Chapter 14: Exploring the Eastern Courtyard

 Chapter 14: Exploring the Eastern Courtyard

Candles, sculptures, corpses, and an ancient lattice door exuding an antique aroma – outside the door lay a courtyard covered with overgrown weeds, a toppled bronze incense burner, a path paved with blue stones, and the radiant moonlight.

Amidst the silence, a sense of desolation and eeriness permeated the air.

"It seems like this place is forever shrouded in darkness," Zhang Yuanqing remarked.

He raised his palm to his mouth and spat out a small blue pill he had been holding in his mouth. The plan had succeeded, and he felt quite clever. He joyfully stashed the pill in his pocket, gaining some confidence about his "future."

With these pills, he now had hope of surviving when facing the Red Dancing Shoes.

Next, he strode to the offering table, pondered for a moment, and reached out to grab the candlestick.

Suddenly, a piece of information appeared before his eyes:

Name: Everlasting Candle

Type: Fuel

Function: Warding off evil, purifying

Description: An item left by the Goddess of Three Mountains. It is said to be extracted from the oil of the Eternal Beast and possesses the power to ward off evil and purify.

Note: Sometimes, purification of fear may not be a good thing. Additionally, it cannot be moved.

Indeed, the items revealed their properties only when touched. Zhang Yuanqing had refrained from touching the candle earlier, so he had been unaware of its nature until he checked the information.

"Purifying fear may not necessarily be a good thing. According to Guan Ya's classification, this candle belongs to the 'price' category. The cost of using it is losing one's fear. However, I'm really scared now, and I have no intention of seeking death recklessly. Let's stay safe in the main hall for now," Zhang Yuanqing thought.

He sat cross-legged before the offering table, contemplating his next course of action.

"My next objective is to explore the east courtyard, uncover the hidden dangers and patterns there, and find ways to restrain and overcome them. The exploration time cannot exceed 15 minutes, or the vengeful spirit will descend upon me, sealing my fate."

"The blue pill is my trump card against the Red Dancing Shoes, but it may not work, and once I face her directly, it's either life or death... Let's first explore the east courtyard, gain a preliminary understanding of the environment there, and then consider the strategies to deal with it."

As the critical moment approached, he still felt a tinge of fear and hesitation, not wanting to venture outside. Surviving the last encounter had been a stroke of luck, and whether he could survive this time remained an unknown.

The situation in the east courtyard was unclear, making it difficult to judge the level of danger, and it was easy to lose one's life through a reckless attempt.

However, in this world, things do not work based on one's preferences alone.

Although the task of exploring the ancient temple had no time limit, theoretically allowing him to stay safe in the main hall, the absence of a time constraint also meant that he might never leave if he failed to complete the task.

Procrastinating for too long would lead to physical deterioration due to hunger, fatigue, thirst, and other factors, making him ill-prepared for exploration later, ultimately becoming a dead end.

"Gaining and shrinking are both risks, I can only give it my all!" Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth and strode confidently outside.

Wait, I should reconsider; it's very dangerous out there... As one foot stepped over the threshold, he suddenly hesitated and couldn't help but glance back at the glorious interior of the hall, reluctant to leave this place of radiance.

The candlelight was warm, dispelling the gloom, purifying the impurities, and instilling unparalleled courage and confidence in people.

"No problem..." Zhang Yuanqing brimmed with self-assurance as he ventured outside.

The moonlight was bright as frost as Zhang Yuanqing followed the left side of the main hall, walking on the soft cobblestone path, and returned to the desolate and dilapidated courtyard.

On this night, there were no insect chirps or bird calls, and the silence was eerie and frightening. But the silence also brought a sense of calmness, as Zhang Yuanqing was most afraid of hearing footsteps outside.

"Fifteen minutes, I only have fifteen minutes to explore the east courtyard before the vengeful spirit catches up with me..." he reminded himself.

He entered the easternmost room of the courtyard and found a bronze mirror on a corpse leaning against the window. He carefully pocketed it and proceeded through the arched gate into the east courtyard.

The east courtyard was much larger than the main courtyard, featuring a desolate garden with rockeries, pavilions, a small pond, and a large banyan tree. Its thick trunk and twisted branches reflected the moonlight beautifully.

Under the banyan tree, there was an ancient well.

Looking past the rockeries and pavilions, he could see the roof ridge of a building deep in the garden. However, Zhang Yuanqing didn't head directly to that building; instead, he cautiously circled around the banyan tree. The information mentioned that the tree was dangerous, but nothing untoward happened after he circled it.

"Checking the banyan tree should also advance my exploration progress..." he thought.

Zhang Yuanqing had an intense psychological shadow concerning the eerie wells often found in horror stories. Consequently, despite hesitating several times, he didn't dare approach the dark well and decided to continue exploring further into the garden.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, a crisp sound came from under his foot, startling him to jump in place. When he looked down, he found a buried corpse hidden in the overgrown grass, wrapped in an oxidized protective suit. Upon inspection, the skeleton was well-preserved.

