Garden of Shadows

by Tinalynge

  “We cannot assume that there is some sort of connection between these two things,” Xue Wei said, “but at the same time, we cannot say that there is no connection.”

  “Right now, the best thing would be if we could figure out what exactly is the source of the soul power within the Soul Tower,” Bai Tianyi said, furrowing his brows.

  “If they really kill ten people each day, then there would be a massive amount of corpses,” Xue Wei said. “Also, there should be some other sort of traces other than those scratch marks. The floor was white, with not even the slightest trace of blood upon it; all the blood was only on the walls.”

  “It is quite strange that the room is publicly accessible when there is that much blood on the walls,” Bai Tianyi could not help but say, “it is as if they never expected anyone to enter the ninth floor. I think we are going to be in danger from now on.”

  Xue Wei’s face was dark as he nodded his head. “Right,” he agreed, “because we have witnessed the ninth floor’s secret, those that are behind the bloody scratch marks will definitely not let us wander freely. They will try to shut us up, but this could also prove to be a fortunate encounter for us.”

  “You mean we will lure the tiger out of its den?” Bai Tianyi said, raising an eyebrow.

  Xue Wei snickered and generously admitted, “yes.”

  “So when they are out to track us, we will track them instead and find their base of operations, solve the mystery that we still don’t know anything about, and live happily ever after until it is time for us to go to the Demon Phoenix Continent.”

  “You understand me well,” Xue Wei grinned. Although he was slightly unsettled by the bloody scratches he had seen on the ninth floor, he had seen and done many gruesome things before. It could make him uncomfortable, but considering how many he himself had personally killed, he was not so squeamish anymore.

  The thing that really annoyed him with the bloody scratches was his inability to figure out what exactly had happened. He was curious about what was behind the scratches, and he had to admit that he was starting to feel slightly curious about this mystery that was shrouding the entire Garden of Shadows too.

  Even the usual carefree Bai Tianyi was curious about the source of the scratches, but he could not keep a dark gleam out of his eyes. Although Xue Wei made it sound like they had a plan, he was aware that the risk they were taking was immense.

  Not only was the risk immense, the likelihood of things going as they wanted was also very low; the other party was likely very cunning and prepared.

  Not to mention, Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi were out in the open while their enemy was shrouded in the dark, hiding in the shadow, possibly ready to strike at any time, and they could do nothing in return.

  Xue Wei and Bai Tianyi were deep in thought while they were wondering how to move forward with their investigation.

  After a few hours, Lin Xiao and Hei Gou returned to the courtyard followed by an entourage of people who were more than eager to win their attention in the hopes of getting something good in return.

  When the pair saw that Xue Wei and Bia Tianyi were both there, big smiles appeared on their lips and their moods immediately lifted. Hopefully, they were now closer to the solution of the mystery they were trying to solve, but when they saw the contemplating expressions on their two companions’ faces, they understood that things were not as simple as they’d hoped.

  “What happened?” Lin Xiao was the first to ask about what had happened when he saw their puzzling and concentrated expressions. Xue Wei quickly briefed them on their discovery of the marks on the ninth floor’s walls.

  “Do you think it has something to do with the ten missing people a day?” Hei Gou asked. It made sense that they had something to do with one another, but it was not something they could prove unless they managed to get their hands on some evidence.

  Silence descended upon the room. All of them were deep in thought, pondering what to do with their next step.

  “I think we have to enter the forbidden area,” Bai Tianyi finally said, breaking the silence. “Who knows, the forbidden area might be one big mass grave for the people who are sacrificed in the Soul Tower.”

  This was Bai Tianyi’s wish. If they could find out that the daily ten missing people were sacrificed for or at the Soul Tower, and that the dead bodies were dumped at the academy, they could quickly announce their findings and finish the detective work that had been dropped onto their laps like a hot potato. If it proved to not be a mass grave filled with corpses sacrificed for the Soul Tower, then Bai Tianyi would truly start to get scared.

