Chapter 92: Stop 23: Ascending Son

Chapter 92: Stop 23: Ascending Son

Yan Qiling picked up his wolf-hair fine brush, flipped open the red paper, ready to inscribe those two characters.

However, when he clearly saw the rule written on the red paper, his pen tip hesitated.

Because the rule on the red paper had changed.

It originally read: "Say 'may you have a son soon' to a woman, and she will assist you."

Additional words, written in cinnabar, appeared below: Can only be spoken to by married women.

He lowered his gaze, inscribing the eight characters at the end of the red parchment with ink, gently tapping the tip of the calligraphy brush on it.

As he wrote, he witnessed the phrase "Lights out when no one's around, never forget" seem to dissolve as if touched by water, becoming indistinct.

In the blink of an eye, that reddish blur slowly reassembled, forming a new rule:

A lamp must be lit within the first cup of tea upon entering the room.

Yan Qiling gazed thoughtfully at the two lines of rewritten rules.

From behind the shelf, Shi Wenming emerged and noticed his pensive expression, feeling slightly embarrassed but now determined to approach this peculiar yet reassuring man with boldness.

Seeing the extra half-sentence that suddenly appeared in the rules, he blinked, then, after confirming he hadn't misread, asked hesitantly,

"Did... the rule change?"

Yan Qiling nonchalantly hummed in response.

Shi Wenming, however, couldn't remain as calm. He quickly sensed something amiss,

"Is it possible... someone already has...?"

"Mm. We'll know later."

Yan Qiling closed the red slip, appearing unruffled as if the matter didn't weigh on his mind at all.

As dusk settled in, the lights in the room automatically flickered on. He glanced sideways at the lamp, his gaze wandering until it rested on a bronze mirror on the opposite cabinet.

The patina on the copper mirror's surface melted away as swiftly as summer snowflakes, reverting to its original clarity, smooth enough to reflect the faint candlelight.

Before Yan Qiling could avert his gaze, an unfamiliar young servant squeezed himself in through the door.

A servant entered and bowed respectfully towards them.

"Mr. Yan, Mr. Shi, there has been an incident in the main courtyard. At the request of Manager Xi Yi, I humbly ask both of you to come and investigate."

Shi Wenming didn't dare to readily accept such an unexpected invitation, stealing glances at the enigmatic man beside him.

Tucking the red note into his sleeve, Yan Qiling lowered his hands, revealing a perfect, warm smile.

"Lead the way, please."

As they exited, Yan Qiling's fingertips lightly flicked, extinguishing the lights within the room.

The servant cast a glance back but said nothing, continuing to walk hastily with his head bowed.

They passed through several moon-shaped archways and gradually could hear the buzz of voices, though it was subdued, as if many people were whispering in close proximity to one another.

As they entered the gloomy courtyard, they found it already surrounded by quite a number of people.

The men and women stood distinctly apart, with their ranks clearly defined. Essentially, only those servants with some authority could stand forward, leaving a path cleared in the center.

Yan Qiling walked directly down this path, revealing the scene hidden behind the bustling crowd.

A worn-out straw mat was laid on the ground, upon which lay a drenched young girl. Her face was pale, her eyes devoid of life, and water stains could be seen around her mouth and nose – it was Yue Pengpeng.

Her skin had turned white from soaking, and she stared helplessly and resentfully at the foggy sky above her. Her frozen expression revealed an extreme terror, capturing the hope and despair of her final moments in stark clarity.

Flies, seemingly from nowhere, crawled over her open eyes, leisurely grooming their forelegs.

Yan Qiling didn't know Yue Pengpeng well.

But he knew the Master of the Endless Abyss.

He could almost smell the lingering, pungent scent of the soul left behind.

This was what the Master of the Endless Abyss cherished most, the sweetest taste to savor.

The Unbounded Lord relished in souls steeped in despair, agony, hatred, and resentment, savoring the essence of negativity.

This extremity of emotion offered the Unbounded Lord a thrilling sensation, creating an irresistible addiction.

In pursuit of more intense pleasures, the Unbounded Lord would distort their hedonistic inclinations, ultimately descending into darkness.

Torment was the supreme culinary art that the Unbounded Lord inflicted upon their "fare," as evident with Yue Pengpeng, whose soul had been devoured entirely, leaving behind only faint vestiges of her spirit.

In her open palm lay a crimson mark.

It was the character "Sheng," vividly carved with some unknown object, its red hue vibrant.

Drowned.

But the actual cause of death remained unclear.

Shi Wenming didn't dare to examine the corpse up close, so he waited until Yan Qiling had finished his inspection before mustering the courage to whisper softly.

"Weren't they always confined to the embroidery tower? How did she suddenly come out and end up dead here?!"

"I have no idea."

Yan Qiling answered straightforwardly:

"However, since Xi Yi has invited us to inspect, they will likely invite others as well. It doesn't matter how Yue Pengpeng died; what's important is that the Bai family plans to make an issue out of this."

Shi Wenguang broke into a cold sweat from his two sentences.

Before they could discuss further, the servant who had summoned them indeed returned, still respectful:

"Since both gentlemen have had a good look, please follow me to the Fish Dragon Hall."

Shi Wenguang's expression immediately turned grim.

The two, having seen the accounts, naturally knew that the so-called Fish Dragon Hall was the "Holy Temple" the Bai family had always revered.

Yan Qiling lifted his foot to follow, but Shi Wenguang suddenly clutched his stomach and struggled to say:

"Apologies, for the moment... I have a bit of an upset stomach... Could we perhaps postpone it until later?"

The servant didn't give him a hard time but instead glanced at the sky and suggested,

"Mr. Shi, why not endure it a little longer? There's a guest room outside the Fish Dragon Hall where you can rest. According to Butler Xi's wishes, you'll be treated with utmost hospitality, so there's no need to worry about any discomfort."

