Since coming to this world.

Lou Yi has encountered alive corpses, killed monsters, but as for the so-called 'Deceit', he really hasn't seen it, nor heard anyone say they've seen it.

Lou Yi is quite skeptical about whether such more mysterious things exist.

"Once you've decided, quickly put your seal on the booklet." The man with an eagle-hooked nose said coldly, "If you don't want to choose now, come back in a few days, there might be new tasks updated."

"I choose the second one." Lou Yi said.

"Young gentleman, newcomer tasks aren't necessarily free of danger. If you want to pass safely, you can ask big sister for help."

The woman in the red dress suddenly leaned over at that moment, her neckline open, revealing a tempting expanse of white, and she flirtatiously batted her eyelashes at Lou Yi.

"No thanks." Lou Yi wasn't affected by the woman's charms at all.

It's not that he dislikes beauties, he just isn't interested in women with heavy makeup.

After Lou Yi left, a cold laugh suddenly sounded at the scene.

"You're ruthless. Just because someone doesn't want to join your team, you put up the hardest tasks.

Not mentioning the Goat Spirit, even you and I dare not provoke it easily. This Deceitful House, a group went there previously, and they still haven't completed the task, it seems it's not promising…"

"Hmph, if they aren't useful to me, why care about life and death?" The eagle-hooked nose man's eyes flashed with cruelty, "This Liu Shu, I've asked friends and acquaintances around, there's no such person in their family.

Sneaky as he is, he's likely not from the city, just a wanderer."

"You better watch out, it's hard for me to find someone who can play the Beast Card."

"Is it possible?" The eagle-hooked nose man sneered confidently.

...

"Buy me a horse, not a white one."

Back at his rented courtyard, upon seeing Liu Yuan, Lou Yi instructed.

"Okay!" Liu Yuan hurriedly left to carry out Lou Yi's task.

Recently, Lou Yi has been providing funding for public relations.

He's been using silver to mingle with the Hall Master of the River Gang, Qingfeng Temple Daoist, the Red House Madam, and various other people from different walks of life, living quite lavishly.

Of course, his contributions are also notable.

He's occasionally been able to get news of dead people for Lou Yi, as well as updates on Qingfeng Temple's rituals.

Lou Yi doesn't mind, it's just spending silver after all.

If he runs out of silver, he simply goes to Qingfeng Temple to take some.

After previous experience, Lou Yi has already quietly taken silver twice.

The money from this dubious temple is ill-gotten and perfect for generating energy for him.

Apart from the horse, maps are also extremely important.

The main district has been thoroughly cleaned, nearly untouched by Fierce Beasts.

Yet, from the main city to the outer city, there may still be some remnants.

Lou Yi went to the largest bookstore in the city and spent ten taels of silver to buy the latest map.

The next day, just as dawn broke, he donned the Human Skin Mask, mounted a black horse, and rode out of the city.

Leaving the official road, the vegetation gradually increased, the sounds of insects and birds became denser, and occasionally the roar of beasts could be heard.

Lou Yi rode boldly, unafraid, his martial prowess formidable, ordinary monsters were nothing but fodder for him.

He even dressed rather lightly, unlike before when he went out tightly wrapped.

The poisonous insects and snakes that he used to be cautious of now don't worry him at all.

Standing still for them to bite, they likely wouldn't even break through his defenses.

Two hours later.

A vast, orderly stretch of green fields appeared before him, with many farmers working in them.

Further away, he could see a village made of shabby gray-yellow adobe houses, smoke wafting skyward, occasionally hearing the sounds of roosters crowing and dogs barking.

Lou Yi rode around the fields, quickly arriving at the front of the village.

A few young children, seven or eight years old, dizzy-headedly playing mud naked at the village entrance.

Seeing a stranger riding a horse over, they all stopped their play and stared dumbly.

"Kids, hello…" Lou Yi dismounted, putting on a smile he thought was kind.

The children remained wooden, showing no reaction.

"Do you know where the Deceitful House is?" Lou Yi asked softly.

"Oh, another outsider is here!"

"The outsider will take you away and sell you for money!"

"Take your mother away!"

The kids, hearing Lou Yi's intention, darted away calling out loudly, leaving Lou Yi bemused.

He led the horse into the village.

The gray-yellow muddy ground was full of potholes, lacking any gravel path, indicating the village was indeed poor, even poorer than Erhe Village where he stayed before.

He hadn't walked far when five village men approached him with unfriendly intent.

"Boy, here to find the Deceitful House?"

"The Deceitful House belongs to our village, outsiders can't just waltz in."

