Longshu Temple.

The one in the geta sandals, having entered through the temple gates, had already made his way into the main hall. A shadow crept up like a rising tide, arriving behind Yu Sheng.

An indescribably thick stench of death, mingled with the bone-deep reek of blood, washed over the hall. A single corpse rotting for weeks couldn’t produce such an effect; it was as if the bodies of an entire village were piled high.

Yu Sheng remained kneeling on the prayer mat, eyes closed as he chanted scriptures.

On his person, the Soul-Calming Bell swayed without any wind, letting out a crisp ringing.

He was carrying a few Supernatural Artifacts. Upon sensing the approach of a foul presence, they had reacted on their own, even as their master showed no response.

But Yu Sheng seemed to feel nothing. With his eyes closed and his spirit calm, he quietly awaited his fate.

’If my journey is to end here, dying in this place... that wouldn’t be so bad.’

After a long while, there was only the mournful sound of the wind behind him.

A long time seemed to pass, an entire century. Yet, nothing happened. Finally, Yu Sheng opened his eyes and slowly turned his head.

"Master... how did you end up like this?"

The figure standing behind Yu Sheng was the corpse of an old monk. The monk had been a tall man in life, but now his body was severely decayed. He wore a gray robe that had been burned to charcoal. Thumb-thick worms crawled in and out of his eye sockets and the gaping, skeletal cavity of his chest, a mess of bone and rotting meat. Above the whistling wind, one could even hear the sizzling sounds of the huge maggots devouring the old monk’s putrid flesh.

These maggots had been parasitizing the old monk’s corpse for who knows how many years, yet they never pupated and flew away. They had been fed until they were as thick as white rope.

In ancient times, a man cut his own flesh to feed an eagle. Now, a corpse offers its bones to feed maggots.

The old monk’s corpse did not answer Yu Sheng’s greeting.

After all, most vengeful ghosts in this world are left with only the desire to kill. Those who still possess human intelligence, like the ones in the Jialan Society’s chat group, are an extreme minority.

Yu Sheng simply waited in silence. If the old monk’s corpse were to strike him dead right here and now, he would not complain.

Many years ago, many people had died at Longshu Temple. He, too, should have died here on that day. But by a bizarre twist of fate, he had clung to life for another twelve years. Every one of those twelve years felt like a day spent in Hell. The moment he closed his eyes, he saw the faces of his countless fellow disciples, all demanding his life.

An old man and a young one; a man and a corpse; a master and a disciple. They stood for a long time in Longshu Temple, bathed in the light of the dying sun.

Yu Sheng didn’t ask the corpse any questions. The gentle master of his memory had long ago become a vengeful ghost, roaming the world in this hideous form for a decade. Even if he were to ask it something, the ghost wouldn’t answer.

’Why hasn’t this vengeful ghost killed me yet? Could it be... that it has an obsession more compelling than instinct? A goal left unfulfilled in life, now branded deep into its very bones after death?’

The blood-red setting sun slowly moved across the horizon, settling into the perfect position.

At that moment in Longshu Temple, the trees on one side were shrouded in shadow, while those on the other were bathed in the sunset, appearing as red as blood.

Gradually, Yu Sheng noticed that something was wrong.

The old monk’s corpse seemed to be dragging something long and rectangular. An iron chain was fastened to its skeletal ankle, and with every step it had taken, the heavy object had been dragged forward an inch.

Under normal light, the object was so transparent as to be nearly invisible. Only at this very moment, with the setting sun in this exact position—not a bit more, not a bit less, perfectly aligned—did the object behind the vengeful ghost fully reveal its form—

It was a pale, almost colorless coffin.

The material of the coffin was bizarre, like water, giving it a faint, transparent hue. One could see straight through it to its internal structure, and even to the large stone slab underneath.

This was definitely not a coffin from the normal world. Even if completely transparent materials existed, what king or noble would have an invisible coffin built for themselves?

And this old monk’s corpse had dragged this invisible coffin by its ankle, entering from outside the temple, crossing the plaza, and walking step by step until it was right behind him. And now it stood perfectly still, not killing him.

It was as if it were waiting for something. Waiting for its former disciple, Yu Sheng, to discover the coffin for himself.

Yu Sheng slowly rose to his feet.

He remembered his master’s face, so vibrant and full of life back then, telling him over and over again a strange, ancient tale of the temple.

Yu Sheng had always thought it was just a silly story the old monks used to lull the young novices to sleep.

He had never imagined that it was real.

"Master...

"You... you dragged it back?"

Before he knew it, Yu Sheng’s mind was in complete chaos, a tangled mess of thoughts.

