Chapter 40: The Female Corpse

Dou Dou was still too young to express herself clearly.

However, Shen Siyuan could still detect something amiss from her fragmented words.

He turned to Yin Xingyue and said, "Xiao Yue, you and Dou Dou go take a look and see exactly what is going on."

Yin Xingyue nodded obediently, then turned her gaze toward Dou Dou.

"Oh?"

Dou Dou was clueless, still unaware of what had happened.

"Do you remember where you saw the big bad guy?" Shen Siyuan asked.

"Of course I remember."

Upon hearing this, Dou Dou put her hands on her hips and puffed out her belly, looking quite proud of herself.

"If you remember, then take big sister to see it."

"Oh~"

Dou Dou suddenly realized, as if she had only just understood the situation.

She then transformed into a gust of cold, ghostly wind, circled the room, and flew out the window together with Yin Xingyue.

Watching them leave, Shen Siyuan took out the *Embracing the Wind and Sleep* manual to read. He focused primarily on the introductory explanations regarding wind and clouds, and by combining them with the knowledge he had acquired as the Nine Nether Demon Lord, he felt a spark of insight.

During the Great Wilderness era, the Nine Nether Demon Lord possessed a movement technique called *Rolling Clouds and Stretching*.

Despite his title as the Nine Nether Demon Lord, the techniques he practiced had grand and majestic names, devoid of any eerie or ghostly connotations. However, being demonic arts, most of his cultivation methods were unconventional; they progressed rapidly but went against orthodox practices.

For instance, this *Rolling Clouds and Stretching*, despite sounding as carefree and indifferent as watching clouds gather and disperse, was actually a technique for controlling ghostly winds. It was incredibly fast and accompanied by the sound of wailing ghosts that could shake a person’s spirit; hearing it could literally rip a soul out of a body, making it quite terrifying.

However, a ghostly wind is still wind, and this gave Shen Siyuan inspiration for lateral thinking.

Although this world had lost all its spiritual energy, effectively severing the path of traditional cultivation, he could use nether energy as a substitute. Although the Myriad Soul Banner was damaged, it was sufficient for his personal use. Once he repaired the banner, the supply of nether energy would be inexhaustible, which could fully support his cultivation.

Moreover, as the master of the Myriad Soul Banner, he did not fear being eroded by the nether energy and losing his sanity.

Of course, there would certainly be some physical side effects, but compared to the benefits, these could be completely ignored.

However, Shen Siyuan did not intend to try it just yet.

Instead, with a thought, he summoned the Myriad Soul Banner. He then formed a hand seal, and in an instant, his vision shifted away from his own body to Yin Xingyue, allowing him to see what she saw and hear what she heard.

This was a basic ability of the Myriad Soul Banner's master: to share the vision of the spirits he commanded.

Not only did Dou Dou, who was right beside her, fail to notice Shen Siyuan’s presence, but even Yin Xingyue herself was unaware that he was observing through her.

The two of them rode the ghostly wind, spiraling through the air at high speed. Given the size of Binhai City, they should have arrived long ago.

Shen Siyuan felt confused, but he quickly understood why.

He could hear Dou Dou circling in the air, muttering to herself, "It was right here, wasn't it? Or was it here? How could I possibly not remember..."

Good grief, this little thing had been so confident just a moment ago about knowing the way. She was completely unreliable; she was only good for being a mascot.

However, Shen Siyuan did not speak, opting to see how the two of them would handle it. After all, if he were to keep them around, they would eventually need to be useful for something.

Just then, Yin Xingyue took the initiative to ask, "Dou Dou, where is your home?"

She knew the answer to this one. Dou Dou immediately changed direction.

"Over there." She pointed ahead.

"Then let’s go check over there first." Yin Xingyue steered the ghostly wind forward.

"Big sister, wait for me!" Dou Dou hurried to catch up.

The sight of the two of them riding the ghostly wind across the sky was naturally seen by countless ghosts on the ground, leaving them stunned.

