Chapter Text
Lan Jing Yi was shivering all the way to their room from the small pond near their house. All his friends had already gotten ready, and was waiting for him. Well, all of his friends except Lan Sizhui. Where the hell was he? He was supposed to wake him up as well. Now Jing Yi was late because Sizhui didn’t wake him up, and Sizhui was late himself. Sizhui should thank the Gods that they don’t have an adult coming with them. Otherwise, they would clearly be punished for their tardiness.
Lan Sizhui pressed the pillow to his ears. Seriously, why is Jing Yi’s voice so loud? Will he never shut up? Sizhui knew that it was the day that they were supposed to set off to night hunt, with their classmates. But he felt so tired to even get up. He also knew that the others included him in the hunt, because he promised them that he was feeling completely fine. That wasn’t a total lie. He had felt like sleeping in his own bed had succeeded in getting rid of all that fatigue he felt throughout the journey.
But he had also noticed that it had become somewhat harder for him to wake up at 5 am. He swore that it was because throughout his journey, he had to alter his sleeping schedule from time to time to suit their travelling.
But why in the world won’t Jing Yi shut up, and let him stay in bed for just five more minutes. It really can’t be late to the point he couldn’t afford five more minutes.
“Sizhui, I’m so annoyed right now, I’m gonna break in and don’t even care whether you are naked.” And with that, he really opened the door and barged in.
The opened doorway gave Sizhui the reason for Jing Yi’s panic. It was totally bright outside, which meant he was way late than he had even dared imagine.
“Sizhui xiong, I’m totally disappointed in you. You were supposed to wake me up as well. Not the other way around.”
“Jing Yi, I’m sorry.”
“No, no, there’s no time to feel sorry now. Hurry up and get ready. Otherwise, the others would be annoyed. I will get you some breakfast.”
Sizhui opened his mouth to stop Jing Yi. But considering the situation, he had to trust Jing Yi to get his breakfast and hope for the best. He really had no time to waste, so he bolted out to take a bath.
Jing Yi was super happy with the accomplishment they made. Within only a few minutes, they were raising down the stairs. But he suddenly felt Sizhui stop, and he stopped to see why.
“Si Xiong, come on, we are already late. What are you stopping for?” Noticing that they were in front of the silent room, and Sizhui was looking at it somewhat troubled, Jing Yi sighed. “Sizhui, I know you haven’t met Hanguang Jun in a long time. But he’s not here yet. I really don’t know what’s taking him this long to return.”
“It’s fine Jing Yi. It can’t be helped. So, let’s get going.” Even though he said that, he found it a little harder to turn away from the house. He missed Hanguang Jun immensely, but that was not the only reason he regretted not meeting him.
Sizhui had hoped that he would get a chance to meet Hanguang Jun before they set out on this night-hunt, so he could have told him about his little sickness, and get his advice before setting out again. He was concerned about the melody he played as well. Now that he knew how much damage a melody can cause if they were not played correctly, he felt like he would rather not risk it before he made sure that he did nothing wrong. But now it was too late. Hanguang Jun was still away.
He knew that, if he wanted to, he could have turned to Zewu Jun, or even the Grand Master for help. But he was scared of the Grand Master, and even after a lot of thinking, he couldn’t make himself to ask Zewu Jun either. He knew Zewu Jun would have helped him in an instance. But he didn’t feel like asking him, no matter what.
Others would have preferred to go to Zewu Jun with their problems, for almost everyone agreed that Hanguang Jun was ‘scary’. Sizhui never understood this. For him, Hanguang Jun was one of the warmest people he had ever met.
Sizhui felt like it was really hard to understand people and their actions. He had seen really rude people, and the bad things they had done. But this situation in particular felt even more weird. Jing Yi was seated next to him nodding vigorously to whatever the middle-aged lady was saying. But Sizhui was sure his attention was long dissolved.
Sizhui wished he could make the lady understand that there’s nothing they could do about her clan’s situation. But, given what has happened, Sizhui thought he could at least listen to the lady one more time, if it’s going to be of any help.
The others were also either distracted, or was really fed up with this lady as well. But nobody dared to leave nor show any sign of boredom or annoyance, making sure to follow the rules of Lan sect.
“Maybe you should have made them two necklaces.” Jing Yi said astonishing everyone present. Sizhui knew that Jing Yi would most likely say something like that. But he had hoped that his friend would keep it for later and not say it in front of the lady.
