Chapter 14: Exploring the East Courtyard
Candles, sculptures, skeletons, and an antique lattice door - beyond it lay an overgrown courtyard with fallen bronze incense burners, stone-paved paths, and clear moonlight.
The deathly silence exuded an eerie desolation.
"This place seems to be in eternal night."
Zhang Yuanqing raised his hand to his mouth and spit out the small blue pill he had been holding inside.
The trick worked! I'm so damn clever, he thought jubilantly as he pocketed the pill, feeling a bit more confident about his "future".
With these, he had some hope of survival when facing the Red Dancing Shoes.
Next, he walked straight to the offering table and, after a moment's contemplation, reached out to grasp the candlestick.
Suddenly, a message appeared before his eyes:
[Name: The Never-Extinguishing Candle]
[Type: Fuel]
[Function: Warding off evil, purification]
[Description: An artifact left by the Three Path Mountain Goddess, said to be refined from the fat of an ever-burning beast. It has the effect of warding off evil and purification.]
[Note: Sometimes, purifying fear may not be a good thing. Also, it cannot be moved.]
As expected, information about artifacts could only be obtained by touching them directly. He hadn't dared to touch the candle before, so he didn't know it was an artifact until he saw the information.
"Purifying fear may not be a good thing. According to Guan Ya's classification, the candle is in the 'cost' category. The price of using it is losing fear. But right now I'm very afraid and have no thoughts of courting death, so I'll stay put in the main hall for now."
He sat cross-legged in front of the offering table, contemplating his next move.
"The next objective is to explore the courtyard to the east, probe out the hidden dangers and patterns there, then search for ways to counter and overcome them. The exploration time cannot exceed 15 minutes, otherwise the vengeful spirit will latch onto my shoulders, and I'll certainly die."
"The blue pill is my trump card against the Red Dancing Shoes, but it may not be effective. Once I directly face the Red Dancing Shoes, it's either life or death. Let's explore the east courtyard first, get a preliminary understanding of the environment over there, then think about coping strategies."
When it came down to it, he still felt some fear and hesitation, not wanting to go out. Last time he survived by luck - this time, whether he could survive was still unknown.
The situation in the east courtyard was unclear, making it impossible to judge the level of danger. It would be easy to try and perish.
But in this world, things don't disappear just because you don't want to face them.
Although there was no time limit on the task of exploring the ancient temple, theoretically he could hide in the main hall indefinitely. But having no time limit also meant that if he didn't complete the task, he likely would never be able to leave.
If he delayed too long, his physical condition would deteriorate due to hunger, fatigue, thirst, and other factors.
By then, going out to explore would be a dead end.
"Whether I stick my neck out or not, it's the same fate. I can only give it my all!"
Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth and strode out.
Wait, I should reconsider. It's dangerous outside... With one foot over the threshold, he suddenly had second thoughts and couldn't help but look back at the hall interior, lingering in its radiance.
The candlelight was warm, dispelling the gloom, purifying the filth, giving one's heart unparalleled courage and confidence.
No big deal, Zhang Yuanqing thought confidently as he went out.
The moonlight was as white as frost. Zhang Yuanqing followed the left side of the main hall, treading on the goose-soft stone path, and returned to the desolate, ruined courtyard.
The night, without insect sounds or bird calls, was terrifyingly quiet.
But the silence was also reassuring - he was most afraid of hearing the "tap-tap" of footsteps when going out.
"Fifteen minutes. I only have fifteen minutes to explore the east courtyard before the vengeful spirit attaches to me."
He entered the easternmost room of the courtyard and retrieved the bronze mirror from the skeleton leaning against the window, hiding it in his pocket.
Then he carefully passed through the arched doorway and entered the east courtyard.
The east courtyard was much larger than the quadrangle. What met his eyes was an abandoned garden with artificial hills, a pavilion, a small pond, and a large banyan tree with a thick trunk and gnarled branches. Its tender green leaves reflected the clear moonlight.
There was an ancient well under the banyan tree.
Looking past the artificial hills and pavilion, one could see the roofline of a building emerging in the depths of the garden.
Zhang Yuanqing didn't rush straight to the building in the garden's depths. Instead, he cautiously circled the large banyan tree. The information said this tree was very dangerous, but after circling it once, nothing unusual happened.
"Checking out the big banyan tree should also increase the exploration progress," Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. He glanced at the pitch-black ancient well but, after much hesitation, still didn't have the courage to go over and take a look.
He had a strong psychological aversion to these kinds of ancient wells in horror stories.
Zhang Yuanqing bypassed the ancient well and rustled through the overgrown grass towards the building in the depths of the garden.
"Crack!"
Suddenly, a crisp sound came from under his foot, startling him into jumping on the spot.
Looking closely, it turned out to be a corpse buried in the wild grass, wrapped in oxidized work clothes. Zhang Yuanqing bent down to examine it - the skeleton was well-preserved.
It had fallen face-down, but its head was turned towards its back, indicating that before death, something had forcibly twisted its head 180 degrees.
What could have done this?
Zhang Yuanqing became quietly alert as he stood up, about to continue his exploration.
