Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 833: Chapter 617: Disappearance (Recovering Status)

After all the troubles, as the sun set in the west, the four didn’t forget to hurry to the tailor’s shop to change back into their original clothes and carefully hide away the incense candles and paper money they had bought before rushing back to the Earl Mansion, fortunately without raising any suspicions.

Upon returning to their lodging, they took out these items one by one, which left Chang Chuchu staring in amazement.

"Is... is this Life Incense?" she exclaimed, eyes wide upon seeing the incense shimmering with a dark red hue, her face a mix of shock and fear, "One stick of incense takes away three years of life!"

"You’ve got a good eye, seems like that cheap master of yours indeed taught you something," Xiang Fengchen said, slightly surprised as he glanced at Chang Chuchu. This woman was a female figurine under a Corpse Driver, born with a fierce aura, yet not ruthless enough—at most, she was just mid-grade.

Subsequently, Xiang Fengchen began explaining to everyone that this so-called Life Incense also varied in grade. The highest quality was made from the corpses of pregnant women who had died with grievances. These corpses, known as ’Mother and Child Evil,’ required one to cut open the belly and wrap the incense with Netherworld Paper before stuffing it behind the dead infant inside the womb, then finding a highly negative energy place to bury the Mother and Child Evil. After forty-nine days, the coffin would be opened to retrieve the incense.

However, very few dared to employ such a method. The slightest error, even if it was just the wrong hour for opening the coffin, would lead to backlash from the Mother and Child Evil, resulting in death with no burial place.

The second grade used corpses of women who died from childbirth complications. Their malevolence was slightly less, hence the efficacy of the Life Incense was somewhat reduced.

The third grade used corpses of pregnant women who died of natural causes. Even less malevolent, they were more stable, and most of the Life Incense belonged to this category.

Picking up a stick of incense by its tip, Xiang Fengchen let out a slow sigh, "This incense belongs to the second grade of the third class, cultivated from the corpse of a woman who died in difficult childbirth. But fortunately, the craftsmanship is decent, so this incense is quite rare."

After dinner, making sure there was no one tailing them, Xiang Fengchen retrieved the Divine Turtle Shell hidden inside the manure bucket, cleaned it thoroughly, and placed it reverently on the table. Only after offering incense and bowing did he respectfully tuck it away in his chest.

Yang Xiao, who watched from the side, could clearly see the deep reverence Xiang Fengchen held for the item. This wasn’t feigned respect; for a Feng Shui Master, the significance of the Divine Turtle Shell was immeasurable. Even if it were just a fragment, it represented the fixation of Xiang Fengchen’s master.

The night had already turned completely dark, and although everyone had little desire to sleep, they still forced themselves to rest—tonight was bound to usher in events.

Sure enough, before long, Yang Xiao, who was lying in bed, suddenly heard a flurry of hurried footsteps outside. There was more than one person, the footsteps hasty and chaotic. The one leading them was Steward Wu, but at this moment, Steward Wu was no longer the silent and somber man from before, his face etched with panic. He even tripped over the threshold.

"Steward Wu, what’s happened?" Xiang Fengchen quickly went to help and asked.

"It’s terrible, something terrible has happened!" With a pale face, Steward Wu seized Xiang Fengchen’s hand, his lips quivering, "The Ancestor has been possessed by an Evil Spirit, and... and we can’t find him!"

"Missing?"

"We only know the general location of the Ancestor; he is in the Sleeping Gold Pavilion, in that detached courtyard. There are guards outside the courtyard gate; he definitely didn’t leave," Steward Wu explained.

"Then send people in to search," Yang Xiao suggested. They had just visited the Sleeping Gold Pavilion during the day, that courtyard wasn’t very large, it shouldn’t be hard to find a living person. This situation seemed fraught with mystery; they could only proceed step by step, dealing with challenges as they arose. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com

Upon hearing the suggestion to search, Steward Wu’s face clearly showed panic, and after a moment’s sigh, he revealed the truth. They had already sent many people in to search, but not only did they not find anyone, they actually lost a few.

In the next second, Steward Wu’s face became shrouded in darkness, his voice ominously low, "The mansion has consulted a diviner who said that these missing people were hidden by the Evil Spirit, including the Ancestor. Familiar faces won’t work; we need to send in strangers to find the Ancestor."

With that, the mission for the night was clear: the Ancestor had vanished, and their task was to find and retrieve this neither-human-nor-ghost figure.

They had already figured out the so-called "possession" of the Ancestor by an Evil Spirit was false—there was something amiss with the Ancestor himself.

He was the Evil Spirit.

But now, they were tasked to find the Ancestor; whether they could or not was another matter. This also meant they were about to face the Ancestor head-on.

Under the roof, one has no choice but to bow. The plot of the mission was set, and they couldn’t refuse, so the group could only brace themselves and agree.

Seeing their acquiescence, Steward Wu’s tense face relaxed, and he laid out the rules for the night. They could be certain the Ancestor was inside the detached courtyard, and they had to find him before midnight, but they couldn’t stick together; they had to go one by one, individually.

Steward Wu explained this was for their safety, as going solo wouldn’t draw attention. The "Evil Spirit" that had taken over the Ancestor was currently in a deep slumber, and the Evil Spirit and the Ancestor were one. Their task was to locate the Ancestor’s body.

However, the Ancestor was in an unobservable, bizarre state, simply put, he couldn’t be directly seen.

But wherever the Evil Spirit hid the Ancestor would have some abnormalities. Steward Wu did not specify what these peculiarities were, only emphasizing that as long as they observed carefully, they would surely find them.

Upon finding the abnormalities, they should sprinkle incense ash on the ground. When the incense ash touches the Ancestor’s body, it will reveal its form.

After locating the Ancestor, they should knock on the wooden clapper outside the courtyard gate. Upon hearing the clapper sound, someone would come to take the Ancestor back, and they wouldn’t have to worry about the rest.