The masked figures were the same kind as the four who had carried the white palanquin during the day—so why were they here now?
Seeing that the others in his room were sleeping as if dead, Shigeo lay back down as well.
At this moment, the entire Yao Hai Inn was silent, the only sound being the drip, drip of some leaking pipe.
The three masked figures had already reached the corridor. Each chose a room and quietly opened the door. One of them stepped into Shigeo's room.
He stopped at the doorway, twisted the handle, and entered.
The room had four beds, one in each corner. His footsteps made no sound as he drifted to the side of one sleeper, bent over to study the man's face, lingered for a while, then floated over to another bed to repeat the same action.
What were they doing? Shigeo held his breath, fingers tightening slightly.
The masked figure came to him next. He leaned over, and his long purple hair brushed Shigeo's face, sending a strange chill down his skin.
Then the masked figure froze—simply staring at Shigeo as if rooted to the spot.
The scene was eerie.
Shigeo considered springing up to snap the creature's neck, but curiosity won out. He stayed still. He wanted to see just what these neither-human-nor-ghost things were after.
Seconds stretched into minutes. The air grew thick with the sound of faint swallowing, and a metallic tang of blood slowly spread.
The masked figure stood there like a beast watching prey, head bowed, gaze fixed on Shigeo.
Suddenly, the door creaked open again. A woman entered—her long hair flowing, her body carrying a strange fragrance. She approached the masked figure and followed his line of sight down to Shigeo on the bed.
The city lord, Wu Youhua? Why was she here? What did she want?
Softly she asked, "A child? You're sure?"
The masked figure did not answer, only retreated a step.
"Isn't the one with the most chakra easy enough to test?"
Her fingers brushed Shigeo's cheek, her lips whispering, "Not bad looking… but a little too young."
Slowly, she bent down, puckering her lips as if to kiss him. Shigeo's mind reeled. Was this some kind of shikigami no kisu (Corpse Demon Kiss)? The thought flashed and vanished.
The woman's lips were about to touch his when a scream pierced the night outside. In an instant, both Wu Youhua and the masked figure leapt out the window and vanished.
Shigeo jumped up to pursue, but the night was thick with mist, his sensing technique couldn't pick up a trace of them. The streets were empty, his back suddenly cold. No, I'd better get back fast.
He hurriedly returned to his room and then stepped out into the hall.
Now, every door on the second floor hung open. Two rooms in particular were crowded with people.
When Shigeo heard someone mutter "a human skin," he strode quickly to the doorway—and froze at the grisly sight.
On the floor beside a bed lay an empty human skin. No flesh, no bones, nothing but the husk of a man. A forehead protector marked him as a shinobi from Kumogakure.
It turned out not all shinobi had gone on patrol tonight. Some stayed behind at the inn. This Kumo ninja had been one of them.
In the other room, it was the same—another flayed husk, only skin left behind.
Of the three masked figures, two had chosen these two rooms. Which meant… the one who stripped them was Wu Youhua herself?
The realization chilled Shigeo to the core. If not for that scream, what would she have done to him? Would he have been the third victim?
More and more questions swirled in his head.
"What now? Tch, another mess again. Enough gawking, everyone! Break it up!" the innkeeper scolded. "This is nothing but the sea demon at work. Haven't plenty died to it already this past year in Wu Wang City? Nothing new. Break it up. Xiao Chen, fetch the city lord's guards to collect the body."
Compared to the terrified murmurs of the others, the innkeeper seemed disturbingly calm.
People whispered to one another:
"No wonder the city lord hired so many shinobi. The situation is worse than we thought."
"I'm scared. I'm just a healer, I don't fight. I want to leave. Boss, I want to check out!"
"Check out?" The old innkeeper turned, his presence suddenly cold. His drooping eyelids hid whatever lurked in his eyes, but the weight of his stare was chilling.
He chuckled darkly. "There's no leaving. The gates stay shut until morning. The city's under a barrier—you won't get out easily. Tomorrow, get a pass from the city lord if you want to go."
With that, he sneered and walked away down the hall.
The crowd dispersed but didn't dare return to their rooms. Instead, they gathered in the corridor, whispering theories.
Shigeo slipped inside one of the death rooms, crouching to examine the remains.
"Aren't you afraid, little one?" A shinobi from Kirigakure was also inspecting the scene.
Shigeo said nothing, his attention fixed. The victim's back had been slit with a sharp tool, the flesh and bones stripped out cleanly. And not a trace of blood—the pale skin showed he had been drained dry before the skin was taken.
If only the brain remained, Shigeo could have tried a method to pull memories as evidence. As it stood, no one would believe only his word.
Then he noticed something else: a lipstick mark on the victim's neck. Inside the red print—a set of human teeth marks. The flesh around it was purple and bruised.
Someone had bitten him and drained his blood.
Not just flayed alive—eaten.
This was no corpse demon technique he knew.
Wu Youhua was no "No-Fū" of later times, but her methods… were equally twisted. The way she drew power through kissing and stealing chakra remained unchanged.
(End of Chapter)
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