Ring Pendant City lay right at the edge of Tea Town. The realization stirred an inexplicable unease in Lu Sheng’s chest.
‘This report was sent a month ago,’ he thought. ‘Which means the incident happened at least a month back. Possibly even earlier. At that time, I was still busy ambushing the Scarlet District Mistress…’
His fingers tapped lightly against the tabletop, each beat measured and deliberate. Something about this case felt wrong.
The disappearance of a branch leader was exceedingly rare. Even in a world teeming with demons and ghosts, an ordinary apparition could not possibly trap someone of that caliber. At worst, the branch leader might have been unable to defeat the enemy, but escape should never have been an issue.
And even if fleeing had been impossible, he would have had time to send out a distress signal. On top of that, all Anomaly sites with any degree of danger were clearly marked. A branch leader would never enter such a place recklessly.
Lu Sheng quickly flipped through the documents and found a letter buried within Zhao Jiaojiao’s intelligence report.
“Rumor has it that a mysterious manor has appeared deep in the mountains. Some firewood gatherers and herb gatherers have entered and never been seen again. Suspected new case of ghost activity. Preparing to investigate.”
Lu Sheng closed his eyes slowly. His instincts whispered that there was a connection between the two incidents.
…………
Tea Sect, Tea Town.
The Sect Leader sat uneasily in the main hall, a cup of clear green tea cradled in her hand. Yet she did not take a single sip. The report delivered moments ago by the Deputy Sect Leader weighed heavily on her mind.
Recently, vast stretches of tea trees across the mountains had begun to dry and wither. Their growth was steadily deteriorating, the cause unknown. This year’s harvest was all but certain to suffer.
She had personally gone to inspect the fields, yet even then, she had been unable to discern the source of the problem.
Dong Qi rose and set the teacup down on the table. Gloom clouded her expression as she stepped out of the hall and into the courtyard, hoping the open air might clear her thoughts.
“Sect Leader, a man outside claims he can help us deal with the withering of the tea trees,” a guard whispered as he approached.
Dong Qi paused, startled.
The news of the tea trees’ condition had not yet been made public. How could this man have learned of it so quickly?
Could there be a mole within the sect?
With her hands clasped behind her back, she hesitated for a moment before nodding.
“Invite him to the guest hall. I’ll be there shortly.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The guard withdrew.
Dong Qi composed herself, took a few calming sips of tea, then made her way toward the guest hall.
The moment she stepped inside, her gaze was drawn to the figure standing at its center.
He was a young, scholarly man with a slender build and refined features. Confidence and composure clung to him like a second skin. Holding a black umbrella, he stood quietly beneath a painting of the setting sun over the sea, studying it with evident interest.
“I am Duan Xichen. Greetings, Sect Leader Dong.” The man cupped his fists and smiled. “Upon hearing that the tea mountains have withered, I came of my own accord, confident in my abilities. I hope Sect Leader Dong will not take offense.”
“Of course not,” Dong Qi replied with a polite smile. “Your eyes shine with intelligence, sir. If you truly possess the means to help us, the Tea Sect will not be stingy with its rewards.”
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“Sect Leader is too kind.” Duan Xichen smiled. Then, as if speaking offhandedly, he added, “Come to think of it, Tea Sect’s headquarters feels rather dark and oppressive. I even heard there was a recent ghost incident?”
Caught off guard, Dong Qi hastily shook her head.
“What ghost incident? It was merely an unsightly internal matter within the sect…”
“Is that so?” A trace of curiosity surfaced on Duan Xichen’s face. “Would you mind telling me about it? Leave Tea Sect’s troubles to me. You may rest assured.”
Dong Qi found it difficult to look away from him. Merely listening to his voice made warmth spread through her body. Without realizing it, she felt an urge to comply with his request.
“It’s all in the past,” she said softly. “But since you wish to hear it, sir, I’ll tell you.”
…………
Deep in the mountains.
