A Tangled Web of Phantoms, Collapsing at the First Touch

Lin Tianlu's expression froze for a moment.

He had originally assumed that some vicious ghost was running rampant through Li Manor. Even from outside the courtyard, he had faintly heard the clang of swords, making him certain that a fierce clash was taking place within.

Yet the moment he pushed open the door, he saw a naked woman standing in front of the courtyard, clad only in a wisp of gauze. The bizarre sight left him utterly bewildered.

And judging by that coquettish pose, was she trying to make whoever opened the door play Miao Renfeng for once?

At the same time, his arrival naturally attracted attention.

"—Senior!"

Hua Shuya caught sight of him from the corner of her eye and hurriedly shouted, "Many people in Li Manor have fallen victim to this evil ghost!"

But a surge of sinister energy transformed into a violent gale and struck her head-on, forcibly sending her stumbling backward. After several staggering steps, she had no choice but to brace herself against her sword and kneel on one knee, gasping for breath.

After several bitter battles, she had barely managed to protect herself, but her inner force had already been completely exhausted.

"Miss Hua, you really are talkative. How could you say such a mood-killing thing? It only adds to the misunderstanding, and that wouldn't do at all."

The Fox-like Woman withdrew her right hand with a soft laugh and turned to look at Lin Tianlu, who had entered the courtyard.

"Master Lin, I recognize you. In recent days, you seem to have slain evil spirits with that so-called righteous aura, attracting considerable attention in Changling County and earning the praise and admiration of many county residents."

"You flatter me. Those compliments are nothing but empty fame drifting like clouds."

"But the servants outside tried to stop you, yet Master Lin ignored them and trespassed into Li Manor. Isn't that rather rude?"

"Those two servants had already been dead for quite some time. They were merely being driven by sinister energy. I had no desire to exchange words with the dead."

Glancing at the courtyard gate that had closed on its own behind him, Lin Tianlu cupped his hands. "Still, Miss, you should put your clothes on first. This is truly indecent."

The Fox-like Woman narrowed her crescent-moon eyes and gave a teasing smile. Then she swept her waterfall-like hair behind her, making her even more seductive as she twisted her graceful body.

"If Master Lin wishes to look, then look to your heart's content. I'm not some coy little maiden pretending to be reserved. Wouldn't it be a waste to bind such a perfect body in cloth?"

Lin Tianlu chuckled. "You do have a point."

"Besides—" The Fox-like Woman gave an inexplicable smile. "Back then, when you fearlessly stepped into the sea of flames and fought that evil spirit, you allowed me to escape smoothly. To me, you might even count as half a lifesaver."

Lin Tianlu was slightly surprised.

So the "fellow" that the evil spirit from the cloth shop had kept muttering about was actually this female ghost before him?

"What a coincidence." Lin Tianlu asked curiously, "But you knew perfectly well that I had destroyed the evil spirit from the cloth shop, and yet you're standing before me so calmly now. Aren't you afraid of death?"

"I can't be lumped together with that evil spirit."

The Fox-like Woman shook her head. "He was a man, while I'm a woman. That makes us fundamentally different."

As she spoke, she could not help lightly licking her red lips, a trace of seductive charm spreading across her face. "I naturally know that Master possesses great ability, and I never dreamed I could injure you. But you have spent years immersed in books and rarely visit places of pleasure. You don't know that a woman's weapons are sometimes not blades, spears, axes, or halberds, but slender fingers that wind around yours, and tenderness as soft as water."

"A handsome man as elegant and striking as Master Lin—when I first saw you, my heart already yearned for you. Now that we've met again, my heart trembles even more. I feel as though I've fallen into a sea of love."

As she spoke, the Fox-like Woman walked forward with sensual, seductive steps. Her gauze swayed, and her fair body seemed to shine beneath the moonlight.

Her slender fingers brushed over her body, and even the last wisp of covering was carried away by the wind. Her entire body flushed with the alluring colors of peach blossoms as she murmured, "Master, this scene is so bright and enchanting, while the night wind is cool. Why don't we find a quiet place and enjoy a passionate tryst together?

"Cast aside that cumbersome mortal world, savor the bliss of ascending to immortality, and journey with me among the clouds?"

