Xu Yang remained beside Hei Long, his attention fixed on the place where the purple thread had vanished. "The memory wasn't showing us through Hei Long's eyes," he said slowly. "I could see him standing beside the corridor, but I was seeing the scene from someone else's position. Whoever that person was, they had been watching everything." Wei Han's silver rings turned gently around his fingers as he considered Xu Yang's words. "Then the purple rain may be connecting people through memories of events they shared, even when those memories do not belong to them."
Chen Yu folded his arms. "But you said there was a fifth figure in the previous memory. Did anything about them change this time?" Xu Yang's ears shifted towards the old prison gate. "Yes. This time, I saw what they were hiding." Hei Long's posture stiffened. "What were they hiding?" Xu Yang opened his mouth, but before he could answer, a cold gust swept through the prison courtyard. The purple rain stopped falling. Every drop hung motionless in the air, suspended above the stone path like tiny beads of glass. Even the leaves of the old trees became still.
Wei Han's rings suddenly spun faster. "Do not move." he warned, raising one hand. A faint sound came from beyond the prison gate. It resembled the dragging of iron chains across stone. Once. Then again. The sound stopped directly behind the gate. Xu Yang's fur stood on end. Please tell me that is only the rain...The suspended droplets began to tremble. One by one, their surfaces darkened, and the reflection of the prison courtyard disappeared. In its place, a narrow corridor emerged. Its stone walls were damp and stained, and water trickled down the cracks like thin black veins.
A dim oil lamp hung from an iron hook, but its flame burned with a strange purple light. At the centre of the corridor stood Rao Jin, his wrists bound. Two guards dragged him forward, their armour scraping against the walls. Hei Long stood beside a stone pillar, dressed in unfamiliar robes. His face was turned towards the prisoner, but he did not move. Behind Rao Jin stood the same cloaked figure Xu Yang had seen before. Xu Yang's ears flattened as the figure remained perfectly still, their dark robes blending into the shadows. They did not look at Rao Jin. They did not watch the guards. Their attention was fixed on Hei Long. "There," Xu Yang whispered, his claws pressing into the stone. "That's the person I saw."
The cloaked figure remained motionless while the guards passed. Then, slowly, one hand emerged from beneath their sleeve. The fingers were pale, almost colourless, and the wrist bore a dark mark. Under the purple light, the mark seemed to twist like a living thing. Xu Yang narrowed his eyes, trying to make out its details. The figure's fingers suddenly curled. The oil lamp flickered. Its flame bent towards the cloaked figure, though no wind stirred inside the corridor. Then the figure tilted their head. Not towards Rao Jin. Not towards the guards. Directly towards Xu Yang. A chill ran through him. Wait. Can they see me?...
The figure slowly raised their marked wrist higher, as if deliberately showing it to whoever stood beyond the memory. At that moment, Rao Jin stopped walking. The guards continued pulling at his arms, but his feet remained fixed against the stone. His head turned slightly, and his lips moved. No sound came out. Behind him, the cloaked figure lowered their hand. The purple flame went out. The corridor plunged into darkness, and a loud crack split the air. Every suspended raindrop shattered at once. Xu Yang staggered backwards, his breathing uneven.
The prison courtyard returned, but for a moment, the sound of dragging chains continued beneath the falling rain. Hei Long caught his arm before he could lose his balance. "What did you see?" Xu Yang steadied himself and looked towards the old gate. "The same corridor. Rao Jin was there with the guards, and you were standing beside a pillar." He paused, his voice growing quieter. "But the fifth person was there too. They stood behind Rao Jin, watching you." Hei Long's fingers tightened around his arm. "Watching me?" Xu Yang nodded. "They never looked at Rao Jin. Their attention was on you the entire time."
Wei Han stepped closer, the colourful rings around his fingers still trembling. "Did you see their face?" "No. Their head was covered by a dark hood." Xu Yang hesitated, remembering the pale hand emerging from the sleeve. "But I saw something else. They raised one hand, and there was a mark on their wrist. I couldn't see it clearly before the memory broke apart." Hei Long's expression changed. The colour seemed to drain from his face as he slowly released Xu Yang's arm. "A mark?" Xu Yang nodded. Hei Long looked down at his own chest, where his mark was still pulsing.
