As darkness enveloped Lanruo Temple, an oppressive silence settled over the ruins. The collapsed buildings and wild growth of weeds finally achieved the eerie atmosphere the abandoned temple was known for.
In the main hall, Ning Caichen sat alone beside a flickering fire that seemed ready to die at any moment. The flames cast dancing shadows across the crumbling walls, and aside from his solitary vigil, no other signs of life were visible anywhere in the temple grounds.
Midnight came and went with no sign of the tree demon or her ghostly servants. Ning Caichen's eyelids grew increasingly heavy, as if weighted down with lead. Finally, exhaustion overcame vigilance, and he collapsed beside the dying embers, snoring softly.
High above in the night sky, four figures hovered in perfect stillness.
"Brothers, what's the situation at Lanruo Temple right now?" Yan Chixia asked anxiously. Among their group, he was the only one who lacked supernatural means of distant perception.
"Patience, Brother Yan," Gustave replied calmly. "Brother Ning has fallen asleep, but nothing has happened at the temple yet."
"Ah, very well," Yan Chixia sighed.
Their aerial position was Gustave's innovation. Initially, they'd planned to hide in the darkness on the ground, concealing their presence while observing from nearby. But Gustave realized that the tree demon's sensitivity was extraordinary - even with their auras suppressed, any slight movement on the ground might be detected.
The sky offered a much better vantage point. The view was unobstructed, and tree demons rarely bothered to check the air above unless absolutely necessary. After all, Yan Chixia couldn't fly, and Gustave's group hadn't displayed any aerial abilities during their initial encounters.
According to Yan Chixia, only masters from legendary sects and true immortals possessed the power of flight. This made the sky an excellent surveillance position - wide field of view and virtually undetectable.
Gustave had brought them all aloft together, not only concealing their spiritual signatures but also wrapping them in an electromagnetic shield. He theorized that by blocking the human body's natural electrical signals, they could achieve an alternative form of invisibility.
The four waited patiently in their aerial blind. Fortunately, Gustave's electromagnetic barrier blocked the strong high-altitude winds, or the cold would have been unbearable.
Around four or five in the morning, movement finally stirred below.
The fire had long since died, leaving Ning Caichen curled in a ball beneath a thin blanket, shivering from the cold. Despite the discomfort, a peaceful smile played across his sleeping features, as if he were lost in pleasant dreams.
Suddenly, melodious notes from a qin drifted through the night air. Ning Caichen stirred slightly but remained asleep.
A mouse appeared from nowhere and scurried across his body. The tickling sensation made him brush at it absently, but the movement startled him awake.
"Ah!" Ning Caichen stared in horror at the rodent in his hand and flung it away. "You scared me half to death!"
He gasped for breath and patted his chest to calm his racing heart.
"Is that... music?" After his panic subsided, he finally noticed the qin melody that had been playing for some time.
The tune was identical to what he'd heard the previous night. Excitement surged through him - tonight, regardless of whether they succeeded in luring out the tree demon, he was determined to learn that mysterious woman's name.
Ning Caichen quickly gathered his belongings, shouldered his traveling pack, and hurried toward the Water Residence.
The nighttime version of the location was completely different from its daytime ruins. Where daylight revealed decay and desolation, darkness restored the tranquil elegance that poets might describe in their verses.
Following the music to its source, Ning Caichen found himself approaching not the collapsed pavilion from the previous evening, but a new structure - an intact waterside pavilion.
Xiaoqian opened her window at the sound of approaching footsteps, but her face filled with worry when she saw who it was. She immediately closed the shutters again.
Ning Caichen had expected her window opening to be a welcoming gesture, so her sudden withdrawal puzzled him greatly. Being a naturally persistent person who couldn't bear leaving questions unanswered, he walked directly to the pavilion door and knocked.
"Miss! Miss!" Since he didn't know her name, this was all he could manage.
"Why have you come here?" Xiaoqian opened the door with an expression of deep concern and quickly pulled him inside. She couldn't understand why he'd returned tonight when she'd deliberately let him escape unharmed the previous evening.
"Miss, I didn't have the opportunity to ask your name before we parted last night. Also, I still have your veil - I came to return it!" Ning Caichen produced a piece of white silk - the same veil that had been blown away by the wind during their first encounter.
"My name is Xiaoqian. What's yours?" She accepted the veil with particular tenderness in her eyes.
"I'm Ning Caichen," he replied happily.
But before Xiaoqian could respond further, the sound of approaching footsteps echoed from outside.
Without hesitation, she grabbed Ning Caichen and stuffed him directly into a large bathing basin, gesturing frantically for silence.
The door opened to admit a woman dressed in green robes - Xiaoqing, another ghostly servant controlled by the tree demon.
"Xiaoqian, hurry up and get to work! Grandmother is growing impatient!"
Xiaoqing had come to urge her companion to begin seducing passing travelers.
"Xiaoqing, I—"
Before Xiaoqian could finish her reply, another figure entered - one whose appearance was neither male nor female and utterly repulsive. The tree demon grandmother had arrived.
"Xiaoqian, I just saw a scholar heading in your direction. Where is he?" The ancient demon's voice carried lazy menace.
"Grandmother, Xiaoqian has been here all night without seeing any scholars." Xiaoqian kept her eyes downcast and replied in a barely audible whisper.
"Really?" The tree demon lifted Xiaoqian's chin with one gnarled finger and stared directly into her eyes.
"Really! How would Xiaoqian dare lie to grandmother?"
At that moment, Xiaoqian looked so pitiful and vulnerable that anyone would want to protect her.
"You do have such a beautiful face, and that charming expression... no wonder the Black Mountain Old Demon specifically requested you."
The tree demon's voice turned even more threatening. "But remember this, Xiaoqian - don't think you can ignore me just because you're promised to the Black Mountain Old Demon. As long as you're in my domain, you obey me!"
She shoved Xiaoqian roughly to the ground.
"Xiaoqian understands," the ghost replied through tears, covering her face.
"Hmph! Remember, Xiaoqian - in three days, you'll be wed to the Black Mountain Old Demon. Until then, don't let me discover you're doing anything improper behind my back!"
"Grandmother, Xiaoqian wouldn't dare."
High above, Gustave and his three companions remained perfectly still during this entire exchange.
The moment the tree demon appeared, Fahai's eyes snapped open from his meditative rest, his expression transforming into that of a wrathful guardian deity ready to strike.
But Gustave restrained him, signaling both him and Yan Chixia to remain patient and observe what would unfold.
When the name "Black Mountain Old Demon" was mentioned, Fahai turned to Yan Chixia with concern.
"Brother Yan, do you know anything about this Black Mountain Old Demon?"
"The Black Mountain Demon?" Yan Chixia looked shocked. "How do you know that name, Master Fahai?"
"I heard what just transpired below..." Fahai quickly explained what they'd witnessed to his companion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Writing takes time, coffee, and a lot of love.If you'd like to support my work, join me at [email protected]/GoldenGaruda
You'll get early access to over 50 chapters, selection on new series, and the satisfaction of knowing your support directly fuels more stories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~