Five of us were crammed into the narrow space, not an inch to spare for movement, hands locked above our heads in a posture we couldn't dare shift, unable even to turn our necks.

A thought suddenly struck me, and I turned sincerely to Old Li. "Old Li, thank you." It was for saying he saw me murdered—the thing he feared most. I am a solitary person, and I thanked him for treating me like a brother.

Old Li, already a man of few words, merely mumbled an awkward "Don't mention it," hearing my words, and said nothing more. Having said what I needed to say, I tried to clear my mind completely, thinking of nothing, awaiting the final, consuming moment.

The room shook harder and harder; the floor seemed to tilt. The cloth bundle containing "Doctor Tsering" tumbled toward us, rolling all the way to Tang Minghao's feet, as if seeking refuge too.

Tang Minghao's face was ashen; his eyes wide, darting between "Doctor Tsering" and his own hands, clearly terrified that "Doctor Tsering" might reattach itself. Fortunately, "Doctor Tsering" had no legs and couldn't climb; it circled Tang Minghao a few times before slowly settling down.

The small shrine above our heads finally began to buckle. Offerings rained down: moldy tsampa and bowls of barley wine crashed to the floor with sharp reports, followed by all manner of things showering down amid clouds of dust. I quickly held my breath, terrified that whatever fell might be strange.

Speaking of strange, this earthquake felt entirely abnormal. It had been swaying violently for over twenty minutes; in normal circumstances, that would mean total destruction. Yet, inside this room, only a collection of shrine items had fallen.

As I pondered this, the ceaseless shaking of the room suddenly ceased, stopping as quietly as if nothing had happened. If it weren't for the debris scattered on the floor, and the thick layer of dust coating myself and the others, I wouldn't have believed the earth-shattering display we had just endured had ended so abruptly.

Even so, no one dared venture out rashly. Who knew what unpredictable event might strike in the next second?

We waited anxiously for what felt like ages; everything was dead silent, no movement whatsoever. I roughly wiped the thick dust from my face and was the first to bolt outside. Upon seeing the room, everything except the shrine was untouched, unchanged. The shrine was shattered, leaving only two candle holders shaped like human figures. Looking at the hair carved on those candle holders in this situation made them seem even more bizarre; though clearly sculpted, they looked as if they might ripple at any moment.

Ripple?! Damn it, why did such a strange description pop into my head again?

The remaining few, seeing I was unharmed, hesitated for a moment before running out. They first surveyed the room, then stared at the shrine, frozen by the state of things.

After a pause, Tang Minghao suddenly exclaimed without warning, "I remember now, I know what this is!" He rushed forward breathlessly.

The more he looked, the happier his expression became, until finally, he turned back with a delighted smile. "That's right, this is it." He reached out and gently, affectionately stroked the hair of one of the human-shaped candle holders, his voice laced with memory. "I saw people like this when we first entered."

I froze, and my memory snapped back. Weren't these candle holders exactly like the densely packed, layered corpses I saw underwater at Fuxian Lake? No wonder I kept imagining the candle holders' hair undulating with the current—that was why!

Tang Minghao suddenly softened his voice toward us. "Let's go, children. This is the will of the spirits. The shaking of the house was the battle between the spirits and the demons, clearing a path for us. Now that the demons are expelled, you should return to your world."

I looked at Tang Minghao; my emotions were complex. At least for now, he seemed like a good person, unlike the malevolent spirit that had possessed him earlier. I didn't know his origin. Perhaps when we got back, I should visit Zhuoma Yangjin again; she should know most about these things.

"Alright, let's go," I told Tang Minghao.

Tang Minghao nodded, cast a meaningful look at Yanzi, and uttered a cryptic remark: "He is Han, destined for no blessing."

Yanzi’s expression hardened into stubbornness. "I know, Master, thank you."

Tang Minghao sighed, looking genuinely regretful, then asked Old Li and Xu Zhiwu if they were ready. They quickly confirmed they had no issues. Tang Minghao reached out and grasped the two candle holders, first applying slight pressure to pull them apart to the sides, but nothing moved. He murmured to himself, "A pity I must remain here, living this long, half-dead existence alone again."

As we left, he would depart Tang Minghao's body, remaining here for eternity, his only companions being memories and endless solitude. Thinking of this, I couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for him.

Lost in thought, Tang Minghao suddenly shouted, and with a sharp exertion of both hands, the human-shaped candle holders cracked and toppled over. He lost his balance completely, collapsing forward before the shrine.

