Double Box Record

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A terrifying night in a dilapidated temple during a snowstorm

The north wind howled, and heavy snowflakes danced in the air, creating a white world that looked somewhat monotonous and desolate. In such harsh weather, everyone preferred to stay indoors, by the stove, with a bowl of hot soup in their hands. So at this moment, everything was quiet except for the whistling sound of the wind.

Suddenly, the sound of rapid hoofbeats broke the silence in the distance. The hoofbeats grew louder as they approached, and soon a carriage and four fine horses stopped in front of a dilapidated temple. Two burly men in black cloaks jumped off the horses, kicked open the rickety door of the temple, looked around, and then turned to the carriage, saying respectfully, "Young master, we've checked, there's no one inside. The weather is too bad; we can't travel tonight. Let's rest in the temple for the night and continue our journey tomorrow."

The carriage curtain was lifted, revealing the handsome face of a boy of thirteen or fourteen. The burly man reached out and lifted the boy from the carriage, carrying him into the dilapidated temple. The boy wore a magnificent ginger-yellow brocade felt cloak. Once inside, he removed the hood of his cloak and sat on a blue brick brought by his subordinates, curiously observing his surroundings. Soon after, three other burly men filed in, carrying branches. They lit tinder and started a fire in the temple, gradually warming the dilapidated space.

"Young master, have something to eat." Someone handed over a paper package. The boy took it, opened it, and found it was full of powder.

"Alas, the fine Poria cocos cake I bought a couple of days ago has hardened a bit over time. When I pressed it in my pocket, it turned into powder. This is all I have now. I'll have a proper meal tomorrow when we reach the next village."

The boy didn't mind, ate a little, and then, out of boredom, rubbed the cake powder into finer and more crumbly pieces.

"Third brother, I have some bamboo leaf green tea here, want a sip?" A burly man with a bushy beard took out a smooth gourd, tilted his head back and gulped down a few mouthfuls, a blush spreading across his dark face.

"You can't live without your drink." The man called Third Brother laughed and scolded, taking the drink and about to take a sip when he suddenly saw the young man next to him looking at him. He laughed and said, "Young Master, would you like a sip? It will warm you up from head to toe."

"Alright!" the boy answered crisply. The third brother handed him the gourd, and the boy wiped the spout with his sleeve, drank it down heartily, and then wiped his mouth. The wine was strong, and a spicy warmth surged up from his chest, warding off the bitter cold.

The snow fell heavier and heavier. Someone went out and brought the horses in, then stood in front of the broken window and said, "This snow is good. It covers up all the tracks on the ground. Even if those people have great abilities, they won't be able to catch up!" Just as he said this, a dark figure suddenly broke through the window and flew in. Everyone was startled and immediately raised their weapons to protect the boy.

"How dare you! Do you think you can escape?" The dark figure stopped. It was a man who looked to be in his forties. He had a fair complexion and a handsome and masculine appearance, but his demeanor and mannerisms carried a feminine and unnatural coquettishness. He spoke in a high-pitched, sarcastic voice. The clothing of an inner palace servant was visible under his cloak. This man was actually a eunuch.

The men paled in shock. The eunuch sneered and attacked, and the five of them immediately clashed. Swords flashed and blades clashed, and after a few rounds, the four burly men were gradually losing ground. The eunuch, however, fought with incredible skill, smashing the burly man's jaw with a single punch, followed by a palm strike that sent him crashing against the wall. The man sprawled to the ground, stretched his legs, and then died instantly. The remaining three let out a mournful cry, their attacks becoming even more ferocious. The eunuch snorted, his palm strikes growing increasingly powerful.

"Young master, run! Run!" the third brother shouted wildly behind him. The boy, who had been stunned by the scene in front of him, finally came to his senses and ran out the door.

"Where do you think you're going!" The eunuch quickly dealt with the people around him, grabbed the boy's cloak hood, and pulled him over.

"Tsk tsk, what a handsome and clever boy. Come back with us obediently." The eunuch touched the boy's face, gave a sinister smile, and walked out.

