I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 112 - 93: Xia Chan Saves Her Sister
Xia Chan followed Xuan Yu, avoiding the Evil Spirits and Evil Ghosts in the Ming Mansion, returning to the servants’ quarters where Sang Que had her mishap.
Xuan Yu remembered that Su Liangyuan did not directly step into the courtyard, indicating there was something terrifying inside. He stopped Xia Chan and took her around to climb the wall and onto the roof, slipping through a hole in the roof to enter the house.
The copper mirror was still placed on the dressing table. Xia Chan ran over, seeing Sang Que in the mirror walking on a suspension bridge, at the end of which stood a paifang amidst a chaotic stone gorge.
"Sister!"
Xia Chan shouted at the copper mirror, but the person in the mirror could not hear her voice. She reached out to grab the copper mirror, immediately feeling a searing pain in her hands.
Ugh!
Xia Chan let go in pain, her palms scalded red, tears welling up as she pouted.
Meow~
Xuan Yu jumped onto the dressing table, attempting to touch the copper mirror with its paws, but nothing happened.
This copper mirror suppressed the power of the Evil Spirits. Xia Chan, being an Evil People, could not directly touch such items.
Fortunately, Xuan Yu was smart, turned its head to look around, jumped onto the nearby big communal bed, and tore a piece of cloth from the shabby bedding.
Xuan Yu placed the cloth next to the copper mirror, raised its paw to point at the copper mirror, then at the cloth.
Meow!
Xia Chan tilted her head, thinking for a moment before she understood Xuan Yu’s meaning. Yet she still didn’t think to use the cloth as insulation, grabbing the copper mirror directly and withstanding the burning pain to lift it onto the cloth.
"Hot, hot, hot!"
Xia Chan squeezed her ears, blowing continuously from her mouth but not onto her hands.
The cat sighed, watching Xia Chan wrap the copper mirror in the cloth and hold it in her hands. Although she could still feel the heat from the copper mirror, it was no longer unbearable.
"What should we do now?" Xia Chan looked expectantly at Xuan Yu.
Meow!
Xuan Yu let out an annoyed cry. It was just a small cat serving jars of food, what did it know!
But Xia Chan’s gaze was too clear and sincere, placing complete trust in Xuan Yu. Xuan Yu’s eyelids drooped, its tail flicking as it thought.
After a moment, Xuan Yu shook its head, signaling Xia Chan to follow, and together they headed to the deepest part of the Ming Mansion.
Xuan Yu had good eyesight, Xia Chan was nimble, and both were good at climbing walls and trees. In their pursuit of Sang Que’s body, they avoided anything strange, choosing to hide or flee whenever possible.
Xuan Yu remembered the direction shown in the copper mirror where Sang Que was heading towards a mountain, so it led Xia Chan in that direction.
Passing through a bamboo forest, Xia Chan and Xuan Yu saw a path leading up the mountain. The torrential rain had ceased, the moon peeked out from behind the clouds, the cold moonlight illuminating the steps and the paifang on them.
Xia Chan took off her bamboo hat, Xuan Yu shook off the rainwater from its fur, and they exchanged a glance before running up the stairs.
The bamboo leaves rustled, and on either side of the stone steps grew the ghost-faced blood-red bell flowers. When the wind blew, the ghost faces swayed, sending shivers down one’s spine.
Xia Chan quickened her pace, just passing through the paifang when she heard intermittent sobbing from the shrine ahead.
Inside the half-collapsed shrine, dozens or even hundreds of charred memorial tablets lay scattered and covered in cobwebs.
The old monk, missing in the earlier chaos, had his back to the entrance, kneeling under those tablets, his shoulders trembling.
"... Sister, when will you let me go? Do you know how I have survived these fifty years? My wife and children brutally killed, leaving only me to live in hiding, tormented by Dream Ghosts every night, seeking sanctuary in Buddhism, repenting daily by the light of ancient Buddha lamps, praying and chanting for your blessings..."
"...Is it still not enough? Do you really want to make me just like you? Do you know how hard it is to disguise while being in the Buddhist Sect but having to consume human blood daily? How can all the sins of the Ming Family be punished on me alone? You destroyed the entire Ming Family over a maid..."
Xia Chan frowned and moved closer, trying to see more clearly, when she suddenly stepped on a dry branch, causing a crisp sound.
The old monk spun around sharply, coinciding with a flash of lightning illuminating his bloodless face, his hair and beard white, his eyes a ferocious red, and his mouth full of beast-like filthy sharp teeth.
A face full of mystery, like an Evil Ghost.
Xia Chan shuddered, scooped up Xuan Yu with her hair, and fled down a side path.
Behind the shrine, the charred trees scorched by a great fire were hung with numerous red threads and talisman papers, which fluttered in the wind, scattering paper money and talisman papers everywhere.
Xia Chan was tense and cautious, moving slowly through, and after a while, the charred trees thinned out. A strong smell of blood came from ahead, the wind growing increasingly cold and bone-chilling.
"Return my son... uh... uh..."
A strange voice came from ahead, Xia Chan shivered, quickly darted behind a tree, and squinted towards the front.
