Chapter 18: Nian Nuer

“Ah!”

Suddenly, the room became dark. The candles and torches had been blown out, and Su Yingying shouted in fright.

Unconsciously, she grabbed Mu Yi’s arm.

Mu Yi’s hair bristled. He immediately put his hand in his bag and took out an evil spirit slaying charm.

However, nothing else happened after that gust of wind. The atmosphere became calm again, and Mu Yi could just hear the two others breathe loudly next to him.

They were terrified.

The wind had turned off the two torches, which were supposed to stay lit even in the wind since they were enclosed. However, something still extinguished the fires, which induced fear in their hearts.

Mu Yi tried to be one with his surroundings. Apart from the strange wind, what else could there be? Mu Yi put his hand in his bag again and looked for his copper lamp.

The old man had given him the copper lamp. The old man told him that it was a precious treasure back then, but Mu Yi never took him seriously because nothing ever happened when he used it.

Even though Mu Yi didn’t know how to use it, he still carried it around, and after taking the copper lamp out, he lit it.

A small, steady flame appeared. Even though it couldn’t illuminate the whole room, it still made Su Yingying and Su Jinlun feel better.

After lighting the copper lamp, Mu Yi put it on the window. Despite the strong wind, especially by the window, the lamp didn’t go out.

Su Jinlun first waited for a few minutes, then when he saw nothing happen, he lit the other torches in the room again.

But after Su Jinlun lit the torches and candles, a cold wind blew again. The torch flames flickered and went out, but this time, one lamp didn’t go out, and it was precisely the one Mu Yi had put on the window.

Outside in the courtyard, the wind was blowing normally. But when it approached the copper lamp, nothing happened. Actually, the flame of the copper lamp even intensified as if it was being challenged.

Mu Yi remained motionless and stared at the copper lamp. He wasn’t disappointed and started believing that the old Taoist priest might not have been a crook after all. The lamp was a really valuable treasure. It seemed to be a precious item used to resist evil yin energy and could be useful in dealing with ghosts.

The copper lamp’s flame didn’t go out, so Mu Yi didn’t hesitate. He took the lamp in his left hand and an evil spirit slaying charm in his right hand before walking towards a wardrobe.

When Su Yingying and Su Jinlun saw Mu Yi move, they were worried and looked towards the wardrobe.

Mu Yi slowly opened it, the two others’ hearts felt as if they were going to explode, they were beating so fast.

“Bzzz!”

Even though Mu Yi had prepared himself, when he saw a small silhouette crouching in a corner of the wardrobe, his heart started pounding violently. His bones felt like they were going to freeze.

It was a three or four-year-old child. She was extremely pale, had two braids, and wore an old-fashioned skirt. She was crouching in a corner of the wardrobe and had her fists clenched. She looked extremely scared and sad but also looked pure and innocent.

When the little girl saw Mu Yi, she moved further in the darkness and looked terrified.

Mu Yi gulped and forced himself to calm down, but his heart wouldn’t listen and started beating even faster. His hands were shaking.

“Big brother, do you want to catch me?” the little girl said when Mu Yi didn’t know what to do. However, for some reason, Su Yingying and Su Jinlun didn’t seem to have seen or heard the little girl.

“Why are you here?” Mu Yi asked, trying to calm down. He also spoke in a gentle way.

When Mu Yi talked, Su Yingying and Su Jinlun looked at him, their flesh was crawling. Mu Yi was talking, but he alone, the wardrobe was empty. It was extremely strange.

“It’s my house,” the little girl said. She sounded honest with no hint of evil.

“Your house?” If she was the little girl who had fallen ill and died, then this was indeed her house and Mu Yi was the stranger. Now, she was asking him if he wanted to capture her.

Back then, the Su Clan had invited many Taoist priests and Buddhist monks to come. The little girl was frightened, so she scared them away. She definitely wasn’t evil, so maybe, the old woman’s condition was due to other things.

When Mu Yi thought about that, he calmed down. He couldn’t kill a cute little girl who didn’t even look like a ghost.

“Brother, you want to play with me?” the little girl asked when she saw that Mu Yi didn’t look mean.

“Alright, but first tell me your name,” Mu Yi said while nodding.

“My name is Nian Nuer (meaning: forgotten slave girl),” the little girl said.

“Nian Nuer? You chose that name?” Mu Yi asked.

He didn’t know that Su Yingying and Su Jinlun were scared to death behind him and shivering in fear.

“No, my mother said that my grandfather chose that nickname for me,” Nian Nuer said while crawling out of the wardrobe. She stretched her little hand to Mu Yi.

“Your grandfather?” Mu Yi asked. It was the first time he had heard something about Su Chongshan. He was curious.

At that moment, Nian Nuer approached him. Mu Yi didn’t sense any danger.

Unconsciously, he moved his hand towards hers. Nian Nuer quickly reacted as she transformed. She grew in size, becoming green-faced and long-toothed. All in all, she looked terrifying, and her little hands had turned into long claws.

Mu Yi was startled and knew that it was too late to dodge, and he didn’t have time to throw his evil spirit slaying charm either.

However, in the blink of an eye, the flame of his copper lamp became gigantic and illuminated Nian Nuer.

“Ah!”