Free Web NovelChapter 1070: Chapter 737: Midnight Fright_2
Seeing Yang Xiao and Tong Han appear as if descended from the heavens, Chai Yong, who had just recovered from the beauty trap, was so frightened that his face turned pale.
After a brief consolation, Yang Xiao revealed the purpose of their visit tonight. He asked Chai Yong to investigate the old village chief’s house while he and Tong Han provided cover from the rear.
"Me?" Chai Yong pointed to himself, full of disbelief, feeling like a fool assigned by the brainless Demon King to intercept Tang Seng and his disciples, as a minor monster.
But the next moment, seeing the Demon King and the Demon King’s Wife’s expressions turn grim, Chai Yong quickly snapped back to reality, realizing that the mission was not entirely impossible to accept. He could distinguish between possible death later and certain death immediately.
Worried that the Soul-Capturing Mirror’s power might alert the Ghost Village Chief, the three of them chose to walk, as the distance was short.
At night, Ten Thousand Immortals Village was silent, devoid of any human activity. The dark houses along the road resembled tombs.
On the way, Yang Xiao learned about Chai Yong’s ability. His Resentful Eye was that Nine-section Whip, once released, it would wrap around the opponent’s neck like a living thing, suffocating them to death without leaving any marks.
Among the Resentment Level Apostles, this was considered a decent magic artifact. Still, in the eyes of the current Yang Xiao, it was insignificant. The worthiness of sister Yan Xuan was beyond the imagination of a guy like Chai Yong.
The three acted cautiously and soon arrived outside the old village chief’s compound. Only a few respected elders in the village had compounds, and the village chief’s was undoubtedly the largest and most spacious, surrounded by a mud wall as high as a person.
"You go ahead, if something unexpected happens, I’ll step in." Yang Xiao put on a reliable face.
With things at this stage, Chai Yong had no choice but to grit his teeth and climb over the wall. Although he seemed clumsy, he was actually quite agile, landing almost silently, making it barely audible unless one listened closely.
Yang Xiao and Tong Han found a dark spot to conceal themselves, observing Chai Yong’s every move.
The house the village chief lived in was quite large, three rooms from left to right. They had visited during the day; the leftmost room was a storehouse for grain and miscellaneous items, entering the middle room led directly to the hall, and the room on the right was the village chief’s bedroom.
The village chief lived alone, without a wife.
Chai Yong first circled to the window of the right bedroom, peering inside through a hole on the paper window. He saw someone lying on the bed, motionless, seemingly sound asleep.
Chai Yong quietly stepped to the outside of the village chief’s door. The black wooden door was mottled and old, unable to fully close, leaving a finger-width gap in the middle.
Chai Yong cautiously inserted a small knife he carried into the door gap, slowly lifting the latch on the other side, ensuring his movement didn’t disturb the sleeping old village chief when he opened the door.
His task was merely to investigate. Yang Xiao gave him a copper mirror, instructing him to use it to shine on the old village chief once inside.
Confirming there was no one else in the room, Chai Yong stealthily entered, approaching the bed carefully observing.
A moment later, Chai Yong exhaled in relief. The old village chief breathed evenly, sleeping soundly with his eyes closed, lying on his side. The slightly open mouth revealed blackened and yellow teeth, a result of long-term pipe smoking.
Chai Yong reached into his pocket for the mirror, adjusting the angle to aim it at the old village chief’s face.
Yet outside in the courtyard, Yang Xiao was unaware of the situation inside the house. Since Chai Yong entered, his Soul-Capturing Mirror lost connection with Chai Yong’s mirror, unable to sense its presence.
Yang Xiao attempted to probe other villagers in the village using the Soul-Capturing Mirror, but besides the five of them in their room, he couldn’t access or spy on any other villagers’ rooms.
He knew there were no mirrors in the village, but every household had basins and water jars. It was fine if they were outside in the courtyard, but as soon as they entered a room, it was like being veiled by some bizarre power, cutting off perception.
