According to the "common sense" Shade had heard from the coachman, underground crypts were the most expensive, while among the surface graves, those beneath trees were slightly pricier than other locations. To be buried under a tree represented a noble character in literary works.
The sound of cicadas filled his ears. Because the weather was somewhat gloomy, the sunlight hitting the ground was very dim, as if it were about to rain. Yet, even such faint sunlight caused the two souls to grow increasingly translucent.
Just like the rumors in the foreigner's homeland, souls could not be exposed to sunlight for too long. Of course, wraiths generated by relics or other powerful evil forces possessed strong resistance to sunlight.
The entrance to the underground crypt soon appeared before them. The group came to a halt, allowing the gravedigger, who had been following behind the crowd, to open the door with his ring of keys. Since the funerary objects in underground crypts were placed directly around the coffins, one had to be exceptionally careful of ill-intentioned nighttime visitors. In addition to the gravedigger's own vigilance, the three layers of iron gates outside the crypt served as important defenses to protect the site.
Furthermore, besides the main gates here, every single crypt underground had its own individual iron gate. However, the entire funeral procession could not follow them down; only the relatives of the deceased were permitted to enter the crypt, and Shade certainly did not fall into that category.
Therefore, his remaining task was to wait on the surface. Once Mrs. Vincent returned, she could settle the payment with him. It was not yet four o'clock, so Shade would have plenty of time to visit Mr. Spyro before returning to the city for dinner.
By the time he got home, Miss Annat and Miss Beatrice would likely be arriving.
While the gravedigger was opening the door, the two souls began to deliberate again
"Since we cannot let her see us, let's try to control a living person and ask for her opinion face-to-face," Mr. Mason suggested.
"Can you do that?"
"I can only influence living people very slightly."
"Me too."
This indicated that their power was pitifully weak.
"If we control a living person together, it should be fine. Although we might only have a few minutes, it's enough to ask."
"No problem, but who should we choose?"
Mr. Vincent asked, looking around with the other soul. Shade consciously took a step to the side, and thus Mr. Mason pointed at him.
"Him, then."
Mr. Mason spotted Shade, who happened to be moving, and Mr. Vincent looked Shade over and agreed
"I noticed he doesn't talk much. Introverted people like this should be easy to control... Speaking of which, whose child is this coming to see me off? I don't recall seeing him before."
【What are you thinking right now?】
She laughed in Shade's ear and inquired.
Shade raised a hand to scratch the skin behind his ear, his eyes glancing once more at the two souls standing in the shadow of a nearby tree
"Any traces of relics? Or traces of occult arts?"
【None.】
"Then it's not my bad luck; it's theirs."
The gravedigger opened the door to the underground crypt, and a cold, rotting smell immediately wafted out. Mrs. Vincent's sobbing grew louder. Struggling against her grief, she thanked everyone for coming to bid farewell to Mr. Vincent, spoke a few words to Shade to thank him for making the trip, and then entered the underground area along with the coffin.
The people remained in the cemetery waiting. Using the excuse that he needed to return to the church to use the restroom, Shade left the crowd. He had originally thought that once the two souls saw him leave, they would switch targets, but he hadn't expected them to be so stubborn as to chase after him.
"Look, he's away from the crowd. Let's hurry and catch up."
Shade wanted to laugh but couldn't, so after distancing himself from the crowd, he slowed his pace slightly. Once he confirmed that the people in the distance could not see here, he clenched his fists, counted down three, two, one in his heart, and suddenly spun around. Aiming at the ghosts following closely behind, he landed a punch on each of their faces.
"Oh~ how rude."
"Oh~ how can you touch us?"
The ghosts' tones finally showed some emotion as they looked at Shade in astonishment. This was, of course, the effect of [Soul Echo]; any physical attack Shade made could affect souls.
The two ghosts tried to flee, but Shade's right hand had already lit up with a silver glow. He was not a cruel person, but at this moment, he looked terrifying in the eyes of the ghosts
"If you want to dissipate immediately, feel free to run."
He pointed his finger forward. The silver moonlight was very faint, but it made them tremble as if they had encountered a natural predator
"Sir, whatever you say is right. Oh, we really are unlucky to encounter a wizard from the stories after death," Mr. Mason complained softly.
"No, I am not a wizard; I am a Ringmaster. Also, stop backing away, or I'll let you know the consequences. You were the ones who wanted to attack me; I should be the unlucky one here."
Shade said, waving the silver light in his hand.
"Look at you, you unlucky fellow, why did you choose this person?"
Mr. Mason complained dissatisfiedly to Mr. Vincent beside him. The latter wanted to apologize, but then suddenly realized something and pointed at Mr. Mason
"Wait, you were the one who chose him!"
"Both of you shut up. I'll only say this once!"
Shade stopped the two souls from bickering.
Because they had been ordinary people in life and their current state wasn't even that of complete souls, Mr. Vincent and Mr. Mason were completely unable to comprehend what was happening; they simply succumbed to instinctive fear.
"I ask, you answer," Shade said, pretending to be fierce. "First, why are you appearing here?"
"I don't know, we just suddenly appeared," was Mr. Mason's answer.
"I don't know either. After death, I couldn't leave my corpse; something has bound me," was Mr. Vincent's answer.
Shade frowned. "Next, when will you leave?"
"We don't know. When it's time to leave, we'll leave," was their joint answer.
"Finally, please stay away from my employer, Mrs. Vincent. It's better for her too. The living should not have too much contact with the dead."
"But..."
The two ghosts did not agree immediately this time. Even when Shade let a bit of light appear on his finger again, they didn't immediately comply
"As long as you answer our question, we will absolutely not harass anyone again."
"Ask Mrs. Vincent if she truly forgot about the events of that night?"
"Yes."
They nodded. That obedient expression made Shade, who had been innocently targeted by the ghosts, really want to give them another punch.
But there was no need to be angry with these two souls. He thought for a moment, seeing the two souls looking at him expectantly
"Fine. I'll give you the answer, but do not contact any ordinary people."
"Thank you, sir."
Sighing, Shade looked toward the crowd waiting in the distance.
Agreeing so easily wasn't because Shade was being kind and wanted to help, but because he was also very curious about the truth. Moreover, since this matter involved no dangerous factors, he treated it purely as a bit of entertainment for himself. He had been feeling suppressed before the "big battle," and while talking to two ghosts had annoyed him, his mood had inexplicably improved quite a bit.
(End of Chapter)