The purple rain continued to fall beyond the prison walls, gathering in the cracks between the stones and running down the old wooden gate. Xu Yang remained beside Hei Long, watching the place where the purple lines had vanished. Hei Long's mark was still faintly pulsing beneath his clothes, but neither of them spoke. Before Xu Yang could ask whether he felt anything else, Su Yuan suddenly stopped. His ears twitched, and his attention shifted towards the prison wall. "What happened?" Qing Li asked, noticing his unusual reaction. Su Yuan didn't answer. His gaze was fixed on something standing near the wall.
A woman in faded robes stood with her back towards him, holding a piece of red cloth in both hands. She twisted it slowly, and a drop of dark liquid fell from its edge onto the stone. Su Yuan took a cautious step forward. "Who are you?" he called, but the woman remained silent. She slowly turned her head, her pale face coming into view. Her eyes seemed to be fixed on someone standing behind Su Yuan. He turned at once, but there was no one there. When he looked back, the woman had disappeared. The red cloth lay on the ground where she had been standing.
Su Yuan reached towards the red cloth, but as his fingers came close to it, a cold feeling suddenly ran through his hand. He pulled back with a gasp. The vision disappeared, but he kept staring at the empty space. His breathing quickened, and he stumbled backwards, almost falling. "Su Yuan!" Xu Yang quickly went over to him. "What happened? What did you see?" Su Yuan opened his mouth, but no words came out. He held his chest and took a few breaths before looking at Xu Yang. "I saw a woman," he finally said, his voice still unsteady. "She was standing outside the prison. She had a piece of red cloth in her hands." "A woman?"
Qing Li frowned. "What did she look like?" "She was wearing faded robes. She kept twisting the cloth in her hands, as if she had been waiting for someone." Su Yuan paused and looked down at his fingers. "I tried to touch it, but my hand suddenly went cold. Then she disappeared." "Did she say anything?" Yan Luo asked. Su Yuan shook his head. "No. But she was looking at someone behind me." Xu Yang turned towards the prison wall. There was no one there. "Are you sure?" he asked. "I turned around, but there was nobody." Su Yuan still looked uneasy. Xu Yang was about to ask more when Qing Li suddenly stiffened. His attention had shifted towards one of the prison cells.
A prisoner stood behind the iron bars, his clothes torn and his wrists bound by chains. He stretched one bloodied hand through the narrow gap, reaching towards Qing Li. "Help..." the prisoner whispered. Qing Li stepped closer, but the chains suddenly tightened. The prisoner was dragged backwards, his shoulder striking the bars. Qing Li reached out instinctively, only for the scene to disappear before his fingers could touch him. His hand remained suspended in the air. "Qing Li?" Yan Luo called, moving towards him.
Qing Li lowered his arm but didn't answer immediately. At that moment, Yan Luo's expression changed.He was seeing the same prisoner, but from the opposite side of the passage. The man was standing behind the bars, one hand stretched through the gap. His bloody fingers trembled as he tried to reach someone beyond them. "Not him..." the prisoner rasped. Two guards stood behind him, holding the chain around his neck. One pulled it sharply, forcing the prisoner away from the bars. Yan Luo stepped forward. "Stop!" he shouted, but the guards continued dragging the man down the passage. The prisoner turned his face towards the bars once more before disappearing around the corner.
Yan Luo's vision vanished, leaving him standing. "You saw him too?" Qing Li asked. Yan Luo gave a brief nod. "The same prisoner. I saw the guards pulling him away." Qing Li looked towards the cell. "He was reaching through the bars." "And he said something," Yan Luo replied. "Not him." The two exchanged a glance, but neither could tell what the prisoner had meant. A sudden voice rang through Chen Yu's mind. [By order of the prison authorities, the prisoner shall be taken away for execution.]
Chen Yu turned towards the sound. The stone passage before him changed, and several guards appeared, dragging a bound man between them. His head hung low, and his face was hidden beneath his dishevelled hair. Chen Yu stepped aside as they passed, but another man came running from the far end of the passage. "You have taken the wrong person!" he shouted, reaching towards the guards. One of them turned, but the others continued moving. "Stop! That is not the prisoner you were ordered to take!"
