The faint laughter slowly disappeared into the endless darkness of the house,no one moved. The open doorway at the far end of the corridor remained completely black, unnaturally black, as though the lantern light itself refused to enter it. Dust drifted slowly through the cold air while somewhere deeper inside the structure the steady sound of dripping water continued echoing through the endless halls. Lin Chen's fingers tightened unconsciously at his side as his eyes remained locked on the darkness ahead. "Tell me nobody else heard that." he muttered quietly, his voice tense enough to reveal how unsettled he had become. "I heard it." Zhao Ming answered softly from nearby, though even his expression had lost most of its usual ease.
Yan Luo remained perfectly still beside the wall, one hand resting near the hilt of his weapon as his sharp eyes narrowed toward the open doorway. "This place reacts whenever we notice things." he said quietly. Chen Yu's gaze remained fixed on the corridor ahead, calm but focused. "No!" he corrected softly. "It reacts when we remember them." The moment the word remember left his mouth, the entire house shifted slightly. Dust fell softly from the wooden ceiling beams overhead. The weak lantern hanging above flickered blue for a brief second before returning to normal.
Xu Yang's breath tightened immediately as the rose mark beneath his sleeve burned violently again, sharper this time, like something alive reacting beneath his skin. His fingers curled tighter around his wrist instinctively as pain spread through his hand. Why does it react every time?
(...)
His gaze remained fixed on the darkness ahead while unease slowly settled deeper beneath his calmness.
Why does it feel like this place is waiting for something from me? (...)
Then from somewhere beyond the open doorway footsteps echoed softly through the corridor. Bare feet against old wooden floors. Lin Chen instinctively moved half a step closer toward Xu Yang without even realizing it, his breathing visibly shallower now. "Something's coming." Yan Luo said quietly. No one answered. The footsteps continued. Step... step... step... Slow enough to make waiting unbearable. Then suddenly a silhouette appeared briefly inside the darkness beyond the doorway small and thin. It was almost childlike and it standing completely still and watching them. Lin Chen's eyes widened immediately. "Did you see that?" Chen Yu answered without hesitation. "Yes."
Xu Yang stared toward the doorway sharply, but the figure had already vanished again. Only darkness remained. The masked figure standing near the entrance of the room hadn't moved at all.Then suddenly children laughing echoed softly beside Xu Yang's ear. Xu Yang's expression changed instantly. Another voice followed quietly through the laughter. "You opened it first." Xu Yang turned sharply toward the sound, pulse tightening hard in his chest. Nobody stood there. Empty darkness greeted him instead. But the rose mark exploded with pain beneath his sleeve.
Xu Yang inhaled sharply as his vision flickered violently for one second and suddenly he saw blood covering his own hands.His breathing stopped then the vision vanished instantly. His hands were clean again. Xu Yang stared silently at them for several seconds, his expression colder now, disturbed in a way he could no longer fully hide. What... was that? (...)
"Xu Yang?" Lin Chen noticed immediately, voice quieter now, more worried than before. Xu Yang lowered his hand quickly beneath his sleeve again. "Nothing." Yan Luo's gaze shifted immediately toward the masked figure. "You knew this would happen." The accusation in his voice was sharp now. Direct. The masked figure remained silent for a moment before answering calmly. "Yes." Lin Chen frowned immediately, frustration finally breaking through his unease. "Then explain what this place is already." Silence filled the room again.Then finally, the masked figure spoke quietly. "This house keeps memories that reality tried to erase."
Chen Yu's expression darkened slightly as though pieces of something had finally started connecting in his mind. Yan Luo looked visibly more suspicious now. Zhao Ming lowered his gaze briefly, strangely thoughtful. Xu Yang remained completely silent. Because something about those words felt dangerously close to truth. Then the corridor changed again.
The hallway beyond the open doorway stretched deeper into the darkness before their eyes, becoming impossibly long. Lanterns appeared one by one along the walls where none had existed before, their dim golden flames flickering weakly inside the endless corridor. Soft laughter echoed again. Closer this time. Then suddenly the sound of children running filled the hallway. Fast footsteps against wood. Several of them but nobody was there. Lin Chen's face visibly paled now. "I really hate this place." "You should." the masked figure replied quietly.
Then he stepped away from the wall and began walking slowly toward the endless corridor ahead. His dark robes shifted softly against the floor while faint black chains moved beneath his sleeves like living shadows. He stopped briefly at the entrance of the hallway without turning back toward them. "If you continue deeper." he said calmly, voice echoing softly through the impossible corridor, "the house will stop showing strangers." Silence followed. Then he added quietly, "And start showing what belongs to you." Xu Yang's eyes darkened slightly at those words.
Lin Chen immediately looked toward him, unease tightening visibly across his expression. Chen Yu finally spoke again, calm but careful. "What happens if we leave?" The masked figure remained standing in the darkness ahead. Then slowly without looking back he answered. "You already entered." And with that, he walked deeper into the endless corridor while the sound of distant laughter echoed softly through the house once more.
