Chapter 89 Black Hair - The silver candles are cold, the golden goblet is overturned. This...
The silver candles were cold, and the golden goblets were overturned. The hall was filled with the desolation of a banquet that had ended.
Wu Chen led Lu Qing through the banquet, without looking around.
Lu Qing asked softly, "Where are we going?"
Wu Chen raised his hand, and the light of the pearl dispelled the darkness ahead. "Let's go check out the main hall or the back hall. The puppets in this hall were just toys at most. If we want to find clues, we need to find the owner of this place."
Lu Qing: I don't want to, I refuse, but I don't want to stay here and play with those "people" even more.
The main seat is empty.
Wu Chen pulled Lu Qing toward the side of the screen behind the main seat. But as soon as they turned in, they were met with a stiff, pale face.
Lu Qing almost screamed. Dead people are terrifying, they can really scare people to death. She almost pulled out her eyebrow ruler and lashed out at him.
Wu Chen paused for a moment, raised the pearl, and looked at the person carefully, but said nothing.
The man, dressed as a male guest, stood there stiffly, his hands hanging limply at his sides, his eyes closed, like a wooden or clay sculpture. But the gaunt, rigid lines on his face clearly indicated that he had once been a living person.
Lu Qing was terrified and had an urge to curse loudly.
Wu Chen pulled her along silently past the man, walking towards the back. There were many such "people" on both sides of the passage, all standing in the same posture, as if the banquet they had seen not long ago was just their imagination.
Although Yu Jitang and Qi Ying did not speak, they gripped their swords tightly in their hands, in case anything went wrong.
The rear hall was furnished as a sleeping chamber, cold and gloomy. Two rows of maids knelt neatly on either side, revealing a beautiful carpet in the middle. At the end of the carpet was a brocade couch, where a man sat upright, and on his lap, a long-haired woman knelt obediently. Her jet-black hair was very beautiful, but very long, winding down the hem of her skirt and extending into the darkness, the ends of which were completely invisible.
Lu Qing was nearly driven mad by this bizarre and terrifying scene. But since these "people" remained motionless, she dared not make the first move rashly.
Wu Shen released her hand and bowed to the couple, saying, "Senior, I apologize for disturbing you."
The woman who was prostrate on the man's lap suddenly moved, slowly raising her head, but still keeping her back to them. "Don't bother me, I haven't had any new customers here for a long time."
Wu Chen was not moved by her strange demeanor and said gently, "We entered this place by mistake, not intentionally. If we do not know where the exit is, we will leave immediately to avoid disturbing your peace."
The woman chuckled, "Since you're here, why rush to leave? My lover and I have been here for countless years. He enjoys lively gatherings, and he's happy to have some new guests too."
Lu Qing noticed that she was speaking with her back to her, but her voice was quite pleasant, and she became curious about her appearance. "A new customer? Or are there some returning customers?"
The woman chuckled softly, "Guests are always welcome, regardless of whether they are new or old. Please have a seat, and let me entertain you." Before she finished speaking, several maids stood up and brought over chairs.
Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Lu Qing immediately shrank behind Wu Chen. The other two also wanted to hide, but could only stand close together.
The maids moved slowly and stiffly, but apart from moving chairs, they did not make any other unnecessary gestures.
Lu Qing was horrified by their eerie movements, but there was no point in backing down now. She forced herself to observe the maids. Their faces were withered and clearly not those of living people. Their eyes were closed, and when they put down their chairs, the backs of their hands, which were accidentally exposed, were wrapped with some kind of black, unidentified object, which faintly reflected the light of the pearl, making them seem almost alive.
Just as Lu Qing was trying to get a clear look, they withdrew their hands and slowly retreated in the same position they had come from.
Wu Chen's gaze remained fixed on the black-haired woman, and seeing her "hospitality," he showed no intention of sitting down. "Senior, we have urgent matters at home and dare not linger here. We have not touched a single flower or tree in your cave. Please show us the way."
The woman had her back to them, slowly shaking her head. She didn't respond to Wu Chen's words, and continued to say to herself, "You are so handsome, you are no less handsome than my lover."
Lu Qing's heart skipped a beat.
The woman said slowly, "My beloved is highly skilled in cultivation and has a refined and elegant demeanor. Wherever he is, no woman can resist his charm... Oh, by the way, do you know how to play the zither?"
