"No, what's wrong with you guys?"
"Did we say something taboo?"
Liu Chengfeng found the change in their attitudes very strange, as if he had said something he shouldn't have.
Tian Xun's face was clouded with uncertainty, and after a long time, he exhaled a breath of stale air.
"You guys... you really have bad luck!"
The two exchanged glances, and Ning Qiushui frowned and asked:
"What do you mean?"
Tian Xun began to explain the terrifying mechanisms behind the Blood Gate:
"The ghosts within the Blood Gate are divided into two types… One type is native to the area, and these ghosts are earthbound spirits. No matter how powerful they are or how deep their grudges run, once we complete our tasks and leave the Blood Gate, our ties with these ghosts are severed."
"The other type… is more special."
"Though they are also bound by the Blood Gate's rules, they are not confined to a single area. After slaughtering all the NPCs in a location, they will move on to cause trouble elsewhere."
"These ghosts… have hatred that's beyond belief!"
"Typically, after encountering one in the previous Blood Gate, the next Blood Gate will be connected to its story!"
"And the Blood Gate stories involving these ghosts are far more terrifying and have a higher mortality rate than ordinary Blood Gates!"
Tian Xun paused, his tone tinged with an indescribable sympathy.
"I wonder what kind of karma you've accumulated… encountering such a ghost at the first Blood Gate—no wonder only two of you survived in the end."
"But I suppose you'll only survive this far. It's not that I'm cursing you… Go back and write your wills, settle your affairs!"
"Say goodbye to your family and friends properly."
Tian Xun sighed deeply, helped the two pack up the dishes, and took them to the kitchen.
At that moment, the two finally understood why their attitude had changed so drastically.
In their eyes, the two of them were already dead!
"Really, do they think so little of us?"
"If we can survive the first time from that demon's hands, we can survive the second and third times!"
"They think we won't survive the next Blood Gate, so we'll show them we can!"
Liu Chengfeng muttered under his breath, though he still tried to act indifferent. However, Ning Qiushui could hear the barely perceptible tremor in his voice.
After washing the dishes, Tian Xun still took the two of them to their room in the haunted house.
Surprisingly, this group of people did not stay in that villa.
Instead, they were staying in the bungalows behind the garden in the courtyard.
The environment here was beautiful, though quiet, but it did indeed look much better than that dark villa.
Tian Xun handed the keys to the two of them, gave them some instructions, and then went inside the villa to watch TV.
Although their room also had a TV, the screen in the villa was much larger.
Since Ning Qiushui and Liu Chengfeng both had something on their minds, they did not take the bus back to their original world. They wanted to wait for the dormitory leader Liang Yan to return and ask him about the next red door.
However, even after nightfall, they did not see anyone return from the villa.
The two had no choice but to decide to wait another day.
In the middle of the night, Ning Qiushui couldn't sleep, so he went out to the courtyard to clear his head. He heard whispers coming from the villa.
He raised his eyebrows and went to the back door to eavesdrop.
The voices inside belonged to a woman and a steady-voiced man.
Ning Qiushui recognized the man's voice—it was Meng Jun.
As for the woman... he had never heard her voice before.
It must belong to Bai Xiaoxiao.
"Bai Xiaoxiao... are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
"What, don't you trust me?"
"You know the relationship between Yan and Meng, right? If he finds out that Meng's death was caused by human hands, Yan probably won't let it go!"
Bai Xiaoxiao was about to say something when she suddenly turned her head and coldly asked, looking in Ning Qiushui's direction:
"Who's there?"
"Come out!"
Ning Qiushui emerged from the darkness.
Upon seeing that this person was a newcomer to her mysterious residence, the icy expression on Bai Xiaoxiao's精致 face softened slightly.
She was wearing red lipstick.
Very red.
Like a phoenix in the flames, it was completely at odds with her name.
"It's so late, why aren't you going to sleep?"
Ning Qiushui didn't mind her rejection and simply said:
"Aren't you guys sleeping either?"
He sat down on the sofa and looked at the fire pit in the center.
With his arrival, the two suddenly stopped talking.
"What's your name?"
Finally, Bai Xiaoxiao spoke first.
"Ning Qiushui."
"Hmm, how was the first Blood Gate?"
Ning Qiushui opened an unopened bottle of ice-cold beer on the table and took a sip.
"To be honest, it wasn't very good."
"I almost died."
Bai Xiaoxiao hummed absentmindedly and offered a half-hearted consolation:
"The world behind the Blood Gate is like that. One wrong move and you'll lose your life. But once you pass the first gate, the rest will be much easier..."
Before she could finish, Meng Jun coldly interjected:
"There are no more gates after that."
Bai Xiaoxiao snapped back to reality and asked in surprise:
"Meng Jun, what do you mean?"
Meng Jun stood up.
"Ask him yourself. I'm going to sleep."
With that, he walked away without looking back.
Bai Xiaoxiao turned to Ning Qiushui, who then detailed the story of the first Blood Gate to her.
Of course, Ning Qiushui omitted some facts.
The facts about that mysterious anonymous letter.
