Chapter 14 The Marquis's Residence

Everyone understood. It seemed these people had long prepared to send them to their graves. Their guess from last night was correct: the general was testing them. If they could survive, it would prove they were truly capable, and they would be introduced to Marquis Zhennan. If they opened the door this morning to find a floor covered in lake water and several gnawed corpses, then he would simply collect their bodies.

Judging from the general's smooth actions, this was clearly not the first time this had happened. Everyone grew increasingly curious about Marquis Zhennan, who stood behind the general.

Going upstairs and seeing Gao Yanqing's corpse, the general wore a sorrowful expression, not forgetting to comfort the remaining men. "Esteemed masters, please rest assured, this matter ultimately occurred within our Luo An City. We will handle all the funeral arrangements for this master, and his family will receive a generous reward."

In this world, Jiang Cheng and the others didn't care about rewards; they only wanted to survive. But they still had to say the appropriate things to advance the plot. Zhang Qizheng cupped his fist towards the general, "This brother of mine was a man of hardship. We are unfamiliar with this place, so the funeral... the funeral is in your hands, General."

"It is my duty."

After the general replied, he gave a look to a soldier behind him. An older soldier with a mustache walked over and bent down, carefully examining the remaining half of the corpse.

Jiang Cheng noticed that the man's attention lingered longest on the huge wound on the corpse and the face. Several *meirenxiang* plants were near the wound. Before long, it seemed this man hadn't found anything special. Several soldiers stepped forward, wrapped the half-corpse directly in the bedsheets, and carried it away.

The sheets were completely soaked in lake water, dripping along the way. Looking at the residual water stains on the ground, Fatty suddenly felt disgusted.

This water had a viscous texture and constantly emitted a musty, rotting stench.

Soon after, the teams of soldiers previously dispatched to inspect the entire courtyard returned to report. Just as Jiang Cheng and the others had suspected, only the room where the death occurred had water stains; everything else in the courtyard was normal.

Hearing this, the general's tense expression eased considerably. He nodded at everyone and said in a firm tone, "With such an incident, I dare not allow you masters to continue residing in this courtyard. If it is convenient for you masters, please follow me to the Marquis's mansion to meet the Marquis now."

Although the words were polite, they didn't give Jiang Cheng and the others a second option. Hearing this, Fatty took a deep breath. He was familiar with the next part of the plot; it seemed the story map was advancing to the Marquis's mansion.

They agreed without hesitation. After the general arranged things here, the group, led by the general, headed to the Marquis's mansion. This time, their treatment was much better than before. Not only were they escorted by soldiers, but horses were also arranged for them to ride. The group set off towards the Marquis's mansion in a grand procession.

The procession was eye-catching. Jiang Cheng noticed that the equipment used on these horses also had strange patterns engraved on them, patterns he had seen before on the cloth wrapping the package. This was the exclusive mark of the Marquis's mansion.

Along the way, the surrounding pedestrians and merchants gave way. Their eyes, directed at Jiang Cheng and the others, were filled with complex emotions: reverence, fear, and a subtle emotion that Jiang Cheng couldn't quite decipher. Being stared at by so many eyes, Fatty suddenly felt inexplicably nervous. The feeling... it was as if they were being sent off.

No, they were being sent to their graves.

To everyone's surprise, the renowned Marquis Zhennan's mansion was not located in the city center but in a rather remote location. It took a full incense stick's worth of time to walk from the previous courtyard to this place.

Long before reaching the Marquis's mansion, the general called for everyone to dismount. The group continued on foot.

In broad daylight, the Marquis's grand main gate was tightly closed, with no one outside. Perhaps it was the lighting, but the longer Fatty looked at the main gate, the more he felt a gloomy, ghostly aura.

The general, walking in front, turned his head to explain, "Esteemed masters, the Marquis prefers peace and quiet and doesn't value grand displays. We will enter the mansion through the side gate."

"As the General arranges," everyone replied.

The group turned a corner and entered a secluded alley. Soon after entering, everyone simultaneously felt an indescribable discomfort. The walls on both sides were painted vermillion red and were especially high, squeezing the sky into a narrow slit. The surroundings were eerily quiet. Everyone pursed their lips, not saying a word; the atmosphere was extremely oppressive.

