Chapter 65: Longshu Temple, Mirror Alley

Two large headlights slowly approached through the gray, murky fog. The battered Bus tore through the ethereal mist, arriving at the stop on the deserted street.

Yusheng waited at the station.

Longshu Temple existed on maps of the real world, but it had been in ruins for many years. Its monks and benefactors were long gone, leaving behind only a crumbling main temple.

The destination named in the Green Text Mission was the Longshu Temple of the Inner World.

Every Supernatural Zone that formed in the Inner World had a counterpart in reality.

The Inner World acted like a faithful camera, forever recording the events of the past—the intense hatred and tragedies born there—in its own special way.

The doors slowly opened before him. Yusheng hobbled onto the Bus. He did not even present a Gray Ticket Stub to board.

After being in contact with those unclean things for so long, his body had gradually begun to emit a cold, dilapidated aura of death, making him seem like a resident of the Inner World. Now, he didn't need the Gray Ticket Stub to board; the Bus defaulted to treating him as someone who was no longer alive.

Perhaps he had already died during a mission and become a ghost, merely surviving until now in the broken body of a mortal.

Who could say?

Sitting on the Bus, Yusheng thumbed the prayer beads in his hand, silently and devoutly chanting his sutras.

The scenery outside the window shifted as they passed through countless places of great terror. The Bus had already delved deep into the non-human world.

Yet Yusheng did not care. He simply kept his head lowered, chanting his sutras.

Along the way, Bus 444 stopped countless times. Some passengers got off, others got on, and some even sat beside him.

There were times when the number of passengers exceeded seven, triggering the voting phase. Through it all, Yusheng remained as steady as a mountain. Like a stone statue, he kept his head down and focused on his prayers, turning a blind eye to his surroundings.

He never cast a single vote.

Bizarrely, the other passengers seemed to ignore him as well; not once did anyone cast a vote for him.

The mechanical female voice from the broadcast announced the stops one by one, devoid of any emotion.

An unknown amount of time passed.

"Longshu Temple is arriving. Passengers getting off, please prepare."

If Gao Tian had been here, he would have been extremely shocked.

There was no intermediate stop between Corpse-Sewing Alley and Moonlight Asylum. It could not be found on the schedule; it was a nonexistent station.

Yusheng did not show much surprise. Upon hearing the announcement, he silently stood up, waited for the vehicle to come to a halt, and stepped off at the station.

Bus 444 closed its doors behind him. A strong wind kicked up as the vehicle departed.

Before Yusheng stood a dilapidated Buddhist temple with walls the color of blood. The once-glorious great Buddha statue inside was riddled with holes, its interior completely hollowed out. The courtyard ground, paved with white stone, was covered in a layer of grime. Fallen leaves piled high, burying more than half the temple.

Only two rows of towering trees remained, their blood-red leaves gently swaying.

In this Inner World filled with terror, where everything oozed weirdness and abnormality, such a tranquil Buddhist holy ground seemed entirely out of place.

Stepping over the scattered leaves, Yusheng's lone figure quietly walked into the temple.

"Teacher, Senior Brother.

"I have come to see you."

...

...

Gao Tian understood everything.

The vast majority of the rooms on the fourth floor at least looked like normal human residences from the outside, complete with living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms.

But there were also a few that completely defied the laws of physics, their internal space far exceeding normal dimensions.

After the television had indiscriminately teleported everyone, Gao Tian had been sent into this random fourth-floor room. Or rather, calling it a room was no longer fitting; this place was entirely an alley made up of Mirrors.

According to the prophecy of the Future Urn, did that mean the crimson, skinless old man was about to appear soon?

He could not deduce what the opponent's Killing Rule was just by watching their hand-to-hand combat.

Being careful could not hurt.

Standing amid a pile of Mirrors, Gao Tian acted cautiously. He had not even taken two steps when clear footsteps rang out from the corner on the opposite side of the alley, obviously heading in his direction.

He immediately darted behind a massive Mirror, hiding his figure while observing the shadow growing longer from the intersection ahead.

He was just waiting for that red ghost to appear, looking for a chance to slash it with his knife.

Even though he had no materials to sacrifice to the blade, the terrifying chips and rust on its edge meant a single chop would still hurt quite a bit.

The slanted, elongated shadow was cast out from the corner. A familiar female voice muttered to herself:

"What nonsense about the little girl upstairs constantly eroding the Third Floor. I've been searching for half the day. I haven't seen a single little girl in the rooms, but I sure saw a bunch of massive idiots among my teammates.

"This place is freezing, and there's not a single ghost in sight. Everywhere I look, it's just my own beautiful face. Truly, a lone flower admiring its own perfection. It is so lonely at the top."

Hearing those incoherent words and that familiar voice, Gao Tian let out a breath of relief. It wasn't a ghost.

The bizarre woman approaching from the opposite side of Mirror Alley, sporting messy hair and two scars on either side of her mouth, was none other than Lan Zhu.

Amid the chaos, everyone had been teleported to different rooms. Xia Ta had smashed the television with her hammer; though it had not stopped the teleportation from activating, it had evidently caused some interference. Gao Tian and Lan Zhu had both been sent to this Mirror Alley.

