Truth or Falsehood
Tang Zhou pressed himself against the well wall, and by the few rays of moonlight streaming into the well, he finally recognized the man, who was no longer human, as Ling Xuzi. However, his skin was withered and dry, as if his life essence had been drained, and after being soaked in the water for a long time, his skin began to turn white and wrinkled.
He calmed himself and asked, "Who knows witchcraft?"
Ling Xuzi's lips trembled, as if he were recalling the most terrifying thing in the world: "The Seven Luminaries Divine Jade, the Seven Luminaries..."
"Have you seen the Seven Luminaries Divine Jade?"
Ling Xuzi trembled a few times, then suddenly screamed, but he had no strength left, and his hoarse voice was as faint as a mosquito's buzz. With that scream, his body was already airborne. Tang Zhou quickly reached out to pull him up, only touching a cold iron claw; it seemed someone had thrown down the claw to pull him up.
He had no choice but to withdraw his hand. This place was remote, and not many people would come here. If the person above had ill intentions, he could seal the well and die at the bottom. In a flash, Tang Zhou weighed the pros and cons, then leaned close to the well wall and held his breath.
A sinister laugh came from the well: "You old Taoist priest, you've managed to hold on until now! Nobody will come here, nobody can save you!"
Tang Zhou understood immediately; the voice was familiar—it was Master Shen's.
Things changed drastically all of a sudden, and his mind was in a mess, but he didn't know what he was thinking.
There was a sound of a hoe hitting the ground, and someone struggled briefly by the well before falling silent. Old Master Shen muttered to himself, "Wouldn't death be cleaner? You old Taoist priest, supposedly a monk, are so filthy. In this world, the dead are the cleanest." The sound of the hoe hitting the ground resumed, each strike harder than the last.
Tang Zhou, immersed in the water, felt only coldness and began to ache slightly. He stuck his dagger into a crevice in the well wall and reached up, finding it covered in slippery moss; climbing to the well's edge would be an impossible task. Moreover, he didn't know how long Master Shen would dig, and if he moved rashly now, he feared Master Shen would notice, making escape impossible.
"These peach blossoms were just picked. Spread them on you so they can smell their fragrance." Master Shen's voice became very gentle, as if he were talking to his beloved.
Tang Zhou finally understood why he buried flowers in the dead of night.
Suddenly, the digging stopped. Master Shen exclaimed, "Strange, how come a large section of this well has collapsed?" His tone turned fierce, and his footsteps drew closer to the well. Tang Zhou couldn't help but smile bitterly. His life was ultimately going to end in this well. In this place where no one could hear his cries for help, he could only accept his misfortune. It seemed the reflection he had seen in the well earlier wasn't just his imagination.
The footsteps stopped just above them, and a burning tinderbox fell to the ground with a whoosh. Tang Zhou quickly dove into the water; the tinderbox hissed and went out. Only then did someone cautiously peek down from above, look around for a while, and mutter to themselves, "So, no one's here..."
Tang Zhou waited until Master Shen left before emerging from the water, letting out a long breath. But before he could even catch his breath, he heard the sound of stones being moved. He immediately understood: although Master Shen hadn't seen anyone, he was still sealing the well opening completely with stone slabs as a precaution. Even if he had the ability to climb up, the slippery moss made it impossible for him to push the slabs aside from the bottom of the well. Despite his high level of magical power, he was currently helpless except to wait for death.
Suddenly, a clear voice came from afar: "Bird, bird, what do you want to say? It's so dark here, I knew I shouldn't have come with you!"
The sound of moving the stone slab stopped abruptly, and Master Shen's voice sounded somewhat flustered: "You... how did you get here?"
Shen Xiangjun chuckled softly, "The bird asked me to come and see, but my sister doesn't know yet. Daddy, don't be afraid."
Tang Zhou was already numb from the cold, but when he heard these words, he had a strange feeling in his heart, as if a thought had flashed through his mind. It was as if this was an opportunity, and if he could seize it, everything would be resolved.
Mr. Shen remained silent for a long time.
Shen Xiangjun whispered, "This place is so eerie and scary after nightfall, I don't want to stay here anymore."
Mr. Shen immediately added, "Come on, I'll take you back."
Tang Zhou heard their footsteps fading into the distance before he reached the well wall, inserted his dagger into a crevice, and slowly began to climb upwards. His whole body was numb from the cold, and his movements were not very agile. After a while, he felt his breathing become labored, and when he looked up, he realized that he was still a long way from the well opening.
He caught his breath and continued climbing, but suddenly lost his balance and fell back into the water. This time the fall was extremely hard; almost all his bones felt like they were breaking. He rested for a while, then slowly climbed up again, this time hearing footsteps halfway up. Tang Zhou was in a dilemma. If he dived back into the water, he feared he wouldn't have the strength to escape, but staying here would make him easily discovered.
