Chapter 24: Town Chronicle

The moment the water sleeve landed on the ground, it transformed into a phantom, and the singsong opera tune immediately rang out.

In the instant we saw that phantom clearly, I and Li Qingying exchanged a glance, and we both saw shock in each other's eyes.

The woman singing on the stage was actually Meilin Shuang!

Was Meilin Shuang a member of the opera troupe in life?

If this place was once where she worked, then her leading us here must be to tell us something important.

I immediately decided to search this area thoroughly again.

But just then, footsteps suddenly came from outside; Li Qingying, quick-eyed and quick-handed, pulled me to hide behind a nearby chair.

Fortunately, the person didn't come inside to inspect; he held a stick and slammed it several times against the outer wall, seemingly to intimidate the phantom on the stage.

The phantom had already dissipated when the knocking sound rang out.

The stage fell back into darkness.

As it turned out, someone was guarding the assembly hall, and they obviously knew the stage was unclean.

After that person walked away, Li Qingying and I dared not linger; we went back first to talk later.

In the latter half of the night, Li Qingying and I shared a bed, leaning closely together.

"Qingying Sister, you say that phantom on the stage, is it really Meilin Shuang?"

"They look alike, but wasn't her soul sucked into the magistrate's house? How could she appear on the stage again?"

"I think that phantom on the stage is not Meilin Shuang."

I said it firmly, and Li Qingying asked, puzzled: "Why?"

"Before that phantom appeared, we first saw that bloodstained water sleeve." I analyzed, "The water sleeve might be an object from Meilin Shuang's life; it condensed a wisp of her obsession and formed the phantom, but it is not her true self."

Li Qingying pondered carefully and agreed: "That seems to be the case."

I continued, "So finding that water sleeve should let us understand Meilin Shuang's intention; I still need to make another trip to the assembly hall over there."

"Let's go at night." Li Qingying said, "There are guards there; it's too conspicuous during the day, and nefarious things rarely appear in daylight, so I'll accompany you again at night."

And so the matter was settled.

After several nights of poor sleep, the next day I slept until mid-morning.

Li Qingying, however, got up early and had already prepared lunch.

After lunch, I moved a recliner to the gate threshold, basked in the sun, and wondered where on the stage side something might be hidden.

That night, Li Qingying and I sneaked into the assembly hall again, heading straight for the stage.

This time we were cautious, keeping the flashlight dim to avoid making any noise.

But after searching repeatedly, we turned over every suspicious spot we had discussed, and found nothing.

Could it be that I overthought it? Maybe there was nothing to begin with?

Are we just going back like this?

But I still feel a bit unwilling in my heart.

After all, what have we overlooked?

When my gaze fell on the stage again, I suddenly thought of something, rushed onto the stage, and carefully felt the spot where last night's light had shone.

Since the water sleeve is an object bearing Meilin Shuang's obsession, the place where it fell should be where something is hidden!

Sure enough, I soon felt a narrow crack between the stage planks and shone the flashlight on it.

Li Qingying drew her self-defense dagger and gently pried along the narrow seam.

With a thud, the plank was actually pried open completely.

Under the plank lay a small rectangular box, still and quiet.

I lifted the box, opened it, and saw that bloodstained water sleeve.

The water sleeve was rolled up, and inside it seemed to wrap something else.

I carefully opened the water sleeve, revealing an old, tattered… booklet inside.

That booklet must have been burned; most of it was destroyed, and on the surviving cover fragment I could make out two strong brush characters: 'Town Chronicle'.

So-called town chronicles are books that record a place's geography, customs, historical changes, and so on.

In the past, every village, town, county, and so on had dedicated people to compile such works.

But ordinary bound and archived town chronicles are printed; this one I hold, though fragmented, is clearly handwritten, and its format and content are not orthodox.

I flipped through it quickly and soon determined that this is likely a privately made town chronicle of Wufu Town from the Republican era, perhaps readable as an unofficial history of Wufu Town.

Unfortunately, most of the content was burned away; only a small part remains, the handwriting is blurry, and what can be read is very limited.

When I quickly flipped to the last page with text, I was stunned.

On that page I saw a familiar name—Zhao Zixun!

So Meilin Shuang led me here to tell me something about Zhao Zixun?

After all, I had previously asked her whether she knew Zhao Zixun.

This was her answer to me.

On that final page, the description of Zhao Zixun is brief, but the content is chilling.

'Today I actually saw Zhao Zixun in an alley, with a coffin nail driven into his forehead.'

'Isn't the Grand Marshal's troop not due to reach Wufu Town for another half month? When did Zhao Zixun return, and why did he become like this?'

'It seems the skies over Wufu Town are about to change.'

A few brief words, yet the information is immense.

'Who's in there!'

Just then, a man's voice suddenly sounded from outside; I instantly closed the box and clutched it tightly to my chest.

Li Qingying had already leapt out with her whip and knocked the man unconscious.

I walked over quickly, preparing to leave with Li Qingying.

The next moment, dozens of yellow-skinned creatures and large rats leapt out of the darkness, surrounding me and Li Qingying, constantly lunging at us.

Li Qingying shielded me, dodging left and right, her long whip cracking with each swing.

After great effort I retreated to the roadside, where a yellow-skinned creature the size of a house cat lunged forward and bit my right arm.

That yellow-skinned creature was huge, its teeth long and sharp, its pair of scarlet eyes glowing in the night.

I cried out in pain, swung my arm hard, trying to fling the creature off.

But while swinging, I horrifiedly realized something was off about this yellow-skinned creature.

Its body was cold and stiff, and as I swung, it swayed with an eerie arc.

This was a yellow-skinned creature's corpse.

Yet it could still move, strike me accurately, and its eyes glowed with bloody light.

If I'm not mistaken, this is no ordinary yellow-skinned creature—it's a corpse fiend!

I felt around on myself, found a talisman paper, and slapped it hard onto the creature's head.

The yellow-skinned creature squeaked and finally released its bite.

Li Qingying also managed to carve a bloody path, rushing me toward the Dang Pu.

Yet that night I still came down with a high fever.

In my feverish haze, I seemed to see Liu Junyan emerge and sit beside my bed.

He sat there for a long time, finally sighed, summoned Li Qingying, pressed something into her hand, and whispered, "Qingying, help me make a trip to the Linghai Dragon Palace, quietly…".