Chapter 189: The Old Woman

Hearing this, Hu Rui'an and the others immediately gathered around and looked in the direction Li Musheng was pointing.

After a while, Shen Anran was the first to speak:

"All the cat paw prints here face upward, yet none face downward, indicating that large cat frequently climbs the wall here."

As she spoke, her gaze followed the paw prints upward, only to see a hidden hole concealed within the wooden beams above the small hall.

At that moment, the large cat that had originally been lying outside the hall, unknown when, suddenly appeared behind the group, then abruptly let out a "Meow."

Wu Shang and the other two, who had been listening intently to Shen Anran and staring at the cat paw prints, were instantly startled.

They both turned their heads sharply, looking at the burly black cat behind them, only to see the large cat strutting past right before their eyes.

Then, that body, the size of an earth dog, leaped lightly, stepped on the cat paw prints on the wall before them, and with a few pushes, used the leverage to jump onto the roof beam.

At this point, the large cat standing on the roof beam turned its head to look down at the few people below, and then let out another "Meow."

Its manner seemed to say: "Alright, you have discovered my secret."

In the next instant, the large cat darted into the black hole on the roof beam; before long, it emerged from the darkness where the light could not reach, carrying a bundle in its mouth.

Seeing this scene, Hu Rui'an and the others' eyes immediately brightened.

However, at this moment, the black cat, still holding the bundle, suddenly moved its four legs and ran quickly along the roof beam toward the other end of the small hall.

"Stop it."

Wu Shang hurriedly spoke out, while Hu Rui'an had already acted at the first opportunity, raising his hand and grabbing toward the upper part of the hall.

In an instant, a palm condensed from martial arts true qi formed instantly above the large cat, then in a flash reached down to grab the running cat.

However, just as the true qi palm was about to touch the cat's body, it suddenly disintegrated, vanishing completely in the blink of an eye.

Hu Rui'an's expression changed instantly, and at that moment, Li Musheng, standing beside him, stroked his chin and spoke:

"Don't rush; let's see first. This cat is quite interesting; it seems not to be an ordinary cat."

Upon hearing these words, Hu Rui'an immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

He had just thought someone else was acting secretly, but knowing it was Li Musheng, there was no problem.

Immediately, Hu Rui'an watched with his own eyes as the large cat on the roof beam ran quickly to the other end; then, the other party leaped straight down and rushed toward the hall entrance without looking back.

"Then let's follow this cat to see."

Hu Rui'an moved his body and immediately chased after the large cat, while Wu Shang and the others glanced at Li Musheng, who was also following Hu Rui'an, and then all followed without hesitation.

The black large cat, with a pair of green cat eyes, carrying a bundle in its mouth, moved quickly through the dark Shengzhou Tianjinwei branch mansion.

Behind it, Hu Rui'an and the others maintained a certain distance, following at neither too far nor too close.

After chasing for a while, the big black cat arrived in front of the torture chamber at the rear of the Shengzhou Tianjinwei and stopped, then, familiar with the way, crashed open a window of the torture chamber and crawled inside.

Hu Rui'an's figure arrived in front of the torture chamber in the blink of an eye; the door, locked with a copper lock before his eyes, was instantly and silently shattered by true qi.

He continued to follow the black cat's figure without obstruction, only to see the other party crawl in through an underground iron grate door inside the torture chamber.

"This place should be the Shengzhou Tianjinwei dungeon; ordinary prisoners are generally kept in the state city's prison, only important prisoners are detained here."

Hu Rui'an turned to look at Li Musheng beside him to explain, then waved his hand casually, and the locked iron door before his eyes was completely flipped away.

At this moment, he thought for a moment and spoke:

"That black cat seems to intend to lead us here, but the inside of this dungeon must be filthy; why not have Your Highness wait temporarily above while I go down to investigate?"

Hearing this, Li Musheng shook his head indifferently, his figure vanished from the spot, and then he moved toward the inside of the dungeon.

Seeing this, Hu Rui'an's eyes shifted slightly, and he immediately hurried to follow.

Inside the dungeon there was no light, appearing even darker than outside, completely pitch black where one could not see five fingers.

Moreover, the air inside was damp, the space cramped, emitting a foul smell of rot, and there was a suffocating feeling of being unable to breathe.

However, for a martial arts expert like Hu Rui'an, this was not much of a problem.

At this moment, the large cat arrived and stopped in front of a cell door at the deepest part of the dungeon.

Its pair of eerie green eyes turned back to glance at Li Musheng and the others following, then slowly spat the bundle it held in its mouth onto the ground, retreated to a corner on the side, squatted down, and let out a "Meow."

Seeing this scene, Hu Rui'an immediately frowned.

He glanced at the bundle on the ground, then looked toward the cell before him.

At this moment, Wu Shang and the others behind had also caught up; the group standing in the narrow tunnel appeared somewhat crowded.

Hu Rui'an did not mind this; his gaze pierced through the darkness, staring straight at a person lying on the ground inside the cell.

This person was lying on their side with their back to the group; although their face could not be seen clearly, judging by their figure, they should be an old woman.

Their clothes were filthy, white hair covered in dust and grime, even clumped into blocks.

However, the other party clearly had breath, seemingly asleep, obviously not a corpse.

Hu Rui'an sized the other party up, then flicked his finger to light the oil lamp on the stone wall of the tunnel, and suddenly spoke:

"The ghost appearing in the Shengzhou Tianjinwei, is it you pretending to be a spirit?"

Hu Rui'an's question was direct; although he did not know who was in the cell, he obviously had no intention of dealing with the other party in a roundabout way.

At this moment, the old woman in the cell seemed to be awakened; she silently sat up from the ground, then slowly turned her head to look out of the cell.

Seeing this scene, Wu Shang and the others' expressions suddenly changed drastically.

Mainly because when the old woman turned her head, her body did not move, yet her head rotated one hundred and eighty degrees, appearing very eerie.

Moreover, that face of the other party was simply too ugly; not only extremely aged but covered in pus-filled sores and scars, appearing truly terrifying under the dim yellow light.

At this time, the old woman's pair of turbid eyes seemed to be sizing up Hu Rui'an and the others outside the cell.

Finally, her gaze fell upon Li Musheng, and she spoke in a hoarse, obscure voice:

"Although this old body's appearance is ugly and frightening, I am not some ghost or monster; you have misunderstood me."

At this moment, Li Musheng did not look at the other party but glanced at the large cat in the corner, then signaled Hu Rui'an to check the bundle on the ground.

Hu Rui'an did not hesitate; reaching out through the air, he grabbed the bundle from the ground, then quickly opened it.

After opening it, inside the bundle was a palm-sized booklet; the booklet was covered in dried bloodstains and wrapped in a layer of blood-stained cloth.

Hu Rui paid no attention, simply opening the book and glancing through it hastily.

After a moment, his brows immediately furrowed as he looked at Li Musheng beside him and said:

"This is a scroll of the dead!"

(End of this chapter)