“Young master, you would not dare blame me for this. And pray tell me why should I have, when they used to share things ever since they have been very young. They never complained. So why should I make two exact same necklaces, when I can use that money to make another one for them that is a different style or a colour?”
With this, the lady started repeating the story for maybe the 10th time. Sizhui was more intrigued by the fact, how the same story could be told in many different ways, for the lady changed it every time she said it. The bottom line was still the same, but what she said always contrasted with the previous. Every time different points will be exaggerated or added or left out.
Sizhui went back to think about the bottom line again, for he also agreed with the lady that it did not exactly make sense.
They had been travelling around, looking for any information they could gather that they thought could help them solve the recent murders. They indeed stopped here and there to tackle with cases that will help them to level up their cultivation, for that was the main goal of their night-hunt.
When they heard that the young lady of this clan was possessed by a ghost, they had decided it would be nice to help, as well as benefit them in levelling up their cultivation.
So, they went and told the clan leader, that they would like to see into their problem. The clan leader and his wife, who was the lady that kept repeating the story without letting them leave, had been very glad.
They have asked them to see their younger daughter in her room, which had stricken to the Lan disciples as very odd, and they had felt reluctant. Seeing this, the mother had explained to them that their daughter won’t leave her chambers for anything. So, the only way for them to see her is to enter her room.
The first thing that struck them as soon as the maiden’s room’s doors were opened, was the smell. It had smelled like someone who hadn’t cleaned themselves for years were living in there. The next thing was the state of the room. First, Sizhui had thought it hadn’t been cleaned up for a long time, but he realised that the things had been thrown around.
And Jing Yi had dared to say to the parents, “Maybe the ghost would have left if you got someone to clean this room.”
Thankfully, the couple had seen it more like advice than insult. But Jing Yi had received warning scowls from his friends, including Sizhui.
The maiden looked like, she had completely gone crazy, possessed or not. It was a gruesome sight to withhold. Even though her servants had dressed her up to present her to the cultivators, her garments were already disarrayed. There were cuts all over her skin, and even her hair was so dishevelled. There was hair in her hand, like she had pulled a handful out of her head.
“You didn’t come this morning. Did you go to see her? Were you playing with her?” The girl pulled her mother’s hand sobbing. “YOU NEVER LOVED ME. IT WAS ALWAYS HER.”
They all jumped at the change of her tone. She started to shake her mother and her father and two disciples were needed to pull her away from her. It wasn’t easy to keep her in one place in order to examine her. Every few minutes, she threw a tantrum. The girl radiated extreme sadness and anger at the same time that the disciples were so surprised.
But no matter how hard they examined her; they couldn’t sense any other presence. They even checked the whole chamber, but nothing. No sight of possession or any other ghost activity.
They told this to her parents, but they refused to believe. Then the lady asked them to contact the spirit of her elder daughter that was murdered a few days ago by their youngest. At this, the father interrupted and said, “Why are you saying that? Our daughter had told you so many times, that she wasn’t the one that killed her sister.”
“Well, it was either her or some malicious spirit made her do it. We will find exactly what happened when we talk to our daughter.”
So, Sizhui was forced to perform inquiry. But there was no spirit there for him to contact. First, he had tried his best to find the daughter. But not getting any answer, he had directed his answers in a way any spirit could answer. But no answer came through.
This failure had made the mother somewhat angry. Sizhui had told her if he knew what exactly had occurred, it could help.
This is when the lady had started to recite her story. The two daughters had gotten along very well ever since they were young. Even if there were a few disagreements, they had made up pretty fast. So, when one morning, two days ago, a small fight broke out about a necklace, nobody had thought anything about it.
The younger sister had seen her sister wearing a necklace, and had asked her to lend it to her for the day, saying it goes with her outfit best. But the older sister had refused, saying that she wanted to wear it that day. But after only a few minutes, screams had come out from the room, surprising everyone, and when they rushed in, the older sister had been lying dead bleeding from wounds all over her body.
The younger sister had been crying, and had blamed her parents for not loving her enough. But when accused of murdering her sister, she had said that she was not the one who did it. But she wouldn’t tell who did it either, making the parents really confused.
Ever since then, the younger daughter had not been herself, crying and screaming and throwing tantrums every now and then.
It was obvious that the whole clan was baffled by this behaviour. Sizhui also thought that it was so strange. He didn’t blame the parents for thinking their younger daughter was possessed, for he himself would have assumed that, if he didn’t know any better. The story just didn’t add up. How can someone murder their sibling over something so small, especially when they used to get along so well together.