Elsewhere at the narrow paths near the village outskirts as Qing Li walked alone beneath the weak glow of scattered lanterns. Night had already settled completely, covering the village in uneasy silence.Even the air itself seemed wrong lately too still in some places, too cold in others, like something unseen was quietly breathing beneath the surface of everything. Qing Li clicked his tongue softly in annoyance as he adjusted the collar of his dark robes and continued forward.
"Troublesome people really attract more trouble." he muttered under his breath while stepping over a broken stone near the roadside. "First the Threads, then mysterious houses, then disappearing in the middle of nowhere…" His expression darkened slightly. "Honestly, does he have some kind of talent for creating disasters?" Still, despite the complaints running endlessly through his head, his pace never slowed. Eventually the familiar outline of Chen Yu's house appeared ahead through the darkness. The small wooden home stood quietly near the edge of the village beneath swaying trees, dim lantern light barely illuminating the entrance.
Qing Li narrowed his eyes slightly as he walked toward the door. "Don't tell me nobody's here." He knocked once against the wooden frame impatiently. "Xu Yang." No one answered him. Qing Li frowned immediately. Then knocked louder this time. "Xu Yang!" Still nothing.Qing Li stared at the door for several seconds before exhaling sharply through his nose. "You've got to be kidding me." His irritation rose almost instantly. "Don't tell me he wandered off again."
Without waiting longer, Qing Li pushed the door open slightly and stepped inside. The room beyond was dark and cold, illuminated only by faint moonlight spilling through the windows. The smell of cooled tea lingered weakly in the air. A cup still sat abandoned on the table near the center of the room beside scattered papers and an extinguished lantern.
Xu yang and Chen yu were not there.Qing Li looked around slowly before walking further inside with visible disbelief written across his face. "Seriously?" he muttered." is he disappears again?" He checked the nearby room first, pushing the door open carelessly. It was empty. He turned toward another corner of the house and frowned deeper. "Amazing. Truly impressive." His voice echoed faintly through the quiet house now. "At this point I'm starting to think he survives entirely through bad decisions."
Qing Li stepped back into the main room again and folded his arms tightly across his chest, irritation slowly mixing with something more restless beneath the surface. "Where did he even go?" he muttered while glancing toward the untouched tea on the table. "Did he return to that mortal house?" A pause. Then his expression shifted darker immediately. "Or did he drag Chen Yu into another disaster already?" "Honestly, both sounded possible." Qing Li sighed heavily and tilted his head back slightly in frustration. "Why am I even searching for him?" he muttered aloud.
Then after several seconds, he clicked his tongue quietly and added flatly, "Because if he dies, Yan Luo will become completely unbearable." The thought alone sounded exhausting. Qing Li walked toward the table and lightly touched the side of the abandoned teacup with two fingers. It was cold. "They had been gone for a while already. " His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. Something about the emptiness of the house unsettled him more than he wanted to admit. Xu Yang disappearing once was understandable.
Qing Li exhaled slowly before straightening again. "If this turns into another situation where I have to save people from cursed ruins." he muttered darkly while turning toward the door, "I'm leaving everyone there." But even as he said it, he was already walking faster back into the night.
Deep beneath the demon clan, the prison trembled violently. Molten rivers surged harder against the black stone walls while flames exploded upward around the ancient chains restraining the massive dragon demon at the center of the abyss. The burning seals carved across the chains brightened suddenly one after another, reacting as though something far away had awakened. Heavy metallic sounds echoed through the prison as the restraints tightened sharply around Hei Long's body, forcing even the surrounding fire to distort under the pressure.
For several long seconds, he remained completely motionless beneath the rising flames. Then slowly very slowly Hei Long lifted his head. His long dark hair shifted against the chains while dim firelight reflected faintly within his eyes. The pressure around the prison continued increasing, then a quiet laugh escaped him." So it started already." he murmured softly. The flames surged violently again as though reacting to his voice itself.
Hei Long closed his eyes briefly, chains groaning under the movement. For the first time in countless years, something close to emotion crossed his expression."You finally returned there." His voice lowered further, almost lost beneath the roar of fire now. "After all this time…" Another violent tremor spread through the prison walls. One of the burning chains wrapped around his arm tightened hard enough to tear deep into flesh, but Hei Long didn't even react. Instead, his gaze slowly lifted toward the darkness high above the prison ceiling, beyond stone, beyond Heaven, beyond the layers of reality itself. As though he could already see what was happening. "The house accepted you again," he whispered quietly. "Even after they erased everything…" His expression darkened slightly then, something colder entering his eyes. "No!" A pause. "Not erased." Another faint laugh escaped him, quieter this time, almost bitter. "Buried."
The fire surrounding him rose higher suddenly, spiraling violently around the prison while ancient symbols across the chains flickered unstably. Somewhere deep within the darkness of the abyss, unseen voices began whispering faintly beneath the sound of the flames. The Threads were reacting again.His eyes narrowed slightly. "You're afraid now?" he murmured softly into the darkness around him. "After protecting the lie for this long."