Some ghosts even tried to jump from the buildings, attempting to ride the wind, but it was just wishful thinking on their part; they simply drifted down to the ground, unable to fly at all, let alone ride the wind.

"I remember! I remember now..."

The buildings on the ground finally began to look familiar to Dou Dou.

Soon, the two landed at an unfinished construction site.

Through Yin Xingyue’s eyes, Shen Siyuan finally realized it was Peninsula Sunshine, the largest cluster of unfinished buildings in Binhai.

Construction had stopped just three years after it began due to a broken capital chain. That halt had lasted for over a decade with no one taking over, eventually turning it into the biggest eyesore in Binhai.

The two little ones landed on the roof of an arched unfinished building. This part had been intended as a shopping mall, and the structure was exceptionally large. It was unclear why Dou Dou had wandered here and seen the big bad guy in the first place.

Yin Xingyue had the same question.

"Because of Chiu-Chiu," Dou Dou said.

"Who is Chiu-Chiu?" Yin Xingyue asked in confusion.

"Chiu-Chiu is a little bird I found in the sky."

Yin Xingyue: ...

It turned out that she had been afraid that Shen Siyuan would be lonely at home, so she left the house intending to find her "Yam Brother."

But while she was in the air, she encountered a bird. Finding it cute, she had unconsciously followed it, and the bird had led her here.

Although the process was a bit convoluted, the little one was truly kind-hearted. Such a small person, with her parents by her side, had still thought of Shen Siyuan.

"Where is the big bad guy you saw?" Yin Xingyue asked.

"Follow me."

The little one beckoned and walked forward with the air of a boss.

The two made their way down from the roof, finally reaching the fifth floor.

"Why didn't we just fly down?" Yin Xingyue asked.

Dou Dou paused for a moment and then gave a silly smile. "Hehe, I forgot."

Yin Xingyue could do nothing about this little sister. She looked around; it was deathly quiet, which was quite frightening.

Yin Xingyue was, after all, still a child, and her body instinctively shrank back.

Dou Dou, on the other hand, did not know what fear was; she simply swung her arms and marched forward, and Yin Xingyue hurriedly followed.

Then, in a corner, they discovered a woman, bare-chested and tied to a chair.

The woman’s head was hanging low, her body covered in blood and gore, and it appeared she was no longer breathing.

Dou Dou, who hadn't been afraid at all a moment ago, immediately hid behind Yin Xingyue.

Yin Xingyue was also terrified and stepped back repeatedly, but she still managed to shield Dou Dou behind her.

"I am here, don't be afraid."

Just then, Shen Siyuan’s voice suddenly echoed in Yin Xingyue’s mind.

Yin Xingyue was startled, and then, in an instant, she was no longer afraid.

"Keep Dou Dou to the side, and you go up to take a look," Shen Siyuan instructed.

Yin Xingyue turned and gave a small instruction to Dou Dou.

Upon hearing this, Dou Dou immediately started her short legs and ran off, hiding in a corner and peeking out stealthily.

"Banner Master."

"Call me 'brother'."

"Brother."

"I am here."

Yin Xingyue wore a calm and composed smile as she walked toward the woman in the corner.

Shen Siyuan observed through Yin Xingyue’s eyes that the woman was already dead. Her body was covered in whip marks and lacerations, and there was a Y-shaped burn on her chest.

This woman must have been tortured to death; the perpetrator was extremely cruel.

Yin Xingyue, who had gathered her courage with Shen Siyuan’s support, could not help but feel a wave of fear, a sentiment that was even transmitted to Shen Siyuan.

"It’s alright, don't be afraid. Look around the area."

Shen Siyuan comforted her in her mind.

Yin Xingyue regained her courage and looked around.

Shen Siyuan then noticed a fuel drum nearby containing burnt ashes, and within the ashes was a fire poker. The burn on the dead woman’s chest must have come from that.

Seeing that there was no one else around and that even the victim's ghost was not present, Shen Siyuan told them to return.