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Ghost in the palace

Chapter 438: The Night of Crying Voices · Nov 02, 2026

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Chapter List (462)

Page number / 10

401 Chapter 401: The Cry of the People 2026-11-02
402 Chapter 402: The Maid Who Knew Too Much 2026-11-02
403 Chapter 403: The Shrine Behind the Courtyard 2026-11-02
404 Chapter 404: The Brother Who Never Existed 2026-11-02
405 Chapter 405: The Truth Behind Shin Gu 2026-11-02
406 Chapter 406: The Daughter Who Should Not Exist 2026-11-02
407 Chapter 407: The Palace Beneath a Storm 2026-11-02
408 Chapter 408: The Shadow Behind the Curtain 2026-11-02
409 Chapter 409: A Secret Investigation 2026-11-02
410 Chapter 410: Tea Beneath the Garden Trees 2026-11-02
411 Chapter 411: The Ominous Feeling 2026-11-02
412 Chapter 412: The Ritual That Never Began 2026-11-02
413 Chapter 413: The Shadow Behind the Flowers 2026-11-02
414 Chapter 414: The Secret Behind Shin Gu 2026-11-02
415 Chapter 415: The Whisper Behind the Shadows 2026-11-02
416 Chapter 416: The Threat Beneath the Palace 2026-11-02
417 Chapter 417: The Letter of Punishment 2026-11-02
418 Chapter 418: The Palace Behind Closed Doors 2026-11-02
419 Chapter 419: The Man Who Finally Saw the Darkness 2026-11-02
420 Chapter 420: The Most Patient Husband 2026-11-02
421 Chapter 421: no proof 2026-11-02
422 Chapter 422: The Sign Beneath the Moonlight 2026-11-02
423 Chapter 423: mei lan 2026-11-02
424 Chapter 424: The Plan in the Dawgress’s Courtyard 2026-11-02
425 Chapter 425: The Actors Who Entered the Dawgress’s Courtyard 2026-11-02
426 Chapter 426: The Ghosts’ Trap 2026-11-02
427 Chapter 427: The Crying Shadow 2026-11-02
428 Chapter 428: The Three Nights of Fear 2026-11-02
429 Chapter 429: The Fear Behind the Mask 2026-11-02
430 Chapter 430: the man behind everything 2026-11-02
431 Chapter 431: A Change of Strategy 2026-11-02
432 Chapter 432: The Last Night of Shin G 2026-11-02
433 Chapter 433: The Black Altar 2026-11-02
434 Chapter 434: The Last Rites of Princess Shin Gu 2026-11-02
435 Chapter 435: the silence 2026-11-02
436 Chapter 436: The Shadow Left Behind 2026-11-02
437 Chapter 437: The Kingdom That Lost Its Royal Family 2026-11-02
438 Chapter 438: The Night of Crying Voices 2026-11-02
439 Chapter 439: The Darkness Behind Shin Gu 2026-11-02
440 Chapter 440: The Journey Beyond the Northern Border 2026-11-02
441 Chapter 441: The Journey No One Must Know 2026-11-02
442 Chapter 442: The Road to the North 2026-11-02
443 Chapter 443: The Family That Went North 2026-11-02
444 Chapter 444: The Family That Left Everything Behind 2026-11-02
445 Chapter 445: The Emperor Behind the Mask 2026-11-02
446 Chapter 446: The Family at the Northern Gate 2026-11-02
447 Chapter 447: The Road to the Northern Border 2026-11-02
448 Chapter 448: Ordinary People, One Journey 2026-11-02
449 Chapter 449: The Woman Who Was Dead to the World 2026-11-02
450 Chapter 450: shin gu is alive 2026-11-02

Seventeen days had passed since Shin Gu’s death.

Seventeen days since the dark magic that had haunted the palace for so long had finally been brought to an end.

And for the first time in many months, the Imperial Palace seemed peaceful.

There were no strange whispers.

No servants collapsing after wandering into forbidden courtyards.

No mysterious shadows appearing beneath the palace lanterns.