At this moment, Lan Zhu was tightly gripping the Dog Leash in one hand, dragging along the dried corpse she had pulled out of Room 413. Earlier, when the numbers had descended on the old television, Lan Zhu had clung to the leash for dear life, unexpectedly dragging the corpse over with her.

Gao Tian stepped out from behind the Mirror. A normal person's reaction to his sudden appearance would have been to jump in fright, but Lan Zhu remained expressionless, quietly scrutinizing him for a moment:

"It seems you have decent skills, actually managing to get sorted into the same place as this seat.

"Not bad at all. I might have underestimated you before."

Gao Tian didn't know what to say. Out of everyone present, he just had to be grouped with Lan Zhu.

He pointed across the alley:

"Zhao Zhenjia and the others should be scattered across the different rooms on the fourth floor. Let's leave this place quickly and return to our starting point to regroup.

"We might be able to save one more person if we arrive even a second earlier."

In this cursed place, the mobile phone signal was completely cut off. They could only leave Mirror Alley first before figuring out their next move.

Lan Zhu widened her large eyes, looking quite dissatisfied:

"Do you really need to tell me something so simple?

"I already thought of that. I just felt it was common sense, so there was no need to say it out loud."

Gao Tian nodded in agreement:

"Right, right, right. You're absolutely right."

This woman was a lunatic to begin with. There was no point arguing with her.

The alley had two exits. One led into pitch blackness, while the other had a sliver of light at its end.

Gao Tian pondered for a moment. Which exit should they take first?

If they chose the wrong direction, forget about leaving this place—they might just deliver themselves straight to a ghost.

He recalled the future shown in the urn, the alley where he fought the peeling old man...

It seemed the lighting had been quite dim.

This meant that in the previous timeline, he had chosen to walk toward the darkness and bumped into a ghost.

Even though Old Man Red wasn't that strong—getting pinned to the ground and beaten by a human made him a disgrace among ghosts—it was still better to avoid encountering one if possible.

He raised his head, just about to explain the situation to Lan Zhu.

The words reached his lips, but he stopped. This Lan Zhu had a contrarian personality; she felt the need to correct whatever he said. If Gao Tian outright suggested heading toward the light, Lan Zhu would highly likely disagree.

It was better to test the waters first.

Gao Tian said, "Um... Sister Lan Zhu. Since we need to leave this place, do you think it's better to head toward the light or toward the dark?"

Lan Zhu was very unhappy with Gao Tian's form of address and corrected him: "First of all, who gave you permission to use my name so casually?

"Even though I said your skills aren't weak, you still don't have the qualifications to stand on equal footing with me.

"Please call me Lady Lan Zhu."

As for how to get out of Mirror Alley, Lan Zhu obviously didn't have much of a clue either and fell into a bout of indecision:

"Well, the direction with light versus the direction without light... this is actually a very simple question. I figured out which exit was the safe one ages ago.

"The reason I haven't said it is because I wanted to test you. You tell me. Let me see your logical analysis skills."

Gao Tian feigned sincerity as he voiced his thoughts:

"The path ahead looks bright, so it's very likely a trap set for us by the ghosts.

"After all, humans instinctively lean toward the light. If we go that way, it'll lead to a dead end.

"The path behind us looks pitch black, but in reality, it's the true way out.

"The fact that the ghosts hid it away perfectly proves they don't want us taking it."

Lan Zhu shook her head and retorted, "Your deduction is completely wrong.

"The place with light is clearly the path to survival. How could it be a dead end?

"Did your elementary school teacher never teach you? A light source can only shine in from the outside.

"Walking into the darkness means going deeper into the Apartment. That would truly be walking into a fatal trap."

Gao Tian nodded humbly:

"Sister Lan... Lady Lan Zhu's lecture is completely correct.

"Then, following your judgment, let's head toward the light."

Lan Zhu let out a bizarre, cackling laugh. Not forgetting to drag the dried corpse she had pulled from Room 413 with the Dog Leash, she turned around. As she did, countless reflections of Lan Zhu in the Mirrors turned with her, all marching in unison in the same direction.

She walked at the front of the alley, with Gao Tian following behind.

This woman truly was strange. In such a gloomy, eerie place, she not only lacked the slightest sense of vigilance, but actually grew more relaxed the further they walked. She even started humming a little tune along the way, acting as if she were taking a pleasant stroll down a country lane.

Gao Tian really didn't know how she had survived so many crises. Either Lan Zhu had completely fabricated her past experiences just to brag, or this crazy woman actually possessed some real abilities that simply weren't apparent right now.

The two of them walked for about fifteen minutes, and the light source ahead grew brighter and brighter. Finally, a new room appeared in front of them. The room looked somewhat like a Study. The door was half-locked, and yellow light spilled out through the security bars on the window along the wall.

"Strange. Why would there be a Study in a place like this?"

Vigilance rising in his heart, Gao Tian immediately stopped in his tracks, staying put to observe the situation.

For a Study to suddenly appear in Mirror Alley, whatever lived inside was definitely not a normal human.

Seeing the Study ahead, Lan Zhu not only did not stop but actually walked right up to it with a curious look on her face:

"Huh, how come there's a Study here?

"Not bad at all. I happen to be tired from walking anyway. I'll go inside and take a break."