Exploring the East Courtyard

Candles, sculptures, corpses, and antique lattice doors. Beyond the doors lay a courtyard of rolling wild grass, a toppled bronze incense burner, a path paved with bluestone slabs, and the bright moonlight.

A desolate, eerie air hung over the deathly silence.

"This place seems to be stuck in eternal night."

Zhang Yuanqing raised a hand to his mouth and spat out the small blue pill he'd been holding between his lips.

It worked. I'm a damn genius. Delighted, he tucked the pill into his pocket, feeling a little more confident about his "prospects."

With these, he had a chance of surviving an encounter with the Red Dancing Shoes.

Next, he strode to the offering table. After a moment's thought, he reached out and grasped the candlestick.

Suddenly, a string of information appeared before his eyes:

[Name: Never-Extinguished Candle]

[Type: Fuel]

[Function: Suppresses evil, purifies]

[Description: An item left behind by Lady of Three Paths Mountain. It was said to be refined from the fat of an Eternal Light Beast and had the power to suppress evil and purify.]

[Remark: Purifying Fear isn't necessarily a good thing. Also, this cannot be moved.]

As expected, he could only get information about an item by touching it himself. He hadn't dared touch the candle earlier, so he hadn't realized it was an item until he read the notes.

"Purifying Fear isn't necessarily a good thing. According to Guan Ya's classification, the candle is a price-type item, and the price of using it is losing your fear. But I'm scared right now, and have no intention of doing anything reckless. I'll stay put in the main hall for now."

He sat cross-legged before the offering table, thinking about what to do next.

"My next goal is to explore the East Courtyard, figure out what dangers and rules are lurking there, then find a way to counter and overcome them. I mustn't spend more than fifteen minutes exploring, or the resentful spirit will latch onto my shoulder. That means certain death."

"The blue pills are my trump card against the Red Dancing Shoes, but they might not work. And if I come face to face with the Red Dancing Shoes, it'll be kill or be killed. I'll explore the East Courtyard first, get a basic understanding of the place, then think about how to deal with it."

Even with the moment of truth at hand, he was still afraid and reluctant to leave. Surviving last time had been sheer luck. Whether he'd make it out alive this time was still anyone's guess.

He had no idea what awaited him in the East Courtyard, so he couldn't judge how dangerous it was. He could easily go in to take a look and never come back.

But in this world, you couldn't avoid something just because you didn't want to face it.

Although the mission to explore the ancient temple had no time limit, in theory he could stay holed up in the main hall forever. But having no time limit also meant that unless he completed the mission, he probably wouldn't be able to leave.

If he dragged things out, hunger, exhaustion, and thirst would wear him down.

Then going out to explore would be a death sentence.

"Whether I stick my head out or keep it tucked in, I'm going to get chopped. I've got no choice but to risk it!"

Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth and strode outside.

Wait, maybe I should think this through some more. It's dangerous out there. With one foot already over the threshold, he suddenly lost his nerve. He couldn't help looking back at the hall, reluctant to leave its radiance behind.

The candlelight was warm. It drove away the gloom, purified the filth, and filled him with incomparable courage and confidence.

No problem. Zhang Yuanqing left the hall brimming with confidence.

The moonlight was bright as frost. Following the left side of the main hall, Zhang Yuanqing picked his way along a path of smooth pebbles and returned to the desolate, dilapidated Siheyuan.

On a night without the chirping of insects or the cries of birds, the silence was terrifying.

But the silence was reassuring, too. What scared him most was hearing the sound of "thud, thud" footsteps outside.

"Fifteen minutes. I only have fifteen minutes to finish exploring the East Courtyard before the resentful spirit latches on to me."

He entered the easternmost room of the Siheyuan, searched the corpse leaning beneath the window again, and pulled out the Bronze Mirror, which he tucked into his pocket.

Then he carefully passed through the arched doorway and entered the East Courtyard.

The East Courtyard was much larger than the Siheyuan. Before him lay an overgrown garden with rockeries, a pavilion, a small pond, and a huge banyan tree. Its trunk was thick, its branches gnarled, and its tender green leaves reflected the bright moonlight.

Beneath the banyan tree was an old well.

Beyond the rockeries and pavilion, he could see the ridge of a long, rectangular building in the depths of the garden.

Zhang Yuanqing didn't head straight for the building. Instead, he cautiously circled the banyan tree. The notes had said the tree was dangerous, but nothing had happened as he walked around it.

"Looking over the banyan tree should count toward my exploration progress, right?"

As he thought, Zhang Yuanqing glanced at the pitch-black old well. After much hesitation, he still didn't have the nerve to rush over and take a look.

He had a deep-seated fear of old wells like the ones in horror stories.

Zhang Yuanqing walked around the well and rustled through the wild grass toward the building deeper in the garden.

"Crack!"

A sharp snap came from beneath his foot, startling him into leaping straight up.

He looked closely and saw a corpse buried beneath the wild grass. It was dressed in an oxidized uniform. Zhang Yuanqing bent down to examine it; its bones were well preserved.

It had fallen face-down, but its head was turned backward. That meant something had forcibly twisted its head a hundred and eighty degrees before it died.

