Chapter 20
The sound dissipated in the empty, haunted house, leaving no echo as if a broken string had been cut.
All that remains is the desolation and loneliness of twilight.
They then realized that dusk had fallen, and through the dilapidated eaves, they could see that the sky above was already a deep blue, with a cool breeze blowing. They were standing on these ruins.
Xie Wen felt cold all over, goosebumps rising on her skin. She touched her arm, looking utterly dejected. "How are we supposed to find it? Where is it?"
Chu Xianyue remained silent, lost in thought. He was always like this when he was deep in thought, more serious and focused than ever before, completely absorbed in his own world.
Xie Wen didn't disturb him, but didn't dare to make any rash moves. He just tried to calm himself down.
Yun Yan, on the other hand, was completely different. He single-mindedly started searching the entire house, saying, "I don't believe you can hide anywhere else but in this house."
Xie Wen watched Yun Yan running around recklessly and felt a stomachache. "Junior brother, how could things be so simple? How could we find it so easily?"
At this moment, Chu Xianyue also opened his eyes, somewhat helplessly, "Yun Yan, even if you turn this house upside down, you still won't find it."
Huffing and puffing, Yun Yan, who had already searched the entire house, was now convinced that there really wasn't a single clue. He suspected the Ghost Palace Master's possession and hiding place just by looking at something. Yun Yan said, "There's something wrong with this Buddha statue. Is the Ghost Palace Master hiding here?"
"There's also something wrong with this burned portrait."
“This shrine is also suspicious.”
"Something's wrong with this box..."
Xie Wen: "Junior brother, stop being so suspicious. If you keep going like this, I'm afraid you'll develop hysteria from that Ghost Palace Master. We don't have any clues right now, so let's conserve our strength for now. We'll see what Master says later."
Yun Yan was exhausted. He took a breath, hugged the Ancient Dragon Blade, and although he was very unwilling, he had to admit that Xie Wen was right.
Chu Xianyue remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, he looked up, his gaze piercing through the gate of the Mei residence.
Xie Wen and Yun Yan couldn't help but look over as well, their pupils trembling slightly.
Clearly, dusk had just fallen, and night was descending heavily.
But in the blink of an eye, it was bright outside. A sliver of morning light peeked through the crack, and dust motes floated and sank within it, enveloping the three of them.
Under the dawn light, roosters crowed and birds called. A long, drawn-out cry pierced the daylight. A servant walked past them and opened the gate of the Mei residence. Outside the gate, carriages and pedestrians came and went. Shouts and curses rose and fell, dogs barked and chickens flew, creating a scene of bustling city life.
Xie Wen stared wide-eyed as he stepped through the gate and looked around. The long street outside the Mei residence was wide and lined with shops. People were already working early in the morning, each busy with their own things.
Yun Yan, who had somehow ended up standing next to Xie Wen, looked at him with the same astonishment and shock. The servant who opened the door, seeing Yun Yan standing there idly and slacking off, kicked him. "Who dares to kick me?!" Yun Yan cursed, turning back to glare angrily at the servant.
The servant was startled by Yun Yan for a moment, but quickly regained his composure. "What are you glaring at me for? I'm going to kick you. Now get back to work, or I'll have the master dock your pay if you slack off again."
Yun Yan: "?"
He looked down at himself; he was still himself.
Looking up again, what was once a dilapidated ruin was now a scene of towering buildings, winding corridors, blooming flowers and birds, and servants coming and going. Yun Yan rubbed his eyes, confirming that it was not his imagination.
However, how could this servant speak to him like that? Yun Yan couldn't stand it and was about to use his magic to teach this arrogant servant a lesson when he circulated his spiritual power and flicked his finger at the servant.
Nothing happened.
Then circulate your spiritual energy.
Nothing happened.
Yun Yan: "!?" He couldn't circulate his spiritual power, nor could he cast spells?
Xie Wen thought Yun Yan was faking it and laughed heartlessly, "Junior brother, stop pretending. You're putting on quite a show. You can't scare me."
“He wasn’t pretending.” Chu Xianyue’s voice came calmly.
"We've fallen into another illusion. Outside this illusion, there's some kind of formation that's suppressing our spiritual power. Our spells are ineffective here."
Xie Wen gasped, and tried to circulate her spiritual energy, but as Chu Xianyue had said, it was useless. They were now essentially ordinary people without any spiritual energy.
Xie Wen asked, "Where are we now?"
"Still in the Mei residence. Whether inside or outside the illusion." They were all in the Mei residence.
This illusion is the former Mei Mansion.
Perhaps the truth of what happened back then is hidden within this. Finding the truth might lead us to the "Lord of the Ghost Palace" by following the clues.
Chu Xianyue said, "Since we're already here, let's see what's going on."
Yun Yan himself was unaware that he looked at Chu Xianyue with an expression of adoration, nodding repeatedly with starry eyes.
The doorman, hearing the three men's ramblings, was confused, but seeing that Miss Mei was also there, he dared not say anything more.
In the Mei family mansion, Master Mei had a large number of wives and concubines, and countless children.
Perhaps fearing they wouldn't remember the names, all the young ladies were named according to their birth order: the eldest was called Mei Da, the second was called Mei Er, and the third was naturally Mei San.
These three young ladies are all very opinionated and have very difficult personalities to get along with. Mei Er and Mei San, in particular, are arrogant, domineering, and tyrannical. If they are not satisfied with the servants, they will beat and scold them or even cause death.
