Candles, sculptures, corpses, and an ancient checkered door, outside of which is a courtyard with rolling weeds, a toppled bronze incense burner, a blue stone path, and bright moonlight.

Silence mixed with desolation and strangeness.

"This place seems to be forever in darkness."

Zhang Yuanqing raised his palm to his mouth, spit out the blue pill in his mouth.

The plan worked, I'm so damn clever... he joyfully put the pill in his pocket, and had a bit more confidence in his "future."

With them, there was hope of survival when facing the Red Dancing Shoes.

Then, he strode to the offering table, thought for a moment, and reached out to grab the candlestick...

Suddenly, a message appeared in front of his eyes:

【Name: The Never-Extinguishing Candle】

【Type: Fuel】

【Function: Exorcism, Purification】

【Introduction: An item left behind by the San Dao Mountain Goddess, said to be refined from the oil of the Changming Beast, with the effects of exorcism and purification.】

【Note: Sometimes, purifying fear may not be a good thing. Additionally, it cannot be moved.】

Indeed, items could only be obtained by touching them with one's own hands. He didn't dare to touch the candle before, so he didn't know it was an item until he read the information...

"Purifying fear may not be a good thing. According to Guan Ya's classification, the candle is a price type, and the price of using it is losing fear. But I'm really scared now, and I have no intention of taking risks. Let's just stay in the main hall for now."

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

"The next goal is to explore the courtyard to the east, to find out the dangers and rules hidden there, and then find ways to overcome them. The exploration time cannot exceed 15 minutes, otherwise the resentful spirits will crawl on my shoulders, and I will undoubtedly die."

"The blue pill is my trump card against the Red Dancing Shoes, but it may not work, and once I face the Red Dancing Shoes directly, it's either life or death... Let's explore the east courtyard first, get a preliminary understanding of the environment over there, and then think about how to deal with it."

At the critical moment, he still felt a little fear and hesitation, not wanting to go out. Surviving last time was lucky, but whether he could survive this time was still unknown.

The situation in the east courtyard was unknown, and the danger level could not be determined. It was easy to die if he tried it carelessly.

However, in this world, things are never something you can avoid just because you don't want to do them.

Although there was no time limit for exploring the temple, theoretically he could stay in the main hall all the time, but no time limit also meant that if he didn't complete the task, he would probably never get out.

Dragging it out too long, his physical condition would deteriorate due to hunger, fatigue, thirst, and other reasons.

If he went out to explore later, it would be a dead end.

"Hesitation will only lead to death, I can only fight!"

Zhang Yuanqing gritted his teeth and strode out.

Wait, I should think about it again, it's very dangerous outside... as he stepped out of the threshold, he suddenly had second thoughts, couldn't help but look back at the brilliance of the hall, reluctant to leave.

The candlelight was warm, dispelling the gloom, purifying the filth, bringing unparalleled courage and confidence to people's hearts.

No problem... Zhang Yuanqing confidently went out.The moonlight was as bright as frost. Zhang Yuanqing walked along the left side of the main hall, stepping on the goose-soft stone path, and returned to the desolate and dilapidated courtyard.

On this night without insect chirps or bird calls, the silence was frightening.

But the silence also gave peace of mind. He was most afraid of hearing the "clack clack" sound of footsteps when he went out.

"Fifteen minutes, I only have fifteen minutes to explore the east courtyard before the vengeful spirits haunt me...."

He entered the room on the easternmost side of the courtyard and retrieved the bronze mirror from the corpse leaning against the window, hiding it in his pocket.

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

The east courtyard was much larger than the main courtyard, and what came into view was a deserted garden with rockeries, pavilions, small ponds, and a big banyan tree. The trunk was thick and the branches were twisted, and the tender green leaves reflected the bright moonlight.

There was an ancient well under the banyan tree.

Looking past the rockeries and pavilions, a building with a pitched roof could be seen in the depths of the garden.

Zhang Yuanqing did not head straight for the building in the depths of the garden, but circled cautiously around the banyan tree. The information said that this tree was very dangerous, but after circling around it, nothing unexpected happened.

"Checking the banyan tree should also help progress the exploration...."

Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself, casting a glance at the dark ancient well. After much hesitation, he still didn't have the courage to go look at it. He had a strong psychological shadow about these kinds of horror stories involving ancient wells.

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

"Crack!"

Suddenly, there was a crisp sound under his feet, causing him to jump in place in fright.

Looking closely, it turned out to be a corpse buried in the weeds, wrapped in an oxidized protective suit. Zhang Yuanqing leaned down to inspect it, and the skeleton was well preserved.