What had done that?

Zhang Yuanqing silently went on alert. He stood up and was about to continue exploring.

Just then, a gust of wind swept through. The wild grass in the garden swayed and rustled, and the banyan tree behind him seemed to come alive, its branches and leaves shaking unnaturally.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."

A shrill voice came from behind him.

The wind carried it to him like a whisper in his ear, sending chills down his spine.

Instinctively, Zhang Yuanqing started to turn around and face the threat, but the information from his notes suddenly flashed through his mind:

Don't turn around!

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."

When he didn't react, the voice grew more urgent, as if it wanted him to turn around at once.

Of course Zhang Yuanqing didn't turn. He stood still and quietly unzipped his windbreaker pocket, pulled out the Brass Mirror, and slowly raised it above his shoulder.

The Brass Mirror reflected the scene behind him, though not very clearly.

A white-clad woman with disheveled hair was climbing out of the old well. Her face had no features. She was staring at Zhang Yuanqing with that ghastly white face.

Fuck your mother. Zhang Yuanqing's face went pale, and he bolted without looking back.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."

The voice called after him over and over, growing more and more frantic, but could only watch helplessly as he ran farther and farther away.

Soon, Zhang Yuanqing passed the rockery and reached the depths of the garden. There stood a large building with a long, rectangular roof, a foundation built of stone, and walls made of packed earth.

The buildings here were even more decrepit than those in the Siheyuan. The roof tiles were sparse, and the roof was riddled with holes.

"The Night Wanderer in the notes came here too. He only said not to turn around, but didn't say I couldn't walk back the way I came. Maybe the Well Ghost only targets people who turn around. If so, I shouldn't be in danger when I head back later."

He took a deep breath where he stood, calming his surging fear and shock, and focused on the present.

"I'll explore this building first."

The large building had three doors, leading to three rooms.

He cautiously approached the room on the far left and shoved open its battered wooden door.

"Creak..."

As the wooden door groaned open, Zhang Yuanqing quickly backed away and took up a defensive stance.

A while passed. Nothing happened.

He ventured inside. Moonlight shone through the holes in the roof, and he strained to open his eyes wide, letting his pupils take in as much light as possible.

This was a kitchen and dining hall combined. There were two brick hearths, as well as pots, bowls, ladles, water jars, cupboards, and other things, all long since rotted and covered in dust.

No danger. I finally found a container. Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a dusty gourd dipper, and his thoughts began to wander:

"I heard virgin urine can ward off evil."

He wondered whether he should collect a dipperful of virgin urine. After thinking it through, he reluctantly abandoned the idea.

Although he'd never dated a girl, Zhang Yuanqing didn't think he could still be considered a virgin.

"I've indulged you all too much, giving you one chance after another to show off." He lowered his head and stared at his hands, deeply pained.

After exploring the building and confirming that it was a kitchen and dining hall with nothing unusual or dangerous inside, Zhang Yuanqing took a rusty cleaver and a wooden stick, left the room, and turned his attention to the last large, rectangular building.

Unlike the kitchen, which also served as a large dining hall, this building had four doors, dividing it into four rooms.

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help tightening his grip on the wooden stick and cleaver. They might not be useful, but they were comforting to hold.

He carefully checked the first and second rooms. They were storage rooms, piled with old-fashioned farm tools, furniture, and things like donation boxes.

Nothing of value. Zhang Yuanqing went on to the third room.

It was an armory. Swords, bows, daggers, short blades, and other weapons hung on the walls. Many had fallen to the floor after their suspension cords rotted away.

Two rows of weapon racks stood beside the windows. One had toppled over, leaving clubs and spears scattered across the floor.

Two bodies lay facedown beside the overturned weapon rack.

Zhang Yuanqing wasn't surprised to see the weapons. The temple disciples had learned from Lady of Three Paths Mountain, and they could make Zombie Suppressing Talismans. They were clearly capable people.

It wasn't strange that they knew how to wield weapons, either.

As usual, he went to examine the bodies, hoping to find clues from his predecessors.

As soon as he approached, he couldn't help exclaiming, "Huh?" The two bodies lying facedown weren't skeletons, but mummified corpses.

Their skin was dull and wrinkled, clinging to their bones, and their abdomens were sunken.

"How did these mummies get here?"

Zhang Yuanqing frowned. As a student at Songhai University, he had a solid store of knowledge.

There were two causes of mummification: one was artificial preservation, and the other was natural formation.

He could rule out the first immediately. As for the second, it usually happened in dry places like deserts.

The conditions at the temple clearly didn't fit.

He carefully examined the two mummies. Neither had any fatal wounds, nor had the Red Dancing Shoes broken their bones by stepping on them. But there were two distinct holes in the flesh at their necks.

They looked like they'd been bitten by the sharp fangs of a beast.

"What could have sucked them dry? Hiss..."

Zhang Yuanqing sucked in a sharp breath, his whole body tensing.

At that moment, he heard a "thunk" from the next room, like someone knocking on a wooden door.

His scalp prickled. Like a wary deer, Zhang Yuanqing stretched his neck and listened.