Lu Qing's eyes widened in disbelief. What the hell did this female ghost mean?
Wu Chen actually replied to her, "I know a few tunes, but I'm not an expert."
The woman seemed somewhat surprised. "Then do you know how to play 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate'?"
Wu Chen shook his head. "No."
"Sigh," the woman said regretfully, "what a pity about your beauty..."
Lu Qing felt a surge of anger rising within her. She felt no fear, only an itch to retaliate. Just as she was about to speak, she saw Wu Chen's right hand, which was behind his back, sway slightly.
The woman continued, "But it's alright, I can teach you. You're so pretty, you'll definitely learn quickly. Once you've learned it, you can play 'The Phoenix Seeks Its Mate' for me every day..."
Is this woman out of her mind? Lu Qing glanced at Yu Jitang and Qi Ying, who also looked completely bewildered. It seemed she hadn't misheard. Lu Qing retorted irritably, "Senior, your lover is sitting up there. You just said that in front of him…"
Unexpectedly, the woman touched the man's face and took out a mask-like object. The man's body immediately collapsed and fell to the ground, no longer recognizable as human.
"It's alright. As long as you wear this mask, you'll look exactly like my lover."
Except for Wu Chen, who remained motionless, Lu Qing and the other two were so startled that they all took a step back. Qi Ying suddenly whispered, "Look at their shoes."
Lu Qing and Yu Jitang looked down and saw that although the maids' clothes were similar, they were wearing boots for walking outside, rather than the soft-soled shoes that maids usually wore.
In other words, these puppets or dolls are likely people who broke into this place before.
Lu Qing sneered, "No wonder she's so crazy, she's a female ghost who can't get what she wants and won't rest even after she's dead."
The woman screamed, "What did you say?"
"I said you can't get what you want, even in death you won't rest in peace," Lu Qing roared back. She had initially thought these were all her subordinates, but now it seemed they were all people who had died at her hands. "You still dare to covet my people? No wonder you're covered in black hair, too ashamed to show your face."
"What do you know?" The woman trembled, her long hair rippling like waves, yet her face remained hidden. "My love and I are deeply in love. He adores my hair, often playing with it in his hands, unwilling to let go..."
"You're lying to ghosts, fine, but you're lying to people too." Lu Qing kept chattering away. "If he was truly devoted to you, what if he saw you cheating on him, being ungrateful, and constantly cuckolding him after he died..."
"He's a womanizer, falling in love with every girl he sees, bewitched by those vixens!" The woman's black hair grew wildly and flew through the air in her excitement. All the maids flew into the air, baring their teeth and claws at them.
Only then did they realize that each puppet had a black shadow trailing behind it, the shadow snaking towards the woman like a snake.
"It's her hair! She's using her hair to control those puppets!" Yu Jitang shouted.
The woman ignored their words and roared, "I was devoted to him. When he was poor, I scrimped and saved, managed the household, and supported him in his cultivation and martial arts training day and night. But once he gained power, he never came to see me again. Why did he go to those vixens? Which of them has my true heart? They'll wait until I die, bury me in a nice place, and then go off to seek pleasure. No, I'm not reconciled, I'm not reconciled! You men are all the same..."
She excitedly tossed her hair, and the male and female dolls immediately pounced on them.
Wu Chen sliced off a strand of black hair with his sword, and the maid fell to the ground. But in the blink of an eye, another strand of black hair slithered over like a snake and burrowed into the maid's skirt. Starting from her heels, the maid stood up again like a limp noodle and lunged at them.
Wu Chen wielded his Taiyi Sword, each strike cutting down a swathe of people, but the woman's black hair grew incredibly fast, making it impossible to cut it all down. The puppets, oblivious to pain, continued their attacks even after being sliced in two and bound by the black hair.
As Yu Jitang frantically swung his sword to cut off the snake-like black hair, he shouted, "Wu Chen, why didn't you pick an easier opponent to practice on first? You came in this strong right away..."
He had originally planned to come down into the spiritual veins more often if he had time, but on his first visit, he encountered such a tough opponent, and he didn't even know if he could get out...
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 19:18:58 on August 28, 2020 and 16:43:12 on August 30, 2020!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Shazhouyuge 78 bottles; Xingyunliushui 50 bottles; 21320969 20 bottles; and someone passing by 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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