The shrine immediately split open with a sharp crack, and an intensely thick, fishy stench washed over us. Before we could react, Tang Minghao yelled, "Oh no! This is bad!" He jumped up instantly, grabbing both Xu Zhiwu and me who were standing nearest, and fled. He called back to Old Li and Yanzi, "Quickly! This isn't the exit, it’s over! Hurry!"

In our panic, there was no time to figure out where to run. Tang Minghao, suddenly possessing immense strength, dragged Xu Zhiwu and me along at a breakneck pace, with Old Li and Yanzi close behind. After running a short distance, other than the stench of fish becoming overwhelming, we saw nothing strange. This abrupt chaos was unbearable. I wrenched myself free and stopped. "There's nothing strange here. Don't run around blindly; we need to go back and research before we lose our only lead."

Tang Minghao frantically grabbed me and pulled hard. "By the time you see it, it will be too late."

But his words came too late.

Because when I turned back, I saw a figure slowly emerging from the fissure in the shrine—a rigid person. Long-haired, wrapped entirely in white robes like a mummy.

My limbs instantly went weak, and a cold dread washed over me; I lacked the strength to even turn my head, as if held by an invisible restraint, forced to watch this figure slowly extend a hand from the shrine's gap, pushing the shrine walls apart. The shrine obediently opened wider, revealing a larger gap. Then, without hurry, he stuck his head out, glanced left and right, saw nothing amiss, and then looked straight ahead—directly facing us.

Seeing the danger, Old Li had already pulled Yanzi and bolted ahead of Tang Minghao, but the path ahead was hazy, obscured, perhaps hiding other monsters.

As I watched him walk toward me, I snapped back to reality with a jolt, let out a strange cry, and took off running. Tang Minghao caught up and grabbed me again, pulling me sideways. "This way!"

I let him drag me along as we sprinted. In my panic, I glanced sideways and saw four or five white-robed figures already out of the shrine, with more continuously climbing out behind them. That brief look shattered my nerve completely.

Tang Minghao's unexpected might manifested then; he held Xu Zhiwu and me with his two hands, and somehow, he had hooked "Doctor Tsering" onto his wrist, letting it dangle and sway.

The fishy odor from behind grew stronger, threatening to engulf us instantly. My initial panic began to subside slightly as memories of the corpses I encountered on Qiangba K Mountain flashed through my mind. At the same time, I rallied myself: I had survived that perilous situation, nearly being torn to shreds by the faceless rising corpses multiple times—hadn't I cheated death then?

Thinking this way, no matter what, I wasn't entirely useless. I found some strength in my limbs, allowing me to run faster, no longer a burden.

A distinct rustling sound came from behind me; my instinct told me the white-robed figures were in pursuit. But this building was winding and convoluted, stretching down corridors that seemed endless, with many closed doors and empty archways. We had no real choice; we'd crash into a doorway and immediately pick another empty archway to flee through.

The white-robed figures, initially slow, weren't very fast, but after about ten minutes, they seemed to awaken. They began to run, whipping up gusts of wind as they chased us.

And the "Doctor Tsering" dangling from Tang Minghao's wrist swung violently. Tang Minghao’s face was as white as death; he glanced at "Doctor Tsering," dared not stop, and continued dragging me and Xu Zhiwu, saying mournfully, "I saved your life, yet you're unwilling; must you go back to being a living corpse?"

"Doctor Tsering" swung even more violently, clearly unhappy with Tang Minghao's arrangement. Near a slender pillar just moments before, Tang Minghao took a risk, let go of me, struck "Doctor Tsering" against the pillar a couple of times, and then grabbed me again, taking off in a sprint.

"Doctor Tsering" quieted down then, no longer daring to sway, but in that split second, the white-robed figures behind us caught up. Unaware, we had run out of the building and into the center of a square courtyard.

The white-robed figures instantly followed, a dense, uncountable mass. Before we could catch our breath, they encircled us in a large ring, trapping us completely with menacing glares.

I quickly assessed the situation. In the entire courtyard, there was nothing else besides a pitch-black opening that looked like a bottomless well.

At this moment, "Doctor Tsering" began to shake again, clearly struggling to break free from Tang Minghao. Tang Minghao urgently whispered to me to find a solution—either break through the circle of white robes and escape, or wait here to die; there was no other option. He then added, "These are the messengers of the spirits; they have come to take you."

Seeing that we still didn't understand his meaning, he added another sentence: "These people came to collect us back then... that's why I urged you to run just now... But now, now... we leave it to fate."