Ink Burns

Chapter 16 The Shura Field on the Third Floor
When He Shanyue asked about the third floor, Huang Qi's polite smile paused for a moment before he said, "There are some old books and scriptures hidden on the third floor. They haven't seen the light of day for a long time and are often locked."

He Shanyue's eyes fell on the door lock behind him. It was shiny and new, without a speck of dust on it.

lie.

He Shanyue lowered his eyes slightly.

Huang Qi immediately changed the subject: "The studio where the two girls teach is on the first floor. The ladies may be here soon. Please move to the first floor--"

After a pause, he attracted enough attention from He Shanyue and Zhou Liniang, then smiled again and said, "You two girls have your first class today, so you need to study hard. Madam may come to sit in after visiting Miss Uncle."

"Maybe they will come to sit in" These few short words made Zhou Liniang nervous instantly. Until the ladies who were going to class came one after another, seeing the four beautiful figures sitting outside the hall, Zhou Liniang, who was hiding behind the desk and peeking, finally became nervous to the point of peaking.

Zhou Liniang trembled and said, "How about Miss He speak first?"

He Shanyue stood half-slanting behind four screens, looking out through the hollow hibiscus flowers.

The four young ladies were of similar age. Judging from their facial bones, they were between fifteen and seventeen years old. They were all very beautiful, but in different shapes and forms. However, one could easily tell that they were beauties from the south of the Yangtze River through their white jade-like soft skin and delicate bones.

There is another thing in common: the four young ladies all looked equally depressed, with frowned brows and absent-mindedness, all like delicate flowers wilted by a violent storm.

He Shanyue calmly withdrew his gaze and replied to Zhou Liniang: "Of course."

Zhou Liniang regretted it again: If the lady came and saw Miss He speaking confidently and eloquently, wouldn't she have lost even more miserably?

"Let me speak first." Zhou Liniang immediately went back on her words.

"It's all right." He Shanyue smiled, without any fluctuation in his tone.

Huangqi started the class in a neither light nor heavy tone. When a little maid came to report, he left in a hurry again.

Zhou Liniang took a deep breath and walked out. When she stood tremblingly on the low stage, the four young ladies raised their heads and took a quick glance. After seeing that the newcomer was not good-looking, they all lowered their heads and started writing or drawing something.

Zhou Liniang's stumbling speech did not arouse the interest of the crowd. After an hour, the four young ladies in the hall could not sit still. They spoke timidly in a low voice at first, and then talked in pairs of two or three. They sat there for another half an hour. With a shrill scream coming from outside, the four young ladies could not sit still any longer. One of them stood up, turned around and walked out in small steps.

Someone next to him whispered, "You don't want to listen to the class? If your wife knew, she would strip you——"

Before he could finish his words, the girl stood up and sneered: "Madam is too in no mood to pay attention to us now - is Ah Wan dead or alive?"

The person next to him pulled his sleeve, and the sneering girl fell silent unwillingly and turned away.

Seeing that someone was the first to speak out, the other three also followed suit by making up an excuse.

The blush on Zhou Liniang's face gradually faded away. After sighing, she didn't know whether she felt relieved or resigned to her fate. She turned back to the back compartment, only to find it empty.

Where is Miss He?

Zhou Liniang tilted her head and looked up. The winding stairs looked like a snake spitting out its tongue, with its tail at the bottom and its head facing up, as if it was "hissing" and inviting her to go up.

"Miss He——" Zhou Liniang called out softly with trembling voice.

No one responded.

Zhou Liniang bravely walked up to the second floor, which was empty and dark.

Only some ownerless pipa invited her to join.

Zhou Liniang shuddered unconsciously and cried, "Miss He - where are you -"

There was even an echo. The echo contained a replica of the crying voice, giving her a mysterious gift in return.

Zhou Liniang didn't even dare to cry out loud anymore. She clung tightly to the escalator and even had the illusion that the slippery touch of a poisonous snake appeared in her palms.

Just as she was about to collapse and run downstairs, a familiar voice came from the top floor: "I'm upstairs."

It’s Miss He!

Zhou Liniang held the escalator tightly - even if she looked like a snake, it was better than a ghost!

"Come down quickly. I haven't finished my class yet. Someone called me from outside. They all left. Let's go back too." Zhou Liniang spoke incoherently.

There was no response from the top floor.

It was just a chance acquaintance, so why should I worry about a stranger? Zhou Liniang didn't get a response, so she timidly prepared to go down.

"There is something upstairs." The voice came from the third floor again, stopping Zhou Liniang in her tracks.

"What, what is that?" Zhou Liniang asked.

"It's very important to both of us." He Shanyue's voice didn't sound as sweet as it did last night. It was like the cold north wind with a hint of temptation: "Do you want to come up and take a look?"

Zhou Liniang was silent for a moment, then finally took a step and walked up the stairs step by step.

The snake is struck at its most vulnerable part. Apart from this prestigious job as a mistress, what else is important to both of them?
There were no lights in the entire building. The only light came from the lanterns swaying under the eaves outside the window and the moon hidden in the clouds in the sky.

The large copper lock on the third floor was pried open, and the door slipped open a crack.

Zhou Liniang bent over and slowly pushed the door open with rapid breathing. A strong smell of rust hit her face. After seeing the scene inside clearly, Zhou Liniang let out a high-pitched scream from her throat - "Ahhhhh——"

The screams stopped abruptly.

He Shanyue covered Zhou Liniang's mouth tightly and said in a low voice: "If you don't want to be discovered, don't scream."

He Shanyue slowly put down his hands, but Zhou Liniang raised both hands and covered her mouth tightly, panting and widening her eyes, shaking uncontrollably - the third floor was indeed as Huangqi said, with four or five shelves storing ancient books and scriptures, but next to the bookshelves were scattered shackles, shackles, box beds and stone hammers.
The jagged spikes on the box bed stood up towards the sky, emitting cold light.

Next to the torture instrument, there was a large camphorwood box with five low stools placed next to it. The box was half a person's height, with sharp corners and a lock on top.

Next to the camphorwood box, there was a huge pool of blood, and there were also scattered traces of milky white blood mixed with copper rust color, which was all over the walls, bookshelves, books, and the ground!

Like, like a Shura field
But, how could there be a Shura field in the school in the back house!

Zhou Liniang's shoulders couldn't stop shaking.

"Those milky white things are human brains."

He Shanyue's voice sounded again.

Zhou Liniang's pupils dilated and then suddenly shrank. Before she could even cry out, she saw He Shanyue walk up to her, squat down, pick up the lock outside the box, and use the hairpin she took off her bun to open the lock with a "click".

He Shanyue raised his head and looked at Zhou Liniang with his eyelids raised: "Miss Zhou, watch carefully. I will act out for you how this girl died."

　There will be another chapter later.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)