Entering the county office gate, Yusang saw that fires were already blazing inside. The corridors and tree branches in the courtyard were all aflame. Servants were scattered around – some standing, some walking, some running. Some held luggage wanting to escape, others carried water basins wanting to extinguish the fires, but all were frozen motionless in their positions like stone sculptures.
“Did it hurt just now?”
“Hm?” Yusang was focused on watching the fire situation around them and was stunned for a moment before understanding that Yan Qige was referring to the sword wound the snake demon had given her.
“I thought you couldn’t see it at all.” Yusang turned her head away irritably, not looking at Yan Qige.
“Are you angry?”
“You tricked me into getting stabbed, and you don’t expect me to be happy about it?”
“That’s unreasonable talk. I told you to act, but I never said the other party was also acting. It was your carelessness that gave her an opportunity. I kindly asked about you, yet you blame me – truly, no good deed goes unpunished.”
“Yan Qige, if I ever believe your words again, I’m a puppy.”
“As you wish.”
Yusang had thought Yan Qige brought it up to apologize, but who knew he would be so venomous and mocking, pouring oil on her anger. Just then, she saw a burned curtain hanging in the corridor ahead. Yusang’s eyes rolled, and she casually picked up a dead branch from the ground and threw it at the curtain. The burning curtain fell toward Yan Qige.
…
…
Just as it was about to burn Yan Qige, for some unknown reason, the flaming curtain suddenly seemed to grow eyes and flew toward Yusang instead, frightening her into running several steps and hiding behind Yan Qige.
“Look at you with your paper-thin courage.” Yan Qige laughed out loud. Seeing the curtain fall beside them and burn, Yusang glared at him and pretended to be calm as she shook off Yan Qige’s sleeve and walked forward.
In the East Garden, Yan Qige and Yusang saw Old Madam Wang sitting upright in a grand master’s chair. Her hair was elaborately arranged, her clothing luxurious. Magistrate Wang knelt on the ground before her. Both were frozen motionless like the servants outside, with only the snake demon standing beside them, looking around in shock.
Seeing Yan Qige, the snake demon urgently asked, “What’s happening? Why aren’t they moving?”
Yan Qige approached Old Madam Wang kneeling on the ground, reached out to test her breathing, curved his fingers to cast a spell and pressed a mark on her forehead. Old Madam Wang then opened her eyes as if awakening from a dream.
Seeing the room already ablaze and Magistrate Wang kneeling motionlessly before her, Old Madam Wang first stood up from her chair in panic, looked around, then seemed to understand something and retreated a few steps, slowly sinking back into the chair.
“Madam Wang, do you have an extraordinary object in your possession?” Yan Qige asked.
Old Madam Wang looked at Yan Qige with some surprise, hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
“What object?”
Old Madam Wang’s gaze wandered toward the doorway. Her body sitting in the carved chair trembled slightly, but she didn’t speak.
A piece of burnt wood fell beside Yusang’s feet, frightening her into jumping two steps and moving next to Yan Qige. “This fire has reached its peak. This place is about to collapse. We should get out quickly.”
“We can’t get out. This spirit medium barrier is used to punish those who go against heaven’s will. If the transgressor doesn’t confess and make amends, everything must burn to ash before it stops.” Yan Qige said casually, sitting down in a nearby pear wood chair.
“What?” Both Yusang and the snake demon asked in shock.
“I don’t want to die here.” The snake demon said, crouching to help the kneeling Magistrate Wang, but as soon as she approached, she was immediately repelled by a force and fell to the side.
“Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Now you’ve killed me – I’ve fallen for your trick again.” Thinking she would be burned to death here, Yusang glared at Yan Qige in anger and hatred.
“Quiet, be good! Even if we die, there are many people here to accompany you – you won’t be lonely on the road to the underworld.” Yan Qige patted Yusang as if coaxing a cat or dog.
“Madam, at this point, what can’t be said?” Just as Yusang was about to explode at Yan Qige, a somewhat familiar voice came, followed by a red figure slowly walking out from behind a screen, approaching Old Madam Wang. It was the real Lu Ranqing, the mortal woman who had been adopted by the Wang family and was Magistrate Wang’s childhood friend.
Seeing the real Ranqing, the snake demon couldn’t help but touch her face. Except for the demonic aura between her brows and eyes, they were identical.
Ranqing stepped forward and grasped Old Madam Wang’s trembling, withered fingers. Old Madam Wang blinked her tear-filled eyes and grasped Ranqing’s hand with a sigh. After a moment, Old Madam Wang shifted her gaze to Yan Qige, who was leisurely drinking tea in the firelight, and said, “Tell me then, how can we get out?”
“Just like back then – summon the spirit once more. How things go then will depend on the Soul Keeper Elder’s intentions.”
“Very well, as you say.” Old Madam Wang agreed, then raised her hand to remove a silver hairpin from her hair. The pin had an agate ornament at its head with exquisite craftsmanship. But before Yusang could examine it closely, Old Madam Wang had already placed the jade pin on the table and picked up an incense burner from the nearby table, striking down hard on the pin’s head. With a cracking sound, the agate head shattered and fell away, and the silver pin’s tip emanated a faint silver glow.
“This is it.” Old Madam Wang placed the silver pin in her palm and presented it to Yan Qige.
Yan Qige looked at the headless silver pin but didn’t reach out to take it. His eyes showed changing expressions. After a long while, he said, “How did you obtain this object?”
“My mother was once a wandering demon hunter. This object was passed to me on her deathbed. She told me this was no ordinary thing – it could communicate with spirits and grant wishes, making desires come true. But once a wish was granted, heavenly punishment would inevitably follow, so it couldn’t be used carelessly, and outsiders must never know of it.”
“Knowing this, you still made a wish for it.”
Old Madam Wang sighed helplessly and nodded, “I never thought of going against fate or seeking anything improper, until ten years ago when the Wang family was inexplicably destroyed by a natural disaster and fell into decline. To support the family, my son abandoned his studies to seek work outside. But as a mere scholar who couldn’t carry or lift anything, not only did he fail to earn money to support the family, he also suffered much disdain from others, and my husband contracted a serious illness. In desperation, I made a wish to this soul artifact, asking that my son achieve success in the imperial examination. But I never expected that after his success, he would marry a demon. I knew this was the heavenly punishment and put it away, never daring to use it again.”
“What about the murder cases in the city? Could they also be related to this pin?” Yusang asked in confusion.
“It was me – all done by me.”
“You? You…” Yusang couldn’t help but be shocked, wondering how an elderly woman like Old Madam Wang could drain blood and kill people. But just as she started to speak, Yan Qige glared her back into silence.
Old Madam Wang sighed wearily, “I inherited my mother’s mantle from childhood, learning Taoist arts and studying at Kunlun Mountain. Though I wasn’t particularly skilled in demon-catching techniques, I earnestly studied some rather obscure spells, such as the demonic blood-draining and essence-refining cultivation methods. Five years ago, my son was implicated in imperial relatives’ affairs. Seeing that he was about to be sentenced to execution and house confiscation, how could I not intervene? I made another wish to the soul artifact, hoping my son could safely survive this calamity. Even if there were no more wealth and honor afterward, I only sought peace and happiness.”