Chapter Twenty-Three: Moonwatch Pavilion

Soon, we arrived in front of another grand hall. This one stood out—it was different from the others. Its doors were tightly shut, and there were no other entrances around. Above the palace, the signboard bore three striking characters: “Moon Gazing Pavilion.”

Looking at those characters, I couldn’t help but wonder, what does it mean? So I asked Feng Zimo, “Do you know what this place is?”

Feng Zimo shook his head. “Who cares what it is, as long as there’s treasure inside.”

From the way he scratched at his heart, it was clear that he could hardly contain his excitement any longer. With no sign of caution, he strode straight toward the palace doors, leaving Lin Weiyan and me no choice but to follow.

Just as Feng Zimo was about to push open the doors, he was suddenly flung several meters backward. Having suffered this setback, he cursed loudly, “Damn it, why is there a barrier here?”

Watching his bedraggled state, Lin Weiyan and I couldn’t help but laugh.

I said, “I told you to be careful, but you wouldn’t listen.”

Feng Zimo glared at me. “Laugh all you want! When did you ever tell me to be careful?”

Suppressing my laughter, I replied, “Alright, let’s pretend I never said anything. Go on, keep trying.”

Taking my words as a challenge, Feng Zimo refused to give up. He walked over again, this time preparing himself fully. He gathered his strength, formed a seal with his hands, and shouted, “Break—!”

A golden beam shot out, echoing through the hall with a crash. But instead of breaking the barrier, the golden light rebounded, streaking straight toward Feng Zimo. He hadn’t expected such trickery and was caught off guard; struck by the golden light, he was once again thrown several meters away, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.

Yet, to our surprise, he approached the palace doors again. Just as I was about to persuade him to give up, Lin Weiyan spoke quietly to me.

“Let him go. He won’t rest until he’s gone as far as possible.”

“Alright,” I said.

It was hard to fathom exactly what sort of person Feng Zimo was. Were magical artifacts and advanced techniques truly so important that he would risk his life for them?

“What kind of demon is he?” I whispered to Lin Weiyan.

She shook her head. “I can’t tell. It seems he’s deliberately concealing his true nature.”

Watching Feng Zimo, poised at the doors and ready to try again, I wasn’t sure whether to worry or to feel lucky—worried he might one day become my enemy, lucky that for now at least, he was my friend.

At that moment, Feng Zimo was like a stubborn mule. Even after failing three times, he still stood up resolutely.

If he kept this up, he’d surely meet his end here.

“Why not just give up? We can try another hall,” I suggested to Feng Zimo.

But he gritted his teeth. “No way. There must be treasure here. I refuse to believe I can’t break this barrier.”

With that, he charged forward again, this time with true determination. His entire body was wrapped in wisps of blue smoke, his steps strange and otherworldly, almost like a phantom.

With a thunderous crash, the palace doors finally broke open. The scene before us left us stunned.

An elderly man with long, white hair sat cross-legged in the center of the hall, hair disheveled and surrounded by candles. He was utterly motionless, eyes tightly closed, as if he were dead.

Before we even entered, the candles suddenly flared to life.

“Who are you?” Feng Zimo asked bravely.

The old man did not respond, his eyes remaining shut.

“Is he dead?” I wondered aloud.

“Be quiet!” Lin Weiyan snapped.

Hearing her, I hurriedly closed my mouth, not daring to breathe.

Feng Zimo was first to approach, his sharp eyes scanning the hall. At last, a palm-sized, three-legged cauldron caught his attention.

He hurried to it, ecstatic, and picked it up. “Look, this is the Heaven and Earth Cauldron!” he cried to us.

Although I didn’t know what the Heaven and Earth Cauldron could do, Feng Zimo’s excitement made it clear it was something precious.

“We’ve got the treasure—let’s leave quickly!” I urged.

Something about the old man made me uneasy; it felt as if he might open his eyes at any moment.

Feng Zimo nodded, clutching the cauldron. “Let’s go.”

But just as we were about to step out, the doors slammed shut on their own.

Instinctively, I turned to look behind us—the old man, once motionless in the hall, had vanished.

“Where did he go?” I asked.

Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo were equally bewildered. We searched the hall, but found no trace of him.

We tried to open the doors, but no matter what, they wouldn’t budge. Lin Weiyan even used the Scarlet Sky Sword in desperation, but still to no avail.

My first impression was that we were trapped.

It surely had something to do with the old man—who was he, after all?

Looking at the empty hall, I wondered where the old man could have gone. Could he be invisible? Or perhaps he was the immortal guardian of this place?

A thousand speculations filled my mind, and I felt as if something was about to happen.

Feng Zimo tried again with the strange stepping technique he’d used to break the doors, but this time, it didn’t work. Even when he and Lin Weiyan joined forces, they couldn’t open the doors.

We had no choice but to abandon the idea of breaking our way out.

The three of us moved through the hall, back to back, searching for any trace of the old man. We scoured every corner, but he was nowhere to be found.

“What now? Any ideas on how to get out?” I asked.

Lin Weiyan shook her head. “Not yet.”

Feng Zimo was equally at a loss.

“Why don’t you put the Heaven and Earth Cauldron back and see what happens?” I suggested to Feng Zimo.

He was clearly reluctant, but with no other options, he tried it. The result was the same—we still couldn’t get out.

Where had things gone wrong? I kept turning details over in my mind. No matter how I looked at it, the old man was the key.

But for now, we simply couldn’t find him.

“Senior, forgive us for our ignorance and intrusion. Please show mercy,” I called out loudly.

But there was no response.

Instead, the temperature in the hall began to rise.

I said, “It’s getting so hot! Do you feel it?”

At first, Lin Weiyan and Feng Zimo didn’t notice; being demons, their constitution was much stronger than mine, a mere mortal. But as time passed, the heat climbed, and soon they felt it too.

I was already drenched in sweat, nearly overwhelmed by the heat.

The grand hall felt like a furnace, the temperature still rising.

Lin Weiyan used her magic to shield me from the heat for a while, but soon she could no longer hold out.

If things continued like this, it wouldn’t be long before we all perished from the heat.