NEBM Chapter 48.2: Rusty Lock

The little demon bird panicked incoherently, and though Shen Zhixian didn’t understand it, he could guess that there might be something powerful locked inside. That thing might pose a great threat to the little bird’s life, so much so that it dared not even shout loudly.

Seeing Shan Zhixian standing there and looking as if he was going to touch the lock, the little bird was so anxious that it stumbled and rushed to him. It’s small beak caught Shen Zhixian’s hem and tried to drag him back. “No way. You can’t go in. Chirp, chirp! It’s terrible!”

Shen Zhixian nearly touched the rusty lock when suddenly his hand froze. A startled look appeared on his face.

After a short pause, he flipped his wrist and a long sword appeared in his hand.

The clear sword emitted a cold chill that permeated the place. The sword trembled, as if it’d encountered something that made it excited. Shen Zhixian could even sensed that the long-sleeping Frost Return sword spirit….

There was a trace of wanting to wake.

The little bird was stunned. Yan Jin’s gaze swept over. After a moment of surprise, he said, “This is?”

Shen Zhixian held the hilt with one hand and the blade with the other. He exerted a little force to prevent it from moving. The sword let out a cold light, its body trembling. As Frost Return’s owner, Shen Zhixian could clearly feel its agitation.

“There’s devil…” Shen Zhixian murmured. His sword Frost Return was most sensitive to devil qi. When Yan Shen tried to frame Yan Jin with devil qi, it had trembled even when there was only a little present.

This time, not only did the sword tremble, but even the sword spirit itself, who’d been sleeping for a long time, had been surprised–Just what was inside this room?!

The uneasiness that Shen Zhixian had just suppressed now resurfaced with more intensity. Shen Zhixian put away the sword and shook his head at Yan Jin. However, he no longer had any intention of opening the door. He bent over and picked up the little bird, then motioned to Yan Jin to leave.

Yan Jin hesitated for a moment, looking at the rusty lock. Then, without a word, he turned to leave with Shen Zhixian.

They quietly walked back the same way they came. The only difference this time was that Shen Zhixian was carrying a little demon bird.

Perhaps, the little bird was scared stupid because it didn’t speak at all. It wasn’t until Shen Zhixian had walked past the large rocks that it’d been hiding under that it suddenly began to struggle and chirped in pain.

Shen Zhixian’s footsteps paused, and he looked down at it.

The little bird was very small, not even half the size of Shen Zhixian’s palm. His hand was flat, and he held the bird without squeezing it.

But, the little one suddenly struggled, flapping its wings. It’s head twisted and turned, and its two little clawed foot kicked wildly, even as it screamed in pain. It was as if an invisible hand was holding it by the throat. Shen Zhixian could keenly hear it dying in despair.

Shen Zhixian had a thought and moved back a step.

The effect was instantaneous. The little bird’s struggles immediately weakened. After a moment, it managed to calm down and laid tiredly in Shen Zhixian’s hand. The tip of its wings trembled slightly, and it’s little breast undulated with each breath. The beak parted opened. “It hurts…”

It turned out that the little bird couldn’t leave the yard.

There was something in the courtyard that prevented it from leaving.

Shen Zhixian asked softly, “You can’t leave, can you?”

“It hurts …” the little bird chirped and looked at him with grievances. It’s black eyes were tearful and sad. “Save me…”

It was originally guarded against Shen Zhixian. But now it lost its willpower due to the pain. It didn’t care much and started talking.

“I’ve been caught in here for a long time and can’t get out…” The little bird chirped and let out a big cry. “There are still many like me…being eaten…”

The more he heard, the more serious Shen Zhixian’s expression became.

From the little bird’s story, it’d been trapped in this courtyard for a long time. In that period of time, it’d witnessed the arrival of many little demons and wandering souls that had been called here. They were then “eaten” by the thing inside. None were spared.

Except for the little bird.

Even the little bird didn’t know what was going on. It just woke up one day and found itself in this terrible purgatory. A thick, round black qi was gobbling up little demons and little wandering spirits. It’s two claws trembled, but there was nowhere it could run. In the end, it could only curl up the corner furthest from the dark qi, shivering.

It was odd that other little demons and wandering spirits were swallowed cleanly except for the little bird, who’d hid for a long time and managed to stay safe. Until today, when it came out from its hiding spot.

“It hurts … as soon as I try to leave, it will hurt…” The little bird’s tears fell as he cried intermittently, “I can’t leave. If I leave, I’ll die…Help me…”

The little bird wanted them to save it and help it leave. But, Shen Zhixian still had no clue about what was trapping it. From Frost Return’s response, he could only guess that it must be a very powerful demon.

Shen Zhixian put the little bird back in it’s hiding spot. Though the little bird continued to tremble, it stood firm and stared at them with eager eyes.

However, Shen Zhixian had no intention of taking it away right now. One reason was that he could not take it away. The other reason was that he didn’t intend to immediately explore the secrets within the courtyard. Frost Return’s restlessness and his own sense of uneasiness warned him to proceed with caution.

Even if Madam Meng was not directly involved in these matters, she must be aware of it. He may be able get the answer out of Madam Meng…

After thinking it over, he whispered with Yan Jin for a while. They decided not to hit the grass so quickly.

After telling the little bird not to run about too much, they avoided the guard and returned silently back to Shen Zhixian’s room.