Fatty looked left and right, staring at the vermillion walls. The red was ghastly, and the more he looked at it, the harder it was to look away, as if it were a bottomless abyss, about to swallow him. He vaguely heard laughter, the laughter of children. The laughter came in waves, sometimes distant, sometimes near, erratic, yet also very crisp, so crisp that it was almost eerie.

Until someone reached out and blocked his eyes. Regaining his senses, Fatty suddenly realized that he had unknowingly walked to the wall, leaning his head forward in an odd posture, his face almost touching the wall.

"What... what's going on?" Fatty suddenly felt a chill and immediately retreated.

Naturally, it was Jiang Cheng who had blocked his vision. When Fatty retreated, he accidentally bumped into Tang Qisheng, who steadied him. At the same time, he whispered, "Don't look at the walls on both sides. There's something wrong with these walls. The paint is mixed with dead people's blood."

Zhu Jie stared at Fatty, especially Fatty's pupils, as if confirming something. After a moment, he nodded and sighed in relief, "Fortunately, we noticed it in time, or it would have been troublesome to have your mind seized."

After a brief pause, the group continued forward. The general, walking in the lead, walked alone in the narrow passage, as if he didn't care about what was happening behind him.

All these strange things, taken together, strengthened everyone's determination to investigate the Marquis Zhennan's mansion. Yao Shunyu turned his head to look at Tang Qisheng. Tang Qisheng's performance just now clearly indicated that he had seen through the secrets within the walls. "Mr. Tang, what did you mean by saying that the paint on the walls is mixed with dead people's blood?"

Tang Qisheng hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. "What I said might not be accurate. To be specific, we should ask him." Tang Qisheng looked at Fatty and asked in a serious tone, "What... what did you see just now?"

"No, I didn't see anything, but I heard... I heard laughter, the laughter of children. Very crisp, no... no mistake!" Recalling the scene just now, Fatty felt a chill in his heart. How could he not know that he had almost fallen for it?

"Only laughter? Did you see the child's face or head?" Zhang Qizheng, walking at the back, suddenly opened his mouth, "Like a child's head hanging on the wall?"

Just listening to Zhang Qizheng's description made Fatty feel unwell. What kind of ghostly scene was that, a child's head hanging on the wall?

"No, no, just... just laughter." Fatty quickly corrected.

Hearing this, Tang Qisheng breathed a sigh of relief. "Then it's not a big problem. It seems I guessed right. It's not that kind of thing. It's just that the vermillion paint on the walls is mixed with the resentful blood of dead children. No wonder it's so scarlet."

"These walls are built too high, and this road in the middle rarely sees sunlight. Over time, it naturally breeds evil. The resentful spirits of those dead children don't dissipate and will seduce those with weak wills on the road. You just happened to be caught."

Hearing Tang Qisheng's nonchalant tone, Fatty felt terrible. He was a firsthand witness, so he naturally knew the strangeness of it. But listening to Tang Qisheng's meaning, he seemed to be quite glad that it was just the resentful spirits of some dead children, and not those things.

Those things... what the hell were those things?

Seeing Fatty's confusion, Li Bai, who had been silent for a long time, slowly said, "Don't be afraid. What they are worried about is *zhu shengling*. The so-called *zhu shengling* is somewhat similar to *da shengzhuang*. Both involve pouring living people into buildings, using the blood and flesh of living people to bless the building, in order to achieve a certain effect. The biggest difference between the two is that *da shengzhuang* is generally used in water, such as building bridges across rivers, while *zhu shengling* is different. Most of them are used for homes. The specific process is to bring living people and pour them into the foundation, or directly cast them into the walls. There is a saying that the stronger the resentment and fear of these people before they die, the better the effect of *zhu shengling*. At the very least, it protects the building from collapsing for a hundred years, and with a better effect, it can even drive away evil spirits and protect the owner's family."

"It is said that if you want to tell if a family is *zhu shengling*, there are several points to consider. The house with *zhu shengling* is very cool in the summer, not the kind of cool with wind, but just sitting there, without moving, it is very cool. Another point is that the house is not rotten and not moth-eaten, and is not disturbed by insects and ants, and even mosquitoes cannot be seen."

