Wedding ceremony tomorrow

Chapter 84 The Maid's Corpse, Spirit Astral Projection

This was no small matter!

The shadow, in the night breeze, had its two wide sleeves swaying gently, as if its feet were off the ground and it was floating.

The two took a deep breath.

He immediately gripped the knife hilt and turned around abruptly!

however.

There was no shadow behind him, and no one else was there either.

But the shadow cast on the wooden house continued to flicker eerily.

It was as if it were greeting them.

Then the two suddenly saw that in the flowerbed not far behind them, a tall scarecrow wearing a tattered long robe was standing there, silently watching them.

The tall, slender figure was projected onto this spot by the moonlight.

"You scared me..."

Nightingale clutched her chest, her face showing lingering fear.

Luo Qingfeng stared intently at the scarecrow, though it seemed there wasn't one when he came during the day.

Did he not look at it carefully at the time, or did he find it later?

He stared at the scarecrow for a few more moments, but found nothing unusual, before turning his gaze back to the hut in front of him.

"Squeak..."

Nightingale pushed open the door, drew the knife from her waist, and went in first.

Luo Qingfeng followed closely behind.

The small house was dark, cramped, and empty, containing nothing but dust.

Nightingale whispered, "Are you sure that the maid I saw that day went inside?"

Luo Qingfeng nodded and carefully examined every corner of the small house.

Suddenly, a night breeze blew in through the window.

The air flowed through the room.

He vaguely smelled a familiar orange scent.

A thought struck him, and he immediately focused his mind, following the scent as he slowly crouched down and looked at the ground.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing that his expression was off, the nightingale quickly squatted down as well.

Luo Qingfeng looked at the wooden floorboards on the ground, then suddenly used the broken knife in his hand to pry them up with force.

"Snap!"

A floorboard cracked and was lifted up.

Luo Qingfeng then lifted up the other floorboards.

Seeing this, the nightingale quickly used the dagger in her hand to help.

Not long after.

A large section of the floorboards had been warped up, revealing black, damp soil underneath.

Luo Qingfeng brushed aside the loose soil with his hands and suddenly found a dried and rotten orange underneath!

The orange had a small piece of peel removed, but the rest was intact.

Upon seeing this, the nightingale looked on in surprise and doubt: "An orange?"

Luo Qingfeng immediately continued digging into the soil with his hands and soon found a wooden plank with an iron pull ring on it.

The nightingale quickly offered its help.

"Squeak..."

Luo Qingfeng gripped the pull ring and forcefully pulled open the wooden board below.

Beneath the wooden plank, a dark, gloomy cave suddenly appeared.

Suddenly, a nauseating, rotten smell wafted out of the cave.

"Whoosh!"

The nightingale took out a tinderbox, lit it, and then inserted it into the cave below.

The pitch-black cave was suddenly illuminated.

When the two saw what lay beneath the cave, they were immediately terrified and their hearts pounded with fear!

Inside the cave, a naked and rotting corpse lay curled up. The body had disheveled hair, wide-open eyes, and a large chunk of flesh torn from its face, making it look extremely terrifying. Many black insects were wriggling and crawling in and out of its body, nose, eyes, and ears, making it look extremely horrifying...

"vomit--"

Nightingale nearly vomited and hurriedly covered her mouth.

Luo Qingfeng stared intently at her appearance and whispered, "Is it that maid named A-Lian? Was she murdered here, and her lingering spirit led me here?"

Just then, the corpse suddenly moved.

The two were startled.

At that moment, a brightly colored venomous snake crawled out from under her body, raising its triangular head and flicking its scarlet tongue upwards.

Nightingale immediately said, "I'll go and inform the others; perhaps there are clues on this body."

Luo Qingfeng put down the wooden board, glanced at the orange covered in mud on the ground, and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

The two stepped out of the cabin and took several deep breaths of fresh air.

The nightingale looked at him and said, "Do you still believe there are good demons in this world?"

Luo Qingfeng didn't speak, but suddenly looked at the flowerbed in front of him and asked, "Where's the scarecrow?"

The nightingale's expression changed, and when she looked up, the scarecrow that had just been there was indeed gone!

"Go! Get out of here quickly!"

Luo Qingfeng immediately grabbed her and quickly left.

Both men gripped the hilts of their knives tightly with their other hands, their bodies tense as they watched their surroundings intently.

After leaving the flower garden and entering the bamboo grove, the two finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Looking back, the lonely little house appeared even more eerie and terrifying under the moonlight, while the scarecrow in the flower garden, draped in a wide robe, remained nowhere to be found.

"You go back first, I'll go and inform the other demon hunters."

"careful."

"Um."

