Chapter 14
Lin Sheng rummaged in the hall but found nothing .
Hence, he entered the study room . Yet, he discovered nothing except books there .
Backing out from the study room, Lin Sheng decided to search the kitchen . After he found a pointed kitchen knife there, he rushed back to the bedroom .
There was a king-sized wooden bed in the middle of the bedroom . Additionally, there was a wardrobe, a dressing table, and a large wooden box along the wall .
Lin Sheng opened the wooden box but saw that it was empty . So, he swept his eyes around and walked up to the dressing table to pull open the drawer in which he found a few colored teenage-style hair bands . But the colors of the hair bands looked old and faded .
He closed the drawer and checked out the other spots . Soon, something leaning against the wall in the corner behind the curtains caught Lin Sheng’s attention .
Lin Sheng strode nervously to the corner and grabbed the object—it was a cross sword without a sheath .
As Lin Sheng took the sword, its silvery-black tip slid across the floor, producing a faint noise . He carefully lifted the sword in his hands .
The long sword was not hefty—felt like five pounds—and its length was just right, about waist-high . The crossguard and the blade formed a standard cross, though the shape looked a little stretched .
When Lin Sheng clenched the hilt with both hands, he could feel the rough fabric wrapped around the handle . The hilt and the blade formed a seamless body without any apparent joint marks, and on the blade near the hilt, there was a vertical eye pattern that looked identical to the one on the door .
Lin Sheng waved the sword to see how it felt . To his dismay, it was a little too clunky .
“Let’s see if there’s anything else . ” Lin Sheng poked around the bedroom for a while but still found nothing . So, he had no choice but to return to the hall .
“I’ll need to be more careful not to make a sound this time . If I manage, it should be fine . ” Lin Sheng was a bundle of nerves when the thought of his previous death came to mind . But it did not mean that he would not venture outside . After all, he knew that he would not die for real because it was just a dream .
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Lin Sheng was very curious about the world outside and would not be satisfied without going out to explore a little .
With the sword in hand, Lin Sheng stood stark before the door and took a few deep breaths to calm himself .
“This time, I’ll do it as quietly as possible . It’ll be all right as long as that thing doesn’t notice me . ”
He carefully reached for the snake-shaped door handle and gave it a gentle twist . The door unlocked with a click and opened slightly, just enough for Lin Sheng to pass through .
Carrying the sword in his hands, Lin Sheng slowly slipped out .
Once he stepped outside, Lin Sheng could feel the chilly wind blowing in his face . He shivered involuntarily as his body temperature plummeted and his joints stiffened .
“This feels more real than the last time . It doesn’t feel like I’m in a dream . ”
Lin Sheng’s heart suddenly skipped a beat, and the strange feeling made him uneasy .
He stood right outside the door, peeked around furtively, and decided not to get down the flight of steps .
“This wooden stairway squeaked too loud the last time . I think I should just jump directly onto the ground so that I don’t make any sound . ”
With a plan in mind, Lin Sheng slowly moved to the right of the staircase .
The humid and cold fog was surging slowly in his surroundings . Lin Sheng looked down and saw old scratches as well as many small pebbles on the dark yellow floor under his feet .
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He had to maneuver past the gravel with caution .
Holding his breath, he quickly reached the edge of the veranda and jumped down silently, landing on the ground with a soft thump .
With his feet planted on the black soil, Lin Sheng peered into the distance . There was no strange sound coming from the direction of the bridleway .
“I made it! I just have to remain vigilant, then I won’t attract any attention . ” He breathed a sigh of relief .
Shrouded in the fog, Lin Sheng started to anxiously scan his surroundings .
Behind him was the open hall door, from which he exited earlier .
On his left and right were all dark and dense woodlands . All he could see was the bridle path in front of him .
Lin Sheng took a deep breath and slowly circumvented the manor by going to the left .
Soon, he arrived at the yard where the hall window faced .
The yard had a swing, which was made by tying a black wooden shelf between two dead tree trunks with thick hemp rope .
There were a few decaying benches scattered randomly in the yard and a small withered garden in the corner of the wall .
Lin Sheng wandered around for some time but discovered nothing . As such, he headed to the back of the house .
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He suddenly stopped in his tracks when he heard something .
Lin Sheng was rooted to the spot in the fog, with the manor on his right and the small yard on his left .
Clenching the sword in his hands and planting his feet on the ground, he looked straight ahead .
He heard something dragging on the ground, and it sounded disturbingly all too familiar .
He tensed up and stood still, staring into the dark fog from the backyard, which was just around the corner .
The sound gradually got closer and closer . Then, the owner of the sound finally emerged .
It was a weird person covered with black pustules . The figure carried a long black sword, and its hilt was fused together with his hand . Other than that, the figure looked just like a typical human .
The human figure’s face—his eyes, nose, and mouth—was fully covered with thick gray linen, and there were some blood stains on it .
At about 1 . 9 meters tall, he was taller than Lin Sheng .
The human figure also spotted Lin Sheng the moment Lin Sheng saw him emerging from the fog .
He then stumped toward Lin Sheng . His steps were slow, and the tip of his sword produced a ‘shiiiing’ sound as it was dragged across the ground .
“What the heck is this?” Lin Sheng’s blood ran cold, and he shrank back involuntarily . But compared with his last experience of death, not only did he calm down quicker this time, but he also managed to think of a countermeasure .
He traced his eyes downward and noticed that the monster’s right leg was crippled . Large chunks of flesh were missing underneath his long pants .
“He doesn’t look that impressive . ” Lin Sheng clenched the hilt of his sword and had no intention of going away . He wanted to test how good the monster was .
Lin Sheng figured that since the entrance to the house was nearby, he could turn around and quickly run back inside should things go wrong .
With an emergency withdrawal plan in mind, Lin Sheng decided to make contact with the living creature .
“Hey, can you understand me?” Lin Sheng spoke in Xilin in a low voice .
The strange human figure did not respond but just continued to trudge toward him .
“Are you a resident here? I come in peace . Can you tell me what this place is?” Lin Sheng tried to communicate with him .
When the human figure showed no response while he approached, Lin Sheng sensed that something was wrong and began to retreat slowly .
Right when Lin Sheng and the human figure were less than three meters apart from each other, the human figure suddenly lunged forth, thrusting his sword forward .
The tip of his black sword hit the cross-shaped sword in Lin Sheng’s hand with a clang, and the sharp percussive sound reverberated in the air . Lin Sheng lost his balance and almost tumbled to the ground .
His blood ran cold, and he immediately turned around and ran, dragging the sword along as he scrambled onto the wooden staircase . He slipped through the doorway back into the hall before he slammed the door shut and snapped on the latches .
Just as Lin Sheng thought that he was safe, he heard the same hissing sound behind him .
He turned around slowly with all his muscles in a knot . To his surprise, a rotten swordsman with the same linen cloth wrapped around his face was limping toward him!