Chapter 1628 - 1475: Yin Yang Inn 31
Chapter 1628: Chapter 1475: Yin Yang Inn 31
After comforting Feng Lin, Qi Shuangshuang still had to worry about how to expose this well-hidden Corpse Ghost.
Li Yu was quite troubled by this: "Why don’t we just extract the souls of all those with ghost aura to confirm, since a Corpse Ghost’s soul cannot be separated from its body and thus cannot be extracted."
Qi Shuangshuang shook her head: "No, extracting a living person’s soul causes a temporary destabilization between soul and body, making them vulnerable to evil spirits.
With so many people being extracted, we can’t manage them all, and if by any chance someone gets disturbed by an evil spirit, it would be our fault. This method cannot be used."
Li Yu irritably scratched his head: "Then what should we do? This thing isn’t hard to deal with, but it hides so well. No matter how many means we have, they’re useless if we can’t find it.
But it’s very difficult to find it. What if it just keeps hiding, are we supposed to just continue this standoff indefinitely?"
"No, we won’t." Qi Shuangshuang confidently said: "The heart’s blood essence is a great tonic for a Corpse Ghost; moreover, the Corpse Ghost doesn’t enter the cycle of reincarnation and doesn’t care about karma, that’s why it harms people so wantonly.
This Corpse Ghost has tasted the sweetness of absorbing many people’s heart essence and will only become more greedy. This can be seen from the timing of the victims’ deaths.
Initially, there was an entire year between the first two victims, then by the third one, the time shortened to half a year.
Later it became three months, and the most recent two victims had only twenty days between them. This shows that the Corpse Ghost is becoming more greedy and less able to tolerate it.
While we are here, if the Corpse Ghost hasn’t discovered us, it will surely act soon, and if it has, given its greedy nature, it won’t endure long before harming people again. Once it acts, capturing it won’t be difficult."
"In that case, we should put in some effort to mark all the men around here who could be potential targets of the Corpse Ghost. That way, if they encounter danger, we can detect it immediately."
Just as Li Yu mentioned marking, Feng Lin excitedly raised his hand and said: "I can help with marking. Shopkeeper, I’m very sensitive too. If someone I marked encounters danger, I can sense it at the quickest speed."
Qi Shuangshuang didn’t want to dampen Feng Lin’s enthusiasm. As a member of the inn, he would eventually need to participate in dealing with these matters, so getting familiar with it beforehand wouldn’t hurt.
With that thought, Qi Shuangshuang nodded and said: "Alright, then the three of us will split up to mark, and once we finish, we’ll meet back at the inn."
Feng Lin hadn’t expected Qi Shuangshuang to let him act alone and felt both anticipation and nervousness at the same time.
Even though Feng Lin was to act on his own, Qi Shuangshuang was not at ease about his safety. Before he set off, she equipped Feng Lin with several protective treasures and gave him several powerful Jade Talismans for protection.
Only after fully arming Feng Lin from head to toe did Qi Shuangshuang feel at ease letting him act independently. Even so, watching Feng Lin’s excited figure bounce away, Qi Shuangshuang still felt worried, fearing his lively nature might run into some unexpected trouble.
Li Yu saw the worried look in Qi Shuangshuang’s eyes as she watched Feng Lin’s retreating back and couldn’t help but snort coldly: "The shopkeeper hasn’t even been a mother yet and she’s already worrying like one.
Feng Lin, despite being a little demon, is still one you’ve carefully taught, and ordinary ghostly creatures are no match for him.
Even if he encounters that Corpse Ghost, with the protective items you gave him, he won’t be in danger. Stop worrying here pointlessly, and focus on the work at hand. Do you expect me to mark all the rest by myself?"
Qi Shuangshuang sighed. Since she had already decided to let the cat out, she had to let him gain some experience, and the more she thought about it, the more worried she became.
In the whole county, including the villages and towns under its jurisdiction, there were countless men. Initially, Qi Shuangshuang wanted to mark only the robust men.
Because it was robust men whom the Corpse Ghost targeted, but then Qi Shuangshuang thought that the Corpse Ghost was quite cunning and might reverse the situation, possibly targeting women or children or the elderly, under the cloak of daylight.
In the end, Qi Shuangshuang went big; she marked everyone—men, women, young, and old—included those from prominent families, trying not to miss a single person.
This way, no matter who the Corpse Ghost wanted to harm, it would be discovered unless it could truly resist taking action until Qi Shuangshuang inevitably left.
Actually, if she weren’t afraid of alarming the Corpse Ghost, Qi Shuangshuang would have preferred to draw a talisman to mark everyone at once, instead of marking them one by one, which was both tiring and troublesome.
Three days passed quickly, and everyone who had been marked remained safe. During this time, there was one person who encountered danger.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the Corpse Ghost causing harm; it was just a child playing who got a cramp while swimming, nearly drowning, but was rescued by Li Yu.
Since there was too much idle time, Qi Shuangshuang took Feng Lin and Li Yu to stroll around the marketplace in the county.
On a whim, Qi Shuangshuang drew two talismans, applying them to Li Yu and Feng Lin, instantly suppressing the demonic aura on them, their original unearthly handsome looks becoming much more ordinary.
Of course, their aura remained unchanged, merely grounding their celestial-like beauty into something more worldly, still drawing attention but not as glaringly.
The reason Qi Shuangshuang did this was to see if the three of them could lure out the Corpse Ghost hiding in the shadows.
However, Qi Shuangshuang didn’t hold much hope, because the people the Corpse Ghost previously harmed were so different in temperament from them, Qi Shuangshuang was merely testing the waters. If they could lure it out, great; if not, it was fine.
This market was very bustling, and given that this dynasty was more tolerant towards women, many young noblewomen covered with veils accompanied by maidservants were there, as well as ordinary women boldly showing themselves.
While Qi Shuangshuang was strolling, a fragrant breeze suddenly blew over her, and upon looking up, she saw a veiled lady, with two small maidservants in tow, swaying her graceful figure toward Li Yu, surrounded by an enticing fragrance.
As the young lady reached Li Yu’s side, she suddenly twisted her foot, letting out a charming exclamation before leaning toward Li Yu as if to fall.
The way this young lady fell was quite graceful, with her silk handkerchief elegantly flying towards Li Yu as she fell, her veil slipping down to reveal a face equally apt for anger and joy.
Anyone could see that this young lady’s fall was intended for the beautiful demon, Li Yu, but unfortunately, Li Yu was unromantic.
He straightforwardly sidestepped to avoid the beautiful young lady falling onto him and simultaneously waved his hand to knock aside the silk handkerchief falling towards him.