Sizhui really wished he could help, but there really was nothing else to do. The lady was still repeating her story, indirectly begging them to do something. She still refused to believe that there was no ghost to get rid of, nor that there was any spirit for them to contact.
Not finding any spirits there, struck as weird to Sizhui as much as the sister’s behaviour. Yes, sometimes the spirits leave this world as soon as they were dead. This was something that they learned when they were so young. But this usually was not the case when a person was murdered. When a person was murdered, they either linger, not realising that they were dead - This usually happens when the murdering was done very suddenly and secretly not giving room for the victim to realise that they were murdered - Or they would stay behind to get revenge or ask the living to pay for the injustice that had been done to them. It was only a very rare occurrence where a murdered spirit leaves this world immediately.
Well, even assuming that this was one of those rare occurrences, why were there no others ghosts to be found? Even places humans assume are not haunted, have at least one or two harmless spirits lingering around. To not find a single spirit in the vicinity was something Si Zhui could not shake off by any logical reasoning.
But nonetheless, seeing that there really wasn’t anything they could have done, they left the angry and disappointed parents to find another task.
“Si Xiong, you really seem disappointed. It seemed like you really wanted to help.” One of their friends said.
“Yes, I wish there was something we could have done to help them. But I’m more confused than disappointed. And tired too.” Sizhui added.
“Why? What are you confused about?” the disciple asked.
“Do you really have to know that right now?” Before Sizhui could reply, Jing Yi scolded crossing his arms.
“No… No, I guess…” The disciple replied baffled by Jing Yi’s outburst.
“Then why did you ask that? Didn’t you hear Lan Sizhui saying he is tired? Is your question more important than letting him rest?”
“Ah, Jing Yi, don’t scold him. I’m not that tired. He just asked a question.” Sizhui said feeling guilty and sorry towards his friend.
“You heard me. We are going to do nothing until Sizhui is feeling better again. He did more work than any of us. He even performed inquiry. Come, let’s go to that restaurant and have something to eat.”
Nobody protested to this, for they were all feeling hungry. So, they neatly walked towards the tavern in two rows. But as they got near, they stopped, doubt in their faces.
From within came raised voices;
“You really don’t expect me to eat this, do you? This is disgusting. Has no flavour to it. And what are these buns? They are dry as parchment.”
“Ah, but… I’m really hungry.”
“No. We don’t have time to waste. So, I clearly won’t waste any on such bland food. If you wanted to eat, you should have picked a proper place to do so.”
“No, stop. Listen. We are not going to achieve anything by being the first group to search that place. Will you…”
The group of Lan disciples watched with surprise as Jin Ling barged out of the restaurant followed by Ouyang Zi Zhen.
“Oh, are the food not up to our maiden Jin’s satisfaction?” Jing Yi asked with a smug smile.
“Jing Yi!” Sizhui exclaimed, but he completely ignored it.
“Hey Lan, consider your legs broken.” With that Jin Ling tried to launch at Jing Yi, but thankfully Zi Zhen grabbed him and stopped him.
“Young master Jin, now this really isn’t nice. We met our friends after months, and the first thing you are trying to do is fight? Stop it! And hi Sizhui Xiong, hi Jing Yi Xiong, it’s really good to see you again. Don’t mind our young master Jin. He is not in a good mood right now.”
“Is there a problem?” Sizhui asked out of sincere concern.
“Ah, no.” said Zi Zhen. “But we heard that a clan was murdered in a similar manner to those gruesome deaths. But what’s surprising is that, they are cultivators.”
“Oh, that is a first. I thought we were safe,” said Jing Yi getting goosebumps all over.
“Apparently, we are not. And we are wasting time without investigating.” Jin Ling said with a scowl.
“Okay, okay Jin Xiong, I’m really hungry, but if you insist, let’s go.” Zi Zhen replied with a sigh. “Oh, by the way, would the Lan disciple like to join us?”
“Ah, we would love to.” Sizhui replied thinking that this is a good opportunity for his little group to harness their abilities as well.
“Yes, that would be great.” Jing Yi replied. “But we are not going anywhere until you rest. So, young master Jin, if you really are in a hurry, you may leave. Just tell us where this place is. We will follow after we took some rest.”
