Holding a lantern, guiding souls across, Lady Hou comes from the underworld.

"This person... is clearly deliberately trying to make us unhappy!"

The driver had a fiery temper and was immediately enraged, wishing he could get off and teach the other man a lesson right away.

The old man stopped him abruptly: "Don't be so angry, let me go with you to take a look."

The two then went downstairs.

When we entered the shop, the sound of sharpening knives abruptly stopped.

The driver rushed to the backyard, his anger rising to his lips, but the sight before him terrified him and his rage vanished.

All that could be seen was blood everywhere, a shocking shade of red.

The servant was lying in a strange position in the wooden tub, and his belly had been cut open.

The way it died was exactly the same as the rabbit he had seen before…

The driver turned around, his face ashen, and leaned against a pillar, almost vomiting up the noodles he had eaten that evening.

The master heard the commotion and was about to come over when the coachman stopped him.

"Master, please don't..."

However, the pungent smell of blood wafted over, and even though the master couldn't see the gruesome state of the corpse clearly, he could guess what it was.

"He's dead?"

After a long pause, the driver turned around and went into the shop, picked up the tea he hadn't finished earlier, and drank it all in one gulp.

Then he said, "My stomach was cut open... and I was emptied out."

Hearing that the death was so cruel, the master was also shocked.

Without saying much, the driver urged, "Sir, we shouldn't stay here any longer; we must leave quickly."

The servant was dead, and there was no one else in the inn. Most frighteningly, the murderer was still nowhere to be found.

The master knew that this matter could probably only be handled by going to Liangzhou City after dawn and finding someone from the yamen to deal with it.

The two immediately went upstairs to collect their belongings and left the post station without delay, heading east.

By this time, midnight had passed, and the surrounding area was overgrown with vegetation, with not a trace of human habitation.

Walking on the dark road, you can only hear the howls of unknown wild beasts in the deep mountains.

The road ahead... seems to have no end in sight.

Just as the coachman was getting anxious, a magnificent villa suddenly appeared in front of him.

It seemed to have appeared out of thin air, with only a lantern hanging at the entrance, illuminating the four large characters on the plaque—Mingyue Manor.

"Master, there's a manor ahead."

The master immediately lifted the carriage curtain and glanced inside, asking in surprise, "I never imagined there would be a place like this in the middle of nowhere?"

The coachman immediately dismounted.

"This resort is so big, I'll go ask if we can stay here for the night."

The master wanted to stop him, but the other man had already rushed up to him and was knocking on the door.

"Oh, it's so late, how can I bother others?"

The master couldn't stop him, so he had no choice but to get off the carriage as well.

He was old and had difficulty walking. When he reached the door, the door creaked open, revealing a rather youthful face.

He was a boy who was about eleven or twelve years old.

Who are you looking for?

The driver was quite surprised by this.

He originally thought that to be able to stay in such a large villa, the owner must at least be a very wealthy and influential person.

Wealthy families value appearances and pomp.

And in such a remote mountain area, shouldn't they keep a few guards to watch over things?

The old man quickly stepped forward and said, "We're not looking for anyone; we're just passing through."

The driver chimed in, "Would you mind if we could stay the night?"

The boy's eyes were dark and bright, but devoid of any emotion, and even his voice sounded somewhat chilling.

"Hold on."

He replied with two words, then immediately closed the door and went inside.

The driver was somewhat unsure: "This manor is strange; why would they leave a child guarding the gate?"

Even the master couldn't understand it.

The dew was heavy in the wilderness, and it was rather chilly.

The two waited for a while, but the boy didn't return. Just as they were hesitating whether to leave, the door opened again.

The young man said, "Our young lady has given her permission; please follow me."

It's... a young lady?

The coachman was filled with doubt again, but he didn't ask too many questions. He immediately helped the master and walked into the villa.

The boy, carrying a lantern, led the way, passing through the hall and into the back courtyard, before leading the two into a guest room.

"This is the room for you two."

"My young lady prefers quiet, so please refrain from making a loud noise. Please leave on your own tomorrow morning."

After he finished speaking, he politely bowed before taking his lantern and leaving.

The master stood at the door for a while, seeing the deep courtyard, but strangely, he hadn't heard a single sound or even a shadow of a person along the way.

It's like... no one lived in Zhuangzi at all.

Looking inside the guest room, the bed and bedding were neatly arranged, and all the daily necessities were provided. The environment was comfortable, much better than the inn we had just stayed at…

After the fright they experienced at the post station, the two were completely exhausted.

But after lying down, my mind was extremely clear, and I felt no sleepiness at all.

One of them was on the bed, and the other was on the couch; they each tossed and turned for a while.

"Sir!" The coachman suddenly sat up and said, "This villa is so close to that inn, do you think the murderer might...?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he caught a glimpse of a figure standing by the window, which startled him so much that he immediately got off the bed.

"Who?"

The master also sat up, but when he looked around, there was no one outside.

The driver, still worried about the murderer, got up, lit the lamp, and then went to open the door.

But looking around, there was still no one in sight.

He was about to go back to his room when, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a gray rabbit on the veranda…

The coachman was so startled that he took several steps back, and the scene he had seen at the post station immediately came to mind.

Whether it's a coincidence or not, this rabbit, in terms of fur and size, is exactly the same as the one that died at the post station.

He felt a chill run down his spine and didn't know how to react.

Just then, a bell rang, and a figure appeared silently not far away.

It was a woman.

She was dressed in snow-white, with long, jet-black hair that reached her ankles, and her steps were as light as a ghost…

Her skin was almost as white as her clothes…

She slowly walked up to the rabbit, picked it up, and left without saying a word.

The coachman watched her retreating figure, and the hairs on his body stood on end.

But he didn't say anything, and after entering the house, he locked the door.

The master quickly asked, "What did you find?"

The driver held back his words, but dared not say, "It's nothing, my eyes are playing tricks on me."

That night, the two of them stayed awake almost until dawn.

Upon waking in the morning, finding no trace of the boy from the previous night, the master left a silver ingot in the room before quietly departing with the coachman.

Only after leaving the manor did the coachman dare to tell the master what he had seen and heard the previous night.

After much deliberation, the master decided to return to the post station to take a closer look at the situation.

However, to their surprise, the post station during the day was completely different from what they had seen the night before…

The post station was completely abandoned and uninhabitable.

The servant, the corpse, the blood everywhere—it was like an absurd dream.

The two looked at each other in silence, then immediately turned their horses around and headed towards Liangzhou City.