Cyber Era Witch
Chapter 1016 - 803: The Mystery of Dragon Gate Mansion_2

Chapter 1016: Chapter 803: The Mystery of Dragon Gate Mansion_2

She walked into the other rooms connected to the courtyard and quickly saw the kitchen and woodshed. The kitchen had a large pot set atop a stone stove, with a pair of heavy iron tongs for grabbing wood and sawdust leaning against the wall. The wall behind the stove was blackened by fire and smoke.

In the woodshed, firewood was stacked neatly in rows, and the carrying pole for transporting the wood lay scattered on the ground, as if the seller had been standing there just moments ago, haggling with the servants.

She gazed at the carrying pole for a moment, then walked away.

Lu Jing entered the study, where rows of bamboo slips and printed books from various eras were carefully arranged on the shelves.

She pulled out one of the books to browse—it was the "Heavenly Book." It documented the scientific and technological advancements of its time. The AI system of Kyushu High Pavilion, "Heavenly," was named in homage to its essence.

She flipped through the carved edition, which included fish-tail marks on the page centers, red print-shop seals at the page ends, dates, and bookshop names—all intact. The calligraphy was the handiwork of a renowned master from that dynasty. She knew immediately this was an authentic original edition.

She continued wandering through the study, perusing the texts.

The bamboo slips and silk-bound books contained moral maxims from the Hundred Schools of Thought, while the scroll and butterfly-bound books recounted tales of the supernatural, mystical prayers, and historical legends. The thread-bound books explored themes of romance, imperial examinations, and commerce.

Her fingertips grazed the spines of hundreds and hundreds of volumes of classics and histories, as if she were traversing the literary bloodline of the Xia dynasty. The painstaking efforts of countless historians, writers, and poets trembled beneath her touch.

Every book here was an authentic edition. If they were brought up to the Ground, they would undoubtedly ignite a bidding frenzy among heritage exhibition companies, literary associations, and foreign collectors. Together, these books could restore the cultural essence of Xia’s history—and their unveiling would undoubtedly shake the world.

She left the study. The haunting melodies and the sound of claws skittering lingered, like an inescapable shadow, as if it were the perpetual background score of Dragon Gate Mansion—impossible to escape.

Her gaze fell upon the surrounding corridors and the infinitesimally replicating new courtyards. There were equally identical auxiliary manors, gardens, and grand residences with three entrances and three exits.

Dragon Gate Mansion wasn’t merely replicating itself. It was growing.

"There’s no way we can leave Dragon Gate Mansion alive," Lu Jing declared in anguish.

Wang Jingxuan shuddered, her expression filled with even more terror.

Li Qingyan closed her eyes wearily, as if she had long predicted this outcome, and fell asleep under the tree.

Lu Jing lay on the bed in a fully furnished bedroom.

Strangely enough, when she slept, the ominous sounds of dragons crawling, lurking, and murmuring in reptilian whispers all vanished. It was as if they, too, adhered to some warrior’s code and would never attack recklessly while their prey was resting.

She laid her head on a light quilt and caught a faint whiff of fragrant sachets.

The music and the singing continued. Lu Jing closed her eyes and found that she could almost make out the lyrics.

"Dress me in silk spun by silkworms... adorn me with ivory. Crown me with scales, seeking eternal life..." The lament of the woman’s voice echoed chillingly throughout the chamber.

"Are you here?" Lu Jing asked aloud, lying on her back.

The woman’s singing abruptly stopped.

But within seconds, the female musicians resumed their sorrowful harmony, singing together once more.

"Enslave me along the waterfront... summon me across a thousand miles. Where is the enduring sun and moon that drowns me in Weak Water?" The melancholy voice carried its weight of despair.

Lu Jing held her breath, feeling as though these celestial musician women were singing directly to her, separated only by a wall.

She stared at the wall adjacent to her bed. Beyond it was the palace corridor. Surely, they were all there, singing to her through the barrier. How she lamented that she couldn’t storm out of the mansion to find them.

She pressed her forehead tightly against the wall, the music feeling especially close, especially intimate, and the voices lingering around her ears.

"You’re all right here..." Lu Jing wept uncontrollably.

"Descendants of the stars... flowing like exiled criminals from Kunlun. Dress me in red, let my hair turn to white..."

Lu Jing closed her eyes and wept silently. The musicians seemed to be beside her, using their mournful songs to stir something within her—but they refused to show themselves.

The sounds of claws and scales dragging had been absent for a long while. Perhaps their enemies had lost track of them.

Lu Jing opened her recording device and began recording softly.

"Dragon Gate Mansion, second level. It’s a place of opulence, filled with limitless furniture and books. The music here is strange, so close it feels like it’s by my side. There are also creatures with scales and claws crawling around in the distance, but they’ve never dared to reveal themselves..." She quietly recorded her voice, ensuring that even if she perished, those who came after would know what had transpired.

She turned off the recorder. Slowly, Lu Jing drifted off to sleep.

When she awoke, she felt revitalized, everything eerily calm.

Lu Jing hurried to check her reflection in the mirror. Her appearance had become withered and decayed, as if she had aged fifty years overnight. Half of her hair had turned white. No wonder Wang Jingxuan had been so terrified.

She stepped outside to relieve Wang Jingxuan from her shift. To her surprise, Wang Jingxuan seemed unusually spirited and greeted her with warmth.

"Awake? That’s wonderful," Wang Jingxuan said happily.

"What happened? It feels like you’re a totally different person overnight," Lu Jing remarked, shaking her head.

"It’s nothing. I’ll rest now, see you!" Wang Jingxuan chirped, heading into another room to sleep.

Had she been bewitched? Lu Jing wondered to herself.

Li Qingyan lay motionless under the tree, her eyes open but empty.

Lu Jing nudged her, and she blinked tiredly. The wound on her right arm had swollen grotesquely, resembling some sort of tumor. Lu Jing took out her last bit of medicine, originally reserved for herself, and gave it to Li Qingyan.

"...It’ll help you more..." Li Qingyan’s voice was weak, barely a whisper.

"I’ll be fine. I still have plenty of Longevity Candy," Lu Jing said as she helped Li Qingyan swallow the antibiotics and applied antibacterial salve to her wound.

Minutes passed, and Li Qingyan drifted back into uneasy sleep.

This was likely how it had been for her all along—falling asleep from exhaustion, only to be awakened by the pain of her wounds.