Synthesis Wizard
Chapter 36: Haunted

Chapter 36: Haunted

The bright moonlight spilled across the narrow alleys of Stone Bell City, while inside the tavern, melodious music played, like a night symphony. Through the window, one could see the roaring fire in the hearth, casting a warm glow. The wooden sign hanging above the entrance read ‘Golden Barley Tavern’.

Su Nan pushed open the door and walked in, the noise and bustle immediately washing over him. The air was thick with the scent of hormones and strong alcohol. Rough men were drinking and playing finger games, while flamboyantly dressed maids shuttled between tables with trays, their bare legs flashing in the light.

Su Nan, familiar with the place, found a table in a corner and sat down, pulling out a few silver coins and stuffing them into the bosom of a passing maid.

“The usual.”

The maid winked at him and brought him a mug of barley wine and some food.

The barley wine had a low alcohol content and no aroma. It was rough in taste, cloudy, and had a sour aftertaste. Even so, it was a rare luxury for the common people, and most would be content with just a single drink.

Su Nan rarely drank, but the few times he had, he had only tasted top-quality wines. The poor quality barley wine in the tavern was simply undrinkable for him.

The food was equally simple, cooked with the simplest methods. There were no spices like pepper, MSG, soy sauce, honey, or cream, just salt after boiling or roasting. In this world, sugar was a luxury, and spices were even more expensive, only appearing on the tables of nobles.

Su Nan ordered the barley wine and food simply to blend in, avoiding attracting attention in the tavern.

Normally, the tavern was a good place for bragging and showing off. Here, one could hear all sorts of drunkards boasting about their past glories, so since arriving in Stone Bell City, Su Nan would come to the tavern every evening to sit for a while and gather information.

The rest of the time he would secretly investigate the Starfire Sect’s stronghold in Stone Bell City, information he had extracted from the Black Sword Knight.

Unfortunately, he had had no luck for three days running.

“If I don’t replace anything tonight, I’ll grab someone for interrogation.”

Su Nan pondered silently.

At that moment, a conversation from the table next door caught his ear.

“Have you heard? The Count of Kubero’s manor in the north of the city is haunted.”

“Haunted? Don’t be ridiculous, there’s no such thing as ghosts!”

“I’m telling you the truth. My brother-in-law serves under Count Kubero. After the manor became haunted, Count Kubero moved out. He sent in a few knights, but they never came back after a few days. The whole manor is now sealed off!”

“Really? Did the knights die too?”

“If it’s really a ghost, it’s normal for the knights to lose.”

“Speaking of which, is it a male or female ghost?”

“What, Lance, you’re interested in a female ghost?”

“Heh heh, if she’s pretty, it’s not a bad thing.”

A group of people roared with laughter, the topic quickly shifting to women and their lower halves.

Su Nan, sitting nearby, showed a thoughtful expression.

To say that ghosts exist, they indeed do.

The most common type is the illusion.

Generally, those who died prematurely are most likely to turn into illusory figures.

Phantoms have the same appearance as they did in life, and in most cases, they have visible traces of the violence they suffered at the time of death.

However, illusory figures are very low in terms of harmfulness. Even if they possess a human being, they only make the person feel a chill.

Normal humans also have difficulty seeing illusory figures.

In addition, illusory figures cannot be exposed to sunlight, they will become weak and powerless in the sun, and they will dissipate in a short time.

Even without sunlight, illusory figures generally do not survive for long in the material world.

If illusory figures are considered harmless, then vengeful spirits are the truly deadly type of ghost.

Vengeful spirits usually harbor extremely strong hatred in their lives, to the point that they cannot rest even after death, transforming into undead beings who only want revenge. Ɽ

Mature vengeful spirits can absorb the energy of humans through contact, or control humans with weak willpower through mental hypnosis.

This type of intangible creature is immune to physical harm and is extremely deadly to ordinary people. Only knights with martial energy can harm them.

If a vengeful spirit kills enough humans and absorbs enough soul energy, it will advance into a powerful evil spirit.

Evil spirits usually have a binding property to the earth and will occupy an area to transform it into a ghost domain.

Mature evil spirits are not afraid of sunlight or physical harm. Not even a great knight can necessarily deal with them.

Above evil spirits are evil spirit variants, evil spirits, etc.

Among them, evil spirits are a terrifying existence that can bring ruin to a nation.

The appearance of each evil spirit is often accompanied by the demise of a country.

Judging from the words of those drunkards just now, if the Count of Kubero’s manor is truly haunted, it is most likely the work of an evil spirit.

“An evil spirit?”

Su Nan felt a slight flutter in his heart.

Evil spirits are good material for making soul crystals.

If he could get his hands on a soul crystal, he could create a puppet more powerful than the Blackrock Beast.

“Forget it, I should focus on the Starfire Sect for now, and I’ll investigate the evil spirit later.”

After listening for a while longer, Su Nan got up and walked towards the second floor.

The Golden Barley Tavern also provided accommodation services, and he had been staying in the tavern’s rooms these past few days.

Not far away, several female maids were whispering as they watched Su Nan go upstairs.

“I bet he’s a nobleman, he’s got more charisma than the young Master Elwin I met before, and he’s even more handsome.”

“How can young Master Elwin compare? Yesterday, I accidentally bumped into his arm, wow, those muscles were so strong, he doesn’t look like a strong guy, but he’s got such a great physique.”

“Are you getting hot for him?”

“Ugh, I don’t believe you’re not attracted to him!”

“Hee hee, if you really want to, go knock on his door at night, use the excuse of asking for a massage, and maybe something will happen.”

“That’s a good idea, Sandy, if you don’t go, I will!”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t go, wait, I’ll go and try him out tonight!”

A group of maids were laughing and joking, attracting fiery stares from many of the patrons.

Late at night.

Sandy, specially changed into a shorter maidservant’s dress, lowered her neckline, and came to the door of Su Nan’s room, knocking.

Knock knock!

There was no answer.

“Sir, do you require a massage?”

Sandy knocked a few more times, but still no answer.

“Is he asleep?”

Sandy was instantly discouraged.

At that moment, the door next to her creaked open, and a man poked his head out. Seeing Sandy, a lecherous smile spread across his face.

“You guys have massage services at the tavern? Give me one too!”

Sandy looked at the man’s face, full of rough flesh, and said impassively, “Sorry, the tavern doesn’t have that kind of service.”

“But I just heard…”

“You heard wrong!”

Before the man could respond, Sandy turned and left without looking back.

At that moment, Su Nan’s room was already empty.

(End of Chapter)