CHAPTER 25: CHAPTER 17: LIGHTING THE HEART LAMP

Amidst the surrounding thorns, Sang Que could see a few shriveled corpses impaled, painfully staring up at the sky.

The area was enveloped in misty darkness, with the sound of the wind like ghostly wails, sending chills down one’s spine.

Flame-like feathers drifted downward. Sang Que looked up, and tree-like lightning silently cut across the sky. The flame feathers fell on the corpses ahead, instantly turning them to ash that scattered with the wind.

The iron thorns seemed to be slowly growing, stabbing toward Sang Que’s body. She hurriedly searched herself, trying to find something to illuminate the area.

Suddenly, a faint light flickered from her chest, like a spark, faltering in the wind yet stubbornly unwavering. Under its illumination, the steps beneath her feet seemed more real and stable.

As the light appeared, the growth of the surrounding iron thorns noticeably slowed. Through the glow, Sang Que discovered three characters inscribed on the steps beneath her.

One, zero, eight.

Looking back upward, she avoided the iron thorns and tried to climb higher. As soon as she lifted her foot, a cold wind suddenly rose, the misty darkness dispersing to reveal a small figure atop the steps.

Hollow eye sockets leaked a torrent of blood, calmly staring down at her.

Whoosh!

Something unknown blew out a breath, instantly extinguishing the flame in Sang Que’s heart, causing the steps beneath her to vanish, and sharp spikes from the surrounding iron thorns pierced deeply into her body.

!!!

Sang Que jolted awake, sitting upright, drenched in cold sweat, her heart racing.

He Erniang sat at the edge of the mud bed with a handkerchief in hand, looking concerned, "What’s wrong? Had a nightmare?"

Seeing He Erniang’s face, Sang Que felt a bitterness in her heart. She was still in Black Mountain Village, not back home.

Dawn light filtered through the half-open window; it was already the next day.

Realizing her clothes had been changed, Sang Que hurriedly touched her face, finding it clean and moist with no dirt.

"Don’t worry, I changed your clothes," He Erniang put the handkerchief in the water basin beside her. "This is my room; no one else has come in since last night. You are so beautiful; why disguise yourself as dirty and dark on purpose?"

"Fear." Sang Que replied casually.

He Erniang nodded knowingly, "Yes, in such times, pretty women often have hard lives. However, Master Yan isn’t interested in women, but his disciple, Ming Zhang, used to make advances on the village girls."

"Could you... find me some charcoal?"

Without further inquiry, He Erniang brought a basket of charcoal she’d already prepared in front of Sang Que. In times like these, they had long learned to suppress curiosity.

"There’s a water basin over there. I’ll go prepare you some food first. Um... I’m sorry for being cold to you yesterday. Thank you for saving my brother. If you ever need help, just come to me."

"What’s your name...?"

Hearing Sang Que’s question, He Erniang paused at the door. People in the village all called her He Erniang, not caring about her real name.

"Shouhui, my name is He Shouhui."

Sang Que nodded, watching as He Shouhui left and closed the door.

Quickly resuming the way she looked yesterday, Sang Que stepped outside and saw a lavish meal laid out in the main hall by the He Family, all eagerly and gratefully watching her without anyone lifting a chopstick.

He Baosheng grasped a money bag and stood up, just about to say something when Sang Que quickly grabbed two warm, soft cornbread buns from the table.

"I have something to do."

Slightly bowing in apology, Sang Que bit into a bun and turned to run.

"Wait!"

He Baosheng chased after her but couldn’t catch up, only able to return with the money bag, dejectedly.

Old Man He remarked, "Yu Niang is a good girl, and capable too, much better than Ming Zhang. If she could learn Master Yan’s skills and stay in Black Mountain Village, our village would have blessings, alas, alas..."

It’s a pity that Yan Daozi isn’t good, and Sang Que may not be able to learn all his skills. How long she could survive under him is anyone’s guess.

*

As soon as Sang Que left the He Family, she heard an old woman in the Li family courtyard next door sitting on the ground wailing.

"What shall I do, what shall I do!"

The courtyard was littered with chicken feathers, chicken blood, and dead chickens that had been torn to bits beyond recognition.

Sang Que’s gaze deepened. The black shadow she saw last night wasn’t an illusion. Could it really be the Earth Ghost?

Looking again at the Liu household opposite, everything was deathly silent. But it was this silence that made one’s hair stand on end even more.

Thinking of the old woman who threw herself into the well at Shouhou’s house, Sang Que quickly finished a bun in three bites and ran to the courtyard outside Shouhou’s house.

"The azure stone is azure, with many white spots... eighteen males, eighteen females... bleeding profusely and atrociously..."

"Mother, oh my dear mother, can you stop singing that? It’s creeping me out, where did you learn that song?"

Sang Que’s pupils slightly contracted as she recognized the stooped old woman in front of Skinny. It was the old woman who threw herself into the well last night.

Looking again at the corner of Shouhou’s courtyard, the ground was flat with no sign of a well!

"Hey? Yu Niang, you’re awake?"

Skinny saw Sang Que standing outside the yard and greeted her warmly. Sang Que’s face turned dark, and she took two steps back, then turned and ran.

"Yu Niang, why are you running? I’m not a ghost."

Sang Que’s head buzzed. This place truly was "a notable place creating illustrious men," Black Mountain Village. It felt like a hell-level difficulty novice village, and she didn’t want to stay another moment. She couldn’t even tell whether what her eyes saw were humans or ghosts.

Running into Yan Daozi’s courtyard, Sang Que surprisingly felt a bit safer.

The black donkey in the yard kicked up its hoofs at her, braying. Ignoring it, Sang Que evened her breathing and headed towards Yan Daozi’s main house.

The black donkey in the corner of the yard, seeing this, kicked over the stone trough.

The door to the main house was slightly ajar. Sang Que was about to knock when she heard Yan Daozi’s voice from inside.

"Come in."

The door creaked open, letting sunlight into the dim room. Yan Daozi sat slouched at the center table, using her fruit knife to carve a piece of bone, with two cups of tea still on the table.

Sang Que glanced at the locked room on the left, feeling an even stronger desire to enter than yesterday, yet the talisman on the door made her feel it was very dangerous.

As she withdrew her gaze, Sang Que suddenly noticed a long, slender shadowy figure appearing vaguely on the empty seat next to Yan Daozi. It was like an elongated human skin, its surface taut and featureless, both terrifying and eerie.

It was the Evil Spirit that Yan Daozi controlled!

She could see it!