Chapter 161 - 161: A Woman in Wedding Dress, A Strange Smile
Chapter 161 - 161: A Woman in Wedding Dress, A Strange Smile
It seemed that these were the standard rewards for completing follow-up missions now.
Perhaps he would need to wait for a system upgrade for other rewards to appear?
As for temporary tasks, Li Yidao was currently puzzled.
After completing two temporary tasks, he hadn’t encountered any more.
Could it be that his lifespan was being consumed too slowly?
As a result, the system gave him fewer missions?
However, Li Yidao was cautious about his lifespan, which was just over a thousand years now.
He didn’t want to use it casually, considering the Grim Reaper’s Protection, a passive skill that could potentially consume a significant amount of lifespan.
What if there were hundreds or thousands of people plotting against him?
It wasn’t an impossible scenario, right?
The skill he obtained upon completing this task was called “Soul Gathering.”
[Soul Gathering: Can form souls by consuming a certain amount of lifespan. Advanced ability “Soul Seizure” can be used by consuming ten times the lifespan of the Soul Gathering. “Soul Seizure” can be used to manipulate the formed spirits at will.]
To be honest, Li Yidao was quite puzzled when he saw this skill.
What kind of skill was this?
It seemed like the system was enabling him to grow in all aspects.
First, he had “Soul Detection,” and now he had “Soul Gathering.” Moreover,
“Soul Gathering” could be advanced to “Soul Seizure.”
In simple terms, Li Yidao could now use the “Blade of Death” against any living beings and also employ “Soul Gathering” and its advanced form, “Soul Seizure,” to deal with all sorts of eerie non-living entities.
A jack of all trades, perhaps?
Li Yidao took a deep breath.
Soul Gathering was activated!
The consumption of lifespan wasn’t significant, only three years of lifespan. It was well within the acceptable range.
With the use of the Soul Gathering skill, Li Yidao felt the faint red gas coiling around the inkstone gradually taking on a more defined form.
As for the purple gas, it settled around the inkstone’s surroundings.
As the faint red gas took on a more solid form, the figure of a woman dressed in a red bridal gown slowly materialized.
However, she appeared to be an ancient woman, and more specifically, an ancient woman in bridal attire!
Thanks to the effect of Soul Gathering and the advanced ability of Soul Detection, the entire figure appeared exceptionally clear to Li Yidao. Even the woman’s facial features and expression were incredibly vivid.
“Phew…”
He took a deep breath involuntarily.
This was getting rather eerie!
Although he had become accustomed to such things, he had never witnessed something like this.
Nevertheless, he had sensed their presence before. However, this direct and vivid observation made Li Yidao feel a bit uneasy.
Could someone please explain the principle behind this?
“Sir… Is there something wrong with this inkstone?”
Wei Wenqiang, who was standing nearby, noticed Li Yidao’s dazed expression and change in demeanor.
He inquired and then promptly added, “If there’s something wrong with this inkstone, should I just throw it away now?”
His idea was simple. If the inkstone was the issue, they could just dispose of it.
However, he received an exasperated look from Li Yidao.
Wei Wenqiang’s interruption actually helped Li Yidao snap out of his uneasy feeling.
“Just throw it away? Are you kidding me? If it were that simple, what would be the use of professionals like us?” Li Yidao thought.
Li Yidao didn’t directly respond to Wei Wenqiang’s question. Instead, he continued with a calm tone, “Have all the people involved in the incidents at your house visited this room? Or have they had some kind of contact with this room?”
Wei Wenqiang hesitated for a moment and then seemed lost in thought.
His eyes soon filled with astonishment.
“Yes, yes!” He sounded a bit anxious.
“The first servant, the one who had an accident while cleaning the study! She was in this study when we found her, but after being rushed to the hospital, she never made it out.”
“The remaining people, including my son, have all been to the study!”
At this moment, Wei Wenqiang seemed to have a sudden realization. He wasn’t foolish.