His fingers tightened slowly against the burning chains wrapped around his wrists. Blood ran briefly across the ancient seals before evaporating instantly in the heat. "It's too late." "Once he remembers." Hei Long whispered quietly, voice almost drowned beneath the roaring flames, "none of you will survive what comes after." Then suddenly the chains tightened again with violent force, as though the prison itself was trying to silence him.
Fire exploded upward across his body. The walls shook but Hei Long only smiled faintly through the flames now, eyes half-lidded beneath the burning light. Because somewhere far away inside a forgotten house that should no longer exist.
Qing Li arrived outside Lin Chen's house with his usual impatient stride, stopping only long enough to glance at the door before calling out loudly, "Xu Yang!" his voice cutting through the still air as he added flatly, "If you're hiding in there dramatically, I'm leaving." No answer came, not even the faintest movement inside, and Qing Li narrowed his eyes slightly, irritation sharpening his expression as he muttered under his breath, "Don't tell me nobody's home." before stepping inside without waiting for permission.
In the house emptiness, no lights, no warmth, only the faint smell of cold tea left untouched on the table, and Qing Li scanned the rooms with growing annoyance, calling again, "Xu Yang?" then louder, "Yan Luo?" and after a pause, "Anyone alive?" but only silence returned, making him click his tongue as he checked another room carelessly, though his eyes began to sharpen when he noticed half-finished cups and signs of abrupt departure, his expression shifting just slightly as unease slipped beneath his sarcasm, and for a moment his thoughts slowed, Something happened… but because he was Qing Li, he immediately pushed that feeling away with a scoff, folding his arms and muttering, "If everyone secretly died without informing me first, I'll be extremely offended."
He tilted his head toward the distant mountain path, thinking before speaking aloud, "Don't tell me they actually went there." his annoyance returning instantly as he exhaled sharply, "Of course they did. Because apparently none of you fear death anymore." yet despite the complaint, his feet had already started moving, carrying him toward the mountain road as if his irritation itself had decided their direction.
The atmosphere changed gradually the moment he stepped onto the path, fog thickening low over the ground, old trees lining both sides, and the wind becoming distant and uneven, while Qing Li continued walking at first with casual annoyance, still talking to himself under his breath, "Wang Xio is suspicious." he muttered, "Yan Luo encourages dangerous decisions." then added with certainty, "Xu Yang attracts disasters naturally." before pausing slightly and finishing, "and somehow I'm the only reasonable person." then after a beat he frowned and corrected himself, "That's actually terrifying."
His steps slowing as the quiet around him deepened unnaturally, until something subtle broke his rhythm, a roadside lantern flickering faintly ahead, then another identical lantern further down the path, and then the same broken cart wheel lying at the side of the road again, making him stop completely as his gaze sharpened, silence settling heavier on his shoulders as he muttered slowly, "Didn't I already pass this?" The wind suddenly stopped without warning,and in that absolute silence Qing Li froze mid-step because silence.
Then between the trees faint black Threads flickered into existence like broken veins in reality before vanishing instantly, making his expression sharpen immediately as he narrowed his eyes and muttered under his breath, "Threads?" his body reacting instinctively as spiritual energy gathered at his fingertips, ready for defense, but before he could fully form a technique a distant sound interrupted him children laughing, soft and echoing, coming from somewhere just ahead where nothing should have been, and his hand paused mid-motion.
Qing Li turned sharply toward the sound, his instincts screaming warning,fog dissolving into warm sunlight, the cold mountain replaced by open fields of bright grass swaying gently in a breeze that felt real to touch, and children were running ahead of him, three figures moving carelessly through the light, their faces blurred but their laughter clear, alive, and one voice cut through everything directly toward him, sharp and familiar in a way that made his chest tighten before he could understand why, "Qing Li! Hurry up!" he froze completely, breath catching in his throat as his eyes widened slightly, because something in that voice didn't feel unfamiliar or distant it felt remembered, like it belonged somewhere inside him that he had never accessed, and for a moment his usual sarcasm, irritation, everything collapsed into silence as his mind refused to explain what his body already knew, that this was not imagination.
The vision shattered violently like glass breaking underwater, sunlight collapsing into fog, warmth crushed instantly by cold air slamming back into his lungs, and Qing Li stumbled half a step backward, one hand pressing hard against his temple as his breathing turned uneven, his expression now completely changed from annoyance to something unsettled and raw as he whispered through clenched teeth, "What was that?" his eyes scanning the empty mountain road again, while an uncomfortable realization settled deeper in his chest because this was not illusion, not thread trickery he could easily dismiss it had felt real, and worse than that, it had felt like something he was not supposed to remember at all, making his voice lower as he added quietly to himself, "That voice… why does it feel like I've heard it before?" Qing Li standing still in the fog.