Chapter 142

Chapter 142

After the banquet dispersed, the old steward did indeed come to receive them personally.

Following Old Master Shen’s instructions, he led the group into a separate courtyard within the villa. As it happened, there were exactly five guest rooms inside.

Not only that, each room had also been assigned a servant to attend to its occupant.

Even at the best inn in the county, one might not necessarily enjoy such fine treatment.

Yu Lang could not help but sigh with feeling. Good thing he had asked around after entering the county.

By now, everyone had eaten and drunk their fill. Yu Lang and Yan Zhengchu, who had spent a full day and night traveling in exhaustion, could hardly wait to return to their rooms and rest.

Ren Fengjue had not drunk any wine. Earlier, when Old Master Shen had come over to toast him, he had quietly substituted tea instead.

Now, seeing that Yu Lang and Yan Zhengchu had gone back to their rooms one after another, he also told Axia to return and rest.

Xia Ximo, however, was still standing where she was, lost in thought.

Ren Fengjue noticed the flush on her cheeks, likely from the wine, but her eyes remained clear and bright, showing no sign of drunkenness.

He suddenly thought back to the first time they had met. On that merchant ship, she had gotten drunk and passed out, lying unconscious in a cabin where assassins were hiding.

“Does Miss Xia enjoy drinking?”

At his question, Xia Ximo seemed to slowly come back to herself from her daze.

This was probably the first time she had drunk wine since her Return to Yang World.

She did not remember whether she used to like it. Just now, she had simply drunk it out of instinct.

“If I want to drink, I drink. It isn’t a matter of liking or not liking it.”

It was still her usual way of speaking.

Ren Fengjue was long used to it and merely smiled in understanding.

Xia Ximo, on the other hand, gave him a long look and reminded him in a low voice, “Don’t sleep too deeply tonight. Be careful-there may be something wrong with this villa.”

With that, she turned and went back to her room as well.

Ren Fengjue remained where he was for a moment, mulling over her words.

Judging by his own instincts, Yuelai Villa did indeed feel somewhat strange.

But if he had to say what exactly was strange about it, he could not put his finger on it.

Based on Old Master Shen’s age, the beloved only daughter he doted on should count as a child born to him late in life.

For a man of his status, it was only natural that he would spend lavishly and make a grand show of celebrating the marriage of such a hard-won apple of his eye.

If one insisted on pointing out what was off, it would be that they were far too enthusiastic and extravagant.

Ren Fengjue did not know what Xia Ximo’s reasoning was. Even so, he trusted what she said a great deal.

Thus, after returning to his room, he directly dismissed the servant. He had no intention of lying down in bed to sleep either. Instead, he remained fully dressed and leaned back on the couch, closing his eyes to rest.

After Xia Ximo returned to her room, she likewise did not allow the servant to attend her. She directly had Wuyou come out and search the villa for the presence of any Yin Soul.

Wuyou, however, shook her head with certainty. “From the front courtyard all the way to the rear courtyard, I haven’t sensed any ghostly aura at all.”

“At the banquet, I saw a shadow.”

Wuyou also found it puzzling. “If it were a ghost, there’s no way I wouldn’t have smelled it. Besides, that Taoist priest was there too.”

A Taoist priest was human, after all. Under the influence of wine, he might perhaps have missed something.

But if even a Lamp Spirit could not sense it, then perhaps it truly was not one.

Of course, Xia Ximo had no intention of meddling in other people’s affairs. As long as no wrongfully dead souls or Fu Tower Ghost appeared here, she could ignore it.

That night passed without incident.

When they woke, the morning light was warm and gentle, and the servants had already prepared everything needed for washing up.

As each of them emerged from their rooms, they all felt refreshed and in excellent spirits.

Under the old steward’s arrangements, they went to the flower hall for breakfast.

Ren Fengjue was a man who observed proper etiquette. Having received such hospitality, if he was to leave, he naturally had to thank their host and take his leave in person.
However, the elderly steward said that Old Master Shen had gone to keep Miss Shen company early that morning and could not receive them.

With that, the group could only take their leave.

Perhaps it was because he had slept too well the night before, but Yu Lang felt especially light on his feet today.

He was the first to reach the carriage and invited everyone to get in.

The early morning sunlight spilled over the entrance of Yuelai Villa, stretching out each of their shadows and casting them long across the ground.

But it was also at that moment that Yu Lang noticed something was wrong.

Everyone had a shadow.

The carriage had one, as did the trees nearby, and even the courtyard wall.

Only he stood there with empty ground beneath his feet.

His shadow was gone.

At first glance, Yu Lang thought his eyes were playing tricks on him. But after looking again and again, confirming it several times, his heart lurched in sudden alarm.

By then, everyone else had already gotten into the carriage. Seeing Yu Lang standing there without moving, Ren Fengjue finally could not help lifting the curtain and asking, “What are you standing there for?”

“My lord…”

When Yu Lang turned around, his face was deathly pale. He pointed at the ground beneath him and said, “My lord, please look for me. My… my shadow seems to be missing.”

Hearing this, Ren Fengjue also looked at the ground. His expression changed at once, and he quickly called to Yan Zhengchu, “Daoist Yan, come take a look as well.”

Everyone got out of the carriage again.

Standing beneath the sunlight, they confirmed it over and over.

Yu Lang’s shadow truly was gone.

Yan Zhengchu’s expression also grew grave. He said, “It is true that a person’s shadow is formed when light shines upon them.”

“But there is another saying as well-only ghosts have no shadows.”

Yu Lang was so frightened by those words that he did not know what to do. “From the sound of that, are you saying I’ve already become a ghost?”

Behind him, Xia Ximo suddenly replied, “Ghosts fear sunlight. If you were a ghost, you would likely have been scattered to the winds by now.”

“Then what is going on? Don’t tell me my shadow ran off to play by itself.”

Yan Zhengchu shot Yu Lang a glare, then said solemnly, “Aside from that, there is one more belief: a wronged spirit steals a shadow in order to find a substitute.”

“…”

Ren Fengjue turned back to glance at Yuelai Villa behind him, recalling what Xia Ximo had said the night before.

“There really is something wrong with this villa.”

Yu Lang looked as if he was about to cry. “So I’ve been targeted by a wronged spirit? What do I do now?”

Ren Fengjue simply turned and walked back toward the villa. “Naturally, we search for it where it was lost.”

They returned to the front gate of the villa. After they knocked, the servant saw that they had come back and once again summoned the elderly steward.

The elderly steward was quite surprised by this and could not help asking, “Honored guests, why have you returned?”

Ren Fengjue said politely, “We just discovered that we lost something, so we came back to look for it.”

The elderly steward was startled. “Was it something valuable?”

Behind him, Yu Lang hurriedly cut in, “Extremely valuable!”

He stepped into the sunlight, pointed at the ground, and said, “My shadow. I lost it here in your villa.”

The elderly steward was utterly astonished. “Young sir, how can you joke about such a thing? Anything else might go missing, but how could a shadow possibly be lost?”

Ren Fengjue asked again, “Has anything like this ever happened in Yuelai Villa?”

The elderly steward hastily shook his head.

“Then has there ever been some kind of unjust case here?”

“Absolutely not!”

Just as the two sides were at an impasse, a voice asked, “Steward Chen, have guests arrived? Why have you not invited them in?”

Everyone looked toward the sound and saw that it was the Shen Family’s son-in-law, whom they had met briefly the night before-Young Master Qin Shu.