24: Nine Life Spiral Technique

Li Ke, dressed in a black satin robe, walked along the newly paved gravel path in the Manor.

"Master, the main body of the castle has been repaired."

"Several new rows of living quarters have been built for the servants; they are enough for now."

The old butler, Barton, followed closely behind him, respectfully reporting the progress of various affairs in the Manor.

In about a month, Charles Manor gradually recovered its Origin Qi.

"Several abandoned properties in the Manor have also begun to slowly recover."

Barton pointed to a re-organized piece of land not far away.

There, dozens of male and female servants were bending over, carefully sowing something in the furrows.

"Originally, this place was a tulip plantation."

"Although it was destroyed in the previous disaster, the Foundation is still there."

"Now is the planting season, and I have already arranged for people to re-manage it."

"When these beautiful flowers bloom next spring, they will surely fetch a good price."

Barton introduced, chattering.

Li Ke nodded slightly.

From the financial records left by Charles, the tulip planting industry was indeed an important source of income for Charles Manor in the past.

This flower, with its vibrant colors and rich fragrance, was very suitable for making perfume or for banquet decorations.

In this world of aristocratic extravagance, there seemed to be no worries about sales.

He calmly swept his gaze over the servants working in the fields.

Their faces were filled with contented smiles, full of vigor.

Being able to eat their fill and have work was already immense happiness for these commoners who had struggled on the poverty line for generations.

As Li Ke's gaze swept across them, an invisible, ethereal ripple spread silently, Li Ke ripples on water.

The servants who were working paused slightly, involuntarily.

Their eyes, looking at Li Ke, involuntarily showed a hint of fanaticism.

It was an absolute loyalty and worship from the depths of their Soul.

Li Ke withdrew his gaze and continued to walk forward.

Soon, he arrived at a relatively open training ground.

A dozen young people in leather armor were shouting and training on the ground.

Their movements looked somewhat strange; their bodies spun Li Ke tops, constantly striking each other with their limbs.

Amidst the strangeness, there was a faint hint of ferocity and brutality.

This was a quick-success Demonic Technique called Nine Lives Spiral Skill, which Li Ke had selected from the ""demon-referencing tablet"" and taught to this newly formed guard team.

This Cultivation Technique was simple and crude; by squeezing the vitality within the body, it could greatly enhance all aspects of the body's abilities in a short period.

Although its potential in the Late Stage was limited, for Li Ke, who urgently needed manpower at the moment, it was undoubtedly the best choice.

At the very front of the team, a young man whose physique no longer appeared so thin was meticulously practicing his Move, his expression focused and diligent.

It was Hatties, the young man who was the first to step forward and pledge allegiance to Li Ke in Graystone Village.

He was actually sixteen years old, but he had appeared exceptionally thin due to long-term malnutrition.

During this period, he had eaten his fill at the Manor and diligently Cultivated the Nine Lives Spiral Skill, his body quickly growing strong as if inflated, and he had grown considerably taller.

Li Ke saw that he Cultivated the most diligently and his Comprehension Ability was also quite good, so he made him the temporary captain of this guard team.

Hatties seemed to sense Li Ke's gaze, his movements paused slightly, and he turned his head, his eyes also filled with fanatical worship.

Li Ke nodded slightly, as if affirming him.

The young man instantly flushed with excitement and trained even harder.

After an inspection, Li Ke was quite satisfied with the current state of the Manor.

However, there were still too few available hands.

Many things still required him to do them personally.

To some extent, this affected the speed of his strength recovery, making him very uncomfortable.

"I still need to improve my strength as soon as possible..."

"Once I reach the Foundation Establishment Stage, the second core ability of the Demon Summoning Scripture will be unlocked."

"I wonder what kind of surprise it will bring me."

Li Ke mused inwardly, no longer lingering, and turned to return to the castle.

Back in the study, Li Ke closed the door and sat down cross-legged again.

His mind sank in, and the Demon Summoning Scripture quietly operated.

Not long after he closed his eyes, wisps of faint black Qi once again rose from his body, swirling and circling in the gloomy room.

Gradually, they condensed into vague, distorted, and pained humanoid outlines.

One of the humanoids silently danced, separating from the group.

Li Ke a formless ghost, it passed through the gaps in the thick wooden door, slowly floated out of the room, and merged into the deep shadows of the castle.

...

Night deepened.

All was silent.

On the first floor of the castle, in a secluded servant's room, the old butler, Barton, suddenly awoke from his sleep, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

He had another nightmare.

In his dream, two children dressed in strange clothes, with stiff smiles on their faces, squatted on the rooftop, staring motionlessly at him with their hollow black eyes.

Their gaze was cold, empty, and devoid of any human emotion.

"Hoo... hoo..."

Barton panted, his heart pounding, sleep completely gone.

"Alas, as one gets older, sleep becomes less."

He lay for a while, unable to sleep, so he simply put on his coat and lit the oil lamp, preparing to patrol the castle as usual to see if there were any oversights in the day's work.

The castle had been restored to its former grandeur and solemnity.

The long wooden corridor cast flickering shadows under the dim light of the oil lamp.

Barton held the oil lamp, walking down the empty corridor, his footsteps exceptionally clear in the silent night.

Since following this young new master, life had indeed gotten better day by day.

He ate well, dressed warmly, and even had some savings.

This was unimaginable before.

But for some reason, a faint sense of unease always lingered in his heart.

He always felt... as if he had forgotten something,

But when he tried to think carefully, he couldn't recall anything.

"Perhaps it's just old age, and my memory isn't as good."

Barton shook his head, pushing the unease to the back of his mind.

He reached a corner of a corridor on the second floor.

Under the dim lamplight, a decorative painting hung on the wall.

Barton's footsteps suddenly stopped.

He frowned, staring at the painting, an expression of confusion on his face.

The frame was an ancient dark gold,

But the content of the painting was extremely bizarre.

A distorted humanoid figure was curled up in the center of the canvas, its hands tightly covering its face, its body in a state of extreme pain, as if letting out a heart-wrenching scream.

The entire painting was dark in tone, with twisted lines, emanating a chilling aura.

"When did such a painting get hung here...?"

Barton muttered to himself.

He was certain he had never seen this painting before.

Could it be that a new servant had just hung it?

He held the oil lamp closer, wanting to see more clearly.

Under the dim light, between the fingers of the humanoid figure covering its face in the painting, something seemed... to be squirming?

Barton rubbed his eyes, but when he looked closely again, there was nothing.

Perhaps the light was dazzling, and he had seen wrong.

He decided to ask the maid responsible for cleaning this area when it was daylight.

Barton no longer lingered.

Holding the oil lamp, he continued to walk forward.

The moment he turned to leave, in the painting, the fingers of the distorted humanoid's hands, covering its face, quietly parted slightly.

A pair of eyes filled with venomous resentment, from behind the fingers, silently and fixedly stared at Barton's gradually receding hunched back.