Chapter 4 : Dark Room

Ji Yu ignored the scrutinizing gazes, whether open or hidden, and sat down gracefully.

When the servant brought the tea, Hongxiao first tested the temperature of the tea, then asked for a new pot, saying, “The tea should be brewed with spring water from the mountain snow. This water is well water with a muddy taste, which my young master dislikes. Also, this tea is not suitable…”

After addressing the tea, she instructed the servant to prepare some soft and easy-to-eat pastries not too sweet or greasy, with a delicate texture, and not too dry to choke on…

In total, the requirements for tea and snacks were quite extensive and meticulous. The servant, good-naturedly, complied and busily went about the tasks.

Not only were the demon hunters observing them discreetly, but even the Xu family’s disciples couldn’t help but cast sidelong glances.

Demon hunters, who are often engaged in battles and traveling, usually lead a rather rough life, grateful for a hot meal and warm food with modest expectations.

Especially since they were all concerned about the demons causing chaos in Yanyue Villa, they were not particularly concerned with their food.

Ji Yu sat there, her figure slender and delicate. Despite her frail appearance, her posture was dignified, and she exuded an air of refined elegance. Facing the gaze of others, she responded with a polite smile.

Her composed demeanor made it difficult for people to continue observing her. They couldn’t help but murmur to themselves, noting that while Ji Yu, the Ji family’s young master, seemed to have a good temperament, her demands were quite high.

Thinking of the rumors about her, they began to understand a bit more.

It seemed that the Ji family did not raise a demon hunter, but perhaps a pampered young lady from one of the noble families in Yunjing.

Not long after, the Chen family’s disciples also arrived.

Chen Qingfeng seated himself with the Xu family’s disciples, positioning themselves close to the Xu and Ji families. This was an unspoken understanding among the major families, who were seen as more closely related than other demon hunters. Even their seating arrangements reflected this connection.

Seeing Ji Yu seated there, Chen Qingzhe snorted, treating her with disdain.

This snort attracted a lot of attention.

Though they were of different genders, Ji Yu and Chen Qingzhe shared such strikingly similar features that their blood relation was immediately apparent. Both were exceptionally beautiful, and especially since Chen Qingzhe was still young, he resembled Ji Yu even more when dressed as a girl.

Seeing the siblings, many people thought of their father, Shang Yunxiao, who was once known as the most handsome man in Yunjing.

The pair’s looks were clearly inherited from Shang Yunxiao.

However, although Shang Yunxiao possessed stunning beauty and an otherworldly demeanor, he came from a background of crime. He first relied on the Ji family of Wuhai Mountain to clear his name, marrying into the Ji family as their son-in-law.

After his wife, Ji Lan, passed away, he left the Ji family and married into the Chen family of Qingyu.

Shang Yunxiao had two wives, by whom he fathered Ji Yu and Chen Qingzhe.

Chen Qingzhe, seeing that Ji Yu didn’t even glance at him, was even more infuriated, feeling as if he were being completely ignored. If not for Chen Qingfeng holding him back, he might have charged straight at Ji Yu.

“Qingzhe, calm down. This is not our home,” Chen Qingfeng whispered, regretting his decision to bring Chen Qingzhe along. Although Chen Qingzhe was indeed talented, his youth and impulsive nature might cause trouble.

Before long, the master of Yanyue Villa finally arrived.

The master of Yanyue Villa, whose surname was Yue, was of royal lineage. However, it remains unknown whether Yanyue Villa is actually connected to the royal family of Yunjing.

Seeing the master of Yue, Xu Xiuque and the others were taken aback. The master of Yue was seated in a wheelchair, pushed in by the butler. He was very thin, almost similar as the gatekeeper they met the night before. He was wrapped in skin and bone, though he was slightly better than the gatekeeper, with a bit more vitality. His soul fire, though faint, was still stubbornly maintaining itself.

The other demon hunters, who had already seen him, were not surprised by his appearance.

The master of Yue looked weak and feeble.

He first welcomed the disciples from the Xu and Ji families who had arrived the previous day, apologizing for his severe physical decline and inability to attend to them properly.

After the pleasantries, the master of Yue asked the other demon hunters if they had any new discoveries. He came by at this time every day to check on the situation.

This story begins three months ago.

Three months ago, Yanyue Villa began experiencing strange occurrences. Initially, a few people went missing, but the number of disappearances gradually increased, raising alarms within Yanyue Villa. Despite implementing various precautionary measures, they proved ineffective, and within a month, half of the villa’s inhabitants had vanished.

The missing included servants, disciples, and even the master of Yue’s own children.

Soon, it became apparent that people’s vitality was inexplicably draining. They were becoming increasingly emaciated, with the master of Yue’s condition being particularly severe, as if something were rapidly consuming his vitality.

It was evident that some evil spirit force was at work.

The master of Yue immediately sought the help of several demon hunters to deal with the issue.

Unfortunately, these demon hunters proved ineffective, and they too began showing symptoms of vitality loss, rapidly losing weight. The longer they stayed at the villa, the more severe the vitality depletion became.

