Chapter 94: What lurks in the dark
Midnight creeped in like a secret.
The village, once warm with lantern light and soft chatter, seemed to shrink into itself as darkness deepened. Shadows stretched longer, quieter...like they were listening.
Four figures moved through them in silent precise movements. Qingyue was in front of the group, leading.
Her steps were soundless, her presence almost dissolving into the dark as if she belonged to it. Yexue followed just behind, steady and alert, while Lieyin moved with restrained impatience, her usual boldness forced into silence.
Ru Yi was at the rear end. Careful, watching and learning from the three in front of her.
Every creak of wood, every distant voice made her pulse quicken, but she forced herself to stay focused. If she showed her weakness now, the sisters might lose faith in her.
Qingyue didn’t look back once, but Ru Yi could feel it...she was measured constantly, they were waiting for her to slip up.
They stopped just short of the village head’s residence. It loomed larger than the surrounding homes—grand, untouched, the kind of place that commanded respect without ever needing to ask for it.
Ru Yi’s gaze lingered on it.
Unchecked power lived here.
Corruption too.
Qingyue raised a hand slightly and they all paused mid-movement.
A guard passed by the front gate, a lantern swinging lazily in his grip. His steps were slow, careless. Unaware.
When he disappeared around the corner, Qingyue moved again, this time toward the side wall.
"Over," she whispered.
Yexue didn’t hesitate. She vaulted first, landing without a sound. Lieyin followed just smoothly. Qingyue glanced at Ru Yi.
A brief pause...then she reached out.
Ru Yi blinked, startled—but she took her hand.
In one fluid motion, Qingyue pulled her hand up and over the wall as if she weighed nothing. Ru Yi barely had time to steady herself before her feet touched the ground inside.
Ru Yi could still feel the ghost of Qingyue palm against her lower back. "Thank you," she breathed after Qingyue joined them.
"Stay close," was all Qingyue said.
They moved quickly through the courtyard. Everything was too quiet. No servants. No movement. Just the faint rustle of leaves and the distant creak of wood.
Yexue frowned. "Something feels wrong."
"I agree," Lieyin murmured.
Qingyue’s gaze swept the area once before she spoke. "Let’s split up, and search quickly."
"No," Ru Yi said.
Three heads turned to her, surprise plastered all over her face. Ru Yi fidgeted but took a bold step forward.
"If this is where he keeps something important, it won’t be obvious," she explained. "For a man like Zhou Wen, he wouldn’t want to draw attention to the very thing he’s trying to hide."
Lieyin crossed her arms, unsure whether to be annoyed or amused. "And you know where that would be?"
Ru Yi hesitated, then shook her head, biting her bottom lip in the process. She seemed to be doing that often. "No. But I know where not to look."
Qingyue narrowed her eyes. Was she wrong for letting the maid tag along? "Explain..."
Ru Yi glanced toward the main house. "If I were hiding something, I wouldn’t put it where anyone could stumble upon it. Not even servants."
Her gaze shifted slowly...observing. "Somewhere controlled. Hidden, but accessible."
A beat.
"Where no one could question anything."
Silence, then...
Qingyue turned toward the back of the property. "Storage areas." She nodded. "Let’s move."
They circled the house, keeping low, sticking to the shadows. At the back, the air felt different. Colder and damp.
Ru Yi slowed down. "Do you feel that?" she whispered.
Yexue frowned. "Feel what?"
Ru Yi tilted her head slightly. Listening. "Water...just like in the cave."
There was that consistent dripping sound.
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Faint, but there.
Qingyue heard it next, her gaze sharpened. "Over there."
They moved toward the sound, stopping near what looked like an old storage structure—half forgotten, pushed against the edge of the property.
Nothing about it stood out.
Except...
The ground was slightly uneven, as if something beneath it was constantly shifting.
Ru Yi stepped closer, her heart pounding hard under her chest. "There," she said softly.
Yexue crouched, brushing her hand over the surface. "A door." It was barely visible, slanted and blending into the earth, just like the one at Lin Guowei’s house.
Yexue exhaled slowly. "It’s a hidden well."
Qingyue didn’t hesitate. "Open it."
Yexue grinned slightly, already reaching for the edge. "Gladly."
"Wait!" Ru Yi’s voice stopped her.
All eyes turned to her again.
Ru Yi pointed to the base of the door. "Look." It was a faint marking, carved not decorative. Intentional.
Qingyue crouched beside it, her expression tightening slightly. "A sigil..."
Lieyin’s voice dropped. "For a ritual?"
Yexue’s expression darkened. "So what Madam Lin said is true. This is becoming more sinister."
Ru Yi felt a chill crawl up her spine. This was way worse than she had imagined. It was certain now that Lin Guowei wasn’t the only one who was getting his wealth by sacrificing children.
Qingyue straightened. "We have to go in carefully." She looked at Ru Yi. "Stay behind me at all times."
Yexue bit down on her lip, this was not the time to throw a tantrum. She focused on lifting the door, slowly this time.
It creaked, soft and controlled.
A breath of cold air rushed out from below. Thick...damp...wrong. They exchanged one final glance before starting their descent into the pitch darkness of the well.
One by one they followed, the door lowering quietly behind them. The night above swallowed all traces of their presence, like they’d never been there.
They hadn’t gone far when it hit them. The smell of rot and metal...something human but decaying.
Ru Yi’s stomach churned, but she forced herself to keep going. She’d prepared her mind for what was to come, yet it didn’t keep her from gagging as they went further down.
The space below them opened gradually as they descended, the narrow passage giving way to something wider. Deeper.
Lieyin’s voice dropped to a muffle. "What is this place?"
No one answered, because ahead something shifted. A sound so faint they almost missed it. A voice, soft and weak saying, "...help..."
Everyone froze, head turning towards what seemed like a tunnel in the opposite direction they’d been going.
"That voice..."
Qingyue raised a hand. They all listened, waiting for the next sound that came. It was closer this time. What if it was a trap?
"...please..."
Yexue’s expression hardened. "Looks like someone’s in here. I think they’re trapped just like Madam Lin and her child in that cave."
Qingyue nodded once. "Move."
They advanced slowly, every movement careful, until the passage opened into a larger chamber. That was when they saw it...clothes, small and scattered all over the place.
Shoes...torn fabric. There was what seemed to be a child’s bracelet, snapped into two.
Ru Yi felt dread coursing through her veins. "No..."
Lieyin’s voice was barely audible. "This is where they bring them."
There was a figure at the far end of the corner, curled up and barely moving. A child...alive...but just barely.
Ru Yi rushed forward instinctively, but Qingyue’s arm shot out, stopping her. "Don’t just rush in without a plan."
It was too late. A sound echoed behind them. Footsteps, coming from above them.
Qingyue’s eyes darted around in caution. "We’re not alone."
The voices grew louder, familiar, and one of them was Zhou Wen himself, the village head. And the other was—
Lin Guowei.
Ru Yi’s heart dropped. They were already inside the trap. And this time...there would be no quiet escape.
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