Chapter Thirty-One: Haunted! Young Man, You Should Leave Quickly

Murong Xingyao was quite puzzled, but he didn’t ask any further. He took out the key and opened the door, and the two of them went upstairs together.

After a simple introduction to the villa, Murong Xingyao told Lin Yi that everything in the villa was brand new, so he could use it with peace of mind. Most importantly, all the materials inside were environmentally friendly. Lin Yi could feel it too; the air inside was indeed fresh and smooth, making for a rather pleasant living environment.

However, from across the villa, a faint sense of foreboding drifted in. This ominous aura seemed to pervade the entire Talented Scholars Residence complex. Murong Xingyao wanted to invite Lin Yi out the next evening, planning to call up some friends from Shengjing City and have a good chat with him.

Faced with Murong Xingyao’s enthusiasm, Lin Yi politely declined, saying he had something to do the next day. Murong Xingyao didn’t press further, left the key with Lin Yi, and though he wanted to stay a while longer, Lin Yi sent him off.

The reason was that Lin Yi realized another opportunity to gain experience had come; his "Divine Severance Sutra" was stirring again. It seemed almost as if the sutra had its own consciousness, as though it wanted to speak but hesitated.

Lin Yi thought he ought to put in more effort to investigate just what was causing this. Upon consideration, he figured it was probably because he wasn’t close enough to those monsters and ghosts for the sutra to have a strong reaction.

“I need to take a proper look around next, especially get closer to those mourning tents if possible… And I still don’t know whether Talented Scholars Residence has recently gained some man-eating evil spirits, or if it’s the flying corpse or drought demon causing harm. I need to find out exactly how those people in the mourning tents died. How could it all be such a coincidence…”

Murong Xingyao had left, but Lin Yi had a feeling that the man would definitely pester him again. The reason, as far as Lin Yi could see, was that he had sent Daoist Zhang Ruofeng flying, leading Murong Xingyao to believe he was extremely powerful and want to ally himself with him.

If only he’d known, he wouldn’t have acted against Zhang Ruofeng on Antique Street—except, thinking again, that Daoist had been bullying Murong Yueyao. How could he just stand by?

Truly, fate had wound the two of them together in a sort of karmic entanglement.

Though Murong Xingyao could be a bit long-winded, from their conversation and the way he handled things, Lin Yi could tell he was a fairly reliable fellow.

Lin Yi took a quick look around the villa’s layout and appliances. Seeing that night hadn’t fully fallen yet, he decided to wait a while before taking action.

He pulled a few boxes of instant hot pot from the fridge—thankfully, they weren’t expired—and began eating while watching a variety show.

After his meal, Lin Yi went through several sets of martial routines in the villa’s spacious hall. With each powerful movement, he felt more and more satisfied.

Finally, he took out the sarira and tiger bone, both of which had been purified by the Divine Severance Sutra, observed them for a while, then returned them to his storage space. He then drew out the Fierce Tiger Ghost-Headed Saber and practiced with it, finding it ever more to his liking.

After cultivating the "Great Cavern Sutra" for a while and making good use of the "Secret of Movement" within the villa, he noticed dusk had quietly arrived.

“Damn, I forgot to buy some elixirs. There’s a pill shop right next to the Fragrant Pavilion, what a slip-up… Murong Xingyao dragged me off to have medicinal porridge, and I ate my fill, so I forgot all about it… These things satisfy the palate, but for me, I really need those powerful herbs.”

Lin Yi shook his head—the ordinary ingredients in those self-heating pots were better than nothing for him. After eating, he only felt a tingle on his tongue, nothing that made his body like or reject the food. Tasty as it was, it offered little benefit to his cultivation.

Now Lin Yi understood: for those with true ability, what they eat must be chosen with great care. Without ingredients rich in energy, he’d have to eat hundreds of pounds of meat just to keep up.

The saying goes: “Scholars starve, warriors feast.” This was precisely what it meant.

As evening fell, Lin Yi pondered all this while heading downstairs. At this moment, he cut an extraordinary figure—almost exuding an immortal’s aura, the look of a secluded master. Though young, he inspired an inexplicable sense of trust.

Just as he descended the stairs, across at Villa Sixteen, the crowd that had gathered—perhaps after finishing their mourning—had begun to disperse. Some had even gone off to smoke together nearby.

Still, it seemed the deceased was a true family member or close friend to these people, for even as some smoked, tears continued to fall.

A few sat on the bench next to Villa Seventeen—three middle-aged men. Only a wide avenue and a few low trees separated the two villas, nothing more, so Lin Yi could clearly see what was happening.

