Chapter 41

The progress was not going smoothly. If the evil spirits on the first floor were just low-level minions, then the undead on the second floor were much more difficult to deal with. Although they were dead, they still possessed an instinctive understanding of combat techniques. Their rotten bodies were quite fragile, but they were more than enough to resist Lijie's half-formed positive energy attacks. Soon, under the siege of the undead, Luo De and Lijie had to readjust to the most orthodox battle formation. Luo De and the Flame Killer stood at the front to block the monsters, while the girl behind them returned to her original position, casting shields and dispelling toxins for Luo De, no longer considering herself as a damage dealer.

It's almost there.

After glancing at the decorations on the wall and comparing them with her memory, Luo De swung his longsword again, tearing through the undead's defenses. Light blades flew and swirled, mercilessly piercing the already rotten corpses that should have returned to dust but were still active under the influence of magic. A huge wave of air erupted, sweeping away the fragments of limbs to the dark end of the corridor.

The further they advanced, the angrier Lijie became.

The dead blocking their way were not just mercenaries, but also servants and even children. They were all victims who had disappeared in this haunted house. But under the control of evil magic, they were forced to awaken from their rightful slumber and become accomplices of evil.

"What kind of evil could cause such great harm?"

Lijie tightly clasped her hands, muttering to herself.

"Any kind of evil can cause harm."

Luo De swung his longsword, commanding the "resurrected" Flame Killer to spew flames at the undead in front of them, while casually answering.

"But this is too much!"

"Power varies from person to person."

A zombie in tattered servant's attire, with a face barely recognizable, opened its mouth and howled as it lunged forward. But before it could grab Luo De's clothes, the light of Star Trace pierced through its forehead.

"The result never changes because of the motive."

Pulling out his longsword, he casually cut off another approaching corpse, Luo De raised an eyebrow.

"So when you make a decision, you must face the consequences."

"Huh?"

Lijie was stunned, not knowing why Luo De would suddenly say such a thing. But before she could ask, she felt a chill on her back, and then a heavy object fell from above, tightly grabbing her body.

"Ah!!"

The intense pain made the girl scream involuntarily. She instinctively turned her head and immediately stiffened.

At that moment, behind her, a child of only two or three years old was crawling there, with purplish-black skin, hollow dark eye sockets, and a mouth full of rotten, shriveled flesh. Its small hands clung to the girl's shoulders like iron clamps. Seeing Lijie turn around, it lunged forward, aiming for her neck. At that moment, a white light flashed, and Luo De's sword blade mercilessly cut off the large head. The small hands that had been gripping the girl's body separated, and the headless body fell to the ground, turning to dust and disappearing into the floor cracks.

"———"

Lijie stared blankly at the ground, unable to recover for a long time until Luo De's voice sounded in her ear.

"Be careful."

"Ah, yes!"

Only then did Lijie feel the intense pain in her shoulder. She gritted her teeth, cast a toxin expulsion spell on herself, and then recast a shield, feeling much better. It was only then that the girl noticed something was wrong. She looked up in surprise and found that there were no more obstacles ahead. Most of the corpses that had surrounded them were now lying on the ground, turning to dust with the faint wind.

"This is……"

"It seems the other side knows they can't deal with us and is trying a new tactic."

Luo De put down his longsword and turned to look at Lijie's shoulder, frowning.

"How is the wound?"

"It's, it's okay, not too deep."

Standing up, Lijie answered in a low voice. The shock of what had just happened was still too great for her to recover.

"Let me see."

"There's, there's no need."

Hearing this, Lijie immediately became flustered, instinctively pressing her shoulder and shaking her head.

"Let me see."

Looking at Lijie's expression, Luo De remained unchanged, calmly repeating himself.

"………………"

Lijie was silent for a moment and finally lowered her hand.

On the white robe, ten bloody holes were clearly visible, with blood slowly seeping out and staining a large area.

Luo De squatted down, grabbed Lijie's robe, and tore it forcefully.

On her snow-white shoulder, the flesh was mangled.

