Chapter 14

Lin Sheng searched the living room from top to bottom, but he didn't find anything.

He went to the study next, but aside from books, there was nothing else there.

Then, he moved from the study to the kitchen.

He quickly found a sharp-pointed kitchen knife in the kitchen and headed straight for the bedroom with it in hand.

In the center of the manor's bedroom sat a double wooden bed.

Along the wall to the side stood a wardrobe, a vanity, and a large wooden chest.

The lid of the chest was open, and it was completely empty inside.

Lin Sheng slowly scanned the room from left to right, walked over to the vanity, and reached out to pull open the drawer.

Inside lay a few colorful hair ribbons in a style suited for young girls, their colors somewhat faded.

Pushing the drawer back in, Lin Sheng turned his gaze to scan the rest of the room.

Soon, something leaning against the wall in the corner near the window, covered by a curtain, caught his attention.

He strode forward, reached the object, and grabbed it.

Sshhh.

It was an unsheathed Cross Sword!

The silver-black tip of the blade scraped against the floor as Lin Sheng moved, creating a faint, grating sound.

He carefully lifted the sword to examine it.

The longsword was not very heavy, weighing about four or five pounds. Its length reached from Lin Sheng's waist to his toes.

The hilt and the blade formed a standard cross, looking much like an elongated crucifix.

Lin Sheng gripped the hilt with both hands, feeling the rough cloth strips wrapped around it. The hilt and blade were perfectly integrated, with almost no visible seams from the manufacturing process.

Near the base of the blade, where it met the handle, a simple Vertical Pupil Pattern was engraved. It was identical to the one on the door earlier.

He tried swinging the sword, feeling that it was somewhat heavy.

"Let's see if there's anything else."

Lin Sheng rummaged through the bedroom for a good while longer, but aside from this sword, he found nothing else.

With no other choice, he left the bedroom carrying the sword and returned to the hall.

"I'll be more careful this time. If I don't make any noise, I shouldn't run into trouble." Lin Sheng still felt a lingering fear from his death last time.

But that didn't mean he was afraid to go outside.

It was just a dream, after all; he wouldn't really die.

Lin Sheng's heart was filled with intense curiosity about the outside world. He would be unwilling to give up without exploring.

Holding the sword, he stood before the main door and took a few deep breaths to calm his nerves.

"This time, I'll keep the noise to a minimum. As long as I'm not discovered, it should be fine."

He cautiously reached out once more and gripped the Snake-Head Door Handle.

Click, click.

With a faint sound of the lock turning, the door opened just enough for Lin Sheng to slip through.

He stepped out, moving with extreme slowness while clutching the sword.

A wave of cold air rushed to meet him, chilling him to the bone. His joints seemed to stiffen as his body temperature dropped.

It feels even more real. Compared to previous dreams, these sensations don't feel like dreaming at all.

A shiver ran through Lin Sheng.

This strange change made him feel uneasy.

He stepped out through the gap and stood at the threshold.

He looked left and right, choosing not to descend via the wooden steps in front.

"The last time, those steps made too much noise. I should jump directly onto the dirt; that way, there won't be any sound at all."

Having decided on his route, he moved slowly, step by step, to the right side of the stairs.

Cold, damp mist rolled slowly around him. The dark yellow floorboards beneath his feet were covered in old scratches and scattered with small, fine pebbles.

Lin Sheng had to be extremely careful to avoid the stones as he moved.

He suppressed his breathing, reached the edge of the wooden planks, and jumped down lightly.

Puff.

A tiny, muffled sound of impact.

He landed steadily on the black soil.

Standing on the ground, Lin Sheng looked ahead. No strange noises came from the direction of the driveway.

"Success! As long as I'm careful, I won't attract that shadow."

He felt a slight sense of relief in his heart.

Standing in the mist, he looked around to the left and right.

Behind him was the half-open living room door, the place he had just emerged from.

To his left and right lay nothing but hazy darkness and dense woods. The only thing clearly visible was the carriage path directly ahead.

Lin Sheng took a deep breath and began to slowly circle the manor.

He headed left.

He soon arrived at the courtyard facing the living room windows.

In the yard stood a black swing, a wooden frame tied between two withered trees, constructed using only two thick hemp ropes.

Several rotting benches were scattered haphazardly across the ground.

In the corner of the perimeter wall lay a small, withered garden.

Lin Sheng wandered around once, found nothing, and continued to circle toward the back of the house.

Hiss.

Suddenly, his footsteps faltered as he heard a sound drifting toward him.

Standing in the mist, Lin Sheng had the manor house on his right and the crude little courtyard on his left.

He gripped his sword with both hands, carefully halted his steps, and stared intently straight ahead.

That was the direction from which the sound had come.

Hiss, hiss.

It sounded like something being dragged across the ground.

Lin Sheng felt it was somewhat familiar.

His entire body tensed, and he stood motionless, staring fixedly into the pitch-black mist ahead. That was the corner leading to the backyard.

Gradually, the sound grew closer and closer.

The source of the noise slowly appeared before Lin Sheng's eyes.

It was a bizarre humanoid figure with skin covered in black pustules.

One of its hands held a black longsword, the hilt fused directly to its arm. The rest of its body was like a human's.

Only its face was wrapped in thick, gray burlap, revealing neither eyes, nostrils, nor mouth, save for the burlap slightly seeping with blood.

The humanoid was half a head taller than Lin Sheng, standing at about one meter ninety.

As soon as it emerged from the mist, it immediately spotted Lin Sheng as well.

Hiss.

The humanoid moved forward with a labored, shuffling gait, approaching Lin Sheng.

Its steps were slow and strange, the tip of the sword in its hand dragging along the ground, producing a faint hissing sound.

What kind of monster is this thing!? Lin Sheng couldn't help but take a step back.

Although he was startled by its sudden appearance, compared to the terror he felt when he had died once before, he managed to steady his heart quite quickly.

Though still somewhat panicked, he could barely manage to think of a countermeasure.

He looked down and noticed that the monster had a limp in its right leg. Through its black trousers, he could see large chunks of flesh missing from the limb.

"It doesn't look that tough." Lin Sheng tightened his grip on the hilt; he did not intend to flee.

He would test this fellow's mettle first.

He was very close to the door, so he could turn and run back inside at any moment.

With a retreat path secured, he intended to try and engage this second living creature he had encountered.

"Hey. Can you understand me?" Lin Sheng lowered his voice and asked in Celine Language.

The strange figure showed no reaction, continuing to move toward him with steady, shuffling steps.

"Are you a resident here? I mean no harm; can you tell me what place this is?" Lin Sheng attempted to communicate with the creature.

Hiss, hiss.

The strange figure gave no response, continuing to close the distance step by step.

Lin Sheng sensed something was wrong and was forced to slowly retreat.

Just as the distance between them narrowed to less than three meters, the strange figure suddenly lunged forward, holding its longsword level and thrusting it out.

Clang!!

The pitch-black sword tip struck exactly against the blade of the Cross Sword in Lin Sheng's hands.

Clang!

A harsh, piercing sound of impact echoed through the night.

Lin Sheng staggered, nearly falling over from the force of the collision.

His expression shifted drastically; he turned and dragged his sword as he ran, taking the wooden steps in leaps and bounds before rushing through the living room door.

Bang!!

He slammed the door shut with all his might and threw the bolt into place with a sharp click.

Hiss, hiss.

Suddenly, a faint, rustling noise came from behind him.

Lin Sheng's entire body stiffened.

He turned around slowly.

In the center of the hall, a Rotten Swordsman, its head likewise wrapped in linen, was taking laborious steps, inching toward him one pace at a time.