Zi Zhen opened his mouth to tell the Lan disciple where the said clan’s mansion was. But feeling reluctant to part with his friends, Jin Ling spoke before him, “Well, you are all hungry. So, I guess even if we went there, you would be complaining all the way. Whatever. It would be really bothersome, and might even be a distraction to the night-hunting. So, go ahead and have a meal and take your rest.
Jin Ling couldn’t figure out whether to be thankful that his friends completely ignored his rumbling belly, or to be mad that they didn’t ask him to join them. Jin Ling’s hunger got to a point where he decided his pride didn’t even matter anymore. He was about to reach for a dumpling, when Sizhui saved him by asking very innocently, “Young master Jin, these foods are not so bad. Please try them. You would like them.” And when Jin Ling didn’t make any move he added, “Young master Jin, it would be a waste if you didn’t have any. There is plenty of food, and we won’t be able to finish them. It would go to waste. Hanguang Jun always told me…”
“Fine. Fine Sizhui Xiong,” Jin Ling replied. “You didn’t have to bring Hanguang Jun into this. If you really hate that a bowl or two of food is going to be thrown away, I’ll eat it.”
“Ah, I mean, you don’t have to eat if you cannot eat at all. It will make you sick.”
“What are you saying Sizhui?” Jing Yi asked. “Didn’t you hear his stomach rumbling all this time? He clearly can finish more than two bowls. If anything is going to make him sick, it is going to be running on an empty stomach.”
Seeing that Jin Ling was going to throw his chopsticks away, and dash out of the restaurant again, Zi Zhen jumped into the rescue. “Lan Jing Yi, don’t say such a thing. I’m pretty sure Jin Ling is responsible and won’t neglect his health like that. But, Jin Xiong, since Sizhui Xiong is really reluctant to waste any food, we shouldn’t let down our friend like that now, should we?”
And as they neared the destination, Jin Ling was really thankful for what Zi Zhen did, for he was sure if he didn’t eat, he might have even fainted at that point. But he never would tell Zi Zhen that out loud.
Alas, that gratitude didn’t last too long after that, as the smell hit their nostrils and made them gag. Except for two or three Ouyang disciples, the whole group looked like they were going to be sick any minute. But nobody really said anything.
Sizhui took off a fabric stripe securing his cuffs and tied it around his head, covering his nose.
“Ah, Sizhui, what are you doing? You look ridiculous.” Jing Yi said, hoping there’s nothing wrong with Sizhui’s brain.
“Hanguang Jun taught me to do this if there is a bad smell.”
And hearing that it was something Hanguang Jun had taught, other’s followed suit and was very relieved to see how it covered the smell.
It was a small cultivational sect, but their mansion was a considerably big one. They stepped carefully making sure not to step on any body or anything else on the floor, for this time, some parts of the skin had dripped down from the bodies like it had been melted.
“Oh my God, what is this?” Zi Zhen exclaimed.
“Young master Jin, even when you told us that these deaths were so gruesome, I still didn’t expect it to be like this.” Said one of the Ouyang disciples, trying his best not to faint at the horrible sight.
“Not many of them carry swords.” Zi Zhen said. “So, I guess we can assume that their cultivation wasn’t that high, or they didn’t practice cultivation at all.”
“Yes, maybe that is why these creatures could attack them. Their spiritual energies must have been scarce for them to fight back,” Jin Ling said, more to reassure himself than being sure that that was the case.
“There are no other wounds like cuts or punches either,” Sizhui observed.
“Ah, there are some people over there.” Jing Yi pointed next to a further house. They could see two or three people seated on a bench outside it. “They must be other cultivators that came to night-hunt. Let’s go and ask them what they have found.
Jin Ling was about to say that he had no intention in seeking aid from other cultivators, but the Lan disciples were already walking towards that direction in single file.
As they neared, they could see that there’s two girls and a man. They had their backs turned towards them. They were all wearing cultivation robes, but the man didn’t have a sword with him. He was talking to the girls. But it seemed both the girls were ignoring him as best as they could. One even had her arms crossed. She was wearing light, white and pink robes while the other girl was wearing black and light purple.
Sizhui got there first and making sure to keep an appropriate distance, he kowtowed and introduced themselves. The Lan disciples kowtowed as well. And as soon as Jin Ling and the Ouyang disciples came, he introduced them as well, and waited for them to kowtow as well. But instead, the group was looking at the girl in white and pink robes like they had seen a ghost.