The two left together and parted ways in the garden in front.

Fearing something might happen to Xiao Tao, Luo Qingfeng quickened his pace and returned to the Green Bamboo Garden.

Upon entering the room, he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the little girl still fast asleep in bed.

Thinking of the scene he had just witnessed, and the pretty face he had seen that day, his heart grew heavier.

"We must get rid of that demon!"

He thought to himself.

He stood in the room for a while, then went out to wash his hands and face before returning to the room and sitting down on the tatami mat.

After letting my mind wander for a while, I resumed focusing.

As dawn approached.

He opened his eyes and clearly felt that his hearing had become much stronger.

"This concentration technique doesn't seem difficult."

"Could it be because I've already practiced the technique inside that red bead? The saying goes, 'Master one technique, master all techniques,' perhaps because they are all techniques of the demon race?"

Just as I was thinking, I suddenly heard the sound of leaves being stepped on outside.

He had one hand on his waist, his eyes fixed intently on the window.

"Squeak..."

The window was gently opened.

The nightingale whispered from outside, "Are you asleep?"

Luo Qingfeng finally relaxed and said, "Not yet. Sister Nightingale, come in."

With a flick of its long legs, the nightingale vaulted in through the window.

"The captain praised me, saying I was amazing for finding the body there, and even rewarded me with five merit points. I didn't tell you."

"We examined the body, and it is indeed that of the maid named A-Lian. There are signs of assault on her body, and she was stabbed in the chest, right in the heart. It didn't initially seem like she was killed by a demon..."

"But the scars on her face looked like they were torn out by sharp teeth..."

"We found pollen under her fingernails, and on her left foot... one of her toes was bitten off..."

As she said this, she looked at someone with a meaningful gaze.

Luo Qingfeng said, "What kind of look is that? You suspect it's me?"

Nightingale shook her head and continued, "After careful examination and comparison with the previous corpses, we concluded that the murderer who killed her was not the same one as before. In other words, there is more than one murderer in the manor, and they are not necessarily all demons."

Luo Qingfeng frowned and said, "If that's the case, then this case is becoming increasingly complicated."

He then added, "Could it be that the demon has deliberately created a deception?"

Nightingale nodded. "That's possible. Our captain thinks so too. So our main target right now is that demon. We're preparing..."

"How are the preparations?"

Seeing that she seemed hesitant to speak, Luo Qingfeng sensed that something was wrong.

Nightingale glanced at him again and said, "We're going to lure the snake out of its hole; I'll be the bait..."

"No!"

Luo Qingfeng immediately rejected the idea, saying seriously, "That escaped demon already recognizes you. How could I possibly let you be used as bait?"

Nightingale said, "We found a teammate who can disguise himself, and he disguised me as one of the maids in the manor. The captain said... that I have a good figure and should be able to lure out the demon that killed those maids."

Luo Qingfeng said sternly, "I said no, and that's final. You can't agree to that!"

Nightingale looked at him and said, "With others protecting me in secret, I'll be fine. I want to finish the mission quickly, and then... rent you a house."

Luo Qingfeng paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, it's not necessary to rent a house. I think this place is quite nice. There's food, lodging, and money to be earned. You can come here to find me in the future."

Nightingale's face turned cold as she glared at him and said, "You even have pretty young maids vying to serve you in bed, right?"

Luo Qingfeng said in a serious tone, "These are all secondary, they don't matter whether they're there or not. The main thing is that it's free, with food and lodging included, and... ah..."

Nightingale grabbed his arm and snapped, "You're not allowed to live here!"

Luo Qingfeng said, "Then you're not allowed to be bait!"

Nightingale stared at him for a moment, then released him, saying, "Fine, I refuse. Anyway, the captain said that if I'm scared, she can dress me up."

Luo Qingfeng asked, "Is she as well-built as you? Ah... I was just asking..."

Nightingale suddenly grabbed him again, squeezing hard with her fingernails a few times, and said coldly, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, she doesn't have as big a chest as me."

Luo Qingfeng: "..."

At this moment, Xiao Tao on the bed suddenly moved and uttered a word in her sleep.

Outside the window, the night had faded, and dawn was approaching.

Nightingale released him, gave him a warning look, and said, "After the case is closed, you're coming with me. You can't stay here, understand?"

Luo Qingfeng looked troubled: "Four days of classes a month, twenty taels of silver."

Nightingale gritted her teeth and said, "I'll give it to you! I'll give you... twenty-one taels a month!"

Luo Qingfeng said, "There's also a separate courtyard, and we get meat every day."

The nightingale said coldly, "I'll give it to you too!"

Luo Qingfeng said, "There's also a little maid to sleep with, help with bathing, warm the blankets, and let you play with your feet..."

