It was a little past 11 A.M and the sun had once again hidden behind the clouds. Sin was walking in front while Hao Xuan was lazily following behind her, enjoying the 'scenery'. The girl really was too beautiful. Other than Xu Qing, he hadn't met anyone with as much charm as her.
Every single step of hers made her hips shake left and right. At first, Hao Xuan tried to ignore all that and enjoy the surroundings but there was nothing to look at. It was actually a bit too silent even if this was close to a human settlement.
Usually, there would be some random beasts prowling around, hunting for food or mates, but there was not a single beast in sight nor any noises from the surroundings.
Hao Xuan regained his composure after realizing this and started circulating his Qi. Sin peered back at him and smiled looking at the serious expression on his face.
After about 15 minutes of walking, a valley came into view. It was surrounded on both sides by large hills and at the back was a huge mountain towering over everything. As they got closer, a brick wall came into view with a single massive gate in the middle. The walls were connected to the side of the hills and completely blocked the path into the valley.
The massive iron gate was the only way in. It was about 6 meters tall, the same height as the walls. From the front it didn't look very imposing and had its own charm. When Hao Xuan got closer he noticed hundreds of small beast sketches scratched into the wall a few feet off the ground.
It was probably the work of the of some local kids.
Sin went up to the iron gate and knocked. They waited for a good 5 minutes or so but the gate didn't open nor was there any sound from the other side. Sin frowned and knocked again, this time so loud that Hao Xuan started looking around thinking the noise would draw in some uninvited guests as well, but no one came. Not the villagers nor the beasts.
"Maybe they're asleep?" he asked when there was no response.
"This is just a small mining village with a population of a few thousand living thousands of miles away from the nearest town. There is no way they are all asleep. There should always be a few guards here. Not to mention these village folks wake up at the crack of dawn," she said shaking her head and Hao Xuan nodded in agreement after thinking it through. Her words made sense.
"Then what do we d-" Hao Xuan asked but before he could finish Sin stomped her foot onto the ground and nimbly flipped over the gate. There was a clicking sound and a small door opened from the side.
"Let's go," she walked off with hurried steps. Hao Xuan wanted to say something but quickly followed after when he saw her vanish from sight.
As soon as he entered a fountain blocked his path. There was a wide-open area behind it which seemed to be something similar to a town square. There were a dozen or so shops on the sides with different name boards above them. But all the shops were closed and there was no other person in sight.
Sin went up to one which said "Iron Inn" and entered. Hao Xuan hesitated for a bit but then followed after her hearing thunder rumble above him. Dark clouds were moving in and it was about to rain.
"Old lady, are you up??" he went in to see Sin standing in front of the reception desk and shouting. There was a small bell on it which she rang several times but there was still no response.
*sniff*
"Something's wrong. There was one other guest staying the night so the owner said breakfast would be served around 10 A.M, but there's no one here. Not to mention the unmanned and unguarded gate. Go upstairs and check room number 3, that's where the merchant was staying at," she gave Hao Xuan the order and quickly walked behind the reception desk and entered the door with the sign "Personal Quarters" on it.
Hao Xuan once again wanted to speak up but now wasn't the time. It was indeed strange that no one was here at this time of the day.
*CRACKLE*
Lightning crackled outside and the pitter-patter of raindrops hitting the buildings came.
*CRACKLE*
He opened the main door and peered outside. It was raining cats and dogs. Just a second ago it was completely silent and now it looked like someone had turned on the shower and it sounded like rocks were being hurled at the windows.
He shook his head and sighed. This place really was too weird.
Following Sin's orders, he went up to the second floor. There was a single hallway on the left with only four doors, two on each side. He walked up to the one with the number 3 on it and knocked.
Just like before, there was no response.
"Hello? Is anyone in? Housekeeping!" he shouted but nothing.
"Fuck it," he stepped back and kicked the door lightly, sending it flying off its hinges.
