I Can Strengthen Infinitely

Chapter 472: Chapter 290: The Blood-Faced Man

"Hmm!" ƒrēewebnovel.com

Qin Yuesheng, who hadn’t encountered any ghostly or strange phenomena for a while, suddenly lit up.

Things were starting to get interesting.

Perhaps because of the inn’s peculiar aura, the place was quite deserted, with almost no guests in sight. Qin Yuesheng, holding the Exorcism Toad, wandered around the main hall, deducing the source of the ominous energy based on the fluctuating values on the glass plate. He quickly determined that the energy originated from the inn’s backyard.

However, when Qin Yuesheng intended to take a look at the backyard, two attendants promptly approached: "Sir, are you here for a meal or a stay? The backyard is where our Shopkeeper resides, and it’s generally off-limits. We hope you can understand."

"A stay." Qin Yuesheng put away the Exorcism Toad. "I find the arrangement of your inn quite strange and unsettling. I’m curious if anything has happened."

The attendant smiled awkwardly and said, "Sir, you must be joking. If something has happened here, we wouldn’t still be open and risking harm. Rest assured, those talismans are our Shopkeeper’s offerings to ask the deity for offspring."

"Oh." Qin Yuesheng replied with a meaningful tone, chose not to debunk the comment, and asked to be arranged a room to settle in.

...

The backyard of the inn, a small shrine.

"Blessings, deity, blessings." Song Qiusheng knelt on the ground, repeatedly bowing his head. In front of him, on the offering table, was a statue of Guanyin wrapped in a red cloth.

This Guanyin looked sinister, with no trace of compassion but rather filled with cruelty.

Song Qiusheng solemnly bowed five times, then proceeded to light incense, his movements fluid and sincere.

Song Qiusheng was the sole heir of the Song family, which had passed down the lineage single-handedly for four generations. Despite his predecessors having children before the age of forty, this hadn’t been his luck.

Now fifty-four, Song Qiusheng had one wife and three concubines, yet none had successfully borne him a son, leaving him deeply troubled. Over the years, he had tried countless secret recipes and remedies.

Drinking, eating, pinching, acupuncture, feng shui... he had tried numerous methods with no success, year after year, leaving Song Qiusheng burdened with worry.

Three months ago, a deity suddenly became popular in Chengshan City, and no one knew its origin. Everyone claimed it was highly effective, promising to fulfill wishes if sincerely worshiped at home.

Desperate like treating a dead horse as a living one, Song Qiusheng spent money to invite one home, and surprisingly, within thirty days, both his wife and one concubine were expecting!

This brought immense joy to Song Qiusheng, as it was unprecedented for the Song family to have two offspring in a single generation.

As a result, Song Qiusheng’s worship of the deity was even more devoted and diligent.

Although the appearance of the deity differed from the popular image, feeling eerie and strange, the good news of pregnancies made Song Qiusheng overlook these details.

After setting the incense, Song Qiusheng sincerely clasped his hands together and bowed three times before leaving the shrine.

He failed to notice that as he stepped out the door, the deity statue wrapped in the red cloth briefly flashed red in its eyes, the sinister smile growing larger.

Nightfall.

On the deserted street, Li Ding was carrying two crates of wine towards Yixiang Building, the largest brothel in Chengshan City. The demand for alcohol there was immense. Li Ding was a helper at Yixiang Building, and seeing the shortage of wine tonight, the keeper urged him to go to the winery quickly.

With the dark street mostly lit by the lanterns of closed shops, the entire stretch seemed dim, with only an indistinct outline visible in the distance.

Having grown up in the alleys, Li Ding knew every street and alley in Chengshan City and often took night walks, so he had no fear of the night roads.

As he walked, he even started humming a tune, feeling rather at ease.

"Young master, can you stop for a moment?"

Suddenly, a soft female voice sounded, surprising Li Ding as he glanced around.

Young master? Was there someone else around?

Usually, the term "young master" was reserved for wealthy or scholarly young men, while Li Ding was illiterate and poor, far from fitting the title.

"Young master, don’t look around, I’m talking about you."

As Li Ding peered around, he spotted a woman standing in a corner nearby, staring intently at him. Due to the dim light, all he could see was her flowing hair and a blue dress, while the other features were unclear.

"Miss, may I ask why you called out to me?" Li Ding asked curiously.

