Chapter 1481 - 1443: Breath at One’s Back

’The crying of a baby.’

This seems to be the thing that the person tainted with the "residual taint" was most concerned about and most afraid of when scared into committing suicide.

But this is not right.

Because Lann was the first person to come into contact with him tonight.

He sought help from the Demon Hunter, and the Hunter reached out to rescue him.

Yet during that situation, there was no imagery of a baby appearing.

Although Lann is new here and not too clear on the local mystical practices.

Nonetheless, whether it’s Japanese ghost stories or the Hunter’s work experience, there are some basic common understandings.

Such supernatural matters, no matter how crazy the imagery, should always be related to each other.

Just like when someone is haunted by a ghost who died by decapitation, it’s unlikely to cause the person being haunted to see visions of choking to death from drinking water, right?

And when Lann saved this person’s life, what was the imagery they both witnessed?

— The sound of fabric rubbing on tatami mats, and that strip of exquisite material suddenly retracting into the darkness.

What does that have to do with a baby?

Why did he, at the last moment of his life, cry out, ’Make the baby stop crying,’ and then hang himself?

What tormented him into suicide during that short time after being rescued by Lann?

Is it really... just a residual taint on him?

Lann frowned in thought, while letting out a subtle sigh for the person whose life he had just saved.

"Ah."

But, just as Lann sighed...

"Hoo~"

A waft of warm, moist air lightly brushed past the side of Lann’s neck.

Like someone at his side and back, moving in sync, breathing and sighing at the same time!

This warm breath did not make Lann feel comfortable; instead, the hairs on his neck almost stood up instantly when the air blew past!

’Swoosh!’

Lann’s body spun abruptly, the movement so swift and nimble that the clatter of armor became sharply loud!

Those cat eyes, faintly glowing under the dim torchlight, scanned around in uncertainty.

His hand already resting on the hilt of the sword at his left waist.

In the eyes of the others present, Lann seemed to flicker as if skipping frames, suddenly turning from a stance facing the corpse to one with his back to it.

The wind brought up by his rapid turn even made the torch flames afar flicker momentarily.

Everyone else was startled.

"What’s the matter?" Kikuchi Daisuke was a step slower than Lann, but he too promptly placed his hand on his sword hilt, looking out vigilantly, while cautiously asking.

For a moment, everyone uniformly tensed up.

But Lann frowned and after scanning around, said, "Did you all... see something behind me just now?"

"No." The elderly Warrior asserted, "Did you sense something?"

"Yes." Lann did not conceal, "There was a blast of warm air across the back of my neck. Like there’s something breathing along my back."

"An illusion?" The young Warrior mumbled, his grip on the sword relaxed a little.

"Be on your guard!" Kikuchi Daisuke loudly reprimanded his son out of habit, "Tonight’s events are too strange, can a simple ’illusion’ be enough to deceive you?"

"It doesn’t matter if you trick yourself, but don’t lose your life in the trickery!"

Yet, saying this, Kikuchi Daisuke slowly lowered his stance of readiness with the sword.

For these Warriors, facing Demons and Evil Spirits summoned by the "residual taint," battling with real swords wouldn’t be out of the question.

But when the Evil Spirits haven’t appeared yet, only hallucinating effects and illusions caused by the "residual taint," the Warriors have fewer options.

It requires a Monk or a Yin Yang Master, a Priest to deal with it.

"Perhaps you’ve had a few encounters with him tonight." Kikuchi Daisuke still cautiously spoke to Lann after sheathing his sword, "The ’residual taint’ on him might’ve affected you too. Let’s wait a bit, we’ll have the village chief come over again."

Same protocol as before.

Seeing the sleepy village chief leading two villagers carrying supplies jogging over, just like before.

Makes Lann and the rest of the militia feel a peculiar sense of amusement in this dangerous night.

Just like the previous ritual, once the surrogate figures for the corresponding number of people are burned clean, the ritual to dispel evil and purify filth is also considered complete.

However, after performing two ceremonies back-to-back in one evening, neither the village chief nor Kikuchi Daisuke will be able to sleep.

The two of them, along with Lann, gathered around the body that had been placed down and talked.

"What do you think?"

After Kikuchi Daisuke relayed Lann’s feelings from earlier and the course of events, he asked the village chief.

The old warrior frowned deeply.

