Shivering Mind

Chapter 72

Chapter 72

Frowning, he stood up and walked towards the door, gently shutting it.

‘Why aren’t those two back yet?’

As he shut the door, he suddenly felt some resistance, as if someone was pushing against it from the outside. He could very clearly sense that someone outside was shoving hard against the door, preventing him from opening it.

His face darkened. Summoning all his strength, he pushed at the door hard and his entire body propelled outwards in escape.

“CHI!”

His straight saber at his waist was already halfway out its hilt when he realized that there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

‘Superstitious bullshit!’ Lu Sheng surveyed his surroundings, but as far as he could tell, the place was deserted. Without gathering a single clue, he finally returned to his room.

Just as he prepared to sit down again, Lu Sheng felt that the other two had been gone for quite some time. After the earlier incident, he was now rather worried.

‘I’d better head out to take a look.’

He propped up a candlestick and hung a lantern cover over it to protect it from the wind. Then, carrying it in hand, he again opened the door.

“HOOOO.”

The wind beyond the door was unexpectedly harsh and extinguished the candle in Lu Sheng’s hand in the blink of an eye.

Instantly, the room was cast in pitch-black darkness. Only the pale rays from the moon from outside streamed in.

Lu Sheng quickly retrieved a flint stone and tried a couple more times. However, as before, the sparks were extinguished as soon as they were lit. Left with no other choice, Lu Sheng could only leave the candlestick behind in the room as he walked out and proceeded in the direction of the latrine.

There was no trace of light anywhere in the pitch-black courtyard; it wasn’t even clear whether the other guests had all fallen asleep or something else had happened to them. There wasn’t a single sound to be heard from them.

Slowly, Lu Sheng made his way outside, down the corridor. The latrine was commonly in the backyard of a house.

He exited the corridor, entered the yard, went around the side of the entire sleeping quarters and then walked towards the backyard.

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The wind howled harshly through the courtyard in the night, sweeping the dried leaves on the ground up in a whirlwind.

Lu Sheng surveyed the scene before him. Finding no one, he hastened his steps and went around the bedroom to the backyard. Two individual latrines were built in the backyard, isolated from the rest of the buildings.

As Lu Sheng approached, he caught sight of a silhouette of a person standing outside the latrine. This person seemed to notice his arrival as well, and visibly put on their guard.

“Who’s that?!”

Lu Sheng was startled. He walked closer for a better look and realized it was the handsome Young Master who was also an inner force expert from previously.

Presently, this man was gripping onto a short sword in his hand. His pupils sparkled brilliantly, clearly indicating his state of vigilance.

“This Brother, did you come looking for missing people too?” Li Shunxi asked after recognizing Lu Sheng.

“Missing people?” Lu Sheng’s eyes narrowed. An apprehensive sense of foreboding crept up in his heart.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you know, Brother?” Li Shunxi stopped in surprise.

“My two brothers went out of the room to visit the latrine. It’s been a while but they haven’t come back. I was worried and so came out to check on them,” Lu Sheng explained simply. [ ]

Li Shunxi’s faced turned dark, “In that case, two more people have gone missing.”

“What do you mean, Brother?” Lu Sheng took a few steps forward and peered into the latrines through the gap left by the ajar wooden doors. A foul stench drifted out from within, but the narrow space inside was thoroughly empty.

Lu Sheng’s face fell.

“You mean… all those from earlier… the ladies and guards who came in with you…”

“Have all gone missing, without exception,” Li Shunxi whispered. “There’s so many of them. Perhaps they’re trapped somewhere.”

“Let’s try searching for them. The manor is merely of this size. Perhaps we can find some clues,” Lu Sheng suggested. He licked his lips as frustration burned in his heart. He had lost two men before even laying sight on the true enemy.

Li Shunxi nodded. The two of them made a quick round around the backyard and soon found a kitchen in its corner.

Li Shunxi first shoved open the door and entered, short sword in hand.

The wooden door swung open without a sound, revealing a dust-covered kitchen space.

Overturned woks and shards of smashed porcelain covered the floor. Spider webs formed a thick cover over the stoves. Some rotten and decomposed leftovers were spilled all over the floor in a corner.

“How long has this kitchen fallen out of use for?” Li Shunxi frowned. He glanced at Lu Sheng and noticed that there wasn’t much panic on his face. Evidently, this was not his first encounter with the supernatural.

“You’ve met with ghosts before, haven’t you, Brother?” He asked casually.

Lu Sheng was surprised. This wealthy Young Master actually seemed pretty experienced.