Within Longshu Temple, a great bell began to toll. It sounded like ten thousand bells ringing at once.

...

...

The Living Persons’ Apartment, fourth floor.

After the hosts on that bizarre television transported them to different rooms, Jiang Yang, Lan Chu, Zhao Zhenjia, and Gao Tian had regrouped.

Jiang Yang analyzed:

"Before we were all teleported, something about Xia Ta was very strange.

"The countdown timer above her head was at zero from the very beginning. And it never changed, not once.

"At least, right before I was teleported away, Xia Ta was still in 413, not moving at all.

"Did any of you see Xia Ta get teleported?"

Zhao Zhenjia:

"Gao Tian and I were guarding the door. When Xia Ta shouted for us to go, I immediately grabbed this kid and ran, so I don’t know what happened in the room after that."

Annoyed, Lan Chu tightened the dog leash in his hand and said listlessly:

"Right before I escaped Room 413, Sister Ta was still standing there. She hadn’t been teleported."

Jiang Yang:

"That settles it. I wasn’t mistaken.

"Those hosts on the TV called Xia Ta their ’dear daughter.’ I doubt they’d let her leave so easily."

Zhao Zhenjia’s heavy gaze fell on Jiang Yang.

"Are you saying Xia Ta is still in 413? That she was never teleported at all?

"Those two hosts from the TV played a damned trick on us. Their real goal was to keep Xia Ta, and teleporting the rest of us was just a diversion?"

Jiang Yang:

"It’s just my speculation.

"But it’s better than running around like headless chickens, checking every single room in the fourth-floor hallway.

"This whole hallway is full of vengeful ghosts. If we knock on the wrong door, the four of us might be stuck here forever."

Zhao Zhenjia:

"And going straight back to 413 without understanding the situation is a good idea?

"Those two disgusting monsters... they teleported us once. Couldn’t they just teleport us a second time?"

Just then, Gao Tian, who had been ignored off to the side, chimed in:

"Um, have you guys forgotten about me?

"Confirming which room Xia Ta is in, or if she’s even still in 413, is actually a very simple matter.

"I can now freely enter and exit the Supernatural World. As long as a room has a mirror, I can go take a look inside. Even if the ghosts in the room see me, they can’t attack me from across two worlds, can they?

"And conveniently, Zhao Zhenjia, your Wind Attendant Buddha makes up for my one final weakness.

"All you have to do is stay here and wait for me to finish my recon. Then, just use a Wind Attendant Buddha to pull me out."

He briefly described his plan for after he entered the Mirror World.

Jiang Yang slapped his forehead.

"You’re right. I was getting too worked up. I forgot something so simple.

"But you need to be careful, too. There are a million different ways vengeful ghosts can kill people in this world. Your ability doesn’t make you immortal. Even if you’re hiding in the mirror, you have to be cautious.

"If you’re not sure about something, just come right back. Don’t take any risks.

"Your life is just as important as Xia Ta’s now."

Zhao Zhenjia promised:

"We’ll stay right here in front of this mirror and wait for you until you come back."

Lan Chu grumbled unhappily:

"I was supposed to be the one venturing into the Mirror World.

"Who told you to pull me out?"

With everyone in agreement, it was settled. Gao Tian was now the best person for reconnaissance. His chances of survival were greater than anyone else’s if he used the Mirror World to check each room.

Gao Tian hesitated no longer and stood before the smooth mirror. Who would have thought that the inside and outside of a mirror were two different worlds? He slowly reached his hand into it, as if plunging it into a bottomless abyss. Then, his entire body submerged into the mirror, until he had completely detached from the real world.

...

’The world inside the mirror... how should I put it?’

Gao Tian felt as if he had arrived in a desert of eternal night.

Or a calm, dark sea.

In the distance, there was indeed a stretch of absolute darkness. This world had no sky, no stars—only black earth that stretched into the infinite distance. Staring at it for too long gave one the terrifying sensation of losing control and endlessly falling.

Gao Tian didn’t know what lay in the depths of the Mirror World, but whatever it was, it was bizarre. It had even instilled fear in a madman like Lan Chu. Naturally, Gao Tian had no intention of taking a single step forward.

Fortunately, there was a long, white path at his feet, extending straight ahead and behind him.

To the left of this long, white path, which resembled a galaxy’s ribbon in the darkness, stood mirrors of various sizes. Each one corresponded to a mirror in the real world.

As long as he ran along the silvery path, he could peer through the mirrors of the Mirror World, like looking through windows, and see the layout of the rooms outside.

He just had to make sure not to get too close to those "windows." The people or ghosts in the rooms outside would have no idea their mirrors were being used to watch them.