Wu Xin: The Monster Killer

Chapter 9 The Secret Room in the Well

Wuxin was determined to explore the deep well at night, and Lord Gu didn't stop him, though Yueya wanted to but couldn't. As evening approached, Lord Gu used the excuse of retrieving a gold bar to make his escape. Yueya sat in the house guarding a gold bar, too cautious to move, having never possessed such immense wealth before. Wuxin, however, broke free of the reins and rode his horse to the house.

Having lived for countless years without beginning or end, Wuxin had seen countless people and ghosts, and he no longer easily trusted either. The female demon, a wrongfully murdered maid in her previous life, was on the verge of her soul dissipating at midday, yet she still fiercely defended Yue Qiluo, showing that Yue Qiluo was more important to her than herself. Yue Qiluo died tragically, but did she die easily? For the previous hundred years, she had quietly cultivated; why had she suddenly become so eager to kill living people in the last two months?

Two guards stood at the gate of the house. Although they knew the house was clean, they refused to step inside, which suited Wuxin's wishes perfectly. After dismounting, he entered the house and walked alone to the backyard. He saw that there were still charred ashes on the ground, which, in the afterglow, looked like the remains of bones after a fire.

As long as the sun doesn't set, there's no yin energy; even if ghosts were present, they wouldn't appear. Wuxin had come looking for ghosts, so he leisurely removed his clothes, shoes, and socks, and squatted naked on the well platform, waiting for the sun to set while peering into the water. The well was dark and unfathomably deep; a string of bubbles floated to the surface, bursting before another string appeared.

Night finally fell, and a bright moon rose high in the sky. The night sky was like black velvet, the moon like a white jade plate, with a few scattered stars around it. A cool night breeze caressed him; although it was dark, it was the most comfortable time of day. Wuxin let out a long, contented breath, then placed his hands on the two sides of the well's edge and lowered his feet into the well.

The absence of his swirling hair in the well water made Wuxin's movements much more fluid. After sinking to the bottom and calming himself, he opened his eyes and looked ahead, seeing a smooth, even stone wall. He swam forward, paddling with both hands, and stopped in front of the wall, hesitant to make any rash moves. His mind drifted to the woman's final actions that morning—her frantic ramming against the stone wall.

If the maid's goal was to break through the stone wall, she would have to cultivate into a female demon; otherwise, without a physical body, what could she use to do so? Even if a soul could pass through walls, the Bagua diagram clearly marked on the stone wall indicates some authoritative power, preventing evil spirits from approaching. The maid's abilities were probably limited, resulting in her failing even after breaking half her body. If she were allowed to cultivate for a few more years or decades, perhaps she would have a chance to break through the wall. And the maid's unusual behavior—was it because she was impatient and couldn't wait?

While pondering, Wuxin examined the Bagua diagram on the wall. It was just a Bagua, with a yin-yang symbol in the center, seemingly unremarkable at first glance. Unremarkable, yet capable of warding off evil spirits, it meant the person who drew it possessed immense magical power. Moving closer, Wuxin carefully examined the details of the Bagua again, and was shocked at the last moment—the Bagua diagram and the yin-yang symbol were completely reversed, and the eyes of the black and white fish were uniformly painted blood red!

Wuxin had always felt that the surface of the stone wall was surrounded by a layer of pure yang energy, which was specifically designed to subdue demons and evil spirits. He never expected that although the pure yang energy was real, it was actually a case of fighting poison with poison, using extremely yang magic to set up an extremely yin evil array. Floating motionless in the water, Wuxin thought that whatever was suppressed behind the stone wall, the person who set up the array was making a mountain out of a molehill.

Another string of bubbles swept past, but he paid no attention to tracing their origin. Leaning to the side, he drew closer to the stone wall and discovered a tiny crack at the blood-red fish eye. The crack seemed to be giving birth to tiny bubbles one by one.

Wu Xin dared not act rashly, wondering if the female demon had smashed through the stone wall to kill or to save. If Yue Qiluo was behind the stone wall, "killing" was unlikely, because the little maid had begged him not to harm Yue Qiluo before her soul dissipated. If it wasn't killing, then it was saving, but how? Yue Qiluo had been dead for over a hundred years, her body long since decomposed. Could it be that her soul was trapped behind the stone wall, unable to reincarnate?

Wu Xin vaguely remembered the maid mentioning that the Duan family was poor and of humble origin, seemingly just an ordinary household. If that was the case, why would they commit murder and perform rituals? Even if they wanted revenge for their son, they could have simply chopped Yue Qiluo down with a single blow. Why go to such lengths? Was the problem with Yue Qiluo, or with the Duan family?

