Chapter 48: The Dwelling Spirit

The noblest hero!

Lu Chunying poked her head out once more and fixed her gaze on Li Banfeng. The longer she looked, the more she felt that this young man was not only tall but upright and admirable in bearing.

"Benefactor, please take care!" Xiao Yeci called out. She then turned, gathered Lu Chunying into her arms, and rushed out of the backyard toward the gate. As she fled, one thought filled her mind:

To fight a dwelling spirit in its own home... this man is utterly mad!

Xiao Yeci took her daughter Lu Chunying out of the backyard. When they reached the front courtyard gate, she turned back for one last glance and couldn't help but sigh.

With a mocking tone, Lu Chunying said, "Quit looking. You're not that pretty. The noblest hero would never look your way."

Xiao Yeci frowned. "Watch your tongue! Don't you know how to respect your elders?"

Lu Chunying gave a cold snort. "Respect for elders? Do you really think you're my mother? Fine. When we meet the Lu Family, I'll tell them the whole truth!"

Xiao Yeci gritted her teeth. "You wouldn't dare. If you do, we'll starve together, sleep on the streets together, and be sold to the brothels together. Then we'll see who cries!"

Lu Chunying frowned and said, 'If you want to pretend to be my mother, then fix that bad speech habit of yours... Stop ending every sentence with that 'eh.'"

"I don't have any bad habits in my speech! I'm telling you, don't talk nonsense, eh!"

As they talked, the two of them left the residence and stepped into a stretch of woods.

Lu Chunying tugged at Xiao Yeci's sleeve and whispered, "I remember this being a village when we came. How has it turned into a forest?"

Rustle, rustle. Whoosh.

A chilling wind swept through, and the branches and leaves swayed in a noisy chorus.

Xiao Yeci's body tensed. She pulled Lu Chunying close and said, "Something's wrong. Let's go back into the house first."

As they turned, they realized that the residence vanished. Forests spread in every direction, endless as far as the eye could reach.

"Where are we?" Lu Chunying gripped Xiao Yeci's arm.

Xiao Yeci glanced around and forced herself to stay calm. "This must be the dwelling spirit's doing. We're likely still inside the house, only unable to get out."

"Then what should we do?" Lu Chunying clung even tighter.

"Don't worry. I'll reason with him first. No matter where he comes from, if I can explain the logic clearly, he should let us go, eh!"

Xiao Yeci's expression turned resolute. As Lu Chunying stood behind her, she felt that much of her fear had eased.

Xiao Yeci tried to reason with the dwelling spirit. "Friend, I don't know where you came from, but the master of this house is already dead. You should consider where to go next. Your master committed countless evil deeds, and you were her accomplice. If the judges of the netherworld seize you and drag you into the netherworld, you will face punishment as well.

"I've read the judgment books of the Tribunal of Punishing Evil. I've seen the instruments of torment in the netherworld and the endless suffering of the ghosts there. Before, you could claim you were forced by her, that your actions were not your own. But now that she is gone, why continue down this path of evil?

"Friend, let us go. In doing so, you will erase a measure of sin and gain a measure of merit. Why would you refuse such a chance?"

Swish~

The ghostly wind gradually stilled, and the leaves no longer rustled with such menace. It seemed Xiao Yeci's reasoning was working.

Life had been hard over the years, and Lu Chunying had endured her share of grievances, quarrels, and distance with this woman, who was not truly her mother. Yet whenever danger came, Xiao Yeci never hesitated to step in front of her and protect her. At this moment, Lu Chunying believed that Xiao Yeci was the most dependable person in the world.

"Come, follow me!" Trusting her instincts, Xiao Yeci strode forward, with Lu Chunying close by her side.

They had barely taken two steps when a willow branch lashed out at lightning speed, striking both Xiao Yeci and Lu Chunying across the face with a sharp snap.

Xiao Yeci covered her face and gritted her teeth, forcing back her tears. However, Lu Chunying, who was still a child, couldn't stop herself, and tears ran down her face.

Xiao Yeci took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped the streak of blood on Lu Chunying's face. Her chest tightened with pain as she murmured, "Nan'nan, don't cry. I just chose the wrong way. We will go left. Now, keep by my side."

With streaks of blood on their faces, they turned left into the forest and pressed on against the night wind. After only a dozen steps, another willow branch lashed through the air and struck them both again.