No sudden illnesses.

No reports of people behaving strangely.

Life had slowly returned to normal.

The Emperor had resumed his ordinary duties.

The Empress had begun spending more time in the palace gardens.

The three ghosts—Fen Yu, Wei Rong, and Li Shen—had returned to their usual arguments.

Even the palace servants had stopped looking over their shoulders every few moments.

Everyone believed the nightmare was finally over.

But nobody understood one thing.

Darkness did not always return with a warning.

Sometimes—

It returned quietly.

And on that particular night, the first person to hear it was a palace maid.

---

The moon was high in the sky.

The palace corridors were unusually quiet.

Most of the servants had already retired for the night.

Only a few palace guards remained stationed along the outer corridors.

A young maid named Mei Lan carried a small lantern as she walked toward the eastern servants’ quarters.

She had been ordered to deliver fresh bedding to one of the rooms.

The palace was peaceful.

Too peaceful.

Mei Lan yawned softly.

”Finally, I can sleep.”

She adjusted the folded blankets in her arms.

Then—

She heard something.

A faint sound.

”Ah...”

Mei Lan stopped.

She looked around.

”What was that?”

Nothing.

Only the sound of the wind moving through the trees.

She continued walking.

Three steps.

Four.

Five.

Then she heard it again.

A cry.

This time—

Clearly.

Someone was sobbing.

”Help...”

Mei Lan froze.

The lantern in her hand trembled.

She looked toward the dark corridor behind her.

”Who is there?”

No answer.

Then—

A woman’s voice.

Soft.

Broken.

”Why...”

Mei Lan’s face became pale.

She slowly placed the bedding on the floor.

Her heart began beating faster.

”Is someone hurt?”

She picked up her lantern properly.

The crying seemed to be coming from the old servants’ quarters.

But that area had been closed for several days because the rooms were being repaired.

Nobody should have been there.

Mei Lan swallowed.

She should have gone to call a guard.

She knew that.

But curiosity overcame fear.

She walked toward the sound.

Step by step.

The crying became louder.

”Please...”

”Don’t leave me...”

Mei Lan’s breathing became shallow.

She reached the entrance of the old servants’ courtyard.

The gate was slightly open.

That was strange.

She was certain the guards had locked it earlier.

She pushed the gate.

Creak.

The sound echoed through the empty courtyard.

Mei Lan raised her lantern.

”Is anyone there?”

Silence.

Then—

A sudden gust of cold wind blew across her face.

Her lantern flame flickered.

And she saw something.

A figure.

Lying on the ground.

Mei Lan’s eyes widened.

The lantern nearly slipped from her hand.

”Ah!”

She stumbled backward.

Someone was lying beneath the old tree.

A palace servant.

A woman.

Completely motionless.

Mei Lan stared at her.

”No...”

She rushed forward.

”Miss!”

She knelt beside the woman.

”Miss, wake up!”

There was no response.

Mei Lan touched her shoulder.

Cold.

Far too cold.

She immediately pulled her hand away.

Her face drained of color.

”Someone...”

Her voice shook.

”Someone help!”

She screamed.

”GUARDS!”

Her cry echoed across the courtyard.

Within moments, footsteps thundered through the corridor.

Two palace guards rushed inside.

”What happened?”

Mei Lan pointed toward the ground.

”There!”

The guards looked.

Their expressions changed immediately.

One rushed forward and checked the woman’s breathing.

His face became grim.

”She’s dead.”

Mei Lan covered her mouth.

”No...”

The second guard immediately looked around.

”How did she die?”

”I don’t know!”

Mei Lan was trembling.

”I heard crying... I came here... and she was already lying here...”

The first guard examined the body carefully.

”There are no obvious wounds.”

The second guard frowned.

”Then how?”

”I don’t know.”

A third guard arrived.

Then a fourth.

Within minutes, the courtyard became crowded.

The servants woke from their sleep.

Doors opened.

Whispers spread.

”What happened?”

”Someone died.”