Wuxin was utterly baffled. The fish's eyes were an unusually bright red, painted with some kind of pigment, yet the color didn't fade even when soaked in water. He couldn't resist extending a finger and gently rubbing it against the crack in the fish's eye; however, before he could retract his finger, a deafening roar shook the earth. A tidal wave of air burst through the stone walls, surging forth. Well water, mixed with pebbles of all sizes, swirled and boiled under the churning air, rushing into the dry, empty chamber behind the stone walls. Wuxin followed the current into the chamber, where the walls were a smooth, grayish-white surface covered with black talismans painted in a flamboyant style. In the center stood a crimson coffin, bound tightly with iron chains and surrounded by yellow talismans. Dizzy and propelled forward by the water and stones, Wuxin was swept away and crashed headfirst into the coffin. Enduring the pain, Wuxin finally found something to hold onto by the coffin. However, the coffin wasn't nailed shut. He saw the lid slowly slide backward, loosely bound by the iron chains. A burst of bubbles rose up, carrying two yellow talismans that floated to the surface, landing precisely on the face of the person inside. Wuxin glanced inside and saw that the person was dressed in an old-fashioned women's dress with large lace trim, their hands raised and curled into claws. Surprisingly, they weren't rotten; the flesh and bones were intact, a gesture of scratching at the coffin lid. It was highly likely that this person was Yue Qiluo. With difficulty, Wuxin freed one hand to try and lift the talisman to see the face, but a large rock swam downstream, hitting him squarely on the back. He cried out in pain, his hands slipping, and he was immediately swept upwards by the current. He thrashed about inside, frantically grabbing only a softened yellow talisman in his panic. He wanted to swim back above the coffin to check again, but the churning well water prevented him from moving freely. He slammed headfirst into the wall with a "bang," then thrashed about in the water like a fish, before clutching his forehead with a pained expression. Before he could even recover from the pain, another gust of water swept him forward, pulling him back down into the well.

Wuxin looked up and swam upwards, not daring to linger in the water any longer. The current swirled wildly, its force astonishing and directionless; diving down would be futile, only resulting in more cuts and bruises. The eeriness of the secret chamber was self-evident, but its mysteries were difficult to fathom in a short time. Wuxin used the well wall for support to climb out, not too tired, but his whole body ached.

He sat on the well platform, dripping wet, and spat out a mouthful of water. Looking up at the stars and moon, he suddenly realized that he was still clutching the yellow talisman in his hand.

The yellow talisman was thick and flexible; although it had been wet, it hadn't immediately crumbled, indicating it wasn't ordinary yellow paper. Wuxin unfolded the talisman and examined it, finding it covered in scribbled, intricate scribbles. Since he didn't understand them, he didn't bother to examine it closely. The talisman had probably originally been pasted on the coffin, and the movement of the coffin lid had caused it to fall off. Wiping the water droplets from his face, Wuxin suddenly became suspicious: "I broke through the stone wall and knocked open the coffin lid…did I cause trouble?"

He turned and leaned over the well opening, closed his eyes, and did not sense any spirits appearing, but the cold wind and chill remained.

He got up and dressed properly. Seeing that the yellow talisman was intact and sturdy, he folded it up and stuffed it into his pocket. He thought that when Lord Gu came tomorrow and they blew it up, even if there were evil spirits underground, they would have no way to escape after seeing the fire and sunlight.

Thinking of this, he left, his eyes still damp with sweat.

Wuxin rode back to headquarters, only to find that Lord Gu had not yet returned. He groped his way into the west wing in the dark, without turning on the light. Seeing someone sitting up on the kang (heated brick bed), he quickly said, "I'm fine, you go to sleep, I'm going to sleep too."

The room was dark, and Yueya, hearing his calm tone, felt reassured and lay back down. Wuxin tiptoed onto the kang (heated brick bed) and lay down, but unable to sleep, he stared blankly at Yueya's back.

His eyesight was excellent, and with a large moon hanging outside the window, he saw Crescent Moon's silhouette very clearly. Crescent Moon was sleeping on her side, her legs curled up, her waist so slender that her bottom looked round and plump. Wuxin had always thought Crescent Moon's figure was like a gourd; he wanted to sleep hugging a gourd, or be hugged by a gourd while sleeping; the two of them huddled together in a warm bed, loving and caring for each other, always together—how wonderful that would be.

He carefully moved forward a little, deciding to leave Wen County with Yueya the next day. As long as he had a companion, he could go anywhere.

His mind wandered, from the crescent moon to the gourd, from the gourd to his bed, so engrossed in his thoughts that he forgot the pain. But when he had thought about it enough, his mind turned back to the well.

Water is yin, and a deep well coupled with a vengeful spirit amplifies this yinness. Furthermore, the surrounding area was desolate and sparsely populated a hundred years ago, making the yin energy within the well virtually pure. Unintentionally, he reached into his pocket and touched a damp, soft yellow talisman. A sudden thought struck him. He realized that the Duan family's actions back then weren't merely simple revenge; they had clearly orchestrated a perfect storm of circumstances, specifically to punish Yue Qiluo!

It's not killing, it's punishing, if Yue Qiluo is really a human being.

Having witnessed countless bizarre events, Wuxin was no longer surprised and, unable to figure it out, gave up trying to think about it. He drowsily closed his eyes, trying to force himself to sleep, when suddenly a deafening explosion rang out outside the window, shattering all the glass. Wuxin sat bolt upright, seeing smoke and flames rising outside, accompanied by the frantic shouts of young guards.

Crescent Moon was hit by a shard of glass, but thankfully her head and face were unharmed. She sat up with a cry, grabbing the bundle beside her pillow in a panic. Just then, Wuxin called out, "Crescent Moon, get out of bed!"

Crescent Moon was terrified and at a loss, but she obediently complied despite her frantic movements. She hurriedly put on her shoes, and her hand tightened as Wuxin gripped it firmly. Wuxin shielded her in front of him, bending down to pull her outside. Just as he stepped out of the room, he heard someone outside screaming in a tearful voice, "Where's the commander? Where's the commander? Regiment Commander Zhang has rebelled! Regiment Zhang is fighting in the streets!"

Without hesitation, Wuxin pushed Yueya out of the headquarters gate in one go. They hadn't run far along the road when they suddenly heard another loud explosion behind them. Wuxin and Yueya turned around and saw that the headquarters had been hit by artillery fire again, and half of the courtyard had been razed to the ground!

(End of this chapter)