Smoky, ambiguous air rose all around them, faintly revealing a seductive fragrance that seeped into the evening breeze.

Hua Shuya, who was farther away, seemed to sense something strange. Her expression shifted, and she was just about to shout when an eerie wind brushed over her body, leaving her completely rigid. At the same time, sword wind howled beside her ears, and the black-haired girl pursued her viciously. She could only stagger and do her best to dodge.

"Hehe~"

The Fox-like Woman quietly withdrew her gaze, the amusement in her eyes growing deeper.

"My name is Xiao Lanzhu. You must remember it well, Master. When we're whispering sweet nothings later, don't call me by the wrong name." Xiao Lanzhu kept smiling seductively. Every movement she made was provocative and incendiary, as though she were deliberately displaying her charms. She circled around him like a dancer until she quietly reached Lin Tianlu's back, then rose onto her toes and leaned close with a beaming smile.

"Master, let me have a good look at your—"

Bang!!

A fist flashed. Xiao Lanzhu was struck hard and sent flying through the air, crashing headfirst into the wall behind her.

"..."

Looking at the Fox-like Woman with half her body embedded in the wall, Lin Tianlu withdrew his solidly clenched fist.

"Fortunately, there are no feminists in this world. Otherwise, I'd probably be beaten to death by a flurry of punches."

He sighed inwardly twice and casually dusted off his clothes.

The enchanting pale-pink surroundings suddenly collapsed, and the Fox-like Woman, whose dangling legs had been twitching wildly, vanished along with them.

Sinister wind surged in all directions, transforming into the cold wind of an autumn night that froze straight to the heart, shrieking and wailing beside his ears.

Lin Tianlu turned his head and saw another Xiao Lanzhu not far away—

No, this woman was the real body.

The one from before had probably been a clone created through some technique.

"—How could this be!?"

Seeing this sudden change, Xiao Lanzhu's face revealed shock and fury. "Why weren't you affected?!"

"You do have a soft and beautiful figure. But I've seen plenty of women more beautiful than you, so naturally I wouldn't reveal such an ugly, disgraceful side of myself." Lin Tianlu smiled. "Besides, your little seduction technique is truly as bland as water. It has nothing new to offer."

Someone merely standing naked before him and twisting around was less attractive than the lewd pictures from his previous life.

After all, the hazy beauty of temptation was sometimes more alluring. It wasn't as though the more one took off, the more attractive one became.

"What are you—"

Xiao Lanzhu's expression turned extremely dark. Her vicious gaze abruptly swept toward Hua Shuya in the distance. "Is it this woman? You think I'm inferior to an ordinary mortal like her?!"

"You and her are as far apart as the clouds and mud."

Lin Tianlu smiled as he walked forward.

Xiao Lanzhu immediately snarled, "Then I'll steal her vitality and skin, making her part of me as well. And you... just stay here obediently and watch with your own eyes as I strip this woman's skin and tendons!"

The moment she finished speaking, she formed a hand seal. Sinister wind shook the surroundings, and in an instant, dozens of half-illusory, half-solid figures appeared, filling nearly the entire spacious courtyard.

These beauties, each with a different bearing, either smiled seductively and moaned sweetly or whispered softly while striking provocative poses. That dreamlike, sensual atmosphere spread once more, almost enveloping the whole of Li Manor.

Clang—!

A sword sang softly. The black-haired girl slipped out from the bewitching crowd, seemingly preparing a secret strike with her sword.

Lin Tianlu quietly closed his eyes. Without even turning his head, he raised two fingers and caught the blade. With a twist of his wrist, the long sword in the girl's hand shattered with a bang.

While the black-haired girl was still stunned, he followed through with a point of his finger. Every trace of sinister energy rooted in her body was blasted out in an instant!

"Ugh—?!"

The black-haired girl dropped to her knees with a thud, and a trace of clarity returned to her eyes.

But when she saw the dazzling, demonic springtime beauty surrounding her, she immediately endured the pain throughout her body and shouted hoarsely, "Quick, run!"

"Hehe~ You won't escape from here!"

Many of the Xiao Lanzhus floating around them wore sinister smiles.

Lin Tianlu slapped at the layers of alluring phantoms floating around him, as though he had struck something solid.

