Eternal Swordmaster
Chapter 53 Tailor Shop - Part 1

Chapter 53: Chapter 53 Tailor Shop - Part 1

"Playing at ghosts and gods!" Shu Luoyi said with disdain.

"This isn’t about playing at ghosts and gods," the old beggar hastily waved his hand, "I’m telling you the truth. For the sake of these Large Copper Coins, I advise you not to go in."

"Is there any other news?" Yu Chang hurriedly asked again.

The old beggar chuckled, lowering his voice even more.

"You must be careful," he pointed overhead, not saying anything more before quickly turning to leave.

The three did not understand what he meant. Pointing overhead could mean something above, perhaps the Government, or some other powerful force?

"Are we going in or not?" Yu Chang looked at Shu Luoyi.

"Let’s go!" the latter affirmed with a nod.

Lin Xin, silent, followed them as they turned and headed toward Huang’s Clothing Shop.

As they stepped through the entrance of Huang’s Clothing Shop, Lin Xin felt a cold, sinister presence hit him head-on.

The shop was densely packed with clothes of all colors on the walls, floor, and ceiling—anywhere there was space, there were clothes as far as the eye could see.

Yellow dresses, white vests, grey-and-white robes, all paired with hats and shawls, were hanging from hooks and threads, and every kind of garment could be found here.

"Let’s start by lifting these clothes," Shu Luoyi drew his sword and slashed at the nearest set of garments.

With a ’puff,’ a thick cloud of white dust billowed up.

The three of them hurried out of the store, watching as large swathes of dust spread everywhere inside.

Cough cough cough...

Shu Luoyi, unable to avoid it, swallowed several mouthfuls of dust, felt nauseous, and coughed loudly.

"Are you okay?" Yu Chang asked, covering his mouth and nose, "Shall we just set fire to this place?!"

"How would we follow any clues if we burn it?" Shu Luoyi gave him a sideways glance.

Lin Xin, however, was not paying attention to their conversation, instead carefully examining the somewhat dark clothing store.

Inside, there was dead silence, no sounds to be heard, and even spider webs were absent from the corners. His nose picked up a faint scent, similar to musk, mixed with the strong odor of dust.

He took out a Resentment Talisman and activated it, but it did not burn, signaling the absence of resentment here.

"Let’s go, let’s be more careful this time," Shu Luoyi said after the dust had settled.

The three entered the store again.

Navigating a narrow path left between the clothes, Yu Chang volunteered to take the lead, with Shu Luoyi in the middle and Lin Xin following behind.

The sky was growing darker, approaching evening, and the inside of the clothing shop became even more shadowy, the visibility not exceeding two meters.

Lin Xin looked left and right; both sides were neatly hung with densely packed clothes that appeared to have been there for a long time, covered in thick dust.

There was hardly any light ahead, only faint rays seeping through the front door behind them.

Crack.

Yu Chang lit a candle, and its dim yellow flame was placed inside a white lantern he was carrying.

"Found a lantern in the corner, it comes in handy," he said, turning to smile.

"Why is this place so dark?" Shu Luoyi complained. He was holding a High Level Resentment Talisman in his hand, ready to activate it at any moment.

"Be careful," Lin Xin said softly. "We shouldn’t separate here; I have a bad feeling about this."

"Of course," Shu Luoyi nodded.

The clothing store was not very large, and soon a faint blue light appeared in front, seeping in through a side door and reflecting brightly off a piece of blue satin on the floor.

The trio exited through the side door, and outside, the sky had darkened, with just a hint of blue light spilling from the horizon, signaling that night was about to fall.

Whoo...

Lin Xin, bringing up the rear, suddenly felt a breeze sweep past him, and he turned to look back.

He saw at the end of the path they’d come through, a white-dressed woman stood vaguely in the darkness, her arms raised to the right as if she were a Peking opera performer, trailing long white sleeves.

"Who’s there!"

Lin Xin called out sharply.

He saw the woman’s figure remained still, yet she smoothly shifted into a pile of clothes on the right side.

Shu Luoyi and Yu Chang quickly turned back, following the direction of Lin Xin’s gaze, but saw nothing.

"It’s appeared indeed!" Shu Luoyi, though he saw nothing, quickly flicked a High Level Resentment Talisman.

The Talisman Paper actually ignited at once.

"Chase! Remember, we must not separate!"

Lin Xin, drawing his sword, nodded and turned to give chase.

Within a few strides, he arrived at the spot where the woman had been, and in the midst of the dense garments on the left side, a dark and dreary passage had mysteriously appeared.

"There wasn’t a passage here before!" Lin Xin distinctly remembered that there had been no path here before, completely blocked by heavy clothes.

"Let’s go in and take a look," Shu Luoyi nodded to him.

Lin Xin took the lantern from Yu Chang and stepped into the passage first, sword in hand.

The passage was lined with predominantly white clothes. Off to the side lay scattered items commonly worn in operas, like shoes and hairpins.

Crack.

Suddenly, a light sound came from behind the trio, as if someone had stepped on something.

"Who?" Shu Luoyi’s expression suddenly changed as she hastily lifted the paper parcel in her hand, where the six-winged honeybees were frantically slamming against the paper, producing crackling sounds.

