Candles, sculptures, corpses, and antique lattice doors. Outside the doors are courtyards with swaying weeds, overturned bronze incense burners, bluestone paths, and the bright moonlight.

A deathly silence permeated with desolation and eeriness.

"This place seems to be in perpetual darkness."

Zhang Yuanqing raised his palm to his mouth and spat out the small blue pill he had been holding.

The method worked! I'm so damn clever... He happily put the pill in his pocket, feeling a little more confident about his "future."

With these, he would have a chance to survive when facing the Red Shoes.

Then, he walked straight to the offering table, pondered for a moment, and reached out to grasp the candlestick.

Suddenly, a piece of information appeared before his eyes:

【Name: Everlasting Candle】

【Type: Fuel】

【Function: Exorcism, Purification】

【Description: A prop left behind by Niangniang of Three Paths Mountain. It is said to be refined from the oil of the Changming Beast, and has the effects of exorcism and purification.】

【Note: Sometimes, purifying fear is not necessarily a good thing. Also, it cannot be moved.】

As expected, one could only obtain information by touching the props with their own hands. He hadn't dared to touch the candle before, so he never knew it was a prop, until he read the information...

"Purifying fear is not necessarily a good thing. According to Guan Ya's classification, the candle is a cost-type item. The cost of using it is the loss of fear. But I'm very scared right now, and I have absolutely no intention of courting death. I'll just huddle in the main hall for now."

He sat cross-legged in front of the offering table, thinking about his next move.

"The next objective is to explore the eastern courtyard, figure out the hidden dangers and patterns there, and then find ways to restrain and overcome them. The exploration time should not exceed 15 minutes, otherwise, the Wraith will cling to my shoulders, and I will surely die."

"The blue pill is my trump card against the Red Shoes, but it may not work. And once I face the Red Shoes directly, it's either life or death... I should explore the eastern courtyard first, get a preliminary understanding of the environment there, and then think about countermeasures."

When it came down to it, he still felt some fear and hesitation in his heart, not wanting to go outside. He had survived last time by luck, and whether he could survive this time was still unknown.

The situation in the eastern courtyard was unclear, and it was impossible to judge the degree of danger. It was easy to die if he tried.

However, things in this world are never such that you don't have to do them just because you don't want to.

Although the task of exploring the ancient temple had no time limit, in theory, he could just huddle in the main hall forever. But no time limit also meant that he probably wouldn't be able to get out until he completed the task.

If he dragged it out for too long, his physical condition would decline due to hunger, fatigue, thirst, and other reasons.

If he went out to explore again at that time, it would be a dead end.

"Whether I stretch my neck or shrink my head, it's all the same chop! I can only risk it!"

Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth and strode outwards.

Wait, I should think about it again. It's very dangerous outside... He suddenly got cold feet with one foot across the threshold and couldn't help but look back at the hall, reluctant to leave its light.

The candlelight was warm, dispelling the gloom, purifying the filth, and bringing unparalleled courage and confidence to the heart.

No problem... Zhang Yuanqing confidently walked out.

........

The moonlight was as bright as frost. Zhang Yuanqing followed the pebble path on the left side of the main hall and returned to the desolate and dilapidated courtyard.

The night without the chirping of insects and the calls of birds was frighteningly silent.

But the silence also made him feel at ease. He was most afraid of hearing the "clack-clack" of footsteps when he went out.

"Fifteen minutes, I only have fifteen minutes to explore the eastern courtyard before the Wraith clings to me..."

He entered the easternmost room of the courtyard and groped out the bronze mirror from the corpse leaning against the window, stashing it in his pocket again.

Then he carefully passed through the arched door and entered the eastern courtyard.

The eastern courtyard was much larger than the courtyard. What came into view was a deserted garden with rockeries, pavilions, a small pond, and a large banyan tree with a thick trunk, gnarled branches, and tender green leaves reflecting the bright moonlight.

There was an ancient well under the banyan tree.

His gaze swept over the rockeries and pavilions, and he could see the outline of a one-character roof ridge in the depths of the garden.

Zhang Yuanqing did not go straight to the building in the depths of the garden, but cautiously walked around the large banyan tree. The information said that this tree was very dangerous, but nothing happened after he walked around it.

"Checking the large banyan tree should also advance the exploration progress..."

Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, glancing at the dark ancient well. After hesitating again and again, he still didn't have the courage to rush over and take a look.

He had a strong psychological shadow about the ancient wells in these horror stories.

Zhang Yuanqing bypassed the ancient well and walked rustling through the weeds towards the building in the depths of the garden.

"Crack!"

Suddenly, there was a crisp sound under his feet, scaring him to jump up on the spot.

Looking closely, it turned out to be a corpse buried in the weeds, wrapped in oxidized work clothes. Zhang Yuanqing bent down to inspect it. The bones of this corpse were well preserved.

It had fallen face down, but its head was facing backwards, indicating that something had twisted its head 180 degrees before it died.

What did it?

Zhang Yuanqing quietly became vigilant, got up, and was about to continue exploring forward.