Mei San committed countless evil deeds. The master of the manor never disciplined her; no matter how serious the matter, he would simply brush it off with a word. The Third Miss never received any punishment. This only emboldened her, allowing her to become increasingly lawless and act with impunity throughout the manor.
Mei Shanting, the youngest son in the household, was born frail and sickly, and it was rumored that he wouldn't live past twenty. He was the least valued member of the household. Mei San loved to pick on the weak, and whenever he saw Mei Shanting, he would make sarcastic remarks.
At dawn, the gates of the Mei residence were wide open, and the servants began their work one after another. When they passed Xie Wen, they always looked obsequious and called out in a low voice, "Third Miss."
Xie Wen: "?" She became that arrogant and domineering third young lady?
Oh, I see, cosplay.
In this fantasy instance, she cosplays as the Third Miss, so wouldn't Yun Yan become her servant?
What about Chu Xianyue?
No one asked him to work, no one kicked him; he shouldn't be a servant. But no one paid him any attention either, and the way they looked at Chu Xianyue was somewhat complicated.
The servant who opened the door glanced at Chu Xianyue, who was standing next to Xie Wen. As the Third Miss's personal bodyguard, no one dared to order him around. As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. This pretty boy had been with the Third Miss for many years and had won her favor, so he naturally benefited from her favor and had a higher status than the other servants in the mansion.
The truth is, the term "personal bodyguard" sounds so nice, but what kind of innocent person could possibly stay by someone like the Third Miss's side for so long? To put it bluntly, they're just the Third Miss's male favorites.
It's not uncommon for the third young lady to keep male lovers. Everyone just turns a blind eye.
No one dared to look any longer and continued with their own tasks. Yun Yan was kicked again by the servant, "Aren't you going to work? Do I have to pay you? You're not getting any food today!"
Yun Yan's face flushed and paled in turns. Xie Wen almost chuckled to himself. Yun Yan glared at Xie Wen, who retorted, "Hey, you dare glare at her? Don't you even know who she is now, and who he is?"
Junior brother, things are different now.
Now you are a servant, so just be a good and dutiful servant.
Xie Wen curled the corners of his mouth, watching Yun Yan reluctantly pick up the broom that was thrown at him and sweep the floor haphazardly with a sour face.
However, there is a question now: since we know that the Ghost Palace Master is a member of the Mei family, who was he in his previous life?
Chu Xianyue: "Since it's an illusion created by the Ghost Palace Master, the focus must be on the illusion itself. So we'll know by seeing who the main character is today."
In the blink of an eye, a group of new maids, led by their steward, entered the Mei residence in an orderly fashion.
It was February, the beginning of spring, and everyone in the mansion had put on a few more layers of clothing. In contrast, the maids who had just entered the mansion were all dressed in thin clothes, their cheeks red from the cold. Most of them were born into poor families and sold by their relatives.
The maids were taken to the servants' quarters and were quickly assigned to serve in various courtyards.
The three young ladies in the mansion were all difficult to serve. A few years ago, Mei Da was devoted to seeking immortality and finally received the favor of Huangqi Palace, which allowed her to enter the immortal sect. She has not returned to the Mei mansion since.
As for the remaining two, Mei Er and Mei San, the servants would avoid them like the plague. Whichever servant was assigned to their courtyard would suffer endlessly from then on.
Some maids had their families give gifts to the people who were in charge of arranging things before they entered the mansion. The person in charge would distribute the gifts according to how much they were given. Those who received more would be assigned easier tasks, while those who received less would naturally be given all the chores and hard work.
The person in charge walked up to a thin girl. Yingyue's face was pale from the cold, and her long eyelashes cast shadows. Since she hadn't been paid a penny, she was naturally assigned to Mei San's courtyard.
Xie Wen returned to her large courtyard. She lived in the east wing. The courtyard was quite spacious, and she had many servants. Just yesterday, a few new maids arrived.
Lately, that third prince has been ignoring her, refusing to listen to her! She's in a bad mood right now, to the point that she kicks any passing dog.
Xie Wen sat by the stove, his chin resting on his hand. The window was slightly ajar, letting in a biting chill. Across the street, Yun Yan was constantly adding firewood to the stove.
Beside her, Chu Xianyue was diligently peeling grapes for Xie Wen. His slender, fair hands pinched the tender grapes and handed them to Xie Wen. Xie Wen propped her head up, squinted her eyes, and hooked Chu Xianyue's chin with one hand. Tsk, this male concubine is still the most sensible. He's pleasing to the eye and knows how to please her.
Xie Wen curled her lips into a smile. "Feed me."
Chu Xianyue: "..."
He didn't know when Xie Wen and Yun Yan gradually lost their consciousness in this illusion.
Xie Wen portrayed the image of the vicious and spoiled third young lady with remarkable realism, while Yun Yan diligently played the role of a servant in the mansion, allowing Xie Wen to order her around and beat her. Both of them were so immersed in their roles that they couldn't extricate themselves.
Fortunately, Chu Xianyue had a deeper spiritual power, which prevented him from losing his consciousness.
Chu Xianyue had a headache, a stomachache, and pain all over his body. To make matters worse, his spiritual power was suppressed within this illusion, limiting him to only the simplest, low-level spells. Forcing them would result in backlash, and Chu Xianyue wouldn't use them against Xie Wen unless absolutely necessary. He needed to conserve his spiritual power.
But Xie Wen became increasingly audacious and outrageous. During the day, he would hook his chin and kiss him, but at night he would suddenly transform into someone who would make him kneel on the ground with a large whip, and would whip him at the slightest disagreement.
No? Who taught her to play like this?
This isn't how you immerse yourself in a role.
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