Netherworld Painted Skin Scroll

Chapter 220 It’s hard to refuse such hospitality
Probably due to feng shui considerations, the yard was not built directly facing the road. Instead, the road turned a corner when it extended to the front of the yard and was close to the gate to avoid bad luck.

On the other side of the road in front of the gate, there should have been some flowers and trees planted, but they were later abandoned. Now there are only some short trees and weeds left. They must have been cut down during the previous repairs, so now there are only some short stakes and thin branches sticking out of them, like a natural wooden fence.

The box they saw was placed on the other side of the road, in front of the main gate. Two beautiful yellow horses were tied to low posts on the side of the road. The horses stood with their heads down, branches and leaves sticking out of their mouths, but they didn't chew them, as if they hated both the place and the leaves.

Li Wuxiang stopped in front of the door and looked carefully.

There were streaks of fine lines on the road, probably from a big broom. The gate was open, the door panel was not visible, but three bluestone steps were visible—the steps were also swept clean, but dust could still be seen in the corners and cracks, which showed that the people who did this were in a hurry and had no time to pay attention to the details.

It took less than half an hour from the time I parted ways with Tang Qilang and his friends to the time I walked here. The fact that the kindhearted people were able to gather six boxes of things and send them over with two horses was indeed extremely fast.

Zhao Yu looked at the horse and the mahogany box with copper edges and corners, and couldn't help but open his eyes wide: "Master, there really is someone helping us clean up? Who is it?"

Li Wuxiang smiled and said, "I'm sure you won't do good deeds without leaving a name. We'll know what's in the box."

The box was not locked, so Zhao Yu opened it immediately. The gift was actually a little thinner than Li Wuxiang had expected, but it was very practical.

There were curtains, quilts, hooks and loops, window screens, dusters, bowls and chopsticks, tea sets, wine vessels, candles, etc. The last two boxes were filled with food, including long-lasting oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, rice, and flour, as well as some ready-made dried fruit and candied fruit snacks.

Li Wuxiang originally thought that the person who sent the gift would leave something in here to let him know who it was from, but there was neither a message nor a visiting card in the box, as if the person really wanted to do good deeds without leaving a name.

He stepped into the yard and looked around, and found that the yard was indeed simple, even worse than the Chenxiang Pavilion. It seemed that there was only a main house and an east wing, but looking at the wall, there was a small courtyard at the back.

The doors and windows of the rooms inside were also open. The stone slabs on the ground were swept and exposed, and water was sprinkled on them. There was a slight smell of moist earth, which was even a bit pleasant.

At this time, Zhao Yu had already walked past Li Wuxiang and entered the main house with a quilt in his arms. When he entered the room, he turned around and smiled at him, as if he was very happy to have new bedding.

It was at this moment that Li Wuxiang felt something was wrong.

There was breathing sound in the main house, almost undisguised breathing, heavy and rapid, indicating that the person's emotions were extremely unstable. It seemed that he was deeply resentful and angry, and suddenly burst out when he heard himself and Zhao Yu walking into the courtyard.

Li Wuxiang immediately opened his mouth to tell Zhao Yu to stop, but it was too late -

She stepped into the room, saw something, paused slightly, uttered a short cry, and then leaned to the side - the bedding fell to the ground, all dirty.

Li Wuxiang just had time to rush into the house, pulled Zhao Yu behind him, and saw the people in the main hall of the house.

He was barely an acquaintance—Tang Jiuzhen.

There was no light in the room, but Zhao Yu could see him because Tang Jiuzhen looked more like a spirit than a human being.

His eyes were bright now, like a cat's or dog's eyes in the dim night, but they looked not green or white, but light red.

His cheeks and neck were also bright, because the blood vessels on the surface - the blood vessels swollen due to blood flow became slightly red, as if the blood flowing inside was glowing.

This made his outline clearly appear in the darkness, and at first glance, it was not a human, but an evil ghost!
Li Wuxiang pushed Zhao Yu back again and asked, "Are you okay?"

Only then did Zhao Yu let out a long breath: "I, I..."

"Well, get out."

Zhao Yu took a step back, but looked at Li Wuxiang, then at Tang Jiuzhen, then slowly bent down to pick up the quilt that had fallen on the ground, then he quickly walked out with it in his arms and stood at the door.

