NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 36 Divine Retribution
What Li Guanqi saw along the way made his brows furrow.
“Immortal Master, this is where Wang Ergou lived.” The old mayor said, interrupting Li Guanqi from his thoughts, “We haven’t had a chance to clean it up after his death the other day.”
Li Guanqi nodded, pushing open the door to the victim’s house.
Creak!
The rusted door hinges creaked as they moved, adding to the feeling of eeriness in the crowd. They all felt as if the temperature had dropped several degrees as the doors opened.
When Li Guanqi saw the contents of the room, he had to take a deep breath. The smell of blood was thick, and the temperature of the room was definitely colder than it should be.
Before him, a well-built man was hanging upside down from the ceiling by a hemp rope. He had a pair of scissors tied to his wrist, with a piece of flesh hanging from the blades. His eyes had been gouged out, leaving only bloody sockets, and all of his toes had been cut off!
The fatal wound was a long gash on his neck, including several deep scratches around the cut. It was likely that the blunt scissors were the cause of the wound. The entire floor was thick and sticky, covered in congealed blood.
The state of the room, even for Li Guanqi, was jarring. He was starting to understand why three other disciples had failed in capturing this ghost. Li Guanqi stood up and surveyed the surroundings. Aside from the corpse and chaotic state of the room, there wasn’t anything else of notice.
Li Guanqi took out a purification talisman and ignited it as his vital energy surged. The talisman exploded the moment it touched the blood on the ground, causing the blood to release waves of black smoke. It quickly faded, and the temperature of the room rose.
Seeing this, everyone waiting outside started discussing amongst themselves. Initially, they thought the Great Xia Sword Sect had sent another novice to deal with the situation. The previous disciples who had examined the scene had only given it a cursory look, and they hadn’t noticed anything unusual either.
Li Guanqi, still standing in the same spot, rubbed his chin as he thought about the density of the black smoke. He murmured, “This ghost is more dangerous than I thought it’d be.”
Then, he turned to the crowd, pointing at the hanging corpse behind him. “Now, we can have the body prepared for a quick burial. It’s getting hot, and if we wait much longer, it will start to decay.”
The old man promptly instructed people to help with the preparations.
Afterward, he hurried over to Li Guanqi and anxiously asked in a low voice, “Immortal Master, do you have confidence in dealing with this evil spirit?”
Li Guanqi smiled and replied, “It doesn’t matter whether I’m confident or not. I still need to do what I can. I’m planning to stay here for a few days.”
“During the daytime, when the Yang energy is strong, the malevolent ghost won’t be active. Tonight, I’ll be monitoring the situation.”
Li Guanqi said this to reassure the whispering villagers. He really wasn’t confident in his ability to capture the ghost.
“Sword Spirit, do you have any good ideas?” He asked, turning to his sword coffin.
After a brief pause, the sword spirit’s voice resonated within Li Guanqi’s mind.
“Tsk, I thought you’d be more capable than this. Instead, you’re just trying to stall for time. Capturing this ghost is simple.”
“Once it’s midnight, all you have to do is sit near a south-facing window and cultivate. She will be naturally lured out.”
Li Guanqi, a bit puzzled, asked, “Why all those steps?”
The Sword Spirit sighed, impatiently explaining, “Midnight is when Yin energy is at its peak. Sitting by the window will make it easier for her to strike. As for cultivating…”
“Even without cultivating, you’re like a lantern in the night. Cultivating will be akin to adding a few more candles to draw in moths.”
After explaining her plan, the Sword Spirit added, “But you don’t need to worry. I can intervene if anything goes bad this time.”
Li Guanqi was taken aback, surprised that she was willing to offer her help. He couldn’t help but laugh, “What? Worried about me, huh? You’re going to lend a hand yourself?”
Silence followed.
After a considerable time had passed, the voice of the Sword Spirit resonated in his mind again with a mix of seven parts disdain and three parts pride, “It seems you’re genuinely oblivious, not even understanding your own ability.”
“Worried about you? I’m more concerned about not having a place to absorb elemental power in the future.”
“I can also benefit from absorbing some of the malevolent ghost’s sinister energy. Before you reach the Foundation Establishment stage, I have to devour power from elsewhere.”
The Sword Spirit fell silent after saying this. Li Guanqi smiled, whispering to himself, “She’s warming up.”
There was still plenty of time until nightfall. To kill time, Li Guanqi joined the townsfolk for meal and try out the local cuisine. The spicy flavors used in their cooking invigorated his appetite.
Xingyun Town was located in a plain, surrounded by mountains, which created a persistent light mist and high humidity. The use of chili in the dishes kept the villages sweating and eliminated internal cold.
In the afternoon, Li Guanqi casually roamed the town. With his presence, villagers who had stayed indoors these past few months finally dared to venture out before darkness fell. During the afternoon, Li Guanqi went around gathering information from various townspeople.
As Li Guanqi squatted by the roadside, his head felt like exploding from all the information he had to sort through. The first person to die was named Zhang Daniu, and he had a mute wife who had vanished many years ago. Soon after she disappeared, he had partnered with a widow from the town, and they lived together. After Zhang Daniu’s death, the widow had also disappeared. Following that, the deceased were all men from the village, some were bachelors, while others were married.
“What’s the connection between the victims?”
As Li Guanqi contemplated, he overheard some whispering around him. Not far away, two middle-aged women held melon seeds and scanned their surroundings with exaggerated expressions. They spoke to each other in hushed voices. Even from a dozen yards away, Li Guanqi could see that these two women were undeniably discussing something important.
Li Guanqi took some cakes from his bag of holding and approached them.
“What are you talking about, ladies? I brought too many cakes with me, and I can’t finish them all. Would you like to try them?”
The plump middle-aged woman’s eyes brightened, and she eagerly accepted the cakes, saying, “Oh my, little immortal, you don’t have to be so polite.”
Li Guanqi smiled and asked, “I noticed the two of you were discussing something exciting. Could you share the details with this little brother?”
The slightly slender woman next to her glanced around and leaned in closer to Li Guanqi’s ear. She whispered, “What can we say? It’s about those few people who died.”
Li Guanqi raised an eyebrow, and his voice unconsciously lowered as he asked, “Do you know any other details?”
As soon as they heard the word ‘details,’ the plump woman immediately glanced around like a thief. Seeing that there was no one nearby, she whispered two words to Li Guanqi.
“Divine retribution!”