Don't Look

Almost as soon as dawn broke, Yu Xing made a decisive move, glanced at the layout of the offering room, and immediately pushed open the door and went out.

He didn't know what had just happened or how much time had passed, but he had no memory of the entire night. Presumably, if Miss Yun had wanted to do something, she had already done it. Staying there would only serve to be discovered by the residents when they got up.

He had to pretend he hadn't done anything and go back to his room before the other residents showed up.

Yu Xing left the offering room quietly using the same method. Stepping into the courtyard, she keenly sensed that the atmosphere here was somewhat different from yesterday.

His gaze flickered and quickly landed on the well. He saw a large ring of water around the wellhead, staining the ground a dark color.

Moreover, upon closer inspection, one can see that the dark color is mixed with a deep red of blood, some of which has even stained the well wall. A faint smell of blood permeates the air, adding an ominous atmosphere to the courtyard.

Further away, a bloody handprint was pressed on the ground, accompanied by drag marks, gradually approaching the well. Even from the traces of struggle, one could see the horrific scene that had unfolded.

Yesterday, the courtyard exuded an eeriness beneath its calm surface, but today, starting with this well, malice seems to be gradually tearing away its disguise.

But how could that be?

Yu Xing stopped in her tracks, which were about to rush back into the house, and stared at the well in disbelief.

In his mind, no one would leave this pool of blood.

He himself didn't suffer any injuries that would cause so much bleeding... probably.

Zhao Yijiu shouldn't be in that situation. Besides the strangeness of the abandoned house itself, the four residents aren't particularly strong, as can be seen from Miss Yun's embroidery illusion. As long as a method is found, it can be broken in an instant.

With Zhao Yijiu's abilities, she could blend into the shadows, escape even if she couldn't win, and even find him when she could move freely. She shouldn't have suffered such serious injuries.

It's even more impossible for Lingren.

So whose blood is this? Could it be the manifestation of the ordeal of a former guest...? And whose ability is this?

"It's human blood," Yi Qing said softly, "Fresh."

He slowly narrowed his eyes. "Yu Xing, this isn't a scene created by ghosts; I can tell that."

Yu Xing frowned briefly.

Anyway, he had already moved far away from the offering room, so if he was discovered, he could just say he had just come out of the room, and it wouldn't be a problem if he was delayed for a while.

He couldn't help but walk closer, wanting to see what the well looked like.

However, just as he touched the cold stone bricks at the wellhead, a soft laugh came from beside him, and the wooden door creaked open.

Yu Xing turned his head and met the gaze of the Lingren leaning against the doorframe with a strange smile. His heart suddenly skipped a beat—he had forgotten a possibility: since he hadn't been there last night, could the Lingren have... done something to Zhao Yijiu...?

But the mark he left on Zhao Yijiu didn't move at all!

"What are you thinking about?" the Lingren asked. He had just gotten up and hadn't tied his hair up; his smooth, unnatural black hair cascaded down to his waist, making him look more like a woman than usual.

"Your eyes... seem to hold a reproach towards me. But I don't understand, I didn't do anything to upset you this time, so where does your wariness come from?"

Yu Xing paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm sorry~ Every time I see you smile, I feel nauseous, so please bear with me, teacher. I didn't mean to."

"It's alright. But you seem troubled by something." The Lingren shook her head, a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Look at you, acting like you know nothing. You weren't like this last night; you almost made me die in bed."

"..." Yu Xing's eyes widened slightly. His first reaction was that when would Lingren say such disgusting things to him? Normally, the way Lingren tried to provoke him did not include such blatant... trash talk.

My second thought was, could this sentence be interpreted literally?!

His perception had been manipulated; could it be that he really did enter the Lingren's room last night and almost killed the sleeping Lingren?

Why did he take action?

However, before Yu Xing could even form a conclusion in his mind--

"What... died in bed?" A gloomy voice came from above. The two looked up and saw Zhao Yijiu squatting on the roof, her hands on the edge, half of her body sticking out, her face showing a bewildered look of surprise.

The log cabin has a very old structure, with a sloping wooden roof that is difficult to notice from the ground unless you look specifically for it.

He seemed to be injured, with a bandage wrapped around his neck, but his complexion was not bad. His clothes were tattered, revealing his muscular arms. It was unclear whether he had just woken up or had been waiting there fully awake.

Zhao Yijiu sized up the two people below, pausing for a second, especially on the Lingren's disheveled hair, her expression growing increasingly strange. "What are you talking about? I'm having a little trouble understanding it."

Yu Xing: "..."

Lingren: "Pfft, there are advantages to being naive."

Zhao Yijiu glanced at him coldly, inwardly showing disdain.

Even if he is rather indifferent to emotions, he is not a simple person. Even if he was once simple-minded, the knowledge that Zhao Mou instilled in him after taking him away has long since removed him from the realm of simplicity.

However, he couldn't possibly believe that anything indescribable had actually happened last night. Did the Lingren really think that by deliberately using such wording, he would actually misunderstand?

Unless he's an idiot.

Zhao Yijiu nimbly jumped down from the roof. "Who died in bed?"

"There's no one here." Yu Xing breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that he was safe and sound, but the bloodstains by the well were even stranger.

The information was a bit disorganized, Yu Xing asked, "What are you doing on the roof?"

Zhao Yijiu: "...?"

He didn't answer, but instead gave me a questioning look, then said in a flat tone, "You told me to stay on the roof as a lookout, Yu Xing, what's wrong with you?"

"I don't know what happened to him. He disappeared in the middle of the night, but came back to the courtyard early this morning, seemingly very interested in that well." The Lingren spoke up, her expression somewhat intriguing. "A Xing, you really want to see the person you threw into the well?"

I told Brother Jiu to be on guard? The person I... threw into the well?

Yu Xing's breathing quickened, and a feeling of suffocation surged up again.

That's so strange, so strange, so strange.

How could he possibly remember nothing about what happened last night?

Why is he the only one who doesn't remember?

Yi Qing coughed. "Things seem to be getting interesting."

Yu Xing: "..." Oh, and I don't remember the Sheqing Ghost at all.

But now that things had come to this point, he had to take a good look... at who was down in the well.

Under the subtle gazes of the Lingren and Zhao Yijiu, Yu Xing leaned forward and lowered his head, his palms getting wet with water from the well.

He immediately met several pairs of eyes.

Those pairs of eyes were wide open, lifeless, submerged in the water, their heads and bodies huddled together, completely unable to move.

Miss Yun, Song the Scholar, the Woodcutter... three people, three lifeless corpses, all were there.

"You're going to come back and admire it after you've killed them all, A Xing, you're in danger." The Lingren seemed extremely happy. "Only a pervert like me would do something like this."

"I killed him?" Yu Xing murmured.

In other words, after entering the offering room last night, he came out again, met with the Lingren and Zhao Yijiu, almost killed the Lingren, ordered Zhao Yijiu to stand guard on the roof, and killed the three ghosts in the abandoned house.

Then he disappeared for most of the night, returning to the shrine just before dawn, his Cognitive Recovery normal.

As a result, Yi Qing's memories were also altered.

So, what happened to the remaining child? Did he run away?

"But weren't these three originally ghosts?" Yi Qing said. "The bloodstains on the ground are human, and fresh."

Just then, Yiqing leaned in and whispered in his ear.

"Shh... there's another corpse under these three. That one is human."

Yu Xing turned her head and saw Yi Qing's blue eyes, which were very close to hers.

The thousand-year-old ghost winked at him and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "But don't look. If you do, something will go wrong."