Sizhui was almost feeling uncomfortable with the awkward silence, and was going to ask his friends what they were doing, when Jin Ling managed to finally open his mouth. “What are you doing here?”
Hearing this, Jing Yi crossed his arms, “Young master Jin, that was so impolite.”
But, surprising all the Lan disciples, the girl replied, “Spying on you, what else?” And she rolled her eyes.
“Spying on us?” Sizhui asked getting concerned. Why in the world would this maiden spy on them?
“Ah, Qi Xue, this might be the young master you told me about.” Li Mei Mei stated.
Jin Ling was surprised to hear this. “You spoke about me?”
“No, I didn’t.” Qi Xue spat, but with a sigh she continued, “Well, yes, I did. I told my friend what an ungrateful prat you are.”
Sizhui and Jing Yi looked in amazement, how their usually short-tempered friend didn’t say anything back, but instead hung his head.
“Lady Qi Xue,” not liking where the conversation was headed Zi Zhen spoke up, “you are scaring our friends from the Lan sect here. Let me introduce you to them, for some of them already know your brother. Friends, this is Jin Chan’s sister, Jin Qi Xue. We were actually supposed to night-hunt together. But because of a small misunderstanding, Lady Jin, ah I mean Lady Qi Xue,” he changed seeing the dagger eyes Qi Xue threw his way, “went ahead with her brother.”
“And yet here you are.” Qi Xue spat with annoyance and continued to scowl at Jin Ling.
“Oh, I see,” Si Zhui said feeling sorry. “Lady, if you do not want to talk to us, we would leave you alone. Sorry to bother you in the first place.”
“No, I’m okay. I’m not so narrow minded to take my revenge on a group of friends of the person who called me a criminal for no reason.”
“I didn’t call you a criminal!” Jin Ling felt like he got slapped.
“You really are dumb, aren’t you? You called me a spy, so that is basically the same thing.”
“He called you what? Is this why you were crying that day?”
Jin Ling subconsciously knew that it was Jin Chan, and he should be prepared to fight with him, for he was clearly angry at him. But all he could think about was his words. Did he just say that Qi Xue cried? Why did she cry? Is it because Jin Ling scolded her? But she didn’t strike to him as a girl who would cry just because someone scolded her. Was she sad because Jin Ling was angry at her? But why would she be? Why would she even care?
Jin Ling was pulled by his collar, “How dare you? I won’t let you live. If I knew this back then, I would have shredded you into pieces before I left.”
Jin Ling knew that he won’t get hit, for Zi Zhen and another Ouyang disciple was trying their best to pull Jin Chan away. But Jin Chan was really angry to the point Jin Ling doubted whether only two people would be enough to do that.
“Brother, will you stop?” Qi Xue stood up and came to pull him off Jin Ling as well.
“Don’t tell me you are going to still choose this bastard’s side.”
“I’m not. I’m choosing yours. You are acting in a really inelegant way. You are shaming yourself. Stop this stupidness before you lose your face.”
“This is how men deal with problems.” However, Jin Chan let go of Jin Ling’s collar.
“No. This is how ignorant brats deal with problems. So, stop shaming yourself by stooping down to their level.” Seeing that it was high time to change the topic, Qi Xue looked around. Seeing Si Zhui, she thought that he looked sensible enough, and thankfully at least the Lan disciples seemed to follow his lead. She asked, “Young Master Lan, I believe you had some questions to ask us?”
“Ah, lady, yes. I’m really hoping that I’m not bothering you. What I wanted to ask was that, whether you have made any discoveries in this place.”
“Well, I can tell you what we have seen so far, even though I’m not sure they will be of any help.”
“No. Don’t you dare.” Jin Chan said, now getting angry at his sister. “Don’t help them. If they want to know, let them find on their own. Why should we share our hard-earned work with them for free? We came here first. We are ahead of them, which means this night-hunt is ours.”
“Young master Jin, I don’t think this is a time for us to be selfish like this.” Surprising everyone, Mei Mei spoke up.
Jin Chan was taken aback by her boldness as well. She was a cultivator from a small sect, yet she dared to oppose him? He wanted to show her that she had no right to talk to him in such a manner, but he couldn’t find any words.
Having no interruption, Mei Mei continued. “Qi Xue told me that the first sect to witness these murders were the Gusu Lan sect. And if lady Qi Xue was aware of these murders, I can assume that the acting sect leader of the Jin sect and his friends know about them as well. So, let me tell you that this murder is very similar as far as we can tell. Except that this is not a village, but a mansion of a cultivational clan. I think it’s quite obvious nevertheless. But other than that, we couldn’t find any other clue or information. If only we could speak to the dead.” She heaved a sigh.