Just then, a gust of wind blew through, causing the wild grass in the garden to undulate with a rustling sound. The large banyan tree behind him seemed to come alive, its branches and leaves swaying in a somewhat distorted manner.
"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing"
A shrill cry came from behind.
This voice drifted over with the wind, as if whispering in his ear, bringing waves of bone-chilling coldness.
Zhang Yuanqing instinctively wanted to turn around and be on guard, but information from the data suddenly flashed through his mind:
Don't turn back!
"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing"
Seeing no reaction from him, the voice seemed to become more urgent, wanting him to quickly turn his head.
Zhang Yuanqing certainly wouldn't turn around. He stood still, quietly unzipped his jacket pocket, took out the bronze mirror, and slowly raised it to a position above his shoulders.
The bronze mirror reflected the scene behind him, albeit not very clearly.
From the ancient well emerged a white-clothed woman with disheveled hair. Her face had no features, and that ghastly pale flesh face was staring at Zhang Yuanqing.
Damn it! Zhang Yuanqing's face paled as he ran forward with his head down.
"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing"
That voice called out again and again, urgently calling, but could only watch helplessly as he ran further and further away.
Soon, Zhang Yuanqing circled around the artificial hill and arrived at the depths of the garden. Here stood a large house with a straight roofline, stone-built foundation, and walls made of yellow earth.
The house here was even more dilapidated than the quadrangle, with roof tiles sparse and many holes.
"The Night Walker in the data also came here. He only said not to turn back, but didn't say anything about not walking back. The well woman's call might only target those who turn their heads. If so, I shouldn't encounter danger when returning later."
He took a deep breath on the spot, calming his surging fear and horror, and focused his attention on the present.
"Let's explore this house first."
The large house had three doors in total, representing three rooms.
He carefully approached the leftmost room and pushed open the broken wooden door forcefully.
"Creak~"
As the wooden door opened with a sound, Zhang Yuanqing quickly retreated, assuming a vigilant posture.
After a while, nothing happened.
Mustering up his courage to enter the room, moonlight shone in through the broken roof. He tried his best to open his eyes wide, allowing his pupils to take in as much light as possible.
This was a kitchen cum dining hall, with two earthen stoves built of blue bricks. Pots, bowls, ladles, water vats, cupboards, and other items had long since rotted and gathered dust.
No danger. Finally found a container, Zhang Yuanqing thought as he grabbed a dusty gourd ladle, his mind wandering:
"I've heard that virgin boy urine can break evil spells."
He considered whether to collect a ladle of virgin boy urine, but after careful thought, reluctantly gave up on the idea.
Although he had never dated a girl, Zhang Yuanqing felt he probably couldn't be considered a virgin boy.
"I've been too indulgent with you, giving you chance after chance to show off," he said, looking down at his hands with some distress.
After a thorough exploration, confirming that this large house was a combination of kitchen and dining hall with nothing special and no danger, Zhang Yuanqing walked out of the house holding a rusty cleaver and a wooden stick, turning his gaze towards the last rectangular building.
Unlike the kitchen that doubled as a large dining hall, this building had four doors, divided into four rooms.
Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but grip the wooden stick and cleaver in his hands tightly. They might not be useful, but they could provide psychological comfort.
He carefully inspected the first and second rooms. They were storage rooms, piled with antique farming tools, furniture, and donation boxes.
Nothing of value. Zhang Yuanqing turned to the third room.
This was an armory, with swords, bows, daggers, short swords, and other weapons hanging on the walls. Many weapons had fallen to the ground due to rotted hanging ropes.
By the window were two rows of weapon racks, one of which had toppled over, with clubs and long spears scattered on the ground.
Two corpses lay prone near the fallen weapon rack.
Seeing these weapons, Zhang Yuanqing wasn't surprised. The temple's disciples, inheriting from the Three Path Mountain Goddess, could create corpse-suppressing talismans, obviously possessing some skills.
It wouldn't be strange if they could dance and wield sticks too.
As usual, he went to check the corpses, seeking information from his predecessors.
As soon as he approached the bodies, he couldn't help but exclaim "Eh?" The two prone corpses were not skeletons, but two mummies.
The skin was dark grey and wrinkled, clinging tightly to the bones, with sunken abdomens.
"How can there be mummies?"
Zhang Yuanqing frowned. As a student of Songhai University, he had sufficient knowledge.
There are two reasons for the formation of mummies: one is artificial preservation, the other is natural formation.
The first could be directly ruled out. As for the second, it mostly occurs in dry areas like deserts.
The temple's conditions obviously didn't fit.
He carefully examined the two mummies. There were no fatal wounds on their bodies, and their bones hadn't been broken by the Red Dancing Shoes. However, there were two distinct holes in the skin and flesh of their necks.
It looked like they had been bitten by the sharp fangs of a fierce beast.
"Were they sucked dry by something? Hiss-"
Zhang Yuanqing drew in a sharp breath, his whole body tensing up.
At this moment, he heard a "thud" from the adjacent room, like the sound of someone knocking on a wooden door.
His scalp instantly tingled, and Zhang Yuanqing, like an alert deer, stretched his neck to listen.
(End of Chapter)
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