Chapter 73: Another Wave?

The moment his hand touched the skull.

Tang Luo's vision suddenly changed.

He saw a thin figure with its back to him.

But it wasn't what Han Guang had said; it was inside Anshan City, more like the wilderness.

The image wasn't blurry; on the contrary, it was relatively clear.

Just as Tang Luo was about to see clearly where exactly it was, the thin figure in the image seemed to sense something and moved slightly.

Then, the image shattered.

Tang Luo withdrew his hand and speculated: "It seems that touching it at intervals allows us to see the scene where the little match girl is?"

Han Guang's head throbbed painfully; it should be due to this guy's insufficient "spiritual power."

For Tang Luo, this problem does not exist.

But the little match girl clearly noticed she was being spied on and cut off the "image transmission."

This makes observation, determining the location through the surrounding scene, very time-constrained.

"It seems we must become more familiar with the surroundings to confirm the little match girl's position in an extremely short time."

"Moreover, she will flee."

"Wait, why do I feel she will flee—well, empiricism, she might not necessarily flee."

Tang Luo instinctively treated it as a chase, him pursuing, the little match girl fleeing in a chase.

But upon careful thought, how could the little match girl, who should be the BOSS of this mission, be so timid?

Inertial thinking must not be.

Therefore, as the BOSS, the little match girl will surely come to the door, after all, Tang Luo holds her locator.

Then, he will beat her severely and force out the true location of the skull.

Mission completed, perfectly!

Having formulated the plan, Tang Luo took the skull and walked out of the Lu mansion.

Without deliberately wrapping it in black cloth, keeping it in constant contact allows timely confirmation of the time between two positionings.

He deliberately shrank his hand, using his rather wide sleeve to slightly cover the small skull.

So as not to walk on the still-unquiet streets of Anshan City, frightening passersby and attracting officials.

As a guest of the Lu family, Tang Luo could naturally resolve such matters.

But for such minor things, certainly avoid if possible.

Time passed bit by bit, and soon it was midnight.

Anshan City grew quiet again, and Tang Luo approached the fireworks site.

Don't misunderstand; Tang Luo, such a broad-minded holy monk, would not look down on such a place.

He appeared here merely to scout.

This is the northern side of Anping Lake in Anshan City.

And Anping Lake lies near the foot of the mountain.

These places, relatively speaking, are more consistent with the scene Tang Luo saw.

The little match girl, whether a ghost or a demon.

When not causing trouble, she would not mix among "mortals," and her appearance would not blend into crowds.

This area is near the mountain; within Anshan City, it is relatively sparsely populated.

As for why the fireworks site is here.

There are many reasons; although few people, the environment is serene, and those with needs don't mind running from south to north of the city.

Moreover, if a domestic tigress blocks the door, one can flee to the mountain, circle around, and descend from the other side to escape successfully.

Under the night, Anping Lake resembled a mirror.

Beneath this lake lies an underground river, connected to the river that "communicates" east and west Anshan City.

But there is no surface river.

The entire lake is very calm due to the cold weather.

Some edge positions already have a thin layer of ice; a slight touch will cause it to shatter.

On the northern lakeside, a painted boat is still moored.

Red lanterns hang, casting an ambiguous—yet eerie—glow.

The reason for the eeriness is simple.

On this painted boat, not a single sound is emitted.

Clearly still within business hours, why is it so quiet?

Even a truly pedantic old scholar, in such a place, after drinking too much, would indulge in unrestrained behavior.

Or perhaps most people have already entered the main topic, or are in their sage time?

Or could it be—related to the little match girl?

Tang Luo walked toward the painted boat, approached the dock, and found the boat was not truly moored to the shore.

But was about twenty meters away from it.

There was also no one on the dock.

With no one around, Tang Luo leapt up and landed on the deck of the painted boat.

The deck remained empty, only the red lanterns swaying occasionally in the cold wind.

Tang Luo pushed open the tightly closed door, and a faint sweet scent emanated.

Inside the cabin, there were actually quite a few people.

It's a pity, but it's not a living person—it's a corpse.

Some are slumped over the table, others are lying on the ground.

The purple-red face, swollen facial features and hands— the signs of death by poison are especially obvious.

Tang Luo felt this wasn't the modus operandi of the Little Match Girl.

She either bites off or swallows them whole—she doesn't use poison.

Has a second "Chi Mei Wang Liang" appeared in Anshan City?

"I remember Zhou Zhen Guo saying that even if the mission is completed, one can resist returning and stay a bit longer." Tang Luo had an idea: "Depending on the situation, I'll stay a little longer and settle this matter as well—it would also be an act of merit."

Going up to the second and third floors, Tang Luo likewise checked them.

The entire pleasure boat had not a single living person.

But the rooms on the second and third floors were either empty or contained two, or three or four people.

Only one room had a single male corpse, naked; compared to the other corpses, his death was miserable to the extreme.

It was like a huge rotting toad.

"Is the source of the poison here?"

Tang Luo ignored the corpse and deliberately used the Merit Jade Lotus to dispel—indeed, it cleared away a bit of residual poison.

