Minister Su finally relented, though his entire body remained extremely tense.
Minister Su led the way, with Madam Su following slightly behind to the side. Together, they guided Lin Zhiyue and her two companions toward the west.
As they walked, Madam Su pointed toward the western flowerbed, mentioning that several rare peonies were planted there, and then pointed to the western wing rooms, explaining that it was where the family's children studied. Lin Zhiyue followed them for a few steps at an unhurried pace before coming to a halt.
Standing at the corner of the corridor, she turned her head slightly to look at Minister Su. Her tone was flat, yet carried an indisputable weight. “There is no need for Minister Su to lead the way. I have my own sensitivity to sinister yin energy.” As she spoke, her gaze had already bypassed the western corridor, landing on the eastern courtyard wall.
Although the cold, gloomy aura she had felt upon entering the gates was heavily suppressed, her senses had become much sharper after changing into the Jinyao Fairy set. The resentment still lingered in the eastern area of the Su Manor, and even across several walls, she could feel it slowly churning in the dark.
Minister Su's smile froze for an instant.
Just as he was about to speak, Lin Zhiyue had already turned and stepped toward the east.
She walked beneath the corridor, where the sunlight filtering through the eaves cast alternating patterns of light and shadow across her clothes.
With a single thought, she selected Dusk Rose from her sea of consciousness. Instantly, a dark red gown draped over her body, and a wide-brimmed decorative hat settled on her head. The velvet roses and dark lace on the brim shimmered with a gloomy luster in the shadows of the corridor. A silver necklace adorned with rosebuds hung before her collar, and a dark red parasol appeared in her hand. As the parasol opened, the lace and tassels dangling from its edges swayed gently in the breeze.
The entire outfit change occurred in a split second. The transition from the moon-white fairy dress to the dark red Dusk Rose was so fast it seemed like light and shadow flipping over.
Minister Su was just raising his foot to follow when his peripheral vision caught the sudden change in Lin Zhiyue's attire. He froze instantly.
He took half a step back, his lower back hitting a corridor pillar with a dull thud. His face turned pale in an instant, and his lips trembled, unable to form a complete word.
Beside him, Madam Su covered her mouth, her other hand tightly clutching Minister Su's arm as if afraid her legs would give out. She trembled, her voice kept extremely low. “M-Master... how did this fairy suddenly turn into a Rakshasa...?”
Lin Zhiyue did not turn back to look at their reaction.
The parasol in her hand spun slightly, and the Dusk Rose set skill, “Thousand Shadows of Dusk Rose,” activated the moment the canopy rotated. Dark red light and shadow spread from the edge of the parasol, splitting into three clones identical to her on the spot, each holding a dark red parasol.
The three clones dashed out in different directions at the same time, moving so fast they left only a trail of dark red afterimages, silently weaving through the gaps between the corridors and the courtyard walls.
Under the cover of one of the clones, Lin Zhiyue's true body had already crossed the end of the western corridor and advanced several yards toward the eastern courtyard wall. Her steps were swift and silent, her dark red hem barely raising a speck of dust as she moved.
Standing at the corner of the corridor, Cen Xi'er watched Lin Zhiyue's instantaneous outfit change and the fluid deployment of her clones. The corners of her mouth curved up slightly before she quickly suppressed the smile.
Xiao Yuan stood beside her, his expression normal, though his gaze followed the dark red afterimages for a brief moment.
Minister Su slowly recovered his wits while holding onto the pillar. He looked at the empty end of the corridor, then at the two remaining dark red clones silently dissipating in the sunlight before him. He raised his hand to wipe his face with his sleeve. When he lowered his arm, his expression was even paler than before, and his lips were hooked into a strained, helpless smile.
Lin Zhiyue was already standing beneath an old locust tree near the eastern courtyard wall. She closed her parasol and stood motionless in the shade, looking up at the eaves of the side room before her.
A string of bronze bells hung beneath the corner of the eaves, their surfaces covered in dark green rust, remaining completely motionless in the windless afternoon.
