The singing was like the chirping of a spirit bird, beautiful beyond compare, clear and moving.
Just hearing a single note dispelled the fear in one's heart.
From a distance, the two saw a graceful woman drawing water by an ancient well in the secondary residence.
Under the starlit sky, the mundane aura around her dispelled so of the eerie atmosphere of the haunted mansion.
Raising her hand, her jade-like arm bathed in a layer of faint light, the starlight falling on her face, revealing the gentle charm of a southern water town.
Such a gentle woman.
Her amber eyes were as beautiful as autumn waters, truly capable of captivating one's heart.
As they cautiously entered the courtyard, the woman noticed them, a hint of surprise appearing on her delicate face.
"You are..."
Zhao Yi scratched his head and said:
"You must be Su i, the second madam of the Wang Mansion, right?"
"We're outsiders, and due to so special circumstances, we had to co here."
Su i's eyes flickered slightly, she invited them to sit and went inside the house, bringing out warm tea for them.
"So you are guests from outside the mansion... I apologize for the lack of hospitality."
"The mansion has fallen into decline, there's not much to offer you, but I can cook so sticky rice for you."
She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her eyes gentle as water.
Zhao Yi did not refuse, and soon Su i served them two bowls of steaming fragrant sticky rice.
She herself cooked so millet porridge.
There used to be a rule in the Wang Mansion, if guests ca, one must accompany them in eating.
If only the guests ate while one watched, it would be impolite.
"Why isn't the madam eating sticky rice?" Zhao Yi asked casually.
Su i replied softly:
"I'm getting older, my stomach can't handle sticky rice."
Zhao Yi glanced at Su i.
She looked very young, with no signs of age on her face.
Her skin was tight and fair.
She looked like a young woman in her twenties.
But she was dressed very warmly.
The haunted mansion wasn't cold.
The three of them ate in silence, the atmosphere harmonious.
After finishing the sticky rice, Zhao Yi asked:
"Second madam, if I may ask... has the madam celebrated her fortieth birthday many tis?"
Su i's pupils suddenly contracted.
She was quite surprised:
"How do you know?"
Zhao Yi took out Chief Che's notebook and explained:
"Chief Che told us."
Su i looked at the notebook, the familiar handwriting evoking a trace of sadness in her eyes.
That honest face, that old yet still robust figure...
That heart always warm towards the mansion...
Now all reduced to cold ink stains on paper.
"Sigh..."
She sighed softly.
"My sister... indeed has celebrated her fortieth birthday many tis."
Zhao Yi pressed on:
"Why?"
Su i nodded, her lips tightly pressed, eyes closed:
"I'm sorry... I can't say."
Luo Qili changed her approach:
"Then... was the madam good to you when she was alive?"
Su i nodded.
"My sister was very good to when she was alive..."
She stopped abruptly halfway through.
She had been... tricked!
Luo Qili's eyes lit up:
"So... the madam is already 'dead' now?"
Su i smiled bitterly:
"I'm sorry, I really can't say..."
"You should leave quickly, the haunted mansion is very dangerous, and... if you don't leave soon, I'm afraid you won't be able to leave at all."
These words, the Paper Granny had also said.
Zhao Yi replied:
"Madam, we can't leave anymore, so we're trying to investigate the truth of this haunted mansion to find a way out."
"Otherwise... we'll die here."
Su i's hand trembled slightly as she collected the bowls.
She stood there for a mont, then gritted her teeth and said:
"I'm sorry... I can't help you."
She was about to head inside, Luo Qili wanted to follow, but Zhao Yi held her back.
As Su i was about to close the door, Zhao Yi spoke:
"Madam loves the master very much, doesn't she?"
Su i paused, but didn't turn around.
After a long silence, she sighed softly.
"The master saved from the high-class brothel back then, and treated with utmost kindness, I am grateful for his kindness, and naturally hold affection for him..."
"Unfortunately, ti was short, and I couldn't leave him any offspring..."
She stood inside the house, glanced at the two of them, her brows furrowed, wanting to say sothing but stopping.
In the end, she gently closed the door.
Luo Qili whispered:
"Why didn't you let catch up and ask?"
"This woman clearly knows sothing..."
"If necessary, we could even..."
Zhao Yi:
"If you dare threaten her... you'll die a horrible death."
"Facing soone who can live openly in a haunted mansion, how much chance do you think you have?"
Luo Qili was stumped, her expression shifting, and when she looked at the room in the secondary residence again, her eyes were filled with seriousness and fear.
This woman was so gentle, harmless, she almost fell for it!
Having dealt with specters for so long, she had subconsciously regarded people as safe NPCs!
If Zhao Yi hadn't stopped her just now...
"We can't get anything more from the second madam, should we go to the madam's place?"
Zhao Yi responded:
"Did you find any useful information when you went to the west side earlier?"
Luo Qili, reminded by the question, quickly took out a cloth bag.
"I found a special book in a room dedicated to deities on the west side, it records a peculiar puppet technique."
"Earlier in the hall, there were too many people, I didn't take it out."
She pulled out the cloth bag and placed a dusty book on the table, Zhao Yi opened it and quickly skimd through it.
Reading at lightning speed.
Reading, understanding, digesting.
A few minutes later, he finished the nearly thousand-page book.
"You... finished reading?"
Luo Qili hadn't dared to disturb Zhao Yi, only speaking now.
Although she didn't believe Zhao Yi could finish the book in such a short ti.
With hundreds or thousands of words per page, how could he rember anything just by scanning through?
Zhao Yi closed his eyes.
"Flesh Puppet... page 761."
He spoke.
Luo Qili flipped to page 761, her pupils shaking!
"Damn!"
She couldn't help but curse.
On page 761 of the book, there was indeed a record of the thod for crafting flesh puppets!
"Are you a specter or sothing?"
Zhao Yi blinked and said:
"Flesh Puppet—crafted from a freshly dead, uncorrupted corpse, it can partially carry the master's mories and emotions from life, but the mories are limited, and the emotions are very unstable, easily triggered by external stimuli."
"Its mories will gradually fade over ti, and it is prone to anger and jealousy."
"Generally, its life should not differ too much from when the body was alive."
"When the flesh puppet's mories completely disappear, it will retain the emotions from before the mories faded, but will no longer have its own thinking ability..."
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