Nightmare Apostle

Chapter 853: Chapter 625: Blind Spot

This was Yang Xiao’s first impression as he stared at the scale, a chill coursing down his spine. He simply couldn’t imagine what sort of monstrous creature these lunatics of the Earl Mansion had bred.

Further examination revealed rusty chains under the bedding at the four corners of the bed. From the remains on the chains, it seemed that the Ancestor had been locked up here until not long ago. Yang Xiao couldn’t decide if he should fear it or pity it when he pictured someone being locked up completely alone in such a vast and deep attic for hundreds of years.

Perhaps the Ancestor had already transcended the category of "human", having ground away all human emotions. Putting himself in the Ancestor’s shoes, after more than a hundred years, everything would have changed; the grand aspirations to restore the nation and the ambition to rule the world should have been let go long ago. He would rather die than live a lingering life like the Ancestor.

Yang Xiao suddenly felt that by coming here, to this bedroom where the Ancestor had lived for hundreds of years, he was one step closer to the Ancestor and understood it better.

Perhaps, compared to the so-called ambition to rule the world, the Ancestor was now more eager for release. The title of Ancestor sounds noble, but in truth, it was just a bargaining chip for the unworthy descendants of the Earl Mansion to gain power and status, just like them, the pitiable people who had come to this world, unable to change what they had been through, only able to accept it.

Shaking his head to banish these thoughts from his mind, it wasn’t time to think about this. The immediate priority was to find the Ancestor and end tonight’s task.

Turning around, he walked to the door, closed it behind him, stood there, and closed his eyes to feel carefully. There was no Evil Qi in the room, and Yang Xiao, not daring to be careless, checked under the desk, inside the wardrobe, and even the ceiling with his lantern before leaving.

Only one room remained. Taking a deep breath, Yang Xiao held the incense and pushed open the door with his right hand.

Illuminated by the lantern light, Yang Xiao stood outside the door and looked in. It was a study with a large desk covered in full stationery, and both sides of the room were fitted with tall shelves that housed numerous treasures.

It was less a study and more a Treasure Pavilion. Most importantly, at the inner part of the study stood a screen.

A large shadow loomed behind the screen, not human, much larger than a human, like a monster squatting on the ground.

At the same time, a chilling wind brushed past him, bringing with it a nauseating stench. Unintentionally, Yang Xiao shivered, now certain that something was hidden here.

It could be a Ghost Substitute, but more likely the Ancestor itself, given the stench was similar to what he smelled on the golden scale.

The thought that the Ancestor might be crouching behind the screen, waiting for him, made Yang Xiao’s heartbeat uncontrollably quicken.

As time ticked away, the Life Incense had burned down by more than half, and the candle inside the lantern was left with less than a third. He had no time to hesitate.

He stepped forward, inching closer to the screen. The uneasiness intensified the deeper he went. Switching the lantern to his left hand, holding the incense for light, he reached into his jacket with his free right hand and took out the last packet of incense ash. freeweɓnovēl.coɱ

Finally, he stood before the screen. The material happened to be Jade, which meant he couldn’t see through to the other side even when he got close. The lower end of the screen was made of solid wood panels with no carvings or hollowed-out sections, meaning Yang Xiao couldn’t cheat his way through.

Below, reflected by the candlelight, something glittered. Looking down, Yang Xiao saw water at his feet, flowing from behind the screen.

A lurking shadow, the water continuously flowing outwards, and that peculiar stench... connecting all these dots, Yang Xiao was at least 70% sure that the Ancestor was hiding behind the screen, waiting for him.

The screen wasn’t very high. Yang Xiao estimated that he could easily throw the incense ash over the screen and behind it.

This was the safest method; otherwise, he would have to circle around and get up close and personal with the Ancestor, which instinctively he resisted.

Not to mention the horrifying appearance of the Ancestor, most terrifying was that Yang Xiao couldn’t guarantee that he wouldn’t be cursed the instant he encountered the Ancestor.

Now he was faced with a difficult choice: either scatter the incense ash in advance and take a bet, which still had a high chance of success, or go behind the screen to confirm the Ancestor’s location before making a move. However, the latter option involved much greater risk for him.

After a moment’s thought, he made a decision. Some problems don’t need to be solved; just knowing how to imitate the solution was enough. He fixed his gaze on the shadow behind the screen, stepped back toward the door, and while biting his finger to bleed, he squatted down and began to draw on the ground.

In terms of drawing skills, he was much better than Jiang Qingluan. It took him less than a third of the time to explain the situation clearly.

Having done all this, Yang Xiao took out the remaining packet of incense ash, carefully packaged it, placed it beside the Blood Map, and stood up.

He had made the same choice as Jiang Qingluan, deciding to use himself as bait and personally check behind the screen. If he was stricken, then with the Blood Map and the half-packet of incense ash, Xiang Fengchen could effortlessly pass the challenge and find the hidden Ghost.

Moreover, if he was stricken by the Ghost and hidden away, it would just mean lighting another stick of Life Incense and burning another six years of life. He was still young; he could afford it.

