Chapter 16

In the blink of an eye, night descended as the bright moon ascended into the sky, shrouding the expansive Duan residence in profound silence and emanating an unsettling aura.

Qu Panyan sat under the lamp, closing her eyes, listening to the guards’ report, “Miss Yue secretly left. Should we follow her?”

Qu Panyan raised her chin slightly, “Seems like she wants to investigate on her own. Go, send some people to protect Miss Yue.”

The guards acknowledged and disappeared on the spot.

Qu Panyan opened her eyes and found herself facing Su Lingyu, who had elegantly seared herself across the table. Her rosy lips shimmered with a lustrous glow in the firelight, “The atmosphere is quite eerie.”

Qu Panyan knew she was referring to the Duan residence. She adjusted her posture and sat upright, “Indeed. Other than the maids, he is the only one here, but the maids exhibit strange behavior that doesn’t seem like a place where a normal person lives.”

As she finished speaking, the candlelight in front of her suddenly extinguished, and the window frames began to creak and sway, bringing in an eerie gust of wind. Both of them immediately went on guard, listening carefully to any movement around them. Suddenly, the sound of creaking came from above their heads, as if something was crawling up there. In the darkness, the sound sent shivers down their spines.

The next moment, they instinctively moved away from the table, and a heavy thud came from the table. Simultaneously, the room was filled with clusters of dark shadows.

Qu Panyan’s fingertips moved slightly, spread her fingers, and conjured a red flame floating in her palm, instantly illuminating the surroundings. She threw the flame into the air, and it burned even more intensely, rapidly dispelling the chilling darkness in the room. Both of them now focused their gaze on a woman crouching on the table, her eyes rolled back, and her mouth continuously emitting strange ‘huh huh’ sounds, exactly like the incident they had encountered during the grand union ceremony—It was another lifeless corpse.

The corpse was currently being pressed on the table by several guards with a golden net. Any movement would result in the net burning the corpse to ashes. She had lost consciousness and couldn’t feel the pain, but she kept staring at Qu Panyan while struggling and making strange noises.

Qu Panyan said, “Burn it.”

The guards holding the corners of the net immediately conjured flames onto the golden net. The flames rapidly spread along the net’s lines, and in no time, there was only a pile of ashes before them.

Standing nearby, Su Lingyu stared at the ashes and suddenly said, “Someone is controlling them.”

Qu Panyan signaled with her eyes, and the guards understood, going outside to fetch a broom to sweep away the ashes. Qu Panyan asked, “Sister Lingyu, who do you think it could be?”

The corpse was heavy and sluggish; it couldn’t have sneaked into the room unnoticed. Even if the windows were open, she would have sensed if something had come in. Earlier, when the candlelight went out and the window rattled, nothing had entered.

Thus, there was only one possibility left.

Su Lingyu lifted her gaze to examine the ceiling and said slowly, “Whoever is in control of this territory is likely the culprit.”

However, she couldn’t fully comprehend why Duan Yang, who was interested in Qu Panyan, would resort to controlling corpses to harm her?.

She couldn’t help but recall the time when Qu Panyan was injured, the strange and unpredictable behavior Duan Yang displayed had caused her to hurt her wrist.

Could it be that his affection is tied to harm?

If things continue like this, Qu Panyan will eventually be at risk because of him. Su Lingyu’s anxiety and unease grew stronger as she thought about this, causing a faint frown to appear on her forehead, and a trace of bloodthirsty killing intent could be seen in her clear back eyes.

—Duan Yang cannot live.

“Sister Lingyu,” Qu Panyan noticed the change in her eyes and asked with concern, “What are you thinking about?”

Upon hearing this voice, the killing intent in Su Lingyu’s eyes receded, returning to its original calmness. She straightforwardly said, “Duan Yang is a man with malicious intentions and has harmed you twice; he cannot be allowed to live.”

