It was deep into the night, and only a faint glimmer remained.
The Cheng Family Manor gradually grew dim as everyone fell asleep.
"Mister Lin, this is where the servants of the manor live."
Cheng Yishi led the way with graceful poise, introducing the place in a gentle voice. "The twenty-one servants all live in these six courtyards. They have complete furnishings and want for nothing."
"The environment is quite nice."
Lin Tianlu asked casually, "Have any of them behaved strangely in recent days?"
"Everyone in the household has been perfectly normal." Cheng Yishi shook her head.
Hua Shuya, who had followed them all the way, slightly furrowed her brows and leaned close to Lin Tianlu's ear, whispering:
"Senior, should I search the place?"
"Don't do anything reckless."
Lin Tianlu sucked in a breath and hurriedly cautioned her, "If we truly run into a wronged spirit or fierce ghost, the greatest taboo is acting alone... No matter what, venturing alone into a dangerous place is absolutely out of the question."
This thing was practically a guaranteed-death flag.
In horror movies, it was an infallible way to die.
"I will remember Senior's words." Hua Shuya nodded solemnly.
Cheng Yishi clearly had not heard their whispered conversation. As she continued leading the way, she said, "The two of you, once you pass through this corridor, the residences ahead are the main and secondary houses where my father and his wives and concubines live."
Lin Tianlu swept his gaze over the area. A spacious, spotless courtyard entered his view, with its gardens and ponds maintained to an exquisite degree.
The Cheng Family Manor was probably quite sizable. However, the lights in many of the houses had already been extinguished, leaving the place somewhat dim.
Lin Tianlu observed carefully, but he did not sense much of a sinister aura. By comparison, the gloomy aura around Cheng Yishi was even more intense.
"Hmm?"
Hua Shuya's sharp eyes seemed to have noticed something. She asked quietly, "Miss Cheng, who lives in that solitary thatched cottage behind there?"
Cheng Yishi froze at the question.
But soon, the gentle smile on her face faded slightly. She replied indifferently, "That is merely a storeroom for firewood. Normally, only the servants of the household go near it."
Her abnormal reaction surprised Lin Tianlu.
Before he could ask further, Cheng Yishi had already moved away first. "The two of you should go take a look at the rear courtyard. If nothing unusual is found after inspecting the entire manor, then believe me, there are certainly no ghosts haunting the Cheng Family. I hope Mister Lin can tell everyone about this tomorrow and clear the Cheng Family's name."
"Of course."
"—Hee hee hee~"
All of a sudden, faint giggles drifted through the bleak night wind, light and coquettish like a young girl's laughter.
Both of them froze.
Then Hua Shuya abruptly tightened her grip on the sword at her waist. "Senior, has the demon truly shown itself?!"
Lin Tianlu distinguished the direction of the voice. It was clearly coming from the cluster of houses in the rear courtyard not far ahead.
"Wait, have the two of you discovered something?"
Cheng Yishi hurriedly spoke up, her pretty face filled with astonishment.
Lin Tianlu looked puzzled. "Miss Cheng, didn't you hear it?"
"Hear what?"
"That woman's laughter." Lin Tianlu's voice sank. "Just like the laughter from the neighborhood, it came from the darkness of night. It was indeed rather eerie."
The voice had sounded pleasant enough, but it still made his skin crawl.
"C-Could that really be so?" A trace of fear appeared on Cheng Yishi's face.
Hua Shuya deliberately emphasized her tone as she questioned her, "Miss Cheng, are you hiding something from us on purpose?"
"This..." Cheng Yishi's face paled slightly, and she hesitated.
Seeing her wavering expression, Lin Tianlu knew something was wrong. He tried to soften his tone. "Miss Cheng, there's no need to worry. If there truly is a ghost haunting the manor, we can resolve it as soon as possible. But if you continue concealing things, complications may arise. You wouldn't want anything to happen to your family, would you?"
Cheng Yishi clenched both hands tightly, seemingly caught in indecision.
But in the end, she took a deep breath and said quietly, "I've never heard of any ghost haunting our home. However... there is indeed someone strange in the household."
Lin Tianlu asked in surprise, "Miss Cheng, you know something?"
"Mister Lin should know that my father has five daughters and one son. Three of the daughters and one son were born to his three concubines." Cheng Yishi hesitated. "The remaining two daughters were born to my father's first wife... my younger sister and me."
"Do you mean—"
"My younger sister is somewhat strange."
Cheng Yishi's delicate brows drew tightly together. Uneasy, she said, "She has always been taciturn and poor at socializing, spending all day shut in her room. If she were merely shy and timid, it wouldn't matter, but she hasn't stepped outside more than a few times in an entire year... When I occasionally pass through the corridor outside her room, I can sometimes see her standing inside without a trace of expression, not saying a word. It's extremely bizarre!"
Lin Tianlu felt a chill crawl over his scalp.
This really wasn't the scene of a horror movie?
"If that's the case, why didn't you tell Steward Cheng?"
"My father knows."