This time, tears fell from Xiao Yeci's eyes, and Lu Chunying sobbed loudly. Each now bore two wounds on their faces, the streaks crossing to form an X.

"Maybe I was wrong. Let's go right this time. Come on, stay close to me!" Xiao Yeci gripped Lu Chunying's hand firmly.

"Mom, you go ahead. I'll just follow behind you." Lu Chunying pulled her hand free. In that moment, she took back what she had just thought.

Xiao Yeci isn't dependable at all!

she thought.

***

Li Banfeng stepped into the old woman's room and examined the furnishings one by one. There was a bed, a table, two chairs, and a standing cabinet.

The furnishings were simple. Li Banfeng scanned them one by one, trying to guess which might be the dwelling spirit.

An old tabletop pendulum clock sat on the table. It carried no trace of spirit and was clearly not the dwelling spirit.

Next to the clock was a teapot. It carried a lively air, making Li Banfeng wonder if it was the dwelling spirit.

A sewing kit rested next to the teapot. Its spools of thread were arranged tidily, and the needles set in with exact care. It gave off the air of a dwelling spirit.

Beside the sewing kit lay a rolling pin. The flour dusted across it was evenly spread, and it too showed faint traces of spirit.

So which one is the dwelling spirit?

Li Banfeng wondered, feeling conflicted.

I'm a homebound cultivator. There should be some resonance between me and a dwelling spirit.

Dong!

The pendulum clock gave a single chime, and Li Banfeng glanced over. The hands pointed to half past nine.

This type of traditional tabletop pendulum clock chimed once on the half-hour and struck the full count on the hour.

For example, at nine o'clock it would chime nine times, but at half past nine it would chime only once! That earlier chime had interrupted Li Banfeng's train of thought as he searched for the dwelling spirit, leaving him rather displeased.

He shot the old clock a glare before turning his eyes back to the rest of the room.

At last, his gaze settled on a feather duster. Its colors were vivid, and its feathers sleek and soft. Of all the items, it seemed to hold the strongest sense of spirit.

Li Banfeng picked up the feather duster, preparing to use his Homebound Cultivator abilities to probe deeper. Suddenly, the old pendulum clock struck.

Dong, dong, dong...

The old pendulum clock struck ten times in a row. The sound was so loud it completely pulled Li Banfeng's attention away.

Ten times?

Li Banfeng thought, staring at the clock again. Both the hour and minute hands pointed to ten o'clock.

It was half past nine just now. How did it become ten in the blink of an eye?

Could it be that...this old pendulum clock is broken?

Just moments ago, Li Banfeng had been thinking that he needed a timekeeping tool in his Pocket Dwelling. He had even considered moving this old tabletop pendulum clock inside. But judging by the situation, he couldn't take this clock anymore.

Li Banfeng tried communicating with the feather duster for a while, but it gave no response.

Next to it was an iron mooncake tin. Though its paint was flaking with age, the surface gleamed and looked perfectly clean.

Dwelling spirits liked cleanliness. Could it be inside this tin?

Li Banfeng wondered. He lifted the lid firmly and found only a stack of old newspapers, yellowed with age and brittle enough to crumble at a touch.

Surely a dwelling spirit wouldn't live in newspapers?

Li Banfeng thought. Yet the moment he lifted one sheet, even before unfolding it, he sensed a real response.

He felt the printed words on the newspaper reaching out to him. The tiny letters, no bigger than a fly's head, writhed like little worms, trying to burrow into his fingertips.

Could it really be in the newspaper?

Tick-tock! Tick-tock!

The pendulum's sound grew sharper, each strike tugging hard at his heartstrings.

Li Banfeng laid the newspaper down and looked at the golden pendulum, which in the glow of the candles cast faint, wavering images.

At first the images were blurry, but they gradually grew sharper. To Li Banfeng, it felt like watching an old film with a faded yellow backdrop playing across the pendulum.

A beautiful woman in a qipao stood before a mirror, painting her brows. A man appeared behind her, took the pencil from her hand, and gently traced her eyebrows for her.

After drawing her brows, he moved onto lining her lips. Once he had drawn them, he bit them. From her lips, his bites wandered elsewhere. The two then came face to face, biting one another for a long while, until the man finally circled behind her.

The ticking of the pendulum grew clearer and more insistent.

The man had been holding the woman's shoulders, but in the midst of their movements, his left arm slipped around her neck while his right hand clamped onto his left.