“Then let’s do it. Our Si Zhui Xiong is an expert in performing inquiry.” Jing Yi said grinning.
“What? That’s a thing? That could be done?” Mei Mei asked quite surprised.
“Yes, I heard young master Lan performing inquiry at Yi City very well.” This short comment from Jin Chan left everyone else in the group surprised as well.
“But this is a cultivational sect. Wouldn’t that mean their souls would have passed away without lingering?” Jin Ling asked. “I mean we cultivators perform soul calming rituals that help our souls to pass to the next realm without having any barriers.”
“Not necessarily,” Si Zhui replied. “Even though this is a cultivational sect, that doesn’t mean they all had soul calming performed on them. Even though it’s low, it needs a certain level of spiritual energy. So, there could be cultivators who had just begun their cultivation, that hadn’t reached this level of spiritual energy to undergo soul calming, and there could be servants and others that didn’t cultivate at all. If we could contact one of them, maybe they could tell us what happened.”
“That’s awesome!” Qi Xue was so excited, “What are we waiting for then?”
“Not here,” Si Zhui said looking around. “There are too many people. Let’s find somewhere quite.”
They went around the mansion and was able to find a really small courtyard. The enclosed walls made the space darker, and there were dried leaves scattered around making it more eerie.
Si Zhui went to the middle and sat cross legged taking his guqin out of its pouch. The others also chose a place to sit. Some sat around Si Zhui, but others went to the small edges the surrounding walls provided. The one who sat nearest to Si Zhui was Qi Xue. She was so busy being excited that it didn’t even cross her mind that her seating place of choice made her brother concerned and made Jin Ling scowl with jealousy.
Si Zhui put his fingers on the guqin strings and noticed that they were slightly trembling. Is this what his friends talked about? His friends had told him that their hands tremble every time they play their guqin in front of Hanguang Jun. But for Si Zhui, it had always been a peaceful experience. And he had always loved it when Hanguang Jun played his guqin alongside with him. But right now, he realised he was slightly nervous.
Being embarrassed by his own weakness, he played his first question, “Is anyone here?”
They all waited. It seemed like no one even dared to breath in fear of missing the answer. They could here faint voices from around the mansion, but their courtyard was dead silent.
Jing Yi finally spoke up startling everyone. “We gave them enough time to reply. But why didn’t they do so?”
“Jing Yi, you know that I still don’t possess Hanguang Jun’s ability to compel the spirits into replying. I can make sure they are speaking the truth and wouldn’t lie, but that is only if they are willing to answer.” Si Zhui replied feeling sorry he couldn’t contribute more. But he could not help but feel there’s something unusual. First at that manner, and now here. Why weren’t there any spirits that are willing to answer?
“It’s okay Si Zhui Xiong, why don’t you ask the question again? Maybe no ghost heard it when you ask that question.” Zi Zhen said willing to gather more hope.
“If there are any ghosts in the vicinity, there’s no way they didn’t hear it. When Hanguang Jun asked me questions in the tomb, I heard very loud and clearly.” Jin Ling said crossing his arms.
“Hanguang Jun asked you questions through inquiry?” Jing Yi asked baffled, reminding Jing Ling that this incident was something he wanted to hide from his friends, knowing very well getting trapped in the Nie tomb was not a highlight of his life. So, not wanting to reply to that question, he threw a deadly scowl at Jing Yi.
Seeing Jing Yi is going to spat something in return, Si Zhui hurriedly spoke up. “I will ask that question again.” He repeated the few notes and everyone fell silent again.
Again, they waited for a while, but no answer came. “Maybe they really don’t want to answer. Maybe there are no spirits nearby like young master Jin predicted.” Si Zhui finally said with a sigh.
“But there has to be.” The one who reply was the maiden who was sitting next to Jin Chan’s sister. Si Zhui couldn’t exactly remember her name. Was it Mei Mei? “We cannot just give up. More people will die if we can’t figure out what’s going on. We have to try more.”
For some reason, Si Zhui knew that this is not going to work. He didn’t know how he knew. Two questions were not enough to prove that it’s a failure, but it was like a hunch. But looking at this maiden’s eyes, for some reason, he felt like he couldn’t give up. He didn’t want to disappoint this maid… well, his friends. So, he closed his eyes, determined to make this work somehow and repeated his question. When there was no answer, he tried out other questions.