“Yes, I’ve encountered such strange things in the past.”

“No wonder,” Li Shunxi took a second glance at Lu Sheng. “In my opinion, the missing people have been temporarily trapped. There’re so many of them. No matter how fast those things are, they won’t kill them all so quickly. And I’ve also checked earlier and didn’t detect any traces of poison.”

“You’re certain of it, Brother?” Lu Sheng asked.

“Pretty much,” Li Shunxi replied earnestly. He squatted and began to examine the footprints and marks on the ground.

Perplexed, Lu Sheng followed him as he moved. Before long, they came to the entrance of the kitchen’s underground cellar.

“I’m surnamed Li. Named Shunxi. How may I address you, Brother?” Li Shunxi grabbed the ring attached to the stone door that sealed the cellar and lifted it with great force.

“HOOOO.”

A foul odor gushed out at them.

“Last name Lu. Name’s Sheng. Other name–Yue Sheng,” Lu Sheng answered concisely.

After the stench cleared slightly, they peered into the cellar.

Lu Sheng took out a flint stone and struck it hard. Yellow sparks burst out. In that momentary flash, both of them caught sight of a few bodies lying supine on the cellar ground.

“They’re here indeed!” Li Shunxi heaved a sigh of relief, then jumped down swiftly. “Brother Lu, guard the entrance for me.”

“Alright,” Lu Sheng too breathed out in relief when he saw the bodies lying in there.

Duan Meng’an was indeed among them. Apart from him, there were two ladies and two guards. All of them appeared to be lying in the cellar in a coma.

One by one, Li Shunxi lifted them out of the cellar. Lu Sheng took hold of them from him and laid them on the kitchen floor.

Soon, the two of them had lifted all five unconscious bodies out of the cellar.

“They’re all still breathing,” Li Shunxi put his cheek above one of the ladies’ nose. “Have you noticed what’s wrong with them, Brother?”

He looked at Lu Sheng and saw that his face remained impassive, his eyes steady. Instantly, Li Shunxi understood that Lu Sheng was no simple character either.

“Brother Li’s got a way?” Lu Sheng asked.

“Naturally. Watch this,” pride briefly colored Li Shunxi’s face as he took out a piece of paper-like black material. He bit on his index finger and dabbed his blood onto the paper.

Then, he imprinted the material onto the foreheads of each of the unconscious bodies.

Lu Sheng watched in silence, with neither a word nor movement. Before long, those lying on the floor came to their senses one by one.

“Where am I?”

“Qingqing, are you alright?”

“Little Miss! Have you been hurt?”

“Young Master!” Duan Meng’an walked over to Lu Sheng with a face full of shame, his head hung low.

“Everything’s fine as long as you’re alright. Where’s Ning San?” Lu Sheng asked.

“…” Duan Meng’an’s head lowered even lower, not daring to look Lu Sheng in the face.

Lu Sheng’s face remained composed, but his eyes grew colder. “We’ll talk when we get back.”

However, Li Shunxi suggested, “I don’t think we should split up now.”

“A million thanks to both of you. I’m Gong Ruqing. This is my sister Gong Rumeng. If it hadn’t been for your rescue, we probably wouldn’t see daylight again,” the mild-mannered lady who had hid a sword in her sleeves was among them.

Her sister was that girl who was as cute as Qiao’er.

“Thank you once again, Young Masters, for your rescue. But we’ve still got companions trapped in here. Can we request your help once more to find our remaining companions?” Gong Ruqing’s sister, Gong Rumeng pleaded. “We know we’re asking for too much. But as compensation, we’re willing to offer notes worth a hundred taels of gold.”

“Oh?” Li Shunxi’s brows arched as he glanced towards Lu Sheng. Among all present, only Lu Sheng was someone he was unable to see through. Looking at his dressing, he seemed like someone from a wealthy family. Li Shunxi guessed that he was more or less the same as himself–someone who lived by an alias, but was in actual fact an expert harboring extraordinary skills.

As the Young Master of a wealthy family, many details such as one’s bearing and dressing could not be altered so easily. Given Li Shunxi’s keen and perceptive powers of observation, he had long since detected the difference between Lu Sheng and the two men beside him.

On most days, he was shut in the manor. Moreover, because he had many rivals, he had had to hide his true strength to hide some cards up his sleeves. Consequently, he had always lacked the opportunity to interact with the world outside and had no idea what level his strength reached.

Now that he had run into a peer in similar straits as himself–a Young Master in disguise who hid powerful and extraordinary skills–his heart was itching for some serious sparring. He desperately wanted to exchange pointers with him.