Creak—the soft sound of a door being pushed.

Footsteps crushing dried leaves.

Walking on stone paths, careful tiptoeing sounds.

Hmm, no martial arts skills, very nervous, didn’t even notice the iron bars of the trap on the ground.

Click—the sound of something being set down.

Moonlight illuminated a figure slightly bent over on the steps, head wrapped in a blue cloth.

She was about to turn around when suddenly the door opened.

The newcomer said in delight, “Young mas… Who are you!”

She widened her eyes, instinctively about to cry out, then immediately reacted and quickly covered her own mouth.

She retreated three steps and actually pulled out a boning knife from behind her back, saying warily, “Who are you! Don’t come closer!”

Her tone was fierce, but her hands kept trembling.

From her slightly deep voice, Tie Ci recognized who she was. Glancing at the cloth-covered basket, she smiled, “He Gu, hello there.”

She looked at the woman across from her. Though called He Gu, she wasn’t old—only about twenty. But probably due to long-term labor, her skin was somewhat rough, and her hands were covered with bandages, showing an aging that didn’t match her years.

“You know me?” He Gu was surprised.

Tie Ci had already lifted the basket cover, seeing a jar of porridge inside and steaming hot flatbread.

He Gu said softly, “Who are you? Are you someone from the young master’s side? I heard the young master was ill, so I brought him some food… Nothing fancy—the good things in the kitchen are all controlled. I made this secretly after everyone left the kitchen…”

She continued, “When you serve the young master his meal, remember the flatbread must be divided into four equal pieces for him to eat. I made all these breads very round… I need to go back to work, so I’ll leave first…” She looked longingly into the room and said softly, “I couldn’t enter Wanqing Garden before. I haven’t seen the young master in so long.”

Tie Ci stepped aside, showing her the empty interior.

He Gu’s mouth slowly fell open.

“Where did the young master go!”

Tie Ci gestured for her to come in. He Gu hesitated, so Tie Ci said softly, “I came to rescue him, but when I arrived, he was already gone. I want to ask you what happened before and where he might have gone.”

He Gu still looked suspicious. Tie Ci pointed to that area of ground, “There’s a trap down there. I just tricked Ah Qi into falling in.”

He Gu was stunned, then her face showed hatred. She suddenly picked up the basket, turned around, and in a few steps reached the iron bars. She opened the basket, took out the jar, and poured the porridge down with a splash.

“Ungrateful, traitorous thing—serves you right!”

The porridge had just been cooked and was still scalding hot, sending up steam.

Tie Ci hadn’t expected her to be so fiery. She flashed to the edge of the pit, planning to knock Ah Qi unconscious again when he screamed from the burns. But she saw that though Ah Qi’s body was contorted and his face flushed red from the scalding porridge, he still hadn’t awakened, saving her the trouble.

The drug they’d used was clearly very potent.

“Enough. People climbing high and stepping low is common—no need to take it too much to heart. Follow me inside. I have questions for you.”

As He Gu followed her up the steps, she said hoarsely, “You’re a noble person—you probably haven’t seen such shameless villains, these ungrateful slaves who bite the hand that feeds them. I won’t even mention their deeds—they’d dirty your ears.”

Tie Ci smiled.

Me? I’ve seen far too many.

She led He Gu inside and pressed lightly on the wall with her finger, revealing a crack of a doorway. “He Gu, have you heard of any strange occurrences in the residence?”

Wealthy households often had hidden walls and secret passages, but not all of them were passable.

He Gu said, “I heard Wanqing Garden is haunted…”

Places said to be haunted usually had secrets—ghosts in people’s hearts.

Tie Ci asked He Gu, “Were you the young master’s maid? If so, if your young master were to be taken away, where do you think would be most likely to keep him quiet?”

He Gu thought and said, “The young master would make a fuss anywhere at first, but he likes looking at large bodies of water, likes watching shimmering water light, likes looking at architectural structures—the more intricate and complex the better.”

Tie Ci nodded and pressed her finger harder, pushing open the secret door in the wall. This mechanism must have been triggered accidentally by You Weixing when he was scribbling on the wall. Now it opened silently.

Seeing a door suddenly appear, He Gu was startled and whispered, “Is the young master inside?”

“Let’s see.”