"This is definitely not normal, right? He’s just a carriage driver. The caravan has rested in the village for two days? Only two days, and the carried [residual filth] can summon hungry ghosts in the village?"

"Hmm, not normal, indeed not normal." The village chief adjusted the black silk cap on his head and nodded thoughtfully.

Kikuchi Daisuke glanced at him sideways.

"What about the other people in the caravan? Did you check them out earlier?"

"I checked, I checked." The village chief nodded consistently, "They’re all fine, those packhorses are fine too."

"I’m talking about serious matters, you old bastard!" Kikuchi Daisuke shouted angrily, "Can’t you be serious for once?!"

"Oh come on, I didn’t leave, I’m still serious, right?" The village chief waved his hand, dismissively.

Watching the bickering of these two old fellows, Lann silently looked down and sighed, then he shivered all over.

He raised one hand as if asking a teacher a question nearby: "Um... there’s really nothing behind me, right? I just felt something blowing on the back of my neck again."

"Well, there’s nothing I can do about that." The village chief shook his head while fiddling with the wide sleeves of his priestly robe, "Maybe the [residual filth] you caught from him is too strong? Oh, I don’t know any magic to open the yin-yang eyes, it’s possible that my [Void Knowledge] can’t see it either."

"Besides, if the [residual filth] is particularly strong, it’s possible that the ritual can’t clear it."

"Is it really that unreasonable?" Lann lamented, holding his head, "I just ran into his room to help out!"

"[Residual Filth]." The priest village chief consoled perfunctorily, "It’s always troublesome if you get involved."

"But logically," Kikuchi Daisuke analyzed seriously as usual, "How could there be such powerful [residual filth] recently? Did something horrifically tragic happen somewhere?"

"Haven’t heard of anything." The village chief shook his head.

"Don’t look at me, you guys are the locals!" Lann also shook his head.

"Then what do we do?!" Kikuchi Daisuke raged, "As you said, just one person caught [residual filth], and then in our village, with the protection of the sacred tree, it only took two days to summon a hungry ghost!"

"This type of [residual filth], it already needs to be reported to the daimyo, right! Lord Ando Shouji wouldn’t be able to suppress it!"

The ’daimyo’ mentioned by Kikuchi Daisuke slightly caught Lann’s attention.

After all, if the ruler of Iwamura Castle is Ando Shouji, then according to the time, the Lord of Mino Country should be that [Mino Viper] Saito Dosan.

Repeatedly staging coups and succeeding each time, eventually rising from a mere oil peddler to a daimyo.

In turbulent times, such a legendary life inevitably evokes envy, admiration, and simultaneously fear and rejection.

"The urgent matter," Kikuchi Daisuke pinched his brow, "is to inform Lord Ando Shouji of Iwamura Castle and to find out where exactly this [residual filth] originated. Looking at its active behavior, within how long might this event have occurred?"

The old warrior muttered to himself to clear his thoughts with the first half of the sentence, while the second half was turning to ask the priest village chief.

And at this point, the village chief’s expression also turned contemplative: "About... definitely no more than a month. An event within a month."

Although [residual filth] spreads like a plague, such power can’t linger in the living world for long.

After all, calculating from ancient times to the present, on which land hasn’t someone died? Haven’t tragic or painful events occurred?

If [residual filth] could perpetually linger in the living world, there would be no concept of [World of the Living]; it would all turn into [World of the Constant].

So from this perspective, the filth that person caught is indeed ’fresh and intense’, and the event must have happened recently.

"That is to say, to handle this [residual filth], we need to first trace its origin and the event, correct?"

Lann suddenly chimed in while Kikuchi Daisuke was fretting.

"Hmm?" *2

The priest village chief and the old warrior turned to look at Lann as he spoke up.

"I’m somewhat knowledgeable about tracking investigations..." Lann measured a small distance between his thumb and forefinger, "Got a bit of experience? Yeah, this skill is pretty much how I make my living."

While speaking, Lann also rubbed the back of his neck and shivered.

"Besides, thinking about it, I’ve definitely been touched by this [residual filth]. If I don’t track it down and resolve it, I’ll probably end up like someone in a ghost story, not sleeping well, right?"

"That’s right, it’s better not to involve others with [residual filth]."

The old warrior and the priest village chief exchanged glances hesitantly.

Then they nodded.