Li Bai explained in detail. At this time, Fatty suddenly realized that this was already a high-end game, and the teammates were full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. If it weren't for the doctor bringing him, he wouldn't even have the qualifications to participate in this kind of game.

Now that they haven't even entered the Marquis Zhennan's mansion, just the alley outside has almost caused Fatty to fall for it. Everyone is not optimistic about the situation in the Marquis's mansion.

Finally, the general walking in the front stopped. A side door appeared on one side of the wall. The side door was divided into left and right sides, and it was pitch black. The general stood in front of the door, raised his hand and knocked on the door. The movement was one by one, and it actually had a stiff feeling.

Judging from the sound of knocking on the door, this old wooden door was made of very solid materials, and the sound it made was very real.

Fatty stared at the door, no matter how he looked at it, he felt strange. These two door panels gave him a bad feeling, as if an accident would happen after the door opened, and... and there was a row of holes on the edge of the door.

The holes were not big, nor very obvious, and you needed to look very carefully to see them, arranged in a row from top to bottom. Before Fatty could continue to think about it, with a "creak—" the door opened.

The person who opened the door was a woman. The woman was wearing a green Luo skirt, and her appearance was average. Judging from her dress, she should be a maid in the Marquis's mansion, but the woman's face was expressionless, and it also faintly exuded an unnatural whiteness. "General Yuwen, the Marquis is waiting for you inside." The maid's voice was very flat, without any emotion.

General Yuwen... this was also the first time everyone knew the name of this general.

Behind the woman stood a man, a man with a thick beard and a burly waist, wearing a short coat, with his arms bare, and the exposed muscles looked full of power.

Jiang Cheng and the others keenly noticed that whether it was the clothes on the maid or the short coat on the bare-chested man, the unique patterns of the Marquis's mansion were displayed in conspicuous positions. This seemed to have become a means of showing off their identity.

The man didn't speak either. His leopard eyes glanced past General Yuwen and stared at Jiang Cheng and the others, as if he wanted to drill two holes in them. Fortunately, Jiang Cheng and the others had been through many battles and had seen all kinds of scenes, so they were not frightened by the man. They still maintained a deadpan expression. Su Dan Novels

After a while, the maid and the man stepped aside, General Yuwen was the first to step into the mansion, and Jiang Cheng and the others followed closely behind.

The inside was very spacious. The group walked through corridors to a secluded courtyard. Along the way, Jiang Cheng and the others looked around, wanting to remember the terrain inside the Marquis's mansion, but soon, they all gave up, because it was too complicated inside, with one layer on top of another, and many places were almost the same. Fatty even suspected that this General Yuwen was taking them in circles, just to confuse them and prevent them from remembering the real road in the Marquis's mansion.

Stopping in front of a separate courtyard, General Yuwen paused and turned his head, "Please, masters, take a rest here. I have to go inside and report to the Marquis. The Marquis has been recuperating recently."

After a while, General Yuwen lowered his voice and continued, "By the way, I want to remind you masters, during this waiting period, please try not to walk around. Recently, some things have happened in the mansion, and the situation is more complicated. Once you are misunderstood by others, it will not be good."

After speaking, without waiting for Jiang Cheng and the others to react, he walked into the courtyard alone. After a few turns, he disappeared.

After General Yuwen left, Fatty really breathed a sigh of relief. This person standing next to him made him very nervous, "Damn, what is this person talking about? He specifically told us not to walk around, but why do I hear it as if he is instigating us? Do you think..."

But when Fatty turned his head, he suddenly realized that Jiang Cheng, Zhang Qizheng, and the others completely ignored his meaning. The faces of several people were very bad, especially Zhu Jie, whose face was terribly gloomy.

Zhu Jie stared at several people, scanning their faces one by one, as if confirming something. After a while, even his breathing became rapid, "Stop hiding it, you also saw it, right?"

"Yes." Zhang Qizheng glanced at the courtyard and nodded calmly, "The door we came in through just now was not right. That is not an ordinary door panel, but a coffin. That door was made of a coffin, and it was a black dungeon coffin that had been submerged in water for a long time. The holes on the edge of the door were left by the nails that nailed the coffin."