Chapter Four: Blood-Soaked Winter Plum Chapter Thirty-Two: The Appearance of the Will-o'-the-Wisp

“Anyway, you all went there last time! You don’t need a guide, so do as you please with the courtyard! If you find anything, just let me know then!” With that, he turned and went inside, refusing to come out again.

“You!” For the first time in his life, Zhang Huai had been rejected, and, flustered, he reached for his waist, intending to take out his Eastern Palace jade token as proof of his identity.

“Forget it! We’ll go ourselves! Too many people would just make things worse!” Seeing Kai Xin also reaching for his waist, ready to teach that man a lesson, Yu Bing hurried to stop them. After all, she was only coming to take another look; she might find nothing, just as last time, and she didn’t want to mobilize everyone unnecessarily.

“You won’t give us people, but surely you’ll give us torches!?” Zhang Huai pointed angrily at the tightly shut room, his temper still flaring.

“Kai Xin, go ask the constable to bring us more torches, so we can enter the haunted courtyard!” Yu Bing grabbed the furious Zhang Huai and quickly instructed Kai Xin.

“All right, wait here, I’ll go now!” Kai Xin said, then left.

The courtyard was still the same, the plum tree’s branches lush and verdant. The only difference tonight was the sky: overcast and drizzling.

That night they had been angered by the ignorant county magistrate and left in a hurry without carefully searching the inner courtyard. Tonight, Yu Bing was determined to inspect every corner thoroughly.

With that thought, she directed the other two to record their surroundings, while she circled the well, searching every step for any trace or clue.

As she drew closer to the plum tree, frantic gasps sounded behind her:

“Yu Bing, be careful!” Zhang Huai called out anxiously.

“Sister Bing, stop! Don’t move!” Kai Xin shouted, even more alarmed.

And then—

“Heavens! What are those floating things?”

“Is that fire? How can it float in midair?”

“No, fire isn’t that color!”

“Blue? Ah! I know! It’s ghost fire! Look, see? That’s ghost fire!”

“Miss, come back! The ghost fire is out! Be careful, it might choose you as its substitute!”

“That’s right! I heard spirits who died unjustly can’t reincarnate! They need to find someone who died the same way to take their place before they can move on!”

Strange! She had only come with three people, but now so many voices of different ages chimed in. Confused, Yu Bing turned to look, but before she could see how many people were there, her attention was drawn to the sudden flames floating before her eyes.

These flames, like the others, were a deep blue! Moving closer, she could even feel their faint warmth on her cheek. They danced with the wind, flickering left and right, like mischievous children.

“Yu Bing! Come back!”

“Sister Bing, come out! It’s dangerous, don’t touch it!”

...

Unlike the crowd, whose fear was palpable, Yu Bing, upon seeing the true nature of the floating lights, suddenly smiled in a strange way—her smile was bright, but to everyone else, it appeared terrifying.

“Is that girl all right?” asked a concerned onlooker, one of the late arrivals outside the courtyard. The place was frightening, dubbed the haunted courtyard, but curiosity was stronger than fear, especially since nothing terrible had happened during their previous visits.

“Yu Bing? Are you all right?” Zhang Huai, prompted by the crowd, felt his anxiety spike.

“Sister Bing, are you okay?” Kai Xin watched Yu Bing laughing alone by the plum tree, her voice sending chills down everyone's spines.

Yu Bing noticed everyone’s wary, odd looks; her laughter faded as the tense atmosphere affected her.

Feeling uneasy under their strange stares, she glanced around—aside from several blue ghost fires floating in the air, nothing else was amiss.

Puzzled by their reactions, she asked, “What’s wrong with all of you? I’m just excited to see the legendary ghost fire for the first time—maybe I got a bit carried away! Why do you all look like you’ve seen a ghost?”

“You were laughing oddly, very unnervingly!” Zhang Huai, seeing her natural expression and nothing amiss, plucked up the courage to approach her, touching her forehead. Its normal warmth made him even more perplexed. “Yu Bing, are you sure you’re all right?”

“What could possibly be wrong?” Yu Bing, seeing their guarded expressions, almost burst out laughing.

“Really, sister Bing, your laughter was so scary just now!” Kai Xin, still shaken, pointed at the blue flame dancing near Yu Bing. “You’re so close—aren’t you afraid?”

“What’s there to fear? It won’t eat anyone!” Yu Bing realized they were all frightened by the legend.