He only mentioned the death rules they had accidentally discovered.
After listening to Ning Qiushui's description, Bai Xiaoxiao's expression changed repeatedly.
It was a very complex expression.
There was admiration, sympathy... and even a hint of regret.
"Meng Jun and Tian Xun were right. The red-clothed woman behind your first Blood Gate was indeed not an ordinary earthbound spirit, but an extremely troublesome terrifying ghost... Fortunately, this was your first instance, and its abilities and killing rules were severely restricted by the Blood Gate. Plus, you two were bold yet cautious, and found a way out in time. Otherwise, you two would never have survived!"
"Moreover, the story behind your next Blood Gate is likely connected to this female ghost."
"If you can handle it properly, you might be able to bring back a ghost artifact from behind that Blood Gate."
Ning Qiushui froze.
"A ghost artifact?"
Bai Xiaoxiao flipped her palm, and a blood-stained wooden comb appeared in her pale, delicate palm.
"Something like this."
"Generally speaking, items from within the Blood Gate cannot be brought out, but in some particularly challenging Blood Gates, there are powerful artifacts. These artifacts are extremely valuable and each has a different function."
For example, with this wooden comb, as long as you comb your hair once, the ghosts cannot lock onto the person whose hair was combed for one minute."
"These ghost artifacts can greatly increase our survival rate behind the Blood Gate!"
Ning Qiushui recalled the blood jade he had brought out from behind the first Blood Gate, lost in thought.
Items from within the Blood Gate cannot be brought out.
Except for ghost artifacts.
It seems... that blood jade was also a ghost artifact.
Bai Xiaoxiao saw Ning Qiushui's expression and assumed he was frightened by the next Blood Gate. After hesitating for a moment, she said:
"Never mind, there aren't many people left in our sect anyway. The quality of the new recruits who came recently was really poor, and they all died in the first three gates..."
"Next week, when you enter the second blood gate, I'll take you through it for free."
"And... you do have potential worth cultivating."
As Bai Xiaoxiao finished speaking, Ning Qiushui suddenly recalled that Tian Xun had previously informed them that Bai Xiaoxiao guided newcomers through the Blood Gates externally.
"This can be guided?"
Ning Qiushui was somewhat surprised.
Bai Xiaoxiao nodded.
"For the first six Blood Gates, newcomers can be guided by seniors."
"There are even specialized 'studios' that do this."
"But this kind of senior-junior mentoring usually comes with a hefty fee, after all, everyone is human, and even with experience, there's still a risk of failure when entering a low-difficulty Blood Gate..."
Ning Qiushui nodded in understanding.
Since it's a matter of risking one's life for money, charging a higher fee is understandable.
After all, money is an external thing, and compared to one's life, it pales in importance.
Having clarified these points, Ning Qiushui rested for a night in the诡舍, then boarded a bus and returned to the world outside the mist.
As soon as he arrived home, he turned on his computer.
A friend named 'Mole' sent him a message.
The message was brief—
[Can't find it. The post office has no record of that anonymous letter]
[The post office staff told me that the anonymous letter I'm looking for is… a non-existent letter]
[But don't worry, I'll keep an eye out for you]
Ning Qiushui narrowed his eyes.
Mole was his friend.
Someone… very skilled at finding things.
"Even you can't find it…"
Ning Qiushui muttered to himself.
Ding dong—
Just as he was lost in thought, the doorbell suddenly rang.
Ning Qiushui was startled by the sound and got up to open the door.
It was his neighbor, a plump woman in her fifties named Mu Cui.
She was wearing a floral blouse, as if she had just finished shopping, with a bit of sweat on her forehead. She smiled and handed a letter to Ning Qiushui.
"Qiushui, your letter."
Ning Qiushui took the letter, and his expression changed abruptly.
"Aunt Mu, where did you get this letter?"
Mu Cui took out her keys to open the door and casually replied:
"From the mailbox downstairs..."
"You're such a careless child. Every time you come home, remember to check the mailbox..."
Saying that, she opened the door and went inside.
Ning Qiushui held the letter and closed the door.
He went to the living room sofa and sat down, staring at the letter on the coffee table, his breathing becoming急促.
The second letter.
He opened it.
Sure enough, it was anonymous again.
This time, there was no hint, only a photo.
And this photo caused Ning Qiushui to freeze in place!
It was... Bai Xiaoxiao's photo!
It was old and yellowed, as if it had been around for years.
But the Bai Xiaoxiao in the photo was the same age as the Bai Xiaoxiao he had seen!
The smile on her face was vivid, her lips red and untouched by the traces of time, so beautiful.
"Holy shit..."
This time, even the usually composed Ning Qiushui couldn't help but let out a curse.
This... was simply too bizarre!
He slowly flipped the photo over.
His fingers trembled slightly.
On the back of the photo, there was another sentence—
[She cannot die at your second door]
"As expected..."
Ning Qiushui felt a chill run down his spine.
The person who sent the letter... was watching him from somewhere!
But...
Why did he have these photos, and why was he giving him hints?
What exactly... was he trying to do?