  Lin Xiao and Hei Gou had not personally witnessed the scratch marks on the ninth floor, so they did not know how bad it truly was, but both Bai Tianyi and Xue Wei were aware that whoever had been up there had been extremely desperate, their actions completely disregarding their wellbeing. The scratches were deep, and the blood wasn’t a light pattering but rather large trails.

  After contemplating for a bit, Xue Wei considered Bai Tianyi’s suggestion and nodded his head. “We should. If the people who go missing every day truly have something to do with the Soul Tower, then the corpses have to be dumped somewhere.”

  “Since they have to be dumped somewhere, the easiest explanation would be in the forbidden area as everywhere else would be far too risky.”

  Lin Xiao and Hei Gou were both fine with the suggestion. They looked at one another and shrugged their shoulders. They had spent every day together and had turned into very good friends during this period of time.

  They found that their thought process was actually quite similar, so they could get along quite well. As one of the traits of their personality, they both wished to be in the center of the hurricane, they wanted to experience the storm together with their friends, and they wanted to find out what exactly could be hidden in the forbidden area too.

  They had previously tried to find out more about it, but everything they had tried had been for naught so far, the only thing they knew were the rumors of the legendary figure that had built the Garden of Shadows. But even if the forbidden area had been for her, it should be impossible for her to still be alive, and thus the forbidden area was likely to have been turned into something else entirely.

  “When do we set out?” Hei Gou questioned, as he straightened his back and looked at the rest of them with eagerness in his eyes. He had, indeed, been bored recently, and needed something exciting to keep his reflexes sharp.

  “We will go tonight,” Xue Wei decided as he looked out the window. The sun was starting to set, but although it was turning night, that did not mean that the academy would quieten down.

  These people were all cultivators, and thus almost never really needed to sleep—only if they felt completely mentally exhausted. This meant that no one wanted to waste time and thus they continued to rush back and forth through their residences and the training facilities at the academy throughout the night.

  Although the night was almost as busy as day-time, it was still easier to move around without being noticed as the darkness was a great cover from prying eyes.

  With the plan in mind, Xue Wei and the others rested up for a few hours until it was soon approaching midnight, where they then settled together inside Xue Wei’s room once more.

  “We will be leaving shortly,” Xue Wei reminded them. “We cannot be noticed sneaking into the forbidden area. Although we were told to solve this mystery, they will not approve of us solving the case this way so easily.”

  A different voice suddenly came from the door, “The mystery is not the worst problem in Yan Dalu. In fact, the biggest problem is the intrigues, schemes and so on. You are likely to be in deep trouble now that you are here.”, The voice was much less masculine than that of any of the four young men who were seated in the room, it was clearly the voice of a woman, and Xue Wei frowned as he looked at the door.

  Shockingly enough, it was the King who stood outside the door. Her eyes were focused on Xue Wei, her lips dra
wn into the beautiful arc of a smile as she leaned against the doorframe.

  “Oh, the King is so free that she is capable of escaping to the Garden of Shadows?” Xue Wei asked with a slight smile on his lips as he got up to clear a chair for her.

  “I was so busy that my head was about to explode,” the King said before laughing slightly, “I never liked working much, but it is, unfortunately, necessary if one wishes to be a King. Truth be told, I never really wanted to be the King though, I always had ambitions about becoming a pirate.”

  Xue Wei’s eyebrow rose, and he could not help but chuckle when he heard the King’s words. Being a King was not good enough; she wanted to be a pirate instead?

  Chapter 21 - Forbidden Area

  “Well, putting aside my dream of becoming a pirate, it seems that the lot of you have a very interesting plan to enter the forbidden area of the Garden of Shadows?” The King smirked as she spoke, her eyes glistening with excitement as she leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed over her chest.

