Yan Kai opened his mouth, completely clueless as to what was going on.
"Brother Yan Kai," Rongrong squeezed through the door as well. "What's … going on?" She looked at the scene before her with a puzzled expression.
The rain grew heavier and the thunder grew louder. Everyone had no choice but to enter the main hall to seek shelter from the rain.
The main hall was in ruins. The walls were covered in cobwebs and stains. The only things that were still intact were a few tables and chairs.
The scar-faced man plopped down on one of the chairs and reached for a thick branch to fiddle with the bonfire on the ground.
"I've only just arrived here and I've already encountered such terrible weather. I was planning to look for my big brother in the nearby city, but it looks like I'll have to postpone it until tomorrow or the day after."
Chen Ziguang and the other two did not speak. It was common sense not to reveal one's identity when outside. Although they did not know that their attire alone had basically exposed their identities.
"So you're also here to seek shelter from the rain?" Yan Kai suddenly realized.
"Then what did you think it was, brother?" The scar-faced man looked puzzled.
"Uh … I'll leave it at that." Yan Kai guessed that he might have been bewitched by something earlier.
He looked at Duan Rongrong and his senior brother Wan Hezi. Both of them looked normal, no different from usual.
"Speaking of which, the thick fog just now …"
"The fog was indeed thick," the scar-faced man nodded. "But it was a little strange that it suddenly dispersed. We're in the wilderness. Let's all be more vigilant. "
"Yes, yes. You're right, brother." Chen Ziguang nodded in agreement.
"Crack."
A bolt of lightning flashed past, illuminating the outside of the hut in a snowy white.
The group gathered around the fire to dry their clothes and chatted idly.
Only then did Yan Kai find out that the scar-faced man was called Sun Chankuang. He was a pugilistic man who had rushed over from elsewhere to seek refuge with his big brother. According to him, he was from some Giant Eagle Sect.
The two scholars had brought along a page boy and were heading to the nearby prefecture city for the examination.
The fire was warm. Outside, the wind, rain, and lightning flashed and the temperature plummeted rapidly. The Northern Lands were close to the Frozen Ocean, so the temperature was already extremely low. Coupled with the fact that it was autumn and winter, it was even colder. If there was no fire, a night of freezing could take away half the life of a strong man.
"This house is quite big. There are three rooms connected to each other. I'll take one of the rooms for now. You guys can make your own arrangements for the rest. It's getting late, so I'm going to sleep first."
The scar-faced man, Sun Hankuang, yawned and got up after chatting for a while.
"Go ahead, Brother Sun. The three rooms are just nice for our three groups." Chen Ziguang and Sun Chankuang were chatting to their hearts' content, so he hurriedly got up and cupped his fists.
"You're welcome. Shouldn't we help each other when we're outside? "Sun Chan laughed maniacally.
"It's getting late. Let's go rest." Xu Pei also stood up.
"Alright, let's rest too," Yan Kai stood up and said with a smile.
He shot a look at Duan Rongrong and Wan Hezi. The two of them stood up as well, and the three groups of people entered the three rooms at the side of the stone house.
"Tonight … let's rest on the ground. That bed board can't be used anymore, so we can only use it as a point on the ground." Yan Kai wanted to ask about the two of them, but the words stuck in his throat.
"Brother Yan Kai, I saw someone who looked exactly like you running deep into the village in the fog. If I hadn't heard your voice in the courtyard, I might have really been lured away by that person," Duan Rongrong suddenly said in a low voice.
Yan Kai's eyes flashed, and he nodded. "Be careful. Observe first before making a decision. Don't be impatient."
"Junior Brother, you guys should go back first thing in the morning tomorrow. I'm the one who started this, so I should settle it alone …" Wan Hezi said with a straight face.
"Senior Brother, let's not talk about this." Yan Kai shook his head. "Be careful. There's something strange about this place. Take care of yourself first. Don't rush into decisions about anything else you see."
"Mm, I know." Wan Hezi nodded.
The three of them each had their own thoughts, so they found a corner to lean against and rest.
…
Tea Town.
Lu Sheng came out of his bedroom early in the morning. The sky was still dark, and he stood in the courtyard, gazing at the flashing lightning and rumbling thunder in the sky.
Little umbrella girl leaped out from a corner of the courtyard. She glanced at Lu Sheng timidly, then walked to the well in the middle of the courtyard. Her tiny hands began to draw water bit by bit with the bucket.
The creaking of the shaft rang out incessantly.
"Oh, it's Yingying. You're up early too. "Lu Sheng did not need to turn to know what state umbrella girl was in.
"… No … need to sleep," little umbrella girl replied in a low voice.
Lu Sheng broke into a laugh.
"That's true. I forgot."
He looked at the forest in the distance, where the village stood.
"Do you know that village? Come to think of it, you should be older than Hongfang Bai. Haven't you heard anything about that village? "
"… I'm … sorry …" Yingying lowered her head in apology.
"It's fine. I was just asking." Lu Sheng smiled. "That place isn't a place you can enter just because you want to. I need to figure out what's there, what I can get, and why that Chao Long came all the way here."