Suddenly a hemp rope dangled down, extending all the way into the water.
The person above remained silent, simply waiting. After a moment, Tang Zhou grasped the hemp rope, wrapped it around his wrist several times, and slowly began to climb up the well wall. When he was about three or four feet from the well opening, he released the rope, took a deep breath, and leaped upwards. The sudden light before him made him squint.
The sun rose in the east, casting a beautiful morning glow. A woman with a gloomy expression bent down and untied a rope tied to a nearby tree, casually rolling it up a few times. Tang Zhou couldn't help but say, "It's you."
The woman glanced at him coldly, a strange smile playing on her lips: "Of course it's me. Who else did you think it would be? My sister, my father, or your clever and obedient junior sister?"
Tang Zhou gave a slight wry smile: "Thank you."
Shen Yijun casually tossed a roll of hemp rope aside and said coldly, "It seems you've seen and heard a lot of things you shouldn't have known during your night in the well." She brushed a strand of hair that was hanging loosely behind her ear and said softly, "Your junior sister is right. I never wanted you to find out the secrets of this manor, but I didn't expect you to find out anyway."
Tang Zhou remained silent. The warm spring sunshine shone on him, and his previously numb body began to feel warmer.
“My mother is a Yi person. She fell in love with my father and married him against the wishes of her people. My mother… actually knew witchcraft, but because my father didn’t like it, she kept it a secret. But…”
This part is exactly the same as what Master Shen said before, so it must be true.
“But my father found out soon enough, though he didn’t blame my mother. Because of this, my mother became even more obedient to him.” Shen Yijun took a deep breath. “Nine years ago, one day, my mother went to the deep mountains to gather herbs, but she never came back. Everyone searched for her many times, but they couldn’t find her. So everyone said that my mother had encountered a python in the deep mountains and was torn apart and swallowed by it. I didn’t believe it. One night, I went out to look for her, and when I came back it was past midnight. I saw a man who looked a lot like my father burying something, so I hid behind the bushes to watch. After my father finished burying it, he left. I was about to go out, but I was afraid he would suddenly come back to check, so I had to squat there without daring to move. Sure enough, not long after, my father came back, and when he saw that no one was there, he left.” Her eyes darkened, and she said coldly, “My legs were numb from squatting. I finally managed to stand up and walk to where my father had buried the thing. I dug with my bare hands, even tearing off my fingernails, and my hands were covered in blood. Finally, I saw what was buried inside.” She gave Tang Zhou a strange smile: “Guess what I saw?”
Tang Zhou whispered, "...Is it your mother's body?"
Shen Yijun nodded: "It was my mother's corpse. Her whole body was shriveled up, as if someone had sucked all her life essence out. She wasn't eaten by a python at all; she was killed by my father! That beast, after learning that my mother knew witchcraft, begged her to teach him, and then used that method to kill her. Later, my father probably discovered that the place where he buried her had been dug up, and he began to suspect my sister and me. My sister is mentally challenged and doesn't know anything, so the only person he could suspect was me. I suffered so much to avoid being seen through by him. Later, our family moved to this Qing Shi Town. People kept dying mysteriously in this town, and I could tell what was going on as soon as I saw the way the bodies were killed, but I couldn't stop it."
As she spoke, tears welled in her eyes: "Fortunately, my sister... she doesn't understand anything, she knows nothing. It's enough that I alone understand all this." She wiped her eyes forcefully with her sleeve: "That Taoist priest you knew named Ling Xuzi was killed by my father. He probably found out something. Young Master Tang, I think you should leave, the sooner the better. Your junior sister is still young and so intelligent; it would be such a pity if she died in this manor of the living dead."
Tang Zhou finally remembered what that fleeting thought had been: this family's behavior was strange in every way; they were clearly father and daughter, yet they were wary of and slandered each other.
Shen Yijun's two mentions of Yan Dan gave him a bad feeling. Yan Dan shouldn't have encountered any accidents, but since he sealed most of her demonic powers, it was very possible that she would encounter something she couldn't handle.
He turned back to the front courtyard and bumped into someone at the corner. The person's body was soft and yielding, letting out a soft "ah," a sound clearly tinged with Yan Dan's accent.
Yan Dan turned her head, looked at his soaking wet and disheveled appearance, and smiled slightly: "Oh, Senior Brother, why did you go swimming so early in the morning?"
Tang Zhou looked at her and saw that she had a pleasant smile, fair skin, like a piece of fine white porcelain, and a gentle appearance, but was full of wickedness. She said indifferently, "I swam all night last night."
Yan Dan heard the unspoken message and stepped forward gently, saying, "It's still April. What if you catch a cold? Senior brother, you should go and change your clothes quickly."
Tang Zhou returned to his guest room and was about to take off his outer robe when he noticed Yan Dan had followed him in. She gracefully sat down at the table, propping her chin up with one hand and fiddling with her teacup with the other. Tang Zhou glanced at her: "Aren't you going to leave?"
