NOVEL NEXT Chapter 63: Good Night, Sweet Dreams
Chapter 63: Good Night, Sweet Dreams
The Yi Sect had rented a few towns to the Ghost Soul Sect for soul cultivation. Xu Lian and Lin Chengyu knew that they shouldn’t delve too deeply into this topic, so they stopped discussing it.
Xu Lian then brought up the Fang family’s invitation for Lin Chengyu to visit Green Bamboo Town. He asked with a curious smile, “What did the Fang family offer to get the Lin family to help secure the next town mayor position for Master Pei, or do the Fang family and the Lin family have some connection?”
Lin Chengyu replied, “The Fang family and the Lin family don’t have much connection. The Fang family just managed to get a decent fist technique manual from somewhere and gave it to the Lin family. The Lin family then agreed to help speak to the higher-ups to secure the next mayor position for Master Pei, but they didn’t expect Master Pei to refuse.”
It was easy to guess that the Fist Technique manual must have been quite good for the Lin family to agree to help. Xu Lian felt a little touched. In order to help Master Pei become the next town magistrate, the Fang family had given away such a valuable manual. Fang Shaoze, the boy, really cared about Pei Zhaoxi, the little firecracker. But fate had a way of twisting things, and Pei Zhaoxi, the little firecracker, was snatched away by him, the older boy. It was truly a case of fate playing with them… or as they say, a chili pepper pointing to the sky?
Even though Lin Chengyu hadn’t been much help, the Lin family didn’t want to return the Fist Technique manual to the Fang family. The Fang family had suffered a great loss by giving away the manual and losing the potential marriage alliance with the Pei family. The Fang family would definitely hold a grudge against the Pei family and Xu Lian.
Next, Xu Lian asked about the situation in Pingyang County, and Lin Chengyu provided detailed information.
Xu Lian gained a general understanding of Pingyang County. The Yi Sect still held the main power in Pingyang County, which was under their control. However, some other sects had extended their influence into the area, generally adhering to the rules set by the Yi Sect and not overstepping their bounds.
Pingyang County had a county government with positions such as county magistrate, chief clerk, registrar, and inspector, who were responsible for maintaining secular order.
Secular matters were handled by the county office, while matters related to cultivation resources were managed directly by the Yi Sect.
This was similar to Green Bamboo Town and Stone Town, where the Yi Sect only cared about earth flesh and stone marrow and didn’t meddle in other affairs.
“Pingyang County’s most valuable cultivation resource is a spirit tree?”
Xu Lian found this especially interesting.
Lin Chengyu explained, “It’s a tall tree that can condense spiritual energy. The closer you are to the Spirit Tree, the higher your spiritual energy is, making it more suitable for cultivation. The whole of Pingyang County is built around the Spirit Tree, and the closer a place is to the Spirit Tree, the higher the price. These houses can’t be bought with mundane currency, only with Spirit Stones that contain spiritual energy.”
Spirit Stones containing spiritual energy were essentially the currency of cultivators… Xu Lian’s goal for this trip was to “make money” so that he could buy a Condensation Pill from the black market and advance to the next stage.
Xu Lian had asked Lin Chengyu so many questions but hadn’t offered him any compensation, so he frequently toasted Lin Chengyu with drinks and let him enjoy more dried meat.
Suddenly, light footsteps echoed outside the cabin door, accompanied by a chilling aura. Xu Lian felt his hair stand on end, and a layer of goose bumps broke out on his skin.
He and Lin Chengyu were the only ones aboard the double-masted ship and the cargo ship following behind. How could there be footsteps in the cabin?
And the ship had sailed continuously without stopping, so no one could have boarded.
“Don’t open the door. We’ll be fine inside the cabin.”
Lin Chengyu quickly warned.
Xu Lian slightly lowered his head and curiously peered through the bottom of the door, seeing a pair of pale, pale feet quietly passing by, dragging long wet hair behind them.
Was it a human or a ghost?
Eighty percent not human… and twenty percent ghost.
He heard a “creak” as the cabin door next to them opened, followed by another “creak” as it closed, indicating that someone had entered the adjacent cabin.
“Who boarded the ship in the middle of the night?”
Xu Lian lowered his voice.
Lin Chengyu explained, “They are probably demons or ghosts that live along the riverbanks. They have an agreement with the Yi Sect. The Yi Sect’s ships can freely navigate this river, and the demons and ghosts won’t obstruct or damage them. The Yi Sect allows them to board the ships without a pass at night.”
Xu Lian understood… it was their privilege.
He had asked all the questions he needed to, and the two men had nothing else to talk about.
After saying, “It’s time to rest,” Xu Lian quietly opened the cabin door, glanced outside to make sure there were no demons or ghosts in the corridor, and quickly walked out, closing the door behind him. He then entered another cabin, locked the door, and settled down for the night.
The bed was covered in mold, so he took out a few pieces of clothing from his bag and laid them on the bed, preparing to lie down and rest.
Just as he was about to close his eyes, he saw someone – no, something – crouching on the ceiling with long hair hanging down.
Damn it.
He must have entered the wrong cabin!
Xu Lian’s mind went blank, and his entire body stiffened. He locked eyes with the thing on the ceiling, both of them staring wide-eyed at each other.
After a moment, he finally regained his senses. His face turned green, and his body tensed up. He slowly moved his hand to grip the dagger on his belt, ready for action, but he didn’t dare move, fearing that any sudden movement might cause the thing on the ceiling to pounce.
“I would like to say that this is a misunderstanding. Do you believe me?”
Xu Lian spoke carefully, trying to keep his tone as calm as possible to avoid provoking the other party.
“First, I would like to apologize for disturbing you.”
“Then I will get up, gather my things, and leave this hut.”
“Finally, I will gently close the door behind me as if I had never been here.”
“Does that sound okay?”
The thing on the ceiling just stared at him silently, making no sound.
“I will give you three breaths to answer. If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as your agreement.”
“1, 2, 3.”
“Alright, time is up. I’ll gather my things and leave immediately.”
Xu Lian tensed his body as he got up slowly. At the same time, he kept a wary eye on the thing on the ceiling, ready to fight if it made any sudden moves.
Fortunately, the thing on the ceiling remained motionless, allowing him to breathe a sigh of relief.
He quickly gathered the clothes on the bed, picked up his bag and quietly made his way to the door.
He pulled the latch, gently opened the door and backed out, ensuring that his back was not exposed to any potential attack.
“Next time you board a ship, you might want to lock the door to your cabin. That way, no one will enter by mistake.”
Xu Lian gave a friendly reminder.
“Have a pleasant journey. Good night.”
“Sweet dreams.”
Feeling his heart pounding, he gently closed the door behind him.
This was too intense.
Then, he frowned. In just those few moments, he couldn’t recall what that thing on the ceiling looked like. He could only remember the pale feet, the long hair and the red clothes. Everything else was a blur.
“What a strange feeling.”
He found it inexplicable. Could this be a characteristic of the ghosts?
This was the corridor, and if another ghost boarded the ship and encountered him, it would be troublesome. Without much time to think, he hurriedly opened another cabin. This time he carefully checked the ceiling, corners and under the bed, ensuring that there were no “strange things” before he felt safe enough to enter. He locked the door and finally relaxed.
He leaned back on the bed, still feeling his heart race.
This was definitely too intense.