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

What could have done this?

Zhang Yuanqing became alert and was about to continue exploring when a gust of wind blew through. The weeds in the garden rustled and the banyan tree behind him seemed to come alive, swaying its branches and leaves in a twisted manner.

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing...."

A sharp and thin voice came from behind.

This voice drifted over with the wind, whispering in his ear and bringing a chilling sense of horror.

Zhang Yuanqing instinctively turned around to be on guard, and information flashed through his mind:

Don't turn around!

"Zhang Yuanqing, Zhang Yuanqing...."

Seeing that he didn't react, the voice sounded urgent, wanting him to turn around quickly.

Of course, Zhang Yuanqing wouldn't turn around. He stood still and quietly opened the zipper of his combat jacket pocket, taking out the brass mirror and slowly raising it to a position above his shoulder.

The brass mirror reflected the scene behind him, but it was not very clear.

A disheveled woman in a white dress emerged from the ancient well, with no facial features on her face. She was staring at Zhang Yuanqing with her pale, fleshy face.

"Fuck!" Zhang Yuanqing's face turned white and he ran forward without looking back.

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

Soon, Zhang Yuanqing passed the rockery and arrived at the depths of the garden. There was a large house here, with a straight roof and a foundation made of stone blocks and walls made of yellow soil.

The house here was even more dilapidated than the courtyard, with tiles sparsely scattered on the roof and many holes.

"The night wandering god mentioned in the information has also been here. He only said not to look back, but did not say that you cannot go back. Perhaps the call of the well ghost is only for those who turn back. In that case, I should not encounter any danger when I return later..."

He took a deep breath in place, calming down the 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 pushed the broken wooden door with force.

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"Squeak~"

As the wooden door opened, Zhang Yuanqing quickly retreated, assuming a defensive posture.

After a while, nothing happened.

He bravely entered the house, and moonlight shone in from the broken roof. He tried to open his eyes as wide as possible, letting his pupils absorb as much light as possible.

This was a kitchen and dining room, with two brick-built earthen stoves, pots, bowls, dishes, water tanks, and cabinets that had long since decayed and accumulated dust.

There was no danger, and he finally found the container... Zhang Yuanqing grabbed a dusty gourd ladle and couldn't help but think:

"I heard that child urine can dispel evil."

After careful consideration, he gave up on the idea of taking a ladle of child urine.

Although he had never been in a relationship with a girl, Zhang Yuanqing felt that he should not be considered a child.

"I have indulged you too much, giving you the opportunity to show off again and again." He looked down at his hands, feeling somewhat distressed.

After exploring and confirming that this large house was a combination of kitchen and dining room, and that there was nothing special or dangerous, Zhang Yuanqing took a rusty kitchen knife and a wooden stick and walked out of the house, looking towards the rectangular house at the end.

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

Zhang Yuanqing couldn't help but grip the wooden stick and kitchen knife tightly. They might not be useful, but they could bring peace of mind.

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

They were of no value... Zhang Yuanqing then went to the third room.

This was an armory, with swords, bows, daggers, and other weapons hanging on the walls. Many weapons had fallen to the ground due to the decay of the hanging ropes.

There were two rows of weapon racks by the window, one of which had collapsed, and clubs, long spears, and other weapons were scattered on the ground.

Two bodies lay next to the overturned weapon rack.

Seeing these weapons, Zhang Yuanqing was not surprised. The disciples in the temple were taught by the Three Mountains Goddess and were obviously capable of making corpse-restraining symbols.

It was not surprising that they could dance and handle sticks.

As usual, he went to check the bodies and search for information from the predecessors.

As soon as he approached the bodies, he couldn't help but say, "Huh?" Those two bodies lying on the ground were not skeletons, but two mummies.The skin was gray, wrinkled, tightly attached to the bones, and the belly was sunken.

"How could there be a mummy?"

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

There are two reasons for the formation of mummies, one is artificial preservation, and the other is natural formation.

The first one can be directly ruled out, and the second one mostly occurs in dry areas such as deserts.

The conditions in the temple are obviously not suitable.

He carefully examined the two mummies, and there were no fatal wounds on their bodies. Their bones were not broken by the red dancing shoes, but there were two obvious holes in the flesh and skin of their necks.

It looked like they were bitten by sharp fangs of a wild animal.

"Were they sucked dry by something? Hiss..."

Zhang Yuanqing took a cold breath and tensed up.

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

Instantly, Zhang Yuanqing's scalp exploded. He listened attentively like a nimble deer.