The soul phantom had only an upper body, its lower half seemingly cut away. It was incredibly transparent, swaying in the cold draft filling the room. Shade was deeply uncomfortable with the scene.
"How many statues do you still have? Where are those Mermaid Statues now?"
Shade asked quietly.
He wanted to confirm what exactly that statue was. He had no intention of keeping or touching it, so this was not dangerous. As for killing the man before questioning him, that was to prevent him from using those dangerous statues to play any tricks. A soul phantom summoned by Soul Echo would not lie.
"Those statues would be useless even if I threw them away. To find a way to lift the curse, I kept three. They are in the basement."
The voice was completely flat, as though it came from somewhere far away, hollow and weak.
"How do I enter the basement? Is it dangerous? What else is down there?"
He asked again.
"The basement can be entered through the door beside the broom closet under the stairs. The first floorboard after entering must not be stepped on, or the door will lock shut. The basement contains those statues, amulets I bought to drive away the curse, exorcism materials needed for the methods I learned about, and some things I thought would be useful for protecting myself."
The phantom answered again.
"Then where is all your money?"
He had not taken the Pang Dun family's money last time because he had promised Miss Bayes not to take anything extra. Strictly speaking, scavenging money from the aftermath of a family massacre was not particularly good behavior either.
But this time was different. This man had brought death upon himself, and Shade felt no psychological burden whatsoever about taking his money.