Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 1226: Chapter 817: Ghostly Shadow

"Me." Sopa responded briefly and was about to stand up when the person next to him intercepted.

Maria stood up, sneering and looking casual as she said, "Don’t always team up the two of you, okay? Let me go this time, I’ll accompany big brother Datou."

"Okay." Datou readily agreed.

This made Maria even more puzzled, as she had already noticed Datou and Sopa’s close relationship; they might have already formed an alliance.

"Should I take the lantern or should you?" Datou asked, lighting a candle with the fire starter.

"You should take it." Juan’s previous speculations were still echoing in her mind. Although Juan was dead, Maria was still unwilling to touch this bad omen and declined on the spot.

After instructing the two who stayed behind to take care of the candle flame, Datou grabbed the lantern and walked out of the morgue with Maria following behind.

A gust of night wind hit them, helping both Datou and Maria become considerably more alert.

"Let’s go to the front gate first and inspect along the courtyard wall." Datou made the decision and didn’t wait for Maria’s response before starting to move.

Maria cast a vigilant gaze around, taking small steps behind Datou. They had been here during the day, but nighttime and daytime felt like two entirely different worlds.

The morgue at night was desolate and decrepit, filled with a dead silence.

Looking out, several low wooden huts and some twisted trees farther away seemed to have come alive, accentuated by the darkness. freёwebnovel.com

The two walked the path towards the pitch-black large gate. It was ajar, with a gap in the middle, presumably left by Tong Tak upon leaving.

"Should we close the door?" Maria asked in a low voice from behind, feeling uneasy hiding in a courtyard with a half-opened gate.

"Close the door?" Datou asked back, "Close the door to guard against whom?"

This question indeed left Maria stumped, as their current location was the remote morgue of the temple, packed with dozens of coffins, arguably the most sinister place in the entire temple.

"Tonight we should be thinking about how to escape; there’s something wrong with that candle. I suspect it can draw Ghosts." Datou said with conviction.

"Really, don’t scare me?" Maria was half-believing.

"I’ve seen that candle in the Inner Buddha Hall before; it’s unlike the candles in the Outer Buddha Hall and other places. Have you thought about why every time, one of our group dies?" Datou suddenly asked.

The two turned to the left side of the courtyard gate, slowly inspecting near the courtyard wall. Maria was constantly attentive to the surrounding movements, couldn’t hold back her curiosity and asked, "Big brother Datou, do you know why?"

"I can’t be sure, but I’ve figured a bit out." Datou sneered, "Because the Ghost killing is not controlled by Ghost at all; Ghost is just a tool, someone else is really using the Ghost to kill."

"It’s the Monks in the temple..." Maria seemed to resonate.

"Exactly, it’s them!" Datou nodded heavily, "They arranged a deadly mission for us, perhaps related to our identities."

"It’s likely an Esoteric Sect ritual, intending to kill us according to becoming High Monk’s Hejia Lun Du sequence."

Maria was deeply engrossed in Datou’s novel speculation, but undeniably, it could indeed explain their current situation, "Big brother Datou, hearing you speak like this is better than reading books for ten years. So tell me, what is this bunch of Monks’ purpose?"

"To sacrifice us substitutes, reviving those six Demon Monks." Datou continued fluently, speaking assuredly, "You’ve been an old player; have you encountered such a thing less? Everything these Monks are doing now was planned early by the six Demon Monks."

"But..." Maria wanted to say more but was suddenly interrupted by Datou raising his hand. freewebnøvel.com

Both instantly stood still, Maria perked her ears and kept a lookout all around until Datou spoke again, "Did... did you hear any sound?"

"No."

"Let’s speed up."

They walked and stopped, the courtyard was neither big nor small, and due to unfamiliarity with the road, they spent a bit more time. However, in between, their relationship became closer, at least on the surface.

After patrolling around, they naturally started addressing each other as Brother Datou and Sister Maria.

As soon as they entered, Maria smelled a scent, slightly surprised and asked, "Did one of you light incense?"

"It was me." Sopa raised his hand, "There are so many coffins in this house, I don’t know whether there are bodies inside them, so I lit some incense to pay respects."

"Nonsense!" Datou’s face changed and rebuked, "Wait till there’s no one around and see how I’ll deal with you!"

After reprimanding, Datou switched expressions and said to Maria, "Sister Maria, I’ll keep an eye on this place; our new and old mix, I’ll trouble you to take Brother Hafeez and patrol outside again, let him familiarize with the environment."

This seemed like a perfectly normal request, but it triggered Maria’s vigilance; listening to words and watching actions, Maria was well-versed in this.

No matter how good and reasonable Datou sounded, she couldn’t fully trust him.

He mentioned that the candle could attract Ghosts, then actively retaining his ally Sopa to watch the candle, which was inconsistent, clearly suspicious.

Maria strongly suspected during the recent patrol, Datou discovered danger, but he kept quiet about it, yes, that’s it!

Recalling, when patrolling to a deserted house, Datou said he heard something, but when asked, he said it might’ve been a mistake, then hurried her along.