He understood that the problem area was this study.
Not only that, it was very likely that the issue was related to this inkstone in front of him.
Li Yidao nodded slightly, and everything aligned with his earlier speculations.
However, the current situation with this woman in bridal attire was puzzling.
She shouldn’t have much resentment.
How could a servant lose her life just because she came to clean the room?
Li Yidao then noticed another detail.
The inkstone was missing a corner?
And it appeared to be relatively freshly chipped?
Li Yidao inquired once again, “Is the missing corner of this inkstone the result of the servant’s accident?”
Wei Wenqiang hesitated once more and, after a moment of contemplation, nodded with a somewhat shocked expression.
It was as if he were thinking, “How did you know?”
Having received the answer he sought, Li Yidao had essentially confirmed his suspicions.
However, he still had questions.
Who was this woman in bridal attire, and what did the previous owner of the house know about this?
Li Yidao took a deep breath.
Now that he had identified the problem, he needed to discover more about the situation and find a solution.
In the current circumstances, he couldn’t simply use the Soul Seizure skill.
Firstly, he didn’t know how effective it would be since he had never used it before.
Using it recklessly could lead to unintended consequences if the current figure was a formidable entity.
Besides, looking at the demeanor of the woman in front of him, there was definitely a story behind this.
Li Yidao wasn’t one to recklessly deal with such matters without first understanding them.
Most importantly, Li Yidao had a feeling that the form in front of him was not complete.
After all, the current state of this entity was far from normal.
After contemplating for a moment, Li Yidao asked Wei Wenqiang once more, “Can you contact the previous owner of this house? I need to communicate with them about some matters.”
Wei Wenqiang sighed and replied, “I can no longer reach the previous owner of the house. I knew him somewhat. About a week after I bought the house, he left the country and is currently abroad. However…”
Wei Wenqiang paused for a moment and continued, “I can contact his son, who didn’t go abroad with his father. He is currently in Jiang City. I happened to find out about this a couple of days ago.”
Li Yidao agreed, “That will work. Please contact him. I need to ask some questions. We won’t be able to resolve this without clarity on certain matters. Considering the time today, it’s likely too late. Contact him, and we’ll visit his son tomorrow. Some things are best discussed in person.”
“Alright, no problem. I’ll arrange it right away,” Wei Wenqiang agreed eagerly.
Li Yidao checked the time. It was already 10 PM.
“Let’s go. We’ll first visit your grandson at the hospital.”
Wei Wenqiang’s eyes filled with delight upon hearing about the hospital visit. He followed Li Yidao and exited the villa. They got into the car waiting outside and drove towards the hospital.
In about twenty minutes, they arrived at Jiang City’s First Hospital.
They proceeded directly to a high-class private room.
For someone like Wei Wenqiang, staying in a regular ward was out of the question.
Money was no longer an issue for him.
Standing at the door of the room, Wei Wenqiang’s expression was even more excited than it had been in the villa.
He spoke sincerely, “Young sir, my grandson has been saved! When everything is done, I, Wei Wenqiang, will surely reward you handsomely.”
Li Yidao remained silent, just nodding his head.
Since he had agreed to come at the old man’s request, he would do everything in his power to help.
He was even willing to do things he didn’t like. As for the reward, it had never crossed his mind.
Li Yidao pushed the door open and entered the room with Wei Wenqiang following closely by his side.
However, as soon as Li Yidao stepped into the room, he froze in place, his eyes filled with shock and even a hint of fear.
He was indeed frightened!
He was genuinely frightened because right in front of him, on the bed, lay a comatose boy.
But what terrified him the most was the woman in the wedding gown floating above the boy.
This woman had just manifested when he used his ability.
What truly sent chills down his spine was the fact that this wedding gown-clad woman was entirely different from the one in the villa.
This woman was gazing at him, her eyes filled with a sinister and eerie smile. Yes, she was smiling at him, as if she knew that Li Yidao could see her..