"…" Yingying did not understand Lu Sheng's thoughts. To her, no matter how strong he was, how could that place compare to her sister at her peak?
Lu Sheng had even defeated her sister at her peak. In this land, he had nothing to fear.
"It's fine if you don't understand." Lu Sheng shook his head. His identity was a sensitive one. He had to improve himself as quickly as possible. Only when his strength reached a level where no one could match up to or threaten him … Then he would not have to worry about trouble from the Noble Families or demons.
After all, his strength was enough to overturn the ruling system of this world.
Before that, meaningless attacks and outbursts were dangerous. Every time he attacked, it would be easy for others to see through him.
Yingying returned after fetching water. Lu Sheng stood in the courtyard for a while, then walked towards the study.
In the study, Dong Qi of Tea Sect was already waiting.
"Reporting to Sect Master, the Unlaughing Master has appeared again! Last night, another person mysteriously disappeared. From the traces he left behind, it should be the Unlaughing Master. "
"Oh?" Lu Sheng's interest was instantly piqued. "How did he disappear?"
Dong Qi lowered her head and said solemnly, "In his own home. His family said that they suddenly heard a scream in the middle of the night. They got up and looked around, only to find that the person was gone. This is the sixteenth murder case in town so far. "
"Even the only survivor of this case is dead. This is a tricky case." Lu Sheng's eyes slowly narrowed.
"Everyone in town is in a state of panic. I don't know what to do next." Dong Qi looked at Lu Sheng with a hint of hope, hoping that he could come up with a solution.
"There's no rush … Where's Chao Long?" Lu Sheng asked with a smile.
"No trace of him … and Yan Kai and the other two have also disappeared. It's very strange," Dong Qi said doubtfully.
"Sect Master!" Before Dong Qi could finish, Xu Chui rushed in with a worried look on his face.
"Someone from the sect has also disappeared!" His first words caused Lu Sheng and Dong Qi's expressions to change slightly.
"Soon … soon …" A cold glint flashed across Lu Sheng's eyes. But still, there was no movement. "Don't move. Bring some men with you and hide for now."
"Yes!" Xu Chui answered immediately.
Crimson Whale Sect did not move. Their own people had also disappeared, but it was as if nothing had happened. Under Xu Chui's lead, most of the people slowly withdrew from Tea Town and headed for Ring Pendant City.
Days passed by.
Tea Town regained its peace. It was as if the legend of the Unlaughing Master had vanished.
But Lu Sheng understood that it was not vanishing, but merely lying low.
"Crack!"
Lightning flashed and thunder rumbled.
Dong Qi slowly sat up in bed. She was awakened by the urge to pee. The wind and rain outside were very loud in the middle of the night. The thunder sounded as if someone was beating drums outside the door.
"Crack."
Outside the window, everything turned a ghastly blue.
"Huff … huff …"
She took a few deep breaths, rolled off the bed and put on her shoes.
She opened the door gently. Dong Qi had to pass through the living room to get to the toilet. At night, the originally lit wall lanterns were also extinguished by the strong wind.
She stood at the door and tugged at her collar, feeling a little chilly.
'I'll be back soon,' she thought.
Leaving the bedroom, she hurried into the living room and headed for the toilet.
To her surprise, she noticed that the lanterns in the living room were still lit.
Bursts of dim yellow light illuminated the entire main hall and living room, making it blurry.
"Creak."
Dong Qi slowly closed the bedroom door behind her, her gaze sweeping across the living room.
'It's so late … could the servants have forgotten to blow out the lanterns?' The thought flashed across her mind.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man sitting quietly on a chair in the living room facing the door.
A tall, slightly plump, middle-aged man with a straight back.
Due to the dim lighting, Dong Qi couldn't clearly see who that person was even though she was far away.
Suddenly, from afar, she saw the man slowly and stiffly turn his head to look at her.
She could not make out the man's face from afar, but she could vaguely make out that the man's eyes were very black, like two empty holes.
"Who? Who's there? "Dong Qi's heart skipped a beat. She did not remember knowing a man with such a figure.
Her right hand quickly reached into her pajamas and pulled out a dagger.
"Tell me a joke." Suddenly, a voice rang out from the man.
“！！？？”
Unlaughing Master??
Dong Qi's body stiffened. And the voice did not come from the front.
She slowly turned her head and saw that the wooden door of the bedroom she had just come out from was already open.
A man who looked exactly the same was standing at the door. This time, at a closer distance, she finally saw clearly what was going on with the man's pitch-black eyes.
They were basically two black holes. There were no eyeballs in the eye sockets, nothing at all. There were only two bloody holes, so black that she could see the insides of the body.
Dong Qi's body trembled. She almost dropped the dagger in her hand. Her face was pale and her body was cold. Sweat quickly soaked her underwear.
She slowly took two steps back.
"Ah!!"
She suddenly screamed, turned around and ran towards the door.
Outside the door, in the middle of the courtyard.
Lu Sheng slowly gripped the dagger stuck in the ground and stood up. He looked at the tall figure slowly approaching from behind.
"I've waited a long time for you, Chao Long …"
The man behind him paused.
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