The nightingale said, "I...I'll strangle you!"

After saying that, she went to pinch him again.

Luo Qingfeng quickly dodged and whispered, "Xiao Tao is about to wake up."

Nightingale glanced at the bed, then quickly darted out the window.

At this moment, the maid on the bed slowly opened her eyes, turned her head to look at the couch, and said, "Young master, are you up so early? Who was speaking just now?"

Luo Qingfeng said, "I'm memorizing my lessons."

The maidservant said, "But it sounds like a woman's voice."

Luo Qingfeng said, "This article is a debate between a man and a woman, and both the man's and woman's voices are mine."

The little maid chuckled and said, "That would be so much fun!"

Luo Qingfeng thought to himself: Yes, I also think it's too much fun. Sister Nightingale is jealous and wants to spend a lot of money to support me...

However, can the case in this mansion really be solved smoothly?

He didn't go out during the day and continued his cultivation at home.

Someone died in the manor yesterday, and the manor is unusually quiet today. Even the old maids, who are known for their short tempers and gossip, are rarely speaking.

After dark.

After finishing his meal, Luo Qingfeng returned to his room and continued his cultivation.

At this moment, he discovered that his soul and spirit seemed to have become as described in the book: they could be condensed without dispersing, float without falling, and move up and down at will.

In that case, we can proceed to the next step: the astral projection of the spirit.

His rapid progress in cultivation surprised him somewhat.

It seems that his soul and divine sense, perhaps for some reason, were already extremely powerful.

It's probably because of those two cultivation techniques.

However, he didn't dare to rush things.

He decided to cultivate and stabilize his body for another night and a day, and then try astral projection the following night.

The book says that after the spirit leaves the body, it may see ghosts and other extraordinary things.

He was somewhat expectant.

The night was peaceful, and Nightingale did not come looking for him again.

Xiao Tao asked him shyly again, "Young master, would you like me to... serve you?"

Then he asked, "Would you like to...play with other parts of this servant?"

Luo Qingfeng thought the little girl was referring to soft little hands, but he wasn't interested, so he declined.

"Go to sleep, I have to get up early to study tomorrow morning."

In reality, he needed to conserve his energy and prepare to unleash his full power tomorrow night, allowing his spirit to leave his body.

The following day, he continued his practice at home.

As evening approached, he felt his soul becoming more solid, and his divine thoughts could gather and disperse at will.

He instructed Xiao Tao to bring back a few sticks of sandalwood.

The book says that the first time practicing Yin Shen Astral Projection is quite dangerous, but it will be better if there is incense smoke as an aid.

The burning sandalwood incense will also clearly tell him whether there is wind in the room.

If there is wind, the spirit that has just left the body is not yet stable and may be suddenly blown away, which would be troublesome.

However, being enveloped and protected by the smoke of sandalwood would make it safer.

After dark.

Luo Qingfeng had Xiao Tao boil water, took a nice bath, and then prepared to burn incense and cultivate.

He had made some preparations beforehand.

Some things were secretly placed in the courtyard, and the gates and doors of the house were bolted shut, as were the windows.

Xiao Tao stood guard in the outer hall, forbidding anyone from entering without his permission.

Although the little girl didn't understand what he was doing, she unconditionally obeyed and carried out his orders.

After doing all this, Luo Qingfeng lit sandalwood incense and sat cross-legged on the couch.

He first closed his eyes, then carefully examined the method of astral projection, and then his gaze fell on the pagoda painting.

Concentrate your divine thoughts and focus them on the entrance of the pagoda.

Next, we entered the pagoda and began climbing up step by step from the first floor.

It seems that only those who look inward are climbing the tower.

However, he could clearly feel that his soul and all his thoughts seemed to have condensed into a tiny, ethereal figure, which was climbing the stairs step by step towards the top of the tower.

At first it was easy, but later my steps became heavier and heavier.

No wonder, one needs a strong spirit to begin this step.

at the same time.

Suddenly, the sound of dry leaves being crushed under the courtyard wall rang out.

But at this crucial moment, Luo Qingfeng did not hear it.

Xiao Tao, dressed in a pale yellow dress, was sitting quietly in the main room, embroidering flowers with her head down.

Under the light, her tender and lovely face appeared even more youthful, delicate, and charming.

Her high, prominent breasts almost buried her face in them.

"Who?"

She suddenly looked up.

A shadow seemed to appear outside the door, elongated by the moonlight, and silently slipped in through the crack in the door.

But when she looked up, there was nothing there.

Suddenly, another sound rang out in the courtyard, followed by what sounded like the drawing of a sword.

(End of this chapter)