Chapter 297: Chapter 211: Taking Shelter from the Rain
The torrential rain poured relentlessly from the sky, creating a dense curtain that made it impossible to see the ground more than two yards away. If a drizzle was like silk, then the current rainfall was like a beaded curtain.
Qin Yuesheng rode swiftly on the official road, relying on Inner Strength to isolate himself, his clothes remained as dry as they were before, completely unaffected by the rain.
However, the horse beneath him was not so fortunate, its mane and tail were drenched and dripping wet, swinging with water droplets scattering.
"This weather really is cursed." Qin Yuesheng said, looking up at the sky.
Logically speaking, the range of rainfall is related to the clouds above. As long as you can run out of the raining clouds, you can escape the curtain of rain. Yet, Qin Yuesheng had traveled one or two miles already but still saw no sign of the rain thinning or stopping. Clearly, he hadn’t truly reached the end.
"Sigh, I hate rainy days the most."
...
"Junior Sister, there’s a mansion here."
Amidst the heavy rain, several young men and women quickly ran to a large mansion on a hillside, holding oiled paper umbrellas. They saw the mansion’s outer walls were gray-white, and a plaque hung above the main gate.
[Nameless Mansion]
"Nameless Mansion? What a strange name, does the owner’s surname happen to be Nameless? Or maybe the owner’s name is Nameless." A young woman holding an umbrella looked up at the plaque and said.
"Junior Sister, don’t speak too much. If we offend the owner, we won’t be able to seek shelter from the rain." The young man beside her said, then approached to knock on the door.
This group of young men and women numbered five in total; three women and two men, dressed unusually, suggesting they were disciples out from some sect.
As the young man grabbed the knocker and knocked several times, he loudly called out, "I am a disciple of the Zuoyue Sect of Jiangnan, passing by. I ask the homeowner to lend his place for my junior brothers and sisters and me to shelter from the rain."
"..."
There was an unusual silence; not a sound came from inside the house.
The person did not give up and called out again immediately, but the result was the same. Now, another young man standing beside him could no longer tolerate it.
On rainy days like this, the ground is muddy and wet under the heavy rain. Human nature turns unpleasant when the mood is bad, and bad moods easily lead to unpleasant tempers.
Not waiting for the others to react, this person leapt forward directly and kicked the mansion’s main door, immediately kicking a hole large enough for a person to pass through.
Several panels fell to the ground, creating a considerable commotion.
"Junior Brother Zheng, you..." the young man gaped, not expecting his junior brother to be so irritable, directly ruining the door of someone’s house.
"Senior Brother, sheltering from the rain is the priority. We can apologize later and offer silver as compensation." Junior Brother Zheng chuckled and immediately walked through the hole he kicked out.
The rest glanced at each other and followed him inside eventually.
No one wants to stay out in the rain anymore.
The mansion was extraordinarily quiet; no matter how the few shouted, no one appeared to entertain or reprimand them, which bewildered them all.
Could it be that this place is uninhabited?
But looking at the flowers in the courtyard, vibrant and dripping, the neatly trimmed grass on the lawn, and the dust-free tables and chairs in the main hall, it’s evident that someone lives here; otherwise, it couldn’t be so tidy.
"Can the homeowner come forward? We are not bad people."
The entire mansion was extremely quiet, which inevitably caused some chills down their spines. Junior Brother Zheng said, "Senior Brother, I think these people are hiding. Otherwise, let’s search around or find the kitchen to get some food."
"Okay, but be mindful of your wording if you encounter anyone; don’t start a dispute."
"Rest assured, Senior Brother."
Soon, the group dispersed, searching through the mansion.
However, they failed to notice that the door, which Junior Brother Zheng had kicked open, suddenly trembled slightly. The fallen panels flew back to the gap in the door, restoring it to its original state.
"Ah!!!"
Suddenly, a startled cry rang out.
The others in the mansion were taken aback by the sound and immediately rushed toward where it came from.
"Junior Sister Zhou!"
"Junior Sister Zhou!"
When they arrived at the source of the sound, they saw their junior sister trembling all over, lying on the ground outside a room, arms wrapping around her head, as if she’d just gone through something terrifying.
"Junior Sister Zhou, are you alright?" The eldest among them, Zhang Fan, reached out to help his fallen junior sister, asking worriedly.
"Ghost, there’s a ghost! There’s a ghost in there." Junior Sister pointed at the room in fright.
"Ghost?" Junior Brother Zheng drew the sword from his back and immediately walked toward that room.
"Junior Brother Zheng, don’t! Be careful of danger." Zhang Fan hurriedly said.