The body was lying face down, but the head was twisted 180 degrees backward, indicating a gruesome death caused by some unknown force.

What could have caused this?

Zhang Yuanqing became even more vigilant, but as he was about to continue his exploration, a gust of wind swept through the garden, causing the grass to rustle, and the banyan tree seemed to come alive, swaying its distorted branches and leaves.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..." A thin and sharp voice came from behind.

The voice floated over with the wind, whispering in his ear, sending shivers down his spine. Acting on instinct, Zhang Yuanqing was about to turn around and be on guard when information from the data suddenly flashed in his mind: "Don't turn around!"

Ignoring the voice, he stood still and quietly unzipped his combat jacket pocket, taking out a brass mirror and slowly raising it to a position higher than his shoulder.

Through the brass mirror, he caught a faint reflection of what was behind him. A disheveled woman in a white dress crawled out of the ancient well, her face devoid of features, with only a pale fleshy face, staring at Zhang Yuanqing.

"Oh, f*ck!" Zhang Yuanqing's face turned pale, and he turned around and ran forward without looking back.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..." The voice kept calling, urgently, but he ran farther and farther away from it.

Soon, Zhang Yuanqing circled around the rockeries and arrived at the heart of the garden, where a large building with a stone-based foundation and yellow clay walls stood. The roof ridge was shaped like a Chinese character.

This building was even more dilapidated than the main courtyard, with many tiles missing from the roof, creating numerous holes.

"The information from that night wandering god mentioned not to look back, but it didn't say anything about not going back. Perhaps the call of the female ghost in the well only targets those who turn back. In that case, I shouldn't encounter danger when I return later..." Zhang Yuanqing thought, trying to calm his fear and horror, and focusing on the present.

"Let's explore this building first." The large building had three doors, representing three rooms. Zhang Yuanqing cautiously approached the leftmost door and pushed the dilapidated wooden door open with force.

"Squeak~" The creaking sound of the door opening made Zhang Yuanqing quickly step back, assuming a defensive posture. After a while, nothing happened.

Gaining some courage, he entered the room. Moonlight filtered through the broken roof, and he tried to widen his eyes, allowing his pupils to absorb as much light as possible. It turned out to be a kitchen and dining area, with two brick-built earthen stoves, utensils like pots, bowls, ladles, and water jars, all decayed and covered in dust.

No danger here. Finally, he found some containers... Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a dusty gourd ladle and his mind wandered: "I've heard that the urine of a virgin boy can dispel evil spirits."

After considering whether to collect some virgin boy's urine, he reluctantly abandoned the idea. Although he had never been in a romantic relationship, Zhang Yuanqing didn't consider himself a virgin.

"I've been too lenient with you, giving you opportunities to show off again and again." He lowered his head, looking at his hands with some regret and self-reproach.

After some exploration, Zhang Yuanqing confirmed that the large building was a combination of a kitchen and a dining area, and it didn't hold any special items or dangers. He held tightly to the rusty kitchen knife and a wooden stick, finding comfort in having them with him, even if they might not be very effective.

He carefully inspected the first two rooms, which turned out to be storage rooms filled with ancient agricultural tools, furniture, and donation boxes—nothing of significant value. Zhang Yuanqing then moved on to the third room.

It was an armory, with weapons hanging on the walls—swords, bows, daggers, and other various weapons. Many of them had fallen to the ground due to decayed ropes. Alongside the overturned weapon racks lay two bodies.

Seeing the weapons and the bodies, Zhang Yuanqing wasn't surprised. The disciples in the temple followed the teachings of the Goddess of Three Mountains, and the ability to make corpse-sealing charms was evident in their skills. Dancing with sticks shouldn't be a surprise either.

He began inspecting the bodies to gather information from the seniors who had passed away.

As he approached the bodies, he couldn't help but exclaim, "Huh?" These two bodies lying on the ground were not skeletons but mummies—grayish skin, wrinkled, and tightly adhering to their bones, with sunken bellies.

"How could there be mummies?" Zhang Yuanqing furrowed his brow. Being a student of Songhai University, he had a wealth of knowledge. Mummies were formed by two methods: artificial preservation and natural formation.

Artificial preservation could be ruled out immediately, leaving the possibility of natural formation, which mostly occurred in dry regions like deserts.

The conditions in the temple didn't match the latter.

He carefully examined the two mummies and found no fatal injuries or signs of being crushed by the Red Dancing Shoes. However, there were two distinct puncture wounds in the neck area, like those made by sharp fangs of a wild beast.

"Have they been sucked dry by something? Hiss..." Zhang Yuanqing gasped, feeling a shiver run down his spine. He was on high alert.

At that moment, he heard a "thud" from the next room, like someone knocking on a wooden door. Instantly, his scalp tingled, and Zhang Yuanqing listened intently like an alert deer.