The boy remained silent, then suddenly flicked out the finely ground Poria cocos cake powder from his hand. The eunuch, unable to dodge in time, was caught off guard and his eyes were stung by the dry cake crumbs. In his haste, the boy pulled a dagger from his sleeve and plunged it into the eunuch's heart. "Ouch—!" the eunuch screamed in agony, then slapped the boy's chest with all his might.

"Ah—" The boy flew up and crashed hard into the wall, spitting out a mouthful of blood, and then lay motionless. The eunuch struggled a few times, pulled off the already rickety door, slid down the wall, and fell to the ground at the base of the wall.

A cold wind, carrying snowflakes, blew into the dilapidated temple. Six corpses lay on the ground. The wind extinguished the fire in the temple, and all was quiet again. Suddenly, a faint sound came from the Buddha statue, sounding particularly eerie in the silent and gloomy temple. After a while, a thin little girl emerged from a hole behind a Buddha statue in the corner. Seeing the scene before her, she gasped and kept muttering, "Amitabha, what a terrible thing to do. Bodhisattva, please bless them all to be reborn in a better realm, Amitabha, Amitabha..." The girl looked no more than ten years old. Her face was so dirty that her features were indistinguishable, but her large, round eyes shone with intelligence and cunning, like cold stars in the dark night. She was wrapped in a tattered blanket, jumped off the altar, and shivered in the cold wind.

The girl surveyed the room, her gaze finally settling on the boy's corpse. She walked straight over, muttering to herself, "Of all these people, this kid is the best dressed; he must be the richest." She squatted down beside him, touching his body repeatedly, muttering, "As the saying goes, death is the end. You're dead, so you might as well give me your money. When we get back, I'll hire some monks to perform a ritual for you, find a place to bury you, and you can reincarnate in peace. Don't come looking for me again as a ghost... Huh? What's this?" The girl pulled a finely crafted small cloth bag from the boy's pocket. Without even looking at its contents, she assumed it must be valuable. She tied the bag to her belt and continued searching the boy. Suddenly, she noticed a piece of translucent jade carved into the shape of a plum blossom around his neck, its surface smooth and delicate. The girl's face lit up immediately. "This is a good thing! It can fetch several taels of silver at a pawnshop!" she exclaimed, reaching to pull the jade plum blossom off. Just then, the boy groaned, grabbed the girl's small hand, looked at her intently, his lips moved slightly, and his eyes seemed to hold a thousand words he wanted to say.

"Ah—it's haunted! It's a zombie! Aaaaah!" The little girl's hair stood on end, and she collapsed to the ground, desperately backing away. The boy, with strength he didn't know he possessed, grabbed her hand tightly and said with all his might, "Jin..." Then his head lolled to the side, and he truly breathed his last.

The little girl was nearly breathless with fright. She covered her face with her hands, tears streaming down her face. It took her a long time to recover. Mustering her courage, she pulled her hands away and scrambled to another corner, even dropping her tattered blanket. Leaning against the wall, she gasped for breath. The cold north wind calmed her down. She wiped the snot and tears from her face with the sleeve of her tattered cotton-padded jacket and found the jade pendant from the boy's neck clutched in her hand. She hung it around her own neck. Looking around, she saw the burly man's corpse beside her. She took off his black cloak and draped it over herself, then pulled a small bag of loose silver and several strings of copper coins from his waist.

"This is it, we're rich!" the girl murmured to herself, her eyes shining. Just then, she heard the neighing of a horse being pulled on its reins outside the door. She quickly wrapped her cloak around herself and slipped into the small hut next to the main hall of the dilapidated temple.

The little girl, named Yao Danxing, was a homeless beggar. The weather had been cold these past few days, especially with heavy snowfall at dusk. She happened to find this dilapidated temple and went inside to escape the cold. The temple was drafty and not warm at all. She wandered around and found a hole behind a Buddha statue. She crawled inside and found it quite spacious, easily large enough for her small body. She decided to take a nap inside the statue and fell into a deep sleep. Later, the sounds of fighting outside woke her. She stayed inside, too afraid to move, until the noise outside subsided. Then, she mustered her courage and crawled out of the Buddha statue.

