"Hello, Beryl!"
Su Lu was the first to greet the girl who walked in.
He was forced to admit that Beryl was strikingly beautiful, with green eyes, a cascade of soft hair, delicate facial features, skin as white and flawless as milk, and a physique that adhered perfectly to the golden ratio.
Internally, Su Lu scorned his own weakness, but had to yield to the fact that most men were visually driven.
At least, the sight of a pretty woman was always pleasing to the eye.
However, Beryl was currently frowning, her face wearing an unspeakable air of arrogance: "Well... what did you want to discuss, bringing me here?"
"Huh?"
Su Lu knit his brow: "I thought you were the one who wanted to see me?"
He felt a sense of unease creeping in, a vague feeling of something being amiss.
"Su Lu!"
Beryl's pretty nose tipped up slightly: "I have told you, there's no hope for us! Stop playing these clumsy games in front of me."
An arrogant girl, thought Su Lu, who, by now, harbored no romantic inclinations. Instead, his unease only grew deeper.
Whoosh whoosh!
A breeze blew in from the small window and the door to their private room closed soundlessly.
Beryl's icy demeanor thawed slightly as she sat across from Su Lu, a hint of amusement creeping into her smile: "Never mind... tell me, what surprises have you prepared for me tonight?"
'Something is definitely wrong.'
Su Lu muttered to himself, an urge to flee growing within him.
Clearly, both he and Beryl had been tricked into coming here.
And the unseen hand behind this would not simply let go, he was sure there was a chain of conspiracies awaiting him.
Just as Su Lu was about to stand...
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
The wind grew stronger.
A chilling presence spread in from the window.
The playful smile on Beryl's face froze into one of fear. What had she seen?
A shapeless shadow, seeming to have a life of its own, rushed in from the window, connecting to their own shadows, cast under the flickering candlelight, and merged with them.
'I... I can't move.'
Su Lu's body froze instantly, his mind able to form thoughts yet unable to command any movement.
Beryl on the other side was similarly immobilized. Her face was frozen in fear, her eyes pleading, looking like an ironic, silent statue.
But Su Lu was not laughing.
Suddenly, his hand jerked up involuntarily, grabbing the dinner knife from the table, and thrusting it out forcefully.
Squelch!
Under the shadow's control, his arm seemed to be infused with terrifying strength. The knife, with full force, plunged directly into Beryl's chest.
Blood splattered everywhere, Beryl's face drained of color. She stayed motionless, her eyes slowly filled with despair until they went vacant.
She was dead...
Whoosh whoosh!
After doing all of this, the black shadow detached from their combined shadows and slipped out through the window.
Su Lu could move again, but was at a loss for what to do next, staring at the lifeless body of the woman in front of him, his face expressionless: "Miss... would you like some coffee?"
...
After making the sarcastic remark, Su Lu immediately realized the gravity of the situation!
Beryl was dead. A swift death by a single stab wound, with so much blood everywhere, it was too late to even try to save her.
Because there were bars outside the window, no one could possibly come in. This was a classic locked-room murder mystery!
Regrettably, he was the primary suspect.
The numerous waitstaff in the café could all testify that he was with Beryl at the time of her death! He was the prime suspect!
Was he expected to explain to others that a black shadow had controlled him and killed Beryl? But who would even believe him!
Not to mention, his fingerprints were all over the knife lodged in Beryl's heart!
With all the evidence pointing towards him, he was doomed! Was there still time to hire a lawyer now?
'A dark shadow ... a Transcendent power! Should I believe that a Transcendent being harbored a grudge against Beryl or was this directed at me?' Su Lu forced himself to stay calm, thinking it more likely that Beryl had attracted this trouble.
After all, he seemed to have no opportunity to fight back. If the assailant had a grudge against him, one more strike and he would be finished.
However, the murderer had left him alive for a sinister reason, probably to frame him for the crime.
'Becoming a murderer right after graduation? This is a terrible turn of events...' Su Lu, facing the blood basin and the corpse in front of him, was starting to contemplate his next move.
His time was running out.
It must be said, as a transmigrator, he had a strong heart and was able to think clearly despite these circumstances: "Ruling out the option of contacting law enforcement. I can't explain it, and leaving my fate in the hands of others is not a smart move!"
"If I go into hiding, my efforts would be wasted, not to mention I might not be able to get away. After all, I'm just a normal person. Should I ask my family for help? That's one course of action, but I don't think I have the time..."
"Destroying the evidence of the crime? It seems viable. If the body can't be found, a murder case could become a missing person case. It would buy a lot of time, but how would I go about it?"
If it were that easy to hide a crime, those who dumped bodies wouldn't be caught and punished so often.
If he wanted to wipe the slate clean, Su Lu would first need a professional cremation furnace, which was simply impossible.
"So ... is this my last choice? To turn the 'dead' into the 'living'!" Su Lu thought with a blank expression: "As long as there's no death, there's no murder."
He walked over to the window and looked outside. There were no signs of anything unusual. The killer might have already left.
After a moment's thought, Su Lu drew the curtains, locked the room, and fixed his gaze on the skill "Creation of Dead Princess LV1" in his attribute column.
Using this skill, he could transform a woman's corpse into a Corpse Maiden. Although it was somehow self-deceptive, it was definitely better than him becoming a murderer.
He drew a deep breath, and, following the knowledge from Black Magic, started to draw a magic array.
The Creation of Dead Princess required only two materials, one was a freshly deceased woman, the other was the caster's blood.
Honestly speaking, disregarding the low success rate of the basic skill, even if it were to succeed, there would still be considerable trouble afterwards.
According to the ritual, upon completion of the spell, all the blood would be reclaimed. This would at least remove the immediate signs of murder, and as for what lay ahead, Su Lu, at this point, could not care less.
"After all ... it couldn't get worse than this, right?"
He picked up a small knife, cut his own finger, took another look at Beryl's lifeless body, and started drawing a Pentagram on her.
In the realm of Transcendents in this world, the Pentagram held a high status, symbolizing the mysteries of death and the Underworld.
According to the guidelines in the Black Magic book, aligning the points of the Pentagram with the dark constellations in the sky would increase the success rate of the caster.
Su Lu had not studied astrology at all and so he could only take his chances.
However, he had an inspiration and pointed the emblem of the ritual towards the moon in the sky!
The moon, a symbol of Yin in the realm of Transcendents, was also linked to death and darkness. Lots of magical creatures liked to hunt on the night of the full moon. This was part of Demon Hunting Knowledge.