Li Bai was gone.

  But he left a mark behind.

  The mark was red—bright red, reminiscent of blood.

  The smell of blood filled the entire room, staining the snow-white walls with crimson.

  "Let's go," Yan Hua suddenly said without warning.

  Wu Mi broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't bear the gring red color, and he even felt like he was about to wet his pants.

  "Hmph!" Yan Hua shot Wu Mi a sideways gre.

  "I..." Wu Mi lowered his head in shame.

  "We should leave," Yan Hua said as she had already started walking.

  The mark pointed toward a hidden door.

  The hidden door was originally part of the wall behind the altar table.

  The wall opened, releasing a chilling aura as it revealed a dark, shadowy passageway.

  Yan Hua had thought it was a secret passage.

  And it was indeed a secret passage, though it only stretched a few steps.

  The ripples on the water broke the stillness of the night. A few gusts of cold wind swept through, bringing with them an inexplicable mencholy.

  A small boat with a canopy was docked by the shore, a long pole propped up beside the canopy.

  A red ntern swayed gently, hanging from the pole.

  This was, in fact, a unique inn.

  The inn's location was above ground—this much was beyond doubt.

  Yan Hua never expected to see water here.

  The waterway wasn′t wide, but it stretched into a narrow path flowing off into the distance.

  Everything here was quiet—so quiet it felt uncanny.

  "It seems someone has already arranged for a boat," Wu Mi said as he moved closer to Yan Hua, his eyes darting around cautiously. But there was no one in sight.

  Yan Hua was at a loss. Where was this pce? Why did it feel so strange to her? Should she keep going or stop here?

  "It's time to board the boat." Before the words had fully settled, someone had already stepped out.

  "You?" Yan Hua looked at the figure, visibly surprised.

  "My name is Gu Feng." He looked somewhat thin, and the smile on his corpse-like face made anyone who saw it feel uneasy. He was one of the men who had carried the body earlier, and he was also a clerk at the inn.

  "What are you doing here?" Wu Mi asked, his finger pointing at Gu Feng, so rigid he seemed to have forgotten to lower it.

  Gu Feng merely smiled and extended his hand in a gesture of invitation. "Please, board the boat."

  Yan Hua stared coldly at Gu Feng. He had originally been just a clerk, but now, who was he? What was his role? Gu Feng had been traveling with Yan Hua, yet now he seemed like an enigma.

  "You've hidden yourself well. Where is he?" Yan Hua wasn′t in a hurry to board the boat and continued pressing him with questions.

  "He is who he is," Gu Feng replied, knowing full well that Yan Hua was asking about the other clerk who had helped carry the body. But Gu Feng also knew that the man now y slumped over a table, drunk. Too drunk. So drunk that he would never wake up again.

  Yan Hua stayed silent. She understood that no matter what she asked, she wouldn't get any answers. Yet, before boarding the boat, she decided to ask one final question—a question so simple that anyone would think to ask it. "Where are you taking us?"

  Gu Feng had no reason not to answer. He lifted his head, his eyes shining with a peculiar light, and looked at Yan Hua. "To find a tael of silver."

  The boat set off, drifting into the depths of the water, carrying the swaying red ntern with it.

  A tael of silver—enough to tempt both Yan Hua and Wu Mi.

  The hands, painted with bright red nail polish, moved slightly. Then, her head lifted, and she used those hands to wipe the blood from the corner of her lips, revealing a smug smile on her face.