"Oh shit, sorry sorry, I'll pay for-" he entered the room in a panic but froze upon seeing the scene in front of him. There was blood all over the floor and a head was placed on the bed. The head looked like it belonged to a chubby middle-aged man.
The blood was already dried up and there was a musky smell in the room.
The 'heads' eyes were closed and there was a peaceful expression on his face. It seemed like the man was sleeping soundly and someone had just, taken off his head.
He went closer and inspected it. There were no marks around the wound and the flesh seemed to have been ripped apart. His head wasn't cut off but ripped off with pure strength, yet there were no signs of a struggle?
"What the hell happened here?" he mumbled and quickly backed out, not wanting to disturb the scene anymore. Hao Xuan didn't know how crimes were solved here but he didn't want to take any risks.
"Oi, there's been a murder!" he ran back down while screaming. Sin was standing silently in front of the front desk with furrowed brows.
"What?" he asked seeing her expression.
"She's dead. The landlady. And so is her son," she pointed at the door. Hao Xuan walked around the desk and entered to see two heads in the same conditions as the one in the room upstairs.
"It's almost exactly the same, the way they were killed," he said to Sin after walking back out.
She nodded, "The Necromancer. It has to be him. But I've never heard of something like before," she looked up at Hao Xuan.
Hao Xuan had completely forgotten about the creatures from last night. It all made sense. All those dead bodies, they must have come from here. Although he knew it wasn't a necromancer's doing.
"Lets separate and check a few other places. Don't touch anything," she said and jumped out of a nearby window, leaving Hao Xuan alone in the inn.
*drop*drop*drop*
The only sound being made was from the rain. It was an eerie type of silence that made one uncomfortable. And who wouldn't be in this situation?
"Brother, there's been a 'development', call me when you're free," he sent a message to First and walked out into the rain as well.
Both of them went from house to house and checked more than four hundred places altogether, finally meeting back at the inn.
Hao Xuan walked in to see Sin standing in front of the fireplace drying her hair, "Anything?" she asked without turning around. Her clothes were wet and sticking to her body.
"Same thing. Hundreds, all dead the same way," he went up to the fireplace with a red face and sat down in one of the chairs, looking away from her.
"This is big. We have to let the government know. Cultivators do not kill mortals needlessly. This is an unwritten rule in our world, yet this a*shole just killed more than three thousand people. The higher-ups are gonna be pissed."
"It's not the necromancer lady, holy shit. Do you have something against necromancy? And Don't tell anyone else. I'm in the military and have already informed the authorities," he said with a sigh. This lady was just looking for an excuse to blame necromancers at this point.
"What? You're in the military? With this lifestyle?" she pointed at his face with a ridiculing smirk on hers.
"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Hao Xuan frowned. What was wrong with his lifestyle?
"Oh please. You kill people like they are animals and spend your days in comfort and luxury even in the wild. You're the definition of a spoiled young master. But don't worry, I like that," she said with a wink.
"Kill people? Who have I killed?!" Hao Xuan didn't know that Sin had witnessed everything when he was killing the slave owner.
"Am I wrong?" instead of answering she asked another question.
"Don't worry, I'm not saying that's bad. Turn around," she had her back to him and looked back at him with a mischievous smile. But before he could do anything, her shirt fell down, leaving her completely nude from waist up.
"WHA-" Hao Xuan's face went red and he quickly looked away, making her giggle. The sound of clothes being ruffled came and after a few seconds, she spoke again.
"Alright, I'm done, you can look now," she took a seat next to him.
"Don't test me, woman. I barely have any self-control as is, these games could cost you dearly," he said angrily without turning around.
"Hehe, we can have some fun if you want. I'm not that closed-minded," she leaned over and touched Hao Xuan's ear, making him jump out of the chair.
He looked at her with narrowed eyes, "My mom warned me about girls like yo-"
*Creeeeak*
Before Hao Xuan could finish his 'joke', the front door of the inn opened and in walked a small drenched figure.