"Young master, I twisted my ankle and can’t walk. It’s dark and deserted here, and I’ve been stuck for a while. Could you help me to my residence? I would greatly appreciate your assistance."

The woman’s voice was both alluring and enchanting, capturing Li Ding’s attention. Having never heard such a melodious voice despite working at Yixiang Building for years, he readily agreed, "Yes, yes, miss, I’ll be right there."

He hefted his shoulder pole and hurriedly headed towards her.

A strange fragrance faintly wafted through the air, and with just one whiff, Li Ding felt his whole body go limp, as if he were drunk, floating in a dreamy state, his legs feeling as if they were treading on clouds.

"The lady smells so nice, I wonder what kind of powder or perfume she used," Li Ding mumbled dreamily.

"Do you want to know, sir? Then make a guess~" the woman chuckled, leaning against the wall.

Li Ding, suspecting nothing, continued to approach. When they were just about three steps apart, the fragrance grew even stronger, causing Li Ding to become more disoriented, his eyes unfocused, and his face involuntarily moved closer to the woman’s face.

Suddenly, a decaying half-face, with maggots squirming between the flesh, entered his view, revealing an ugly, gruesome visage.

"Sir, do you find me pretty?"

A chill ran straight down Li Ding’s spine, shocking him back to consciousness instantly.

"Ghost, ghost!" Li Ding cried out in terror, the yoke on his shoulder slipping to the ground with a crash.

Before he could turn to flee, the woman extended her left hand, which had been hidden behind her back, and lifted an object—a black umbrella.

As the black umbrella opened in her hand, a wisp of black vapor shot out, enveloping Li Ding’s head. When the vapor spun and was drawn back into the umbrella, Li Ding collapsed to the ground, and his face was flayed off, leaving behind a bloody mess.

The jars on the yoke shattered on the ground, spilling wine into a pool that reeked of alcohol.

As if vanishing with a strange gust of wind, the woman’s figure gradually disappeared into the darkness.

...

Early the next morning.

Qin Yuesheng and Bai Ningxuan entered the hall and saw a few attendants sitting by a table, discussing something with interest.

Qin Yuesheng’s hearing was exceptional, and he clearly overheard their conversation.

"Did you hear? Another person died last night, their whole face peeled off, blood everywhere."

"This seems to be the seventh person killed this month in the same manner. Who knows who did it—such a cruel method."

"The authorities have suppressed this issue again. Everyone is so on edge now."

"The person killed this time was near here. Who knows if it’ll spread to where we are next."

Qin Yuesheng raised an eyebrow, committing the matter to memory.

Seeing Qin Yuesheng and Bai Ningxuan walk in, the attendants immediately stopped their discussion.

Such topics were not suitable for guests to hear. If guests overheard and became uneasy, hastily checking out to stay elsewhere would be troublesome.

Qin Yuesheng and Bai Ningxuan found a table to sit at. Just as they were about to inquire about something, they saw five constables with knives enter from outside, the leader immediately calling out, "Where’s the attendant? Come here."

When an official asks questions, attendants naturally don’t dare act as if nothing’s wrong. One attendant promptly stepped forward and asked, "Officers, what’s the matter?"

"Did you hear any noise nearby last night?"

"Noise?" The attendant looked at his companions, "No, officers."

"You’d better be precise," the official said, staring so fiercely that it made the attendant shudder. Common folk are always afraid of these officers, it’s just the way of the world.

Out of fear, the attendant meekly added, "Well... I think I heard a scream, it sounded like a man’s."

"What time, what moment?"

"This... I’m not too sure," the attendant hesitated.

He had been in a daze at that hour, only vaguely hearing a scream from outside, a very pitiful scream that left a deep impression on him.

But at the time, he was too drowsy and didn’t get up to check; he just continued to sleep.

Only when he got up this morning and heard someone say someone had died on the nearby street did he recall that scream, which made him feel frightened in retrospect, suspecting it was related to the death.

"Come with me," the official gestured with a wave, indicating for the attendant to follow him outside.

The attendant looked troubled; he was just an ordinary person and didn’t want to get entangled in such mysterious deaths.

But in the face of the official’s unyielding, cold gaze, despite his reluctance, the attendant had no choice but to unwillingly go outside.

Qin Yuesheng exchanged a glance with Bai Ningxuan: "I’ll go check it out first; you stay here."