11 – Saving the Village Demon
She dreamed of a man chuckling softly by her bedside, but when she woke, there was nothing.
That night, Qin Yue pretended to be asleep. Sure enough, in the dead of night, the man came again.
He carried a chilling aura; the coldness pressed in before he even approached. He stood still by Qin Yue’s bedside, stared at her for a while, and let out a string of eerie, low chuckles.
Qin Yue abruptly opened her eyes and demanded, “Who’s there?”
Strangely, when she opened her eyes, there was nothing in front of her. Though she had already died once, Qin Yue was still startled into a cold sweat. The laughter just now had been too terrifying, as if it were right by her ear.
She called out to Meiqiu several times in her mind, but Meiqiu was sound asleep and didn’t respond. Useless thing.
The next day, as soon as the sky began to lighten, Qin Yue got up. Without disturbing anyone, she threw on her clothes and went out alone.
The courtyard was swept clean, with no traces left behind. But when she opened the main gate, she discovered a faint set of footprints on the ground.
The footprints were large, at least size 44, and the stride was wide—almost double her own. She deduced they were a man’s footprints.
She followed the footprints back and found they disappeared in front of an old mansion. The house was dilapidated, at least a hundred years old.
Judging by the architectural style, it must have been left behind by a wealthy family. The lintel was carved with exquisite bat patterns, and the steps were made of marble.
A thick layer of dust covered the main door, and many spiderwebs clung to the corners—clearly, no one had been there for years. Yet, the open space in front of the door was clean, as if someone had deliberately swept it.
Qin Yue grew suspicious. She was about to reach out and knock but paused mid-air, afraid of seeing something she shouldn’t. After a moment’s hesitation, she turned and left.
On her way back, she gathered some wild vegetables. It had to be said, the people of Sangyu Village were quite well-off. While Fusu Village was so hungry they resorted to cannibalism, here there were still wild vegetables to pick.
By the time she returned home, Qingqing and Cuicui were already up, and breakfast was laid out on the stone table in the courtyard, steaming hot.
“Qingqing, besides you and Cuicui, is there anyone else who can come and go in this courtyard?” Qin Yue asked while sipping her porridge.
“No, sister-in-law. Before you came, it was just the two of us here. Our uncle lives far away and only visits once every few months.” The uncle Qingqing referred to was Sang Mohan’s father, the village chief of Sangyu Village.
“Oh.” Qin Yue nodded thoughtfully, pretending not to care. “This morning when I went for a walk, I saw an old mansion. It’s such a splendid building, yet no one lives there. What a waste.”
Qingqing’s face immediately changed at these words, and she hurriedly said, “Sister-in-law, you must never go near that old mansion again!”
Qin Yue was inwardly startled but asked calmly, “Why?”
After hesitating for a moment, Qingqing replied, “I heard from the villagers when I was digging for wild vegetables on the mountain—it’s a haunted house. The owner was a wealthy man, and over a hundred years ago, the entire family died inside due to some curse. Later, it was said that anyone who stepped into that house would die, and their deaths would be particularly gruesome. The villagers all say the place is haunted. No one dares to enter, so it’s been left abandoned ever since.”
“So that’s how it is. I understand.”After the meal, Qingqing and Cuicui cleared the table while Qin Yue sat in the courtyard basking in the sun as usual, conversing with Meiqiu through mental connection.