PTYS Chapter 181

Xiao Muyu heard her whisper and slowed her pace slightly. After a moment, she said, “As long as you’re okay, I won’t cry.”

Even in that fabricated world, when her father hit her, her mother scolded her, or even when her mother died, she never shed a tear. Crying was useless. The most important thing was to stay calm and solve the problem.

Tears only made her more pathetic and helpless.

But at that moment when she found Shen Qingqiu, she completely lost control and couldn’t hold back.

Shen Qingqiu remained silent, her face filled with both heartache and regret. She reached out to hug Xiao Muyu, and they both understood each other’s feelings.

Everyone was very cautious as they entered, but nothing happened immediately. Looking back, the door was still wide open, and they could still see the outside scene.

The arrangement inside left Xiao Muyu and the others stunned and a bit wary.

The original wedding hall was now set up like a shrine. Xiao Muyu even smelled the strong scent of burning paper and incense, similar to a bustling temple. She slightly wrinkled her nose and slowly adjusted to the smell.

In the middle of the room was a black altar with a row of items on it. Behind the altar were various rectangular objects, and Xiao Muyu immediately guessed what they were.

Carrying Shen Qingqiu on her back, Xiao Muyu handed the lantern to Chen Kaijie. He stepped forward to take a closer look but immediately took a step back before steadying himself and moving closer again.

Within the limited light of the lantern, neatly arranged memorial tablets and incense burners with offerings came into view.

Xiao Muyu, still carrying Shen Qingqiu, observed the faint outlines behind the altar and whispered, “They’re all memorial tablets.”

“Could they all belong to the Bahe Lord’s family?” Su Jin approached to look closer, and Chen Kaijie quickly brought the lantern closer.

In the front row were four memorial tablets. The two on the left were for the deceased brothers Dong Zhongyuan and Dong Yangshi, while the two on the right were for the deceased brothers Dong Zhongxuan and Dong Liushi.

“Two deceased brothers and their wives. This should be the last generation of the Dong family, the same generation as the Bahe Lord. So, who among these brothers is the Bahe Lord? Or is he not among them? And who set up these memorial tablets?” Su Jin mused as she looked around.

Xiao Muyu didn’t speak but walked straight ahead. Shen Qingqiu patted her shoulder, “Are you really planning to carry me the whole time?”

Xiao Muyu slightly frowned, “Yes, carrying you makes me feel secure.” She didn’t want to think about the near miss earlier, and her grip tightened.

Shen Qingqiu laughed softly, “It’s inconvenient for you to investigate with me on your back. Let me down, and I’ll just lean on you. Okay? It’s uncomfortable lying on my wound.”

Seeing Xiao Muyu still hesitant, Shen Qingqiu softened her voice and cajoled her in her ear. After all, she was already seen as delicate in this world, so being a bit more soft-spoken wouldn’t matter. Xiao Muyu’s ears turned red, and remembering Shen Qingqiu’s abdominal wound, she finally agreed, squatting down to let her off her back, and then quickly supporting her by the waist.

The three onlookers, Su Jin, Zuo Tiantian, and Chen Kaijie, exchanged looks, each pretending to be preoccupied with the memorial tablets in front of them.

“By the way, I remember the Bahe Lord’s wife was named Liu. After the wedding, she would become part of his family, so the Dong Zhongxuan on the right should be the Bahe Lord, and Dong Liushi his wife. Xiao Muyu mentioned someone in the Dong family might have survived, so these tablets should have been set up by that person.”

Zuo Tiantian, recalling the bride’s marriage certificate she had seen, speculated.

“That makes sense,” Chen Kaijie agreed with a nod.

Xiao Muyu and Shen Qingqiu examined the incense burner and the copper basin used for offerings.

Xiao Muyu slightly released Shen Qingqiu and bent down to inspect, “The paper ashes are still warm, meaning someone paid respects here less than an hour ago.”

“After trapping us, they probably thought we were as good as dead and couldn’t resist coming here to inform the deceased,” Shen Qingqiu said with a faint smile.