It wasn’t too early since only an hour had passed.

This time, Shen Zhixian was finally able to sleep peacefully. He yawned lazily and got into bed. Just before going to sleep, he only remembered to vaguely tell Yan Jin to get up earlier and quietly go back to his room. Then, he promptly fell asleep.

Yan Jin grunted, sounding like he agreed. But, he had no intention of following. So, the next day, a stiff face Shen Zhixian, who wore his outer coat draped over his shoulders, opened the window. Just then, a guard happened to be patrolling past. The two stared at each other in dismay before Shen Zhixian finally slammed the shutter close.

A quarter of an hour later, Shen Zhixian opened the door calmly and walked out neatly dressed, followed by Yan Jin, who was also neatly dressed.

The steward, who’d just arrived with breakfast, was prepared to ask them where they planned on going next. Instead, he stared at them, speechless.

He looked in bewilderment over at the room that was originally prepared for Yan Jin. At this moment, it looked completely undisturbed, as if it’d been uninhabited the entire night. After returning his gaze back to Yan Jin, he asked politely and cautiously, “Was your room arrangements not appropriate?”

Before Yan Jin could say something that shouldn’t be said, Shen Zhixian quickly interrupted with a response and then casually began to inquire about the Meng Manor.

In the end, these were the two innocent guests that had been dragged in by the two masters of the house. As a result, the steward was very polite to them. Although he didn’t answer all of Shen Zhixian’s questions, he still responded to the more innocuous questions.

It must be said that Madam Meng had some skill to so thoroughly control the household. Although the manor belonged to the Mengs, the people within respected her very much. Even when Madam Meng took people to break into the pleasure boats to look for Meng Yun, the steward still refused to talk badly of her. “Madam is wonderful and is very friendly to us.”

Shen Zhixian smiled and agreed with his few words. After pondering, he proposed to see Madam Meng and say farewell to her.

The steward shook his head, apologizing. “Madam said that she’d impulsively affected the young masters so she wanted to come over to apologize. However, she didn’t sleep well last night and fell ill this morning. It’s difficult for her to get up. Please forgive us.”

Such a coincidence that she would conveniently become sick.

Shen Zhixian recalled the exhaustion he’d seen on Madam Meng’s face as she passed by them in the middle of the night. He was about to answer when he heard a voice asking, “Where are the two young masters that the lady had invited back last night? Please invite them to come out. I want to see them…”

The words were said with a trace of anger and jealousy.

Shen Zhixian: “…”

The owner of the house that hadn’t wanted to see them was finally jealous and had arrived to settle accounts with them.

In truth, after witnessing the scene at the pleasure boat last night, Shen Zhixian didn’t particularly like Meng Yun.

Madam Meng was gentle and considerate. She was the model of a virtuous wife that many people admire and depended on. He should cherish her. After all, the place that Meng Yun liked to frequent was all too commonplace.

Even though he only went to the pleasure boats without hanging lanterns and limited himself to watching the girls play and sing a few songs. And, on the occasions when he became too drunk and stayed overnight, he would refuse to let other women serve him. In the eyes of other people, he was indeed quite worthy of Madam Meng.

However, Shen Zhixian still felt uncomfortable. He’d always believed that romantic love should be reciprocal and should have equality, devotion, and loyalty. Meng Yun’s behavior really hinted otherwise.

But, when all was said and done, this was still other people’s family affair. He didn’t understand the real situation nor did he know how the couple got along with each other. It was difficult to intrude and, if not because he needed to inquire about the Undead City, he would have stayed away.

Now that Madam Meng refused to see them, they still had no information about the mysterious courtyard…

Shen Zhixian saw Meng Yun’s frown and didn’t have to think much to know what he wanted to say. He immediately said farewell.

Meng Yun originally wanted to persuade them to leave. When he saw that they intended to leave, he immediately smiled and looked a little less angry. He waved his hand and allowed the servant to present a generous gift. “Due to our recklessness, we’ve disturbed the two young masters. Please forgive us.”

The most important thing in the Meng Mansion was money, and so to their eyes, the most important thing to Shen Zhixan must also be money.

Shen Zhixian didn’t accept it and politely refused. He didn’t stay long and left hand in hand with Yan Jin

The moment he left the Meng’s home, Shen Zhixian unhesitantly returned to the pleasure boat.

Although the pleasure boat was not open in the daytime, Shen Zhixian didn’t care much about the little servants blocking the way. He was full of high spirits, looking like a young hero from the Jianghu. He directed his summoned beast, Yan Jin, “Go and shut them all in the room.”

Without saying a word, Yan Jin pulled off the long, decorative brocade ribbon on the side and used it to obstruct the servants without harming them or allowing them to slip away. He did as Shen Zhixian said and shut them all into a room.

The moment the door closed, the servants shouts became immediately muted.

Shen Zhixian nodded with satisfaction and prepared to go up to the second floor to look for the painted skin demon. When they passed by a private room, they suddenly smelled a faint fragrance.

He responded quickly and dragged Yan Jin back a few steps.

The moment he stopped, a chuckle came from inside the room. The painted skin demon stepped out and looked at them with peach blossom eyes. She said to Shen Zhixian, “The two young masters went to spend the night at the Meng Mansion. Why are you here to bully me?”