”Who?”

”Was she murdered?”

”Where?”

”Near the eastern quarters.”

The peaceful palace suddenly became chaotic.

And then—

Someone screamed.

”She’s dead!”

Another servant began crying.

”Someone killed her!”

”No!”

”Call the palace physician!”

”Call the Imperial Guard!”

”Don’t touch the body!”

The courtyard erupted.

---

Inside the Empress’s residence—

Lian An woke suddenly.

Her eyes opened.

For a moment, she didn’t understand why.

Then she heard it.

Crying.

Far away.

But unmistakable.

She sat up slowly.

”What...”

The sound came again.

A woman’s sob.

Then another.

Lian An’s expression changed.

She immediately got out of bed.

At the foot of the room, Fen Yu was already floating near the window.

Her playful expression had disappeared.

”An’er.”

Lian An looked at her.

”You heard it?”

Fen Yu nodded.

”Yes.”

Wei Rong appeared beside the door.

His face was serious.

”Something is wrong.”

Li Shen slowly emerged from the shadows.

He had been reading moments earlier.

Now his book was closed.

”There are more voices than there should be.”

Lian An looked at him.

”What do you mean?”

Li Shen listened carefully.

”Listen.”

They all became silent.

The palace was filled with distant cries.

Not one.

Not two.

Many.

Some were coming from the eastern courtyard.

Others seemed to come from farther away.

Lian An’s brows knitted together.

”Why are there so many people crying?”

Fen Yu’s expression became uneasy.

”I don’t know.”

Wei Rong looked toward the palace walls.

”It sounds like a mourning hall.”

Li Shen shook his head.

”No funeral has been announced.”

Lian An immediately called for her maid.

”Go and find out what happened.”

The maid hurried inside.

”Your Majesty?”

”Why is the palace in chaos?”

”I don’t know, Your Majesty.”

”Then find out.”

”Yes.”

The maid rushed out.

Lian An turned toward the three ghosts.

”You stay here.”

Wei Rong immediately objected.

”We should investigate.”

”No.”

”Why?”

”Because I don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

Wei Rong frowned.

”But—”

”Wait.”

The firmness in her voice stopped him.

Lian An looked toward the window.

Her heart was beating strangely.

Seventeen days.

Exactly seventeen days since Shin Gu died.

Everything had been peaceful.

And now—

Someone was dead.

And the palace was filled with crying.

She didn’t believe in coincidences anymore.

---

The news reached the Emperor within minutes.

He was still awake in his study when a guard rushed inside.

”Your Majesty!”

The Emperor immediately looked up.

”What happened?”

”There has been a death in the eastern servants’ quarters.”

The Emperor stood.

”A death?”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

”Who?”

”We are still identifying her.”

”How?”

”We don’t know.”

The Emperor’s expression hardened.

”Take me there.”

”Your Majesty, it may be dangerous.”

”I said take me there.”

”Yes!”

The guard immediately bowed.

The Emperor walked out.

His personal guards followed.

But before leaving, he stopped.

”Where is the Empress?”

”In her residence, Your Majesty.”

”Send someone to stay with her.”

”Yes.”

---

When the Emperor arrived at the eastern courtyard, the scene was chaotic.

Servants stood in groups.

Some were crying.

Others were whispering.

Several guards had surrounded the body.

The palace physician knelt beside the dead maid.

The Emperor’s arrival immediately silenced everyone.

”Move.”

The guards stepped aside.

The Emperor walked toward the body.

He looked down.

The dead woman appeared to be around twenty years old.

There were no wounds.

No blood.

No obvious sign of violence.

The physician slowly stood.

”Your Majesty.”

”What happened?”

”I cannot determine the cause of death yet.”

”Examine her.”

”I already have.”

”And?”

The physician hesitated.

”Her body shows no external injury.”

”Poison?”

”I cannot confirm it.”

”Magic?”

The physician looked uncomfortable.

”I don’t know.”

The Emperor’s eyes sharpened.

”Then find out.”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

A servant suddenly began crying loudly.