She could feel that the resentment was right nearby, so thick it seemed to seep out of the ground. On the ground along the few steps from where she stood to the door of the side room, a faint shadow darker than the surroundings seemed to float.
She was in no hurry to push the door open, merely standing in the shade of the tree as she collapsed her parasol.
Standing at the entrance of the side room, Lin Zhiyue raised her hand and pushed open the tightly shut wooden door.
The door hinges let out a dry, prolonged creak, as if it had not been opened in a very long time.
The light inside the room was very dim, with only a small, north-facing window letting in a sliver of dusky sunlight that cast a narrow band of light across the floor.
The room was not large, and the furnishings were excessively simple—a dust-covered dressing table with a bronze mirror and several empty cosmetic boxes on its surface, a narrow bed with old bedding next to it, and a half-man-tall wardrobe standing in the corner. The wardrobe door was closed, but a subtle, barely noticeable slant could be seen between the door panel and the frame.
The atmosphere of the entire room was cold and stagnant, as if separated from the afternoon sunlight outside by an invisible barrier.
As Lin Zhiyue stepped inside, her high heels made a crisp clicking sound on the blue brick floor, echoing several times in the cramped space before slowly fading away.
She walked slowly around the edge of the room, her gaze sweeping from the mirror of the dressing table to the old bedding on the edge of the bed.
There were no obvious anomalies; the dressing table, bed, and wardrobe were all common items found in an ordinary young lady's bedchamber.
She slowed her pace, keeping the rhythm of her heels tapping against the floor steady as she walked over every single floor tile in the room.
When she reached the corner between the foot of the bed and the wardrobe, the sound of her heels tapping suddenly changed—from a crisp click to a low, muffled echo.
Lin Zhiyue stopped in her tracks, walking back and forth over the area a couple of times to confirm the exact range of the abnormal sound.
She did not crouch down to inspect it. Instead, she turned and walked out of the side room, pulling the door shut behind her. The hinges let out the same dry, prolonged creak as before, falling into silence once the door closed.
Standing beneath the corridor, she willed it, and “Thousand Shadows of Dusk Rose” activated in an instant. Dark red afterimages silently swept along her previous path across the corridors and courtyard walls, and within a few breaths, she stood once again before Minister Su and Madam Su.
Minister Su and Madam Su were standing at the corner of the corridor, looking around in fear and trepidation. The moment she appeared, both of them let out a sigh of relief.
Although Minister Su's face was still pale, he looked slightly better than before, and Madam Su's fingers clutching her sleeves loosened a bit.
Lin Zhiyue stood before them, her expression calm and devoid of unnecessary emotion, as if she had merely gone to the backyard to admire the scenery. “The location of the sinister yin energy in the Minister's manor indeed exists, but it is highly concealed. We shall head back first today. Tomorrow, I will bring the Venerable with me to make a final decision.”
After speaking, she did not wait for Minister Su's response. With a single thought, she changed back into the moon-white long dress of the Jinyao Fairy set.
The dark red rose gown faded in the sunlight as quickly as a layer of mist being scattered by the wind. The moon-white hem draped down once more, and the gold-threaded phoenixes shimmered with delicate luster in the afternoon sun.
She nodded slightly to Minister Su as a farewell, then led Honghong, Cen Xi'er, and Xiao Yuan toward the manor's entrance.
Behind them, Minister Su opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent, merely standing under the corridor and watching their figures cross the courtyard and step out of the main gates.
On the way back to the palace, Cen Xi'er walked by Lin Zhiyue's side, only speaking after they were well out of the Su Manor's line of sight. “Junior Sister, why did you say you would bring Master tomorrow? Doesn't that give them an entire night to cover things up?”
Lin Zhiyue did not stop, her eyes looking straight ahead, her tone steady. “Because we are taking action tonight.”
Hearing this, Cen Xi'er froze for a moment, then curved her lips, her steps growing a bit lighter. “Junior Sister really is clever. Count me in for tonight then.”
“Count me in as well,” Xiao Yuan said, quickening his pace to catch up.
Lin Zhiyue rested her hand on Honghong's back. The sunlight stretched the shadows of the group behind them, growing longer and longer along the palace path.
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