No source of poison gas was found.

Undoubtedly, the poison source can move.

Leaving the pleasure boat, Tang Luo continued wandering through Anshan City.

Dressed in white, with a skull faintly visible, he gave the impression of a ghost.

A few night watchmen caught a glimpse and were nearly frightened ill, stumbling back home—even if fined, they wouldn't do it anymore.

Clearly it's Anshan City—why is it unsafe and unsettled now?

"Master, Master Xuanzang, please bestow another consecration talisman." Lu Zhi followed behind Tang Luo, "Whatever we can do, just say the word."

"Amitabha." Tang Luo held one hand upright before his chest, "Lu benefactor, it's not that the poor monk won't give—just that five consecration talismans are already the limit of what the poor monk can offer."

The time is three days later.

The news of the pleasure boat being filled with corpses overnight has already spread.

For a time, Anshan City was filled with alarm and panic.

The Little Match Girl used to kill at most one or two people per night.

Later, she began targeting only the Ding and Lu families.

Actually, for the whole of Anshan City, it had little impact.

But after the pleasure boat incident spread, rumors ran rampant, leaving everyone on edge.

The Lu family was no exception—they repeatedly asked Tang Luo for consecration talismans.

Though the Lu family rose to prominence in Anshan City without outright blatant seizure, they also employed not a few underhanded methods.

Giving consecration to the Lu family is not a profitable business.

Tang Luo gave five consecration talismans, instructing them to be used by the Lu children—useless for adults.

Even so, they were divided up by the family head and elders.

On the contrary, Lu Zhi, the eldest son, stubbornly gave his own talisman to his younger brother.

Since he gave it away, Tang Luo also became too lazy to take it back.

But he's no fool—seeing that this "merit investment" cannot yield profit, he naturally won't do it again.

Lu Zhi begged several times, each time being put off by him; today is just another routine dismissal.

After refusing Lu Zhi, Tang Luo took the skull and left the Lu residence.

He had already figured out that every three shichen, upon contact with the skull, he could see visions related to the Little Match Girl.

But because the other party sensed it, each vision was only a fleeting flash.

During one "patrol," Tang Luo noticed someone nearby and rushed straight over.

Unfortunately, upon arrival, no trace of the Little Match Girl was found.

Interestingly, after that, Tang Luo occasionally felt someone lurking in the dark, appearing and disappearing, present yet absent.

It was like a patient predator waiting for the prey to reveal a weakness.

This is a good thing.

Tang Luo believed the Little Match Girl would soon come knocking.

"Several gentlemen, please lend your help."

At the Lu mansion, wine cups clinked; Lu Zhi held his cup and said to those before him,

"Young Master Lu, rest assured—we will certainly speak on your behalf before the Master." Han Guang said, "But whether it succeeds or not is not up to us. After all, we are merely the Master's attendants. Whatever we have on hand, we've already given to you."

Beside him, Du Shun, face flushed, clinging to a beautiful maid, nodded repeatedly.

The Lu family couldn't obtain more consecration talismans from Tang Luo, so they had to take a roundabout route, hoping to act through the Master Xuanzang's four attendants.

Fortunately, these four are not the kind of resolute monks like Master Xuanzang.

They are completely ordinary people—under sugar-coated bullets, they immediately collapsed.

But this still isn't enough; the Lu family wants more consecration talismans.

"You few may do as you please—I'm leaving first." Lu Zhi said, sighing, feeling like a pimp.

"Still want to use sugar-coated bullets?" Watching Lu Zhi leave, Han Guang's eyes held a hint of mockery, silently thinking, "Old man here is a god-demon wanderer, a modern person—your level here is far worse than the ISO service of old. It's just that the ancient style has a certain charm."

"Master Xuanzang is our thigh—you just treat yourselves as fools!"

Han Guang clearly distinguished priorities.

He now only needs to cling to Master Xuanzang's thigh and wait to complete the mission.

If even Master Xuanzang can't do it, then there's nothing he can do.

Only a fool would risk angering Master Xuanzang for a bit of petty gain by speaking well of the Lu family.

Lick the sugar coating clean, then fire the cannonball back.

After the time it takes to burn one incense stick.

The other two newcomers, Ma Qiang and Zhang Wen, walked out of their respective rooms and met in the small courtyard.

Compared to Han Guang and Du Shun's carefree ease—or rather, just listening to the command of "Xuanzang"—

these two were burdened with heavy thoughts.

You should know, that day when they took the skull from the small village, it had nothing to do with the two of them.

Their investigation in Anshan City also yielded nothing.

What does that mean?

It means that even if they completed the task through the skull, they would most likely receive no reward, at best not counting as a task failure.

If luck is bad and they encounter strict task requirements, they might still fail the task.

"What should we do?" Zhang Wen asked.

"If that monk is unkind, then don't blame us for being unjust!" Ma Qiang said with a sinister expression, "We've told him several times, but he won't let us touch the skull at all, keeping it all for himself! What are we still following him for?"