Netherworld Retrograde

Chapter 189: Chapter 89 Floating

The manor was brilliantly lit, but the decor was indeed quite bare, with almost no furniture.

It was said that the Jing Family had planned to furnish the place themselves, which left the cavernous house empty.

This actually provided a great convenience for Li Yelai and his two companions in their search for the missing persons.

”Detective, it’s over to you,” Li Yelai said, carrying the Big Black Umbrella and leading the way. As an Awakened Spirit User with a Third Awakening, Li Yelai’s physique was superior to those on the same level, and he possessed powerful defensive abilities. Naturally, he should take the lead to shield his teammates from potential threats.

Although the Detective’s strength wasn’t great and his Spiritual Ability had no offensive powers, he was second to none when it came to finding clues.

Being a private detective, he was focused on details and quick in his thinking. Coupled with his ability of the Spiritual Eyes Path, his auxiliary methods were very strong, which was one of the reasons Li Yelai had invited him along.

”I know, I’m already on it,” the Detective said with a flicker in his gaze, clearly activating his ability to trace evidence. He looked towards the depths of the manor: ”I don’t see any footprints coming up; they must all still be below.”

”All below?” Li Yelai asked.

”There’s a cellar under this manor, and the place where they supposedly saw the dead souls is there, and it’s not a small space. Everyone, be careful,” Cheese said, looking at the manor’s blueprint for a while before speaking: ”Just in case, the Detective will stay on the first floor to give us backup, while Night General and I will go downstairs to look for people.”

Now, there were three Spiritual Ability Users in the team, two of whom were Awakened Spirit Users with a Third Awakening, who had higher Spiritual Resistance and were less likely to be affected.

The Detective, still at his First Awakening, staying on the first floor to watch and provide backup was the best plan.

This was to ensure that, in the worst-case scenario, if Li Yelai and Cheese were disabled, there would still be someone who could call for support.

Of course, the likelihood of that was very low, but caution was warranted.

”Alright, if there’s an emergency, I will fire a warning shot and call for support from the department,” the Detective agreed, nodding and pulling out a large-caliber revolver: ”You two be very careful, and if there really is some Abnormality, it’s best to retreat first and wait for support.”

The two nodded and walked one after the other into the cellar.

Compared to the bright upper floors, the lighting in the cellar was much dimmer.

The vast cellar was only lit by a few spotlights, but the dusty ground clearly showed footprints.

This allowed Li Yelai and Cheese to clearly see the direction of the people, who had moved towards the rooms deeper into the cellar.

And there, was where the original owner’s grandfather had died.

Li Yelai and Cheese exchanged a silent glance, then followed the footprints, one in front of the other.

Soon, they heard voices not far away.

”I have money now, and my job is stable. Our lives will definitely get better and better. I knew it, you wouldn’t leave me... Wait until I take you out... we’ll buy a big house...” Someone spoke, seemingly a middle-aged man. His voice carried fantasies and cravings for the future, but they eventually turned into mournful murmurs: ”I regret so much... I shouldn’t have left you at home...”

”It’s okay, I’ve always been here,” a crisp voice replied, somewhat ethereal. Yet, it was clearly a woman’s voice.

This made Li Yelai and Cheese’s expressions shift. According to the information they had, among the staff who had fled into the manor and the scavenger guards that came to take them away, there were no women.

Could this be the so-called dead souls?

The two men approached quietly and then saw, around a corner of the cellar, an employee engaged in close conversation with an illusory figure.

He was about forty years old, his face somewhat pale, his voice tinged with sobbing, yet also the excitement of regained hope.

In front of him stood a young woman with a somewhat ghostly figure, gently comforting the man. If one ignored the age difference between them, from the conversation, they seemed like lovers who hadn’t seen each other for a long time.

”Are there really dead souls?” Li Yelai and Cheese were both shocked and cautious.

That ethereal figure of a woman was clearly not human.

”What should we do? Use your ability to take him away by force?” Li Yelai whispered in inquiry.

”That’s not too good; rash intervention might have other consequences. First, try to communicate verbally, see if we can take him away or get some other information out of him,” Cheese replied, taking out a Soft Whip from his arms: ”But first, make sure that woman doesn’t pose a danger.”

”Will that whip do the job?” Li Yelai whispered.

”It’s Spiritual Ability Equipment imbued with Mysterious Material from the Divine Protection Path. Its power might not be great, but it’ll do for tying up people,” Cheese responded.

Following that, the two began to approach slowly, but unexpectedly, before they could say a word,

The middle-aged man suddenly turned back to look at Li Yelai and Cheese, his eyes wide with anger: ”Who are you?”

Meanwhile, the ethereal woman looked at them evenly, seemingly unsurprised.

”Your boss sent me to call you back,” Li Yelai pointed the Big Black Umbrella at the ghostly woman while speaking: ”Come on, the boss is about to hand out salaries.”

The middle-aged man was taken aback, his face full of doubt: ”Salaries, but I... haven’t seen you...”

Li Yelai tried not to agitate the middle-aged man’s nerves and continued: ”Come on, let’s go back, it’s late. You can come see her again next time...”

The middle-aged man burst out angrily: ”Don’t think of separating us!”

”Alright, alright, we won’t separate,” Li Yelai proceeded: ”Then... shall we leave this place together? This isn’t exactly the best spot for a date.”

The middle-aged man frowned, and then hesitantly said: ”But she can’t... can’t leave here...”

”What do we do then? You’ll need to eat, drink, and take care of other needs, right? You don’t plan to do all that here?” Li Yelai pointed at the dirty surrounds, continuing his questioning while moving closer to the man: ”Go back first, come back after you’ve rested well.”