“What is your name?... Are you a male or a female?... Did you die recently?... Is there a reason why you are not willing to talk to us?...”
But just like he expected, none of his questions were answered. He slowly opened his eyes. The courtyard had become even darker. He wondered why. It couldn’t be that late, could it? Nonetheless he brought his fingers to his guqin strings again. He thought that maybe the spirits were sacred after what happened. He thought that he should reassure them by saying that they were not there to hurt them, and if they needed anything, he and his friends are willing to try and help.
But he couldn’t remember what to say. What are the notes to the word… to the word… what is the word? Why is he feeling so sleepy? He felt hot and cold at the same time. He felt like crying even though he couldn’t figure out why. Why was he feeling so sad?
He could remember the notes to the first question he played. He started to play it out only to realise his fingers were shaking immensely. He wasn’t nervous anymore. He could swear that he wasn’t nervous anymore. And what is that? Those eyes… Is that a face? No, it’s not. Why did he think those two uneven plates were eyes? Who is tugging him? It hurt. Who is shaking him? What is that noise? What’s happening. What’s Sioooouuueee? What’s Sichaaaai? Who’s saying this meaningless thing? What did SiZhaaaai mean? IS it Si Zhui? What is Si Zhui? Wait, is that…?
Finally, Si Zhui opened his eyes to be met with the worried face of his best friend. “Oh my god, Si Zhui Xiong, why did you give us all a heart attack? Why didn’t you wake up? I was calling for you for so long.”
Si Zhui could see that every person from their group was gathered around and was looking at him worriedly. He felt guilty for making them worried like that. “Ah, nothing. I’m fine. I was thinking about the notes and got so immersed in my own thoughts. Sorry for making you worry.”
“What do you mean you are fine? You are as white as your robes. Oh my God Si Zhui, you are burning like fire.” Jing Yi said pressing his palms and squishing Si Zhui’s cheeks. “This won’t do. I told you, you have to rest earlier. But as soon as you heard about this mansion you had to rush here, didn’t you?”
“Shixiong, you are the one who was most excited about this place, and you completely forgot about Si Zhui Xiong being tired as well. But Si Zhui Xiong listened to you when you told him to have some food.” This was the youngest Lan disciple from the group.
“What do you think you are doing? Aren’t you talking back to a senior? You surely should be punished.” Jing Yi scolded him, ashamed of his Shidi’s behaviour.
“I… uh…” the young disciple looked down, his cheeks turning red ashamed and scared he broke one of his sect’s rules.
“But Jing Yi Xiong,” Zi Zhen asked, “aren’t you being a hypocrite? You are someone who always talk back.”
“Just because a senior jumped off a cliff, would you do that too? And why are we wasting time? We need to get Si Zhui to a place where he can get proper rest.”
Even though Zi Zhen very much liked to say something back, seeing the state his friend was in, he bit back his remark and helped Jing Yi to pull Si Zhui up. After telling the rest of the Ouyang disciples to search the mansion furthermore, he joined the group that was going back to the town.
“Oh Zi Xiong, that is a wise choice. We all don’t need to go back,” Jing Yi turned towards the rest of the Lan disciples. “Why don’t you guys join the Ouyang disciples. When Si Zhui Xiong gets better, we will come back.”
Not wanting to be parted with his friends, Jin Ling also decided to go to the town. Much to his disappointment Jin Chan decided to go with them as well. Qi Xue seemed to follow her brother, and her friend came as well. Jin Ling didn’t even realise he was staring at Qi Xue until she confronted him.
“You don’t have to make it obvious that you don’t want me here by glaring at me. I already know that.”
Jin Ling was taken aback. He wanted to tell Qi Xue that he didn’t mind her being there. It was her brother he wished he could get rid of. And Jin Ling also felt that there was something else that he wanted to tell Qi Xue, but he couldn’t figure out what it was.
But before he could say anything, Qi Xue continued. “I only came because I know a little about herbs. I thought maybe I can help. I will leave as soon as young master Lan gets better. I don’t want to spend time with you either. Why would I? You didn’t even bring Fairy.”
Jin Ling felt like he wanted to tell Qi Xue that Fairy was in the town. He didn’t know why he wanted to say it so badly. But as soon as Qi Xue said that, she hurried her steps and went to walk alongside her brother.
