Chapter 23 - 1.22 First Small Star [Extra 2] – Horror Tale X
After introducing himself to the three students before them, Xue Jing in his ghost king form had smiled at them with eyes full of amusement. His lifeless eyes stared at them while his lips were slightly upturned. But despite those grey orbs looking at them, it feels that they were never ever in his line of sight.
The man in crimson robes flicked his fingers once and suddenly the space within the library distorted and their surroundings changed to that of a traditional receiving area. On the table near them, a set of teapots and cups were served hot. Few dishes were prepared on the table as well.
Xue Jing languidly walked passing by them and sat on a soft couch bonelessly in wide ways then continued to watch the three with boredom in his eyes despite his lips curled.
Xue Jing spoke, "Eat. I'll only~ give answers ~ after you're done eating~ Don't worry~ those are human food nothing~ else would've happened if you eat it. Well~ except for being full. I guess~"
Scallion porridge, vegetable pancakes, and dim sum meat dumplings. There's even a plate of mooncakes and flower sweets. The feast on the table made the stomach of the three growls but they didn't dare to eat the food served by a ghost king.
Feeling their hesitation Xue Jing acted like he saw nothing. In the end, he just averted his gaze and read the book that suddenly appeared in his hands. He decided to ignore them. This gesture means that he wouldn't be willing to answer their questions until they've eaten.
Meanwhile, Fu Lian and Xue Luli were intently gauging the captivating person before them. His long blonde hair was glittering as if the sun itself but his eyes gave away different impressions. It felt dull and serene like watching a full moon under the evening sky
Ye Lou couldn't help it and ask, "Old Fu do you think that food is safe? I'm really hungry." he whispered as he joined the side where the couple is.
The couple didn't answer right away and their eyes hardly left the figure of Xue Jing before them. Despite this ghost king suddenly turning into an adult man the impression they got for this man is still the same as Xue Jing as a boy before. The aura around him is comforting and his silent nature made them want to pamper him.
Only when Fu Lian and Xue Luli noticed him peeking at them behind his book that they couldn't understand whether to laugh or cry. Clearly from his stares that he wanted them to eat as he knew that they haven't had any decent dinner ever since the event had begun.
Xue Luli bravely approached the table full of food. She sat down and grabbed a bowl to start eating. Fu Lian upon seeing that followed after her and sat beside her. He started eating as well. Seeing this Ye Lou happily join them to eat as well.
Meanwhile outside the private space that the ghost king owns the scene of hell on earth had fallen in the other parts of the abandoned building. The remaining survivors had all scattered. The ghosts and spirits had all come out the moment the ghost king had taken the three students with him.
A man was running for his life as a ghost tried to capture him. He had to ditch most of his friends to survive on his own. After getting separated from the rest he runs up the building without thinking. He twisted almost all doorknobs that he saw trying to hide in at least one of the rooms to hide.
But none of the doors had opened for him. He continued to escape and saw a lone room at the end of the hallway. He grabbed the doorknob almost by instinct, after twisting it opened as if he was finally freed the door opened for him. The man entered the room without checking what kind of room he had gone into and even locked the room after he entered.
The room was dark all over and not even a single window existed. There's a weird musty and musky smell inside.
"What the hell is this smell?! It's making me puke! Urgh!" the man complains.
After puking a whole good minute, the man finally felt something is weird about the room he is currently in. There are no obvious windows but there's a breeze coming from somewhere. The temperature inside the room is too cold as well as if he was placed within a refrigerator. Despite that, the air blowing near his neck is a bit warm for some unknown reason.
He started shivering unconsciously as he tried squinting his eyes which is now a bit used to the darkness. He would somewhat see a few shadowy figures scattering inside the room because there was no light; he couldn't see it clearly. He tried stepping back a bit and stomped on something. There's a clear sound of something breaking. The sound is akin to a brittle bone being broken.
Crack!
"Whoa! What is that?!"
In his fear, he fell on the floor on his butt. His hand felt something under and grabbed it. He placed the picked item near his face to see it clear only to be shocked that he is holding a bone. Just seeing the finger bones hanging at the end, the man knew that the bone in his hand is a human bone. A shriek comes out of his mouth.
GYAAAAAHHH!!!!
The man started panicking as he started crawling towards the door only for his feet to be grabbed by something. Then a force started pulling him further inside the room.
"Blood. Fresh blood~ kekeke~ Feed me blood. Delicious. Human. Blood." a hoarse voice was heard inside the room as the man who was being pulled screams in fear, terror, and despair.
No. NO... Someone. Save... me... AAAHHH!!!!
The man's yell only echoes in the darkness of that desolated room. No one could hear him much less save him from that hell.
Another scene of death.
A death where the blood, flesh, and blood were eaten until nothing left.
Countless scenes of this kind of situation happen all over the land. No one knows how many would survive.
On the other hand, Lin Xia finally reached the entrance of the haunted building. Observing the almost ruined old living quarters in front of him. The expression on his handsome face remained cold and detached. There is no such thing as emotions or feelings that could be seen on his ascetic face. Even he remains indifferent as he stares at the thick evil qi surrounding the building as if something extremely evil lives in that place.
