The Skeletal Trap

Seeing nothing of value in the hall apart from the statue, Meng Huai exchanged a glance with Yun Zimo and headed upstairs.

He led the way and soon reached the second floor. There were more than a dozen rooms, but every door was shut.

After a moment's hesitation, he chose the nearest room, placed his hand against the door, and gave it a gentle push. It swung open.

Yun Zimo had a model's figure and was only slightly shorter than him. She peered over his shoulder, looking around inside.

The room was small, yet four bunk beds had been crammed into it. Someone lay on every bunk, facing the wall. Judging by their clothes, they were all young women.

Meng Huai hesitated, then instructed her quietly, "Wait here. I'll go in and see what's going on."

Yun Zimo felt a chill run through her. She quickly nodded and took half a step back, glancing to either side. Nothing had changed.

Meng Huai entered the room and caught a faint stench. Though it was not particularly strong, it was still deeply unpleasant.

He scanned the eight young women but sensed no life in any of them. His heart tightened. Had they all been murdered?

He reached out and touched the nearest young woman. Her limp body rolled toward him, revealing a face that looked ancient, covered in wrinkles.

Her skin was dry and utterly devoid of luster. No young woman should have had skin like that. It belonged on someone old and near death.

He held a finger beneath her nose. Naturally, there was no breath at all. These young women had died after someone drained their life force. Whoever had done this was utterly depraved.

As he hesitated, the young woman's eyes suddenly moved. Then she opened her mouth and snapped at his finger.

Fortunately, he reacted quickly and snatched his hand back. As though drawn to him, the young woman abruptly sat up in bed.

The other seven young women also struggled to rise, every movement painfully difficult. It was not because they moved like zombies.

Rather, with their life force completely drained, their bodily functions had all but shut down. Even now that they had risen from the dead, their bodies still could not support their movements.

His brows knitted. In one step, he reached the first young woman and viciously punched her in the face, smashing half of it apart.

But she was already dead and naturally felt nothing. She kept struggling to get up, making hoarse, breathy sounds.

He formed a Hand Seal with his right hand and pressed it against her chest. With a fierce shout, he drew a small insect out of it.

The insect resembled a beetle, but it was pale purple. It struggled incessantly, seemingly trying to crawl back into the young woman's body.

Once the insect was drawn out, her body immediately stiffened. She collapsed onto the bed with a thud, snapping her spine in the fall.

Just as he had suspected, whoever was behind this had used Corpse-Control Gu. It was not a sophisticated Gu Arts technique, but it was often used to ambush people.

He crushed the insect between his fingers as though squashing a flea, then formed seals with both hands and rushed to the other seven young women, swiftly forcing the gu insects out.

He had just finished dealing with the eight gu corpses when a piercing female scream rang out from outside. Even a tough career woman was still a woman; faced with danger, her voice shot up an octave.

He dashed out and saw Yun Zimo standing with her eyes shut and both hands covering her face, screaming nonstop. The doors of all the other rooms, previously shut, now stood open.

Female corpses as skeletal as bare bones emerged from them, each a miserable sight. How many young women had those damned bastards harmed?

The Villa's layout left little room to maneuver on the second floor. He wrapped an arm around Yun Zimo's slender waist and jumped down.

Only after landing did he look up. The corpses had pursued them with stiff, rigid movements, but the railing now blocked their path, leaving them clawing wildly at the air.

A disdainful smile crossed his face. Those people had truly underestimated him. Trying to trap him with these withered corpses was far too childish.

Although fighting crowds was not his specialty, it depended on what he was facing. Dealing with gu insects this mindless was child's play.

He formed seals with both hands again and pointed upstairs. Two huge toads appeared on the floor above, hopping about and repeatedly flicking out their long tongues.

Each strike hit a withered corpse in the chest, curling around the insect inside and pulling it out to swallow. In just three to five minutes, they had taken down every corpse.

After the withered corpses fell, green gas rose from their chests. The wisps gathered together, slowly forming a green cloud.

Fear appeared in the two toads' eyes. They hopped away, trying to retreat, but the green cloud was faster. It enveloped them, reducing them to two pools of foul blood in an instant.

Meng Huai snorted. Now this was a little more interesting. He formed another set of seals, opened his mouth, and spat out the little silkworm.

The little silkworm floated in the air, its plump body turning once before it became a streak of golden light and plunged into the green cloud. The cloud immediately began churning as though it were boiling.

A short while later, the green cloud vanished without a trace, and the little silkworm flew back. With its mung-bean-sized eyes wide open, it circled Yun Zimo once before returning to Meng Huai's body.

Meng Huai sighed. "We got here too late this time and let those bastards escape. They'd better not cross my path again, or I'll make sure they die without so much as a grave!"

Yun Zimo was still shaken, but beneath her fright, she was incredibly excited. That had been thrilling. This was exactly the sort of thing young people should be doing.

Meng Huai turned his gaze back to the statue. After a moment, he shook his head. They were about to leave the Villa when someone kicked the front door open.

More than a dozen armed people rushed in, their dark gun barrels trained on the pair. They shouted, "Hands on your heads, or we're authorized to shoot you dead!"

Meng Huai quickly obeyed. Although he had gu insects protecting him, they certainly could not stop those guns. People like him could strike from the shadows, but a head-on confrontation would mean certain death.

A square-faced man walked in and waved to several of the others. They immediately went upstairs, where the sight before them gave them a fright as well.