Chapter 7: The Mystery of the West Courtyard—Part 2

At noon, Yusang found an excuse to slip away and carefully avoided everyone in the household as she made her way to the West Courtyard.

However, she didn’t see a trace of Yan Qige.

Even by the time the afternoon arrived, there was still no sign of anyone.

Yusang, thinking that Yan Qige was toying with her, decided to leave.

But after taking a few steps, she felt reluctant to go.

She clearly remembered seeing Madam Lu appear in the courtyard that day, so why did it look like the house hadn’t been lived in for a long time?

Where did Madam Lu go at night?

What was the deal with the red-headed snake demon under the rockery?

Could it be the demon responsible for the murders in the city?

After pondering for a while, Yusang decided to investigate further.

She quietly entered the courtyard, walked along the stone path to the flower pond, and then circled around to the outside of Madam Lu’s room, taking a quick glance at the rockery from a distance.

To be cautious, Yusang knocked on the doorframe, and as expected, there was no one inside.

She pushed the door open and found a room covered in dust.

The silk quilts on the bed had already molded, the tables and cabinets were covered in cobwebs, and the white candles and paper cutouts on the table were still in their original places.

“Is that you who returned?” A voice came from outside the room.

Yusang was startled; she recognized the voice as that of Magistrate Wang.

She looked around for a place to hide and quickly dove under the bed.

She saw the black official boots of Magistrate Wang step over the threshold into the room.

After calming herself, she realized that she could easily use a simple spell to conceal herself from a mortal like Magistrate Wang.

“Is it you who returned?” Magistrate Wang asked as he walked around the room, as if someone else were really there.

After waiting for a moment, the room remained silent.

Magistrate Wang sighed, walked to the table, and grasped the white candle.

With a strong twist, the candle moved, and four slabs of marble on the floor near the table shifted to reveal a set of stone steps leading underground.

“If you won’t come up to see me, then I’ll come down to find you,” Magistrate Wang said.

He lifted his robe and descended the steps.

Yusang, seeing the marble slabs about to close, quickly emerged from under the bed and followed him down.

The marble slabs closed behind them, and the surroundings became pitch black. Magistrate Wang lit the white candle he had brought down, and Yusang realized they were in a small stone passageway, surrounded by jagged rock walls.

After walking for about the time it takes to eat a meal, the steps leveled out, and they could vaguely make out what looked like a circular pool of water below, reflecting eerie ripples from the candlelight.

At the edge of the pool, the stone steps ended, and on either side were stone walls, with the end of the steps forming a doorway leading to the pool.

Yusang noticed water seeping down the walls, forming small streams on either side of the steps.

She dipped her finger in the water and sniffed it, detecting the faint scent of withered lotus leaves.

She surmised that they were directly beneath the flower pond in the West Courtyard, and above them was likely the rockery.

“Why have you come?” a hoarse female voice echoed from the pool, sending a chill down Yusang’s spine.

“I saw your door was open and thought you had come up,” Magistrate Wang replied.

“It wasn’t me; someone else sneaked in.”

“Who?”

Magistrate Wang was startled.

The pool echoed with a sinister laugh, and suddenly, the water surged.

A gray shadow shot up several feet and lunged at Magistrate Wang, saying, “Right behind you.”

Yusang was alarmed, realizing she had been discovered.

She turned to run, but the narrow and dark passageway caused her to stumble after a few steps.

Seeing the shadow about to reach her, she quickly drew a brush from her sleeve, using its white jade tip to draw a spell that she sent towards the shadow before continuing her escape.

As she got back on her feet, Yusang caught a glimpse of the black shadow pursuing her.

It was the same red snake demon that had attacked her at the rockery entrance days before.

Now, its snake body had emerged from the pool, stretching several tens of feet and slithering along the stone passage in pursuit of her.

Yusang ran with all her might.

Fortunately, the snake’s large body moved slowly in the cramped passage, giving her time to reach the exit.

As she worried about how to open the marble slab from inside, it unexpectedly opened with a swish.

Yusang silently chanted “Amitabha Buddha” twice in her heart, resolved to offer incense to the Buddhist deities if she made it out safely. However, before she could finish her thought, the exit behind her exploded open, and the red snake’s head burst through, followed by its towering body.

At this moment, the sun was shining brightly, and all the doors and windows that had been closed when they went down were now somehow wide open, with sunlight streaming into the room.

The sunlight hit the snake directly as it emerged from the entrance.

As soon as the snake’s body touched the sunlight, it let out a scream.

The areas exposed to the sunlight ignited, quickly spreading to the curtains in the room.

Yusang expected the snake demon to retreat back into the underground passage, but instead, it pulled its entire body out into the sunlight, writhing in flames.

Magistrate Wang, who had followed the snake demon out, was stunned by the sight.

Yusang finally understood that the snake demon had deliberately exposed itself to the sunlight to avoid burning Magistrate Wang, who was following behind.

Seeing him throw down the candlestick and prepare to rush towards the burning snake demon, Yusang quickly grabbed him and pulled him towards the door, saying, “It’s a demon! You’ll lose your life if you go near it!”

“Years ago, you refused to let the Taoist priest take me away. Now that you’ve made a move, I told you this day would come,” the snake demon hissed while writhing in agony, but with little resentment.

“It wasn’t me! I never meant to harm you; this wasn’t my doing,” Magistrate Wang denied, shaking his head.

Seeing the entire room engulfed in flames and the beams starting to crack as if ready to collapse, Yusang wasted no time.

She struck a pressure point on Magistrate Wang, dragging him out of the room.

Only after they had retreated several feet away from Madam Lu’s house did Yusang stop, exasperated.

“Are you insane? Blind and deaf? You were ready to risk your life for that demon.”

“I can’t just watch her die. Let me go back in to save her.”

“You’re completely bewitched.”

Yusang was infuriated by Magistrate Wang’s foolishness.

Just as she was about to scold him further, there was a loud crash, and the house collapsed in flames.

Magistrate Wang cried out in shock and fell back to the ground.

Yusang quickly grabbed his arm to cushion his fall, but he didn’t lose consciousness.

Instead, he stared wide-eyed at the blazing inferno.

Yusang turned her head to follow his gaze and saw a white-clothed man calmly walking out of the fire with a lantern in hand.

Everything behind him was crumbling and collapsing in the crackling flames, but he seemed unaffected, strolling leisurely as if he were merely enjoying a peaceful walk.

As much as she hated to admit it, Yusang had to acknowledge that, in that moment, Yan Qige’s presence was so graceful and dignified that it made all words meant to describe nobility or elegance pale in comparison.