Lin Xia murmured, "The evil and ghost qi in this place is so strong. How come no one noticed it before? Hm? The ghost qi and evil qi are conflicting with each other. Does this mean there are two high-class supernatural beings who rule in this place? Since when did the abyss have two rulers? Isn't it supposed to be under the rule of a Demon God?"
In Lin Xia's eyes, the scene before him is completely different from how ordinary people or weak celestial masters could see. In front of him, two types of qi keep clashing. A grey qi enclosed the red qi preventing it from escaping.
This grey qi is something a Ghost-type creature could possess. While the red qi is something only those who were born devil or practice demonic cultivation would have. The grey qi is obviously more powerful than the red qi but too much time had passed and it wasn't surprising that the grey qi started to falter due to time.
"The grey qi is weakening. The owner of that qi is getting weaker. It wouldn't be surprising for the barrier around this cursed land to break. If that happens then... All the creatures imprisoned in this land would come out. I need to look for the source of the grey qi and have him help me defeat the owner of the red qi."
Lin Xia walks in calm and graceful strides towards the building. He purified everything that blocked him, whether it was a ghost or an evil creature, Lin Xia purifies them without hesitation.
Gyaaa!
Run! It's a Celestial Master!
Tell the Lord!
Arrgg! It burns!!
I can see the light!!!
"Too much noise," murmured Lin Xia as he stared coldly at those supernatural creatures before him. Despite all these, his expression remains nonexistent.
As he roamed around the building, Lin Xia had bumped into few surviving humans which he saved on the way. Now there are three students following behind him, two females and one male.
A female student was happy to see Lin Xia after she saw that this handsome man in front of them was the one who saved them.
"S-Someone finally came to save us!! T-Thank you...!!!" The female students tried to jump on Lin Xia intending to hug him.
She wanted to feel secure while being hugged by such a handsome man. This is the first time she had seen such a drop gorgeous man oozing with abstinence and coldness. He looked like a God standing before them.
The female student intends to seduce this God-like man as she jumped on him. Only for the man to avoid him without hesitation and didn't even reach out his hands to prevent her fall. The female student fell face first on the dust-covered floor.
"Do. not. touch. me." said Lin Xia as his voice turned icy while looking down at that outrageous woman who dared to jump on him.
It made him feel disgusted as this scene somewhat syncs with those memories of his past lives where a woman of ancient times jumps on him and his wife for attention. During that time he tightly protected his wife from this kind of woman.
"It's already the modern era but this kind of woman still exists," murmured Lin Xia but the area is too quiet and the others still heard his words.
The female who just tried to seduce him felt as if something slapped her face and he blushed in embarrassment. She hmphed at Lin Xia but didn't let herself be separated from him as he is the only one who could bring them out of this place.
The other female student said, "Please bring us out here!"
But this time Lin Xia didn't even glance at them, "Follow if you want to live. Inform me if you know what is happening in this place." said Lin Xia.
The only male student raised his hand wanting to say something, "I... I don't know... what is happening in this place but... But I think I might have seen something that may know what is happening."
"What do you mean?" a female student asked.
"J-Just now... before those things all came out... I've seen them pay respect to something. Then I saw the boy who calls himself Xue Luli's little brother turn to someone else." said the male student.
It seems he is one of the few who had seen Xue Jing reveal his real form.
With suspicion in his eyes, Lin Xia finally stopped his tracks and looked at the male student. It seems he is a bit interested in what the boy wishes to say.
"Is it a beautiful ghost in crimson robes? One with long aureate hair as if every strand is made of gold and irises glowing in argent tint as if dyed with the color of the moon," said Lin Xia.
The description fits in with the memory of the male student. He looked at the God-like man before him as if seeing a ghost. He is afraid that this man is not human-like that gorgeous ghost from before. After all, they both possess a beauty that is not from this world.
"T-That's right but... how did you know?" asked the male student while on guard.
Hearing the affirmation from the only witness from the scene made Lin Xia's eyes glint with coldness unlike before. This time there is anger included.
"A mere ghost dares to use the appearance of my wife!? Preposterous!" said Lin Xia as his aura turned frigid and heavy.
All this time Lin Xia upon seeing that video of Xue Jing changing his appearance from a young boy to a mature man in robes. After getting reincarnated many times a problem occurred in his memories. The appearance of his wife from his memories had started to get vague and he could completely remember how he looked after all these years. This is the reason why Lin Xia did not believe that this ghost is his wife at all.
"Do you know where that ghost went?" asked Lin Xia.
Slightly trembling the male student still replied, "I...I heard... he... he told those ghosts to... bring Xue Luli and her group to... the library."
Once he heard what he wanted to hear Lin Xia finally started walking once again. based on the direction he is moving to, it is obviously towards the place the male student had mentioned. The students were stunned at first but instantly ran after him. In this haunted place, only Lin Xia whom they've seen defeat ghosts could bring them out. They had no other choice but to follow him.