“Miss Qu!” Duan Yang’s voice suddenly sounded, getting closer and closer. His tone was filled with anxiety as he stopped in front of Qu Panyan’s door. “Miss Qu, are you okay?”

Su Lingyu impatiently concealed her figure, and stepped back a few steps.

One of the guards stepped forward and opened the door for Qu Panyan. Duan Yang hurriedly walked in and saw the black-clad guards sweeping the ashes. He paused for a moment, feeling that the scene was somewhat eerie.

Qu Panyan asked, “Is there something you need, young master Duan?”

Seeing that Qu Panyan was unharmed, standing calmly before him, Duan Yang let out a sigh of relief and said nonchalantly, “I happened to be nearby when I heard a loud noise in Miss Qu’s room. I was worried that something might have happened to you, so I came to check.”

Qu Panyan smiled and replied, “young master Duan, you worry too much. The guards of the Qu family are not merely for show.”

“However, does young master Duan want to know what they are sweeping? It’s the ashes of a female corpse that jumped down from the ceiling and was burned to ashes.” Qu Panyan tilted her head, gazing at him with her captivating face that was half-shrouded in the shadow, and a glint of curiosity sparkled in her eyes as she continued, “Forgive me for being blunt, but the mansion is filled with excessive yin energy. young Master Duan… Aren’t you afraid?”

On that day by the lake, he was clearly terrified when facing a corpse, as if he wanted to bury himself in the ground. But now, he seemed fearless, living calmly in this eerie mansion…

Duan Yang remained undaunted and looked at her affectionately while saying, “that’s why I need a capable mistress like Miss Qu to protect this mansion. Miss Qu, I wonder—”

Qu Panyan interrupted him directly, “I’m not interested, please leave.”

The guards unceremoniously pushed him out and closed the door. Qu Panyan heard him sigh twice before he walked away.

After confirming he was gone, Qu Panyan turned to smile at Su Lingyu, and faintly said: “Sister Lingyu, rest assured, I know what to do, so you can leave it to me. Dealing with someone like him doesn’t require you to take action.”

Su Lingyu remained silent and did not respond.

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Yue Xiaomeng returned, and the first thing she did was knock on Qu Panyan’s door, crying with a nasal voice, “Qu Panyan, open the door…”

As soon as Qu Panyan opened the door, she saw Yue Xiaomeng with her eyes red, and her hands continuously wiping her cheeks, making them all red as if she had been slapped.

“Qu Panyan…” Yue Xiaomeng’s tears were on the verge of falling as she spoke with great disdain, “He kissed me!”

Qu Panyan looked puzzled, “…Who? Duan Yang?”

Yue Xiaomeng wiped her tears and angrily replied, “Exactly! That despicable man! I ran into him when I came back, and he said he wanted to talk to me about something, but then he kissed me out of the blue! I’m…I’m so angry!”

As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes, and Qu Panyan genuinely felt that Yue Xiaomeng regarded being kissed by Duan Yang as a great humiliation, an utter disgrace!

Qu Panyan wiped her tears, took a deep breath before saying, “He’s truly terrifying!”

The temperature suddenly dropped in the surroundings, and a chilling coldness seeped out from every corner, even the fire in the room couldn’t dispel it.

Yue Xiaomeng sniffed and suddenly felt a bone-chilling sensation; it was a feeling she knew all too well. She looked at Qu Panyan in confusion, “Why is it so cold? It’s like, it’s like when our Sect Master is around…”

Qu Panyan was taken aback and quickly glanced behind her, then calmly replied, “Sister Lingyu would never appear here. You must have been confused by Duan Yang’s aura.”

The coldness in the room also reluctantly receded, everything returning to its original state. Yue Xiaomeng blinked in bewilderment, really thinking she was just confused by her emotions.

She wiped her tears, pulled Qu Panyan into the room, and securely closed the door. Then she said with a mysterious tone, “Let me tell you, Duan’s residence is truly terrifying.”

Yue Xiaomeng continued, “Do you know what I found out?”

