On the eighth day, it was still drizzling.

  Xue Lian continued to sit on the bed, holding the hand warmer, her thoughts in turmoil. The first five had all died—each under strange and unsettling circumstances. The first had drowned in the central well of the courtyard, the second had died under a tree, the third had hanged herself in the room, the fourth had collided with the gate, and the fifth... the fifth had died at the gate of the "tomb house."

  But Xue Lian's mind focused on one detail: the second death—under a tree. She remembered clearly that there had never been a tree in the courtyard. How could someone die under a tree that had never existed here? Had there once been a tree here, and if so, why was it gone now? These questions only made her more anxious. Today was the eighth day. In five more days, would the same thing happen to her? Would she die like the others?

  Xue Lian couldn't bear to think of it anymore. Her hands tightened into fists, her body trembling. No, she couldn't just sit and wait for death. She had to do something. Determined, Xue Lian stood up quietly and walked behind Xiao Dun'er, who was busy with her usual tasks.

  Xiao Dun'er was still going about her tasks, occasionally humming a few inaudible notes. Xue Lian felt her heart was about to leap out of her chest as she slowly raised the hand warmer...

  "Mm..." Xiao Dun'er let out a muffled sound, then immediately colpsed to the ground with a thud.

  "Xiao Dun'er, Xiao Dun'er." Xue Lian crouched down and gently shook her body, but there was no response. Trembling, Xue Lian put her hand near Xiao Dun'er's nose. There was still breath. Xue Lian sighed in relief, then looked at her and said, "Xiao Dun'er, I'm sorry. I didn't want to hurt you, but I needed to know what's going on, so I had no choice but to knock you out." After speaking, she struggled to lift Xiao Dun'er into her arms. She hadn't expected the girl's body to be so heavy, and she stumbled several times as she tried to carry her.

  Because the gate was locked, Xue Lian struggled greatly before she managed to climb over the wall. Her body was covered in dirt, but she didn′t care about that now. She had to go to that house—the "Tomb House." She had always wondered why the first four had died in the courtyard, but the fifth had died in the yard of the "Tomb House." She believed the fifth Xue Lian must have discovered something, so she was determined to investigate.

  This time, she didn’t forget to bring a candle and flint. She had to see the "Tomb House" clearly, so when she stood in front of the house, she had already lit the candle in her hand. Taking a deep breath and summoning great resolve, she pushed the door open with one forceful motion.

  The candlelight, though dim, was enough to illuminate the "Tomb House." Five graves were quietly arranged there, and the five gravestones had been neatly inserted back into their original pces. Apart from these, the room was bare, with only three white walls. Although Xue Lian had mentally prepared herself, standing in this eerie "Tomb House" still made her body involuntarily tremble.

  The first step she took required great courage because she was unwilling to leave just like this. She knew she would find something. It was her sixth sense as a woman telling her, and it was usually quite accurate.

  She circled around the house several times but found nothing. Feeling a bit disappointed, she decided to give up and walked out of the "Tomb House."

  The rain was pouring heavily outside, and Xue Lian had no choice but to stop at the door of the house. She paced back and forth, her mood unusually heavy. She had found nothing—nothing at all. How could this be? She looked up at the sky and, without thinking, her eyes nded on the two white nterns. They swayed with the wind, their plump "bodies" twisting. Xue Lian felt a sense of disgust. She had started to dislike the color white. Somehow, she found the courage to reach out and grab the ntern on the right. It wouldn't budge; it was very sturdy. She froze for a moment, not expecting the cord holding the ntern to be so strong.

  But something was off. Even if the cord was strong, it should still sway left and right. The ntern on the left seemed normal, its cord swaying with the wind. But the ntern on the right only moved, while the cord stayed completely still, as if it were fixed in pce.

  There was something wrong—there had to be. Xue Lian suddenly felt a surge of excitement. She put down the candle in her hand, and with both hands, she pulled with all her strength, tugging downwards.

  “Creeeak—” The sound wasn't loud, but Xue Lian heard it clearly. The ntern had been pulled down without making any noise, and the cord wasn't made of rope but an iron rod shaped like rope. The ntern itself didn't make a sound. Then where did the “creak—” sound come from? Xue Lian had clearly heard it.

  She suddenly turned her head toward the “tomb house.” The sound had come from inside, definitely! Her heart was racing, almost leaping out of her throat. She picked up the candle from the ground, but it had already been blown out by the wind. She quickly pulled out a flint stone and lit the candle again, walking into the “tomb house.”