Yang Xiao’s heart tightened, the ghost’s ability seemed to counteract his Soul-Capturing Mirror.
He resolved that even if he couldn’t obtain this magic artifact, he would involve the General Bureau and the highest experts to destroy it.
If he couldn’t have it, neither could that young sect master.
Inside, after reflecting the old village chief with the mirror a few times, there was no reaction; he remained asleep with his eyes closed. Timing his task, Chai Yong decided it was time to withdraw, having followed Yang Xiao’s instructions to the letter, it should suffice to report back.
But just as he turned to put away the mirror, an inadvertent glance made his heart skip a beat. In the mirror, the old village chief’s eyes were wide open, staring straight at him.
Yet when Chai Yong looked again, the old village chief in the mirror had reverted to a state of deep slumber, both inside and outside the mirror, he was soundly asleep.
Swallowing with difficulty, Chai Yong grabbed the mirror and decided to leave. This ghostly place was too ominous to stay any longer.
As he stepped out of the bedroom, an inexplicable urge made Chai Yong raise the mirror, using the reflection to glance at the old village chief on the bed. The next second, a chilling scene unfolded; the old village chief was silently, without a sound, standing up straight on the bed, still with his back to him.
At this point, even if Chai Yong were slow-witted, he realized he was in trouble. He gritted his teeth and struck first, turning as he threw the magic artifact. The Nine-section Whip twisted in mid-air like a serpent, coiling swiftly around the old village chief’s neck.
Soon enough, the old village chief stopped struggling, the body limply collapsing onto the bed with a dull thud.
Unexpectedly striking successfully, Chai Yong couldn’t believe he subdued him so easily. He retrieved the magic artifact and hurriedly left, quickly recounting the sequence to Yang Xiao and Tong Han.
Oddly, immediately after Chai Yong killed the old village chief, the eerie force suppressing Yang Xiao’s Soul-Capturing Mirror disappeared.
Yang Xiao instructed Tong Han to stay outside while he and Chai Yong returned to the old village chief’s room. After a round of inspection, they confirmed the old village chief was indeed dead, completely deceased.
The innately cautious Yang Xiao took out the Ghost Lantern for further examination. The old village chief’s body was nothing unusual, just a recently deceased corpse.
However, when pulling at the corpse’s clothing, Yang Xiao discovered an old scar on the left side of the chest. Strangely, there was a similar scar on the back, as if the old village chief’s chest was once pierced through by some sharp object.
"So... did we succeed?" Chai Yong whispered.
"Let’s go first." After ensuring they left no obvious traces, Yang Xiao led Chai Yong away.
After escorting Chai Yong back, Yang Xiao used the Soul-Capturing Mirror to return to Tong Han’s room.
Yang Xiao naturally knew it wasn’t that simple; the root problem seemingly lay not with the old village chief.
The reason was straightforward. If the real ghost had been dealt with, then this so-called "Ten Thousand Immortals Village" would cease to exist.
"What do we do tomorrow if the villagers discover the old village chief’s death? They will certainly suspect us," Tong Han worried.
"Old people passing away naturally is normal. I checked the scene; there are no choke marks on the old village chief’s neck. If anyone inquires, just adamantly deny knowledge," Yang Xiao advised, having instructed Chai Yong similarly at the scene. freёwebnovel.com
These were merely stopgap measures. To truly solve the problem, they needed to find the root of the supernatural events, which was that Source Ghost.
After this series of events, not long after Yang Xiao returned to his abode, the sky outside began to lighten. This entire night lasted at most 4 or 5 hours, with day and night duration distorted by supernatural power, totally disrupted.
Soon after, Yang Xiao heard someone approaching outside, followed by knocking and the villagers’ voices inviting them to breakfast.
Yang Xiao feigned a sleepy appearance as he opened the door, intending to decline as usual. But the next moment, he froze in place, stunned. fгeewebnovёl.com
He saw the kindly old village chief standing behind several villagers, wrinkles gathering at the corners of his eyes, smiling at him.
