instant, and by the time everyone realized something was wrong, they were already trapped inside with no way out.
A woman’s voice suddenly rang beside their ears, speaking only four words-murder demands a life.
Then came a heavy sound, drawing closer and closer…
Immediately after, a Giant fully six feet tall shoved the door apart with his bare hands. Like a mountain, he blocked the doorway, leaving everyone with nowhere to run.
Thirteen looked over and could not help crying out, “Fourteen!”
When Fourteen heard his voice, he let out another furious roar.
For some unknown reason, his eyes had turned bloodred. He grabbed the leader and tore into him with his teeth. The sight nearly scared the others out of their wits.
Chaos erupted inside the room. Amid one heart-rending scream after another, the nine men of the merchant caravan fell one by one.
No one escaped. Not a single one was spared.
Blood flowed like a river throughout the Earth-Class Room.
Fourteen, too, was soaked in blood. His savage appearance filled Thirteen with fear.
Yet even after killing until his eyes had gone red, Fourteen only crouched down obediently in front of Thirteen.
Thirteen shuddered from head to toe. The vivid red filling his vision and the pungent reek of blood left him numb-yet somehow, he also felt a trace of savage pleasure.
Staring at the mangled, scattered remains on the floor, he threw back his head and laughed without restraint.
And then, he heard a soft, seductive voice whisper by his ear, “Do you want her to come back to life? I can help you.”
Even now, whenever Thirteen thought back to those words, a glimmer of hope still flickered in his eyes.
“Of course I wanted her to come back!”
“I even thought… I don’t need to wait until I’ve saved enough money. I just want her alive!”
Yan Zhengchu’s expression turned grave. “Then do you know what the thing that said those words to you was? And you believed her just like that?”
“Of course I believed her!”
Thirteen’s voice was unshakably firm. “As long as Sister Yuqiong can come back to life, I’ll pay any price!”
“Since when has there ever been a way in this world to bring the dead back to life?”
Yan Zhengchu gave a cold snort. “Why don’t you tell this Daoist Master exactly what nonsense that ghostly thing used to trick you?”
Thirteen paused before saying, “She gave me a pearl…”
“The Soul-Nurturing Pearl!”
Yan Zhengchu gritted his teeth as well. “Just as I thought!”
Before Thirteen could continue, he went on, “The proprietress died with hatred in her heart. Her resentment was already enough to reach the heavens.”
“Bai Qingshuang must have told you to ‘nurture her soul with the pearl.’ And the souls of those who died miserably in the inn just happened to be perfect nourishment for a wronged spirit…”
“Her purpose was never to bring the proprietress back to life. She wanted to turn her into a Vengeful Ghost, an Evil Spirit, and make her serve her.”
Thirteen froze. He shook his head. “You’re lying to me!”
“What good would lying to you do me?”
Yan Zhengchu glared at him. “Do you understand? Once Huang Yuqiong becomes a Vengeful Ghost or an Evil Spirit, she may not even have the chance to enter reincarnation again.”
“You aren’t saving her. You’re harming her!”
The moment those words left his mouth, Thirteen’s eyes nearly split with rage. “I don’t believe you!”
“If you don’t believe him, then keep doing what you’re doing.”
Xia Ximo spoke coldly from the side. “Can you bear the consequences?”
Thirteen felt as if all the blood in his body had gone cold.
Then, drawing strength from who knew where, he suddenly pushed himself up from the ground and staggered toward the depths of the cave.
The others exchanged a glance and followed one after another.
Because Axia was injured, Ren Fengjue told him to stay where he was for the time being.
The “Giant,” Fourteen, lay on the ground, unable to move, but his eyes remained fixed in the direction Thirteen had gone. A low whimper escaped him.
The cave was dim. Thirteen sprinted with all his might, clearly knowing the layout inside like the back of his hand.
Following closely behind him were Yu Lang and Yan Zhengchu.
Xia Ximo, on the other hand, trailed after them at an unhurried pace. Ren Fengjue had no choice but to slow down, keeping a distance from her that was neither too close nor too far, whether intentionally or otherwise.
In the blink of an eye, Thirteen arrived at a small stone chamber deep within the cave. On the stone bed inside lay a female corpse.
Yu Lang caught sight of it and immediately halted, letting Yan Zhengchu go in front.
Daoist Yan saw at a glance that the corpse held a pearl in her mouth, while Yin-Sha Qi coiled around her body. Sure enough, someone had used the most sinister method to refine a Vengeful Ghost.
He hurried forward and said to Thirteen, “Fortunately, the worst mistake hasn’t been made yet. There is still a way to remedy this…”
As he spoke, he gently pressed against the female corpse’s jaw and was just about to take the Soul-Nurturing Pearl from her mouth.
But just then, a fierce gust of yin wind blew in from the cave entrance, followed by a wisp of pale smoke drifting inside.
The compass in Yan Zhengchu’s robes immediately reacted. Yet in the very next second, the female corpse on the bed slowly opened her eyes.