Public Execution

She gracefully turned, holding her chest, and once more ventured into the engulfing darkness from whence she came. The sound of her footsteps gradually faded. It was only then that Lynne exhaled, his body relaxing.

"Young man," the scavenger beside him said with a smile, "Head home. But be cautious, and avoid provoking resentful spirits. If you do, they might haunt you forever."

Lynne quickly regained his composure and responded gratefully, "Regardless, I must thank you, dear lady. Without you, I might have faced grave danger."

The scavenger, chuckling, staggered as she pulled her cart, smiling, "Had it not been for you last night, Wandering Soul Lane would no longer exist. But remember, I can only assist you with this once. Whatever comes next, it's no longer my concern."

Creak... Creak...

Lynne watched the old woman, her cart in tow, disappear into the thick mist. His face grew solemn and hurried back to the potion shop. Glancing at the time, he quirked an eyebrow, "I'll see if the master returns tonight. If he doesn't, things might become rather troublesome."

...

Time sped by. The soul lamp outside flickered, its glow gradually dimming. Nightfall was near. And still, there was no sign of his master's return.

Lynne paced restlessly. He knew deep down. The chances of his teacher returning today were slim. He was left with only two choices. Either accept the invitation or hold out until the following day. Yet, given his current capabilities, making it to the next day seemed a formidable task.

Lynne frowned. Without a second thought, he swiftly spent 500 skull coins to log into Vision World, aiming to gather some crucial intel. And as soon as he opened the regional channel, he immediately spotted a familiar nickname.

[Regional Channel]

[Burnt Ghost]: "My Queen, have you taken care of that human boy?"

[Evil Spirit Queen]: "The boy was lucky. An unidentified scavenger happened to be passing by. He seems to have an unusual relationship with that old woman; I didn't act."

[Skeleton Demon]: "You're not talking about that Human-Skin Crone, are you?! You must be cautious around her; she's one of the earliest residents of Wandering Soul Lane. Many residents say she might be a remnant of an Origin-level monster, her powers are terrifying!"

[Evil Spirit Queen]: "Interesting. But, if it really comes to a fight, I'm not afraid of her!"

[Evil Spirit Queen]: "Tonight, I've invited that boy to be my guest. If he comes, there will be a good show waiting for him. If not, hehehe... it's time I find some amusement."

[Burnt Ghost]: "The Queen is invincible!"

All the following comments were filled with adulation. Clearly, having recently moved here, she had already established sufficient authority in Wandering Soul Lane. It's indeed a world where power is revered!

[Skeleton Demon]: "My Queen, could he also be on Vision World, watching our conversation?"

[Evil Spirit Queen]: "Impossible. That fellow is too weak; he hasn't reached the ability to access Vision World. Even if he is, so what? I'm already itching to deal with him! You all just wait for my battle report tomorrow!"

[Evil Spirit Queen]: @HumanDogDoctor, are you there? Are you there?

[Evil Spirit Queen]: @BastardWhoDisciplinedMyDaughter, come out if you dare!

Snap—

Lynne quickly closed the regional channel, and his eyes widened. This was indeed a blatant plan against him! This won't do!

Lynne immediately logged off, his expression grave. Squinting his eyes, he carried the revolver, the heart, and the boning knife; these were the best self-defense items he had. Subsequently, he accessed his panel.

[Skills]

[Infectious Aura: Slightly increases the success rate of persuasion.]

[Curse Diagnosis: Can diagnose whether the subject is cursed during examination.]

Lynne: "..."

A complete weakling with all attributes allocated to the physical and a few life skills...

"I can't confront her head-on; I have to outsmart her."

Lynne's expression was serious. Watching as the soul lamp gradually dimmed, Lynne hesitated no more, swiftly closed the front door, and then, carrying the gradually dimming soul lamp, stepped out of the potion shop for the first time.

The light of the soul lamp dispersed the black fog. The darkness was silent and devoid of people.

Soon, Lynne stood before the door of No. 45 Wandering Soul Lane.

Lifting his head, an old and dilapidated house was immediately in view, a strong smell of blood and mold hit him in the face. This was the shop of that pigfolk from before. It's just that he had been eaten yesterday.

Creak—

Lynne slowly pushed open the old wooden door, holding the lamp.

"Lady! I have come to visit!" Lynne shouted loudly. The house was dark inside, and a strong moldy smell rushed over him.

Lynne walked in carefully. In the darkness, he faintly heard one after another rustling and crawling sound. Around him seemed to be something hanging upside down, making slight noises of chains colliding. And at the next moment, "Whoosh—" one by one, the candlesticks on the surrounding walls lit up with flames, illuminating the entire room in an instant.

And Lynne immediately saw, one after another, hanging down from the chains, turned upside down, were dried, skinned humans! Lynne could even clearly see the twisted and frozen expressions on their faces. Clearly, before the pigfolk died, this place had always been a bloody and brutal slaughterhouse.

Lynne reached out his hand and poked the face of a corpse hanging in front of him.

"Not as handsome as me."

Lynne shook his head, pushed aside the hanging man, and continued to walk forward.

The next moment, Lynne saw a square table in the center of the room, covered with a blood-red tablecloth, and two candlesticks with flickering candles. There was also a pair of high heels on the table. The atmosphere was indescribably eerie and out of place.

"Lady? Are you there?" Lynne shouted.

But no one responded.

Lynne widened his eyes, shrugged his shoulders, looked at the chair in front of the table that seemed to be prepared for him, and sat down.

...

Meanwhile, somewhere on the second floor, countless sticky tentacles were climbing up the walls with rustling sounds. The Blood Clad Evil Spirit squinted her eyes, staring at the glowing mirror in front of her, showing the scene on the first floor, her eyes filled with cold laughter.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the doctor has arrived. Since you all want to witness a public execution so much, today you can have a feast for your eyes."

Vision World.

In the regional channel, the real-time image is currently showing the scene within the mirror. And the number of viewers has reached 541!

[Blood Doll]: "I don't think this is good, after all, he is Bloodsaw's apprentice. If he is killed now, it will be terrifying when Bloodsaw comes back!"

[Burnt Ghost]: "Would the queen be afraid of these?! That Bloodsaw is just a perverted killer, his apprentice is a little perverted killer and a human being so arrogant in our Wandering Soul Lane should pay the price!"

[Skeleton Demon]: "@Evil Spirit Queen, how do you plan to kill him?"

In front of the mirror, the Blood Clad Evil Spirit gave a cold smile, flicked her long hair, and said teasingly, "I won't kill him so easily. If it's a human, isn't the best execution to break his spirit first? Don't you all want to see his terrified face? I think it will be very interesting!"

She turned her head and looked at the adorable child sleeping soundly in the corner, her eyes instantly reddened. If it wasn't for the fact that she already knew it was that human's doing, she might have really been deceived by that guy!

Poor daughter. She could have become a powerful and twisted hunter, but now she could only become a cute and useless moe child. This is all that guy's fault!

She suddenly turned her head, staring intently at the mirror, saying: "Everyone, this is the scene I carefully arranged. You just wait and see how he dies!"

In an instant, she pulled a tentacle hanging down from above.

Creak—

As if something was triggered.

...