"Three hundred copper coins, oh no, cough up five hundred copper coins!"

Looking at the five people in front of him, each of them was emaciated with sallow complexions, their thighs not even as thick as his arms, eyes flickering, hair as messy as a bird's nest, and their clothes were full of patches.

Lou Yi was speechless. Like this, they still try to imitate others in robbery?

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

'Bang! Bang! Bang!'

"Ah! Spare us, hero!"

"We don't want the money, we don't want it, stop hitting us!"

In the blink of an eye, the five Mang Village ruffians were knocked to the ground by Lou Yi, crying and wailing incessantly.

The other villagers watching the commotion hurried back home, closed their wooden doors with a 'bang,' and bolted them, a skillful move that tugged at one's heartstrings.

"I have a few questions. If you answer them well, you can avoid a beating." Lou Yi squatted down, saying.

"Ask, hero, ask!" The ruffians nodded vigorously like pecking chickens.

"Where is the Deceitful House?"

"On the far west of the village, keep walking west until the end, and you will see it, there's only one house standing there, with no other houses around it."

"Have others come to see it before?"

"Yes, yes, about three days ago at night, I saw a red-clothed heroine going that way," said one ruffian.

"I saw a man, carrying a knife taller than me!" another ruffian retorted.

'So, at least two groups have come, and neither solved it,' Lou Yi thought, becoming somewhat wary of the Deceitful House.

Next, he asked about other details and obtained a lot of useful information.

For instance, entering the Deceitful House during the day, you encounter nothing.

Only at night does the weeping of a female ghost occur, making it very dangerous.

Previously, three or four local people from Mang Village had gone in at night to investigate, but none came out, and it has now become a forbidden area.

No locals dare to enter anymore, only occasionally do outsiders come.

'I must take a look during the day; perhaps I can find some clues,' Lou Yi thought.

Seeing Lou Yi fall into contemplation, the few Mang Village ruffians quietly lay on the ground, not daring to make a sound, hoping this troublemaker would quickly let them go.

Lou Yi stood up, just about to turn and leave.

He saw the ruffians on the ground, looking up at him with imploring eyes, their expressions humble, extremely thin, their faces and necks covered with a blackish layer, obviously not washed for many days.

'Clang!'

He took a string of copper coins from his bosom and threw it on the ground.

"Next time someone comes looking for the Deceitful House, stay far away, or you might lose your lives." Leaving this advice, Lou Yi headed to the west side of the village.

The ruffians looked at each other in dismay, and then pounced on the copper coins like hungry dogs on food.

"It's mine, it's mine!"

"I clearly answered more questions just now!"

...

Walking west along a bumpy dirt road, the further in he went, the fewer houses there were, and the dirt road gradually became covered with weeds.

Lou Yi easily saw a solitary stone-brick house standing there, with weeds along the fence almost knee-high.

The wooden door was only half intact, the red paint peeling off in patches, and when the wind blew, it made an unpleasant 'creak' sound.

Crossing the threshold was a small yard of about fifty or sixty square meters, overgrown with weeds, a small well in the corner covered with a stone slab.

Lou Yi walked over, lightly kicked the stone slab open, and then quickly leaped back, putting distance between himself and the well.

After a moment, finding nothing happened, he went forward to check it out.

'An abandoned well?'

The well was filled with stones and weeds, and after looking for a while, Lou Yi found no sign of a 'corpse' inside.

Of course, he wasn't foolish enough to jump in for a closer look.

Approaching the main house, Lou Yi took a slight glance, seeing all the furnishings at a glance.

A dust-covered Eight Immortals Table, with two rusty pointed red candlesticks placed on it, a few blue and white porcelain bowls, and a black rag cloth.

Beside it, a wooden bed laden with spider webs, the bedding lifted, and a pair of red embroidered shoes placed at the head.

Other items like a rice container, water vat, carrying pole, water bucket, and hemp rope are not worth mentioning.

After circling around several times, except for some fresh footprints, he found nothing.

'I'll come back at night.'

At night, the sky was moonless, and there were very few stars.

Every household in Mang Village had extinguished their oil lamps, plunging the area into a silent darkness.

With a Profound Iron Axe in his bosom, Lou Yi entered the so-called 'Deceitful House' once more.

As soon as he stepped into the yard, a chilling breath came over him, evidently colder than the outside.

However, Lou Yi's physique was strong, like a furnace, and he didn't mind at all.

"Huh..."

Lou Yi noticed that the stone cover over the corner well, which he had clearly restored during the day,

had slightly shifted, revealing a small gap.

...

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