Chapter 46
Chapter 46
“The rain was pouring down at the time. The young servants were soaked through, and the weather was bitterly cold, so we had no choice but to find a place inside the Temple to start a fire first.”
“But no sooner had we gotten the fire going than Ruyan suddenly disappeared.”
Recalling what had happened in the Temple, Simeng still felt a lingering fear. “That Temple was much larger than we had imagined. I searched through several Buddha halls with the servants before we finally found Ruyan.”
“At the time, she was…”
Ruyan had been kneeling before a dilapidated Buddha statue, muttering something under her breath.
The sight startled Simeng. She hurried forward, intending to pull Ruyan away.
She remembered an old nanny in her family saying when she was a child that, according to common rumors, one must not worship the Buddha statues in an abandoned Temple at random. It was easy to attract passing demons or an Evil Spirit.
But Ruyan at that moment seemed possessed. No matter how hard Simeng pulled, she could not move her an inch.
Simeng was terrified and had no choice but to call the menial workers over to help.
Four workers joined forces, and even then it took quite a bit of effort before they finally dragged Ruyan off that tattered prayer cushion.
Yet in that very instant, Simeng saw a wisp of black mist burrow into Ruyan’s body.
“Black mist?”
At this point, Ren Fengjue and Xia Ximo spoke almost at the same time.
Simeng nodded numbly. “I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me too. Later, I asked those servants, and they said they had seen it as well.”
“After something like that happened, we naturally didn’t dare stay in the Temple any longer. But the strangest part was…”
“When we came out of the ruined Temple, the sky outside was perfectly clear. There wasn’t the slightest trace that it had ever rained.”
“We realized something was wrong. We didn’t dare go to Qingping Temple anymore, so we hurried back to the establishment.”
“But that very night, just as it was time to receive patrons…”
Ruyan still had not dressed or done her makeup.
The maid knocked several times to ask about it, but no one inside answered.
When the Manageress learned of this, she was very displeased and went to Ruyan’s room in person, intending to give her a lecture.
Who would have thought Ruyan would show her no respect at all? She refused to say a single word.
Afraid the matter would blow up, Simeng took the initiative to step forward and say a great many conciliatory words to the Manageress, only then smoothing things over.
She had thought Ruyan had suddenly become so despondent because she was affected by Prince Yu and Miss Zhuang’s marriage.
So she told Ruyan that since Prince Yu had already promised to redeem her from bondage and take her in as a concubine, he would certainly keep his word.
Unexpectedly, the moment Ruyan heard that, she suddenly went mad. She reached out and seized Simeng by the throat…
“She stared at me without saying a word, but that look in her eyes was terrifying. I had never seen such an expression on her before…”
“She had always been so gentle. Even when she spoke, her voice was soft and mild…”
As Simeng recalled it, she unconsciously covered her own neck, as though the fear had not yet faded. She continued, “Her grip was very strong. In that moment, I truly felt… that she was going to kill me!”
“I struggled with all my might, but in the end, it was only because the maid outside heard the commotion and pushed the door open to stop her that I managed to escape from her hands.”
“I was absolutely terrified, and I was furious as well, so I decided I would no longer concern myself with her.”
“But the next day, in broad daylight, she suddenly came to my room to see me…”
Because the guest from the night before had not stayed over, Simeng had taken a short nap.
Before seven in the morning, someone came upstairs and knocked on her door.
She thought it was a maid, so she said there was no need to bring breakfast yet. To her surprise, Ruyan’s voice sounded from outside.
“She told me she had come to apologize.”
“After all, she and I had been like sisters. No matter what, there was still some affection between us, so I forgave her.”
“Only, the feeling she gave me at that time was already somewhat wrong.”
As Simeng spoke, fear crept across her face.
Ren Fengjue asked, “What was off about her?”
“I don’t know if what I felt was right…” Simeng thought it over carefully before choosing her words. “It just felt like… she had become a different person.”
“Even though her tone and the way she spoke were exactly the same as before, there was something wrong with her eyes.”
“But I can’t really put it into words or explain it clearly. Perhaps it was only a feeling.”
Ren Fengjue asked again, “Aside from coming to apologize to you that day, did she do anything unusual?”
At his question, Simeng suddenly remembered something and hurriedly said, “Yes!”
“She told me she wanted to give me something. She said that thing could fulfill my every wish.”
“As long as I kept it with me, whatever I thought of in my heart would come true…”
“Of course I didn’t believe it. Even Qingping Temple, which is said to grant wishes better than anywhere else, can’t guarantee every prayer will be answered.”
Hearing this, Ren Fengjue and Xia Ximo immediately exchanged a glance, understanding passing silently between them.
Perhaps what Ruyan had wanted to give Simeng was also a Soul-Nurturing Pearl.
Xia Ximo narrowed her eyes slightly and asked, “Did you accept it?”
Simeng hastily shook her head. “No. She said she would bring it over later, but she never came back after that.”
Xia Ximo quietly stepped closer and looked her over carefully, as if harboring some suspicion.
“Then why didn’t you want it? Hearing her describe it like that, were you not tempted at all?”
“Or was it because you didn’t trust her?”
Simeng had not expected her to ask such a question. She froze for a moment, then suddenly gave a self-mocking smile.
“It wasn’t that I didn’t trust her. I simply didn’t dare indulge in such fantasies.”
“Since I’ve already gone down this path in this life, I shouldn’t entertain any other thoughts…”
“What, am I supposed to hope someone will redeem my contract and marry me into his household?”
Xia Ximo looked deeply at her, then said something whose meaning was hard to read. “It is rare to meet someone without greed.”
Simeng did not understand what she meant and, for a moment, had no idea how to respond.
Ren Fengjue pondered in silence for a while, then asked, “Aside from you, did Ruyan give anything to anyone else? Or has anything else strange happened in the building lately?”
Simeng answered truthfully, “I don’t think so. She rarely interacted with the other girls here on ordinary days.”
“But if you’re asking about strange things, there is one…”
She paused, lowering her voice considerably. “Manageress forbade us from talking about it, but recently the girls in the building have all been acting as if they’ve been possessed. Their tempers are extremely violent. In just a few days, there have already been several incidents of people hitting others and quarreling.”
“Some even injured guests…”
Xia Ximo could not help thinking of Princess Ding’an beating someone.
If she had guessed correctly, the princess at that time must have been affected by the Baleful Qi of the Soul-Nurturing Pearl, which was why her temperament had suddenly changed so drastically.
And the situation in this building was most likely the same…
Just as she was about to continue questioning her, a sharp rebuke came from the corridor behind them. “Simeng, who gave you permission to spout nonsense here? Hurry up and get back to your room!”
They saw Manageress Sister Fu being supported by two maidservants, her face full of anger as she slowly approached.
At the sight of her, Simeng immediately panicked and said to Ren Fengjue, “My lord, I’ve already told you everything I should. Please spare me!”
Ren Fengjue asked, “Answer one last question. Where exactly is the Temple you mentioned?”
Almost without thinking, Simeng replied, “Go about two li south from outside the west city gate. It’s beside a bridge.”