Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 72: Chapter 72: Madness

Upon hearing this, Su Tingting was startled and quickly spat out the grave soil, "Not there? How... how could it not be there? Could it be that Master Bai and his people killed someone elsewhere?"

"Or they have been carrying the body the whole way. The child’s body isn’t big; it could easily be placed in any box," Su Tingting began to think hard.

Looking into the distance toward the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda, Yang Xiao’s face also darkened. Now, only the tip of the pagoda was visible. "It doesn’t make sense. This is the best place to bury a body. They would not travel a long distance with a corpse; the risk is too high. Besides, burying the body here would also mean the pagoda could suppress it, trapping the child’s resentful spirit and preventing it from leaving. This would also eliminate the likelihood of revenge being sought."

Putting himself in their shoes, Yang Xiao really couldn’t think of a better place to bury a body. If he were Master Bai, this would be the only choice for the entire route from Feng Mansion to the dock.

After a silent moment, Kuang Hongyi finally voiced the thought that had been weighing on his mind, "Could it be... that the child is not actually dead?"

Su Tingting was taken aback. She wondered if her ears were malfunctioning and exclaimed, "Kuang, what are you talking about? How could that be possible? If the child isn’t dead, where is she? Moreover, you weren’t there and might not know, but Manager Liu from the coffin shop also said that if the child wasn’t dead, it wouldn’t make sense for Ms. Chun’s vengeful spirit not to find her."

However, Yang Xiao seemed to be on to something, and gradually, a bold conjecture formed in his mind, one he himself found implausible. "Let’s go, let’s head back."

"Go back... where?"

"Back to the coach, of course. We’re heading to Crouching Tiger Manor to find Manager Liu," Yang Xiao hinted to Su Tingting with his eyes. "Remember, when we see Master Zhao and the others, don’t mention anything about what just happened. Just say the situation is more complicated than we initially thought, but we have some clues now, only some preparations are still needed."

"Miss Su, you better not say anything at all. If there’s a problem, Chu and I will handle it." Kuang Hongyi was worried that Su Tingting’s lack of experience and cunning would give them away. freeweɓnovel.cѳm

By the dusty yellow road, two coaches were parked one behind the other, the coachman of the front coach had plucked a handful of fresh grass leaves and was feeding the horse.

Behind, Master Zhao and a few others gathered in a shaded spot, their eyes sharply fixated on the road Yang Xiao and the rest would be returning on.

A square-faced young martial master with a scar on his right cheek leaned close to Master Zhao and whispered, "Chief Zhao, it’s been so long, why haven’t they come back yet?"

"What’s the rush? They went to the Soul-Suppressing Pagoda, do you think they’re as useless as you are at visiting brothels?" The Zhao surnamed martial master frowned and glanced at his three subordinates. "You know what to do later, right?"

Another martial master, dressed bare-chested, grinned cruelly, "As soon as they show up, without a word, we chop them up and bury them on the spot..."

But before he could finish, he was knocked on the head with a punch. Master Zhao was seething with anger, "Damn it, you’re ready to chop people up before even speaking to them? How are we going to explain that when we get back? Is the job done? What do we say to our master? How do we collect our reward?"

"Remember, don’t rush when you see them. First, trap them in conversation, confirm that the job is done, then we can make our move."

"Right, right, right. We brothers all listen to Chief Zhao, working with you is always smooth; we can’t go wrong!" Another martial master complimented with a keen eye for opportunity.

"Also, that Kuang guy is a bit off. The way he moves is too disciplined, and he seems to have some skill. I’ll deal with him personally, the other three are yours to handle," the Zhao surnamed martial master instructed.

"Three?" the square-faced martial master was taken aback.

Master Zhao nodded toward the coachman who was feeding grass to the horses not far away, "And him. He has driven these ’Blessing Guests’ before, it’s hard to guarantee that he hasn’t picked up some information. We can’t leave him behind either."

"This..." the bare-chested warrior hesitated for a moment, his face showing difficulty, "Chief Zhao, he’s just a coachman, what could he know? Besides, those ’Blessing Guests’, if they had secrets, they wouldn’t tell him."

"That’s right, that’s right. This... Old Wu has been with the mansion for years, known for his honesty and diligence. When my mother was sick, I couldn’t leave my post for several days, it was him who went to buy herbal medicine and delivered it to my mother."

The other three martial masters all spoke in favor of the coachman, but Master Zhao smirked with indifference and laughed, "Fine, Master Feng has promised a total of 200 taels of silver for this job. One more person means one more share to be divided. We were supposed to get 50 taels each, but now with Old Wu included, it’s 40 taels per person."

"There’s such a thing!" The square-faced warrior’s expression changed, "Then don’t blame our brother for the swiftness of our blades."

"Let’s kill him, and let him be their companion on the Road to the Netherworld!" The bare-chested warrior’s eyes gleamed viciously, and the remaining one echoed in agreement.

"Hey, hey, they’re coming!"

In the distance, three figures emerged from the forest and made their way toward the horse carriage. Master Zhao’s heart leapt with joy as he hurriedly stood up, "Be ready, follow my lead!"

As the figures approached, Master Zhao switched back to his obsequious demeanor, running up to greet them with clasped hands, "Honorable Guests, how did it go?"

"Ah, ran into some minor trouble." Yang Xiao waved his hand impatiently and plopped down, breathing heavily as if utterly exhausted.

Su Tingting, knowing she wasn’t as skilled in acting as Yang Xiao, pretended to have a headache and went to rest in her own carriage first. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Hearing that the task wasn’t completed, Master Zhao metaphorically hacked Yang Xiao to pieces in his heart, but his face still wore a smile, "No problem, no problem. So, shall we now..."

"Depart, to Crouching Tiger Manor."

After a brief rest, the group set off for Crouching Tiger Manor. This time, Yang Xiao lifted the curtains of the carriage, chatting with the old coachman while enjoying the scenery. It was this man who had taken them to Old Bull Dock before, so they were somewhat familiar with each other.

After some random chatter about directions, Yang Xiao broached the main topic, "Old Wu, the Young Lady of your household is really beautiful. Is she also from the town?"

"You mean the Young Lady? She’s not a local. I’m not sure exactly where she’s from, but she comes from a prominent family too. It’s just that her family fell into hard times later on. Master Feng and her family were old acquaintances, so out of kindness, Master Feng took the Young Lady in."

"Master Feng is truly a man of benevolence and righteousness!" Yang Xiao exclaimed, then swiftly changed the subject, "By the way, when did the Young Lady enter the mansion?"

This time the coachman pondered for a moment and let out a wry smile, "Oh dear, I really don’t know that. The Young Lady never leaves the mansion; common folks can’t even see her. But... it’s been quite some years, at least seven or eight. Oh, that’s right, I once heard Nurse Rong, who cooks in the mansion, say that the Young Lady had madness as a child and was confined within the mansion for treatment, so Master Feng did not allow her to meet people."