But his Junior Brother Zheng Yi was a guy who feared nothing and was unwilling to heed his advice: "I’ve never seen a ghost in all my years; if I encounter one today, it would be a rewarding experience."
They say that when people die, they become ghosts. If I were killed by a ghost, wouldn’t I also become a ghost? Then I shouldn’t be scared. If I can’t beat you alive, I can haunt you for hundreds of rounds as a ghost."
With that, the person rushed directly into the house with the door slightly ajar.
The room was dim, and he could vaguely see over a dozen coffins placed inside. Zheng Yi suddenly realized that his junior sisters, who were always timid, were probably scared by those coffins. Whether or not they actually saw a ghost didn’t matter; they just spouted nonsense.
"Hey, it is strange, though. Why are there so many coffins here? Such bad luck." Zheng Yi walked toward the coffins and saw they all had Yellow Talismans attached, marked with traces of ink lines, indicating they were not ordinary objects.
Zheng Yi was about to take a closer look when a shadow silently approached him from behind, moving so lightly that Zheng Yi didn’t notice at all.
"Ah!!!"
A cry echoed from inside, leaving Zhang Fan and the others stunned.
Something happened?
Could there really be a ghost?
"Sisters, stay where you are and don’t make any sudden moves. I’ll go in and check."
"Senior Brother Zhang, don’t! What if something happens to you too? What will we do then?" a trembling girl asked.
"If anything happens to me, you must hurry and escape, then inform the Sect Leader back at the sect."
Zhang Fan said this without further ado and ran into the house, leaving no further news.
Half an incense stick later.
"Senior Brother Zhang? Senior Brother Zhang?"
The three girls called out nervously, but there was no response. They were definitely too scared to venture inside to check, so they obeyed Zhang Fan’s instructions to turn and run toward the manor’s gate.
...
Green hills and verdant grass stretch afar.
Plants under the rain appeared even greener.
In the hazy white mist, a household on a distant hillside caught Qin Yuesheng’s eye. Along the way, there were no villages or shops nearby, so seeing a house was quite exciting.
Not wanting to continue trudging in the rain, Qin Yuesheng immediately rode his horse towards the house. As he got closer, the manor’s full view came into sight.
"Finally, a place to shelter from the rain." Qin Yuesheng dismounted in front of the manor gate.
After this journey, Qin Yuesheng had greatly improved his horseback riding skills. Being a Martial Artist with remarkable body control, once he was familiar with the steps, he could easily apply them and adapt.
Bang!
He slammed open the gate and called into the courtyard, "Is anyone there? I’m just a traveler passing by, seeking shelter from the rain."
No response, the entire mansion was strangely quiet.
Glancing at the plaque, Qin Yuesheng muttered, "Nameless... what a strange name, forget it, I’ll just go in to avoid the rain first."
As he fully opened the gate, his horse entered without further instruction, quickly finding a dry eave to shake out its drenched coat, sending water droplets scattering and wetting the previously dry ground.
"Is anyone here?" Qin Yuesheng shouted, but no one answered him.
"This is really creepy. A huge manor, not appearing abandoned, yet not a single response. Could it be uninhabited?"
Qin Yuesheng began searching around the manor. Strangely, after searching for quite some time, not a single sign of life, not even a hair, a piece of clothing, or a pair of boots could be found, as if no one had ever lived there.
Just as Qin Yuesheng was about to head back to the front hall, he saw three female figures hurriedly escaping from a rounded door ahead, running straight towards him.
"I knew there must be people here." thought Qin Yuesheng, then said with cupped hands, "Ladies, I’m just a traveler passing by seeking shelter from the rain. I entered without waiting for you to open the door; I hope you can forgive me."
Unexpectedly, the three women didn’t listen, their faces full of terror as they fled, brushing past Qin Yuesheng.
"Ladies, please, wait! Why are you running in such panic?" Qin Yuesheng called out.
Seeing them keeping on running without looking back, Qin Yuesheng grew curious and quickly followed them, wanting to see where they were headed.
After turning and twisting through the manor, the main gate appeared in front of them. In Qin Yuesheng’s sight, the three women dashed out of the manor, vanishing instantly.
"What?!" Qin Yuesheng was startled. Three healthy people disappeared like that?
He rushed outside, but saw no trace of the women.
The hillside location was surrounded by flat land, with nowhere to hide.
Even if those three women were masters of Lightweight Skill, they couldn’t escape Qin Yuesheng’s sight in the blink of an eye.
Even a commoner would exclaim, "I’ve seen a ghost" encountering such an event.
Being an official from the Department of Exorcism, Qin Yuesheng immediately realized he might have encountered something evil.
He promptly took out the Exorcism Toad and Spirit Fox clairvoyant, leapt onto the main hall roof, and began observing the entire manor.
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