"We have a lead!" Joy lit up her eyes, and she drew her sword without waiting for the two and immediately gave chase.

"Wait for me." Yu Chang hurriedly followed suit.

Lin Xin, carrying the lantern, found it cumbersome to keep up. Just as he was turning around, he felt as if something had blocked the lantern for a moment.

He looked back, yet there was clearly nothing in front of him. The area around the lantern was empty, with nothing that could have obstructed it.

But the slight delay meant that when he turned back around, he could no longer see the shadows of the two of them.

"What’s going on?"

He became more vigilant, quickly sheathed his longsword, and gently grasped the hilt of the Solar Yang Talisman Sword strapped to his back.

Hss...

The blade was slowly drawn out, and he unwound the black cloth wrapped around it, layer by layer.

There were fine cracks on the surface of the Talisman Sword, but it could still be fully used a few more times.

Lin Xin gripped the Solar Yang Talisman Sword tightly, listening carefully to the sounds around him, but the footsteps of the two individuals, who had only left moments ago, were now nowhere to be heard.

Placing the lantern on the ground, Lin Xin pulled out a small stack of Resentment Talismans from his pouch and flicked them lightly.

The Resentment Talismans began to burn slowly.

There were over ten of those talismans in the stack, each one burning long enough to last quite a while.

Carefully holding the talisman paper between his fingers, Lin Xin picked up the white lantern once again.

He began to slowly retreat, keeping a vigilant eye on his surroundings.

The white clothes hanging on both sides were very close to each other, their flimsy fabric seeming as though someone could burst through them at any moment, offering no resistance whatsoever.

But complications arose.

No matter how much he backed away, the aisle behind him seemed to stretch on endlessly, as if it had no end.

Lin Xin put down the lantern once more and took out another Poison-Avoidance Talisman. As soon as he injected his Inner Qi into it, the talisman burst into flames and turned to black ash.

"Hmph."

Lin Xin grunted, feeling as though his chest had been hammered hard by something.

His vision began to blur rapidly, the field of view filling with dense white dots.

He quickly took out another stack of Poison-Avoidance Talismans; each one burned to white ash almost instantly upon receiving his Inner Qi.

After burning through more than ten talismans, there were only two left in his hand before the white spots in front of Lin Xin gradually began to dissipate.

Only then did he realize, with a start, that at some point he had found himself standing by the side door on the right of the shop.

"The same poison again!?" His heart skipped a beat, but he quickly calmed himself down. With the Solar Yang Talisman Sword in hand, he gently infused it with a trace of Inner Qi.

A warm current surrounded him immediately, the numerous small Solar Yang Formations on the Talisman Sword providing protection against evil, which was different from the simple high-temperature flow of the Flameless Swordsmanship. The abundant evil-repelling energy was exactly what was needed in such a place.

"Junior Sister Shu! Yu Chang!"

Lin Xin shouted out loud.

The voice echoed slowly within the tailor shop, yet there was not the slightest response.

"Junior Sister Shu!" Lin Xin stood at the side door, cautiously observing his surroundings.

All was silent.

His eyes narrowed further, he took a few steps back, exiting the tailor shop. He took out something resembling a whistle from inside his clothes, put it to his lips, and blew.

Soon, more than ten robust guards from the Peacock Sect hurried in from the alley beside Huang’s Tailor Shop.

The leader, Wang Meng, with his muscles glistening and half exposed, wore his clothes askew and had a large golden hoop hanging from his ear, looking extremely fierce.

Lin Xin casually tossed the lantern aside, staring at Huang’s Tailor Shop before him.

"Surround this shop on all sides!" he commanded coldly.

"Be careful not to go in."

"Yes!" Fifteen brawny men roared in unison, skillfully spreading out and swiftly encircling the tailor shop from both sides.

Lin Xin inserted the Solar Yang Talisman Sword back into its sheath with a sweep of his hand and coldly stood in front of the side door, waiting.

The tailor shop was only so big; he didn’t think Shu Luoyi and Yu Chang could possibly be spirited away to some other place.

"Damn this lousy shop! It’s infamous for being cursed. Why would the Young Master think to come here?"

"I haven’t even finished my red oil rice noodles, and you’re yapping away!"

"It’s just you two who talk too much. We do whatever the Young Master orders. What does it matter if we burn this damned shop to the ground?"

"If you piss me off, I’ll call over a hundred and eighty brothers tomorrow. Each of us will come here and douse this shop with a stream of piss! Heh heh heh..."

A group of sturdy men, clearly called over by Lin Xin’s whistle in the midst of eating and drinking, were somewhat irritable. They had complied with the encirclement, but their voices were still grumbling uncleanly.

Lin Xin stood silently in front of the side door with a stern face, motionless.

The lantern was placed on the step beside, its dim yellow light flickering.

Lin Xin’s gaze was fixed on the tailor shop; with people surrounding it, anyone coming out would be reported immediately. He was determined to see just what sort of ghostly trickery was going on inside this shop.

After waiting for about half an hour, the group of strong men grew impatient.

Lin Xin looked toward the interior of the shop; what was a faintly lit store a moment ago was now pitch dark without a single light.