  Xue Wei frowned when he heard her question. He had not expected that she was eavesdropping on their previous conversation; however with her current attitude, it did not seem like she had any intention of stopping them.

  “That is right,” Xue Wei admitted with a nod of his head. “We went to the ninth floor of the Soul Tower today and saw some rather unsettling things.” He continued, “these things gave us an idea of what might be hidden within the forbidden area, and we would like to enter it to make sure whether or not we are correct.”

  “Ah, you saw the creepy blood marks and scratches.” The King nodded her head as she heard Xue Wei’s words. “As a matter of fact, I have been to the ninth floor once too and saw the walls being filled with bloody scratches while I was there, it was definitely a gruesome sight.”

  “I too had an idea that perhaps the daily ten missing people had something to do with the Soul Tower, but every time I tried to investigate it, I was stopped. I had also wanted to enter the forbidden area, but they were quite alert around me, and I never got the chance to enter before the old King died and I was forced to drop out of the academy and take over his job.”

  Xue Wei pondered on her words for a moment, and then he made a decision. “Do you want to come with us?” he asked as he looked at the King with a hesitant expression on his face.

  Truth was that he was not trusting a lot of people here at Yan Dalu. As the King had said, it was hard to determine who was actually interested in fixing this mystery that was shrouding the continent, and who was involved in it.

  But when he looked at the King, he had a sense of kinship. It felt as if the King was just like him—curious about what was going on. She seemed to be the same kind of person as him too; a kind of person who dreamt of one thing but was forced to become something she did not wish for because of outer influences.

  Xue Wei did not feel any kind of romantic attachment towards her, but he innately felt as if they were friends who had known each other for many years already.

  The King was surprised when she heard the offer Xue Wei came out with, and her eyes shone with happiness and excitement.

  She looked behind her at the darkness outside the house, contemplating the pros and cons of the offer.

  “I have a few hours before they notice that I left the palace,” the King muttered to herself. “A few hours should be enough to deal with the forbidden area! Let us go!”

  Having agreed, the group of five were already prepared so they started moving out from the courtyard, and towards the forbidden area immediately.

  Although the academy was rather bustling at all hours of the day, the space around the forbidden area was usually empty as there was nothing here nor was it on the path towards much else.

  A few people would come here out of curiosity every now and then, or couples would walk past while being intimate, but when they arrived, no one appeared to be there.

  Looking around, Xue Wei noticed that the forbidden area was behind a large wall. There was also a massive closed gate blocking their entrance.

  There were no guards around the walls nor the gate—which appeared to be quite securely locked too. Surveying the obstruction, Xue Wei considered that since everyone within the academy were cultivators of primarily Spiritual Energy, their physical strength would be quite limited, so they simply would not have the power to jump above the wall usually, thus making an effective deterrent.

  Things were different for the group of friends, however. All of them, excluding Bai Tianyi and the King, were cultivating Qi, making it a simple feat for them to jump to the top of the walls and drop down on the other side.

  Hei Gou had the highest rank and strength among them, so he quickly grasped the King around her waist. “Pardon me,” he said casually before his legs crouched and moments after, a great force was propelling them both upwards, soaring through the air before landing surprisingly gracefully on the top of the wall.

  Seeing Hei Gou taking action, the others did not waste time either. Lin Xiao grasped Bai Tianyi’s collar and jumped to the top of the wall, closely followed by Xue Wei.

  As they landed on the top of the wall, they quickly glanced around themselves, only to notice the silence and tranquility was the same as it usually was. No one seemed to have noticed anything, so they quickly jumped down on the opposite side of the wall before anyone had a chance to see them so exposed.

  There were no formations to protect the Forbidden Area; neither were there guards or traps. Everything seemed far too easy.

  As they quietly landed on the ground, Xue Wei once more looked around, surveying the courtyard. He sniffed the air to see whether or not he could smell any blood or the scent of death, but the only scent that wafted into his nose was the scent of peach blossoms.