The man struggled to catch up with them. "Save him!" His voice echoed through the passage before the entire scene disappeared.Chen Yu staggered, pressing a hand against his chest as he tried to steady his breathing. "I heard an execution announcement," he said. "Then someone came running after the guards. He said they had taken the wrong person and kept telling them to stop." Xu Yang turned towards him. "Could you see the prisoner's face?" Chen Yu shook his head. "No. I couldn't tell who he was."
Before they could discuss it further, Wei Han's attention shifted towards the wooden table near the prison entrance. An old register lay open beneath the dim light of an oil lamp. A man in dark robes sat behind it, hurriedly turning through the pages. His fingers stopped at one bearing the name Rao Jin. He looked towards the passage before pulling the page from the register. The paper tore along its binding. He folded it quickly and slipped it into his sleeve, then closed the register. Footsteps sounded outside. The man reached for another page, pretending to continue his work, but someone entered and caught his wrist. "What are you doing?" the newcomer demanded. The record keeper tried to pull his hand free. "The record must remain unchanged," the newcomer said. The record keeper lowered his voice. "It has already been prepared."
Wei Han tried to move closer, but the vision ended before he could see the newcomer's face or discover what had been written on the missing page. He returned to the present with a sharp breath. "I saw a record keeper removing a page from an old register," he said. "Rao Jin's name was written on it. Someone caught him before he could hide it properly." Xu Yang's ears turned towards him. Rao Jin's name appeared in the register, but someone was trying to remove the page.Why? And what did the record keeper mean when he said it had already been prepared?...
Before Xu Yang could think further, Lin Chen suddenly turned towards the prison gate. A hand rested against the wooden latch. The person wore dark robes, and a mark was visible on the exposed wrist. Lin Chen recognised its shape. It matched the symbol recorded beside Rao Jin's execution. The hand pushed the gate shut. The wooden panels met with a heavy sound, and the iron latch dropped into place. Lin Chen stepped forward, trying to see the person's face, but the dark sleeve concealed it. The hand remained against the gate for a moment before withdrawing. Then the vision disappeared.
Lin Chen returned to the present, his expression serious. "Someone closed the prison gate," he said. "There was a mark on their wrist. It was the same symbol from Rao Jin's execution record." Xu Yang looked towards the gate. "Did you see when they closed it?" he asked. Lin Chen shook his head. "No. Only the moment the gate was shut." A brief silence followed. Su Yuan glanced towards the place where he had seen the woman. "My vision was outside the prison. Perhaps she was waiting for someone." "Or perhaps she was trying to keep someone from leaving." Qing Li said, his eyes still on the empty cell. Yan Luo frowned. "The prisoner was reaching for something. I couldn't tell whether he wanted help or was trying to warn someone." "The man who shouted in my vision seemed desperate to stop the guards," Chen Yu added. "But we don't even know if the prisoner he was chasing was the same one Qing Li and Yan Luo saw."
Wei Han looked down at the register that was no longer there. "And the missing page may have been removed before the guards arrived. But I don't know what was written on it." Xu Yang listened without interrupting. So someone removed a page bearing Rao Jin's name, then guards took away a prisoner, and someone else shouted that they had taken the wrong person. That's quite a lot of trouble for one day. And somehow, we're the ones being dragged into it thirty years later... He rubbed his chin with one paw, trying to put the details in order. The woman with the red cloth might be connected too, but I still don't know how. Maybe she was waiting for the prisoner. Or maybe she had nothing to do with him. I shouldn't start connecting everything just because the purple rain decided to show us a few strange scenes...
Wei Han's blue ring began turning around his fingers. He looked at each of them before speaking. "The purple rain may be showing us memories left behind by different witnesses. That would explain why we are seeing the same place from different positions." "Then why are we being shown these particular memories?" Su Yuan asked, his fingers still curled as though he could feel the coldness from the red cloth. Wei Han had no immediate answer. Xu Yang looked towards Hei Long.
The mark beneath his clothes pulsed again, and for a brief moment Xu Yang thought he saw a faint purple line stretching from Hei Long's sleeve towards the prison gate. He blinked, but it was gone. "We may have seen different parts of what happened here," Xu Yang said slowly. "But we don't know whether they happened in the order we saw them. We don't even know if we have seen all the people involved." Lin Chen moved closer to him. "Then what are we missing?" Xu Yang stared at the dark passage beyond the gate. Someone removed a page. Someone was taken away. Someone knew the prisoner was wrong. But if all of this happened on the same day, why was the truth never recorded?...
