Inner Demons

Chapter 71: Human Skin Bag

The Great Ghost had used some unknown method, so that no one outside could hear its voice.

It began to pound on the door. The "Painting of the Two Lords Suppressing Ghosts" had burned to ashes, leaving only remnants on the floor. The red glow on the "Ghost-Warding Talisman" was also growing dimmer and dimmer, on the verge of extinguishing.

The doors and windows rattled, and even Lady Huxin, accustomed to noisy guests, had to wake up. She stretched languidly, revealing a beautiful bosom, and asked, "Young Master Qin, what's all this noise about?"

Pei Juezi, seeing her, was first startled, then his eyes lit up. He lunged towards the bed and, without a word, picked Lady Huxin up.

Lady Huxin, just waking up to this, was startled.

But at that moment, the Great Ghost stopped knocking, and merely watched through the crack with a single, copper-bell-like eye.

Lady Huxin didn't know what had happened. Still sleepy, she didn't look closely. She just assumed that Young Master Qin had something going on earlier, and the servants were banging on the door without manners—and now, seeing her awake and looking beautiful, he couldn't resist teasing her.

She had seen many patrons, and even more outlandish ones. In the past few days, she had learned that Young Master Qin was a lively character and affectionate towards her, so she wasn't annoyed. Forcing herself to stay awake, she wrapped her fair, smooth, slender jade arms around Young Master Qin's neck, rested her head on his chest, and said sweetly, "It's so late, Young Master Qin, you have so many tricks up your sleeve—"

Before she finished speaking, Pei Juezi had already carried her to the door.

Lady Huxin blinked, "Young Master Qin, are you...?"But her Young Master Qin had already roughly pulled one of her hands and thrust it through the broken oil paper, "Please, Ghost King, enjoy this and spare my life!"

Only then did Lady Huxin see...

The ghost outside the window.

Seeing the ghost open its bloody maw and bite down on her hand, and Young Master Qin turning his head away in unbearable pain, Lady Huxin was about to scream. But the expected sharp pain didn't come; instead, she only felt a slight numbness in her hand...

And then lost her strength and consciousness.

Pei Juezi was also dumbfounded—this ghost actually didn't eat blood and flesh?

It... devoured souls.

His hand relaxed, and Lady Huxin's corpse fell to the ground.

The Great Ghost, having eaten the woman's soul, seemed to have grown much stronger. It stared intensely at Pei Juezi through the oil paper crack, "Open the door, open the door, open the door!"

With each word, it knocked once.

After three knocks, the Ghost-Warding Talisman on the door finally lost its light. The cinnabar forming the spell turned to powder and fluttered down.

The door was pushed open with a clang.

The Great Ghost lowered its head and entered the room, grabbing the terrified Pei Juezi. Beams of light flashed one after another on the young Dao of Painting master's body, but quickly disappeared—the Protective Talisman Seals applied to him for protection were easily crushed by this Ghost King.

"I am..." he let out one last desperate cry, and then became still.

The Great Ghost ate his soul, sat on the ground thinking for a moment, then closed the door and pulled Pei Juezi's corpse between its legs.

With sharp claws, it carefully stripped off his outer and inner clothes, revealing his body.

Then it leaned closer and lightly drew a line on his head with the tip of its claw. Then, puffing out its cheeks, it blew a gust of yin wind into the opening.

What a yin wind! As soon as it encountered the flesh and blood beneath the Human Skin Bag, it instantly melted it all away. After three such breaths, Pei Juezi's corpse had become a limp, flaccid waterskin. The Great Ghost then lifted it by the feet and shook it, and foul corpse fluid gurgled out from the top. Once the Human Skin Bag was emptied, the Great Ghost cut an opening in the back of the Human Skin Bag, first sticking in one hand, then squeezing in a head...

Just like that, a massive body actually squeezed into this Human Skin Bag!

This "Pei Juezi" stood on the ground for a while, straightened his nose, and began to speak. At first, his voice was rough and unpleasant, but gradually it became softer. After a few sentences, it was exactly the voice of the original Pei Juezi.

He walked a few steps left and right, then flipped onto the bed and wrapped himself in the quilt. After clearing his throat slightly, he suddenly yelled, "Help! Help! Help!"

The voice was terribly shrill and carried far into the night.

At this point, someone finally heard it. After about ten breaths, a flurry of footsteps and clanging of weapons could be heard. Several guards, adjusting their hats, rushed through the door. As soon as they entered, they saw the female corpse on the floor and a puddle of foul-smelling liquid.

—Before they could lament the beautiful female body, they were staggered by the stench and hastily covered their mouths and noses. Seeing the guards react this way, "Pei Juezi" also quickly covered his mouth and nose and scolded, "Useless! A demon killed someone in the night! A bunch of useless people!"

With such a major incident, the guards could no longer mind the smell. They knelt on the ground, lamenting, "Master, please understand. We were also ambushed just now and only woke up when we heard your cries. It was truly not our fault—"

"Pei Juezi" slapped the quilt and waved his hand repeatedly, "Get out! Get out! Carry her out! Don't speak of what happened tonight!"

The guards, who were already desperate to avoid punishment, were first stunned by these words, then quickly expressed their gratitude profusely. They awkwardly carried Lady Huxin's corpse out, and a few others used their tattered robes to quickly wipe the floor clean.

They naturally didn't understand why their master had dismissed the matter so easily. If they were to guess, reasons like "he was frightened" or "he was not very strict to begin with" might come to mind. But ultimately, it was the consideration that the great man "had other intentions."

After such a chaotic night, a traveling manager came over to apologize and ask for the reason.

But the Great Ghost, disguised as Pei Juezi, merely said that he knew nothing, and let the manager negotiate with the guildhall.

Lady Huxin was no ordinary courtesan. But her status, compared to the frightened Master Pei Juezi, was insignificant.

The guildhall was indeed saddened by her, but had no choice but to suppress their feelings and ensure secrecy.

At the guildhall...

What ghost!

It was nothing more than a game gone too far, resulting in a death. How could this Yunji Assembly Hall not have three or four girls die like this every year!

By the time dawn was breaking, the matter was finally settled.

The manager had wanted to cancel the evening's Treasure Blossom Assembly, allowing his master to rest well. But unfortunately, news had arrived yesterday afternoon, stating that Lingkongzi, the Head Disciple of the Sect Master of Langya Grotto-Heaven, was also in Weicheng and wished to attend—how could it be postponed?

Such a divine being, even the Emperor might not be honored with her presence at a banquet!

When he asked his master's intentions—he found that his master was in extremely good spirits.

Normally, he liked women but not food, eating little at each meal. Since childhood, he had caused his old mother endless worry. But after being so frightened last night, he now had a huge appetite. He tasted every single pastry brought from Jinghua and ordered several tables of dishes. After ordering the dishes, he would only taste a little of each before waving them away.

In total, he ate a hundred dishes, and the quantity was astonishing. The manager watched with joy in his heart and distributed the unused dishes to the servants, guards, and even the young apprentices at the hall.

But perhaps it was because it hadn't rained recently and the vegetables and fruits hadn't grown well. When they ate the leftovers, they found them utterly tasteless.

Like chewing wax.