Chapter 8

    Even though a hand has no face, Mingzhe could still sense the palpable disgust emanating from the lofty Shin Wang.

    Who would have thought someone could feel such disdain even for their own hand? As Mingzhe lifted Guo Yuexiang’s left hand, it clenched itself in unison with his movement.

    As expected, this was indeed the left hand.

    The real one—not merely the spectral version that had been trailing him day and night.

    The moment Guo Yuexiang’s physical hand emerged from the box, Mingzhe didn’t even have time to make a quip. The corporeal hand and its ghostly counterpart began to glow, merging seamlessly.

    Gone were the signs of decay and corpse-like bruising. Now it appeared as an ordinary pale hand. Mingzhe was both surprised and intrigued. This further confirmed his suspicion that Shin Wang’s death had been anything but natural.

    Mingzhe tucked the hand into his robe, resolving one issue. The other, however, remained—the distorted woman outside. The thick ice barrier had thinned and would likely break within the next minute. As he raced against time, Mingzhe’s eyes scanned his surroundings. Guo Yuexiang leading him back here must have had a reason.

    ‘Underground.’

    A cold yet familiar voice whispered in his ear. Mingzhe turned to the source, but there was nothing but empty air.

    It was unmistakably the voice of Shin Wang.

    ‘Don’t dawdle. Keep digging.’

    The same voice ordered again. That voice came at the same time the courtyard trembled violently, as though on the verge of collapse. Without hesitation, Mingzhe grabbed the shovel and resumed digging at the same spot.

    The deeper he dug, the harder the soil became. Progress was slow, and Mingzhe exerted more strength than ever. It could be said that he had used up all his energy digging.

    Finally, the shovel struck something solid, the impact so forceful it shattered his ice-crafted tool.

    Beneath the box containing Guo Yuexiang’s hand lay a massive cluster of bones—similar to the hundreds of corpses that were piled up beneath a commander in the artwork above.

    The scene before Mingzhe was utterly horrifying. What appeared to be a shrine designed for reverence and worship was, in reality, a burial site packed with countless remains.

    As Mingzhe reached out to touch the bones, the twisted woman outside shattered the ice barrier. Her shriek echoed, sharp and unbearable, as she repeated the same fragmented phrases over and over:

    "It’s not mine. Where have you taken what’s mine?"

    Her tears flowed in streaks of blood. Her limbs, already torn apart, twisted grotesquely as she clawed her way across the ground. Her head and neck spun unnaturally, almost in full circles.

    "What isn’t yours?" For the first time, Mingzhe decided to address her directly.

    "This…isn’t mine," she replied, holding out one of her severed arms toward him.

    "Then whose is it?"

    Mingzhe kept his hand hidden behind him, gripping an ice spear tightly. If she charged, he would have to fight to buy himself time. Though she appeared as frenzied as ever, this was the first time she had engaged with him in conversation.

    She laughed, a haunting and bone-chilling sound. Outside, the torrential rain continued to fall, cutting off all avenues of escape.

    "Give me back my body!"

    Her body?!

    Mingzhe’s head ached at the implication. Why was dismemberment such a recurring theme in this era? One person was missing a hand; another had fragmented limbs. Even the skeletons buried beneath the ground were incomplete, with not a single fully intact piece among them.

    He silently swore that if he ever uncovered the mastermind behind this depraved stratagem, he would drag them out and punish them severely for all the hardships he had endured over the past several days.

    Although Mingzhe wasn’t skilled in combat, he wasn’t completely inept either. While he couldn’t compare to gods of war or battle-hardened deities, he could manage to defend himself when necessary.

    He thrust the ice spear forward, knocking the distorted woman off balance. As she fell back, Mingzhe summoned a towering ice wall in front of her. He turned back to the pit of bones, widening the hole and pulling out a piece of an arm bone, stacking it atop the growing pile.

    There had to be a reason the spirit haunted this place. Her endless wandering throughout the night was clear evidence of her search for her body. Yet whenever dawn broke or the skies darkened with rain, she would always return to this courtyard.

    Her movements were predictable, her routes repetitive. Observing her for just a few days made it obvious that something about this courtyard was out of the ordinary. While she guarded the area, she remained in constant pursuit of her missing body. The fact that she had been here for so long without success meant the part she sought was hidden somewhere she couldn’t reach on her own.

    As Mingzhe unearthed more and more bones, he realized he had underestimated the task.

    There were too many skeletons… far more than he could count. Seeing no end to this, Mingzhe began considering other approaches.

