Chapter 286

Chapter 286

Early the next morning, I woke in my hotel bed.

Everything that had happened and been said in my dream flooded back into my mind.

Cold sweat broke out across my body as I remembered the Ninth Concubine being dragged away in iron chains.

That red phantom… I had vaguely seen a human shape, but never clearly. Could that red phantom have been the Red Lotus Ancestor?

The Ninth Concubine had been taken away by the Red Lotus Ancestor. I feared she was headed for a grim fate.

I carefully recalled every conversation in the dream. After spending a long time sorting through all the clues, I had a general understanding of everything that happened back then.

It was still a story of revenge, but one threaded with helplessness and tragedy.

Certain details were now clear. The only remaining mystery was that monster, the creature even the Ninth Concubine had been unable to identify.

I wondered whether that same monster was responsible for the later killings.

Seventh Master and I had always suspected the Seventh Concubine because every victim who died after the tragedy at the Luo Mansion had been male. Not a single one had been a woman.

Looked at that way, the Seventh Concubine had naturally been the prime suspect.

But the truth was that a Daoist Priest had performed an Exorcism for the Seventh Concubine long ago, so it could not have been her.

The Ninth Concubine had lived to more than a hundred, so it could not have been her either.

That left only Master Luo. But if he was responsible, why would he target men exclusively? Given the reason and manner of his death, women should have been his only victims.

So… Master Luo was unlikely too.

That left only the monster. What we needed to do now was uncover its origins.

The hotel did not serve breakfast, so after getting up, the four of us ate something in the scenic area before returning to the village.

There was no longer any need to remain there. The Ninth Concubine had told us everything she could, and the Red Lotus Ancestor had already taken her away. I returned only to say goodbye to the old man.

Just as we reached the foot of his building, he opened the door and stepped outside.

He was startled to see Anning and me. “Young people, you’re out so early?”

I nodded. “We’ll be leaving the village shortly. Thank you for putting up with us, sir.”

He chuckled. “You were no trouble. Did you finish your investigation?”

I told him we had, but there was one matter I had apparently forgotten to ask the Ninth Concubine about.

So I asked the old man, “Do you know what happened when the Thunder Ancestor Temple was demolished many years ago?”

He thought for a moment. “You mean our local Thunder Ancestor Temple? I know about it, but such things were common in that era. Anything involving ghosts or gods was liable to be targeted.”

“Even my father’s cousin nearly got swept up in it. A certain official came to inspect our area, and several petty men tried to use her to curry favor with him. She was already in her eighties or nineties by then. I had no choice but to take her deep into the mountains and hide for a while.”

“A great many people still defended her because she had genuinely helped so many of them. She was also very old, so the matter eventually came to nothing. I brought her back to the village only after the official left.”

After hearing his account, it seemed the destruction of the Thunder Ancestor Temple had nothing to do with the Ninth Concubine.

She had never been evil by nature. She had merely gone to extremes in pursuit of revenge, and after learning that the Fourth Concubine had arranged an Exorcism for her sister, she had reflected on her actions.

When even she had been targeted in those days, how could she have protected the Thunder Ancestor Temple?

The temple’s destruction had simply been a consequence of changing times. From that era onward, the decline of the Mystic Sect had become inevitable.
I asked the old man whether he had seen our other companion.

I meant Assistant He.

The old man looked curious. “Isn’t he with you? I didn’t see him when I got up.”

I smiled. “Perhaps he went back on his own.”

After saying goodbye to the old man, we visited the mourning hall at the end of the village.

I burned some paper offerings and lit several sticks of incense for the Ninth Concubine.

Her life could certainly be called legendary. If one called her a good person, she had still committed grave wrongs. If one called her evil, she had never been truly wicked and had helped many people.

As for whether she had been right or wrong, I would leave that judgment to the gods.

Just as she had said, it was best not to commit evil during one’s lifetime, for the gods were always watching from just above.

“Immortal Maiden Xu, I’m leaving. I hope you’ll soon be freed from your suffering.”

…

On the way to the hospital to visit Seventh Master, I told Anning and the others about my dream from the previous night.

Anning was curious. “What was that red phantom?”

I said, “It was probably the Red Lotus Ancestor, the founder of the Red Lotus Arts. He lived during the Qing dynasty, so he must have passed away long ago.”

I could not understand whether the Red Lotus Ancestor was a ghost or an immortal.

If he was a ghost, then as someone outside orthodox Daoism, he should still fall under the Underworld’s jurisdiction. Had he never reincarnated? Could he truly return and seize his disciples?

Yet matters of the netherworld had never been easy to explain.

I had never believed in ghosts or gods before, but now I understood that humanity was only one equally insignificant part of the natural world.

Inside the car, Song Xiaotian alone was trembling with fear. “What exactly is that monster you described? How can anything be so terrifying…”

I shook my head and said I did not know.

“If that thing is so horrifying, and we still have to go back inside, aren’t we just asking to die?”

Song Xiaotian tried to rally us. “Why don’t we withdraw? Seventh Master is already bedridden. We could tie him up and forcibly take him home. This is too, too… too dangerous! There are ghosts, monsters, and people trying to kill us. What are we doing all this for?”

I was speechless.

I knew he was afraid of such things, but tying up Seventh Master and hauling him home by force was such a terrible idea that Seventh Master would beat him half to death.

Besides, with Seventh Master’s stubborn nature, he would never let go of a promise until he had done everything in his power to fulfill it.

If Seventh Master refused to leave, how could I?

By the time we reached the hospital, Seventh Master’s complexion had improved considerably. We still had to wait until he recovered enough before entering the construction site again.

Today was the fifth and the final day of the holiday, but we could not return to Lanjiang City. We had to finish dealing with this matter first.

I told Seventh Master everything we had learned in Xujia Village, including the attack the previous night.

His expression darkened after he heard the whole story.

“Seventh Master, are you really certain there isn’t something wrong with Boss Lin?” we asked.

He shook his head and said Boss Lin could not be involved, telling us not to imagine things.

“Wait for his call.”

Seventh Master was clever too. “Assistant He has disappeared. If Brother Lin isn’t involved, he’ll certainly call to ask about him. Then we’ll know.”

I nodded and said nothing more.

If Boss Lin was innocent, he would call me before noon at the latest.

I suddenly remembered something else and asked Song Xiaotian, “Do you know anyone named Song Qingshan?”

Song Xiaotian froze, staring at me in disbelief. “Damn, how do you know my great-grandfather’s name?”