Lin Tianlu looked surprised. "Steward Cheng knows?"
"My father has long been aware of my younger sister's strangeness." Cheng Yishi lowered her voice. "It's only because my sister looks very much like my mother, and because she is the youngest in the family and dearly doted on, that he never took the matter too seriously... Or perhaps my father simply didn't want it exposed, lest outsiders spread rumors."
"But these past few days, the eerie laughter I've heard at night... has almost always come from my younger sister's room."
Cheng Yishi lightly bit her lower lip and raised a hand toward the room across the covered walkway. "Because my sister's residence directly faces mine, I can hear it very clearly."
Lin Tianlu asked in confusion, "Why didn't you want to tell us earlier?"
A trace of worry showed between Cheng Yishi's brows. "My father instructed me earlier today not to tell outsiders about such a family disgrace. At first, I only intended to send the two of you away casually and muddle through the matter."
Lin Tianlu's brows knitted tightly.
"Please forgive me, Mister Lin. I wasn't deliberately trying to conceal it. It's just that the eerie laughter normally comes from my sister's room, and isn't caused by any ghost. On top of that, my father repeatedly warned me, so I truly—"
"There's no need to say any more."
Lin Tianlu's gaze sharpened as he said solemnly, "Please lead the way at once, Miss Cheng."
"Yes, yes."
Cheng Yishi hurried into a run, bringing the two of them to the front of a room in the rear courtyard.
After pushing open the door and entering, Hua Shuya hurriedly drew her sword and swept her gaze around, her expression wary.
However, after searching the room once, they found no sign of anyone apart from the furnishings and decorations of a young woman's boudoir.
"What happened? Why is there no one inside—"
"Ah?!"
A short cry suddenly rang out.
Lin Tianlu followed the sound and happened to see Cheng Yishi suddenly drop into a hole in the corner of the wall, as if she had stepped on a mechanism and triggered a trap.
The two of them hurried after her and jumped into the hole together. Fortunately, the tunnel was not very deep, and they landed safely and steadily.
"Miss Cheng, are you all right?"
Lin Tianlu quickly bent down to support her.
But Cheng Yishi shook her pale face. "My foot hurts a little. I can't stand."
"You may have twisted your ankle. Please don't move for now."
Lin Tianlu turned his head and was rather surprised to see a tunnel passage. Numerous candle lamps had been lit along the walls, their flames glowing dimly.
There was actually a cellar like this beneath Cheng Manor?
"Miss Cheng, did you know there was a passage like this in your home?"
"N-No, I didn't!"
"All right. Wait here, Miss Cheng. Don't leave on your own."
His expression grew slightly more solemn.
At that moment, he finally felt wisps of chilly air brushing against his face.
Although the other party seemed to be doing its utmost to conceal its aura, the distance was already extremely close. In Lin Tianlu's eyes, it shone as brightly as a lamp in the darkness.
He and Hua Shuya proceeded through the tunnel step by step.
The air around them was cold and damp, but there were no traps along the way. As they continued forward, they soon saw a stone door blocking the passage ahead.
Lin Tianlu narrowed his eyes. He could vaguely see faint gray energy flowing across the stone door.
"Let's see if we can break through the door by force... Huh?"
The moment the thought arose, Lin Tianlu pressed straight through the stone door, leaving him speechless.
Why is this thing as soft as a soap bubble?
He did not bother examining what material the door was made of. Instead, he simply tore away the remaining stone and quickly ran inside with Hua Shuya. The surroundings suddenly opened up, revealing a hidden cellar chamber that had clearly been dug out deliberately.
—Sure enough, two people were standing not far away.
Hearing the disturbance, the two figures inside the stone-door cellar hurriedly turned around.
Their gazes met, and the familiar face of one of them was none other than Cheng Yanghua!
"H-How could this be?!"
Cheng Yanghua was shocked. He clearly had never expected Lin Tianlu and Hua Shuya to arrive here.
Beside him stood a young woman in a ruqun whose face bore some resemblance to Cheng Yishi's. However, her expression was extremely gloomy, and her eyes were as blood-red as fresh blood.
Lin Tianlu's eyes narrowed slightly. "Steward Cheng, why don't you explain what's going on?"
"..."
Cheng Yanghua was speechless for a moment.
But after a brief silence, he shook his head and laughed.
"I didn't expect the rumors to be true. Mister Lin really does have some skill.
"We deliberately restrained our gloomy auras for this very moment and didn't make the slightest sound, yet you still managed to track us here. You even forcibly broke through a stone door imbued with a sinister technique. Your methods are truly extraordinary."
A flash of insight flickered in Lin Tianlu's eyes. Wisps and strands of fleeting light interwove and swirled before him, weaving together a wondrous, profound scene.
A vast amount of gray energy coiled around the woman's entire body, with blood-red light flickering within it and faint wails echoing through the chamber.
Although no gray energy lingered around Cheng Yanghua, as the gloomy aura wafted past his side, a brighter blood-colored radiance suddenly burst from within his body—
It was as if blood were dripping from every one of his ten fingertips.
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