Thunder rolled overhead as rain lashed down in sheets. Under the storm’s furious gales, the dense forest swayed violently, branches and trunks groaning like living things.
“Aiyo… aiyo…!”
At the foot of an inky-black slope, Zhang the Fifth lay sprawled in a ditch, groaning in agony. Rainwater mixed with mud had thoroughly soaked his lower body. After tumbling down the slope, his legs were mottled with bruises and open wounds, now swollen and burning with pain as filthy water seeped into them.
He reached down to touch them. The skin had already begun to go numb.
‘This is bad. I have to get up now. If I stay here any longer, I might lose my life.’
With tremendous effort, he dragged himself upright. Earlier, he had struck the back of his head and fallen unconscious, missing his best chance to make his way back.
Now the storm raged unchecked, plunging the forest into pitch-black darkness. He could barely make out his surroundings. Sharp bushes and thick branches loomed everywhere, threatening to tear at his skin with each step.
Getting home had become nearly impossible.
“I can’t stay here… I’ve lost too much blood. I’ll definitely attract wild beasts…” As a lifelong herb gatherer and hunter in these mountains, Zhang the Fifth knew the dangers all too well.
Limping heavily, he crawled out of the ditch at the slope’s base. Lightning tore across the sky from time to time, and in those fleeting flashes, he desperately scanned left and right, searching for any sign of the familiar path home.
But after his fall, he was no longer on his usual route. Combined with the howling storm and the inky darkness of night, finding his way back was all but impossible.
Even so, he knew that giving up meant death. If he stayed in the wild through the night, he would not last until dawn.
The Northern Lands were cold by nature. Now, as autumn gave way to winter, the temperature had plunged even further. Not long after regaining consciousness, Zhang the Fifth began to shiver uncontrollably, forcing himself to keep moving so his limbs would not stiffen completely.
“Is anyone there?” he called out into the storm.
But his shout was swallowed instantly by the howling gale and the rolling thunder, reduced to nothing more than a frail whisper.
With no other choice, Zhang the Fifth dragged his exhausted body onward. He tried his best to move beneath the forest canopy for shelter. Though it spared him from the worst of the pounding rain, the icy wind still lashed against his soaked skin, biting straight to the bone.
As he staggered through the trees, he suddenly lifted his head. Ahead, out of nowhere, a faint white glow flickered in the darkness.
“Light? Someone’s there?” Zhang the Fifth’s eyes widened in disbelief. Joy surged through him, and a fresh burst of strength filled his limbs. He quickened his pace toward the source of the light.
“KA-CHA!”
Lightning split the sky, bathing the world in a brief, tragic flash of white.
Gritting his teeth, Zhang the Fifth pressed on. With tremendous effort, he emerged from the dense forest and found himself standing before the light’s source.
A dilapidated village lay ahead. Stone houses were scattered unevenly across a stretch of black earth, their surfaces rough and cracked like aged tree bark.
The glow came from a large stone house near the village entrance.
It stood on slightly elevated ground, taller than the others. Its main door opened onto a flight of stone steps that descended off to the left.
Zhang the Fifth swallowed hard. Overwhelmed with relief, he hurried toward it.
Finding an inhabited shelter in such deep mountains was like winning the lottery.
“Is anyone inside!? Sorry to disturb you!” he shouted as he stumbled up to the stone steps.
Every other house in the village was pitch black. This was the only one lit, and being closest to the entrance, it naturally drew him in without a second thought.
Receiving no response, he called out again, louder this time. “Sorry to disturb! Is anyone in?”
He struggled up the steps, one at a time, until he finally reached the wooden door.
“Dong, dong, dong.”
He knocked hard.
To his surprise, the door was not shut. His knocking pushed it open with a slow creak.
Zhang the Fifth’s heart lurched. Leaving a door open at midnight, deep in such dangerous mountains, was profoundly unnatural.
One had to know that these mountains teemed with wild beasts. Leaving a door open at night was nothing short of inviting disaster. A single wandering panther, wolf, or tiger would be enough to turn this place into a grave.
