Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 1015 - 803: Mystery of Dragon Gate Mansion

Chapter 1015: Chapter 803: Mystery of Dragon Gate Mansion

Lu Jing woke up, and the corpse of the Flood Dragon was already far behind her.

She turned her head to glance at it. It was ripped into pieces, its massive body discarded on the ground like trash, its scales shattered, its flesh mangled and torn from biting.

It was hard to imagine—the effort it took to capture the creature, and yet now it lay dead, utterly worthless.

Lu Jing turned to look at her two teammates, Wang Jingxuan and Li Qingyan. Neither dared to meet her gaze.

"Who killed that Flood Dragon?" Lu Jing asked.

"You," Wang Jingxuan said.

It was the power of the Longevity Candy. Lu Jing snapped back to her senses. It had made her stronger.

She sensed that the Magic Circuit within her had expanded several times over, as if she hadn’t swallowed a sugar pill but rather decades’ worth of arduous cultivation.

"Qingyan, did you eat its flesh? You can’t just eat anything," Lu Jing said, teasing Li Qingyan.

Li Qingyan shook her head, gently caressing the scar on her right arm with her left hand. The wound was somewhat swollen.

Lu Jing directed Wang Jingxuan to give Li Qingyan an antibiotic. Wang Jingxuan searched through the large bag slung over her shoulder and retrieved a small bottle of medicine. Their supplies were already running low.

Lu Jing turned toward the Dragon Gate Mansion.

She had to lead the team. She was the only one who had eaten three Longevity Candies and still retained her sanity. She knew her own resilience, enough to astonish the researchers in the laboratory.

Even so, she needed sedatives to suppress the side effects of the Longevity Candy, to keep herself from spiraling into madness.

"Did I do something reckless?" Lu Jing asked.

Wang Jingxuan trembled, her gaze darting about as if she had witnessed a catastrophe.

Lu Jing understood that Wang Jingxuan was a timid person. It was precisely because of her caution that she had survived until now, unlike the other teammates who had already perished.

Wang Jingxuan always stayed at the back.

But now, Wang Jingxuan had no choice but to face danger head-on. She had to endure it with every ounce of courage she could summon; there was no other option.

"Hang in there," Lu Jing encouraged Wang Jingxuan.

Wang Jingxuan’s body trembled even harder.

"You..." Wang Jingxuan hesitated, "you’ve grown white hair."

Lu Jing reached up and fingered a lock of hair at the side of her forehead.

It was frost-white and dry, like something left behind on a corpse.

"Let’s go," Lu Jing said, staggering forward.

Wang Jingxuan, on the verge of tears but unable to cry, followed cautiously behind Lu Jing.

Li Qingyan took a deep breath and then followed suit.

They had arrived at the second level of the Dragon Gate Mansion.

Unlike the first level—which had been guarded by shrimp soldiers, crab generals, and monstrous Flood Dragons—the second level seemed safer.

The walls and tiles were inlaid with gold and jewels, making the Dragon Gate Mansion look like an ancient treasure vault. Flying corridors crisscrossed above their heads, while semi-concealed wooden windows were carved with auspicious images of dragons and phoenixes, proclaiming the splendor and prosperity of the place.

Yet Lu Jing could not allow herself to relax and admire the beauty of the Dragon Gate Mansion. She continuously heard faint sounds.

First, there was music.

Some mysterious player was coaxing soft melodies from silk strings and bamboo flutes, as if an idyllic spring fed their notes. Mingling with these sounds was the ethereal singing of women, making the music seem like something from a grand court.

It was soothing, as both the playing and singing were exquisitely gentle, offering the three women a rare sense of relaxation and tranquility.

No matter where they walked, the music persisted, uninterrupted. If it weren’t for the Weak Water suspended above, always threatening to crash down, they might have believed themselves to be taking a spring stroll through some heavenly garden.

Lu Jing wanted to find the source of the music, but the second level of the Dragon Gate Mansion was as labyrinthine as ever, with endless corridors, gardens, and pavilions.

At one point, she was entirely sure the music came from just to her right. But when she quickly turned into the adjoining garden, there was no sign of the musician—and the music, the singing, remained elusive, faint and fleeting, never revealing its source.

The musicians seemed to be otherworldly maidens cloaked in invisibility spells, sent to soothe them, prevent them from falling completely into despair.

In addition to the music, Lu Jing faintly heard the sound of claws scraping against the palace walls. That was the eerie part—it meant that descendants of Flood Dragons or Dragonkin still lingered in the second level of the Dragon Gate Mansion, intent on thwarting their advance toward Pan Yuan’s resting place.

"Do you hear it... scales scraping, claws raking over the rocks..." Lu Jing murmured, "We need to find the hidden Dragon Clan members. I fear they’re the key to passing this stage."

"But... I’m so tired..." Wang Jingxuan said, both frightened and weary, utterly drained.

Li Qingyan didn’t speak, but the wound on her right arm—caused by the transformed armor—remained painfully conspicuous, seemingly worsening. It was an unlucky situation for their team, already short on medicine.

Their medic had been decapitated by a sudden attack from a Giant Crab within ten minutes of entering the Dragon Gate Mansion; otherwise, the others might not have died so quickly.

"Come, let’s rest here in this garden and take turns keeping watch," Lu Jing said, guiding Li Qingyan and Wang Jingxuan into a garden.

The Dragon Gate Mansion was perpetually shrouded in gray—neither bright daylight nor shadowy dusk penetrated its mists.

The garden where they chose to rest was as grand and antique as the rest of the maze.

Lu Jing helped Wang Jingxuan sit beneath a crimson bauhinia tree. The tree stood several meters tall, its red petals as vivid as blood, never fading.

The White Rock Pathway wound and twisted, connecting to nearby chambers. Lu Jing inspected them one by one; each was furnished. One bedroom contained a wooden bed, a pentagon-shaped cabinet, bamboo partitions, a mirror stand, a red lacquer chair, a huanghuali wood table, and an ebony Longevity Throne. The bed was even dressed with silk mattresses and satin quilts.

A finely crafted Shark Silk Handkerchief was folded neatly on the nightstand. Lu Jing picked it up and slipped it into her pocket—it was so light it felt as though it had no weight at all.