Si Zhui knew that walking was the best option. Considering how tired and sleepy he was, he clearly couldn’t ride his sword, and there was no one who could carry two people on their sword in their small group. For the umptieth time, he wished that Hanguang Jun was there. By the time they reached a guesthouse, Si Zhui could barely stand straight.
He was vaguely aware of his friends dragging him to a room, and he slumped on the bed thankfully. But his friends didn’t leave him alone and continued to fuss around him. He was aware of a female voice saying that he had no fever anymore, and no other symptoms, so she had no idea how to treat him.
He heard voices again and opened his eyes to realise that somehow, he had fallen asleep. He didn’t have any idea of what time it was nor for how long he was sleeping. But thankfully, he felt better and more energized, and was in a state where he could connect the dots and realise that his sickness was more likely something related to the guqin. But he couldn’t even imagine how it could be possible.
He slowly sat and looked around. A nearby table was filled with small bottles, and his friends were gathered around it. Are those medicine? He got up and went to the table.
“Ah! Si Zhui, you really shouldn’t be walking around. Go back to bed.” Jing Yi got up and started to help him back to bed.
“Jing Yi, I’m feeling way better now. I don’t want to stay in bed anymore. So, at least let me sit here with you guys.” Seeing Jing Yi’s concerned look he added, “I told you I’m really fine. I don’t feel sick anymore.” He sat down on a cushion with his friends’ help. “Are these all medicine? Don’t tell me you spent all your money in buying these. I’m not that sick. I clearly don’t need this much medicine.”
“Si Zhui, we need to go night-hunting again. So, you really need to get well. And if you drink all these, you might get well soon.” Jing Yi said like he was scolding his little brother.
Si Zhui felt a warmth, seeing how much his friend cared about his wellbeing. He picked up one bottle and read the label. His eyebrows immediately flew up. “Jing Yiii, this one is for upset stomachs. My stomach is really fine.”
“So what? Who knows? You can never be too safe.” Jing Yi said totally unfazed.
Zi Zhen was also reading a label. “Jing Yi Xiong, this one says it is for pregnant women.”
At this though, Jing Yi’s face turned completely red. He hurriedly snatched the bottle from Zi Zhen’s hand. “Well… well… I guess Si Zhui won’t be needing that one.”
“Why did you buy all these medicine in the first place?” Jin Chan said rolling his eyes, “You guys are fretting around him like he is a little maiden.”
Before he even realised whom he was agreeing with, Jin Ling spoke up. “Right? Really, who likes being pampered like that?”
Hearing this, everyone glanced at Jin Ling with their eyebrows raised.
“WHAT?” Jin Ling asked sincerely confused.
Everyone was suddenly busy with something. Most of them thought it was a good time to check out all the medicine bottles and Zi Zhen looked away trying to hide the little smirk from Jin Ling.
Suddenly Qi Xue got up dragging Mei Mei with her. “Since your friend is well now,” she said to Jing Yi, “my friend and I would like to go to that other tavern we saw earlier.
“But lady Qi Xue, you can book a room here. We can do something fun to kill time.” Zi Zhen said looking at Jin Ling. “We can play some game with Fairy.”
“He’s here? I thought you left Fairy at Carp Tower.” Her eyes suddenly lit up.
“No, no.” Jin Ling blurted out. “I found someone who grooms dogs, and left Fairy with him to be well groomed. It’s time to pick him up now. When he come back, his coat will be really soft.”
“Only someone like you would spend money on something so meaningless like that.” Jin Chan looked really disgusted. “You are stupid enough not to see that those people are just ripping off money. And who would even think about grooming a stupid dog like that.”
Jin Ling was about to get up and grab Jin Chan’s throat, but Zi Zhen gripped his arm, and from his eyes, pointed at Qi Xue. Jin Ling understood what he meant. If he wanted to win Qi Xue’s favour, he might have to put up with Jin Chan as well.
But he didn’t understand why he wanted to win her favour, even after knowing who she was. He knew there was a chance that this girl will use him to help her father to take over the clan. Even at this moment, she could be plotting something with her brother. But what about the glare she threw at Jin Chan when he called Fairy stupid? And looking at her eyes now, Jin Ling really felt like nothing about her background really mattered.
But, alas, before he could say anything, Qi Xue said with a sigh, “Young master Ouyang, thank you for your invitation. But I have to decline, for I am feeling really tired.” And she left the room dragging her friend behind her.