Chapter 14: Exploring the Eastern Courtyard
Candles, sculptures, corpses, and ancient lattice doors. Beyond the doors lay a courtyard overgrown with wild grass that swayed in the wind, dotted with toppled-over bronze incense burners, and lined with stone pathways illuminated by moonlight.
Death and silence permeated the air, lending an eerie sense of desolation.
This place seems locked in eternal night, Zhang Yuanqing thought as he raised his palm to his mouth and spat out the blue pills he'd been holding inside.
The plan had worked perfectly.
I'm such a fucking genius... He joyfully tucked the pills into his pocket and felt his confidence about his future prospects rising just a little more. With these pills, he now had a hope of survival when facing the Red Dancing Shoes.
He walked straight to the altar in front of him. After a moment of consideration, he reached out and grasped the candlestick, and information suddenly appeared before his eyes:
【Name: Eternal Flame Candle】
【Type: Fuel】
【Function: Ward off evil, purify fear】
【Description: An item left behind by the Three Paths Mountain Goddess, said to be refined from the oil of a Beast of Eternal Flame. It possesses the ability to ward off evil and purifying fear.】
【Note: Sometimes, purifying fear isn't necessarily a good thing. Also, it cannot be moved.】
As expected, only by touching items directly could he obtain information about them. He hadn't dared touch the candles before, so he'd never known they were items until he read the documents.
Purifying fear isn't necessarily a good thing, Zhang Yuanqing thought. According to Guan Ya's classification, this candle is a Cost-type item. The price of using it is losing one's fear. But I'm terrified right now, and have no suicidal thoughts whatsoever. I'll stay holed up in the main hall for now.
He sat cross-legged in front of the altar and thought about his following moves.
My next objective is exploring the eastern courtyard, figuring out the hidden dangers and patterns there, then finding ways to counter or overcome them. Exploration time cannot exceed fifteen minutes, or the vengeful spirit will climb on my shoulders and I'll be dead for sure.
The blue pills are my trump card against the Red Dancing Shoes, but they might not work. Once I face the Red Dancing Shoes directly, it will be either life or death. I should explore the eastern courtyard first, get a basic understanding of the environment there, then think of countermeasures.
It was time to head out, but fear and hesitation still filled his heart. He didn't want to venture outside. Previously, his survival had been down to sheer luck. Whether he'd survive this time was completely unknown.
The situation in the eastern courtyard was unclear. He couldn't judge how dangerous it was, and just testing the waters might easily lead to his death. In this world, his desires or expectations had no bearing on how things actually panned out.
Since there was no time limit to the temple exploration quest, he could theoretically stay holed up in the main hall forever. But the absence of a time limit also meant he'd probably never escape this realm unless he completed the quest.
If he dragged it out too long, his body would deteriorate from hunger, thirst, fatigue, and other factors. If he waited until then to finally go out exploring, it would only mean death.
Whether I stick my head out or pull it back, it's still getting chopped off, Zhang Yuanqing reasoned. I can only go for it!
With that, he gritted his teeth and strode toward the exit.
Wait, I should think this through more. It's very dangerous outside...
He'd only taken one step past the threshold when he suddenly got cold feet and couldn't help looking back at the interior of the main hall. He felt a strong reluctance to leave that radiant place.
The candlelight was warm, dispelling gloom, purifying filth, bringing incomparable courage and confidence to his heart.
It's no big deal, Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself as he walked outside, brimming with confidence.
***
Moonlight gleamed like frost. Zhang Yuanqing walked along the cobblestone path that followed the left side of the main hall and returned to the desolate, dilapidated main courtyard.
The night was frighteningly quiet, devoid of the chirping of birds and insects, but the silence also brought with it a certain peace of mind. What he feared most was going outside and hearing the "tap tap tap" of footsteps.
Fifteen minutes, he reminded himself. I only have fifteen minutes to explore the eastern courtyard before the vengeful spirit latches onto me.
He entered the easternmost room in the main courtyard, retrieved the bronze mirror from the corpse by the window, and slid it into his pocket.
Then, he carefully passed through the arched doorway and entered the eastern courtyard.
The eastern courtyard was much larger than the main courtyard. He was greeted by an abandoned but well-landscaped garden with artificial hills, pavilions, a small pond, and a large banyan tree. Its trunk was thick and sturdy, its branches gnarled and twisted, and its tender green leaves shone in the brilliant moonlight.
Beneath the banyan tree sat an ancient well.
Beyond the artificial hills and pavilions, he could see the ridge of a rectangular building emerging from the garden's depths.
Zhang Yuanqing did not rush directly toward the building. Instead, he cautiously circled the large banyan tree once. The documents had mentioned this tree was dangerous, but after walking a complete circle around it, nothing happened.
Checking out the banyan tree should also count toward exploration, he thought to himself as he glanced over at the ancient well with its pitch-black opening. After much hesitation, he still couldn't muster the courage to go look.
He had a strong psychological aversion to ancient wells from all the horror stories he'd heard before.
Zhang Yuanqing bypassed the well, the wild grass rustling as he pushed his way through and headed toward the building in the deeper part of the garden.
Crack!
Suddenly, something snapped under his foot, and he jumped in fright.
He looked down to examine what he'd stepped on. It was a corpse buried in wild grass, wrapped in work clothes that had been damaged by the elements. Zhang Yuanqing bent down to examine it.
The skeleton was perfectly preserved. The dead man's body had fallen forward onto the ground, but the skull was facing upward. This meant that something had forcibly twisted his head a full one hundred and eighty degrees around before he'd died.
What could have done this?