The rain grew heavier. Water ran down the prison walls, and the oil lamps inside flickered one after another. No one moved. They had only just begun to understand the fragments when a faint sound came from beyond the gate. It was not the sound of footsteps or chains. It was a voice, speaking from somewhere deep within the darkness. Then, from the darkness beyond the gate, a voice whispered, 'You have seen the wrong part.'
For a moment, no one moved. Even the sound of the rain seemed quieter after those words. Xu Yang turned towards the gate, trying to find where the voice had come from, but there was nothing beyond it except darkness. You have seen the wrong part? Does that mean someone knows exactly what we're seeing ?... Lin Chen stepped closer to Xu Yang. "Show yourself," he called towards the gate. No one answered. Qing Li moved slightly to one side, his fox ears turning towards the darkness. Yan Luo stood beside him, listening as well. After a moment, Qing Li lowered his ears. "I can't hear anyone," he said. "Only the rain." "Perhaps you're listening too hard." Yan Luo said, leaning closer.
Qing Li turned towards him. "And perhaps you're standing too close." "Would you prefer I stand farther away?" Yan Luo asked with a faint smile. "I would prefer you pay attention." "I am," Yan Luo replied, looking back at the gate. "Just not only to the darkness." Qing Li gave him a warning look, but his tail moved slightly behind him. Xu Yang ignored their exchange and stepped forward. "What do you mean by the wrong part?" he called. "Which part have we misunderstood?" The darkness remained silent. Of course. One mysterious sentence and then nothing. A little explanation would be too much to ask...
Before Xu Yang could say anything else, Hei Long suddenly pressed a hand against his chest. His body stiffened, and the mark beneath his clothes gave off a faint pulse. The flowers growing between his scales trembled. "Hei Long?" Wei Han turned towards him, his blue ring stopping between his fingers. "Did the voice affect you?" Hei Long lowered his head. "I don't know. But there was something familiar about it." "The voice?" Xu Yang asked. Hei Long nodded. "I have heard something like it before. I just can't remember where." Wei Han studied the mark without touching it. "Did it remind you of someone?" "No," Hei Long replied after a moment. "It felt as though something inside me recognised it before I did."
Xu Yang looked towards the gate. The voice is familiar to Hei Long, and his mark reacts when it speaks. Those two things are probably connected. The oil lamps along the prison wall suddenly flickered. One went out, followed by another farther down the passage... A cold gust swept through the courtyard, though the trees beyond the wall remained still. For a brief moment, the shadows cast by the gate stretched towards the group instead of away from the light. Then the flames steadied, and the shadows returned to normal.
Xu Yang was about to turn towards Hei Long when something caught his attention. A thin purple line hung from the edge of the prison gate. It was so faint that he almost mistook it for rainwater. "Wei Han," he called quietly. "Come and look at this." Wei Han approached, and his red ring began turning as soon as he saw the line. "Don't touch it!" he warned when Xu Yang lifted a paw. Xu Yang quickly pulled it back.Wei Han bent slightly to examine the thread. "It resembles the one I saw between you and Hei Long, but this one is different." "How?" Lin Chen asked. "The other lines connected two people. This one doesn't seem to be attached to anyone here." Wei Han followed it with his eyes. "It disappears into the darkness beyond the gate."
Xu Yang stared at the thin line. It did not move with the wind or shake when raindrops struck the gate. Could this be connected to someone who was present during Rao Jin's execution? And if so, where are they now?... "Perhaps it leads to one of the people whose memories we saw," Su Yuan suggested. "The woman with the red cloth might be connected to it." Xu Yang turned towards him. "Did you notice anything unusual about her?" "She wasn't looking at the gate," Su Yuan replied. "Her attention seemed to be fixed on someone behind me."
Xu Yang considered this. "Then she might not have been watching the prisoner at all." "The prisoner I saw was also reaching towards someone," Qing Li added. "He wasn't simply trying to escape. His hand was stretched towards the other side of the bars." Yan Luo glanced at him. "I saw the same thing. From my position, I could see the guards pulling the chain around his neck." He paused before looking at Qing Li. "You noticed his hand. I noticed the guards. Between us, we almost saw the whole scene." "Almost," Qing Li corrected. "You still missed what he said." "I haven't forgotten." Yan Luo replied, his expression turning serious.
