Lin Chen looked at him. "Who are they?" Chen Yu pointed toward an elderly man standing near the opposite house. "That is the old man who warned us not to speak Rao Jin's name." His finger shifted toward an elderly woman standing a little farther away. "And that woman. She told us not to stand beneath colored rain." Su Yuan moved closer, but the moment he saw their faces, he stopped. "Why are they standing there?" No one answered. Xu Yang continued watching them. Something about the two villagers seemed wrong. Their heads were tilted at exactly the same angle, and neither showed any sign of breathing or reacting to the rain. "Look at their heads." he said quietly.
Wei Han narrowed his eyes. "They are standing the same way." Chen Yu looked from one figure to the other. "They were not standing like that when we spoke to them." As they watched, the elderly man slowly raised one hand. His movements were stiff, almost as though his arm were being pulled upward by an unseen force. His fingers touched his forehead, then moved down across his face. His skin began to peel away beneath his palm, sliding down like wet paper. Chen Yu recoiled from the window and nearly knocked into Qing Li. "What in the heavens..."
The face beneath was not a face at all. Only a dark, empty surface remained. White rainwater ran down the figure's head and body, leaving no trace of blood. Su Yuan covered his mouth, unable to look away. The elderly woman raised her hand next. She pressed her palm against her face and dragged it downward. Her skin came away in the same manner, revealing the same dark emptiness beneath. One by one, the other figures began doing the same. Their faces slipped away, but their bodies remained standing in the rain. None of them cried out or showed any pain.
The white water ran down their empty faces and dripped from their chins. Qing Li stepped away from the window. "They are not the villagers we met." Hei Long drew his sword and moved between the window and Su Yuan. "Whatever they are, they know we are here." Wei Han raised his hand, and his rings began to tremble again. He looked toward the street, his expression growing tense. "Their presence is strange. I cannot sense any living aura from them."
Lin Chen pulled the curtain shut. "Stay away from the windows." Chen Yu backed away, still staring at the closed curtain. "Those people spoke to us earlier. They warned us about the rain. If they were not real, then who did we speak to?" No one answered him. The room fell silent. For a moment, only the sound of the rain could be heard. Then, from the other side of the closed curtain, someone gently tapped the window and whispered, "You left us outside."
The white rain grew heavier, beating against the roof and dripping through the gaps between the old wooden boards. A cold dampness spread through the house, carrying the smell of wet soil and burnt incense. Xu Yang wrinkled his nose. There was no incense burner in the room, yet the smell grew stronger with every passing moment. First the footprints, then a candle burning beneath water, and now this strange smell. If the house wants to show us something, why can't it do so without all these frightening tricks?...He turned toward the wall.More pale handprints had appeared across the wooden boards. Some were high above their heads, while others reached almost to the floor. Wei Han raised his hand, but the ring on his finger kept trembling. "Something is here." he said.
Chen Yu glanced at the wall. "Behind it?" "I cannot tell. Whatever it is, it is very close."
Before Lin Chen could reply, a bell rang somewhere inside the house. Its sound was faint and distant, like a temple bell heard through thick fog. Everyone turned toward it. The bell rang a second time, then fell silent. Chen Yu frowned. "Was that a bell?" "I heard it too," Su Yuan said. "But where did it come from?" A moment later, footsteps sounded above them. They were slow and heavy, crossing the wooden floor one step at a time. Yan Luo raised his sword and looked up. "There is no upper floor." The footsteps stopped.
For a moment, only the rain could be heard. Then a long creak came from the far end of the house. The wooden beams groaned, as though something heavy had been placed upon them. Dust drifted down from the ceiling, and the old floor gave a slight shudder beneath their feet. Xu Yang's ears stood upright. That sounds like a wooden execution platform. He turned toward the others, but before he could speak, a faint cry reached his ears. It came from beyond the wall, low and broken, like someone struggling to hold back their sobs. Xu Yang moved closer to Lin Chen and stared at the wooden boards. "I can hear someone crying." Lin Chen lowered his gaze toward him. "From which direction?" Xu Yang turned his head, trying to follow the sound. "I can't tell. It sounds close, but I can't find where it's coming from."
The crying suddenly stopped and soft knock came from inside the wall, followed by another, as if someone were tapping from the other side. Chen Yu flinched and covered one ear. "Wait. Is anyone else hearing voices?" Su Yuan looked at him. "What voices?" "A crowd. They're talking all at once." Chen Yu's face tightened as he glanced toward the entrance. "I can't make out what they're saying." Yan Luo's grip on his sword changed. "I hear something too." Qing Li turned toward him. "What is it?" "A blade being dragged across stone."
A sharp scraping sound seemed to pass through the room. Yan Luo turned toward it, but the floor was empty. The sound stopped, then came again from the opposite side. He tightened his grip on his sword and flame came from sword. "It is not coming from outside. Nor is anyone making it in this room." Wei Han looked around. "Perhaps the sound comes from a place we cannot see." Chen Yu gave him a troubled look. "You could have said something less frightening." Before Wei Han could answer, the bell rang again. This time, it was much louder.
The footsteps followed, crossing the unseen floor, and the beams above them groaned once more. The crying grew clearer, while the voices of the crowd rose around Chen Yu. He turned in place, trying to find their source. Xu Yang listened carefully. For a brief moment, he thought he heard someone calling out, but the words faded beneath the other sounds. These sounds are getting closer. It's almost as if we're standing among the people who witnessed that execution... Suddenly, a deep male voice rang through the house. "By the order of the court, the accused is sentenced to death." Everyone froze. Another voice answered, trembling with fear. "Please! I did not do it! I beg you, show mercy!"
The sound of chains rattling followed. Xu Yang's fur rose along his back. The voices came from every direction, from the walls and beneath the floorboards. It was as though the old house had kept the sounds of that day and was now forcing them to hear it again. Lin Chen looked toward the doorway. "This sounds like an execution." Wei Han nodded slowly. "The house is repeating something that happened here." Chen Yu swallowed and glanced around the room. "You mean it is showing us what happened?" "Not showing us," Wei Han replied. "Making us hear it."
Another cry rang out, followed by a heavy thud against wood. