Oh no! My yandere school beauty is so clingy!

Shen Yu took out the key and the jewelry box.

The moment they took the item out, the green candlestick in the room went out with a "poof"!

The entire space was plunged into near-absolute darkness once again!

Only the faint light from Shen Yu's flashlight and the pale fluorescent arrow on the jewelry box remained lit.

"Hiss—" The sudden darkness made Lin Anran gasp and press herself tightly against Shen Yu.

Then, the wooden door they had been unable to open before creaked open and slowly opened a crack inward.

At the same time, a cold wind blew out from the crack in the door.

The cries and the distorted sounds of the suona rang out again, this time clearer, as if they were coming from behind that door.

Shen Yu immediately pulled Lin Anran behind him and shone his flashlight through the crack in the door!

The light pierced the darkness, illuminating a small area near the doorway.

The ground seemed to be covered with a dark red, worn-out carpet, and further away was an unfathomable darkness.

Is it an NPC? Or a trap or prop?

Shen Yu narrowed his eyes and gripped the brass key in his hand tightly.

Lin Anran held her breath, gripped his arm tightly, and stared intently at the open door.

"Should we...go in?" she asked in a low voice, her voice a little hoarse.

Shen Yu turned around and glanced at her.

In the darkness, her eyes reflected the faint light of the flashlight, revealing a distinct tension, but more so a vigilance and a restless curiosity rather than pure fear.

He nodded, his voice steady:

"The key might open this door, or it might be another lock inside. Stay close to me and watch your step and your surroundings."

He took the first step, venturing into the deeper darkness.

Lin Anran followed without hesitation.

The door closed silently behind them, cutting off the last sliver of light from the front hall.

The flashlight beam became the only source of light, but it could only illuminate a few steps ahead.

Behind the door was a narrow corridor, even lower than the front hall, with rough wooden beams overhead. A flashlight beam swept across it, revealing tattered curtains and cobwebs hanging there—it was hard to tell if they were real or not...

The corridor is not long, about ten meters long, and turns to the right at the end.

The sounds of crying and suona horns seemed to come from around the corner, intermittent and sometimes near, sometimes far.

"Watch your step," Shen Yu whispered, carefully scanning the ground with his flashlight.

He noticed that some of the floorboards were of varying shades, which might indicate hidden compartments or mechanisms.

He walked slowly and steadily, each step like a tentative exploration.

Lin Anran followed half a step behind him, one hand tightly gripping the side of his shirt.

Holding a small flashlight in their other hand, they cautiously shone it to the sides and behind them, forming a simple back-to-back defensive stance.

When he reached the corner, Shen Yu stopped and did not peek out rashly.

He listened intently, and besides the annoying sound effects, there seemed to be a rustling sound as well.

It looks like something is crawling...

He quickly shone the flashlight around the corner...

The beam of light swept across, revealing another, shorter passage after the corner, at the end of which seemed to be a half-open wooden door.

In the shadows of the corner where the beam of light swept across, something curled up seemed to move slightly.

Is it an NPC? It moves very quickly.

Shen Yu's mind raced as he assessed the level of threat.

It appears to be more about creating a scare than direct contact...

He needed to ensure he found clues and passed through the checkpoints, while also protecting Lin Anran and preventing her from being too frightened.

"There's a door ahead, which might lead to the next room. Watch out for something in the corner, but it should be a fixed scare point; they won't chase you."

He quickly whispered to Lin Anran, briefly explaining the situation.

"Okay, sure..."

Lin Anran nodded, her palms slightly sweaty, but her eyes were firm.

With Shen Yu around, he could always provide early warnings and analyze situations.

The two remained vigilant and quickly rounded the corner.

Sure enough, just as they passed the corner of the wall, the dark red thing suddenly sprang up and pounced on them with a shriek!

However, thanks to Shen Yu's advance warning, the two were only startled and quickly dodged, without being touched.

After missing its target, the thing slumped back against the corner of the wall and lay still.

Arriving at the half-open wooden door, the carvings on it depicted auspicious patterns such as mandarin ducks and lotus flowers, but at this moment they seemed to exude an eerie sense of disharmony.

A heavy brass lock hung on the door, the shape of the keyhole matching the brass key they had just received.

"Try the key."

Shen Yu handed the key to Lin Anran, while he himself used a flashlight to keep watch over the surroundings, especially the corridor and overhead where they had come from.

Lin Anran took the cold key, took a deep breath, and inserted it into the lock.

With a soft "click," the lock opened.

She gave it a gentle push, and the wooden door creaked open.

Inside the door was a much more spacious room, which looked like... a wedding hall.

On the wall directly opposite the door, there was a brightly colored "囍" (double happiness) character pasted on it.

But the red was so dark it was almost black, like dried blood.

Below the double happiness symbol was an offering table with two thick, burning white candles on it, casting a pale and eerie light on the entire room.

There were some fruits and snacks on the offering table, but they were all rotten and spoiled; they were all fake props.

Several armchairs were placed on both sides of the room, but no one was sitting on them.

The most striking feature was in the center of the room, where a pitch-black coffin was placed, its lid half-open, and it appeared to be lined with red silk.

In front of the coffin, a complex array pattern was drawn on the ground with a dark red liquid, and something seemed to be placed in the center of the pattern...

"A wedding hall for a ghost marriage..." Shen Yu's sharp gaze swept across the entire room, finally settling on the array pattern.

"The clues should be there, or in the coffin. Be careful, there might be some scary traps."

He stepped into the room first, carefully avoiding the suspiciously colored stains on the floor, and walked towards the center of the formation.

Lin Anran followed closely behind, her gaze drawn to the half-open coffin, feeling as if something might suddenly rise from inside...

The formation had a diamond-shaped bronze mirror placed at its center, which was larger than the one they had found before.

Beside the bronze mirror lay a wooden comb, with a few dry black hairs tangled between its teeth.

In addition, there was a small, open rouge box.

"Mirror, comb, hair, rouge..." Shen Yu squatted down, observing carefully, but did not touch anything rashly.

"These must be the clues. Let me examine them..."

He looked at the coffin and said:

"The key might be in the coffin, but there's likely a scary mechanism. I'll go check it out; you stay here."