Tang Jiuzhen was sitting on a chair in the main room, holding a dagger in his hand, which was placed flat on his knees. He stared at Li Wuxiang, his chest heaving violently and breathing heavily.

Li Wuxiang also stared at him for a moment and sneered: "Why, are you coming here to seek revenge?"

Tang Jiuzhen did not answer immediately, but continued to stare at him hatefully. Then he suddenly stood up, took two steps towards Li Wuxiang with the dagger in hand, and fell to his knees with a plop.

"Master!" He gritted his teeth and said, "What happened before was my fault! I was a mean person! I, the Tiangong Sect, specially sent you the daily necessities to apologize to you, and -"

He puffed out his chest and breathed several times before suddenly raising his hand, holding the dagger to his neck and staring at Li Wuxiang: "...I still have my life! I, Tang Jiuzhen! I am here by the order of my master, Tang Peiyong, the Grand Master of the Tiangong Sect, to die and atone for my crime!"

After he said this, he took a few breaths before continuing, "And, I present to you the treasure of my Tiangong Sect - the treasure -"

When Tang Jiuzhen spoke before, the anger and resentment in his words were evident, but now when he mentioned the word "treasure", it was as if because of this thing, all the hatred was unimportant, and only loss and unwillingness remained.

He repeated this word twice, and the light in his eyes dimmed a little: "The treasure... is inside my head! When I die, please take it yourself!"

When he finally finished speaking, he thrust out the dagger with his right hand, and the tip immediately sank into his neck.

At this time, Li Wuxiang raised his hand and tapped the door frame. A piece of wood chip hit Tang Qilang's wrist. His whole arm went limp and the dagger fell to the ground with a clang.

Tang Jiuzhen immediately stared at Li Wuxiang.

Li Wuxiang raised his face expressionlessly and asked: "Are those outside sent by your Tiangong faction?"

Tang Jiuzhen answered reluctantly: "Yes!"

"Your master also asked you to die to atone for your sins?"

"Yes!"

"What the fuck is wrong with you guys in the Tiangong Sect?!" Li Wuxiang's face suddenly changed and he became furious.

Tang Jiuzhen was stunned: "What?" "You sent me something to congratulate me for moving into a new house. I moved into a new house, but you let a thing like you hide in my house and splatter blood all over the floor? Is this auspicious? Does your master want to congratulate me or curse me? Let blood be seen on the first day I moved in?"

Li Wuxiang raised his hand and pointed to the door: "Get out!"

Tang Jiuzhen was stunned for a moment, but the next moment he immediately grabbed the dagger, stood up and walked away, only a dozen steps away from the yard and onto the main road at the door.

Just then, Li Wuxiang said, "Wait a minute."

Tang Jiuzhen took another step before stopping, exhaling, and turning around: "Master, do you have any other advice?"

Li Wuxiang walked from the courtyard to the door and looked at him: "Why did you leave when I told you to?"

Tang Jiuzhen frowned: "What else? What does the Sect Master think I should do?"

"It's not that I think you should do something, but..." Li Wuxiang paused, frowned and sighed, "I hate dealing with people like you the most, do you understand? What I mean is that I deal with smart people. You know what I'm talking about, and I know what you're talking about. If we can make things clear in one sentence, there's no need to say two sentences, and everyone will save themselves the trouble."

"But if you're dealing with an idiot, you have to use ten more sentences to explain your one sentence, and you still might not be able to explain it clearly. Do you understand?"

Tang Jiuzhen still frowned: "I don't understand what you mean, Sect Master!"

"Okay, what I mean is that with your Jindan level, if you want to cut off your own head, you can just raise your hand. I should not be able to stop you in time. Just now I told you to get out, and you got up and left, as if you knew I would not kill you." Li Wuxiang couldn't help laughing, "Who made you feel that way? Your master? Or who told you that I even spared Mou Jinchuan's life, so I would definitely not bother with you?"

Tang Jiuzhen pursed her lips and was silent for a moment: "Okay, I understand. Master, what do you think of us in the Tiangong Sect -"

Li Wuxiang sighed, "You understand nothing. What I'm saying is that your master might be a smart man. He knows that you and I have a grudge and that I want to be more friendly, so he quickly told you to come over and apologize, thinking that I would let it go."

"But I'm not sure if your master knows how stupid you are. Have you heard about what I did before? You came to my house, hid in the house to scare me, and then acted in a pretentious manner with me. Do you think I would just let it go?"