Zhang Yuanqing grew quietly alert. He stood up, about to continue exploring further ahead.
Just then, a gust of wind blew over him. The wild grass in the garden swayed restlessly, rustling in the breeze. The large banyan tree behind him seemed to come alive, its branches and leaves swaying in a rather twisted manner.
A high-pitched voice called out from behind him, "Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."
The voice drifted over with the wind, as if whispering in his ear, sending waves of bone- chilling fear through him.
Zhang Yuanqing instinctively started to turn around in alarm, but the information from the documents suddenly flashed through his mind—"Don't look back!"
The voice seemed to notice his lack of reaction and began to call more urgently, as if demanding that he hurry up and turn around.
"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."
Of course he wasn't going to turn around. He stood perfectly still, quietly unzipped his windbreaker pocket and pulled out the bronze mirror. He slowly raised it in front of him until it was just above shoulder height.
The bronze mirror reflected the scene behind him, though it was still rather fuzzy.
A disheveled woman in white clothing had emerged from the ancient well. Her face was a featureless expanse of pale flesh, and she was staring directly at Zhang Yuanqing.
Fucking hell! he swore inwardly. His face went white as he buried his head and bolted forward.
"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."
That voice called out again and again, each call more urgent than the one before, but the female entity could only helplessly watch as Zhang Yuanqing ran farther and farther away.
Quickly, Zhang Yuanqing rounded the artificial hill and reached the depths of the garden. In front of him stood a large building with a rectangular ridge, a foundation built from stone blocks, and walls made of yellow earth.
The building was even more dilapidated than the main courtyard. There were massive holes in the roof, with only a few remaining roof tiles still scattered about, barely hanging on.
The Nocturnal Specter from the documents also came to this place, recalled Zhang Yuanqing. He only said not to look back, but didn't say anything about not being able to walk back. That ghost from the well might only target people who turn around in response to her call. If that's the case, I shouldn't encounter danger when I return later.
He stood still and tried to focus his attention on the present, taking deep breaths to calm himself and push away the fear and terror surging within him.
Let me explore this building first, he decided.
The large building had three doors in total, which meant there were three rooms.
He carefully approached the leftmost room and applied some force to push open the broken wooden door.
The door creaked open and Zhang Yuanqing quickly stepped back, assuming a defensive posture.
He waited for a long moment, but nothing happened.
He boldly entered the room, which was bathed in the faint moonlight that streamed in through the broken roof. He opened his eyes as wide as they would go, letting his pupils absorb as much light as possible.
The room was a kitchen and dining hall combined. He saw two earthen stoves built from blue bricks and several cupboards, along with pots, bowls, ladles, basins, water urns, and other items, all long since rotted and covered in dust.
There seemed to be no danger.
His mind wandered, and a stray thought popped in. I finally found some containers. They say a virgin boy's urine can ward off evil.
He grabbed a dusty gourd ladle, and considered whether to collect a ladle of his own urine. After some careful thought, he reluctantly abandoned the idea.
Although he'd never dated any girls before, Zhang Yuanqing felt he probably couldn't be considered a virgin boy anymore.
He looked down at his hands. I've been too indulgent with you guys, giving you chance after chance to show off, he mused with deep regret.
After thoroughly exploring and confirming that the room held nothing special or dangerous, Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a rusty cleaver and a wooden stick before exiting and turning his gaze toward the other rectangular building.
Unlike the kitchen that doubled as a large dining hall, that building had four doors, and was divided into four rooms.
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but tighten his grip on the wooden stick and cleaver. They might not be useful, but they provided psychological comfort.
He carefully examined the first and second rooms. They were storage rooms piled with antique farm tools, furniture, donation boxes, and other knick-knacks, but did not seem to have anything of value.
Zhang Yuanqing moved on to the third room. It was a weapons storage room. There were swords, bows, daggers, short blades, and other weapons. It seemed they had all been hung along the walls, but many of them had fallen to the ground because their hanging cords had rotted away.
There were two weapon racks by the window. One had toppled over, scattering clubs and spears all across the floor.
Beside the fallen weapon rack lay two corpses.
Zhang Yuanqing wasn't surprised by the weapons. The disciples in the temple followed the Three Paths Mountain Goddess and could create Corpse Suppression Talismans, so they obviously had real skills. It wasn't strange for them to know martial arts.
As usual, he went to examine the corpses, seeking information from those who had been to this realm before him.
As soon as he approached the bodies, he couldn't help but let out an exclamation of surprise. The two dead bodies had not been reduced to skeletons. They instead seemed to be mummified and turned into desiccated corpses.
The skin on the bodies was gray and wrinkled, clinging tight to bone, and the bellies of the two corpses were sunken in.
Zhang Yuanqing frowned.
How could there be desiccated corpses here? he wondered.
As a Songhai University student, he had more than enough general knowledge.
Desiccation of a dead body could happen in two ways: either through artificial preservation, or naturally.
The first explanation could be directly ruled out. As for the second, it mostly occurred in deserts and other dry regions.
The environment of the temple did not match the necessary conditions for it at all.
He carefully examined the two desiccated corpses. They had no fatal wounds, nor had their bones been crushed by the Red Dancing Shoes. However, there were two distinct puncture marks in the neck of both bodies.
They looked like bite marks from a beast's sharp fangs.
Were they drained dry by something? Zhang Yuanqing wondered.
He sucked in a sharp breath, and his whole body tensed up.
Just then, he heard a thud from the neighboring room, like the sound of something knocking on a wooden door.
His scalp tingled wildly as he craned his neck like a wild deer suddenly on alert, listening intently.