At that moment, the three men sat amid clouds of smoke, grief written plainly on their faces.

When Lin Yi appeared, they quickly stood up and nodded to him, as the bench they occupied belonged to his villa.

Lin Yi walked over.

Just as he drew near, he suddenly heard a rustling sound—his Divine Severance Sutra was reacting!

“Skin-Stealing Ghost: Evolved from a malformed demon fox, with 163 years of cultivation. Skilled at disguise, mind-affecting incantations, fond of skinning, devouring carrion, and imitating humans. Has killed 304. Must be slain!”

The sutra’s page flipped, and the contents startled Lin Yi greatly.

A fox demon seeking official favor, the murderous spirit split from Lady Huang, the deadly tiger ghost empowered by the sarira and red mist—and now, even a Skin-Stealing Ghost had appeared.

Who hadn’t, as a child, been haunted by the skin-stealing ghosts from TV? The endless chanting, the chilling atmosphere—recalling it now, Lin Yi still felt a shiver run down his spine.

What surprised him most was that this Skin-Stealing Ghost had evolved from a malformed demon fox—quite unlike the tales he’d heard. But thinking a bit further, he realized this was not the same as the stories he’d known; otherwise, its cultivation would surely be higher than 163 years.

The tiger ghost had over three hundred years, and Lin Yi could destroy it with a single punch. With only 163 years of cultivation, he had nothing to fear from this Skin-Stealing Ghost. By activating the Great Cavern Sutra, his pure and radiant energy would make the creature regret ever crossing his path.

The only thing that gave Lin Yi pause was the ghost’s skill in mind-affecting incantations—a particularly insidious trick, and one he’d have to guard against.

Since the Divine Severance Sutra had given warning, the Skin-Stealing Ghost must be nearby.

On the bench, one of the three middle-aged men wiped tears from the corner of his eye as he pulled out an iron cigarette case—special military-issue Panda cigarettes, something you couldn’t get without connections.

“Young man, here, have a smoke.”

Seeing Lin Yi approach, the man offered him a cigarette.

Lin Yi was a smoker, though not a heavy one. This was why his ex-girlfriend, Murong Yueyao, had once gifted him a lighter.

“Thanks, brother. I’ve never had this brand before—might as well give it a try,” Lin Yi said, a polite smile on his lips. With a death in the villa opposite, it would be inappropriate to smile too broadly.

“By the way, brother, did someone in your family pass away? I can’t help but notice that so many people have died in our complex. Forgive my curiosity, but it’s rather strange to have so many go at once…”

As soon as Lin Yi finished speaking, he noticed that although the three men’s faces were still marked by sorrow, a hint of panic flashed in their eyes.

At last, the man who had offered the cigarette gritted his teeth and spoke.

“Young man, you seem decent—handsome, from a good family, or you couldn’t afford a villa like this. You’ve got a bright future ahead of you… So let me advise you: get out of here while you still can. This villa complex is haunted!”

“It’s not yet fully dark. Leave now, or you’ll be in real trouble!”

Lin Yi hadn’t expected the man to come straight out and say the place was haunted, urging him to leave. But he wondered whether he was referring to the same incident the taxi driver, Huang De, had mentioned—the case of ghosts eating people at Talented Scholars Residence—or whether it was the flying corpse and drought demon that Master Ying had come to deal with. Or perhaps the man was talking about the Skin-Stealing Ghost revealed by the Divine Severance Sutra!

“The one who died was our company boss. He was related to some of us, and we’re all from the same hometown. Once he got rich, he bought this villa… Everything was fine until that red mist yesterday… Cough… After that red mist, people started dying in the complex. First Old Zhang’s family, then Old Zhao’s, and the third was our boss, Yang Wanshun.”

“Our boss… he… he died horribly—his heart exploded…”

“Altogether, eleven people have died in this villa complex! Eleven! All with their hearts blown apart. It’s either the work of a serial killer, or… it’s ghosts! All of them died at night, alone in their rooms. Not even a locked-room murder could explain it, so we can only suspect it’s supernatural!”

At this point, the man took a fierce drag—half the cigarette vanished in a blink. The other two men wore equally bitter expressions.

“But… young man, as long as it’s not dark, there’s nothing to fear. Just leave quickly… To be honest, if we weren’t from the same hometown as Boss Yang, and relatives besides, we wouldn’t dare come at all. Young man, go, quickly.”

He took another hard drag—the cigarette was down to the stub.