Chapter 48: The Terrifying Night

  Just as Tang Mingli was about to say something, there came a soft knock on the door. Sanbao furrowed her brows, and soon saw Xiao Lan entering with Zhu Chengzhi in tow.

  "What's going on? It's so te, why aren't you resting?" Sanbao asked in a low voice.

  Zhu Chengzhi rubbed his eyes, looking tired but with a hint of childish stubbornness as he pouted, "I can't sleep... Can you tell me a bedtime story, sister?"

  Before Sanbao could speak, a voice full of displeasure came from nearby, "Go back to your room with your brother. His stories are way more exciting than hers! Let him tell you one." Tang Mingli’s jealousy fred up once again.

  Zhu Chengzhi pouted and angrily said, "No! I want sister to tell it!" With that, he jumped into Sanbao's arms, resting his head against her chest and tightly hugging her waist.

  Sanbao’s face flushed slightly, and for a moment, she didn’t know how to react. Just as she was about to say something, Tang Mingli coldly remarked, "Sister has things to do tonight. Come with me."

  Before Sanbao could respond, Tang Mingli had forcibly pulled Zhu Chengzhi away from her, dragging him back to his room.

  Watching them leave, Sanbao paused for a moment before calling out softly, "Yuyu."

  Wu Yuyu silently entered the room. "Miss, what do you need?"

  "Go and bring Tang Ping here, the sooner the better."

  Shortly after, Tang Ping arrived in his armor. Sanbao instructed Yuyu and Xiao Lan to close the door and stand guard outside.

  Once they had left, Sanbao motioned for Tang Ping to extend his hand, palm facing up.

  Tang Ping hesitated for a moment before extending his hand.

  Sanbao took a yellow talisman from her Seven-Treasure Bracelet, tracing a mysterious spiritual pattern on Tang Ping’s palm with her finger. She softly murmured an incantation, and the talisman disappeared into his palm.

  "This is an emergency talisman. In times of danger, strike your palm in the direction of the threat, and it will activate." She then handed him a few Thunderstrike Seeds. "Use them wisely; in crucial moments, they can turn the tide."

  Tang Ping didn’t ask any further questions, only nodding silently.

  As Sanbao continued to etch the spiritual pattern in his palm, a disturbance suddenly occurred in the room where Zhu Ting’s coffin was kept.

  Two night guards, sitting against the wall, were struggling to keep their eyes open. Suddenly, one of them jerked awake, looking uncertain.

  "Look—the coffin, it seems to have moved."

  The other rubbed his eyes and looked over. Sure enough, the coffin lid slightly shifted.

  Armed, they drew their knives and cautiously approached, forgetting Tang Ping’s orders to call for backup in case of any unusual activity.

  When they reached the coffin, the lid suddenly opened, and a pale hand shot out from within...

  "Ah! Ah!" Two screams shattered the silence of the inn.

  The guards outside rushed into the room, but to their surprise, nothing had changed. The coffin was still motionless in the middle of the room, and everything else appeared the same. However, the two night guards, Wang Feng and Zhou Zhi, had inexplicably disappeared.

  "What’s going on?" Sanbao and Tang Ping, hearing the screams, rushed to the scene.

  Zhao Gang, one of the guards who had just entered the room, reported with panic on his face, "Wang Feng and Zhou Zhi, the ones guarding the room, are missing!"

  "They must be in that coffin!" Zhao Gang shouted, rushing toward the coffin. "They have to be in there! I’m going to open it and see!"

  "Calm down!" Tang Ping barked, pulling Zhao Gang back forcefully.

  "You, spread out and secure the area." While organizing the other guards who had just rushed in, Tang Ping began channeling his spiritual energy.

  His joints crackled as his muscles bulged, and he walked up to the coffin. With a powerful grip, he lifted the heavy coffin lid, which weighed dozens of pounds, with ease as though it were paper. The lid smmed onto the ground, kicking up dust all around the room.

  Indeed, he was a martial artist who had honed his body, Sanbao thought to herself. His strength is truly incredible; lifting such a heavy object is as easy as snapping a finger.

  Everyone peered into the coffin. Inside, Zhu Ting’s corpse y peacefully, with nothing else in sight. She was dressed in a green Tang suit burial robe, her face pale, her eyes tightly shut, and her hands crossed over her chest. She appeared completely lifeless.

  Zhao Gang rushed to the coffin. "Give me back my brother!" He grabbed Zhu Ting’s body, intending to lift her up and check.

  As soon as his hands touched her body, Zhu Ting’s eyes suddenly snapped open. She grabbed Zhao Gang and broke into an eerie smile.

  "Hehehehehe!"

  Zhao Gang’s body was instantly consumed by an invisible force, twisting and contorting at an unimaginable speed before merging into Zhu Ting’s body.

  Zhu Ting’s corpse then suddenly sat up, letting out a chilling, high-pitched ugh.

  "Hehehehehe!"

  She lifted a hand slowly, dragging her fingers down from her forehead. A thin, translucent yer of human skin slid off, revealing the pale, cold face of a strange man. The face was ghostly white, with a fierce and sinister look in his eyes, radiating an aura of lingering hostility that made one’s heart freeze.

  "You’re not Zhu Ting! Who are you?" Tang Ping shouted in anger, channeling his full spiritual power into his arm. He threw a punch with the force of a mountain, sending shockwaves that rattled the furniture in the room. The punch, accompanied by the force of an earth-shattering collision, smashed into the eerie man in the coffin.

  "Boom!" The sound of the punch echoed as the man was sent crashing back into the coffin. His chest caved in, blood spttering in all directions.

  Sanbao fought down the nausea rising in her chest, frowning as she stepped back to the door. Moments ter, she re-entered the room with Tang Ping and the others to inspect the coffin.

  Inside, aside from the corpse of the man with a shattered chest, nothing unusual could be found.

  Tang Ping instructed the guards to immediately divide into teams and search the inn. He also called in another guard who had been stationed outside the door, Chen Guo, to inquire about the situation.

  Chen Guo, his face pale, whispered, "I stayed outside with Zhao Gang and never saw anyone or anything enter the room. Aside from those two screams, there was no other unusual sound from within."

  Tang Ping turned to Sanbao and quietly asked, "Miss Sanbao, what do you think is going on?"

  Sanbao gnced at the man’s corpse in the coffin. "This man is surprisingly easy to deal with. It’s strange. Have you seen him before? He’s not one of your guards, is he?"

  "I’ve never seen him before. He’s neither one of my guards nor an inn staff member," Tang Ping replied.

  Suddenly, Sanbao seemed to remember something. "Take a few people and follow me!" She quickly turned and rushed out of the room, heading toward Tang Mingli’s quarters. "Don’t you find it strange? With all the commotion, why haven’t Tang Mingli and Zhu Chengzhi come over?"

  Tang Ping’s face changed, and he immediately signaled several guards to follow him. The group quickly rushed toward Tang Mingli’s room.