Chapter 65: Powerlessness

After the boat reached the shore, Li Si got off the boat and staggered toward the county city gate.

Along the way, there were also people who knew him, but when they saw him covered in blood, they all avoided him from afar, looking at him with uncertain, suspicious eyes.

Among them, there was a simple and honest-looking man who saw Li Si in this state. His expression immediately changed, and he turned pale with shock.

Without another word, he immediately ran toward him and directly dragged Li Si to a secluded place.

“Scholar Li, what happened to you?” Suspicion and shock appeared in the man’s eyes as he looked at Li Si.

Li Si glanced at him and recognized him as well. This man’s name was Wang Daniu. He was also a hunter from nearby, and often hunted together with Cao Qing and Luo Ye.

With a sigh, Li Si looked around. Seeing that there was no one nearby, he sat down on a large stone to the side and opened the bloody bundle for Wang Daniu to see.

“Yu Hu was eaten by a water ghost. I only managed to snatch back his head.” Li Si’s face was somewhat pale at this moment, but his tone was very calm. Yet it was precisely this calm tone describing such a horrifying matter that made Wang Daniu shudder.

Thinking of Luo Ye’s instructions, Wang Daniu gritted his teeth and said, “Scholar Li, please wait here for now. I will be back soon.”

As he spoke, he took off his clothes and draped them over Li Si, thereby covering Li Si’s bloodstained body.

After covering Li Si with his outer garment, Wang Daniu turned and quickly ran toward the city.

Li Si glanced at Wang Daniu’s departing back, his expression somewhat ugly. He suddenly remembered something. After Yu Hu died, he had never discovered Yu Hu’s soul, and there had been no movement from his hand at all.

Then this meant that Yu Hu’s soul had already been eaten by that ghostly thing.

“Nie family!!!” Li Si’s teeth clenched until they creaked. His eyes were scarlet, like a vicious ghost wanting to choose someone to devour.

He had also decided that he would definitely go to this provincial examination. It was not because of the Nie family’s threat, but because he also wanted to meet this Nie family.

He had to see exactly what kind of den of demons and monsters this Nie family was.

Before long, Wang Daniu arrived with Luo Ye.

Luo Ye was also carrying clothes and a gourd. When he saw Li Si in this state, he sighed and said in a low voice, “Scholar Li, it is not suitable for you to enter the city like this. Give the head to me. I will help you handle it.”

Li Si glanced at him, then looked at his own bloodstained appearance and nodded slightly.

Right now, he did not want to invite trouble, nor did he want to communicate with the authorities. That would be a tremendous waste of his time. Since Luo Ye could help him handle it, that could not be better.

Afterward, Li Si took off his clothes by the roadside, used the water in the gourd to clean the bloodstains from his body, and changed into the clean clothes Luo Ye had brought. During this process, Li Si also told Luo Ye the whole story from beginning to end.

Of course, he concealed the matter of the ghost creature speaking with him. Such a thing was not convenient for outsiders to know.

At this moment, he could also be considered to have experienced the benefit of having someone help him. It saved him a great deal of trouble.

Although he did not regard Luo Ye as his subordinate, Luo Ye clearly did not think that way.

Luo Ye had already treated himself as Li Si’s subordinate, and this also provided Li Si with great convenience.

After cleaning off the bloodstains, Li Si and Luo Ye parted ways, and he entered the city alone.

After walking into the county city and passing through the crowd, he felt somewhat dazed, as though everything today had merely been a terrifying nightmare. A living person had disappeared before his eyes just like that, losing his life, and even his soul had been eaten by a ghost.

At this moment, Li Si deeply understood the terror of ghost creatures and demon creatures. They were not kind beings, but things more cunning and bloodthirsty than fierce beasts.

Passing through the lively crowd, Li Si returned to his own house.

As soon as he returned home, he lay straight down on the bed, only feeling extremely tired. After lying there for a while, he forced himself to rise and began packing his things.

He had to go to Zetian Prefecture as soon as possible during this period. Otherwise, someone else might die because of him during this time.

In truth, Li Si also felt extremely guilty in his heart. If he had not stepped onto that boat, perhaps Yu Hu would not have died.

However, he quickly buried that guilt deep in his heart. At present, this kind of negative emotion would not help him in the slightest.

After finishing packing, Li Si looked around and discovered that he was still missing a book chest to hold everything.

Only then did he remember that his book chest had disappeared after he carried Cao Qing’s corpse back. It had probably been burned by Luo Ye. After all, it was something that had carried corpse bones, so it would not be strange if it had been burned.

With a slight sigh, Li Si felt somewhat helpless. However, he felt that he had been a little too impatient. There were still many things he had not arranged properly.

Thus, he could not help walking into the study and directly lay down on the chair.

Li Si had no desire to read right now. He was staring blankly at the ink bamboo painting drawn by the original owner in front of him.

Just like that, the study fell into an eerie silence.

Before long, Li Si fell asleep on the chair. Not long after Li Si fell asleep, a boy in plain clothes flew out from Li Si’s chest and stood quietly to the side. The temperature in the room immediately dropped somewhat, and Li Si slept even more soundly.

When Li Si woke, it was roughly two to four hours later. He had been startled awake by a knock on the door.

Stretching slightly, he stood up from the chair, then walked to the main hall and opened the door.

As expected, the person outside the door was Luo Ye.

“Scholar Li, we have already reported this matter to the yamen. I will handle the follow-up matters properly for you.” When Luo Ye saw Li Si open the door, he spoke with a solemn expression.

“However, recently, you should stay at home and have less contact with people, so as to avoid unnecessary complications.”

Hearing Luo Ye say this, Li Si nodded slightly, indicating that he understood. He knew that this matter could not be spread around everywhere. In fact, it was just like the Zhang Residence incident. Back then, Liu Qin had also specifically come to him to keep his mouth shut.

This could also be considered the yamen’s way of making people’s lives more stable. After all, if such a matter were widely publicized, it would only make people more frightened and uneasy, with no good effect.

Li Si nodded, but as if thinking of something, he said to Luo Ye, “Right, help me find a carpenter to order a book chest. Recently, I am preparing to go to Zetian Prefecture to sit the examination.”

Hearing Li Si’s words, Luo Ye was slightly stunned, but immediately reacted and nodded. “All right. Later, I will find a craftsman to make one for you.”

After saying this, Luo Ye cupped his hands to Li Si, then walked into the distance.

Only then did Li Si realize that at some unknown point, the sky had already darkened.

Afterward, he closed the door and walked toward the bedroom.

After entering the bedroom, Li Si lay straight down on the bed and directly fell into a heavy sleep.