These demon hunters dared not remain any longer and quickly departed.

The master of Yue wanted to send his family and disciples away to save their lives, but soon discovered that no one from Yanyue Villa could leave the villa gates. Anyone who tried would die on the spot.

As the number of disappearances and deaths from vitality depletion continued to rise, and the atmosphere of Yanyue Villa grew increasingly eerie, the master of Yue had no choice but to seek external help, offering substantial rewards.

Seeing the generous rewards, various demon hunter factions sent representatives.

The four great families were also invited and, wanting to understand what was happening at Yanyue Villa and what kind of evil spirit forces were causing the disturbances, sent their elite disciples as well.

Recently, more and more demon hunters have been arriving at Yanyue Villa from various places.

These details were known to everyone before they arrived, and as the master of Yue inquired, Ji Yu, Xu Xiuque, and the others who had just arrived the day before listened attentively.

Unfortunately, the demon hunters present shook their heads, indicating that they had found nothing.

They didn’t even know what kind of evil spirit force was causing the disturbances or how it was consuming the vitality of living beings.The other party didn’t reveal the slightest flaw, so they had no way of finding it.

The master of Yue’s tired face revealed a look of disappointment as he turned to the Chen family’s disciples.

“Master Chen, do you found anything?”

The Chen family disciples had been at the villa for two days, and their arrival had been a source of hope for the master of Yue, as the disciples of the four great families were widely respected for their strength.

Chen Qingfeng also expressed his regret. “We haven’t discovered anything,” he said, pausing for a moment before asking, “Master Yue, are there any hidden secret rooms or forbidden areas in your villa?”

The master of Yue was taken aback. “Forbidden areas? Of course, there are, but…”

He looked somewhat troubled.

In a place like Yanyue Villa, it was expected to have forbidden areas, but such places were typically not open to outsiders for investigation.

Not only the master of Yue, but others also looked at Chen Qingfeng, puzzled by his request to explore their forbidden areas.

Chen Qingfeng explained calmly, “In the past two days, we have thoroughly examined every part of Yanyue Villa. Although there are anomalies everywhere, there are no clear leads. We were wondering if there might be any forbidden areas or hidden rooms that we haven’t yet explored, which might offer some clues.”

This reasoning made sense.

Many people showed approval on their faces and glanced at the master of Yue with renewed interest.

If there were indeed forbidden areas, they would need the master’s permission to enter, to avoid violating any taboos.

The master of Yue, caught in a dilemma, finally sighed, “Given the current state of Yanyue Villa, if there are no people left, the villa will just be an empty shell. The rules left by our ancestors may no longer need to be followed.”

He then informed them that the forbidden area in Yanyue Villa was actually a hidden room located beneath the villa.

He turned to his servant and instructed him to take the demon hunters to the hidden room.

The demon hunters present were visibly excited and their spirits lifted upon hearing this news.

If the predicament at Yanyue Villa could be resolved quickly, not only would there be a substantial reward, but they would also no longer have to worry daily about their vitality being devoured by the hidden evil spirit forces.

The master of Yue was in poor health, after speaking for a while, he was panting heavily and looked unwell. The servant had him taken back to his room to rest and personally fetched the villa’s map, pointing out the hidden passages that led to the underground rooms to the demon hunters.

The number of hidden passages and entrances in Yanyue Villa was surprisingly large.

“How could there be so many hidden passages?” Xu Xiujue asked.

The servant shook his head, indicating that he didn’t know either. The passages were likely dug when the villa was originally built, and they all led to the villa’s underground rooms.

Another question arose “How big are these hidden rooms?”

With so many passages leading to underground rooms, the scale was indeed considerable.

The servant shook his head again, “Our master has never explored them. To avoid offending the ancestors, he is not sure about their exact size.”

The demon hunters noted the locations of the hidden passage entrances on the map and then began their search.

The disciples of the four great families were no exception. Since Yanyue Villa had rarely opened up, they quickly set out to explore to avoid missing the opportunity.

At this point, all four families’ disciples had arrived except for the Pei family from Yufu Cliff.

As they exited the Taofeng Courtyard, Xu Xiujue turned to Ji Yu and asked, “Junior Sister Ji, would you like to join us in the search?”

The Chen family disciples, who had not yet departed, overheard this. Chen Qingzhe turned his gaze toward Ji Yu, staring intently until Ji Yu declined. He then snorted.

The Chen family disciples, seeing this, had no interest in commenting.

It was unclear why Chen Qingzhe harbored such hostility toward his half-sister. Whenever she was mentioned, it seemed to spark a reaction akin to setting off firecrackers.

Furious and agitated.

Xu Xiujue did not insist, After all, everyone has a natural inclination to protect the weak, Especially when the person in question is a beauty.

“In that case, Junior Sister Ji, please be careful. If you need anything, you can come find us.”

Ji Yu thanked him for his kindness and accompanied by Hongxiao, walked in another direction.