Chapter 14: Night Visit to the Courtesan House—Part 5

As Yusang entered the county magistrate office’s main gate, she saw flames spreading all around. The corridors and the branches in the courtyard were ablaze.

Servants stood, walked, or ran in all directions.

Some held their luggage, trying to flee, while others carried water basins, attempting to extinguish the fire.

Yet, at this moment, all of them were frozen in place, each maintaining a single action as though they had turned into stone statues.

“Did it hurt earlier?”

“Hmm?”

Yusang was too focused on the spreading fire around her and was momentarily confused before realizing that Yan Qige was referring to the sword wound inflicted on her by the snake demon.

“I thought you didn’t even notice,” Yusang responded grumpily, turning her head away from Yan Qige.

“Are you upset?”

“You tricked me into being stabbed. Do you expect me to be happy about it?”

“Now that’s unreasonable. I never said the other side was pretending, too. It was your carelessness that gave them the chance. And now, instead of blaming yourself, you’re turning it on me? Truly, no good deed goes unpunished.”

“Yan Qige, if I ever believe you again in the future, I’ll be little dog ”

“As you wish.”

Yusang had expected an apology, but instead, Yan Qige’s sharp words only poured a spoonful of oil to her anger.

She spotted a burned curtain hanging in the corridor ahead.

Her eyes glinted mischievously as she picked up a dry branch from the ground and threw it at the curtain.

The burning cloth fell toward Yan Qige.

Just as the curtain was about to hit him, for some reason, it suddenly changed direction as if it had a mind of its own and flew toward Yusang instead.

Startled, she hurriedly ran a few steps and hid behind Yan Qige.

“Look at you, scared like a paper tiger,” Yan Qige laughed.

Seeing the curtain fall and burn beside them, Yusang glared at him before tossing aside his sleeve and walking ahead, pretending to be calm.

In the East Courtyard, Yan Qige and Yusang saw the elderly Madam Wang sitting solemnly in a grand armchair.

Her hair was styled high, and she was dressed in luxurious clothes.

Kneeling on the ground in front of her was County Magistrate Wang, both frozen in place like the other servants outside.

Only the snake demon stood to the side, staring at the scene in disbelief.

Upon seeing Yan Qige, the snake demon anxiously asked, “What happened? Why aren’t they moving?”

Yan Qige approached Madam Wang and, after checking her breath, muttered a spell and pressed a mark on her forehead.

Madam Wang awoke as if from a dream, her eyes slowly opening.

Seeing the fire all around and the unmoving Magistrate Wang at her feet, Madam Wang panicked and stood up from her chair.

After surveying the surroundings, she seemed to grasp something and slowly sat back down, her expression heavy.

“Madam Wang, do you have an unusual object in your possession?” Yan Qige asked.

Madam Wang looked at him in surprise but, after a moment of hesitation, nodded.

“What is it?”

Her gaze drifted to the doorway, her body trembling slightly, but she remained silent.

A charred piece of wood fell near Yusang’s feet, startling her into jumping a couple of steps closer to Yan Qige.

“The fire’s spreading fast. This place is about to collapse. We need to leave quickly,” she urged.

“There’s no way out,” Yan Qige replied calmly, taking a seat in a nearby pearwood chair.

“This spirit-medium barrier is a punishment for defying the heavens. Unless the guilty admits their sins and atones, everything will burn to ashes.”

“What?” Yusang and the snake demon cried out in unison.

“I don’t want to die here!”

The snake demon tried to help the kneeling Magistrate Wang to his feet, but the moment she got close, an invisible force repelled her, knocking her to the ground.

“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Now you’ve doomed me too! I’ve fallen for your trick again!”

Yusang, filled with frustration and fear, glared at Yan Qige, thinking of her imminent fiery demise.

“Quiet. Be good. Even if you die, there will be plenty of company for you. You won’t be alone on your way to the underworld.”

Yan Qige patted her like one would soothe a cat or dog.

“Madam, there’s nothing left to hide at this point.”

Just as Yusang was about to lash out at Yan Qige, a familiar voice rang out.

A figure in red slowly stepped out from behind a screen—it was the real Lu Ranquing, a mortal woman who had once been adopted by the Wang family and grown up with the county magistrate.

Upon seeing the real Ranquing, the snake demon couldn’t help but touch her own face.

Aside from the demonic energy between her brows, she looked exactly the same.

Ranquing stepped forward and grasped Madam Wang’s trembling, withered hand.

Madam Wang, her tear-filled eyes blinking, clasped Ranquing’s hand with a sigh.

After a moment, Madam Wang looked at Yan Qige, who was casually sipping tea amidst the flames, and asked, “What must be done for us to leave?”

“Just as before—summon the spirit once more. What happens next depends on the soul guardian’s judgment.”

“Very well, as you say.”

Madam Wang agreed, then removed a silver hairpin from her hair.

The pin’s head was adorned with a fine carnelian ornament.

Before Yusang could take a closer look, Madam Wang placed the pin on the table and, with a heavy strike using a nearby incense burner, shattered the carnelian.

The silver tip emitted a faint glow.

“This is it.”

Madam Wang held the broken silver hairpin in her palm and extended it toward Yan Qige.

Yan Qige looked at the hairpin but did not take it.

His expression changed slightly before he finally asked, “How did you come by this object?”

“My mother was a wandering demon-collector. She passed this down to me before her death. She told me it was no ordinary item—it could communicate with spirits and grant wishes. However, once a wish is fulfilled, one would be punished by the heavens, so it must never be used carelessly, nor should its existence be revealed to others.”

“Even knowing this, you still made a wish.”

Madam Wang sighed helplessly and nodded.

“I never intended to defy fate or seek anything extraordinary. But ten years ago, the Wang family was ruined by a sudden disaster, and we fell into poverty. To support the family, my son left his studies to find work. But he was a mere scholar, unfit for labor, and not only did he fail to earn a living, but he also suffered humiliation. My husband then fell gravely ill. In desperation, I turned to the soul artifact, wishing for my son to achieve success. I never expected that after his success, he would marry a demon. That was when I realized this was the heavenly punishment, and I hid the artifact away, never daring to use it again.”

“And the murders in the city—are they also related to this hairpin?”

Yusang asked, puzzled.

“It was me. All of it was my doing.”

“You? How…” Yusang was shocked, unable to imagine how such an elderly woman could commit blood-draining murders, but Yan Qige’s sharp gaze stopped her from saying more.

Madam Wang sighed wearily, her face filled with regret.

“I inherited my mother’s legacy and learned some Taoism arts from the Kunlun Mountain since I was a child. Although I wasn’t particularly skilled in demon hunting, I became fascinated with obscure techniques, such as the blood-draining arts for refining essence and cultivation. Five years ago, my son became entangled in imperial affairs and was nearly sentenced to execution. How could I just stand by? I once again turned to the soul artifact, wishing for my son’s safety, even if it meant losing all wealth and prosperity, seeking only peace and joy.”