But if the scene behind the screen was a false facade and there was nothing there, it meant he had not only ruled out one problematic area, but most importantly, he saved a chance to use the incense ash.

Such a chance was too precious for them at the moment, otherwise, Jiang Qingluan wouldn’t have gone to such lengths.

"I, Yang Xiao, have spent a lifetime doing good deeds; today I ask for fortune."

Praying for his sister’s blessing in his heart, Yang Xiao took the lantern and incense, and step by step approached the screen, moving to the left side of the screen and suddenly looking back.

"Whoosh—"

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Beading sweat trickled down his forehead, Yang Xiao swallowed with difficulty and wiped the cold sweat from his brow with the back of his hand. Thankfully... thankfully he had not acted rashly. There was indeed something behind the screen, but it wasn’t an ancestor; it was a very large bathtub.

The bathtub was quite old and worn, with clear signs of use. There was a continuous seepage of water along the cracks where the wooden boards were joined.

There wasn’t much water left in the bathtub. Yang Xiao approached and looked inside, only to see some glittering objects remaining at the bottom.

Under the lantern light, these shiny flakes emitted a ghastly golden hue in the dim surrounding.

It was the same scales found earlier in the Ancestor’s bedroom, but there were more here, clearly indicating that the Ancestor had bathed here not long ago.

Yang Xiao was sickened by the nauseating fishy smell that filled his nostrils, feeling a profound disgust towards this whole family. They must be aware of the terrible consequences of breeding such a monster, but their minds had been clouded by power and desire, neglecting any caution.

In order to ensure the so-called "Dragon Energy" was not leaked, they adhered to the absurd custom of close-kin marriage for over a hundred years, defying not only human decency but also completely destroying their own family line, resulting in more and more "monsters."

As a result, the direct bloodline of Earl Mansion could not be seen by others; they could only hide behind increasingly fearsome masks, struggling to survive and dreaming grandly of one day reclaiming the throne and ruling the world.

After checking behind the screen, Yang Xiao shifted his attention to the nearby desk, then to the numerous precious artefacts on both sides. However, nothing too strange was found upon inspection, which made Yang Xiao question his own judgment.

He walked back near the Blood Map, crossed out the area behind the screen, then approached the door and closed it.

After feeling around for a while and then opening his eyes, his gaze was firm. There was no mistake, the uneasy feeling was indeed here in this room - something was definitely wrong.

But... what exactly was the problem?

His gaze slowly swept across the room, including the ceiling - he had examined everything within sight, but temporarily discovered no problems.

The study was next to the bedroom, separated by a mere wall, and both rooms were nearly identical in layout. Having no new leads, Yang Xiao left the room and turned to enter the adjacent bedroom, thinking he may have overlooked something here.

One step, two steps... Yang Xiao walked straight toward the bed, but the moment he stopped, a strange feeling unexpectedly surged from deep within.

He instinctively looked behind him, but there was nothing there. This strangeness did not seem to come from the outside, but rather... within himself.

A few seconds later, Yang Xiao looked down at his feet and at that moment, he realized what was wrong. The path he was on, from the moment he stepped through the door to the front of the bed, seemed off.

He immediately turned around and walked back, counting his steps silently. Without the need to turn, it was exactly 30 steps to the door.

He then walked back toward the bed, stopping at the front of it, and again it was 30 steps.

Yang Xiao left the bedroom and returned to the study. He walked inside with the same stride and pace, but when he stopped in front of the screen, the fear that had been suppressed in his heart finally erupted.

steps.

Just 24 steps.

An entire 6 steps short.

But obviously, both rooms appeared the same to Yang Xiao’s visual perception - the same depth, the same width.

The bedroom and the study were adjacent, with nearly identical layouts. Some small discrepancies would be understandable, but not this much.

A bold hypothesis came to light: there was another space hidden within this study, and the real Ancestor was hidden within it!

Only a small bit of the candle remained, and the candlelight was getting weaker. It would not last much longer. Yang Xiao’s mind raced as he deduced that the boundary between this hidden space and the real space was around the depth of 24 steps - which was behind the screen.

But he could not find the entrance, and so he could not enter. However, just because he couldn’t enter didn’t mean the incense ash couldn’t. If he could approximately locate the Ancestor’s position, he could cast the incense ash across the boundary between reality and illusion and that would resolve the perilous situation of the night.

To be fair, achieving this was highly difficult. Just the understanding of a hidden space required a person to be extremely cautious.

Fortunately, he was precisely that kind of person.

This was too important. Yang Xiao couldn’t even be sure that Xiang Fengchen would be able to find the flaw here if he came.

He quickly went behind the door, bit his finger again, and drew what he had seen and felt. With just a few strokes, he made things clear.

No need for a lengthy explanation; Xiang Fengchen was a clever man who would get it instantly. Yang Xiao marked two suspicious corners behind the screen, which, according to his calculations, were the best spots to scatter the incense ash, covering the largest area without blind spots.

After writing "try" next to the left circle, Yang Xiao slowly stood up, gathered his gear, took the incense ash, and retreated outside the door.

One step, two steps, counting silently, he resolutely walked towards the screen.