...Was it truly a hospitable reception, rather than a punishment fit for a VIP?

Shi Wenguang didn't dare to bet on that. At this moment, he only wished to buy himself a few more minutes, and he turned to Yan Qiling with a pleading look.

Yan Qiling didn't stop him but simply smiled at the servant and said,

"Since Mr. Shi wants to rest, let him take a short break before coming. I'll go with you first."

The servant fell silent for a moment, then nodded and led Yan Qiling forward in silence.

As the servant had said, they didn't head straight into the Fish Dragon Hall but instead went to a side guest room prepared outside first.

Indeed, as Shi Wenguang had noticed, he wasn't the only one seated in the guest room.

Ming Yiyang and Lin Yongjian looked up almost simultaneously upon hearing someone enter.

Upon seeing him, Ming Yiyang continued wiping his knife with his head lowered, while Lin Yongjian stood up. He almost called out "Teacher Yan" but held back, addressing him instead with:

"Mr. Yan."

Yan Qiling acknowledged with a soft hum. His gaze swept around the guest room, noticing Quai was also present, hugging the back of his head tightly with both hands, shivering in his chair.

The man's neck was wrapped messily with bindings, suggesting an injury there. Overall, he appeared even more disheveled than earlier that morning.

After a moment of deliberation, Yan Qiling asked:

"Just the few of us?"

"There should be more coming. They were taken to see Yue Pengpeng," Ming Yiyang replied casually, his hand pausing slightly in his knife-wiping motion.

"Shi Wen Guang?" he inquired.

"He's feeling unwell and will arrive later."

Yan Qiling also observed them, turning to Yu Kui and asking,

"Where's Yi Hongda?"

Yu Kui leaped up as if burned, shouting,

"I don't know! He... I don't know! He ran, he ran away!"

Confused by Yu Kui's reaction, Yan Qiling quickly realized what was happening and immediately turned to Ming Yiyang, his tone tinged with surprise,

"He's gone mad?"

"Something like that."

Lin Yongjian seized the opportunity, casually blocking Yan Qiling's view of the silver-haired young man behind him,

"Yi Hongda is no more."

Yan Qiling's gaze, which was about to turn away, paused slightly as he asked for the first time:

"How did he die?"

Lin Yongjian glanced at Yu Kui, who seemed to be mentally unstable, and sighed deeply.

"Madam Bai found out about Yi Hongda and Yu Kui's visit to the Wen family. She used the excuse that they had been tainted by Young Master Wen's aura and sent them to the Dragon Fish Hall to offer a soul lamp to Young Master Wen, saying it would 'boost his yang energy.'"

"Yu Kui mentioned that they were separated into two different rooms, with only a wall between them."

"Suddenly, he heard a cat's meow, but remembering that the rules had changed, he held back and didn't go out... But somehow, Yi Hongda ran out from the adjacent room... After that, he forgot to extinguish the lamp."

"When we found him, he had already been burned to death, his body charred beyond recognition... If not for the watch on his wrist that hadn't been completely burned, we wouldn't have been able to identify him."

Yan Qiling's expression remained neutral. He looked again at Yu Kui, who was trembling from the recounting of events, and asked,

"Were there bloodstains on Yi Hongda's body?"

Lin Yongjian nodded.

"Certainly."

Then, he took the man's surprisingly cold hand in his own.

Startled by the unexpected chill, Lin Yongjian quickly composed himself and wrote the character "Gui" using his fingers on the icy palm.

"It's the 'Gui' from longan," he explained, not releasing the man's hand.

This gesture deepened the silver-haired young man's gaze significantly. With his unchanging dark eyes, he glanced at the interlocked hands of the two without uttering a sound.

Of course, Lin Yongjian sensed that piercing gaze, but he pretended not to notice, maintaining a serious expression as he said, "To be honest, the three characters we've gathered so far—'Jujube,' 'Rise,' and 'Osmanthus'—remind me of the phrase 'Jujubes bear osmanthus flowers.' However, I'm unsure why Yue Pengpeng's 'Rise' refers to 'ascending.'

"Is there a possibility that it's the 'rise' in 'promotions and wealth'?"

The silver-haired youth nonchalantly finished sharpening his blade and stood up immediately.

An imposing figure loomed over the two men, exerting an intangible sense of pressure.

He gazed down at Lin Yongjian's hand holding Yan Qiling's, his expressionless face delivering the words,

"Mr. Lin has finished what he needed to write. It might not be appropriate for you to still be holding Mr. Yan's hand like this."

Lin Yongjian was undaunted and replied straightforwardly,

"I don't mind."

"You might not mind, but I have a feeling Mr. Yan would be quite particular about it."

Ming Yiyang deliberately bent his waist and tilted his head, drawing close to Yan Qiling's countenance, his gaze locking with the mandarin duck-hued pupils of the other. In an almost imperceptible whisper, he breathed out:

"Professor Yan, what do you think?"

His voice was so soft that Lin Yongjian failed to catch what he said.

Yet, Yan Qiling heard every word clearly.

His long eyelashes cast a shadow over his eyes as they turned towards the person beside him, who wore a mischievous smile. He then tugged at the wrist that was being held captive.

Unconsciously, Lin Yongjian tightened his grip, not allowing the other person to break free.

He was about to say more, but Ming Yiyang had already positioned himself half behind Yan Qiling, politely yet firmly grasping Lin Yongjian's wrist with a leisurely smile.

"Mr. Lin, why bother? Forced affection never bears sweet fruit."

The young man stepped closer, and suddenly, countless violets blossomed in his pupils, transforming his dark irises into an exquisite purple hue.

The words that tumbled out turned ominous in an instant:

"Should you touch my people again, don't blame me for being impolite."