Chapter Seventeen: Ghostly Fire in the Night

Reading this book was truly exhausting, but I finally made it to dinner. Claiming that Xin'er and I were going to work on mixing rouge, we went back to our room, waiting for the meal to be brought up.

As soon as we entered, I collapsed onto the bed like a kite with its string cut. Sitting upright earlier hadn't seemed so tiring, but now I felt the full weight of exhaustion. My joints ached and felt swollen.

"This place is unbearable. Yi'er, how have you managed to endure it?" I turned my head to look at Yi'er, speaking weakly.

"Actually… I find it quite simple. Every day is just about learning songs, dances, calligraphy, and painting. It's just a bit monotonous."

Simple? This was pure torture for me.

"The rules here give me such a headache. Thanks to them, I now deeply understand what it means for a day to feel like a year." I exhaled a breath of pent-up frustration, struggled to sit up, and stretched my neck. Then I asked, "By the way, Yi'er, why are you here in disguise instead of practicing your magic on the mountain? With your skills, you couldn't have been captured so easily."

Yi'er gently shook her head and looked at me seriously. "I wasn't captured. I came here willingly."

What? Willingly? Could Yi'er have been brainwashed with some kind of pill from the Xinghuo Sect? I quickly reached for her wrist to check her pulse but found her energy flowing smoothly without any abnormalities.

Seeing my concern, Yi'er laughed and withdrew her hand, giving mine a light slap. "You never let anyone finish their story. Actually, I came here with some disciples under the guidance of Master Linglu to investigate a murder case, which seems to involve demons."

So Master Linglu was on a mission, and it just happened to coincide with the place where I was playing with Da Xian.

"Yi'er, do you suspect this place and came here to gather information? How's the investigation going?" I asked.

"This place is actually a cover for the Xinghuo Sect. They use it to attract outsiders and extract their essence through dark magic to aid demons in their cultivation. Extracting too much essence, the vital energy, can easily cause fatalities. I'm currently looking for an opportunity to free these girls and then notify my master to eradicate these evil practitioners." She wiped the sweat from my forehead with a clean handkerchief and then asked, "Qingyue, why were you drinking alone and got captured? Wasn't Master Que with you?"

I was curious. "Huh? Yi'er, how did you know I was drinking?"

She pointed to the clothes by the table. "You don't have to ask. The clothes I changed for you last night reeked of alcohol. It took several washes to get the smell out."

Last night, it seems I was causing trouble for myself. How could I explain this?

I scratched my head awkwardly, trying to come up with an excuse. "Actually, I read in a book that alcohol is a spiritual medicine that can relieve all worries and pains, so I wanted to experience it for myself."

Yi'er looked at me skeptically and pressed, "Alcohol is a remedy for worries, but if you had no worries, why did you drink? Tell me honestly, or I won't share our secret mission tonight."

A secret mission? Could it be that Yi'er already had a plan to send out the message and save these people? I couldn't miss out on this chance to fight evil and earn Da Xian's praise. So, I decided to trim out some unnecessary details and briefly explained the situation to Yi'er. To my surprise, she couldn't help but laugh after hearing it all and said to me, "You're pining for Master Que."

Huh? I thought I had omitted the key parts of the story. How did she come to that conclusion? How strange!

She saw the confusion on my face and teased, "You love to play around, yet after seeing Master Linglu and Master Que together, you didn't follow them and instead went to the tavern to get drunk. You practically have 'jealous' written on your forehead."

Indeed, even a fool could see the truth. I should have followed them last night. Now, it seemed like I confessed without being pressed. I could only hope Da Xian was slow to realize it. What was I thinking last night? I pulled the blanket over my head, hiding my face completely.

"What's wrong, Qingyue? When did you become so shy? Besides, this isn't something to be embarrassed about. It's a feeling every girl experiences," Yi'er tried to comfort me, but the more I thought about last night, the more embarrassed I felt. My face felt like it was burning by the fire, and my heart pounded like a rabbit in my chest, making it hard to breathe. I quietly poked my head out and pressed my face against the cool wall to cool down.

