Chapter 36: Haunted
Chapter 36: Haunted
The silvery moonlight bathed the narrow alleys of Stone Bell City, while the tavern within echoed with the melodic strains of music, like a nocturne.
Through the window, one could see the roaring fireplace inside, casting a warm and inviting glow.
The wooden sign at the entrance read "Golden Barley Tavern" in bold letters.
Su Nan pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside, immediately greeted by a cacophony of noise and activity.
The air was thick with testosterone and the pungent smell of strong alcohol.
Rough men were engaged in drinking games, while provocatively dressed serving girls weaved between the tables, their bare legs a distracting sight.
Su Nan made his way to a corner table with practiced ease and slipped a few silver coins into the cleavage of a passing serving girl.
"Usual, please."
The serving girl gave him a flirtatious glance and soon returned with a mug of barley beer and some food.
The barley beer had a low alcohol content, lacked any real aroma, and had a rough, cloudy texture with a tangy aftertaste. But even such a simple drink was a rare treat for the common folk, and most were content with just one glass.
Su Nan rarely drank, and when he did, it was usually top-tier wine. The low-quality barley beer in the tavern was hard for him to swallow.
The food was prepared with the most basic cooking methods, lacking pepper, monosodium glutamate, soy sauce, honey, or butter. It was simply grilled or boiled and seasoned with salt.
In this world, sugar was a luxury, and spices were incredibly expensive, typically found only on the tables of nobles.
Su Nan ordered the barley beer and food only to blend in, avoiding drawing too much attention in the tavern.
Normally, taverns were the perfect place to listen to braggarts and their exaggerated tales of past glories. Since arriving in Stone Bell City, Su Nan would visit the tavern every evening to gather information.
The rest of the time, he would secretly investigate the location of the Starfire Cult's base in the city, which he had learned from the Black Sword Knight's interrogation.
Unfortunately, he had found nothing after three days.
"If I don't discover anything tonight, I'll have to capture someone for questioning," Su Nan thought to himself.
At that moment, a conversation from the neighboring table caught his attention.
"Have you heard? Lord Kubero's estate in the northern part of the city is haunted."
"Haunted? Don't be ridiculous. How can there be ghosts in this world?"
"I'm serious. My brother-in-law serves under Lord Kubero. After the estate became haunted, Lord Kubero moved out and sent a few knights in. They haven't returned after several days, and now the entire estate is sealed off!"
"Is that true? Even the knights are dead?"
"If it's really a ghost, it's not surprising that the knights couldn't handle it."
"By the way, is the ghost male or female?"
"Well, Lance, are you interested in female ghosts?"
"Hehe, if she's pretty, why not?"
The group burst into laughter, and the conversation quickly turned to women and other lurid topics.
Su Nan, sitting nearby, had a thoughtful expression.
When it came to ghosts, they did indeed exist in this world.
The most common were spirits, or ghosts.
Generally, those who died violently were most likely to become ghosts.
Ghosts appeared as they did in life, often showing the marks of the violent deaths they suffered.
However, ghosts were not particularly harmful. Even if they possessed a human, they could only cause a chilling sensation.
Ordinary humans found it difficult to see ghosts.
Additionally, ghosts could not withstand sunlight and would become weak and eventually dissipate under its rays.
Even without sunlight, ghosts could not survive for long in the physical world.
While ghosts are generally harmless, vengeful spirits are a different matter. These spirits are truly dangerous and can cause significant harm.
Vengeful spirits are often filled with intense hatred from their past lives, which prevents them from resting in peace. Instead, they transform into undead beings solely focused on revenge.
A fully formed vengeful spirit can absorb a person's energy through physical contact or manipulate the will of weaker individuals through mental hypnosis.
These ethereal beings are immune to physical damage and are extremely lethal to ordinary people. Only knights who have mastered martial arts can harm them.
If a vengeful spirit kills enough people and absorbs sufficient soul energy, it can evolve into a powerful malevolent spirit.
Malevolent spirits typically have the ability to bind to a specific area, transforming it into a haunted domain.
Fully formed malevolent spirits are immune to sunlight and physical damage. Even great knights may struggle to defeat them.
Above malevolent spirits, there are also malevolent aberrations and evil spirits.
Evil spirits are terrifying beings capable of causing the downfall of entire nations.
The appearance of each evil spirit often heralds the end of a country.
From the conversation of those drunkards, if the Kubero Estate is indeed haunted, it is likely by a malevolent spirit.
"A malevolent spirit, huh?"
Su Nan felt a slight thrill.
Malevolent spirits are excellent materials for creating soul crystals.
If he could obtain a soul crystal, he could create a puppet even stronger than the Black Rock Leopard.
"Still, I should focus on the Starfire Cult for now. I can investigate the malevolent spirit later."
After listening to more information, Su Nan stood up and headed upstairs.
The Golden Barley Tavern also offered lodging services, and he had been staying in one of the rooms for the past few days.
Nearby, a group of serving girls were whispering among themselves as they watched Su Nan ascend the stairs.
"I bet he's a noble. He has more presence and is handsomer than the Second Young Master Elwin I've seen before."
"Elwin can't compare to him. Yesterday, I accidentally brushed against his arm, and wow, those muscles are solid. He doesn't look that strong, but he's surprisingly well-built."
"Are you in heat, girl?"
"Shut up, I bet you're not immune either!"
"Hehe, if you really want to, you can knock on his door tonight and offer a massage service. Maybe something more could happen."
"That's not a bad idea. Sandy, if you don't go, I won't hesitate."
"I never said I wouldn't. Wait here, I'm going to test his mettle tonight!"
The serving girls laughed and joked, drawing hot gazes from the surrounding patrons.
Late at night.
Sandy changed into a shorter serving girl's outfit, lowering her neckline, and approached the door of Su Nan's room. She raised her hand and knocked.
Tap tap!
No response.
"Sir, would you like a massage service?"
Sandy knocked a few more times, but there was still no answer.
"Is he asleep?"
Sandy felt a sudden disappointment.
At that moment, the door next to her creaked open, and a man poked his head out. Seeing Sandy, he immediately grinned lecherously.
"Does your tavern offer massage services? I'd like one too!"
Sandy's gaze swept over the man's brutish face, and she said expressionlessly, "I'm sorry, the tavern doesn't offer that service."
"But I just heard—"
"You must have heard wrong!"
Without waiting for a response, Sandy turned and walked away without looking back.
At that moment, Su Nan's room was already empty.
(End of Chapter)
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