But beneath the pounding thunderstorm, numbed by the biting cold and tormented by hunger, Zhang the Fifth no longer had the luxury of caution.
Gritting his teeth, he pushed the door open and stepped inside.
Beyond the threshold lay a spacious courtyard. Deeper within, directly facing the entrance, stood a brightly lit hall. Through the paper window, Zhang the Fifth could clearly see the silhouette of a person seated inside.
Hope surged through his chest.
‘Perhaps the owner simply forgot to close the door,’ he thought. ‘And maybe the rain drowned out my earlier shouts.’
He closed the door behind him and limped toward the main hall.
“Help! Is anybody there?!” he cried out as the pain in his body sharpened.
At that exact moment, a deafening clap of thunder rolled overhead, completely swallowing his voice.
Powerless, Zhang the Fifth could only press on, hobbling toward the hall as quickly as he could.
In one breath, he made it beneath the eaves. The stone house finally shielded him from the storm and howling wind. Only then did he release a long, trembling sigh.
“I’m Zhang the Fifth!” he shouted toward the hall. “I slipped and fell in the deep mountains late at night and was unconscious until now! I beg the owner to let me stay the night! I’ll repay this kindness in the future!”
Standing by the paper window, he could clearly see the outline of a person seated inside.
The figure sat at the very center of the hall, its shadow cast sharply against the window. It did not move at all, as though fast asleep.
“Hello? Is anyone there? Help!”
“Help!”
“Owner, please help me!”
Again and again, Zhang the Fifth shouted and slapped against the door.
Yet not a single sound came from within.
A chill crept into his heart.
‘Could it be… could it be… I’ve run into a ghost?’ His face drained of color as unease tightened its grip on him.
Just then—
“Creak…”
The door slowly swung open.
Overjoyed, Zhang the Fifth hurried forward and stumbled into the hall.
Inside, the hall was brightly lit and warm like spring. Every detail was finely adorned, forming a striking contrast to the rough, weathered exterior of the stone house.
Fine motifs and intricate patterns were carved into the wooden furnishings, while unknown precious ornaments adorned the walls. Seated at the very center of the hall was a middle-aged man.
He was plump, his face utterly devoid of emotion.
“Tell me a joke.” The man spoke abruptly.
Zhang the Fifth stood frozen at the doorway.
“What…?” He stared at the man, unsure if he had misheard. “I’m Zhang the Fifth, a herb gatherer from nearby. I fell down a slope by accident and was unconscious until now. I can’t make it home, so I had no choice but to come here for help. I hope—”
“Tell me a joke.” The middle-aged man repeated.
This time, Zhang the Fifth knew he had heard correctly. Yet it made no sense. He glanced around the hall. There was no one else present.
In the dead of night, this man sat motionless in the guest hall, his expression unchanged, his presence profoundly unnatural. The more Zhang the Fifth looked, the more bizarre the scene felt.
“I… I don’t know any jokes… I’m sorry…” A chill ran through Zhang the Fifth’s body, and his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
“Tell me a joke.”
For the third time, the man’s eerily placid voice echoed through the hall.
Zhang the Fifth teetered on the edge of collapse. He staggered backward, instinctively trying to retreat.
“I… I…” Cold sweat beaded across his skin, his breathing growing shallow and uneven.
“BOOM!”
Without warning, the doors slammed shut.
All light vanished at once, plunging the hall into absolute darkness.
After an indeterminate stretch of time, the hall lit up again. Calm returned, as though nothing had happened.
A man sat unmoving at the center of the hall, his shadow cast against the paper window.
Aside from him, there was no one else inside.
“Help… help!!” Suddenly, hurried footsteps echoed from outside the stone house.
A mud-covered man stumbled unsteadily into the courtyard. Upon seeing the brightly lit hall, joy flooded his face as he rushed toward it.
“Creak…”
The wooden door opened, then closed once more.
“Tell me a joke.”
----
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