The Bronze Statue

The extra bowl of rice was clearly Yi Qing's, but none of the four residents of the abandoned house could see Yi Qing, so the matter was beyond their comprehension.

The Woodcutter, in particular, looked at the bowl of rice as if he had seen some kind of demon.

"It's no big deal," Yu Xing said nonchalantly. "As long as we finish our food, it'll be fine, right? Whoever isn't full can just eat their eighth bowl of rice."

The Woodcutter trembled. "It's not that simple..."

Yu Xing sat down and, seemingly casually, said, "Brother, you're quite a big guy, one bowl probably won't be enough. Why don't you have two?"

Woodcutter: "No!"

Unexpectedly, the Miss Yun in red sat down next to Yu Xing, nodded gently, and showed a concerned expression. "Brother, you eat. You always work the hardest, and I've noticed you've gotten so thin."

Song the Scholar sighed, "Indeed."

The Woodcutter glared at them resentfully, looking like he was about to point his finger at them and hurl insults. Even though he suppressed his temper, a few words still escaped his lips. "I do this and that every day, and you—"

But the food couldn't be left uneaten. None of the three lodgers seemed hungry. Miss Yun and Song the Scholar then turned their attention to the Woodcutter, Woodcutter, having no other choice, reluctantly placed his eighth bowl of rice in front of him, saying, "I'll eat it, I'll eat it!"

Everyone sat down, silently eating and drinking in front of a table full of fragrant dishes.

The child had recovered, ignoring the cold sweat all over his body, and with the help of the Lingren, sat up and began to eat his rice bite by bite.

Zhao Yijiu sniffed the food on the table and found no ghostly aura or ominous feeling, indicating that the food was edible.

The portions of the dishes seemed to have been precisely calculated, and we finished everything perfectly by the end.

The child put down the chopsticks, wiped his mouth, and rubbed the cold sweat from his forehead. "I don't feel well, I'm going to sleep!"

"Little brother, go to sleep now, so you'll have energy for the night." Miss Yun responded gently, and then the Woodcutter and Song the Scholar also got up, intending to go back to their rooms.

Miss Yun sized up Yu Xing and the others for a moment, then smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I was so focused on my embroidery that I didn't come out to greet you all. I didn't expect that the three gentlemen who came to stay here would be so handsome and outstanding, right?"

"..." Zhao Yijiu didn't reply, but looked at her with a sinister gaze, seemingly glancing at Miss Yun's skirt in a veiled way.

"I wouldn't call myself a prodigy. I'm just an actor in the outside world, traveling all over the country with my troupe. I've seen quite a few strange and wonderful things. That child doesn't seem well. He's probably been frightened by the commotion just now. I happen to know some folk remedies to calm him down. I'll go check on him first." The Lingren waved his hand and turned to go to the child's house.

He knocked on the door, and the child quickly opened it and led him inside.

Yu Xing ignored the human and the ghost. According to the room's correspondence, the Lingren was supposed to be the child, which was why the Lingren would take the initiative to approach the child.

Although I find the Lingren disgusting... Lingren, since he's been to the children's area, there's no need to worry about it.

His focus now is on Miss Yun, who is showing some goodwill towards him.

Admittedly, murder in an abandoned house must require certain conditions.

These conditions must be met by the residents.

Besides the four rules the Woodcutter initially told them, there must be various other death conditions that have not yet been triggered.

"So he's a theatrical performer. He's such a kind person." Miss Yun sighed softly. "By the way, what does this... young master do?"

She ignored Zhao Yijiu and started talking to Yu Xing: "I've lived in this desolate place for a long time and seen all sorts of people, but I can't guess your identity, young master. I'm very curious about you. Why don't you come to my room for a chat?"

Yu Xing readily agreed.

He really wanted to see what Miss Yun's room was like.

Seeing that Miss Yun had begun to make her move, Zhao Yijiu couldn't help but glance at Song the Scholar.

He corresponds to Song the Scholar, so why doesn't Song the Scholar come to talk to him?

Based on the clues gathered so far, Song the Scholar should take the initiative to contact him and gradually assimilate into his identity.

But the truth was that the sickly Song the Scholar leaned against the table, neither speaking nor moving, his brows furrowed, seemingly hesitating about something.

Zhao Yijiu: "..." Annoying.

He still remembered the task Yu Xing had assigned them: they should check all the residents' rooms during the day.

So he stepped forward: "Do you need my help—"

Song the Scholar frowned even more deeply, his gloomy gaze lingering on Zhao Yijiu for a moment before he let out a violent cough. "I've been ill for a long time, I should go and rest first. Farewell."

Zhao Yijiu fell silent.

Why doesn't the other person engage him in lengthy discussions, quoting classical texts or having long, intimate conversations?

Yu Xing walked over and patted him on the shoulder, whispering, "Go back to your room first. Yi Qing should be waiting for you. Song the Scholar is using a feigned retreat as a tactic. He's not looking for you now, but he'll definitely find another excuse to approach you later."

"Young master?" Miss Yun urged.

Yu Xing: "They're here."

The two parted ways and walked in different directions from the courtyard.

As soon as Zhao Yijiu returned to his room, he noticed a wisp of blue figure floating above his head, surrounded by a misty haze, making the entire room seem like a dream.

"Look at this." Yi Qing tossed down a small Bronze statue, which Zhao Yijiu caught and looked down at.

The Bronze statue, no bigger than the palm of your hand, was polished to a very clean finish and depicts a Snake-bodied woman.

The woman's eyes were closed, her long hair was loose, and she wore a wide-sleeved, front-opening blouse on her upper body, while her lower body was a scaly snake tail, coiled above the base of the Bronze statue, which looked very sinister.

However, the ghostly aura emanating from the Bronze statue was not strong enough to have a direct impact on people.

Zhao Yijiu: "What is this?"

"It's probably just a small water snake," Yi Qing said dismissively, her face hidden behind the mist as she lowered her float. "Those uninhabited rooms are where this thing is kept; there are life-size Bronze statue inside. This smaller one is from the larger one."

He sneered, "That little water snake is quite the big shot here, it almost hurt me. I just casually smashed one of its statues, and it behaved itself."

As the mist dissipated, Yi Qing's dissatisfied expression was revealed.

Below his left eye was a dark, bloodstained mark, which was slowly healing itself.

"A water snake..." Zhao Yijiu placed the small Bronze statue on the table. "The existence of this abandoned house is for the purpose of worshipping a water snake? So the dead are pushed into the well, and that well is the way to offer sacrifices to 'it'."

No, it's not that simple.

If that's the case, one life-size Bronze statue is enough; there's no need to place smaller Bronze statue next to it.

Moreover, the water is only related to the story of Song the Scholar, and has little to do with Miss Yun, not to mention the four residents' completely different reactions when the Bronze statue was smashed.

Zhao Yijiu vaguely felt that what they were seeing now was just an illusion existing during the day, and that more of the truth would emerge at night.