  The entire side of the road they had landed on had a breathtaking row of peach trees, all of them blossoming, their beautiful petals elegantly fluttering to the floor, looking very much like snow descending from the skies above.

  The scenery was beautiful, with the silver moonlight lighting up the road in front of them, and the slightly cold rays of light shining against the petals carpeting the ground.

  Many petals had been left on the ground, all of them seemingly untouched by humanity. There were no signs of any kind of human activity within the forbidden area, even the houses that were hidden behind the peach trees seemed as if they had been left to their own devices for many many years already, most of them even appeared to be crumbling to ruins.

  Looking around, Xue Wei frowned. He had his spiritual energy spread wide to try and keep an eye on every movement around him, but it was as if an invisible power was blocking his own.

  It was impossible to sense anything around him. Even his sight was capable of reaching further than his spiritual energy, causing him to feel slightly uncomfortable and apprehensive.

  Although it was hard to see or sense anything immediately wrong with the Forbidden Area, there was definitely something going on within this area to be able to block his spiritual energy like this.

  Looking at the others, he saw that the King and Bai Tianyi both were frowning.

  “Seems like it is not only me who has their spiritual energy blocked,” Xue Wei muttered, and both of them nodded their heads in confirmation.

  Bai Tianyi was the one who had it the worst. His entire body was composed from soul and spiritual power. Every step he took felt as if he had been wrapped with large chains, and his entire body was so weak that he could not help but tremble, even just standing up proved to be challenging.

  Xue Wei watched him silently, just waiting for Bai Tianyi’s own decision.

  After a few minutes of conflicting emotions, Bai Tianyi finally gave up and sighed. “I can’t do it,” he said firmly. “My body is being suppressed here; the energy is trying to rip my body apart. In fact, it feels as if chains are holding me down, but at the same time it also feels as if something is draining the energy that this body is created from.”

>   He frowned, “If I stay here, I am likely to lose my body.”

  “Lin Xiao, help him back over the wall,” Xue Wei said with a nod of his head. He had not asked Bai Tianyi anything before, and he had not wanted to make a decision for the other man. Although Bai Tianyi seemed to be a kid in the eyes of others, his companions knew that he was an ancient old monster. He understood his own situation much better than any of them.

  Hearing Xue Wei’s order, Lin Xiao once more hoisted Bai Tianyi up in the collar of his robes and leaped on top of the wall.

  He did not jump down with him. Instead he pushed him, casually tossing him down the wall seemingly without any care for whether or not he was capable of surviving such a long fall.

  It might have seemed ruthless, but Lin Xiao was aware that Bai Tianyi’s body was not human. It was made from energy, so even if it crashed heavily onto the ground, it would be impossible for him to die from it. He might feel pain but death was impossible, and it might be quite amusing to see the usually carefree but composed kid in an undignified flail as he fell.

  Lin Xiao was grinning when he saw the annoyed expression on Bai Tianyi’s face at the bottom, but neither of them said anything else before they went their own ways, Bai Tianyi going back to their own courtyard and Lin Xiao back to Xue Wei and the others.

  As Lin Xiao returned to Xue Wei’s side, he noticed that Xue Wei had not paid attention to him throwing Bai Tianyi down from the tall wall, instead his eyes were focused on a building that was placed a bit away from the others.

  His eyes were dark, a dangerous air was around him, and the temperature felt as if it was dropping drastically. Xue Wei’s lips slowly curled into a grin, but this grin was not a friendly one but one that was filled with malice.

  Lin Xiao was confused. What could have happened during the short time he had jumped to the top of the wall and down again?

  The others were also looking at Xue Wei with rapt curiosity, but Xue Wei slowly started walking purposefully towards the house. He was not trying to be sneaky, nor was he being loud. He just walked normally, his back straight, his head held high, and the chilling smile plastered on his face, with his dark and dangerous eyes focused fully on the door leading into the house.