Chapter 981: What Are We Looking For

Pa Duo's voice echoed in the foyer.

Heimu leaned against the wall; the touch was startlingly cold.

She lifted her head; deep in the foyer a chandelier flickered extremely slowly, and each time it lit up, the picture frames on the wall appeared.

The frames held yellowed photos, each showing the same silhouette, back to the camera, shoulders drawn narrow, as if waiting for something.

Heimu glanced only once, then withdrew her gaze and turned to look at a wooden plaque standing by the wall.

The characters on the plaque were hastily written in red lacquer: Welcome to the Happy Maze Haunted House.

Please observe the following Rule.

Each room offers only one entry opportunity.

Do not linger in the darkness for more than ten seconds.

If you see someone in the mirror waving at you, close your eyes.

If you hear footsteps behind you at a corner, stop until the sound disappears.

Heimu finished reading them, her mouth twitched, the "Here it comes, here it comes" in her mind unsaid, when the chandelier above suddenly "snap" lit fully, the whole foyer blazed dazzlingly.

The sudden bright light made Pa Duo let out a cat‑like "meow" wail, the whole cat curled into a ball.

Ying squinted, her hand already pressing the hilt of a knife.

Only A Bo Ni Ya remained quietly standing, as if having anticipated this all along.

The bright light lasted a few seconds, then abruptly went out.

The instant darkness surged back, Heimu heard a sigh from directly ahead of her.

She did not turn, but instead summoned her purple Magic Staff again; the crystal at its tip glowed a faint violet, like a lamp opening in the dark.

"Don't look back."

Ying's voice sounded from the right rear, "There's something ahead."

Heimu illuminated the area with the staff's tip light.

Deep in the foyer, directly beneath that chandelier, an extra person appeared.

To be precise, an extra Black Shadow of roughly her height appeared.

The shadow faced away, shoulders narrow, its pose identical to the photos in the frames.

It stood at the boundary of light and dark, as if waiting for someone to speak first.

Heimu gripped the Magic Staff and took a slow step forward.

The Black Shadow also stepped forward.

The violet light grew brighter, yet the shadow's outline grew fuzzier, as if it would disperse under illumination, but the sigh was so real it made the scalp tingle.

"Proceed."

Heimu whispered, "If you block the way, I'll tear you down."

She thrust the staff forward; the purple crystal suddenly burst into countless fine light threads that coiled toward the Black Shadow.

The Black Shadow neither flinched nor dodged; the threads pierced its body, like a wisp of black fog being stirred apart.

Yet after the black fog dispersed, it rapidly re‑coalesced on the opposite side of the foyer, this time nearer to Ying.

A red fox's illusory form flickered behind Ying, wavering as if ready to pounce again.

"In this haunted house, shadow‑type entities have multiplied."

A Bo Ni Ya said softly, "They sustain their shape with darkness; light can disperse them, but they regenerate."

"Then let's brighten this place."

Heimu clenched the staff, pouring all the energy stored in the crystal into the shaft.

She raised the staff with one hand; the tip's light shifted from purple to white, then from white to a blinding silver, like a tiny sun exploding inside the foyer.

The Black Shadow trembled violently in the intense light, emitting a high‑pitched wail, and finally, like a piece of paper burned through, it curled, shattered at the center, fell to the floor and turned to a puddle of ash.

The picture frames on the surrounding walls fell down together, glass shattered across the floor, the photos faded rapidly in the light, leaving only blank sheets of paper.

After the bright light passed, the foyer returned to Calm.

Only Heimu's Magic Staff still glowed with a faint violet light.

She set the staff down, glanced back at the dazed Pa Duo and the still‑composed Ying, then looked toward A Bo Ni Ya.

"Let's go; this place is troublesome but not impossible to leave."

She raised a hand to wipe her face; her fingertip brushed a droplet of water dripping from the ceiling, icy and tinged with rust.

Without examining it closely, she stepped toward the nearest corridor.

The corridor was extremely narrow; the wallpaper on both sides peeled away, exposing skeletal wooden frames.

Deep within the haunted house, something heard their footsteps and let out a soft "creak".

Perspective shift.

Fu Xuan stood at the front segment of the main vessel Star Chariot, her purple‑white ceremonial dress clung to her legs under the high‑altitude airflow, the hem fluttered against her calves.

She placed both hands behind her back, fingers gently tightening within the wide sleeves, then forced herself to relax them.

Jing Liu boarded, and everyone on the Star Chariot simultaneously held their breath, as if fearing to disturb frost settled on the deck; even the vessel's hovering height sank half an inch.

Fu Xuan swallowed a mouthful of saliva without showing emotion.

She lifted her chin, crossed her two hands in front of her, her expression impeccably poised.

"Jing Liu!"

Fu Xuan spoke, deepening her tone to carry the weight of an Acting General, "Since the Giant Tree Rebirth, Luofu has frequently manifested anomalies. Regarding this incident, I have some details to confirm with you; you boarded voluntarily, so I assume you are willing to cooperate with the subsequent investigation."

Jing Liu did not turn around.

Standing at the front of the Star Chariot, a black Eye Mask covered half her face; frost‑white hair turning icy‑blue was lifted by the wind, the tips shimmering with cold water light in the moonlight, like a deity emerging from a glacier, exuding an aura that repelled anyone for miles.

She did not turn toward Fu Xuan, nor toward anyone else, but gazed at the undulating glacier below, as if watching something far away.

The Star Chariot was still moving, gliding slowly along the ice ridge, the hull's shadow sweeping over the frozen ruins one by one.

Fu Xuan waited a few seconds, but the other party remained silent.

The feeling of being ignored slowly rose from deep within her.

She didn't flare up, only took a breath and looked along Jing Liu's line of sight.

At first there was nothing; below lay vast expanses of blue‑white ice, faintly luminous under the moonlight.

The ice surface was dotted with frozen white Bubbles, translucent and of various sizes.

Looking deeper, the bottom of the ice sheet refracted a dark‑blue light, thick and dense.

Fu Xuan was just about to withdraw her gaze when she suddenly froze.

In the deepest part of the glacier, something seemed to flash—a greenish‑yellow glimmer, like a few fish swimming beneath the ice.

The light appeared almost like an illusion, yet Fu Xuan's Divination Eye on her forehead jerked violently, a pricking sensation shooting from her brow into the back of her head.

Jing Liu suddenly stepped forward, walking toward the edge of the Star Chariot.

The heel of her boot struck the deck, raising a circle of white frost, causing Fu Xuan and the few behind her to instinctively hold their breath.

Yan Qing stood to Fu Xuan's side and behind, hand gripping the sword hilt, the whole body taut like a fully drawn bow.

Xue Yi stood a little farther away, Lock chains coiled around her arms, red eyes coldly staring at Jing Liu's silhouette.

Fu Xuan hesitated for half a second, then followed.

She could not appear cowardly, especially in front of Jing Liu; weakness would only make this woman look down on herself more.

"Jing Liu, I haven't finished speaking."

Fu Xuan stepped to a spot two steps behind her, her voice pressed low and steady, "What are you looking for?"