At this moment, Yao Danxing peeked into the main hall from the doorway of the small house. She heard someone exclaim, "Eunuch! Eunuch!" She touched her nose and muttered to herself, "Oh no, I don't know which of these six people is their eunuch. I stole their money and clothes, and they're definitely going to come after me later. I'll definitely get a beating. I'd better find a chance to slip away." She looked around the small house and found a small dog hole in the corner. Yao Danxing immediately grinned, crouched down, and crawled out of the dog hole. Then she wrapped her cloak tighter around herself and ran towards the small village behind the house.

It was the dead of winter, pitch black outside. Yao Danxing couldn't tell which way to go and stumbled forward, relying solely on her senses. Eventually, she couldn't run anymore and vaguely saw a glimmer of starlight ahead. Dragging her heavy steps, she went towards it. When she reached it, she found it was a small farmhouse courtyard. Gathering her strength, Yao Danxing scaled the wall, and the moment her feet touched the ground, she heard a dog barking. Having been chased and bitten by a vicious dog before, Yao Danxing was terrified. In her panic, she saw a small woodshed, quickly opened the door, ran inside, and then used her back to brace the door shut.

The weather was so bad that the owners of the house, hearing the dog barking, were too lazy to get out of their warm beds, and just shouted a few words at it. Yao Danxing, frightened and cold, was shivering all over. She sat down against the small wooden door and began to doze off.

Yao Danxing had quite a background; she was the daughter of Yao Qinglian, the most famous of the four most beautiful courtesans in Nanhuai. Yao Qinglian, whose real name was Yao Xianglian, was a young lady from an official family in the capital. She was elegant, beautiful, and well-read, especially skilled in playing the zither and composing poetry, making her a renowned talented woman. When she was fourteen, her father was impeached for corruption, the Yao family was raided, and she was forced into prostitution. Fortunately, a kind-hearted man rescued her, redeemed her, and bought her as a concubine. The following year, she gave birth to her daughter, Danxing. However, her good fortune didn't last. Later, Yao Xianglian's husband married a new wife, who, jealous of Xianglian's beauty, drove her and her daughter away while her husband was away, sending them far away to Nanhuai to be sold into a brothel. Xianglian initially wanted to end her life, but seeing her crying, hungry child, she swallowed her tears, changed her name to Qinglian, and became a courtesan, quickly rising to fame. Yao Qinglian still desperately hoped her husband would return to save her. Years later, while playing music and singing for money at a local official's house, she happened to run into her husband. Overjoyed, she was shocked to find that her unfaithful lover refused to acknowledge her, deliberately avoiding her and even leaving in a hurry. Devastated, Yao Qinglian soon fell ill. The madam, disliking her for not earning money, treated her and her daughter poorly. Later, seeing that Danxing, nearly twelve years old, was a beauty in the making, she set her sights on Danxing. Danxing feigned concern, coaxing the madam to give her mother money for medical treatment, but Qinglian was determined to die, refusing food and water, and passed away after only three months. After the funeral, with the help of her maid Qiaoyu and a young male prostitute, Danxing escaped from the brothel, boarded a ship bound for the north, and wandered the country. Yao Danxing preferred to be a beggar rather than return to prostitution. Young and shrewd, she was not afraid of hardship, so although she lived a precarious life, she was content.

As dawn broke, the sounds of the master of the house getting up, opening the door, and scolding the barking dogs woke Yao Danxing. She quietly opened the door to the woodshed, her bright eyes carefully observing her surroundings. Then, taking a deep breath, she dashed to the wall with lightning speed and leaped over it in one go. Just as she was about to run away, she noticed a donkey cart parked at the gate, loaded with cabbages and potatoes. A farmer in his forties was loading a basket of potatoes onto the cart. Seeing this, Yao Danxing immediately made up her mind. She took out a dozen or so copper coins from her pocket and slowly walked over.

"Uncle, Uncle," Yao Danxing called out in a clear voice.

The farmer turned around and saw a small child, her face and head filthy, wearing a black cloak that didn't fit her figure well, but her large eyes were bright and piercing. He was taken aback: "You..."

"Uncle, are you going into the city?" Yao Danxing asked in a clear voice.

"Yes, yes." The farmer nodded.

"I have thirteen copper coins here. If you take me to the city, I'll give them all to you." Yao Danxing held out her small hand, holding the copper coins, and told a lie with a calm demeanor. "My father is a scholar in the city. A few days ago, my mother and I went back to my parents' home, but on the way, bandits kidnapped my mother, and I escaped on my own. If you take me to the city, I will reward you handsomely if I find my father!"

