Chapter 37: Malevolent Spirits Run Amok

"Offer incense?"

The beautiful woman’s standard phoenix-shaped eyes drifted toward the dilapidated statue. After staring for a moment, she ignored Du Yuan’s question and asked instead:

"Since you claim to be a Daoist and arrived at this ruined temple first, do you know which deity this statue represents?"

Du Yuan recalled what he had seen earlier and replied, "The Mountain God."

"The Mountain God? This mountain has a Mountain God, and one with a temple like this?"

The woman scrutinized the ruin. It was neither small nor particularly large; under normal circumstances, a temple of this size would not appear in such a desolate wilderness.

Sensing her confusion, the maid looked toward the guards. The leader of the guards immediately cupped his hands and said, "Forgive me, my lady. Although I carefully studied our route to ensure your safety, I truly know of no legends regarding this mountain that would warrant a Mountain God temple."

"It has likely been abandoned for many years, which is why we found no mention of it," another added.

The woman nodded. "It is rare for a place abandoned for so long to remain so intact."

"Perhaps travelers passing through have kept it in repair," the guard suggested.

As they spoke, the two commoners from earlier, feeling emboldened by the food and wine the woman had provided, spoke up. The more timid of the two ventured, "My lady, we have traveled this road several times, but this is the first time we’ve ever noticed a temple here."

He seemed frightened, sensing that something was amiss, but no one paid him any mind. The woman merely smiled.

"You likely just didn't notice it before. A temple wouldn't simply appear out of thin air."

She then turned to the two men, her tone stern. "But from now on, you must be careful with your words. A great drought in the Southwest has led to wicked Daoists bewitching the masses and inciting rebellion. If you encounter any petty officials or scribes, do not speak of 'gods and ghosts.' You don't want to be dragged off to serve as their scapegoats."

The two men hurriedly bowed and agreed.

After instructing them, the woman turned back to Du Yuan. "Do you know the history of this temple?"

"What does it matter if I know or don't? A prayer offered at the roadside ensures a safe journey. My lady, are you truly not planning to offer a stick of incense?"

Du Yuan had sensed the truth: the entity in this temple was not malevolent, but it was starving for incense. Otherwise, why would it have gifted him a small seal just for cleaning the altar and offering a single stick? Considering the dizziness and exhaustion he had felt, he suspected there was more to it, but that was the gist of it.

"You are quite the smooth-talking Daoist, but I shall pass on the incense."

With wicked Daoists causing chaos in the Southwest, the Emperor had developed a deep aversion to talk of gods and ghosts. As a member of the nobility, she could not afford to make such a mistake. Even if no one noticed, it was not something she should do.

These were things she saw no need to explain to common folk.

"As you wish, then. My apologies for the intrusion. However, would you two like to offer incense? I happen to have some here."

Feeling much recovered, Du Yuan took two sticks from his pack. The timid man wanted to step forward, but the one called "Second Brother" glanced at the noblewoman and shook his head, pulling the man back. If the noblewoman didn't want to, how could they?

Fortunately, the woman noticed this and smiled. "I am one thing, and you are another. Do not concern yourselves with my views. It is only the common people seeking peace of mind; who could say that is wrong?"

The timid man was overjoyed and stepped forward to take the incense from Du Yuan. His companion, unable to sway him, finally joined him in offering a stick of incense to the broken statue.

Du Yuan watched them closely, confirming his suspicion: he was the only one who had suffered from exhaustion and dizziness. Was it because he had cleaned the altar, or because he was different from ordinary people? Or perhaps a combination of both?

Du Yuan could not fathom the answer, and the statue remained silent. Shaking his head, he smiled at the woman. "The lady has a kind heart; you will surely be blessed!"

The woman did not reply, merely smiling before taking her maid behind a screen to rest. Once everyone had settled in, only two guards remained outside to keep watch.

The first half of the night passed peacefully. In the small hours of the morning, as the two guards were preparing to call for their relief, one suddenly stopped his companion.

"Something isn't right."

"What is it?"

The guard didn't answer. He gripped the hilt of his saber, pointed his torch toward the dark void, and said in a low, heavy voice, "Who goes there? Come out!"

"What do you see?"

His companion reached for his own blade and peered into the darkness, but found nothing. The first guard shook his head, looking suspicious.

"I don't know, but I heard a sound from over there."

"You must have misheard."

"I heard it three times. It was the same every time. I couldn't be mistaken."

"An animal?"

"It didn't sound like one. It sounded like footsteps, but very heavy ones."

His companion stopped talking and leaned in to listen to the deep darkness. After a long while, he shook his head repeatedly. "There's nothing. You must not have rested well, and your ears are playing tricks on you."

The first guard began to doubt himself. "Fine. Let's leave it at that. I'm going to call the relief shift."

Soon, the two guards coming to take over arrived. Seeing the first guard still staring intently into the dark, they asked, "Is there a situation?"

The companion waved a hand. "Nothing. He's been listening for a while, but there's no movement. He must be sleep-deprived."

Just then, the first guard suddenly blurted out, "Wait!"

The sharp command cut through the night. The three other guards exchanged puzzled looks, but the leader’s face had gone pale, his voice trembling with horror.

"The horses—why have our horses been so quiet?"

His companions were still confused, but he hissed, his voice strained, "We have over twenty horses tethered there. How is it possible that there isn't a single whinny, not a single sound?"

The words hit them like a bucket of ice water. All three men were instantly alert. "Quick, go look!"

"No, it's too dangerous to just walk over."

He stopped them, pondered for a moment, and then hurled his torch toward where the horses were tethered.

The firelight flared, illuminating a small patch of darkness. The horses were indeed still standing in their places. The four men let out a sigh of relief, but a second later, a chill crept up their spines.

The horses were standing as if nailed to the ground, motionless. Even as the burning torch rolled to their hooves and sparks landed on their manes, they didn't even blink, standing as rigid as stone statues.

A guard’s palms began to sweat uncontrollably—just last night, one of the Hequ horses had kicked him. How could it be like this today?

"Throw another!"

The leader’s face was bloodless. He snatched another torch and hurled it into the deeper darkness.

The second glow rolled through the night, revealing more horses standing like stone statues. This time, they noticed that the manes of the horses didn't even stir in the night wind.

The four guards felt their hearts pounding, but they didn't dare stop. The third torch revealed more of the same, but when the fourth torch flew into the depths, they finally caught a glimpse of their nightmare: the sleek, well-fed horses from the day were now lying on the ground, withered and shriveled, as if some monstrous thing had sucked the last drop of flesh and blood from their bodies.

"What is this?!"

The four men’s terrified cries could no longer be contained, echoing through the silent night.