128: Woman in the Well

The waiter's face bore a strange smile, his dead fish eyes staring, his face seemingly devoid of Life Qi.

To Jiang Lan, he felt like a dead man.

However, Jiang Lan was, after all, someone who had experienced major events. Not to mention that this waiter looked like a dead man; even if he truly were a dead man, Jiang Lan wouldn't be afraid.

Jiang Lan's expression remained unchanged as he pointed to the water basin beside him.

"Take it away."

"Alright!"

The waiter seemed to have returned to normal, his tone enthusiastic, though that strange smile still lingered on his face.

Jiang Lan wasn't surprised.

After all, in this world, besides demons, there were also malevolent spirits.

Unlike demons, malevolent spirits were diverse, varied in form, and their methods of harming people were even more bizarre.

For example, the Tiger's Accomplice Jiang Lan had encountered before, strictly speaking, was a type of malevolent spirit.

From the look of this waiter, he should have been affected by a malevolent spirit.

However, Jiang Lan remained calm.

The Blazing Sun Demon Suppression Blade was capable of harming malevolent spirits.

And it seemed that the malevolent spirit possessing the waiter wasn't particularly powerful.

At the very least, it posed no threat to him.

While Jiang Lan didn't understand the waiter, he knew everything about demons and malevolent spirits.

If it had the ability, why would the malevolent spirit pretend to talk to him? It would have rushed forward to kill him long ago.

The waiter walked over to him and looked down into the wooden basin.

Although the water had been brought up some time ago, it was still steaming, seemingly warm.

"Esteemed Guest, why didn't you use this water?"

Jiang Lan glanced at the waiter.

"I did."

The waiter's eyes darkened, and he said nothing.

After a while, he smiled again and said:

"If you say you used it, then you used it."

With that, he no longer paid attention to Jiang Lan, picked up the water basin, and turned to leave.

Watching the waiter close the door, Jiang Lan yawned and returned to bed.

He did not choose to directly kill.

After all, whether or not he was possessed by a malevolent spirit, the waiter himself was innocent.

Although Jiang Lan was not a great benevolent person, he wouldn't casually kill someone.

He decided to see what this malevolent spirit was up to.

Jiang Lan leaned on the bed, his eyes slightly narrowed, and began to feign sleep.

He didn't have to wait too long. Soon after, a series of snores came from next door.

The sound came from the two brothers.

As soon as one stopped, the other began, sounding quite rhythmic.

Not long after the snoring started, a grating creak came from the door of the next room.

Jiang Lan, lying on the bed, opened his eyes.

It's here.

The two brothers were sound asleep, snoring, so it couldn't have been them opening the door.

Since it wasn't them, then it must be someone else.

Jiang Lan got out of bed without making a sound.

Opening his door, he saw that the door to the adjacent room was wide open. Inside, on one bed, the two brothers occupied opposite sides, snoring like thunder.

By the bed, there was also a figure in white.

Even in the pitch-dark environment, Jiang Lan could see things as clearly as in broad daylight.

He could clearly see that the white-clad figure was a woman, but her body was somewhat transparent, clearly not a living person. Her long hair, like seaweed, clung to the back of her white dress.

The woman looked as if she had just been pulled out of the water, constantly dripping water, which fell to the ground with a dripping sound.

A small puddle of water had already formed on the ground beneath her feet, growing larger and larger.

The woman by the bed was staring intently at the two brothers. After a moment, she sat down on the bed.

She took a slight breath, her chest rising and falling.

Between the brothers' snores, wisps of transparent Qi were absorbed into the white-clad woman's body.

After absorbing for a while, the white-clad woman's originally somewhat ethereal and transparent body gradually solidified, her long hair became smooth, no longer clinging tightly to her dress, and she stopped dripping water, becoming no different from an ordinary person.

And the brothers' snoring also gradually stopped.

However, Jiang Lan could tell that the two brothers were not dead; they had merely lost some Qi and blood.

No matter what, they were Bone Refinement Martial Artists; even if this happened ten more times, the two brothers should not die.

Once her form solidified, the woman stood up from the bed.

Then, something somewhat unexpected by Jiang Lan occurred.

The woman actually bowed deeply to the two brothers, and then turned her head.

After turning, she met Jiang Lan's gaze.

The woman was startled.

Jiang Lan's hand, holding the hilt of his blade, also loosened. He said nothing, and gestured to the woman.

The white-clad woman was stunned for a moment, then floated gracefully before Jiang Lan.

Jiang Lan still said nothing, turning and returning to his room.

After returning to the room, Jiang Lan sat on the bed, and the woman stood before him.

He scrutinized the woman for a few moments.

She was not an unparalleled beauty, but she could be described as elegant and graceful, like a lotus emerging from water.

Withdrawing his gaze, Jiang Lan asked:

"Did you come from the well?"

As he spoke, Jiang Lan's Aura spread, instantly filling the entire room.

The woman immediately stretched out her pale hand to cover her eyes.

In her eyes, Jiang Lan seemed to have transformed into the scorching midday sun, making it impossible for her to open her eyes.

Along with the light, there was an overwhelming pressure that caused her figure to dim by several points, becoming somewhat distorted.

She said with difficulty:

"Have mercy, my lord! This humble woman indeed came from the well!"

Jiang Lan accordingly withdrew his Aura.

He hadn't intended to directly kill this malevolent spirit; earlier, it was mainly to serve as a deterrent.

If he was going to question her, he first needed to put pressure on the other party.

If the other party wasn't afraid, the questioning wouldn't proceed smoothly.

After retracting his Aura, Jiang Lan spoke again, asking:

"Tell me, it shouldn't be difficult for you to kill those two brothers, so why didn't you act? Instead, you only absorbed some vital essence?"

Unlike demons, malevolent spirits, except for a very small number that formed naturally for unknown reasons, were mostly formed from human souls.

Generally, they formed when someone died a violent death, or had an unfulfilled wish before death, thus becoming a malevolent spirit and not entering Reincarnation.

Even a Tiger's Accomplice was human in life, only to be refined into a Tiger's Accomplice by evil methods after death.

The white-clad woman was clearly somewhat afraid of Jiang Lan. After a long while, she finally mustered the courage to reply:

"This humble woman needs vital essence to maintain her soul body. Without vital essence... there is a danger of Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering..."

Jiang Lan narrowed his eyes.

"Since you are dead, then enter Reincarnation and Rebirth. You should not linger in the mortal world."

"This humble woman... this humble woman has a reason she must remain in the world."

"Oh?" Jiang Lan became somewhat interested.

Originally, he was too lazy to bother with such messy affairs. If it were a malicious ghost, he would kill it and be done with it.

But this woman was clearly not evil by nature.

It was true that Jiang Lan slaughtered demons, but he always felt that he was a good person.

"Tell me, what reason do you have to remain in the world?"