The Emperor looked toward her.

”What happened?”

The servant covered her face.

”I knew her...”

”Speak.”

”She was fine yesterday.”

”Was she sick?”

”No.”

”Did she behave strangely?”

The servant shook her head.

”No.”

”Then when did you last see her?”

”Before dinner.”

”And she was normal?”

”Yes.”

The Emperor looked at the body again.

”Who found her?”

A trembling maid stepped forward.

”Me, Your Majesty.”

”Tell me exactly what happened.”

Mei Lan repeated everything.

The crying.

The courtyard.

The body.

The strange coldness.

The Emperor listened without interrupting.

When she finished, he asked,

”You said you heard someone crying?”

”Yes, Your Majesty.”

”Did you see anyone?”

”No.”

”Did the crying continue after you found the body?”

Mei Lan hesitated.

”Yes.”

”Where?”

Her face became pale.

”Everywhere.”

The Emperor’s eyes narrowed.

”What do you mean?”

”I could hear crying from the palace corridors.”

She swallowed.

”Even after the guards arrived.”

A silence fell.

Then—

A servant whispered,

”I heard it too.”

Another nodded.

”So did I.”

”I heard someone calling my name.”

”I heard my mother.”

Everyone became quiet.

The Emperor looked at them.

”Your mother?”

The servant began crying.

”My mother died ten years ago.”

The Emperor’s expression changed.

Another servant stepped forward.

”I heard my younger brother.”

”My brother died during the border war.”

Someone else whispered,

”I heard my daughter.”

She covered her mouth.

”She died when she was a child.”

The courtyard became completely silent.

The Emperor looked around.

Now he understood why everyone was terrified.

They weren’t simply hearing crying.

They were hearing the voices of dead people they had loved.

---

Back in the Empress’s residence—

Lian An stood near the window.

The crying continued.

Fen Yu looked deeply uncomfortable.

”An’er...”

”What?”

”I think they’re ghosts.”

Lian An turned toward her.

”How many?”

Fen Yu closed her eyes.

She concentrated.

Then her face changed.

”Too many.”

Wei Rong immediately became alert.

”How many?”

”I don’t know.”

”Dozens?”

Fen Yu shook her head.

”More.”

Li Shen’s expression became serious.

”That shouldn’t be possible.”

Lian An looked between them.

”Why?”

Li Shen answered quietly.

”Ghosts usually remain connected to the place where they died, their memories, or someone they loved.”

He looked toward the palace courtyard.

”But tonight...”

His voice lowered.

”It feels as if something is calling them.”

Lian An’s heart tightened.

”Calling them?”

”Yes.”

Fen Yu suddenly shivered.

”I don’t like it.”

Wei Rong stared toward the darkness.

”Neither do I.”

Then—

A new voice came from outside.

A woman’s voice.

Very close.

”Lian An...”

Lian An froze.

Fen Yu’s eyes widened.

”Did you hear that?”

Lian An nodded slowly.

Someone whispered her name again.

”Lian An...”

The voice sounded like it was coming from the courtyard.

Lian An walked toward the window.

”Don’t.”

Wei Rong immediately blocked her.

”Stay back.”

But Lian An looked beyond him.

The moonlight illuminated the courtyard.

At first—

Nothing.

Then—

A figure appeared.

A woman.

Standing beneath the palace tree.

Her face was pale.

Her clothes were soaked.

Water dripped from her hair.

Lian An stared.

The ghost lifted her head.

And smiled sadly.

”Help us.”

Then she disappeared.

Fen Yu rushed forward.

”Wait!”

But the ghost was gone.

Li Shen’s face was unusually grim.

”That was not a normal wandering spirit.”

Lian An turned toward him.

”What was she?”

Li Shen looked at the empty courtyard.

”I don’t know.”

Outside—

The palace bells suddenly rang.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Then—

Every lantern in the eastern courtyard went out.

The servants screamed.

The Emperor immediately drew his sword.

”Protect everyone!”

Guards surrounded the servants.