Behind the door was a narrow passage, only wide enough for two people. Tie Ci walked ahead, gesturing for He Gu to follow.

The secret passage was empty, with a smooth floor and neat walls on both sides. There were copper lamps on the walls with more than half their oil remaining, but the oil was cold—clearly they hadn’t been lit for some time.

But obviously people had frequently walked here before.

A gust of wind came from somewhere, making Tie Ci’s fire starter flame leap up, brightening the way ahead. Suddenly a ghostly face loomed into view!

Green-faced with fangs, glaring eyes and fierce expression, dripping with fresh blood.

Before He Gu behind her could scream, Tie Ci quickly covered her mouth.

Then she said, “A mask.”

Her calm tone quickly settled He Gu’s drumming heart and trembling body. Only then did she realize it was just a ghost mask, but made so realistically with such vivid blood color that appearing suddenly in the dancing firelight, it could instantly stop one’s heart with terror.

Tie Ci raised her fire starter and slowly illuminated the area.

Countless ghost faces emerged from the dark background.

On both walls—weeping, wailing, struggling, vicious, murderous, cannibalistic… all kinds of death scenes, blood dripping everywhere. Stepping in was like entering the eighteen levels of hell.

He Gu’s body had gone soft, reaching out to steady herself against the wall, then quickly jerking her hand back.

She felt her fingers had touched something very sticky and feared it was poison, her face changing color.

Tie Ci said calmly, “No poison, don’t be afraid.”

Tie Ci rubbed her finger against the red substance on the wall. The color had already darkened, not as bright as on the masks. Some was sticky, some had dried and hardened into clots. The dark red stain on her fingertip, she sniffed it and her expression turned cold.

It was real blood.

He Gu looked at her with uncertainty. Tie Ci smiled and said, “This paint is quite realistic.”

He Gu’s expression gradually calmed again. Tie Ci asked her, “Has Wanqing Garden always been the young master’s courtyard?”

“Yes.”

“Then why is it so remote and dilapidated?”

“It’s remote because the young master doesn’t like crowded places—he chose the garden himself. As for dilapidated… it wasn’t originally. But the young master was away for nearly a year, and when he came back, we were all reassigned. He injured the new servants, and everyone refused to serve there. No one cared, and over time it became dilapidated.”

“That still doesn’t explain why there isn’t even any furniture.”

“It was all smashed and thrown out. Last winter was unusually cold in Yannan. Many lower servants had no charcoal, so they secretly found Ah Qi and dragged the furniture out to chop for firewood. They didn’t even leave the young master a bed!”

“Doesn’t your female heir care?”

“The young lady… has been under house arrest since returning. Soon after, her marriage was arranged. She can’t step out of Jinfang Pavilion.”

“They’re the true masters of this Prince’s Residence. Why haven’t they had loyal servants all these years? When trouble came, there was no one to help?”

He Gu lowered her eyes. “Because of the Second Master… When the Prince was alive, the Second Master was utterly loyal and trusted, even took a blade for the Prince. He didn’t covet power and several times declined important positions the Prince offered, saying he only wanted to be the Prince’s steward, letting the Prince focus on affairs of state without worry. In the Prince’s final two years, as his strength declined, he entrusted nearly all residence affairs to the Second Master. The Second Master managed the entire residence like an iron fortress—everyone in the residence belonged to the Second Master…”

Tie Ci gave a short laugh.

What cunning, what patience.

The You father and son truly had the hearts of ambitious lords—even more able to endure hardship and loneliness than actual ambitious lords.

“It’s not that there were no servants utterly loyal to the young lady and young master,” He Gu said. “But after the Prince’s death, these people were gradually dismissed. The closer they were to the young master and young lady, the more their whereabouts became unknown. I can still do odd jobs in the kitchen because I was originally just a third-class sweeping maid in the young master’s courtyard.”

“Others either have unknown fates or changed allegiances. Why do you, a third-class maid, still guard the young master so faithfully?”

He Gu blushed slightly. “Because the young master gave me money… Once he saw me crying and found me annoying, so he threw money at me. I was worried about money then, and seeing the gold and silver, I stopped crying and kowtowed to him. He found it amusing, so later whenever he saw me looking troubled, he’d throw money at me…”

Tie Ci couldn’t help but snort with laughter.

