After nine lifetimes of reincarnation, I returned to the desolate ancient continent.

Don't open the door. Chen Ye really isn't outside.

The message was still on the screen, like an ice needle, suddenly piercing Gu Qingxuan's eyes.

The knocking on the door continued.

"Old Gu! Are you deaf?"

The voice grew increasingly urgent, even carrying a hint of annoyance and panting from being locked out, so realistic it was almost entirely genuine.

But the phone screen on the bed was blindingly bright.

Xia Zhiwei wouldn't joke about something like this.

Gu Qingxuan stared intently at the message, a chill running down his spine, and even the palms of his hands gripping the folding chair were sweating.

It wasn't Chen Ye outside the door.

The one in the living room just now wasn't Chen Ye.

Where is the real Chen Ye?

The moment the thought popped into his head, Gu Qingxuan forcibly suppressed it.

Now is not the time to think about this.

The most important thing now is—

Don't open the door.

Be quiet.

Don't let external factors determine your position and reaction.

The thing outside the door banged on the door twice more.

Bang. Bang.

"Gu Qingxuan!"

The first time it called him by his full name, the familiar impatience in its tone suddenly turned somewhat stiff.

Like someone who's been acting for too long, finally starting to get impatient.

Gu Qingxuan's breath hitched slightly, and then he suddenly realized something.

The thing outside the door has been called "Old Gu" and "Gu Qingxuan" ever since we came upstairs.

But the real Chen Ye would almost never call him by his full name.

He only calls out her full name occasionally when he's joking or when he's really in a hurry.

And right now, this thing is being called out too easily.

It's like it's not imitating a friend.

It's just repeating a name.

Repeat the person it is truly looking for.

Gu Qingxuan's heart sank.

The thing outside the door seemed to be getting no response for a long time, and suddenly laughed.

This time, the laughter was very low, completely unlike the cursing Chen Ye from before.

"You're more cautious than I thought."

When it opened its mouth, its voice was not loud, and even a little slow.

But that tone of voice made the hairs on Gu Qingxuan's arms stand on end.

That's not the tone an ordinary ghost should have.

It wasn't violence, greed, or the frustration of being shut out.

Rather, it was a faint, almost contemptuous assessment.

Like a hunter finally confirming that his prey is somewhat interesting.

"But you can hide for one night, how long can you hide?"

Gu Qingxuan didn't move.

She can protect you once or twice, but not for a lifetime.

The moment those words were spoken, Gu Qingxuan's pupils contracted slightly.

It knew Xia Zhiwei.

Or rather, it at least knew of Xia Zhiwei's existence and that the two had met tonight.

This is no longer as simple as "evil spirits just happened to come knocking."

Gu Qingxuan forced himself to calm down, slowly lowered the folding chair a little, and took half a step back to the bedside.

The area outside the door and inside the living room remained unusually quiet.

The sounds of "Chen Ye" in the corridor also disappeared.

Like the things on both sides, they are all waiting.

Let him get confused first.

Let him break down first.

Gu Qingxuan stood there, his Adam's apple bobbing, and suddenly looked down at his phone.

Xia Zhiwei did not send a second message.

That reminder seemed to be all the time she could spare.

He stared at the chat box for two seconds, but ultimately did not reply.

It's not that I don't want to go back.

Rather, he vaguely felt that the signal in the room had been restored too conveniently.

It was as if someone had deliberately given him a crack.

What if this crack isn't just sending messages to him, but also to something else?

Gu Qingxuan turned off his phone screen, sat back on the edge of the bed, and tried to breathe softly.

The room was so quiet that only the sound of a heartbeat could be heard.

a bit.

Two times.

Three times.

The thing outside the door suddenly spoke again.

"Gu Qingxuan".

Its sound is not loud; in fact, it can be described as very soft.

But the lighter it is, the more lingering that strange feeling becomes.

"Have you ever wondered why you have those dreams?"

Gu Qingxuan's fingers tightened suddenly.

It continued slowly and deliberately:

"I want to know why I always dream of the same places, why I always die so tragically, and why, even though I don't remember anything, I always feel that some things should belong to me."

Gu Qingxuan felt as if he had been violently struck in the chest.

He didn't speak, but a faint heat returned to the depths of his right eye.

The voice outside the door chuckled softly.

It was as if he knew he was right.

"Look."

"You really want to know."

Gu Qingxuan gritted his teeth, forcing himself to remain silent.

But the fragments of dreams in my mind surfaced uncontrollably.

The collapsed white jade staircase.

A blue carp defying the heavens.

A white carp hangs quietly in the moonlight.

And that hand reaching out from the chaos.

His ears were ringing, and he could hardly tell whether the voice outside the door was from that thing or some kind of echo that had been stirred up in his head.

"Answer me one question," the thing outside the door said. "And I'll tell you a little bit of the truth."

Gu Qingxuan's forehead twitched.

At the same time, he suddenly remembered a sentence that Xia Zhiwei had said in Chapter Three.

These things tend to follow people's thoughts.

The thought flashed through his mind, and Gu Qingxuan felt a sudden chill.

Do not answer.

Don't respond with a single word.

No matter what it asks.

Sure enough, the sound outside the door soon rang out again:

When did you first dream of dying? Were you seven years old, or even earlier?

Gu Qingxuan's back tensed instantly.

It even knows this?

No, that's not right.

It's also possible that it doesn't know and is just testing the waters.

As long as he shows the slightest reaction, the other person can follow that and touch him downwards.

Gu Qingxuan closed his eyes, forcefully suppressing the urge to look up, to reply, and to question who it was.

There was a two-second silence outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, the amusement in that thing's tone became even more pronounced.

"So it really was seven years old."

Gu Qingxuan's heart sank.

It tricked them out.