Xiao Lanzhu staggered out of the phantoms, her hair disheveled. She covered the cheek still bearing the imprint of his palm, her face blank with shock.

"W-What...?"

"Looks like there are quite a few flaws in your sinister art, Miss."

Lin Tianlu smiled faintly.

Xiao Lanzhu's expression sank at his words. She secretly formed another hand seal, and her figure blurred.

A great many phantoms appeared around them once more, crisscrossing and circling through the air. Images of living erotic scenes unfolded at his sides, accompanied by ceaseless moans and gasps.

Lin Tianlu ignored them completely. After briefly discerning the direction, he flicked a finger.

—Smack!

Xiao Lanzhu was forcibly shaken out again, her face now filled with astonishment.

"This, this... How did you see through my sinister art?!"

She clenched her teeth and, refusing to believe it, used her sinister art again. Layer upon layer of ghostly shadows spread in every direction, baring their claws and shrieking without end.

Lin Tianlu merely took a portable poetry collection from his robes and rolled it into a stick before striding forward.

Then he swung the book-stick down directly.

"Ah?!"

Xiao Lanzhu let out a scream of utter terror and retreated again and again, clutching her forehead. "Impossible! How could I possibly—"

"Sinister art, is it?"

Lin Tianlu brought the book down from the other side.

"A seduction technique, is it?"

"You still want to seduce men, is that it?"

"Y-You bastard... enough already!"

After being smashed back into her true form again and again, Xiao Lanzhu seemed unable to endure it any longer. She roared in fury, sinister energy erupting around her as she spread her arms and shouted, "Why can you find my true body every single time?! My sinister art is clearly—"

"Flawless?"

Lin Tianlu sounded almost mocking. "You should pay more attention to the skin on your face."

"What did you—"

"You preyed on commoner women and slaughtered everyone in Li Manor. The sins weighing upon you are far from minor."

Lin Tianlu's expression gradually turned solemn.

Even without opening his eyes, his subtle perception had already spread out, forming a wondrous tableau.

Blood-red threads wrapped around the female ghost's body, connecting to the many "painted skins" flying around them. Those alluring phantoms were clearly the unfortunate women she had harmed. All of them had been imprisoned within their flesh, weeping and crying out in pain. It was a pitiful sight.

The erotic springtime scene before him was, in his eyes, instead a tragic landscape that made him clench his fists in grief.

"Enough with this humiliating display."

Lin Tianlu sighed softly.

Xiao Lanzhu's lips trembled, and then her face suddenly twisted into a terrifying grimace.

—Now that all her trump cards were gone, she could only take a desperate gamble!

Her supple body suddenly lowered. She stomped both feet and burst forth with astonishing speed. A pale afterimage streaked across the courtyard as her five fingers hooked into scarlet rays of blood and slashed toward him with all her might.

But those five claw-like fingers, powerful enough to shatter metal and split stone, halted abruptly only inches from his chest.

Lin Tianlu expressionlessly seized her wrist.

Xiao Lanzhu's face went white with terror. Knowing she had nowhere left to retreat, she hurriedly pleaded in a trembling voice, "Master Lin! You don't know the suffering I endured while alive. Everyone in Li Manor bullied and oppressed me, and Li Yu humiliated me in every possible way. I never truly intended to harm anyone—"

"Can you say those words to the innocent women you killed, face-to-face?"

"Did you ever hear their weeping and cries of anguish?!"

Lin Tianlu weighed the book in his hand and gave a cold, indifferent laugh. "There is a beauty named Jade in every book. You should go into the books and search for your beautiful skins there."

"Wait! Master, please wait!" Xiao Lanzhu was filled with terror and repeatedly begged in a soft voice. "This lowly concubine will work like an ox or horse for you, pour your tea, bring you water, and serve as your maid. Even if you want me to—"

Lin Tianlu suddenly brought the book down.

Boom—!

With a muffled thud, Xiao Lanzhu's soul was shattered on the spot.

In an instant, a great amount of gray energy poured from her broken body. At the same time, sheets of human skin scattered across the ground, faintly revealing the figures of the village women.

They seemed to force down their sorrow and grief, biting their red lips tightly as they bowed toward Lin Tianlu from afar, tears in their eyes.

In the end, the women silently transformed into wisps of elegant breeze and merged into the tranquil night.