They didn’t understand why blue flames appeared, assuming anything the wrong color must be harmful ghost fire. Patiently, she explained, “My father told me that after a person dies and the corpse fully decomposes, ghost fire appears. But it’s not as terrifying as the stories say—it’s just an ordinary flame. Its temperature isn’t even as high as a wood fire, so it won’t harm anyone. It just looks scary. As for what fuels it, or why it floats in the air, no one knows yet—but I believe someday, long in the future, we’ll have the perfect answer!”

She paused, connecting all the anomalies, murmuring, “Bloody plum blossoms eight years ago, blue ghost fire eight years later—all appearing in this tiny courtyard. It can’t be coincidence. There must be a connection, but what is it?”

She paced gently around the plum tree, occasionally bending to probe the grass.

Suddenly, something occurred to her—she smiled knowingly. “I understand now!” Clapping her hands, she stepped out of the courtyard and went to Zhang Huai. “Let’s go! We’ll return tomorrow in daylight!”

“Not heading back to Yan Prefecture tonight?” Kai Xin, seeing her ready to look for a place to sleep, asked Zhang Huai, confused.

“She must have discovered something! Don’t ask—tomorrow all will be clear!” Zhang Huai began instructing the officers behind him to arrange three rooms for them to rest.

The next morning, the rising sun gilded the white clouds with a beautiful golden edge.

Yu Bing and her companions washed up at a villager’s house, and Zhang Huai went to fetch the timid county magistrate, while Yu Bing and Kai Xin hurried straight to the haunted courtyard.

After a night of steady rain, the courtyard’s soil was especially soft. More onlookers had gathered than the night before, curious about what might be uncovered after eight years.

“County Magistrate Cai has arrived!” came a shout, and the crowd parted naturally in the middle. Who would dare be rude when the magistrate was here?

“No need to shout!” Compared to his overbearing attitude the day before, Magistrate Cai was much more subdued now. Watching him bow and scrape before Zhang Huai, Yu Bing realized he must have used his Prince’s jade token to intimidate the man again.

“Didn’t you say your identity needed to be kept secret?” As soon as Zhang Huai returned, Yu Bing reproached him, dissatisfied. Did he not realize the Prince’s identity was the most sensitive? If it were exposed, he would be in more danger than she was—especially since he had been gravely wounded when they first met. Though he never spoke of it, Yu Bing knew the more he tried to keep it from her, the greater his enemies’ power. She could never have imagined how formidable those enemies truly were.

“There’s no other way! That fellow wouldn’t budge—without scaring him with my status, he’d never be so obedient!” Zhang Huai shrugged helplessly. He didn’t like it either. If this continued, soon his identity would be known by all.

“Don’t forget, his age is enough to be your father! Yet you call him ‘fellow,’ as if you’re older than him!” Kai Xin, unaware of Zhang Huai’s true identity, joked.

“Kai Xin, don’t say such things!” She might not mean harm, ignorance is no crime, but Yu Bing was startled. Joking or not, his father was the emperor—who would dare impersonate that?

“What’s wrong? Magistrate Cai is indeed older!” Kai Xin saw Yu Bing’s face darken, thinking she was genuinely angry. Not knowing what she’d said wrong, she quickly changed her tone. “All right, all right, I won’t speak—treat me as mute if you wish!” Though she gave in outwardly, she still felt somewhat aggrieved.

Sure enough, after stepping aside, she muttered quietly, “He’s older, I wasn’t wrong!”

Watching her sulk alone like a child, Yu Bing and Zhang Huai exchanged helpless glances.

“Um, Your—” Magistrate Cai hovered nervously near Zhang Huai, wanting to speak but hesitating.

“What is it? Speak up! Don’t stammer!” Kai Xin finally found an outlet for her anger, snapping at Magistrate Cai.

“Uh... well...” Magistrate Cai was even more flustered after her rebuke, unsure how to begin. He looked at Zhang Huai, then at Yu Bing and the disgruntled Kai Xin, uncertain whom to address.

Though Zhang Huai was the prince, he seemed to defer to the woman named Yu Bing. Neither Zhang Huai nor Yu Bing had spoken to him; only the other girl had responded, albeit unkindly.

Well, having someone answer was better than none. With that in mind, Magistrate Cai smiled awkwardly at Kai Xin. “Miss, could you please tell—um—Young Master Zhang that everything Miss Yu requested has been prepared! May we begin?”

“Have them start moving the flowerpots! Be careful not to break them!” Yu Bing, hearing Magistrate Cai’s awkward request, immediately instructed Kai Xin, then turned to Magistrate Cai, asking, “Where’s your county coroner?”

“No—no coroner!” Magistrate Cai dodged her gaze, answering nervously, as if a misstep would cost him his head.