Exploring the East Courtyard

Candles, sculptures, corpses, and ancient-looking lattice doors led out to a wild, grassy courtyard, a toppled bronze incense burner, and bluestone paths and bright moonlight.

The dead silence was bleak and eerie.

This place seemed to be perpetually in the night.

Zhang Yuanqing raised his palm to his mouth and spat out the small blue pill in his mouth.

The method worked. I'm so f*cking smart… He happily put the pill in his pocket and felt a little more confident about his "future".

With them, there was hope of survival when facing the red dancing shoes.

Then he made a beeline for the tribute table, thought for a moment, and reached for the candlestick.

Suddenly, a message appeared before his eyes:

[Name: The Candle That Never Goes Out]

[Type: Fuel]

[Function: Suppress Evil, Purify]

[Introduction: A tool left behind by Goddess Sandao. It is said to be refined from the oil of the Eternal Bright Beast. It has the effect of suppressing evil and purifying.]

[Remarks: Sometimes purifying fear is not necessarily a good thing. Also, it cannot be moved.]

As expected, only by touching it personally could one obtain information. Previously, he did not dare to touch the candle, so he did not know that it was a tool until he read the information…

"Removing fear isn't necessarily a good thing. According to Guan Ya's classification, candles are a price-type tool. The price of using them is the loss of fear. But I'm scared now and have no intention of courting death. I'll hide in the main hall for now."

He sat cross-legged at the tribute table and considered his next move.

"The next objective of the operation is to explore the eastern courtyard, figure out the dangers and patterns that lurk there, and then find ways to restrain and overcome them. Explore no more than fifteen minutes, or the vengeful spirit will fall on my shoulders and kill me."

"The blue pill is my trump card against the red dancing shoes, but it might not be useful. Once I face the red dancing shoes head-on, I'll either live or die… Let's explore the east courtyard first and get a preliminary understanding of the environment there before thinking of a solution."

At this point, he was still a little afraid and didn't want to go out. He had been lucky to survive last time, and it was still unknown if he would survive this time.

The situation at the east courtyard was unknown, and it was impossible to determine how dangerous it was. It was easy to die after trying.

However, in this world, life was not as simple as avoiding things.

Although there was no time limit for the quest to explore the ancient temple and he could theoretically stay in the main hall all the time, without a fixed duration, it meant that he would probably never be able to get out unless he completed the quest.

If he delayed too long, his body condition would decline because of hunger, sleepiness, thirst, and other reasons.

If he went out to explore then, he would be dead.

"There's nothing I can do but fight!"

Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth and strode out.

Wait, I should consider it again. It's very dangerous outside…

He, who had one foot out of the door, suddenly wanted to retreat. He couldn't help but look back at the hall and miss the glory of this place.

The candlelight was warm, dispelling the haze, cleansing the filth. It gave the heart an incomparable courage and confidence.

It's not a big problem…

Zhang Yuanqing went out confidently.

.....

The moonlight was as bright as frost. Zhang Yuanqing walked along the left side of the main hall, stepping on the cobblestone path, and re-entered the desolate and dilapidated courtyard house.

The night was eerily silent without insects or birds.

But the silence was also reassuring. He was most afraid of going out and hearing footsteps.

"Fifteen minutes. I only have fifteen minutes. I have to explore the east courtyard before the vengeful spirit gets me…"

He entered the easternmost room of the quadrangle. From the corpse leaning against the window, he fumbled again for the bronze mirror and hid it in his pocket.

Then he carefully passed through the arched door and entered the east courtyard.

The east courtyard was much larger than the quadrangle, and what came into view was a deserted garden with rockery, a gazebo, a small pool, and a big banyan tree with a thick trunk and knotted branches. Its tender green leaves reflected the bright moonlight.

There was an old well under the banyan tree.

His gaze swept past the rockery pavilion and he could see the ridge of the house in the depths of the garden.

Zhang Yuanqing did not go straight to the building in the depths of the garden. Instead, he walked cautiously around the big banyan tree. The information said that the tree was dangerous, but nothing unexpected happened after he walked around it.

"Check the big banyan tree. It should be able to advance my exploration…"

Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself. He glanced at the dark ancient well and hesitated. He still did not have the courage to look.

He was very traumatized by the old well in such a horror story.

Zhang Yuanqing skirted the ancient well and shuffled through the weeds towards the building deep in the garden.

Crack!

Suddenly, there was a cracking sound under his feet, and he jumped up in fright.

When he focused on it, he saw that it was a body buried in weeds, wrapped in decomposing work clothes. Zhang Yuanqing leaned over and examined it. The skeleton was well preserved.

It was lying on its stomach, but its head was facing behind it. That meant something had twisted its head 180 degrees before it died.

'Who did that?'

Zhang Yuanqing quietly became vigilant. He got up and was about to continue exploring.