He Gu lowered her head. “It was wrong of me. I was desperately short of money then, and I took advantage of the young master… But I’m truly grateful to him. Without the money he gave me, my whole family couldn’t have survived.”

Tie Ci said gently, “Ah Yao has a pure heart worthy of protection. You understand his goodness and know gratitude—that’s being worthy of him.”

He Gu looked at her gratefully, then suddenly said, “Are you Shiba?”

Tie Ci looked at her in surprise.

“I secretly brought food to the young master several times, and each time I heard him murmuring ‘Shiba, Shiba’ to the wall. When I asked who Shiba was, he said that was his fairy who would ride white clouds to find him.” He Gu murmured, gazing up at Tie Ci’s gentle face in the firelight.

She had originally thought those were just a child’s foolish words, but now she knew he hadn’t been wrong.

Tie Ci turned her head away, her gaze falling on the lower part of the wall. The bottom half still had those dripping bloodstains and handprint marks dragged across repeatedly. The handprints were various sizes—some like a child’s hands, some like those of a slightly older youth.

But though all the handprints differed in position and size, the dragged marks all looked exactly the same.

All left by You Weixing.

Only he would be so persistent that even handprints had to be identical.

He had lived in Wanqing Garden since childhood.

He didn’t like being close to people.

He lived alone in his room. Late at night, the door in the wall would open.

He would enter the secret passage. The passage had no people, only eternal loneliness and darkness. The lamps might be lit, or might not be.

When the lamps were lit, he would see the hideous ghost masks on both sides of the passage. Each time he would be frightened, filled with infinite terror.

When the lamps were out, he would smell the thick scent of blood from the walls. His small hands would slowly rake across the walls, leaving mark after mark of consistent depth and shape.

Those small handprints gradually grew larger, repeatedly scratching across the walls.

At first the door opened silently, luring him into the nighttime world of horror.

Later the door might have been opened by himself, like a compulsion—he was summoned by nightmares, terrified, yet still entered again and again.

An ordinary person might cry out in fright the first time, bringing people to investigate.

But he wouldn’t. He was never an ordinary child.

He would only be lured again and again into the secret passage, to face that enclosed terror, drowning in the deep sea of nightmares.

Thus becoming even more silent and reclusive.

Increasingly like the “fool” and “idiot” people called him.

A child like him originally wasn’t without hope of recovery—he only needed family to persistently educate, comfort, trust, and endlessly provide warmth.

Unfortunately, he probably never received any of that.

His father considered him an idiot and gave up in despair as his condition worsened.

His sister loved him but didn’t understand him, didn’t know how to save him. Perhaps he had sought help from his sister, but would You Weixuan believe him?

But hadn’t You Weixuan ever investigated?

If she had investigated, why was there no reaction?

Tie Ci thought of their first meeting—the child with his back to her, watching ants.

He could have grown up happily. Even if he couldn’t become the Prince’s Residence heir, he could have been a normal person. Perhaps a bit spoiled, perhaps a bit domineering, but able to know this azure sky, blue water, brilliant mountain flowers, and the warmth and coolness of human relationships.

This narrow secret passage was like a noose around his neck, gently strangling, daily binding, making him constantly struggle for just a thin breath to barely survive.

Ten years of suffering unknown to all.

Tie Ci took a light breath.

A breeze came toward her, slightly cool.

She walked forward.

The path ahead was blocked by a wall.

Tie Ci’s gaze pierced through the wall, and a figure’s back appeared before her eyes.

That figure sat with his back to the wall, holding a book scroll in one hand and picking something from a plate beside him to eat with the other. Even from his posture, you could see his complete contentment.

In the eyes of someone currently filled with anger and sympathy, it was an incomparable contrast.

Tie Ci’s gaze fell on his hands—wearing a large ring, with an extremely elaborate and particular crown on his head, and the bone structure of a middle-aged man.

His arm bone had been broken.

You Jun had once taken a blade for the Yannan Prince, breaking his arm. It must be him without doubt.

Right now You Jun sat before her, separated by one wall, with his back to her.

She need only teleport once, and with a flash of blade light…

She could avenge Ah Yao and solve the court’s major threat. Perhaps Yannan would fall into her hands.

Tie Ci stared intently at his back.

An incomparable temptation.