He pressed his face against hers, drove his left shoulder into the back of her head, and forced her neck forward.

A rear naked choke! Yet not the version that left someone "singing" from lack of air. This was the brutal kind, with the attacker gouging at the eyes.

While Li Banfeng was still examining how hard the rear naked choke was to execute, the woman in the vision froze. She had already been choked to death.

The man pulled out, put on his clothes, and disappeared from the scene. The woman's corpse remained in the room. The image seemed frozen, though light and shadow kept shifting across it.

Time passed from morning to dusk, from day into night, and her body rotted slowly, alive with maggots.

Then, one day, the image showed her corpse being discovered and carried away from the center.

People moved in and out, though it was unknown who they were. They cleared everything, taking piles of jewelry and wads of cash.

The story seemed to finish once the scene was cleared away, leaving nothing behind.

What is the meaning of this story? Why did this old pendulum clock let me see this story?

As Li Banfeng pondered, he realized the story was not over yet!

In the empty room, a woman appeared. It was the very one who had been strangled to death. She held a comb in her hand, smiling as she combed her hair.

The woman who had once been strangled appeared again inside the house, fixing her hair and make up.

Though the mirror was gone, she faced Li Banfeng directly, combing her hair with an alluring smile that felt strangely close and familiar.

This must be the dwelling spirit, right?

Li Banfeng thought.

Suddenly, the woman disappeared and a man appeared in the scene.

Though he was dressed differently, Li Banfeng still recognized him as the murderer who had strangled the woman.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

He seemed to be searching for something, running his hands carefully across the floor until he found a hidden compartment. From within, he retrieved a short saber.

Li Banfeng recognized the weapon. It was the short saber the old woman had cherished greatly. That very weapon was now fastened at his waist.

The man's eyes lit up with excitement. This was what he had been searching for all along.

He brushed the blade with his fingertips, but the hilt suddenly convulsed and wrenched itself from his hand. The short saber rose into the air, hovering before him.

The man was horrified and scrambled backward on all fours. Still, he was too slow.

With a flash, the dagger shot forward, slicing his throat. A spray of crimson blood erupted.

Clutching his throat, the man struggled in desperation. His thrashing resembled the woman's final struggle before death.

The woman's figure slowly emerged once more in the scene. With a sweet smile, she calmly resumed fixing her hair and makeup, not paying any attention to the man convulsing on the ground.

Even as she touched up her makeup, she kept staring at Li Bangeng with this chilling sweetness in her eyes.

Just focus on your makeup! Why do you keep staring at me? Every crime has its culprit and every debt its debtor. I wasn't the one who killed you!

Li Banfeng tried to look away, but suddenly the woman set down her comb, picked up something resembling a key, and reached it toward him.

What? Are you about to attack me? If this woman is the dwelling spirit, do I need to defeat her to claim mastery over her?

Li Banfeng thought, remaining on high alert. Then he saw the woman lift a glass cover and slowly turn the key.

He watched closely for a long time before realizing that it was not a real key at all. It was the winding key for the old tabletop pendulum clock.

The woman had not been doing her hair and makeup while facing Li Banfeng. She had been doing it while facing the clock.

Back then, not everything had been cleared out of the woman's house. One thing had been left behind, and it was this old tabletop pendulum clock.

Li Banfeng had not witnessed the scene like an audience watching a film. He had seen everything from the perspective of the clock itself.

Once her brows were drawn and her lips painted, the woman raised her head. Her red lips opened gently as she asked in a tender voice, "Am I beautiful?"

It was the first time Li Banfeng had heard the woman's voice, and he wondered,

Is she asking the clock or me?

When the woman asked, her gaze brimmed with eager anticipation.

After a moment of thought, Li Banfeng answered, "Beautiful."

The woman smiled, clearly satisfied with the answer. Then she asked again, "Do you know my name?"

Li Banfeng thought for a moment, then lowered his gaze toward the iron mooncake tin. He then reached into the tin and pulled out an old newspaper.

On the second page was a news article and every letter on that news article quivered continuously.

The headline read:

Renowned Beauty Luo Yuni Tragically Strangled in a Secluded Residence.

The woman asked again, "Do you know my name?"

Li Banfeng nodded. "I think I do."

"Look at me. Keep your eyes on me. Say my name aloud, and I will belong to you," the woman said with a smile that had turned sweeter and more beautiful.