Free Web NovelChapter 509: Chapter 442: The Source
In an instant, Yang Xiao’s scalp tingled, and he felt utterly undone. He finally understood why the ghosts were afraid of him. It wasn’t him they feared; it was the red-dressed female ghost standing behind him.
Trapped on the solitary boat, Yang Xiao had no place to escape. In a moment of determination, with a "plop," he jumped into the lake, mimicking the Opera Ghost.
But before he had gone far, he suddenly heard another "plop" behind him. Yang Xiao’s face turned pale, the red-dressed ghost had also jumped in.
Moreover, the ghost swam toward him much faster. Yang Xiao swam desperately, but the red-dressed ghost kept closing the gap until he felt a halt. An icy hand had grabbed his right foot and was violently pulling him downwards. freewebnovel.cσ๓
Yang Xiao had no time to react before he was dragged into the chilly waters, gulping down several mouthfuls. He kicked and thrashed, fearing the red-dressed ghost meant him harm, but as he sank deeper, the ghost surprisingly let go.
At that moment, Yang Xiao realized that the lake below was not pitch black, but instead, there was a faint dark red glow, casting the ghostly figure of the red-dressed ghost in an even eerier light. Her long hair billowed out, arms extended horizontally, and the red Drama Robe moved with the water waves, imparting an air of religious fatalism to the scene.
Soon, Yang Xiao noticed that the dark red glow wasn’t coming from the ghost. Deeper in the lake, there was something luminous.
Yang Xiao’s curiosity vanished with the appearance of the ghost, and his first instinct was to escape while the ghost was distracted. He changed his posture and swam quickly in the opposite direction, aiming to surface for air.
But the ghost followed suit, moving swiftly over Yang Xiao’s head, blocking his path to the surface.
Every time Yang Xiao tried to swim away, the ghost intercepted him. Watching the ghost with arms outstretched above him, her red Drama Robe unfolding in the water, the scene struck him profoundly. The next second, the ghost started chasing after him.
At that moment, with no other choice, Yang Xiao held his breath and dove deeper into the lake. Through the slightly murky water, he faintly discerned something large at the bottom, the source of the dark red glow.
His first thought was the sunken ship, the Feng Family’s Bo Xi Ship, but as he got closer, he realized it wasn’t a ship at all. The shape was different, and it was much larger than the Bo Xi Ship he had seen.
Yang Xiao sensed something wrong. He had never found the lake to be so deep. He had dove at least 20 meters down and had yet to reach the bottom—which didn’t make sense. He was holding his breath but felt no asphyxiation from lack of oxygen.
With the red-dressed ghost tailing him, Yang Xiao could only dive further. This time, he caught a clear glimpse of the object deep in the water. Just one look was enough to utterly shock him. This... this was a building!
It had nine stories, its surface dyed a dark red by the ghostly glow. At first glance, it resembled a giant monster slumbering at the bottom of the lake. Instinctively, Yang Xiao felt as if the Nine-Story Demon Tower was alive, animate.
In that moment, he also understood the red-dressed ghost’s intentions. She had brought him here to offer him as a sacrifice to the Demon Tower.
Without any hesitation, Yang Xiao turned and fled. He hadn’t swum far when something caught his right foot again. An irresistible force dragge him toward the lakebed. The hand that seized him was cold beyond measure, far colder than the lake water, freezing his whole body stiff. All he could do was watch helplessly as he sank.
The deeper he went, the colder it became, the temperature plunging well below zero degrees. As Yang Xiao’s consciousness waned from the cold, there was a muffled "bang"—the Demon Tower’s black gate was smashed open, and the ghost flung Yang Xiao inside.
Darkness reigned beyond the Great Gate of the Demon Tower. A single glance felt as if it could devour one’s soul. In the last moments before being thrown in, Yang Xiao saw the black plaque hanging above the tower.
Heavenly Water Pavilion.
"Hu—"
"Hu—"
Yang Xiao jolted awake from the bed, gasping for air, his forehead and back already drenched in cold sweat, his whole body clammy.
He remained in that position for a full two minutes before gradually calming down, the scene he just experienced felt too real.
Heavenly Water Pavilion.
He saw it clearly, it really was the Heavenly Water Pavilion, Tong Han had once helped him recall, in his last assignment, there appeared a Nine-Story Demon Tower named Heavenly Water Pavilion. This tower almost led to the annihilation of their team. fгeewebnovёl.com
But Yang Xiao had never imagined that this Nine-Story Demon Tower would actually be submerged underneath the lake of the Feng Family Mansion.
Now it seems that this Demon Tower is closely related to the previous owner of the Drama Robe. No wonder the Feng Family Mansion is so difficult to deal with, and at the end of their mission, it turned into a procession of a hundred ghosts. It was all due to the disturbances from this tower, which is truly the most terrifying existence within the Feng Family Mansion.
What frightened Yang Xiao even more was that he himself had been thrown inside the Demon Tower by a female ghost.
The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. Yang Xiao shakily turned on the light, got out of bed, and went over to the desk without even bothering to put on slippers, opening his backpack with a nervous heart. The Underworld Robe lay quietly inside the backpack as if all of the previous events had nothing to do with it.
Yang Xiao swallowed hard and carefully picked up the robe, unfolding it and inspecting it inside and out, but he couldn’t find any changes.
Not giving up, he went to the bathroom and checked himself over carefully, too. There was nothing abnormal about him either.
But the more this was the case, the less reassured Yang Xiao felt. He didn’t know what the former owner of the Drama Robe had done to him.
"Sister?" Yang Xiao tentatively whispered to the robe.
The robe remained motionless.
"Fine, fine, fine, kick me aside after using me, huh? Not like how desperately you were clinging to me just now," Yang Xiao thought resentfully, yet he dared not show it.
Suddenly, Yang Xiao thought of some of the punishments used by the Black Buddha Mother Sect and suspected whether the ’good sister’ might have done something really awful to him. He took off his pants and looked at himself carefully in the mirror, front and back. Hmm... no problem.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Yang Xiao suddenly felt a bit like a pervert.
After such an ordeal, Yang Xiao wasn’t the least bit sleepy anymore. He didn’t dare to turn off the light and just lay in bed, lost in wild thoughts.
He tossed and turned until dawn, finally feeling slightly drowsy, and when he woke up, it was already noon.
Nalan Shuo had already said he would give him a few days off. Yang Xiao rubbed his slightly throbbing temples before getting up. The matter of the Heavenly Water Pavilion also had to be scheduled for attention now, along with the Mirror Ghost, these two issues were troubling him.
"Seems like I have no choice but to participate in the secret competition of the Ru Lin Academy," Yang Xiao sighed, sitting on the bed with a listless expression.
He wasn’t a combative person, but when his life was at stake, he had no choice but to act.