Qu Panyan looked at her silently, indicating that she knew nothing.

Yue Xiaomeng’s expression changed: “Corpses! The entire Duan Mansion is filled with corpses!”

Yue Xiaomeng suppressed her voice and continued in horror: “All the maids walk on tiptoes, and they wear white veils to hide their whitened eyes! You know, the kind we saw that day?”

Qu Panyan acknowledged that she understood.

Yue Xiaomeng shuddered involuntarily, “With so many corpses serving him every day, do you think Duan Yang is still human…” She then abruptly wiped her face as if trying to scrape off a layer of her own skin.

Qu Panyan and Su Lingyu immediately understood in that instant, then Qu Panyan looked at the flames burning in mid-air and murmured, “Just as I suspected…”

Yue Xiaomeng was puzzled, “What do you mean by ‘just as I suspected’?”

Qu Panyan’s eyes were illuminated by the flames, “Whoever is in charge of this territory is the mastermind.”

Yue Xiaomeng exclaimed, “Huh?”

Knock knock—the sound of knocking resounded again.

“Junior Sister Qu, are you there? I want to talk to you about something.” It was Mu Qian.

Yue Xiaomeng held Qu Panyan’s hand tightly and said in panic, “Don’t talk to her! What if she also comes up and tries to kiss you?”

Qu Panyan comforted her, “She wouldn’t dare. Our Qu Family is not to be trifled with.”

Yue Xiaomeng woke up from her daze and said, “Yes yes yes, when I go back, I’ll make sure my father deals with Duan Yang for me!”

Qu Panyan smiled, thinking to herself: I don’t think the head of the Yue family will have a chance to meet Duan Yang.

Qu Panyan turned to look at the closed door and said, “Why not listen to what Senior Sister Mu has to say first?”

Mu Qian began to confess: “Junior Sister, I’ve realized you were right that Duan Yang is just a hypocrite; he’s not worth my lifetime commitment! He keeps saying he likes me, but then he looks at you, and just now, he even kissed Miss Yue. I’m utterly disappointed in him…”

“I regret it, and I’m willing to take you both away. Junior Sister, please trust me one last time.”

Qu Panyan walked to the door but showed no intention of opening it while saying: “Senior Sister Mu, gaining someone’s trust isn’t that easy. You should say more to convince us, shouldn’t you?”

Mu Qian heard her voice approaching but the door remained closed. After a moment of stunned silence, she said, “Alright, I’ll tell you. In the Duan Residence, he is the only living person; everyone else is a corpse! They’re all under his control!”

“And, ” Mu Qian stared at the door, “every single corpse in this mansion had a good relationship with him when they were alive!”

Qu Panyan was shocked: What the heck is the typical male lead of this harem novel?!

Qu Panyan reached for the door latch, but her wrist was suddenly grabbed, and the fragrance of Su Lingyu drifted to her nose; a subtle scent that could only become noticeable when she was close.

Su Lingyu seemed to disagree with her opening the door and stood behind her, gripping her hand tightly. The two maintained this posture, silently listening to the conversation outside. In the places untouched by the flickering candlelight, nobody noticed the faint blush spreading across her face.

Qu Panyan hurriedly patted her own cheeks.

Stay focused! This is not the time to be confused by love!!!

Su Lingyu, puzzled, lowered her head and leaned in close to her ear while whispering, “What’s wrong?”

A warm breath sprayed against Qu Panyan’s ear, carrying Su Lingyu’s unique fragrance, creating an alluring atmosphere that made her heart race, leaving her dazed and disoriented.

Damn damn damn! I’m dead! I’m dead!

Qu Panyan gritted her teeth, trying to concentrate, then she turned towards the person outside the door and said, “Continue speaking.”

Mu Qian said from outside the door, “The most important thing you must listen carefully, Junior Sister, is that every person in this mansion was killed by Duan Yang!”

This sentence successfully pulled her back from the edge of being deluded by love.

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Translator: Glariosa
Editor: iToon

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