Chapter 19-Part 7

“A well?” Qi Zhi was startled.

“Why did I see a shop selling Hu Pasteries? In front of the shop, a Hu man was beating and scolding a young girl, who was holding a flute-like instrument. She was about my age. The Hu man called her something like ‘Qiong Qingwa’ or ‘Qing Qingwa.’ I saw him hitting her so badly that I wanted to rush over to stop it, but I accidentally fell into the demon’s trap instead.”

“That’s strange. Why did we see different things?”

E Ji’s face suddenly changed: “Little Taoist, did you say that the Hu man called the girl ‘Qiong Qingwa’?”

“What’s the matter, Madam E?”

E Ji’s expression turned indescribably strange: “‘Qiong Qingwa was Juan Erli’s original name. After I bought her, I changed it to Juan Erli. Her father was a Hu man who used to beat her all the time.”

Qi Zhi was stunned: “This is really strange. Why could I see these things?”

Teng Yuyi thought for a moment: “You forgot; when we were trapped at the door, Juan Erli had just gone missing.”

Qi Zhi said, “I understand now. This must be the deepest obsession hidden in Juan Erli’s heart. I just don’t know why it was drawn out by the demon and used to set up a maze. Young master, what do you make of the well you saw in the maze?”

At that moment, Huo Qiu suddenly stood up with his sword: “Young master, the golden boy statue is moving.”

Everyone was terrified.

Teng Yuyi looked at the golden boy statue on the altar. At first, she thought it was an illusion, but upon closer inspection, it was indeed shaking. The face of the golden boy seemed to shift in the light, its originally innocent expression becoming strange and twisted.

Looking closer, it wasn’t the golden boy statue that was moving, but the altar beneath it.

Seeing that the altar was about to collapse, Teng Yuyi bolted for the door: “This is bad, run!”

After a few steps, she noticed that the small sword in her hand was getting hot. Looking down, she realized that the sword seemed more dazzling than before.

Before she could reach the door, the altar collapsed with a loud crash, raising clouds of dust. Suddenly, two figures jumped out from the ground, bursting through the dust and landing on the ground. Teng Yuyi looked closely and saw it was Jue Sheng, carrying a young girl on his back.

She was wearing twin buns and dressed in a ruqun.

Teng Yuyi was overjoyed: “Juan Erli.”

“That’s great,” Qi Zhi shouted.

“She’s saved. Jue Sheng, where is Senior Brother?”

Jue Sheng’s face was pale, and just as he was about to speak, he suddenly vomited.

Qi Zhi was shocked and rushed over to help, but Jue Sheng shouted, “Don’t come near, run!”

At that moment, a loud explosion echoed, and the altar and the golden boy statue behind him shattered into pieces.

Another person shot up from below like an arrow.

Qi Zhi gasped: “Senior Brother.”

Lin Chengyou leaped into the air, flipping over and striking his own chest with his whisk.

Teng Yuyi turned to flee.

Lin Chengyou had gone mad, hitting himself like that.

But when she looked back and saw what was wrapped around him, she was horrified.

She saw a golden object coiled around Lin Chengyou’s torso.

It was as thick as a bucket, its surface covered in golden scales.

With every movement, it emitted a shimmering golden light.

Lin Chengyou flipped in mid-air, crashing around with the strange creature on his body: “I just took your prey. Is that worth risking your life? If you keep tangling with me, I’ll start a killing spree.”

His words had no effect.

The creature continued to move on Lin Chengyou’s body, unable to fully exert its strength only because of the blows from the whisk.

Otherwise, it might have already strangled Lin Chengyou to death.

Cursing, Lin Chengyou jumped onto the beams, with the creature trailing closely behind.

Teng Yuyi gasped.

The thing’s golden scales sparkled, and its body seemed to stretch on endlessly.

She turned and ran, but Qi Zhi dashed back in again.

Jue Sheng shouted: “Qi Zhi, the demon is busy dealing with Senior Brother. Let’s get Juan Erli out of here first.”

The two of them lifted the barely conscious Juan Erli and dragged her out of the small Buddha hall.

Teng Yuyi ran up the path, hearing Jue Sheng and Qi Zhi calling from behind: “Lady Teng, could you lend us a hand?”

Did they really think she was a saint? Teng Yuyi ran even faster: “I can’t help!”

Jue Sheng shouted: “No, no, no, Lady Teng can help. The Buddha hall is full of demonic energy, and Juan Erli will soon die of demon poison. Please help us take her back to the front building. We’ll go help Senior Brother deal with the demon.”

Huo Qiu hesitated: “Young Miss, should I carry her over?”

Teng Yuyi gritted her teeth: “Bring her over and let’s get out of here. We won’t be involved in the rest of this. That thing is terrifying, and we need to save our lives.”