The farmer was about to take the cart to the city to deliver vegetables. He was honest and kind, and when he heard Yao Danxing's words, he felt a little sorry for her. When he saw the copper coin in her hand, he immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay, you get on the cart, I'll take you into the city." Yao Danxing put the copper coin in the farmer's hand and then jumped onto the cart.

All the way, Yao Danxing lay on the cabbage, lost in thought. The farmer, pitying her "plight," gave her a piece of steamed bun. Yao Danxing hadn't eaten since yesterday morning, and the fright she'd experienced the previous night had drained her energy; she was indeed hungry. She quickly took the bun and ate it with gusto. As the sun rose, they entered the city. The farmer parked the car in front of a tavern, and while he wasn't looking, Yao Danxing quietly slipped away. She wandered around the city, ate a bowl of plain noodles at a small noodle stall, washed her face with snow from the roadside, bought a clean set of clothes and shoes at a secondhand clothing store, and then strolled into a small inn. As soon as she entered, Yao Danxing took out a small piece of silver, tiptoed, placed it on the counter, and said with an air of sophistication, "Innkeeper, a private room, and a basin of bathwater, please."

The shopkeeper, initially lukewarm at first because she was just a child, smiled upon seeing the silver. He immediately instructed his assistant to lead her to a room upstairs, where he prepared bathwater and treated her with great hospitality. Yao Danxing locked the door, took a refreshing bath, changed into clean clothes, and then sat on the edge of the bed to count the spoils she had stolen the previous night. The money bag she had taken from the burly, bearded man contained a considerable amount of silver, including a hundred-tael silver note, and two strings of copper coins. Yao Danxing offered a prayer to the money before carefully putting it away. Finally, she opened the small cloth bag she had taken from the boy and shook its contents onto the kang (heated brick bed). "What are all these things?" Yao Danxing muttered to herself. A Shoushan stone seal with an auspicious beast head fell out of the bag. Picking it up, she noticed that the seal wasn't engraved with Chinese characters, but rather resembled tadpole script.

Yao Danxing was stunned for a while, then asked the shop assistant for a needle, thread and scissors, and sewed all the money and seals into the old cotton-padded jacket she had just bought. Then she covered herself with a cloak and a quilt and went to sleep.

Yao Danxing slept soundly until evening, then sat up with a yawn. It was the most comfortable sleep she had had in a long time. She touched her cotton coat and found that all her money was still inside. Satisfied, she got out of bed and went downstairs for dinner. Yao Danxing pushed open the door and found that all the tables downstairs were full. Just then, the door of the inn was pushed open again, and three people walked in, accompanied by a cold wind and snowflakes.

Upon recognizing the newcomers, Yao Danxing couldn't help but shout her approval. The leader of the three was a boy of about fourteen, exceptionally handsome and strikingly beautiful. His long eyebrows slanted upwards, his deep, captivating phoenix eyes shone with a refined brilliance, his nose was high and straight, and his lips were slightly pursed. He wore a light autumn-colored cloak and a purple-gold crown, its beads full, round, and sparkling. Underneath, he wore a long robe of pure white brocade with subtle jacquard patterns. The robe was embroidered with three large, golden willow-leaf floral patterns in a deep blue-green hue, and featured lake-blue, bound-up sleeves inlaid with golden intertwined floral designs. A vermilion belt with three white jade inlays cinched his waist, and a sword hung at his waist. He wore small, light blue satin boots with a white background. He exuded an aloof and dazzling aura, like a bright moon over the desert, exceptionally noble.

To the boy's left stood a girl in a green cloak, appearing to be no more than fifteen years old, with a slender figure. Her hair was styled in two buns, tied with emerald green ribbons. She had a delicate face, arched eyebrows, a small mouth, narrow eyes, fair skin, and a gentle expression. To the boy's right stood a tall, thin man in a black cloak, with plain features, but his eyes were sharp like a hawk's, gleaming with a hidden light.

After the three entered the shop, they looked around. The waiter hurriedly came up to greet them warmly. There were no extra seats, but the owner, seeing their distinguished air, dar

……