  Everything was the same as before, except that the wall directly opposite the door now had an extra door. As expected, there was something hidden. Xue Lian stepped forward to take a closer look. It turned out that there had been a false wall blocking this door, and now the wall had been moved to the right side.

  The door was not locked, but it was covered in dust, indicating that it hadn't been opened in a long time. Xue Lian slowly pushed open the door, and a strong, musty odor immediately wafted out. She instinctively took a few steps back, repulsed by the smell. Inside, it was pitch bck, and nothing could be seen. Xue Lian took a deep breath, steeled herself, and held the candle up to peer inside. It was a passage, a long corridor that seemed to stretch endlessly, with stone walls on both sides. Xue Lian furrowed her brow, hesitating for a moment. She was terrified, unsure of what might lie within. But determined to find the answers, she decided to go in.

  The passage was indeed quite long. Xue Lian felt as though she had walked for a long time before reaching the end. There, she found another door, but this one was intricately carved. The door was covered with images of children—some sitting, some lying down, some pying, and others sleeping—basically every depiction of a child that one could think of. It looked as if there were over a hundred children carved into it. Xue Lian pushed open the door and stepped inside.

  The room was very small, barely enough to hold a few people. Yet, inside, there were four red boxes, each spotless. On the opposite side, there was another door—a stone door with no carvings or decorations. Xue Lian carefully opened one of the boxes and found it filled with clothes—men's clothes. She opened another box, and it was full of men's shoes. Curiously, she opened the other two boxes as well, finding men's hats, scarves, and other accessories.

  Everything inside the boxes belonged to men. Xue Lian's heart tightened. Since entering the Gong family, she had never seen a man, and she didn't even know what her husband looked like. Now, she had discovered so many items belonging to men in this hidden room. What did it mean? She stood frozen for a moment, then quickly closed the boxes. She turned and walked toward the stone door.

  Xue Lian gently pushed the stone door, and it opened with ease. Inside was another room, one that seemed quite ordinary—there was a bed, a table, a mirror, stools, and a cabinet. But there was also something unusual: a pair of men's shoes. They were pced at the foot of the bed, as if someone had been lying there. Xue Lian walked slowly, trembling, toward the bed.

  There was no one on the bed, only several neatly arranged quilts, and everything was spotless. Not a speck of dust in sight. Could someone have been living here? But then, why was the door to the passage so dirty, as if it hadn't been opened in ages? Xue Lian scanned the room again, and her gaze stopped at the mirror.

  The mirror was an ordinary copper one, but it was rge enough to reflect a person's full body, and it was mounted on the wall. It was quite impressive that a stone house would have a mirror like this. Xue Lian unconsciously walked over and began to examine it closely. Suddenly, she noticed a thin crack along the edge of the mirror, almost like a door seam. A door seam? Xue Lian suddenly thought—could this be another hidden door?

  With that thought, she pced the candle on the table next to the mirror and began to press along the edges with her hands. The mirror didn't react. Xue Lian stared at it, wondering if she had misjudged and the door couldn't be opened. Wait a minute, Xue Lian suddenly noticed something odd at the upper-right corner of the mirror. The candle was pced on the left side of the cabinet, and the light shone over to the mirror, where there was a vertical shadow at the top right corner. From the front, it wasn't noticeable, but when the candlelight hit, a faint shadow appeared. What did this mean? It meant that the top right corner of the mirror was likely raised or protruding.

  Xue Lian was overjoyed. She quickly reached out and pressed on the raised corner of the mirror. Sure enough, the mirror made a creaking sound and opened like a door. Xue Lian seized the candle and walked inside.

  An indescribable smell filled the air, something like mold, but also reminiscent of something decaying. As Xue Lian moved forward, she almost gagged. Fortunately, she had already prepared herself mentally, so she managed to hold it back. The room was cold—cold enough to evoke a sense of fear. It was very simple inside, with a cabinet on either side, both looking old and dipidated. In the center of the room was a table, and on it were some objects that looked like food. The key word was "looked" because they were all moldy, as if they had been sitting there for a long time. Xue Lian felt a wave of nausea again and quickly covered her mouth. Behind the table, there seemed to be something else. Since the candlelight couldn't reach that far, Xue Lian stepped forward a few paces, and the light just barely touched whatever it was.

  "Ah!" Xue Lian let out a terrible scream.