Then the crying began again.

But this time—

It wasn’t coming from one place.

It came from every direction.

From the corridors.

From the gardens.

From the rooftops.

From the abandoned halls.

Hundreds of voices seemed to cry at once.

Some called for their mothers.

Some called for their children.

Some begged for help.

Some simply sobbed.

The Emperor looked around the darkness.

His expression became cold.

”Seal the palace.”

The commander immediately bowed.

”Yes, Your Majesty!”

”No one enters.”

”No one leaves.”

”Search every courtyard.”

”Yes!”

The guards scattered.

But none of them noticed—

Above the palace walls—

A thin mist was slowly spreading.

And within that mist—

Countless pale figures were gathering.

They were not attacking.

They were not wandering.

They were looking toward one place.

The Empress’s residence.

And all of them—

Were crying.

---

Lian An stood inside her chamber.

She could see them now.

One.

Five.

Ten.

Dozens.

Ghosts filled the palace gardens.

Some were dressed as servants.

Some wore old military uniforms.

Some wore noble clothing.

Some looked like ordinary villagers.

Some appeared to have died many years ago.

And some—

Looked as if they had died only hours earlier.

Fen Yu floated beside Lian An.

Her face was pale.

”There are so many...”

Wei Rong clenched his fists.

”This isn’t natural.”

Li Shen stared at the crowd.

”No.”

He slowly closed his book.

”This is organized.”

Lian An looked at him.

”What?”

”They are all facing us.”

She looked again.

He was right.

Every ghost in the palace was staring toward her residence.

Then—

One ghost stepped forward.

An elderly woman.

She bowed.

”Please...”

Lian An’s expression softened.

”What happened to you?”

The woman began crying.

”We died.”

”How?”

The woman looked terrified.

”We don’t know.”

Another ghost spoke.

”We woke up here.”

Another cried.

”We were called.”

Another whispered,

”Something took us.”

Lian An’s heart sank.

”Who?”

The ghosts looked at one another.

None answered.

Then—

A child ghost pointed toward the darkness beyond the palace.

”Her.”

Everyone turned.

The child pointed again.

”She is coming.”

The wind suddenly stopped.

Every ghost became silent.

Fen Yu’s face changed.

”An’er...”

Lian An whispered,

”Who?”

The child looked toward the palace gate.

A dark shadow appeared in the mist.

Slowly—

It began walking toward them.

Step.

The ghosts backed away.

Even Wei Rong became tense.

Li Shen’s eyes narrowed.

The Emperor arrived at the courtyard entrance at that exact moment.

His sword was drawn.

He saw the figure.

”Who is there?”

No answer.

The shadow stopped.

Then—

A woman’s voice echoed through the palace.

”You thought it was over.”

Lian An’s blood ran cold.

The Emperor stepped forward.

”Who are you?”

The figure laughed softly.

”You killed one.”

A pause.

”But you forgot...”

The mist thickened.

”There are many more.”

The Emperor raised his sword.

”Show yourself.”

The woman laughed again.

Then the shadow disappeared.

The crying returned.

Louder than before.

And somewhere beyond the palace walls—

A village bell began ringing.

Once.

Twice.

Again and again.

A guard came running toward the Emperor.

”Your Majesty!”

”What?”

The guard was breathless.

”Another message has arrived.”

”From where?”

The guard swallowed.

”From the western village.”

”What happened?”

The guard’s face was pale.

”They say...”

He hesitated.

”Everyone in the village heard crying tonight.”

The Emperor’s expression hardened.

”And?”

The guard looked toward the Empress.

”They found another dead person.”

Silence.

The Emperor’s hand tightened around his sword.

”Where?”

The guard answered quietly.

”In the village outside the imperial border.”

Lian An stared into the darkness.

Seventeen days of peace.

Seventeen days after Shin Gu’s death.

And now—

The crying had begun again.

Only this time—

It wasn’t confined to the palace.

It had reached the villages.

And whatever had awakened in the darkness—

Was spreading.

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