Qing Li's ears lowered slightly. "I wonder who he was warning." "Perhaps we should compare our visions more carefully next time," Yan Luo suggested. Qing Li raised an eyebrow. "Next time? You're hoping for another one?" "Not particularly. But if it happens, I would rather be standing beside you." Qing Li looked away. "Then try not to get in my way." Yan Luo gave a faint smile. "I'll do my best." Chen Yu cleared his throat, bringing their attention back to the matter at hand. "The man in my vision was shouting that the guards had taken the wrong person," he said. "If that prisoner was the same one Qing Li and Yan Luo saw, then someone knew the guards had made a mistake." "Or knew they were supposed to take someone else." Wei Han added.
He looked towards the purple line. "I also saw the record keeper removing a page from the register before the guards arrived. We don't know what was written on it, but someone clearly wanted that information removed." "Then the missing page could be just as important as the prisoner." Chen Yu said. Xu Yang looked at the line again. Their visions seemed connected, but the order of events was still unclear. The woman had been watching someone outside the prison. The prisoner had reached towards someone beyond the bars. Someone had shouted that the wrong person was taken, and the record keeper had removed a page. So many people were doing something that day, but none of their actions make sense yet. I need to know who they were looking at and why the guards took the wrong person...
"The voice said we had seen the wrong part," Xu Yang murmured. "But why tell us that?" Lin Chen turned towards him. "What do you think it means?" Xu Yang rubbed his chin with one paw. "If it wanted us to stop looking, it could have told us to leave. Instead, it said we had seen the wrong part. Perhaps we have misunderstood something." "Or perhaps it wants us to look in the wrong direction." Qing Li replied, keeping his eyes on the gate. "We shouldn't assume it is helping us." Xu Yang nodded.
Wei Han's blue ring began turning faster. "We have been focusing on the prisoner and the execution," he said. "But we should also consider the person who removed the page. Someone went to the trouble of taking an entire page out of the register. The information written there must have been important." "Or the person whose name was written on it." Chen Yu replied. Lin Chen looked towards Xu Yang. "The official record may not contain everything that happened that day."
Xu Yang nodded. "Then we should compare what we saw with the record, instead of assuming it tells us the whole truth." He turned towards Wei Han. "Do you still remember the execution record?" Wei Han nodded. "It mentioned the guards, the prisoner, and the executioner. The names and duties of those involved were written clearly." Xu Yang's ears rose. "Wait. The executioner." He looked around at the others. "Did any of us actually see the executioner in those visions?" No one answered. "We saw guards dragging a prisoner. We heard an execution announcement. We saw someone removing a page and someone closing the gate. But none of those scenes showed the person who carried out the execution."
Lin Chen's expression grew serious. "You're right. We have been discussing everyone except the executioner." "Then perhaps the visions haven't shown us the whole event." Wei Han said. Xu Yang looked towards the darkness beyond the gate. An execution without an executioner. That's a rather important person to leave out. Unless the memories are hiding them for a reason... "There is something else." Lin Chen said. He stepped closer to Xu Yang. "The fifth figure you and Hei Long saw. The one standing behind Rao Jin. That person appeared in the memory, but not in the execution record. Perhaps their existence was deliberately removed."
Chen Yu frowned. "Why would someone erase a person's existence if they were only a witness?" Wei Han's blue ring slowed between his fingers. "Perhaps they weren't only a witness." His answer left everyone quiet. Xu Yang remembered the earlier vision. Xu Yang remembered the pale hand emerging from the sleeve, the dark mark on the wrist, and the way the figure had slowly turned its head. At the time, he had thought the person was watching Rao Jin. But now he wasn't so sure. Wait. I might have been looking at the wrong person this whole time. The figure was standing behind Rao Jin, but that doesn't mean Rao Jin was the one they were watching. Their attention could have been on Hei Long. Or someone else in that passage. And that mark on their wrist... why was it hidden?...
Xu Yang looked towards Hei Long, then back at the gate. If the fifth figure was important enough to be left out of the record, there had to be a reason. What if the person wasn't watching Rao Jin? What if Rao Jin was the one being used to hide that person's identity?...