Forgotten Photo Studio

Chapter 57 Keys and Keyholes

The eerie red light seeping in from outside the window grew increasingly thick, making the faces of the three appear as if stained with blood.

time is limited.

Xu Yan looked down at the heavy "Mirror of Shared Life" in his hand, which seemed to be formed from countless sorrowful souls, and then suddenly looked out the window.

"The Blood Moon... is almost over." His voice was hoarse, yet carried an undeniable urgency. "The gates of hell are closing; we must leave immediately!"

He casually pulled the tooth-shaped key from his pocket, shoved it into A-Zhe's hand, and said in a low, urgent voice, "A-Zhe, you clear the way!"

A Zhe was jolted awake, his fingers gripping the key tightly, a heavy sense of responsibility suddenly welling up in his heart.

He nodded vigorously: "Yes! Zhou Wenbin's house!...We have to go there!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhiwei struggled to sit up, but the intense depletion of her soul made her vision blur and her body feel so light that she had no strength left.

Her eyes welled up with tears, and she hated her own powerlessness: "I...I can..."

Xu Yan did not hesitate at all.

He stepped forward, almost roughly bent down, and lifted her up in his arms.

"what--!"

Chen Zhiwei gasped as he pulled her firmly into his arms.

His chest was pressed against her chest by his violently pounding heartbeat, and the scent of his sweat and blood lingered around her nose.

It was so close that she could hear the low, hoarse sound of his throat bobbing.

She instinctively reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers trembling slightly, yet she couldn't bear to let go.

Even though she was weak, she could clearly feel him holding her very tightly, as if he were protecting his last, irreplaceable gamble.

In that instant, she felt a long-lost sense of peace.

She even tried to deceive herself into thinking that as long as she stayed in his arms, she wouldn't die.

But the next second, the blood moon outside the window suddenly darkened, and the entire ghost realm seemed to be swallowed by a black tide, pressing down on her to the point of almost suffocating.

That fleeting dependence was shattered by the cruel and merciless darkness.

Xu Yan's lips were tightly pressed together, her jawline was taut, and her shoulders and back were as stiff as a wall.

His eyes were cold and hard, staring intently at the doorway, as if the whole world was against him.

The warmth in his arms, however, did not belong to any tenderness, but rather to a blood-stained resolve.

Looking at them, A Zhe felt a sudden pang of sadness, and almost lost focus in his frantic run: he felt like a superfluous runner.

But the next second, he suddenly gripped the key tightly and gritted his teeth.

At least this time, it wasn't Xu Yan who opened the door, but him.

"Ah Zhe! Don't get distracted!" Xu Yan growled.

"it is good!"

Ah Zhe rushed to the door, clutching the key tightly in his hand as if it were a lifeline.

He took a deep breath and suddenly flung open the door of the photo studio.

The sight outside the door sent a chill down the spines of all three.

It was no longer the alleyway they were familiar with.

The thick, rolling darkness swallowed everything, except for a narrow, barely visible path winding forward in the boundless inky blackness, as if it might be swallowed up at any moment.

Along the path, countless twisted and writhing shadows emanated, from which came teeth-grinding squeaks and faint weeping sounds.

The brilliance of the blood moon is visibly fading and dimming, like a candle flickering in the wind.

The darkness grew more restless and thirsty.

"quick!"

Ah Zhe felt a chill run down his spine, but he steeled himself and stepped onto the path.

Xu Yan followed closely behind, carrying Chen Zhiwei in his arms.

His strides were long and extremely steady, but each step felt like walking on a sticky swamp, with an invisible force dragging his ankles. Every jolt from running felt like a hard, cold object was pressing heavily against his chest.

The "Mirror of Life" pressed tightly against his skin felt like a heart that didn't belong to him, radiating an unsettling chill.

Chen Zhiwei nestled tightly against him, able to clearly hear the violent pounding of his heart and his suppressed breathing.

She dared not speak, afraid of distracting him, and could only bury her face in his shoulder, feeling his cold determination.

In the surrounding darkness, it seemed as if countless eyes were spying on them, greedily watching these three vibrant beings.

The shadows, as if alive, tried to entwine themselves, but were barely repelled by the cold and violent aura of "Abyss" unconsciously emanating from Xu Yan's body.

"Damn it... this road seems to be narrowing!"

A Zhe's voice was choked with sobs as he realized that the path beneath his feet was narrowing and the edges were beginning to crumble and dissipate.

"Don't look back! Run!"

Xu Yan shouted sharply, hugging Chen Zhiwei even tighter, almost running.

The city's outline appeared and disappeared in the extremely distorted darkness, yet seemed as distant as a mirage.

The old town area where Zhou Wenbin's home is located is like a vague coordinate, pointing in the final direction.

The blood moon's light grew dimmer and dimmer, until it was almost just a faint red glow.

The darkness was completely boiling!
Countless pale hand shadows reached out from the shadows on both sides, grabbing at them.

The piercing scream went straight to the eardrums.

"We're here! It's right in front of us!" Ah Zhe saw the familiar outline of the old building and let out a heart-wrenching shout.

He used his last bit of strength to run to the tightly closed door of the Zhou family's house, and with trembling hands, he raised the key and thrust it into the lock.

Click.

A soft sound.

The key did not insert smoothly, as if it was blocked by an invisible force.

Ah Zhe's face instantly turned ashen: "No...no! It won't go in! How could this be?!"

Xu Yan's heart sank.

Was there a mistake? Or was the time too late?

In her despair, Chen Zhiwei, who was being held tightly in Xu Yan's arms, seemed to be stimulated by the intense afterglow of the blood moon and the anxiety of defeat. Her nostrils twitched slightly, and she let out a barely audible groan.

Her unfocused gaze swept over the rusty key in A Zhe's hand, and a primal instinct from the depths of her blood was stirred.

“…blood…” Her pale lips moved, her breath so weak it was almost a whisper, “Ah Zhe…the key…”

These two fragmented words struck A Zhe's chaotic mind like a bolt of lightning.

He suddenly looked at the token belonging to the spirit medium in his hand and instantly realized what was going on.

"Blood! Yes! Everything that walks the underworld must be sacrificed with blood!" He almost roared these words, without the slightest hesitation, and suddenly used the tip of the key to slash his thumb.

Blood gushed out instantly, dripping onto the rusted key.

The blood seemed to be greedily absorbed by the key, making the rust on it appear slightly brighter.

He thrust the blood-stained key into the lock again.

This time, the key slid in without any resistance.

Ah Zhe twisted it hard!
Click!

A crisp sound, seemingly from the real world, seemed utterly out of place in this crumbling ghost realm.

The door to the Zhou family's house was opened a crack inwards.

Behind the door, darkness was no longer present; instead, a familiar, dim, human-like light shone through.

"It's open!!" A Zhe shouted with ecstasy.

(End of this chapter)