Soon, Zhang Hu was dragged into a deserted alley.
The surroundings were so dark and silent it was terrifying, causing his pupils to fill with dread.
“What exactly do you want? You and I have never had any grievances!”
“Don’t worry, I don’t have any grudge against you either. I just intend to ask a few things.”
Chen Ning stared at Zhang Hu. The eyes are the manifestation of a person’s heart; through the eyes alone, he could tell whether the man was telling the truth or lying.
“My question is simple. Recently, have you felt anything strange about yourself?”
This seemingly ordinary question caused a flash of panic in Zhang Hu’s eyes.
“Strange? I haven’t left the village for two whole years. What could be strange?”
“Oh? Is that so?”
Chen Ning didn’t waste words and turned around. “Qing Yan, bring the meat.”
“Yes, Young Master.”
Qing Yan quickly brought over a jin of raw pork.
Zhang Hu’s reaction was exactly as Chen Ning had expected. He had instructed Qing Yan to buy a jin of raw meat at the temple fair beforehand.
“Meat!”
Seeing the pork, Zhang Hu’s eyes suddenly widened.
Although he desperately tried to remain calm, his expression could no longer be suppressed amidst his extreme craving, becoming distorted and hideous.
He reached out with a trembling hand, saliva already involuntarily dripping from the corners of his mouth.
“Do you have any more excuses?”
In the next second, however, he met Chen Ning’s icy gaze.
“This is your last chance. I think you understand the consequences of lying.”
Chen Ning pressed his palm against the top of Zhang Hu’s head.
Instantly, a wave of terror spread through Zhang Hu’s heart.
“I’ll die!”
The intuition deep within his soul seemed to repeatedly warn him that if this hand applied even a little pressure, his skull would likely burst in an instant!
“I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
Zhang Hu could no longer hold out. Trembling, he recounted everything one by one.
“One day, about two months ago, I noticed my body had suddenly become extremely strange. Not only would I lose consciousness for no reason and appear in strange places, but there would also always be bloodstains left on me without cause. Not only that, but I began to have an inexplicable and extreme craving for raw meat. No, to be precise, it should be human flesh. Compared to that bloody raw meat, human flesh is far more attractive to me. Now, whenever I see someone alone, I... I gradually find myself unable to restrain it...”
As he spoke, one of Zhang Hu’s eyes had unknowingly turned blood-red. He reached out greedily toward Qing Yan, appearing to desperately crave her fresh and delicious body.
Just then, Chen Ning’s voice suddenly came from beside his ear: “Do you remember where you would be after each blackout?”
“If I remember correctly, it should be near the Li Family Sword Manor. Just as the temple fair began tonight, I had an inexplicable urge to go there.”
Zhang Hu suddenly realized something. “Why are you asking me these things? Could it be... do you know what’s happening to my body? Tell me quickly, what’s wrong with my body!”
“See for yourself.”
Chen Ning called out Xiao Jiu and had her spit a breath of flame onto Zhang Hu’s leg.
The scorching wave of fire instantly melted Zhang Hu’s skin, but beneath the surface, there was absolutely nothing.
Moreover, despite a fist-sized hole being melted into his leg, Zhang Hu couldn't feel even a hint of pain.
Seeing this, his eyes widened in an instant, and his voice trembled. “So... I’ve already become a monster? How is that possible!”
Chen Ning had no interest in answering. He simply crushed the head that was nothing more than an empty shell.
【Slayed one Painted Skin Ghost. Obtained Noble Qi * 2.】
“The Li Family Sword Manor?”
He hadn't expected to actually hear a useful piece of information from Zhang Hu.
...
Li Family Sword Manor.
As the night deepened, villagers from various villages surged toward the Sword Manor in an incredibly eerie manner.
Only a small portion of them possessed consciousness; most were like walking corpses, muddled and mindless.
“After waiting so long, this moment has finally arrived.”
A young man dressed in black robes with a sword hanging at his waist let a cold smile curl on his lips.
He was Li Yong, the Young Manor Lord of this Sword Manor, and also the first Painted Skin Slave within it.
Although he already knew of his half-human, half-ghost identity, Li Yong had long since been willing to become a servant.
In just one month, he had used the trust of those around him to turn everyone in the entire Sword Manor into Painted Skin Slaves.
Furthermore, he had quietly extended his reach to the surrounding villages.
“Reporting to the Young Manor Lord, there are now at least ten Painted Skin Slaves in every village near Wu’an City. The task our Master gave us is about to be completed.”
“Good, good. If this continues, it won’t be long before the entire Wu’an City is reduced to a ghost city!”
Li Yong nodded in satisfaction, a nauseating look of madness gradually appearing in his eyes.
For such a massive town to be turned into a ghost city inhabited only by Painted Skin Slaves—what a grand spectacle that would be!
“However, Young Manor Lord, just now, the aura of a Painted Skin Slave in Ning’an Village suddenly disappeared completely for some reason. I suspect it might be...”
“Was it him? Humph, I didn’t expect such a small place would produce a troublesome Confucian Cultivator. But just because he managed to escape the Hundred Ghost Night Parade last time doesn’t mean he’ll have such good luck this time. Besides, that maid of his has a fine, beautiful skin. I can’t wait to offer her to the Master.”
“Yes, the Master will surely be very pleased if he can obtain that beautiful new skin.”
The black-robed disciple also let a smile curl on his lips.
...
No one in the Sword Manor noticed that Chen Ning had already quietly infiltrated the darkness.
As Zhang Hu had said, this Sword Manor was indeed not quite right.
“Xiao Jiu, can you see anything?”
“Hiss, hiss.”
The moment Xiao Jiu hopped out of Chen Ning’s sleeve, she continuously flicked her tongue toward the Li Family Sword Manor, appearing extremely wary of the entire place.
“It seems there probably isn't a single living person left in this entire Sword Manor. But that’s fine; this way, I don’t have to worry about killing the wrong person.”
Chen Ning naturally wouldn't pass up such an opportunity to wipe out all the Painted Skin Slaves from the surrounding villages in one go.
Moreover, this massive Sword Manor looked entirely different in his eyes compared to others.
It was a golden storehouse of experience!
Crack!
At the entrance of the manor, the placard of the Li Family Sword Manor was suddenly sliced in two by a sword.
The crisp sound echoing in the night sky instantly shocked the many Painted Skin Slaves within the manor.
“Who is it! What business do you have at my Li Family Sword Manor deep in the night?”
Li Yong was greatly alarmed.
“I’ve come to send you all on your way.”
Chen Ning backhandedly sealed the gates of the Sword Manor, and the black Noble Scholar’s Sword in his hand began to hum faintly in response!
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