Tang Jiuzhen gritted his teeth, grasped the dagger, and sighed: "Okay, Master Li, you said you don't want to see blood in the new house, fine. Then I will also go with you after the alliance meeting--"

"You are outside my house now." Li Wuxiang interrupted him, "Besides, are you qualified to challenge me to a fight?"

Tang Jiuzhen opened his eyes—but never closed them again.

A golden light suddenly appeared in the night and then disappeared. Tang Jiuzhen swayed slightly in place, his whole body tense, and fell straight on the road, stirring up a large cloud of dust.

Zhao Yu was stunned when he saw this scene in the yard. After a long while, he slowly walked to the door with a quilt in his arms. He stared at Tang Jiuzhen for a long time, then looked at Li Wuxiang: "Master...he..."

"It's none of your business, just do what you need to do." Li Wuxiang walked down the stairs with a cold face, stood on the road for a while, turned around and looked around.

"Come and collect the body!" He shouted, "You want to die to atone for your sins? I'll grant you your wish! Next time you want someone to deal with me, find someone with enough brains!"

Then he walked back to the courtyard, pulled a stool from the house, and sat in the middle of the courtyard, watching Zhao Yu looking around while moving the six boxes back to the house like an ant moving house. Several times when he walked to his side, he would always ask in a low voice to confirm: "Master, we killed their people, but we still want these things. Is this okay?"

Li Wuxiang just said, "It's hard to refuse such a kind offer, what's wrong with that?"

After everything was moved, Li Wuxiang asked Zhao Yu to close the gate and continue to pack up the things in the yard carefully.

The four walls of the courtyard were quite high, and once the door was closed, Zhao Yu seemed to feel relieved. He first helped Li Wuxiang lay out his bedding and furnishings in the east room of the main house, and then went to the west room to lay out his own.

The east wing must have been used as a kitchen in the past. There was a stove inside with a new iron pot on it. Zhao Yu cleaned the kitchen carefully again, and put all the pots, pans, and utensils in place with a clanging sound.

Li Wuxiang listened to the sounds she made while also listening to the sounds outside the yard.

Someone was coming, just outside the door. He heard a rustling sound, as if the body was being dragged, and then the sound disappeared, probably because the body was lifted up or carried.

Then there was a slight rustling sound, as if someone was sweeping away the blood-soaked soil. After about a quarter of an hour, there was also the sound of water, as if someone was washing something.

He thought it was over, but after a while, he heard three very light knocks on the door, very cautiously, as if afraid of disturbing someone sleeping in the yard.

Zhao Yu had rolled up his sleeves, wrapped his hair with a handkerchief, held a candle covered in a glass lampshade in one hand, and swept the dust at the kitchen door with a broom in the other. When he heard the voice, he stopped for a moment, bent over, and looked at Li Wuxiang with wide eyes.

Li Wuxiang stood up from his chair, walked to the door and pulled it open.

The bodies were gone, the bloodstained dirt had indeed been cleared away, and the two horses, which had only had bridles and reins, were now saddled.

There was something on the stone steps in front of the door.

It was padded with a cloth folded into several layers, and the cloth looked like it was cut from Tang Jiuzhen's clothes.

That thing was only the size of the tip of a little finger, and its appearance looked like the rhizome of some plant, with roots growing randomly and branching into many tiny, soft branches.

But it was not white like the rhizome, but blood red, and even looked translucent, as if it was made of blood that had not yet coagulated. There seemed to be something slowly flowing in it, and it was hard to tell whether it was water or some living thing.

When Tang Jiuzhen was in the house, he said that there was a treasure in his head and asked Li Wuxiang to take it himself. It seemed that this was the treasure he was talking about.

Li Wuxiang bent down and picked up the thing along with the cloth underneath, then walked back to the yard and kicked the door shut.

Zhao Yu heaved a sigh of relief at this moment, and hurried over with the glass candle lamp to help Li Wuxiang light it up: "Master, what is this?"

"It might be a treasure from their Tiangong sect. Tang Qillang told me before that this treasure has the effect of cleansing the marrow and clearing the meridians, and can make you gifted." Li Wuxiang raised his hand and touched the thing while speaking - the touch was completely different from what it looked like!
It is not soft, but hard and tough, as if it were made of gold and iron!
(End of this chapter)