Chapter 374: The Scene Recreated! The Goateed Middle-Aged Man! The Palace-Clad Woman! The Owl! And One More!

The figure was disheveled, hair in wild tangles, making it impossible to tell if it was male or female.

At this time, a pair of bloodshot eyes peeked through the door crack, spying on Li Yanchu.

However, Li Yanchu’s gaze was icy, like a bolt of cold lightning. The person hiding behind the door froze, then recoiled at the intensity of his stare!

The loft sank into absolute silence and became deathly quiet. With a thought, Li Yanchu vanished from the bed and reappeared in the corridor outside the room.

Daoist arts: Godspeed! Wallbreak!

Before he could examine closely, the scene abruptly shifted. Li Yanchu realized he was no longer in the Xu residence loft; instead, he was in a woman’s boudoir. The bedding was warm, white drapes hung around, and a faint fragrance filled the air.

Li Yanchu froze. This scene felt eerily familiar. It was none other than Miss Xu’s boudoir, the very room he had been in earlier. But since Miss Xu had hanged herself, the room had long been uninhabited, carrying a chilling aura of a haunted house.

Now, the space radiated the soft, warm charm of a living woman’s chamber.

Focusing, he saw a graceful woman lying on the bed with her back to him and her face hidden. Li Yanchu frowned, and just as he intended to get up and see what was happening, he discovered he could not move.

His entire body, including his hands, feet, torso, neck, and head, were all immobile. He could not even speak, and only his eyes could barely move.

Though the scene caught him off guard, Li Yanchu did not lose his composure.

Creak

! The door opened slowly.

A middle-aged man with a goatee entered, his gaze burning with desire.

At this time, Li Yanchu’s mind stirred. Could this be the scene before Miss Xu’s death?

The goateed man strode straight to the bed. With one motion, he threw back the covers and lunged forward!

“Ah!” The woman on the bed let out a startled cry, but it was quickly muffled by a hand pressed over her mouth, leaving only muffled sounds. Her body twisted violently and struggled desperately.

“Be good, don’t resist. This time I’ll treat you well,” the middle-aged man with a goatee panted with a smile.

He produced a red rope, intending to bind her, but the woman struggled even more fiercely, and the man grew increasingly excited.

Seeing this, Li Yanchu furrowed his brows. Could this middle-aged man be Mr. Xu himself?! Although he had seen Mr. Xu’s corpse, it was already a mangled mess, barely human; his features were impossible to discern. And since Miss Xu had long been buried, he had never seen her face alive.

The surrounding scene seemed to sense Li Yanchu’s icy murderous intent; the vision suddenly accelerated. The middle-aged man stepped back, and the woman had already been strangled to death with the red rope. Her eyes remained wide open in death.

Li Yanchu’s brow tightened. The official conclusion had been... Miss Xu hanged herself. Yet seeing this reenactment tonight naturally raised doubts.

“So Miss Xu was actually strangled to death”

Suddenly, the scene shattered like rippling water, returning to the cold, silent loft.

Finally, Li Yanchu regained control of his body. The corridor was empty and silent without any ghostly figures.

“Could that shadowy figure just now have been Miss Xu’s vengeful spirit?” A contemplative light flickered in Li Yanchu’s eyes.

He activated his Spirit Eyes and Qi Sight. The loft’s yin qi was dense, and the lingering resentment was extreme; it was clearly a place of great misfortune.

At night, the ghost qi was more apparent, and for someone with Li Yanchu’s Spirit Eye, it was even easier to track than during the day.

Soon, he detected a trace of ghost qi within the Xu residence.

Found it!

Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up. Using his ultimate agility, he dashed forward. Quickly, he cornered the shadowy humanoid from before. With its disheveled, wild hair, it was impossible to tell the face or even whether it was male or female.

The shadow let out a low growl.

Li Yanchu furrowed his brow slightly, this seemed not to be a particularly powerful or malevolent spirit. Roughly on the same level as that lecherous spirit he had dealt with at the Chen residence. He then spread his fingers wide.

Daoist art: Soul-Capturing Art!

A powerful binding force immediately restrained the humanoid shadow. With his current abundant spiritual power, using the Soul-Capturing Art against such a minor spirit was effortless.

He brought the shadowy figure in front of him as his qi surged, and only then did he get a clear look at the figure’s face. It was pale, bleeding from the seven orifices, and had an unnaturally long tongue. It was the young woman who had been strangled on the bed earlier, Miss Xu.

“

Roar

!”

By now, Miss Xu had transformed into a vengeful spirit, letting out a low, furious howl at Li Yanchu. Once a ghost became a vengeful spirit, there was no chance for reincarnation, only killing intent remained.

However, Li Yanchu frowned. This vengeful spirit of Miss Xu was far too weak. If she had brutally slaughtered Mr. Xu and all the men of the Xu household, the aura of blood and killing intent should have been far more intense.

“Something’s off.” A thoughtful light appeared in Li Yanchu’s eyes.“There’s a second spirit!”

It dawned on him: Xu Lishi might really have seen Miss Xu’s resentful spirit, but Miss Xu herself had not turned into a vengeful spirit last night. The true killer was another ghost.

Suddenly, a sharp screech came from above. A shadow lunged; it was a large owl, its eyes glinting with spirit light. In one bite, it swallowed Miss Xu’s soul with a look of satisfaction on its face.

On the wall appeared a woman in palace attire. She had almond-shaped phoenix eyes, extremely alluring, with an ethereal, otherworldly presence.

“Please forgive me, Daoist. The creature I raise feeds on vengeful spirits. It detected a restless soul here and, for a moment of carelessness, flew over,” the palace-dressed woman apologized.

What a coincidence...

Li Yanchu’s eyes glimmered as he used his Spirit Eyes. This palace-attired woman exuded a pure, ethereal aura without any blood or killing qi. Clearly, she was a righteous practitioner.

Li Yanchu pondered briefly, snorted coldly, and turned to leave. For now, he set this matter aside.

With a movement, he disappeared into the vast night, heading toward the Laifu Inn where the Xu family’s women had been taken for safety.

“Damn it!”

Perhaps the Xu family’s ghost was not specifically targeting men... It was even possible that Xu Siwen had not naturally turned from a living person into a vengeful spirit, but that a cunning, malevolent soul was at work!

***

At Laifu Inn...

In a quiet courtyard, the Xu family’s women had been placed here, guarded by Head Constable Wang and four armed constables. Just in case.

However, this was merely Head Constable Wang’s precaution. After surviving the horrific events of last night, how could anything happen today? This was the habitual thinking of most people.

Xu Lishi was a graceful, young, beautiful widow with substantial family wealth, and Head Constable Wang wanted to properly comfort this young widow. Patrolling at night was also a chance for the two of them to interact, and to display a bit of his masculinity.

He sat confidently in the courtyard, surrounded by four junior officers fawning over him and praising Head Constable Wang for his courage, for how he had destroyed horse-thief gangs with his sword and slain fierce tigers.

A broad smile spread across Head Constable Wang’s face. These juniors were really attentive.

Suddenly, the sky darkened abruptly, and the bright moon was obscured by black clouds. Cold gusts of wind blew, and faint wailing seemed to echo in his ears, sending shivers down his spine!

Head Constable Wang’s gaze sharpened, a chill running through him.

“This is bad! He fucking encountered something unclean.”