The hunchbacked old woman walked straight to the corridor, gathered all her strength, and roared toward the far end: "Open the door."

Seconds later, "Open the door, open the door, open the door..." countless echoes of the command reached Xiaoshu and me. We exchanged a glance, remembering the echoing result of Hua Gu's sudden shout when we first entered the villa.

An impossible echo had reappeared! Xiaoshu hastily stuffed the map into his backpack and pulled me out of the library.

The hunchbacked old woman stood facing the end of the corridor. As we reached the hallway, we discovered the entire space had transformed. The short corridor we remembered had stretched into an endless passageway, extending into the darkness, and the closely packed doors lining the sides had all vanished. No wonder shouting into the distance produced countless echoes.

It was likely that Hua Gu's shout had occurred precisely when this passage manifested, which is why we heard the echoes. Afterward, the passage must have disappeared, and no matter how hoarse we became, the echoes never returned. Seen this way, this Reflection Villa was infinitely more intriguing than its counterpart above, the Prime Villa. Perhaps the ancestor of the twins was meticulous about balancing the inheritance; since Li Xiaohao possessed power beyond nature, while Li Xiaoshu was merely ordinary, this complex, immensely powerful Reflection Villa was left to the ordinary younger brother as compensation. This, presumably, balanced their strengths.

Gazing down the passage leading into the gloom, Xiaoshu remained remarkably composed, showing no sign of surprise. Yet, I guessed this was his first time seeing this corridor too. Otherwise, he wouldn't have found Hua Gu's shout so strange, nor would he have hurriedly stuffed the map away and pulled me out.

"What do we do now?" he asked.

"This passage leads directly to the Sea of the Departed. Walk toward the end and memorize the position of the exit. When you return, stand at the exit and shout 'Open the door' so the sound travels vertically through the passage, and the entrance will reappear before you. Remember, when shouting, you must face the passage's entrance—even though you won't see it then—only allowing the sound to travel vertically will cause the passage to materialize." With that, the hunchbacked old woman chuckled, extended an arm, and pointed deep into the passageway, signaling that we could begin our journey.

This passage felt rather complex, almost bottomless. Ensuring the sound traveled vertically to summon the door for the return trip would undoubtedly require some effort.

Staring into the pitch-black path ahead, Xiaoshu took a deep breath and turned to look at me. I nodded slightly to him, and the two of us stepped side-by-side onto the road toward the Sea of the Departed.

After perhaps ten steps, a distinct click sounded behind us, and the sole source of light vanished instantly, plunging the entire corridor into absolute blackness. I pulled the lighter I had prepared from my backpack, sparked it, and lit two candles, giving one to Xiaoshu and keeping one for myself.

Clutching our candles, we surveyed our surroundings. We discovered that the spot where we entered was inexplicably sealed off by a wall of chilling cold. Although the side walls were free of disgusting things like flesh-eating spectral insects, they were covered in dripping water and ice stalactites, and the air was intensely frigid, as if we had entered an ice cellar. Xiaoshu and I were still wearing our light summer clothes, and the cold began to seep relentlessly into both our bodies.