Free Web NovelChapter 65: Chapter 65: Longshu Temple, Mirror Alley
In the gray mist, two headlights slowly approached. An old bus broke through the ethereal fog, appearing at a station on the deserted street.
Yu Sheng was waiting at the station.
Longshu Temple. The temple existed on real-world maps, but it had been dilapidated for many years. The Monks and patrons were long gone, leaving only a crumbling grand temple.
The green-text mission was referring to the Longshu Temple of the Inner World.
Every supernatural location in the Inner World had a real-world counterpart.
The intense hatred and tragedies of the past were all faithfully recorded by the Inner World, preserved forever in its own unique way, like a camera.
The bus doors slowly opened before him. Yu Sheng shuffled onto the bus, not even showing the gray ticket stub required for boarding.
’I’ve been in contact with those unclean things for too long.’ A cold, decaying aura of death had started to emanate from him, as if he were a resident of the Inner World. Now, he no longer needed the gray ticket to board; the bus defaulted to thinking he wasn’t alive.
’Perhaps I died on some mission long ago and became a ghost, only to live on to this day in this broken mortal shell.’
Who could say for sure?
Sitting on the bus, Yu Sheng fingered the Buddhist Beads in his hands, piously and silently chanting sutras.
The scenery outside the window changed, passing countless places of great terror. The bus had already ventured deep into an inhuman world.
But Yu Sheng remained indifferent, merely bowing his head and reciting his scriptures.
Along the way, Bus 444 stopped countless times. Some passengers got off, others got on, and some sat next to him.
At one point, the number of passengers exceeded seven, triggering the voting phase. Yu Sheng remained as still as a mountain, like a stone statue, head bowed, minding his own business and chanting his sutras, oblivious to his surroundings.
He never cast a single vote.
Strangely, the other passengers on the bus seemed to ignore him as well, never once casting a vote for him.
A mechanical female voice on the intercom announced the stops one by one, devoid of any emotion.
An unknown amount of time passed.
"Next stop, Longshu Temple. Passengers getting off, please be ready."
If Gao Tian had been there, he would have been utterly shocked.
There was no stop between Corpse Sewing Alley and Moonlight Asylum. It couldn’t be found on the timetable; it was a non-existent station.
Yu Sheng showed little surprise. After hearing the station’s name, he simply stood up and, once the bus came to a complete stop, stepped off.
Behind him, the doors of Bus 444 closed. A strong wind kicked up, and the bus departed.
Before Yu Sheng stood a dilapidated Buddhist temple with walls the color of blood. The once-magnificent Great Buddha inside was riddled with holes, its interior hollowed out. The white stone-paved ground of the square was coated in a layer of grime. Fallen leaves were piled high, covering more than half the temple.
Only two rows of towering trees remained, their blood-red leaves swaying gently.
In this Inner World, a place filled with terror, strangeness, and abnormality at every turn, such a serene and holy Buddhist ground seemed completely out of place.
Yu Sheng’s solitary figure crunched over the fallen leaves as he quietly walked into the temple.
"Teacher, Senior Brother."
"I’ve come to see you."
...
...
Gao Tian understood everything.
Most of the rooms on the fourth floor at least looked like normal human residences, with living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms, and bathrooms.
But there were also some rooms that completely defied the laws of physics, their internal space far exceeding their external dimensions.
After the television teleported everyone indiscriminately, Gao Tian had been sent to this random room on the fourth floor. Or rather, calling it a room wasn’t quite right; it was an alleyway made entirely of mirrors.
’According to the prophecy from the future jar, does this mean that crimson, skinless old man is about to appear?’ fɾēewebnσveℓ.com
’What’s its killing pattern? Just from watching the two of them brawl, I really can’t tell.’
’Can’t go wrong with being careful.’
Gao Tian stood amidst a cluster of mirrors, cautious. He had yet to take two steps when a clear footstep echoed from around the corner at the other end of the alley, clearly heading in his direction.
He immediately ducked behind a large mirror, hiding himself and watching the shadow at the intersection grow longer.
He was just waiting for the Red Ghost to appear, to see if he could get a chance to land a slash on it.
’Even without the materials to consecrate the blade, a hit from its terrifyingly nicked and rusted edge would still hurt like hell.’
A long, slanted shadow projected from around the corner. A familiar female voice muttered to herself:
"They said the little girl upstairs was constantly encroaching on the third floor. I’ve been looking for ages and haven’t seen a single little girl in any room, but I’ve seen plenty of big idiots among my teammates."
"It’s so cold in here, and not a single ghost in sight. My beautiful face is everywhere I look. It’s truly lonely at the top, admiring my own unparalleled beauty."
Hearing those jumbled words and the familiar voice, Gao Tian let out a breath. It wasn’t a ghost.
The strange woman approaching from the other end of the Mirror Alley, the one with messy hair and two scars on either side of her mouth, was none other than Lan Chu.
In the chaos, everyone had been teleported to different rooms. Xia Ta had smashed the TV with a hammer, and although it hadn’t stopped the teleportation, it had clearly caused some interference. Gao Tian and Lan Chu had been sent to the same Mirror Alley.