“Was it the person who set up the tablets? Could it be Miao Anli or Mei Qianqian?”

Xiao Muyu didn’t respond, continuing to study the tablets. The next row of tablets read, “In memory of Dong Gonghui Xiao,” and “In memory of Madam Dong.”

Clearly, the person alive had a deep connection with the Dong family, referring to the Bahe Lord as brother and their parents as “Xiao” and “Madam.” Could it be a brother of Dong Zhongxuan?

With this thought, Xiao Muyu finally spoke, “Miao Anli and Mei Qianqian each facilitated Shen Qingqiu and I to go out, so they are both suspicious. Especially considering this outfit I’m wearing, no matter their roles, they are involved. Especially my stepmother, her suspicion is higher than Miao Anli’s.”

This evidence was more compelling than just having them leave. Mei Qianqian had mentioned Xiao Muyu’s clothes were too plain and made her new ones, but they ended up being white, which was contradictory.

Xiao Muyu examined the tablets and the surroundings. Despite the outer ruin, there was no heavy dust or cobwebs inside, indicating someone was cleaning regularly.

Soon, Chen Kaijie lit the candles on the table and handed one to Su Jin, giving the lantern to Xiao Muyu. They all looked around the room with the candlelight.

The dim light gradually revealed more of the scene.

They first saw empty chairs arranged in the middle of the hall. Besides these, there seemed to be some old burlap sacks and straw piles, making it look like an abandoned courtyard.

Chen Kaijie went to inspect and, tearing a hole in a sack, found dirt and grain husks, which seemed odd.

Xiao Muyu frowned slightly.

Shen Qingqiu leaned against Xiao Muyu, feeling the strong smell of burnt paper and incense, making her nose itch. She sneezed.

Xiao Muyu turned to her, touching her hand, “Still cold?”

Shen Qingqiu shook her head, rubbing her nose, “No, just the heavy smell here makes my nose itch.”

Indeed, Xiao Muyu’s keen sense of smell found it uncomfortable too. But looking at the incense burner and the copper basin, something felt off, “How can so little incense make such a strong smell?”

She sniffed again, finding the strong scent uncomfortable.

She sniffed carefully and scanned the room. When Chen Kaijie was about to walk towards the door, she suddenly called out, “Chen Kaijie, stop.”

Chen Kaijie froze mid-step, turning to look at Xiao Muyu in confusion, “What’s wrong, Captain Xiao?”

Shen Qingqiu laughed softly, “So obedient. Take one step back.”

Knowing what Xiao Muyu was aiming for, Shen Qingqiu gave instructions.

Xiao Muyu gave her a helpless look, “Don’t talk too much, rest a bit.”

Shen Qingqiu reluctantly agreed, feeling well enough to stand but unable to speak.

Xiao Muyu squeezed her hand to reassure her and walked over with her.

Holding the lantern near Chen Kaijie, Xiao Muyu squatted at his feet. Chen Kaijie asked nervously, “Is there something there?”

Xiao Muyu shook her head, “It’s fine, you can move now.”

Chen Kaijie quickly stepped aside as Su Jin and Zuo Tiantian gathered around, watching Xiao Muyu illuminate a palm-sized dark stain on the floor.

Previously unnoticed due to the dim candlelight and dark floor, the stain was now clearly visible.

The color was somewhat brownish, with splattered marks indicating it had dripped and spread, with varying depths of color.

Xiao Muyu reached to touch it, but Shen Qingqiu beat her to it. She quickly sniffed her fingers, “It’s blood, likely from the past two days.”

“Whose blood?” It was recent, so it shouldn’t be the escort’s. If not the escort, then…

“The girls?” Zuo Tiantian speculated, nervously.

“We might find clues about them here. But does it mean they… are all dead?” Chen Kaijie’s face turned pale as he thought of the five severed heads.

“Those five heads are still there, but their bodies are missing. Could they be here?”

Su Jin shivered at the thought but began searching the room nonetheless.

