Chapter 178
Chapter 178: Murong
For a moment, silence fell both inside and outside the carriage.
Hu Rui An’s expression shifted uneasily, while Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong looked utterly confused. At this instant, all three men’s hearts were filled with questions they couldn’t answer.
They truly couldn’t grasp why the ghostly figure from the Heavenly Brocade Guard Branch Manor had mercilessly killed so many others yet chose to spare them. Could it really have been distracted by something else?
Seeing Hu Rui An’s worried expression, Li Mu Sheng thoughtfully stroked his chin and said, “If you ask me, perhaps this ghost is clever enough to know its limits. It sensed the presence of a skilled expert like me and didn’t dare to show itself.”
After all, from Li Mu Sheng’s point of view, unless it was an actual ghost, a mere slap of his hand would send it vanishing.
At his words, Hu Rui An thought carefully, his eyes suddenly brightening. Before he could speak, Wu Shang outside the carriage excitedly declared, “Your Highness makes perfect sense! Apart from being afraid of you, Your Highness, I truly can’t think of any other reasonable explanation.”
Cheng Zhong nodded earnestly in agreement. However, Shen An Ran and Murong Xiao Ya inside the carriage appeared bewildered and quickly asked the others what exactly they were talking about.
Thus, Hu Rui An briefly recounted the events. Hearing the explanation, Shen An Ran’s expression shifted to understanding, finally grasping why her cousin had so insistently tried to switch seats earlier.
Murong Xiao Ya seemed rather frightened at the mention of ghosts, shrinking her neck fearfully and refraining from further questions.
Just then, Hu Rui An sighed heavily again. “However, I’m still a bit concerned. As they say, a thief might strike a thousand days, but who can guard against them forever? Today, the ghost hesitated because it feared Your Highness, but we can’t always remain by Your Highness’s side. What if it strikes again when Your Highness isn’t present?”
Hearing this, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong’s newly joyful expressions instantly froze. They glanced at Hu Rui An with slight resentment. His words had certainly dampened the cheerful mood that had barely returned after the ghost scare.
Li Mu Sheng raised an eyebrow slightly, realizing that Hu Rui An’s concern was indeed valid. Yet, he soon waved dismissively. “It’ll be fine. You won’t stay long in this Prefecture City anyway. Could that ghost really follow you all the way to Fallen God Peak?”
Hu Rui An paused thoughtfully, then said with growing relief, “That’s indeed true. The haunting seems closely connected to the Heavenly Brocade Guard Branch Manor. Since the ghost has never left the manor, it’s unlikely to follow us when we leave the city. And as long as we stay close to Your Highness while we’re here, the ghost wouldn’t dare attack. So, there’s no need for excessive worry.”
Outside, Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong exchanged relieved glances, their hearts finally calming again. These constant shifts between fear and relief were exhausting. Deciding they’d heard enough, both feared Hu Rui An might suddenly add another troubling “however,” and pour cold water over them once more.
The carriage continued onward, and after about half an hour, dusk had fallen completely. They were drawing closer to Murong Manor. Cao Gao Shan, riding ahead, looked up and saw flames rising into the sky from the direction of the manor, fiercely glowing in the evening gloom.
On an empty street, the carriage wheels rumbled forward. Turning around a corner, a harsh, acrid scent of blood mixed with scorched smoke rushed forward with the night breeze.
As far as the eye could see, the street’s paving stones had all shattered, exposing dark earth beneath. Shops and houses lining both sides of the street were half-collapsed ruins.
Cao Gao Shan’s expression instantly grew stern. Leading the carriage carefully onward, they passed occasional bodies scattered beside the road. Finally, the group arrived before vast ruins. Before the carriage had even stopped fully, Murong Xiao Ya hurriedly dashed out, frantically running toward the wreckage ahead.
Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong leaped down, gazing at the horrifying scene with shock and suspicion. Hu Rui An and the others followed shortly after.
In the deepening darkness, pieces of torn clothing fluttered down from above, still flickering with sparks. Murong Family’s towering gate was now nothing but broken stones and debris.
Hu Rui An’s face turned solemn. After a quiet moment, he turned to Li Mu Sheng beside him and declared gravely, “The Murong Family… has fallen.”
Li Mu Sheng said nothing, his eyes reflecting flames flickering among the ruins. Shaking his head lightly, he stepped forward over the shattered threshold, heading directly into the manor.
Seeing him move, Shen An Ran quickly followed, while Hu Rui An surveyed the surroundings in silence.
Nearby, a dying warhorse cried miserably from a burning pile of rubble. Dozens of armored guards, frozen in mid-strike, had become charred corpses, their bloodied hands slipping lifelessly through shield gaps into the flames, slowly reduced to ash.
Hu Rui An exchanged solemn glances with Wu Shang and Cheng Zhong. Without another word, they moved deeper into Murong Manor.
The farther they ventured, the more devastating the scenes became. Bodies floated like fallen blossoms between pavilions and corridors. Martial artists hung upside-down on iron hooks at eaves’ corners, blood still dripping. The murky pond waters were thick with corpses.
Over some ruined buildings, poisonous smoke lingered heavily. Under its shadow lay armored guards whose bodies were rapidly dissolving into dark, gruesome pools.
All these dead belonged to the Murong Family and the Four Great Families.
Moving onward, Hu Rui An’s group found hardly anyone alive. In less than a day, the once mighty Murong Family, famed throughout Sheng Province, had turned to ruin. Rough estimates placed the casualties at thousands.
Soon, Hu Rui An and his companions reached the Murong Family’s Ancestral Hall courtyard—the only building that appeared relatively intact after their journey.
Yet, even the courtyard walls were mostly crumbled. Peering through the gaps, one could see a majestic thousand-year-old ginkgo tree. But now, this ancient tree had become a ghastly corpse tree. The silken garments of Murong women hung from its branches, blood-soaked fabric pierced by arrows, the rhythmic dripping of blood clearly audible in the dark.
Shen An Ran turned her face aside, unable to bear the sight.
At that moment, a five-story bell tower nearby collapsed amid roaring flames. A massive bronze bell plunged downward, crashing onto a pile of corpses and sending a towering plume of blood-colored dust into the air.
The loud crash echoed hauntingly, setting off a chain reaction that toppled nearby buildings, scattering frightened vultures from their scavenging grounds.
Without further hesitation, Hu Rui An and the others stepped through the crumbling walls into the inner courtyard of the Ancestral Hall.