At that moment, a gust of wind blew over them. The weeds in the garden heaved and rustled. The big banyan tree behind them seemed to come alive, shaking its branches and leaves in a twisted manner.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing…"

A high-pitched scream came from behind him.

The voice came with the wind, as if whispering in his ear, bringing with it a chill that made his skin crawl.

Out of instinct, Zhang Yuanqing was about to turn around and be on guard when information about the information suddenly flashed through his mind: Don't look back!

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing…"

When he didn't respond, the voice seemed urgent, wanting him to turn his head quickly.

Of course, Zhang Yuanqing wouldn't turn around. He stood his ground and quietly unzipped his jacket pocket. He fumbled for his bronze mirror and slowly raised it until it was high above his shoulder.

The bronze mirror reflected the scene behind him less clearly.

A woman in white with disheveled hair emerged from the ancient well. Her face was featureless, and she was about to focus on Zhang Yuanqing with her pale, fleshy face.

F*ck you… Zhang Yuanqing's face turned pale as he ran forward.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing…"

The voice called again and again, urgently, but she could only watch helplessly as he ran away.

Soon, Zhang Yuanqing bypassed the rockery and went deeper into the garden. There was a large house with a terraced roof ridge, a stone foundation, and walls made of yellow soil.

The house on this side was even more dilapidated than the courtyard house. The roof tiles were sparse and broken.

"The Night Wanderer in the information also came here. He only said not to look back, but he didn't say that I couldn't go back. The call of the female ghost in the well might only be directed at the person who turned back. In that case, I shouldn't encounter any danger when I return later…"

He took a deep breath on the spot, calming the surging fear and horror, and focused on the present.

"Let's explore this house first."

The big house had three doors in total, representing three rooms.

He carefully approached the one on the far left and reached out to push open the broken wooden door.

Squeak~

At the sound of the wooden door opening, Zhang Yuanqing quickly stepped back and assumed a defensive stance.

Nothing happened for a while.

Emboldened, he went into the house. As moonlight shone through the broken roof, he tried to keep his eyes open to let his pupils absorb as much light as possible.

This was the kitchen and canteen. There were two green brick earthen stoves, pots, pans, water jars, cabinets, and other items that had long rotted and accumulated dust.

There's no danger. I've finally found the container… Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a dusty gourd ladle and couldn't help but let his thoughts wander.

"I heard that a virgin's urine can dispel evil."

He considered spraying some of his virgin urine. After careful consideration, he reluctantly abandoned the idea.

Although he had never dated a girl, Zhang Yuanqing felt that he could not be considered a virgin.

"I've indulged in pleasure too much." He stared down at his hands, a little bitterly.

After some exploration and confirmation that the house was a combination kitchen and mess hall, that there was nothing special or dangerous about it, Zhang Yuanqing stepped out of the house with a rusty kitchen knife and a stick and set his sights on the last large rectangular house.

Unlike the kitchen, which doubled as a large cafeteria, this house had four doors, divided into four rooms.

Zhang Yuanqing could not help but clench the wooden stick and kitchen knife in his hand. They might not be useful, but they could give him assurance.

He carefully checked the first and second rooms. They belonged in the utility room. They were stacked with old-style farm equipment, furniture, and donation boxes.

There isn't much here… Zhang Yuanqing turned to the third room.

It was an armory. Knives, swords, bows, daggers, knives, and other weapons hung on the walls. Many of the weapons had fallen to the floor because of the rotten ropes.

By the window were two rows of weapon racks. One row had toppled over, and clubs and spears were scattered across the floor.

Two bodies were bent over the side of the overturned weapons rack.

Zhang Yuanqing was not surprised to see these weapons. The disciples in the temple had been taught by the Goddess Sandao and could make Corpse Suppression Talismans. They clearly had the ability to protect themselves.

It was not surprising that they knew how to fight.

He went to check the corpses as usual, looking for information from the seniors.

As he approached the bodies, he couldn't help but gasp. The two bodies lying on the ground weren't skeletons, but two dried corpses.

Their skin was gray and wrinkled and close to their bones. Their bellies were sunken.

"Why are there dried corpses?"

Zhang Yuanqing frowned. As a student of Songhai University, he had enough knowledge.

There were two reasons for the mummification: artificial embalming and natural formation.

The first type could be eliminated directly. The second type was mostly formed in dry areas such as deserts.

The conditions in the temple clearly did not fit.

He carefully examined the two mummified corpses. There were no fatal injuries on their bodies, and their bones had not been broken by the red dancing shoes. However, there were two obvious holes in the flesh of their necks.

It looked like the bite of a ferocious beast.

"What was it that sucked them dry?"

Zhang Yuanqing gasped and tensed.

Then he heard a thump from the next room, like a knock on a wooden door.

Instantly, his scalp tingled. Like an agile wild deer, Zhang Yuanqing strained his neck and listened.