    If ice wasn’t effective, he had learned over thousands of years that fire could burn away curses and guide spirits to rest. Since his divine powers weren’t strong enough to suppress this spirit, Mingzhe turned to the lantern oil.

    He poured some into the pit and splashed more over the bones he had already excavated. Taking a flame from the lantern, he threw it onto the oil-soaked remains.

    A blue fire roared to life! It consumed the hundreds of bones with intense heat.

    Mingzhe immediately stepped back—the searing heat was unbearable for someone like him. He let the ice dissipate, allowing him a clearer view of the spirit, who was now writhing on the ground, desperately trying to extinguish the flames consuming her.

    Her agonized cries echoed over the pounding rain. Mingzhe watched calmly as the blue fire licked at her twisted body, drawing her screams. Remarkably, the areas burned by the blue fire began to change, returning to their natural human form.

    The spirit’s cries gradually softened, and when the flames finally died down, a beautiful woman emerged.

    She lifted her face, her bloodstained eyes scanning the room before settling on the statue of Shin Wang.

    The woman knelt and bowed deeply, pressing her forehead to the ground three times.

    “Who are you?” Mingzhe asked.

    Though her appearance was now elegant, her hands were rough and calloused. Mingzhe surmised she must have been a soldier. The reverence in her eyes was something he had seen before.

    She didn’t answer his question. Instead, she stood, picked up the lantern, and retrieved a painting from behind it. Tossing the painting and other items into the fire, the courtyard began trembling on its own. Cracks appeared in the statue of Shin Wang.

    The woman sighed in sorrow.

    “The heavens are unjust. Shin Wang worked tirelessly for the region for so many years. Who would have thought the superior could be so cruel—all because of… that prophecy!”

    Her voice was laced with bitterness, and she clenched the lantern tightly, her knuckles white. After several deep breaths, she turned to Mingzhe and offered her gratitude.

    “This humble servant’s life has been unworthy. I have been a burden to Shin Wang for so long. Thank you, noble one, for releasing me. If there is a next life, I will repay your kindness without fail. Long ago, Shin Wang saved me. From that day forth, we four shadow guards swore to be his arms and legs. Time has passed, and I never imagined we would one day become shackles that bind him instead.”

    Four shadow guards?

    The information Mingzhe had gathered was overwhelming and disjointed. He wanted to ask the woman many more questions, but before he could, she stepped into the fire with the lantern in hand.

    ‘Leave.’

    Guo Yuexiang’s warning echoed in his mind almost instantly…

    Mingzhe couldn’t help but curse inwardly. The sound of the rain outside had vanished. Following the command in his head, he hurried out of the courtyard.

    The moment he stepped beyond its threshold, the statue of Shin Wang collapsed with a resounding crash. The once-beautiful courtyard dissolved like mist, leaving behind nothing but ruins. The twin ponds were dry, the Si Xuan flowers withered and dead. In the blink of an eye, the site had become desolate and abandoned.

    It had been an exhausting day for Mingzhe. This time, it was a hand. Next time, would a leg pop up in the middle of the room? Handling just the left hand had been difficult enough; he didn’t even want to think about the other missing body parts.

    The left hand, which the Emperor had publicly declared recovered, had turned out to be a fabrication. From the woman’s words earlier, Mingzhe could surmise that the relationship between Guo Yuexiang and the Emperor was far from ordinary.

    He rubbed his face and sighed deeply as he made his way back to his quarters. This time, there was no labyrinth to trap him; the walk was short, and he soon arrived to find Xinxin waiting for him outside.

    The little rabbit hopped toward him, its tiny nose twitching at the strange scent emanating from him.

    Even Mingzhe found himself rather revolting at the moment. The metallic scent of blood still clung to him.

    He instructed Xinxin to prepare hot water, handing over Guo Yuexiang’s left hand for the rabbit to clean.

    Xinxin obediently accepted the order but paused before leaving, handing Mingzhe a golden imperial decree.

    The decree summoned Shin Wang’s principal consort to appear before the Emperor in the main hall the following morning.

    The coincidence intrigued Mingzhe. Was it possible the Emperor was keeping tabs on him? But upon further thought, it seemed unlikely. The strange occurrences within the Wang’s palace were far beyond the capacity of ordinary people to survive.

    So, after he had completely destroyed the northern courtyard, the imperial decree conveniently arrived. It seemed more plausible that the one who truly wanted to meet him was the mastermind who set up the stratagems within this palace.

    “Thank you very much. Look at them—they couldn’t even wait for a proper meeting and had to resort to this.”