Yan smiled faintly, "I'll just sit here and talk, I definitely won't look at you." She paused, then continued, "Yesterday you asked me if I sometimes have illusions, but what did you see in that well?"
This matter was insignificant compared to the most important thing. Tang Zhou casually hummed in agreement and changed out of his soaked clothes.
Yan Dan smiled gently: "This matter is very important, don't try to fool me."
Tang Zhou looked at her and slowly said, "Do you already know something?"
Yan Dan glanced at him, her eyes fixed on him, and a slight smile played on her lips: "How about we negotiate some terms? I'll tell you everything I know, and then you can remove the restrictions on my hands."
Tang Zhou immediately said, "Don't even think about it." He probably knew everything she knew, so this kind of exchange was completely meaningless.
Yan Dan stood up decisively: "Since we can't reach an agreement, then we'll just have to forget about it." Tang Zhou saw her walk to the door and almost called out to her, but he held back in the end. Sure enough, Yan Dan turned around and asked, unwilling to give up, "You really won't agree?"
Tang Zhou chuckled inwardly: "Rather than trusting you, I'd rather think it through myself."
Yan Dan sighed, having no choice but to return empty-handed.
Tang Zhou put on his outer robe, but the sash slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. He slowly bent down to pick it up, when suddenly something occurred to him: judging from Master Shen's actions, he didn't know why the well rim had collapsed. So, had someone deliberately chipped away at the well rim, or was it merely a coincidence that the rim happened to collapse at that moment?
If this was just a coincidence, then there are far too many such coincidences. How did Shen Yijun know he was at the bottom of the well? Why did Master Shen leave with Shen Xiangjun halfway through?
If someone did this intentionally, what was their purpose?
Yan Dan sat by the lotus pond, putting her hand into the water. A small fish cautiously approached, nibbled at her fingertip, flicked its tail, and swam away with a whoosh. She couldn't help but chuckle. After a moment, she saw the same small fish slowly approach, tentatively nibble at her again, and then swim away, but this time it didn't hide as far as before.
Yan Dan touched her face, looking quite troubled: "Am I really that unbelievable? She was always smiling and so friendly..." Suddenly, she heard footsteps approaching behind her, and saw a slender woman standing behind her. She smiled slightly: "Miss Chen."
The woman smiled mischievously: "I can talk to birds. I often see you sitting here, are you talking to the fish?"
Yan Dan nodded: "Yes, they told me a lot of things."
Shen Xiangjun sat down beside her, tilting her head slightly: "What would the fish say?"
“They said there are many vengeful spirits here, but they are held back and cannot leave. They also said that you must bring something to ward off evil spirits when you enter this manor.” Yan Dan raised her hand and shook it. “Fortunately, my senior brother gave me this bracelet before. This bracelet has his magic on it, so he can sense if I encounter anything bad.”
Shen Xiangjun reached out and touched the bracelet on her wrist. It felt smooth and warm to the touch. "This bracelet is very beautiful, and it feels very comfortable to the touch. He treats you so well..."
Yan Dan choked back a sore throat; Tang Zhou's "good deeds" towards her were simply too numerous to count and beyond redemption. However, she felt there was no need to complain to him, so she could only awkwardly hum in agreement.
Shen Xiangjun looked at her, her eyes glistening, a few ripples passing through them. Yan Dan met her gaze for a moment, her expression drowsy, and slowly closed her eyes. Shen Xiangjun reached out and took the bracelet from her wrist, casually tossing it into the lotus pond. With a plop, the bracelet immediately sank to the bottom of the pond.
She slowly darkened her face, a hint of ruthlessness in her eyes, and said coldly, "Without this amulet, what use are you with just a little bit of cleverness?" She stood up, and Hu Sao, who had led them to the Shen residence, immediately came over, wrapped a large robe around Yan Dan's body, and then picked her up, saying with a smile, "Miss, this little girl is so light, it's as if she has no bones."
Shen Yijun's lips twitched into a strange smile: "If you're a bit heavier, you'll suffer less." She walked straight to the backyard, with Aunt Hu carrying Yan Dan behind her.
Shen Yijun stopped at the edge of the abandoned well and turned to Hu Sao, saying, "Throw it in." Hu Sao tossed Yan Dan into the well, and with a splash, the outer robe wrapped around her immediately floated to the surface. Shen Yijun glanced at the flat stone slab nearby, reached out and grabbed one end, saying, "Lift this stone slab up and place it on top of the well."
With a click, the stone slab landed firmly on the edge of the well. There were still some gaps where it had collapsed, but they were too small for a child to crawl through.
Shen Yijun pressed her hand on the stone slab, then dusted off the dust on her hands, and her slowly blooming smile was as beautiful as spring flowers.
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