Just then, a gust of wind blew over, causing the weeds in the garden to sway and rustle. The large banyan tree behind him seemed to come alive, shaking its branches and leaves in a somewhat twisted manner.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."

A shrill voice came from behind.

The voice drifted over with the wind, as if whispering in his ear, bringing a chilling sensation.

Zhang Yuanqing was about to turn around to be on guard out of instinct, when the information suddenly flashed through his mind:

Don't turn around!

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."

Seeing that he didn't react, the voice seemed a little anxious, wanting him to turn his head quickly.

Zhang Yuanqing certainly wouldn't turn around. He stood still and quietly unzipped the zipper of his windbreaker pocket, took out the bronze mirror, and slowly raised it to a position higher than his shoulder.

The bronze mirror reflected the scene behind him, albeit not very clearly.

From the ancient well, a disheveled woman in white emerged. Her face had no features, and she was about to look at Zhang Yuanqing with that pale, fleshy face.

Holy crap... Zhang Yuanqing's face turned pale, and he ran forward with his head down.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing..."

The voice called out again and again, urgently calling out, but it could only watch helplessly as he ran further and further away.

Soon, Zhang Yuanqing bypassed the rockery and came to the depths of the garden, where there was a large house with a one-character roof ridge, a foundation made of piled stones, and walls made of rammed earth.

The houses here were more dilapidated than the courtyard. The roof tiles were sparse and scattered, with many holes.

"The Night Watcher in the information has also been here. He only said not to turn around, but he didn't say that you can't go back. The well ghost's call may only be for those who turn around. In that case, I shouldn't encounter any danger when I return later..."

He took a deep breath on the spot, calmed his surging fear and horror, and focused his attention on the present.

"Let's explore this house first."

This large house had a total of three doors, representing three rooms.

He carefully approached the leftmost room and reached out to forcefully push open the broken wooden door.

"Creak~"

At the sound of the wooden door opening, Zhang Yuanqing quickly retreated, assuming a defensive posture.

After a long time, nothing happened.

Summoning his courage, he entered the room. Moonlight shone in from the broken roof, and he tried to widen his eyes, allowing his pupils to absorb as much light as possible.

This was a kitchen and dining room, with two earthen stoves made of green bricks. The pots, bowls, water vats, cabinets, and other objects had long been rotted and covered in dust.

There was no danger. He had finally found a container... Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a dusty gourd ladle and couldn't help but let his thoughts wander:

"I heard that virgin boy urine can break evil."

He considered whether to collect a ladle of virgin boy urine, but after careful consideration, he reluctantly gave up the idea.

Although he had never dated a girl, Zhang Yuanqing felt that he probably couldn't be considered a virgin.

"I've been too indulgent with you guys, giving you one opportunity after another to show off." He stared down at his hands, feeling a bit heartbroken.

After some exploration, he confirmed that this large house was a combination of a kitchen and a dining room, with nothing special and no danger. Zhang Yuanqing took a rusty kitchen knife and a wooden stick, walked out of the house, and turned his gaze to the last rectangular large house.

Unlike the kitchen, which also served as a large dining hall, this house had four doors, divided into four rooms.

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but grip the wooden stick and kitchen knife in his hand. They might not be useful, but they could bring psychological comfort.

He carefully checked the first and second rooms, which were storage rooms filled with old-fashioned farm tools, furniture, and donation boxes.

Nothing of value... Zhang Yuanqing turned to the third room.

This was an armory. Knives, swords, bows, daggers, and short blades were hanging on the wall. Many weapons had fallen to the ground because the hanging ropes had rotted.

There were two rows of weapon racks by the window. One of the rows was overturned, and sticks and spears were scattered on the ground.

Two corpses were lying beside the overturned weapon rack.

Seeing these weapons, Zhang Yuanqing was not surprised. The disciples in the temple were taught by Niangniang of Three Paths Mountain, and they could make corpse-suppressing talismans, so they obviously had some skills.

It wouldn't be strange if they knew how to dance and wield sticks.

As usual, he went to check the corpses, searching for information from his predecessors.

As soon as he approached the corpses, he couldn't help but say "Huh." The two corpses lying on the ground were not skeletons, but two mummified corpses.

Their skin was dark and wrinkled, tightly clinging to their bones, and their abdomens were sunken.

"How could there be mummified corpses?"

Zhang Yuanqing frowned. As a student of Songhai University, he had a wealth of knowledge.

There were two reasons for the formation of mummified corpses: artificial preservation and natural formation.

The first could be directly ruled out, and the second mostly occurred in dry areas such as deserts.

The conditions in the temple were obviously not met.

He carefully examined the two mummified corpses. There were no fatal wounds on their bodies, and their bones had not been broken by the Red Shoes, but there were two obvious holes in the skin and flesh of their necks.

They looked like they had been bitten out by the sharp fangs of a beast.

"They were sucked dry by something? Hiss..."

Zhang Yuanqing sucked in a breath of cold air and tensed up.

At this moment, he heard a "thump" from the next room, like the sound of knocking on a wooden door.

Instantly, his scalp exploded, and Zhang Yuanqing listened attentively like a nimble wild deer, craning his neck.