Dark clouds hung low, and the daylight was dim.
Beneath the double-eaved roof, row upon row of iron wind chimes stood utterly still.
Carved roof beams and embroidered railings, winding paths and covered corridors, jagged lake rocks rising here and there, flowers, grasses, and trees swaying in the breeze—the vast, sprawling mansion stood empty.
The entire estate was utterly silent.
In a room somewhere in the rear courtyard, a lamp burned like a tiny bean, casting faint, wavering outlines all around.
The lavender-blue, gold-embroidered mandarin-duck-and-lotus tent was drawn tightly shut. Between the colorful beaded tassels on either side, a pair of sheep-fat-jade hooks, carved through with entwined lotus branches, hung motionless, their shadows stretching long and sharp in the lamplight.
Inside the tent, Pei Ling abruptly opened his eyes. He found himself lying on a bed of carved beechwood, its rails adorned with crabapple blossoms and gold lacquer, beneath embroidered silk quilts. A corner of a scarlet quilt embroidered with phoenixes and peonies covered him.
He was about to release his Spiritual Sense to investigate when he suddenly felt that his body was utterly empty. All his magic power had vanished. He had become an ordinary mortal!
After a brief moment of shock, Pei Ling immediately collected himself and quickly surveyed his surroundings.
Through the lavender-blue tent, he saw a black-lacquered incense table beside the bed, with crane-leg and elephant-trunk feet and an inlaid mother-of-pearl pattern of a dragon playing with a pearl. On it stood a jade palace lantern decorated with gold and inlaid flowers and birds. A thick, blue-green gauze cover had been placed over the lantern, apparently to keep it from disturbing anyone's rest. It filtered out most of the light, allowing only a faint glow to escape.
A few paces from the bed stood a table