Even if he didn't say a word, it still detected his reactions from his breathing, heartbeat, or something even more subtle.

This made him realize for the first time that the terrifying thing wasn't like a wandering ghost that pounced and tore at him.

Instead, it can see, hear, test, and gradually uncover people's panic.

Gu Qingxuan's knuckles turned white as he forced himself to look back at the edge of the bed and stop looking at the door.

We can't let it lead us any further.

He took a deep breath and focused his attention back on his dantian.

That wisp of spiritual energy is still there.

It was weak, but it didn't dissipate.

This time, Gu Qingxuan didn't just suppress it like before. Instead, he tried to draw his aura inward layer by layer, following the method he had learned in Chapter 4.

It tightened even more.

To get deeper.

It's like hiding yourself, along with all your outward emotions, voices, and fears, deep inside your body.

It was difficult at first.

The sound from the thing outside the door was like a hook, pulling at his nerves again and again.

But gradually, Gu Qingxuan noticed that the chaotic buzzing sounds in his ears were actually weakening little by little.

The burning sensation in his right eye subsided somewhat.

Suddenly there was silence outside the door.

A few seconds later, a very faint scraping sound came from the living room.

Something seemed to slowly crouch down by the door.

"interesting."

The voice spoke softly.

"She's only been teaching you for a short time, and you've already learned this?"

Gu Qingxuan's breath hitched.

The tone of this sentence is completely different from before.

It doesn't sound like you're talking to prey you've just spotted.

It's more like watching someone who should be very familiar, but has become a stranger.

The next second, a soft "click" sound came from outside the door.

It was like a tiny thing, gently placed at the doorway.

Gu Qingxuan's pupils contracted slightly, and he subconsciously looked down.

The door was too narrow; he couldn't see anything.

But an indescribable chill slowly crept up his back along with that soft sound.

The thing outside the door seemed to laugh again.

"This should be considered yours."

Gu Qingxuan's heart suddenly clenched.

his?

What is that?

There was no further explanation from outside the door.

A gust of wind suddenly swept through the corridor.

It wasn't the natural breeze leaking in through the window, but rather something silently passing through the depths of the old building's hallway, bringing with it a chilly, damp atmosphere. The temperature in the living room instantly dropped even further.

Almost at the same time, Gu Qingxuan suddenly heard a very soft, intermittent groan.

"...Old Gu..."

The sound was very weak, as if it came from a very far place.

Yet it felt so real that it gave him goosebumps.

That was Chen Ye's voice.

It wasn't the same complete voice that was being imitated outside the door.

Instead, it was a weak, strained sound, as if someone had covered his mouth and nose and was struggling to squeeze it out.

It's right in the hallway.

Or even closer.

Gu Qingxuan almost jumped up from the bedside.

But he stopped abruptly halfway up.

Do not move.

This could also be fake.

What this thing wants most right now is to force him to open the door or leave the bedroom.

It was quiet outside.

The silence was so profound that it seemed his earlier shout of "Old Gu" was merely a hallucination.

Gu Qingxuan felt as if a stone was pressing on his chest, making it difficult for him to breathe.

If it really is Chen Ye...

If Chen Ye is really outside...

The moment the thought crossed his mind, Gu Qingxuan abruptly closed his eyes and bit his tongue hard.

The stench of blood filled his mouth, and the pain brought him to a momentary clarity.

Don't make choices for what's outside the door.

This statement was not made by anyone.

It was as if some extremely vague experience had suddenly surfaced from the depths of his body.

Gu Qingxuan was taken aback.

The next second, he suddenly heard the thing outside the door make a very soft "tsk" sound.

He seemed a little impatient.

It was as if... he was quite familiar with his reaction just now.

"Even this habit is still there," it whispered.

Gu Qingxuan felt a sudden chill run down his spine.

It means "still there".

It's not "How could you do that?"

Rather, it was as if it already knew how Gu Qingxuan would force himself to calm down under certain circumstances.

The thing outside the door was silent for a while, then suddenly spoke slowly again.

"Gu Qingxuan".

"You're really disappointing right now."

The moment those words were spoken, the burning sensation deep within Gu Qingxuan's right eye suddenly surged.

It's not a stinging pain.

And it was as if something had been struck hard by those words.

Immediately afterwards, a very brief image flashed through his mind without warning.

Not a dream.

It's more like a fragment of a memory that was torn apart and suddenly fell out.

The main hall was dimly lit.

A long trail of bloodstains stretched across the ground.

A long, pale hand rested on a cracked black mask.

Someone stood on high ground, eyes downcast, their voice as cold as a knife quenched in snow.

"You're too soft."

The image flashed by.

It was so fast it felt like an illusion.

Gu Qingxuan froze on the spot, even his breath stopped for a moment.

The thing outside the door seemed to have sensed something and finally let out a soft laugh that was genuinely emotional for the first time.

"Turns out I can still remember a little bit."

Gu Qingxuan almost dropped the folding chair from his hands.

It knows.

It really knows.

Just then, the phone on the bed suddenly vibrated again.

Gu Qingxuan almost abruptly looked down.

It was Xia Zhiwei again.

This time there are only four words:

[Guarding the house door]

Immediately afterwards, a second message popped up:

I'm almost there.

Gu Qingxuan's breath hitched.

Almost at the same time, the living room window suddenly made a soft "snap" sound, as if something had hit the glass from the outside.

The oppressive atmosphere outside the door suddenly changed at that moment.

It's no longer a slow, tentative exploration.

But as if finally realizing that further delay would lead to unforeseen changes, he suddenly sank into a deep depression.

Gu Qingxuan's expression changed, and almost instinctively he took a step forward, gripped the folding chair tightly again, and stared intently at the door.

The next second—

The doorknob was slammed down from the outside.