Stein and I stared in disbelief. This Copper Coin Sword could even sever ghosts—why couldn't it break a mere wine jar? With its weight, an ordinary wine jar would have shattered instantly.
"Could it be this ghost talisman?" Stein reached to peel off the talisman, but something strange happened again. The oozing green talisman emitted a viridescent glow, repelling his hand with force.
"Bloody hell! It burns!" Stein howled, shaking his stinging fingers. The green light had clearly caused him harm.
I stroked my chin. "Seems this talisman was enchanted—or cursed—by that Living Dead. No wonder those three little ghosts didn't flee. They're trapped inside."
This posed a serious problem. If we couldn't eliminate these brats, our intrusion into the Living Dead's chamber tonight might be exposed.
"Little Boss, I've got another idea." Stein produced an incomplete string of Buddhist prayer beads from his pocket—the same dharma artifact he'd scavenged from Esteban's shop earlier.
If we couldn't smash the jar, we'd catch the turtle in its pot!
Watching Stein work, he carefully lowered the prayer beads into the wine jar. About ten seconds later, crackling sounds erupted from within like firecrackers detonating, sparks flying in all directions.
The first brat came scrambling out, his body riddled with fresh wounds—the prayer beads had done a number on him. The moment his head emerged from the jar's mouth, my sword descended without mercy. The blade cleaved him clean in two. His severed halves tumbled across the floor before dissolving into pools of blackened blood.
Then came the second. Then the third. Each received the prayer beads' brutal welcome before fleeing straight into my waiting blade. One after another, they met gruesome ends beneath the Copper Coin Sword. Now the chamber floor swam with mingled black blood and pus, the stench so foul it stung our nostrils.
The final ghostly head wriggled free. A single upward slash sent my sword through its skull, splitting it crown to chin. Brain matter splattered against the wall with a wet smack before the entire head collapsed into another puddle of viscous black filth.
Not a single brat survived my purge. The room now resembled a charnel house—reeking, putrid, utterly revolting. If the Living Dead returned to this carnage, the sight alone might strike him dead with rage.
We'd tarried here too long already. With no way to predict the Living Dead's return, speed was essential. Every extra moment spent in this accursed room multiplied our peril.
I lifted the mosquito net and saw a woman lying on the bed. She was bound tightly with ropes, her mouth gagged, and her eyes covered with a black cloth. She appeared unconscious, unmoving the entire time we had been inside.
The woman looked to be about twenty years old—decent-looking, neither stunning nor plain, with a fair complexion and an average figure. She didn't seem to be from Beiwang Town, likely an outsider who had been tricked by the Living Dead.
I tried to wake her, but it was no use. She was either drugged or in a deep, unresponsive sleep.
There was no time to waste. The Living Dead could return at any moment. I draped a sheet over the woman and lifted her. With everyone asleep, no one should notice what we were carrying out of his room.
"Little Boss, so there really was a woman, huh? Heh… not bad." Stein licked his lips obscenely, his gaze lingering on her figure. Even beneath the sheet, her curves were unmistakable.
"You want her? Should I hand her over to you?" I extended the woman toward him, signaling for him to take her.
Stein immediately recoiled with a disgusted expression. The moment he heard she belonged to the Living Dead, he didn't dare touch her.
"Then quit complaining and lead the way. All talk, no guts." I scoffed.
Grumbling, Stein moved ahead to scout the path. Fortunately, everyone was asleep—even Boss Qin was nowhere in sight. Our journey back to my room was unnervingly smooth, not a single soul crossing our path.
Shortly after laying the woman on the bed, I suddenly heard footsteps. Peering through the doorway, I saw the Living Dead returning. We had been lucky—one minute later, and we would have run straight into him.
The Living Dead hurried up the stairs, but within minutes, a shrill, almost inhuman roar erupted from his room.
"WHO DID THIS?! WHO THE HELL DID THIS?! COME OUT! SHOW YOURSELF!"
His voice was so piercing it echoed through the entire hotel. Almost instantly, angry shouts rose from the other guests. I had already caused a disturbance earlier—now the Living Dead was adding to the chaos. People were furious.
In seconds, a hailstorm of bottles, stones, eggs, and whatever else was within reach came flying toward his room. It wasn't long before his screams turned into something far worse—a wretched, pig-like squealing.
What a shame.
After just one trip outside, all the brats he had painstakingly raised were dead. The floor was slick with black blood and pus, the stench unbearable. The woman he had tricked was gone, and now his room was being pelted with whatever the guests could throw. Truly tragic.
I smirked and firmly shut the door. This had just turned into a full-blown feud with the Living Dead—but as long as he never found out it was us, we'd be fine.
After all, I never leave my name behind when doing good deeds.
With a faint smile, I turned away, content to let my deeds remain anonymous.
Wait a minute—I had sent Little Fox to follow the Living Dead. If the Living Dead is back, where's Little Fox? Did something happen?
By then, Stein had been eyeing the woman greedily, even reaching out to touch her face. The dumbstruck look on his face suggested he'd probably never been with a woman in his life.
"Get out of here, now! It's fucking disgusting to keep you around!" I immediately kicked Stein out. This kid had a serious problem—one second, he was terrified of the Living Dead; the next, the moment he got his hands on an unconscious woman, all caution flew out the window.
With the woman still out cold, Stein would absolutely take advantage if left unchecked. No way was I letting that happen.
"Hey, hey, Little Boss, don't kick me out! I'm just looking—scout's honor! I'll keep my hands to myself, okay?" Stein pleaded from outside the door.
"Go the fuck back to bed and dream your perverted dreams!" I slammed the door shut without mercy.
After that, sleep was impossible. I kept waiting for Little Fox to return, but instead, the woman woke up first.
The moment she regained consciousness, she let out a muffled scream, her body thrashing against the ropes. Her mouth was still stuffed, so no sound escaped, and the black cloth over her eyes left her blind.
I quickly removed the gag and yanked off the blindfold.
When she saw me, she instinctively flinched back in fear. I reassured her, "Don't be scared. I'm not a bad guy—I saved you. I'll untie you now."
But then she burst into tears, sobbing, "I… I recognize you. You're Roger."
I stiffened. Who the hell is this woman? How does she know me? I studied her face carefully—no recognition at all. She was a complete stranger.