"Did you expel the toxins?"

"Yes, it should be fine."

"That's good."

Luo De nodded, saying nothing more, and then reached for the water flask at his waist, beginning to clean the wound.

"———!!"

The intense pain made Lijie gasp, and she looked up, watching Luo De intently cleaning and treating her wound, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

"Mr. Luo De……"

"Hmm?"

"This…… I'm sorry, I was distracted……"

"You don't need to apologize to me; I'm not the one who got hurt."

"Uh………"

Hearing this, Lijie was stunned for a moment, then she laughed softly.

"Sorry, I……"

"I said, you don't need to apologize to me."

"Ah, yes, right……"

Lijie finally realized the problem and laughed, no longer saying more. She just quietly looked at the man in front of her.

What kind of person is he?

Lijie couldn't find an answer to this question. Before becoming a mercenary, she had met many people, and after becoming a mercenary, she had met even more men. But she had never met anyone like Luo De. He was only a few years older than her, yet he was calmer and more composed than many who had lived their entire lives on the edge. He was full of absolute confidence, never doubting his words, and sometimes even a bit domineering. But why did she trust him so much? Of course, this man wasn't perfect; he rarely smiled, which was quite boring……

"Done."

Luo De's words brought Lijie back to her senses, and she realized her wound had been bandaged at some point.

"Move it, is there any problem?"

"Not much, as long as I don't make sudden movements……"

As a Spirit Master, Lijie knew how to regulate her body's condition. If the wound wasn't in a tricky spot, she wouldn't have let Luo De help her.

"Good."

Luo De nodded and stood up.

"Get ready, we need to continue. We don't have much time to waste."

After the intense battle, the undead seemed to have realized Luo De's strength and stopped appearing. The journey ahead was calm again. But both knew a storm was brewing. Luo De relied on his experience from missions, while Lijie relied on her angelic senses. Soon, they arrived at a large door. This was the only place in the entire mansion that was intact and clean, standing out even more against the surrounding dust, garbage, and cobwebs. Only Luo De knew that this was where the artistic master of the Seril family had created, the starting point of everything.

"It's in there."

Lijie subconsciously swallowed, feeling a slight numbness in her shoulder. The evil emanating from the door almost made her suffocate. For the girl, it was the first time she realized that the word "evil" could be tangible.

Luo De pushed open the door.

The scene inside made both of them involuntarily hold their breath.

If one word were to describe the scene, what would it be?

Evil? Filthy? Dirty?

None of these.

The first feeling the room gave was—sacred.

Pure white filled the entire room, with magnificent stone pillars supporting the dome. Moonlight shone through the circular opening in the center of the ceiling, creating a dreamlike beauty. At the center of the light, a stone statue stood quietly.

It was a woman.

She was naked, her hands crossed, and her long hair cascaded over her shoulders. Her delicate face, finely detailed features, and a beautiful smile with a hint of playfulness were mesmerizing. Anyone who saw her would immediately think, without hesitation, that she was the most beautiful work of art in the world, without a doubt.

"So beautiful……"

Even Lijie couldn't help but exclaim. For a moment, the evil aura and the strange undead seemed to be forgotten. She instinctively moved forward to get a closer look at the sculpture, but Luo De quickly grabbed her shoulder.

"Ah."

For a moment, Lijie was dazed, but she soon shivered and came to her senses. At the same time, Luo De whistled and pointed forward. The Flame Killer, receiving the command, roared and charged into the room, extending its fangs and claws toward the almost flawless sculpture.

But the black hound did not reach its goal.

"Swish!!"

Several long arms suddenly appeared from the walls and floor, tightly grabbing the Flame Killer's body and limbs.

"Awooo!!"

The black hound struggled fiercely in mid-air, trying to turn around and bite the arms that restrained it. But before it could act, the arms that held the black hound quickly retracted, tearing it into pieces. As the Flame Killer was torn apart, its self-destruct attribute was triggered!

"Boom!!"

Rushing flames suddenly spread throughout the room, and at the same time, a sharp, piercing scream rose from the ground!