Chapter 24

Chapter 24

The moment the Water Sleeves hit the floor, they transformed into a phantom, and the trilling, melodic strains of opera singing immediately rang out.

The instant I saw the phantom clearly, Li Qingying and I exchanged a look, both seeing the shock in each other’s eyes.

The woman performing on the Opera Stage was actually Mei Linshuang!

Was Mei Linshuang a member of an opera troupe before she died?

If this had once been her place of work, then her leading us here must mean she had something important to tell us.

I decided right then and there to give this area a thorough search.

But just then, footsteps suddenly echoed from outside. Li Qingying, quick-witted and agile, pulled me behind a nearby chair to hide.

Fortunately, the newcomer didn’t come inside to check. He held a stick in his hand and struck the outer wall several times with heavy thuds, seemingly to intimidate the phantom on the Opera Stage.

The phantom had already dissipated the moment those banging sounds began.

The Opera Stage returned to darkness.

It turned out there was a guard for the Great Hall, and he clearly knew the Opera Stage was haunted.

Once the person had walked away, Li Qingying and I didn’t dare linger. We decided to head back first.

During the latter half of the night, Li Qingying and I shared a bed, huddled close together.

“Sister Qingying, do you think that phantom on the Opera Stage was really Mei Linshuang?”

“It looked like her, but weren’t her Souls sucked into the Town Head’s Residence? How could she appear on the Opera Stage again?”

“I don’t think that phantom on the Opera Stage was actually Mei Linshuang.”

I spoke with conviction. Li Qingying asked, puzzled, “Why?”

“Before the phantom appeared, the first thing we saw was that section of bloodstained Water Sleeves,” I analyzed. “The Water Sleeves might have been something she owned when she was alive. A sliver of her obsession condensed within them, manifesting as a phantom, but it wasn’t the real her.”

Li Qingying pondered this carefully and agreed. “That seems to make sense.”

I continued, “So, if we find those Water Sleeves, we should be able to understand Mei Linshuang’s intentions. I need to go back to the Great Hall again.”

“Let’s go at night,” Li Qingying said. “There’s a guard there, so it’s too conspicuous during the day. Besides, a Yin Evil Object rarely appears in daylight. I’ll go with you again tonight.”

The matter was settled.

Having not slept well for several days, I slept until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

Li Qingying, however, had gotten up early and already prepared lunch.

After eating, I moved a lounge chair inside the main threshold to soak up some sun while thinking about where something might be hidden near the Opera Stage.

That night, Li Qingying and I slipped back into the Great Hall and headed straight for the Opera Stage.

We were very cautious this time, keeping our flashlights dim and trying our best not to make a sound.

However, despite searching over and over, we went through every suspicious spot we had discussed, and there was nothing.

Was I overthinking it? Was there really nothing there?

Were we going back like this?

I felt a lingering sense of unwillingness.

What exactly had we overlooked?

The moment my gaze fell upon the Opera Stage again, something flashed in my mind. I rushed onto the stage and used my hands to feel carefully around the spot where the light had hit the previous night.

Since the Water Sleeves were the object her obsession was attached to, then the place where the Water Sleeves fell should be where the item is hidden!

Sure enough, I soon felt a tiny crack between the wooden planks on the stage. I moved the flashlight beam to shine on it.

Li Qingying pulled out her defensive dagger and gently pried along the narrow slit.

With a dull thud, that wooden plank was actually pried open in one piece.

Beneath the plank lay a small rectangular box.

I picked up the small box and opened it, revealing that section of bloodstained Water Sleeves.
The Water Sleeves were rolled up, and something seemed to be wrapped inside them.

I carefully unfurled the fabric, revealing an old, tattered… booklet.

It looked as though it had been caught in a fire, as more than half of it was destroyed. On the remaining fragment of the cover, I could just make out two bold, powerful brushstrokes: Town Chronicle.

A Town Chronicle is a record of a location’s geography, local customs, history, and major events.

In the past, every village, town, and county had people specifically assigned to compile such records.

Generally, official bound Town Chronicles were printed. However, the one in my hand-despite its missing pieces-was clearly handwritten. Its format and content were also quite irregular.

I flipped through it quickly and soon determined that this was likely a private Town Chronicle written by an individual during the Republican era in Wufu Town. It could perhaps be considered a volume of Wufu Town’s Unofficial History.

Unfortunately, most of the content had been burned away. Of the small portion that remained, the handwriting was blurred, leaving me with very little to read.

When I reached the last page that still contained legible characters, I froze.

On that page, I saw a familiar name-Zhao Zixun!

So, Mei Linshuang had led me here to tell me something about Zhao Zixun?

After all, I had asked her before if she knew him.

This was her answer.

The description of Zhao Zixun on that final page was brief, but the content was horrifying.

‘Today, I actually saw Zhao Zixun in the alley. There was a Coffin Nail driven into the center of his brow.’

‘Isn’t the Marshal’s army not supposed to arrive in Wufu Town for another half-month? When did Zhao Zixun return? And why has he become like this?’

‘It seems the winds of change are blowing over Wufu Town.’

Those few lines carried a massive amount of information.

“Who’s there!”

Just then, a man’s voice suddenly rang out from outside. I immediately snapped the box shut and clutched it tightly to my chest.

Li Qingying had already lunged out with her Long Whip, knocking the man unconscious.

I hurried toward her, preparing to leave with her.

In the next moment, dozens of Yellow Weasels and Giant Rats suddenly swarmed out of the darkness. They surrounded us, relentlessly lunging at our bodies.

Li Qingying shielded me, dodging left and right as her Long Whip cracked through the air.

I managed to retreat to the side of the road with great difficulty, but then, a Yellow Weasel the size of a house cat lunged from the side and bit deep into my right arm.

The creature was massive, with long, sharp teeth and crimson eyes that glowed in the night.

I cried out in pain and shook my arm violently, trying to fling the creature off.

But as I struggled, I realized with horror that something was wrong with this Yellow Weasel.

Its body was cold and stiff. As I shook my arm, its torso swung at a bizarre, unnatural angle.

This was the corpse of a Yellow Weasel.

Yet it could move, it could strike me with precision, and its eyes glowed with a bloody light.

If I wasn’t mistaken, this was no longer an ordinary animal; it was a Corpse Fiend!

I fumbled through my clothes until I found a Talisman Paper and slapped it hard onto the creature’s head.

The Yellow Weasel let out a sharp screech and finally released its grip.

Li Qingying had just finished carving a bloody path through the swarm. She grabbed me and we bolted toward the Pawnshop.

That night, however, I came down with a high fever.

In my delirious state, I seemed to see Liu Junyan appear, sitting by my bedside.

He sat there for a very long time. Finally, he let out a sigh and summoned Qingying. He pressed something into her hand and whispered, “Qingying, do me a favor. Go to the Linghai Dragon Palace. Go quietly…”