“With so many burlap sacks, could the bodies be hidden in them?” Chen Kaijie was startled.

“Even a single person, decapitated, would lose a significant amount of blood. Five people have been killed, and the small amount of blood here is just a drop in the bucket. Moreover, there doesn’t seem to be large bloodstains in the room. Judging by the amount and shape of the bloodstains here…” Shen Qingqiu continued, her expression unchanged. She glanced at Xiao Muyu, and both of them simultaneously looked up at the dark ceiling above.

Xiao Muyu then spoke in a deep voice, “It looks like the blood dripped down from above.”

Chen Kaijie and his two companions widened their eyes in shock and quickly looked up, immediately feeling a chill run down their spines.

Just as they looked up, Xiao Muyu threw the lantern in her hand upwards. The lantern flew towards the ceiling and hung steadily in midair. Under the clear light, they could see that the ceiling was covered with densely hanging paper figures.

Zuo Tiantian screamed and covered her mouth, clinging tightly to Su Jin, who was also terrified and nearly lost her balance.

The paper figures were wrapped like cocoons, hanging upside down. But the most horrifying sight was among the creepy, grinning paper faces, there was a real human head, blood-stained and eyes wide open.

Her long hair was tied up with a red ribbon on top of her head. Her face, due to prolonged suspension, was swollen and covered in corpse spots, blood oozing from her mouth and nose. There was a clear wound on her neck, and her bulging eyes still showed fear. However, her mouth was twisted into a chilling, eerie smile.

Unable to bear the sight, Zuo Tiantian buried her head, while Xiao Muyu also looked away, waving her hand in disgust and frowning.

She moved the lantern to continue searching among the paper figures. Soon, they found two more similar corpses among the paper figures—three girls in total. Xiao Muyu’s face grew increasingly grim. The five headless girls were also among them, their heads replaced with paper ones, blood seeping from the paper faces.

Having experienced so many gruesome scenes, this was one of the most brutal. Even Xiao Muyu felt nauseous. The last time she felt this sick was in the “Orphan” scenario, but those people deserved their fate. These eight young girls, however, had done nothing wrong.

“It’s utterly insane. Taking revenge is one thing, but to treat innocent people so cruelly…” Chen Kaijie couldn’t stand it, feeling both anger and sorrow.

“Years of hatred have twisted him completely. His soul is corroded by hatred, and perhaps he is possessed by a vengeful spirit,” Xiao Muyu said, her mood heavy. This scenario was too oppressive.

“With so many paper figures, it seems he planned this for a long time,” Shen Qingqiu said quietly, looking at the figures.

But she was still puzzled. “Why can’t we see any bloodstains? Were they cleaned up?”

Shen Qingqiu knew the girl’s neck wound would have caused blood to spurt everywhere, yet they saw no such traces. Were the killings done outside?

“Have you thought about why he killed these eight girls? Is it just because he’s twisted and wants revenge? But why select girls who were just engaged? To kill and turn them into paper figures seems too strange,” Xiao Muyu pondered aloud.

She was right. There had to be a motive, and his choice of victims was peculiar.

“Keep searching; maybe there are more clues,” Xiao Muyu suggested, eyeing the pile of burlap sacks.

While Shen Qingqiu rested, the others started searching the sacks. They found nine jars, eight sealed and one empty. Each jar had a piece of paper with birthdates and a strange symbol. As Xiao Muyu approached, she covered her nose, saying, “It’s blood.”

She looked at the empty jar in Chen Kaijie’s hand, her face darkening as she tore off the paper. Written on it was: Jiawu, Wuxu, Renshen, Jiazi—Shen Qingqiu’s birthdate.

The author says: I find this scene quite scary. Writing it made me uncomfortable. Why are there no comments recently? Are you abandoning me for your partners?

I saw a comment where a reader said they were watching with their girlfriend. I might be struggling, but you guys should enjoy it! Watching together is a good way to bond and ward off evil spirits.

[Names of the contributors: Muyu Qiao Muyu, Jiuyin Chengxian, Qiang Chao Lianbai]