With no leads on the missing person, the case was officially classified as unsolved by the authorities. Since no one came forward to claim the bodies of Third Young Master Yuan and the other three, they had no choice but to be buried in the mountains.
As for Li Niang, she was originally an orphan. After such incidents occurred, the troupe leader deemed her unlucky and arranged for a simple coffin, requesting the authorities to bury her in the mountains as well. Later, strange events began happening in the town, and everyone started saying it was Li Niang’s unresolved resentment manifesting as her coming back to claim lives.
The waiter spoke until his mouth went dry, finally offering repeated warnings before attending to other tasks.
Returning to their room doors, Yan Wuyou stopped Lin Yao. His expression turned serious: “Junior Sister, we must be careful tonight. That Demon might come to steal the treasure.”
“Senior Brother should worry more about yourself! The waiter said that Demon specifically targets men!” Lin Yao’s eyes sparkled as she leaned closer, whispering, “Tonight, why don’t you stay with me? We can wait for the rabbit together.”
Remembering their night in the cave and what happened earlier, Yan Wuyou leaned back with full alertness: “You won’t take advantage of the situation, will you?”
Lin Yao’s mind suddenly conjured an image of “a handsome man emerging from his bath.” Feeling somewhat guilty but maintaining her bold front, she declared: “Don’t worry, I won’t cling to you!”
Thus, Yan Wuyou fetched his quilt from his own room, moved the side couch near the window – keeping it far from Lin Yao’s large bed – then spread out his bedding and slept fully clothed. Perhaps because Yan Wuyou was in the room, breathing in his distinctive scent, Lin Yao shamefully fell asleep! In her drowsy state, she began dreaming…
In the dream, she sat on a bed wearing fiery red wedding robes. Through the veil, she vaguely saw someone approaching her. Just as she felt anxious and uncertain, the veil was gently lifted! Revealed before her was Yan Wuyou dressed in red, gazing at her with tender affection.
Seeing it was him, Lin Yao’s uneasy heart immediately settled.
After they drank the ceremonial wedding wine, Lin Yao began undressing him – untying his belt, removing his outer robe. His open inner garments revealed a firm chest… Yan Wuyou wrapped his arms around her and gently laid her down. Lin Yao’s body softened as she cooed softly: “Senior Brother…”
Just as Yan Wuyou was about to kiss her lips, she heard a voice in her ear: “Wake up—”
Lin Yao opened her sleepy eyes to see Yan Wuyou looking at her with suspicion. Instantly enlightened, she shuddered: Could he have heard her?
She cursed herself internally: Truly, lust clouds judgment! What kind of timing is this for such dreams?
“It’s here!” Yan Wuyou said as he crouched by the window. “Look quickly—”
Lin Yao hurriedly got out of bed. Both pressed against the window, lifting a corner to peer at the opposite room. They saw shadows moving inside the opposite room, emitting rustling sounds. Simultaneously, Lin Yao felt a faint warmth in her chest—
Before long, a fair-faced young man with closed eyes drew the door bolt, opened the door, and staggered out of the room like a marionette.
To avoid alerting their target, the two quietly followed behind, tracking him all the way to the foot of Western Mao Mountain. Suddenly, the fair-faced young man stopped, swiftly turned around, and let out an eerie laugh directed at them: “Heehee—”
That shrill voice definitely wasn’t his! It was a woman’s voice!
Yan Wuyou darted out and flung a talisman toward the Jade-Faced Young Gentleman. Unexpectedly, the previously stumbling young gentleman suddenly became as light as a swallow, leaping away toward the mountains. The two of them activated their Light Body Skill and pursued closely, chasing him to a cliff halfway up the mountain. The young gentleman abruptly leaped down—
With Tao Tao in hand, Lin Yao felt fearless and leaped down without hesitation. Yan Wuyou, unable to stop her in time, had no choice but to follow. Upon landing, they immediately sensed something amiss.
The place appeared to be an ordinary grove, but the arrangement of trees was meticulously designed, following the principles of the Five Elements and Eight Trigrams to form a Four Symbols Formation.
No wonder the authorities had failed to track this place down—the Four Symbols Formation acted as a smokescreen for the grove. From above, the sparse trees formed an unremarkable circle, easily surveyed at a glance, with flat, unobstructed ground in the center that revealed everything within.
The raised burial mound not far away was likely where the innkeeper had said Li Niang and Third Young Master Yuan, along with his accomplices, were buried. No one would have guessed the grove held such secrets. Had they not jumped down, even Lin Yao would have remained unaware.
“Third Young Master, how heartless you are! You’ve broken Li Niang’s heart, boo hoo—”
Under the moonlight, the young gentleman’s face was pale as jade, his petal-like lips full and crimson, his deep eyes shimmering with shifting lights. He raised his hands in delicate orchid gestures, lightly stroking his sideburns while singing mournfully, sending shivers down the spines of the two observers.
“We pledged to live and die together—how could you break your word and live on alone? Third Young Master, come join me—”
The two watched quietly as the young gentleman’s expression shifted unpredictably—now weeping, now laughing, now coquettish, now enraged… Moments later, murmuring “Third Young Master, come quickly,” he walked forward until he stopped before a crooked-neck tree.
Gazing up foolishly, he suddenly scrambled up the tree, untied his belt, hung it from a branch, and tied a noose. Just as he was about to slip his head through, Lin Yao struck down the branch while Yan Wuyou swiftly formed hand seals. “Break—!” The Purifying Seal struck him squarely.
