Chapter 324: The Haunted House

Chapter 324: The Haunted House
Saul didn’t answer the visitor right away, his eyes swept around and realized that there were a lot of people coming in and out of the hall on the first floor, a few of them were guided by people dressed in the same attire, and most of them were acting alone.

During the period of time that Saul was observing, the man suspected to be the inn attendant beside him had been waiting quietly.

The man was a bit taller than Saul, so he kept his neck scrunched and bowed as he spoke to Saul.

Saul didn’t intentionally leave the man hanging, and after a quick sweep around, he followed the squire’s directions into the hall.

“I wish to find a quiet, isolated house, preferably on the outskirts, but no more than half a day’s travel from the outpost town.”

The hall on the first floor was that of a luxurious tavern decorated, but leaving a spacious aisle in the center of the hall for people to walk.

And in the middle of this aisle, there was a black short pile carpet.

When Saul walked in, there was no one else walking on the carpet except him.

Even the man who led the way for him was walking close to the carpet, but didn’t dare to step into the carpet at a distance of half a centimeter.

Fortunately, the hall was still bustling when Saul came in, and didn’t instantly quieten down because of his entry, otherwise Saul would still feel a little awkward.

Although he didn’t care about other people’s gazes, he also didn’t like being looked at as a national treasure all the time.

The attendant who was guiding Saul tilted his upper body to his side and said in a voice that could be heard by him, but in a low tone, “We can offer you a variety of choices, please take a seat in the private room, and we will present you with detailed information.”

The man guided Saul to a private room of sorts, just off the deepest part of the hall.

When Saul went in and sat down, the male attendant was about to call out for water and food.

“No need.” Saul stopped his redundant move, “I came here after hearing from someone that you guys can fulfill my request the fastest here. How much time is left before I see your information?”

The smile on the squire’s face purged and he bowed, “Within three minutes.”

After saying that he bowed to Saul once again, then quickly walked to the door and explained Saul’s request to the people waiting outside.

It was at this time that a distant squabbling sound came in along the half-open doorway.

“…… I told you, I lost my luggage in that haunted house! You must help me get it back!”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Xander, we’ve sent someone into the house you surrendered, and there is no luggage inside.”

“Impossible, I was just about to move in and didn’t even unpack when I hit the ghost! You sold me this house, you must be responsible.”

“But Lord Xander, we’ve sent three consecutive groups of people into the house, and you were present at the last one. The situation at that time was clear to you, there were no ghosts inside, nor was there any of your luggage.”

“It must have been hidden by a ghost that time, I don’t care, you guys have to get my luggage back, it contains something very important to me! If you lose my luggage, I will go around and tell people that you rent out houses with ghosts to outsiders!”

“Lord Xander …… sympathizes with you about your encounter at the new house. It cannot be ruled out at this time that your luggage may have been stolen by someone else after you left without closing the door.”

“Other people, ha, the house you guys introduced me to is inside a deep forest with a lake next to it, surrounded by neighbors who can’t even see their rooftops, so you’re telling me there could be other people?”

By this time, the other voice had gotten a little impatient.

“Mr. Xander, you’re the one who asked for a secluded environment, not more than half a day’s drive from town, and preferably with a lake next to it for your moonlit strolls! We offer a house that definitely meets your requirements!”

“But I didn’t ask for a haunted house!”

The voices of the two people were not loud at first, but wizards have strong spiritual power and their five senses exceed ordinary people by a lot, so Saul could hear them very clearly.

But soon, these two people’s voices became uncontrollably higher and higher, and it was estimated that the entire hall could hear them.

At this time, the original male attendant turned back with several iterated papers and was just about to offer them to Saul when he was interrupted.

Saul raised his right hand and pointed outside. “My lord, I’ll have them quieted in a moment, if you need them to come over and apologize to you ……”

“I’ll take the house that Mr. Xander retired. If your formalities have not been completed, please invite him over as well.”

The squire froze for a moment, but he immediately recomposed his expression and bowed his head respectfully, “No problem, my lord.”

And so, a mere two minutes later, a rattled Xander was sitting across from Saul.

Along with him came the rental agreement that hadn’t yet been signed for the return of the lease.

“My Lord.” Xander cautiously raised his head and immediately lowered it again when he met Saul’s gaze.

Saul, in turn, unapologetically swept over Xander’s entire body. This Xander who seemed to be making no sense was surprisingly still a little white boy.

The word ‘pretty boy’ was a very accurate description.

Because the Xander in front of him had put something on his face, and the effect was just a little bit more natural than using flour as a foundation.

Luckily he knew how to use a little flesh pink on his cheeks to make him look normal, otherwise he wouldn’t know who to fear when he saw a ghost.

He also had long, slightly curly hair that fell to his shoulders.

But looking at the way a few of the attendants saw it, Saul knew it was probably a dress-up custom somewhere.

“Are you telling me there’s a ghost in the house you just rented?” Saul asked.

“Yes, Lord Wizard.” Xander didn’t dare meet Saul’s eyes again and could only look down at the ground in front of Saul’s toes.

“What kind of ghost?”

Xander unconsciously rubbed between his fingers, “I-I didn’t see a ghost head on.”

After saying that, he seemed to be afraid that Saul would misunderstand that he was lying, and hurriedly sped up his speech to continue, “Although I didn’t see it head on, there really was a ghost in that house. As soon as I walked in, the door immediately closed, and I swear that my clothes didn’t hook the door handle, and there wasn’t a single wind noise at that time!”

Probably having been suspected by countless people already, Xander was still explaining while narrating, afraid that Saul would misunderstand him as a liar as well.

“And someone tugged on my pant leg as I was going up the stairs. I swear I didn’t slip my foot! I really saw a grayish-white hand! His nails were pitch black too, and he scratched a hole in my pants then.”

Xander next told of his encounter in a guest room on the first floor.

The “prying eyes”, the “creepy laugh”, the “window that wouldn’t close”.

Saul noticed that the squire standing in the doorway, listening, had rolled his eyes in impatience.

But Saul knew the man named Xander wasn’t lying.

As he narrowed his eyes at Xander, he saw a rotting, maggot-ridden gray arm hooked around Xander’s neck.

Looking at the state of the arm’s bones and skin, it would have belonged to a young girl or slender teenager.

Only the elbow and wrist of the rotting arm were hidden in Xander’s curly hair, so it was impossible to tell if there was someone else hanging from his back.

A maggot fell into Xander’s collar from his agitated movements, and the latter happened to raise his hand a few seconds later, scratching casually at his chest.

“My lord, I’m telling the truth, please believe me!”

Xander, who had finished telling everything, finally raised his head and stared hard into his big, sincere eyes, trying to impress the powerful sorcerer lord in front of him.

Fifteen minutes late TAT

(End of chapter)