Right now, Lan Chu was gripping that dog leash in one hand, still dragging the desiccated corpse she had pulled out of Room 413. When the numbers had appeared on the old-fashioned television earlier, Lan Chu had held onto the leash so tightly that she had actually dragged the corpse along with her.
Gao Tian stepped out from behind the mirror. Seeing him suddenly appear, a normal person would have at least jumped in fright, but Lan Chu just remained expressionless, calmly scrutinizing Gao Tian for a moment:
"It seems your strength is not bad, to have been assigned to the same place as me."
"Not bad, not bad. I may have underestimated you before."
Gao Tian was at a loss for words. Of all the people there, he just had to be paired up with Lan Chu.
He pointed toward the other end of the alley.
"Zhao Zhenjia and the others should be scattered in different rooms on the fourth floor. We need to get out of here quickly and regroup at our starting point."
"If we get there even a second sooner, we might be able to save someone."
’There’s no phone signal in this godforsaken place. We have to leave Mirror Alley first and then figure out a plan.’
Lan Chu stared with wide eyes, looking very displeased.
"Do you really need to tell me something so simple?"
"I was already thinking that. I just felt it was common sense, not even worth mentioning."
Gao Tian nodded in agreement.
"Right, right, you’re right."
’This woman’s a lunatic. There’s no point arguing with her.’
The alley had two exits. One led into pitch-black darkness, while the other had a glimmer of light at its end.
Gao Tian pondered for a moment. ’Which exit should we take first?’
’If I choose the wrong direction, forget escaping—I might just deliver myself right to a ghost.’
He remembered the future from the jar, the alley where he fought the skinless old man...
’The lighting seemed pretty dim.’
’That means in the previous timeline, I chose the dark path and ran into a ghost.’
’Although that old red guy wasn’t very strong—getting pinned to the ground and beaten by a human is a disgrace to all ghosts—it’s still best to avoid them if I can.’
He looked up, about to explain the situation to Lan Chu.
The words died on his lips. This Lan Chu seemed to have a contrarian personality; she had to correct everything he said. If Gao Tian directly suggested going toward the light, Lan Chu would most likely disagree.
’Better to test the waters first.’
Gao Tian:
"Um... Sister Lan Chu. Since we need to leave this place, do you think we should go toward the light, or toward the darkness?"
Lan Chu was very displeased with how Gao Tian addressed her and corrected him:
"First of all, who gave you permission to call me by my name so casually?"
"Although I said your strength isn’t weak, you’re not yet qualified to be my equal."
"Please address me as Lady Lan Chu."
As for how to get out of the Mirror Alley, Lan Chu clearly didn’t have much of a clue either and was suffering from indecisiveness:
"This... the direction with light, the place without light... actually, this is a simple problem. I figured out which one is the safe exit long ago."
"The reason I didn’t say anything is that I wanted to test you. You tell me. Let me see your powers of logical analysis."
Gao Tian feigned his thoughts:
"The path ahead looks bright, so it’s probably a trap set by a ghost."
"After all, people tend to move toward the light. If we go that way, we’ll be walking into a dead end."
"The path behind us, on the other hand, looks completely dark, but it’s actually the real way out." freёwebnovel.com
"The fact that the ghost hid it proves that it doesn’t want us to go that way."
Lan Chu shook her head and retorted:
"Your reasoning is completely wrong."
"The place with light is obviously the way to survival. How could it be a dead end?"
"Didn’t your elementary school teacher teach you? A light source can only shine in from the outside."
"Walking toward the darkness means going deeper into the apartment building. That’s the real path to doom."
Gao Tian nodded humbly.
"Sister Lan... ah, Lady Lan Chu. I stand corrected."
"Then let’s follow your lead and head toward the light."
Lan Chu let out a strange cackle. Not forgetting to drag the desiccated corpse from Room 413 by its dog leash, she turned. In the mirrors, countless versions of Lan Chu turned in unison, all moving in the same direction.
She walked at the front of the alley, with Gao Tian following behind.
’This woman is so strange.’ In such a grim and eerie place, not only did she lack any sense of vigilance, but she actually grew more relaxed as they walked, humming a little tune as if she were on a stroll down a country lane.
Gao Tian really didn’t know how she had survived so many crises. Either her previous experiences were all fabricated boasts, or this madwoman really had some hidden skills that just weren’t apparent right now.
The two walked for about fifteen minutes, the light source ahead growing brighter and brighter. Finally, a new room appeared before them. It resembled a study of some sort. The door was ajar, and a yellow light shone out from a barred window on the wall.
"Strange, why would there be a study here?"
Gao Tian grew wary and immediately stopped in his tracks to observe.
’A study suddenly appearing in this Mirror Alley... whoever’s living inside is definitely not a normal human.’
Seeing the study before them, not only did Lan Chu not stop, but she walked right up to it with a curious expression on her face:
"Oh? Why is there a study here?"
"Not bad, not bad. I was just getting tired anyway. I’ll go in and rest for a bit."