The young gentleman shuddered violently, regaining his senses. Seeing himself disheveled and clinging to the tree, with Lin Yao and Yan Wuyou staring oddly from below, he suddenly remembered everything and cursed under his breath: “Damn it all—”
“Third Miss Shen! I’m Wang Chuan—” Grumbling internally, Wang Chuan climbed down from the tree.
Ever since that fleeting glimpse at the Old Man of the Moon Temple, he’d had no chance to see Lin Yao again. Finally, by sheer coincidence, he encountered the fairy-like maiden he’d yearned for day and night—but in such an embarrassing state! Wang Chuan hurried to Lin Yao, glanced at her, then quickly lowered his eyes. “I’ve embarrassed myself before Third Miss Shen.”
Lin Yao had no recollection of him whatsoever and asked in surprise, “Have we met?”
“I’ve seen Third Miss Shen before,” Wang Chuan replied awkwardly. “On Qixi Festival, at the Old Man of the Moon Temple, I saw you with Brother Ji.”
Lin Yao thought: So that’s it.
“Hehe! Third Young Master, so many third young masters—” The woman’s shrill voice suddenly pierced the air again.
The three of them turned toward the voice and saw a captivating woman in opera costume staring at them while covering her mouth with a light laugh: “Which one do you like?” After speaking, she looked up at the trees as if searching for something. The group followed her gaze to the trees, but these trees were different from what they had seen earlier! It seemed they had stumbled into a magical formation.
Most of the trees were hung with corpses. The bodies had long been dried out—some had rotted away, leaving only a few withered bones; others had completely turned into desiccated corpses swaying in the wind. These must be the missing people from the town!
Wang Chuan’s stomach churned, and he nearly vomited.
“It seems you weren’t that important to Third Young Master either,” Yan Wuyou sneered.
The woman’s eyes suddenly widened in rage: “Shut up! He betrayed me first, he was the one who betrayed me!” She clutched her head and began sobbing painfully.
Lin Yao frowned and scolded: “Your Third Young Master betrayed you, but what does that have to do with these innocent people?”
“How could it not concern them? All men in this world are faithless, they all deserve to die wretched deaths, wretched deaths—” she screamed hysterically.
“Tell us, how did your Third Young Master betray you? I’ll judge this fairly for you!” Yan Wuyou crossed his arms over his sword and leaned against a tree. This Demon seemed deranged—it would be best to coax some information out of her first to understand the whole story.
“He betrayed me, he betrayed me,” the woman murmured, then wept softly for a moment before beginning her tale…
Li Niang was originally the star performer of the Tianxi Opera Troupe, not only skilled in singing but also quite beautiful, making her somewhat famous around Maoxi Town. Proud of her talent, she perfectly embodied Li Niang’s character. No matter how the troupe leader tried to persuade her, Li Niang never lowered herself to entertain those wealthy gentlemen.
Until a year ago, when a group of people arrived in town, spending lavishly. The troupe leader gave a strict order forcing Li Niang to accompany them. Unable to refuse, she had no choice but to attend the banquet.
Unexpectedly, their leader, Third Young Master Yuan, was not only handsome but also highly educated and exceptionally dignified. During the banquet, when the troupe leader repeatedly urged her to drink, Third Young Master Yuan actually stepped in to shield Li Niang. At the end, he personally draped a cloak over her shoulders and escorted her back. The usually aloof Li Niang finally found herself moved.
The two began meeting privately, and through their interactions, affection grew between them. As is natural between lovers, they soon pledged themselves to each other. Third Young Master Yuan vowed he would marry no one but Li Niang, promising to take her with him when he returned. Li Niang believed him completely.
Two months later, the survey work concluded, and the group prepared to leave. Overjoyed, Li Niang hurried to find Third Young Master Yuan. To her shock, he refused to take her along, using the excuse that their families were mismatched and his family would never approve.
“Third Young Master, you swore an oath—to live and die together and never betray me.”
“Li Niang, I was carried away by passion back then, but now I realize I was foolish. Please pretend I never existed, alright?”
“Third Young Master, how can you say that? I… I’m pregnant…”
Third Young Master Yuan was horrified. Though Li Niang was indeed quite beautiful, she was merely an opera singer. Moreover, he already had a wife at home, and the Yuan family would never allow him to take a concubine from such a lowly background.
No matter how much he pleaded, Li Niang refused to let go and wouldn’t return the jade pendant he had given her. It was a family heirloom of the Yuan family—he had to get it back!
Third Young Master Yuan immediately compromised: “Li Niang, my family will never accept you. Why don’t we elope? The world is vast—there must be a place for us.” Thus, they agreed to meet the next day at midnight, secretly retrieve the treasure from Partridge Mountain, and flee far away together.
The following midnight, both arrived at Partridge Mountain as promised. Along the way, each harbored private thoughts, hurrying in silence. Li Niang envisioned her future with Third Young Master: after taking the treasure, crossing Partridge Mountain would lead to a village; anywhere in the wide world could become their home. Meanwhile, Third Young Master Yuan schemed how to lure her off the cliff edge, ensuring her death went unnoticed.
When they reached the cliff halfway up the mountain, Third Young Master Yuan halted. Softly, he said, “Li Niang, the treasure is down below. Will you come with me to retrieve it?”
Li Niang glanced at the bottom of the cliff, feeling fearful: “Third Young Master, the cliff is so deep. I’d better wait for you up here.”
Unexpectedly, Third Young Master Yuan abandoned his usual tenderness and coldly declared, “Li Niang, I ask you one more time: will you return the jade pendant or not?”