"But I feel like we're not a good match. Last night, seeing Master Linglu standing next to Da Xian, I felt a sense of loss and jealousy that I couldn't explain."

Yi'er sighed softly, took a candied fruit from her cloth bag, and popped it into my mouth. "Feeling down is normal, and so is feeling jealous, because Qingyue, you like Master Que. I don't fully understand romantic feelings, but if it's all sweet, it can get cloying, and if it's all sour, it can lead to misunderstandings and avoidance. Like this dried apricot, a perfect blend of sweet and sour, that's what real feelings are like." She handed me a cup of tea and waited for me to drink it before continuing. "Moreover, relationships are never smooth sailing. There will be many difficulties. But if you don't have the courage to face those difficulties, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Qingyue, I hope you understand that once you've made up your mind, you should never regret your choice."

I listened attentively to Yi'er's words, and suddenly all the confusion and anxiety that had troubled me disappeared. I felt more certain about my choices and answers. Feeling carefree, I lay down on Yi'er's lap and said, "Yi'er, you always manage to light a fire in my heart, burning away all the mess."

Yi'er looked at me with a mix of amusement and exasperation. "What a strange metaphor." She suddenly raised her hands, threatening to tickle me. "Tell me, how many times have I helped you untangle your knots?"

"Many, I've lost count." I quickly dodged her playful hands.

Yi'er had indeed helped me countless times. Thinking back to when I first joined the Qiongyun Sect, since I wasn't officially recognized as a disciple, the elders and senior brothers didn't want much to do with me. Even during sword practice, they found excuses to send me far away. It was Yi'er and Senior Brother Luoxi who not only guided me in swordsmanship but also often sneaked me down the mountain to play.

For some reason, my eyes suddenly felt warm, and a tear almost escaped. I quickly wiped my face and changed the topic. "By the way, Yi'er, what's this secret mission you mentioned earlier? Tell me, so I can help."

Just then, there was a knock on the door, likely the food being delivered. Yi'er answered, and the person left the tray outside the door.

She pointed outside, lowered her voice, and said mysteriously, "No rush. Let's eat first and rest a bit. When the time comes, join me, and you'll find out."

I nodded, hastily ate a few bites, and then lay down to rest. But despite intending to rest, I was too excited to sleep. I tossed and turned, unable to settle down, while the moon outside the window grew brighter.

The moonlight quietly cast a serene glow, and gradually, my mind calmed down with it. I felt drowsy and soon slipped into a dream as gentle as the moonlight.

I was sleeping lightly and heard Yi'er calling my name in my dream. I woke up still groggy, my eyelids heavy, teetering between dream and reality. Just as I was about to close my eyes again, a sharp pain in my thigh jolted me awake, stifling a yawn.

Yi'er put a finger to her lips, signaling for silence, and handed me a set of keys. She glanced towards the door, which was ajar, just wide enough for one person to slip through.

But I distinctly remembered the door being locked after the dishes were collected. How had Yi'er opened it without alerting anyone? There was no time to think about it. I took the keys, used a spell to silence my footsteps, and once outside, winked at Yi'er before heading to unlock the rooms on the east and west sides.

After completing the task, I asked Yi'er what the next step was. She pulled me towards the entrance, and from her sleeve, she took out several small stones, flinging them into the shadows. There was a series of mechanical clicks, and a section of the hall floor sank, revealing a staircase leading downwards.

No wonder I couldn't find the main entrance earlier; they used this method to seal the place. The clandestine nature of this setup spoke volumes about their vile deeds. Just as I was pondering this, flames suddenly erupted around us, rushing towards us fiercely.

"Young girls these days, thinking they can fool me with such clumsy lies. You really think I'm that easy to deceive?" A sharp, piercing voice rang out as dozens of women in fiery red dresses surrounded us. Granny Sun, whom I had seen during the day, stood in the center of the upper floor, watching us like a spectator at a play.

This was bad. We had fallen into a trap.

"Yi'er, it's impossible to rescue the girls now. You go and alert everyone." Without giving her a chance to argue, I used my spiritual power to send Yi'er down into the hidden chamber, then cast a spell to freeze the entrance, buying her some time to escape.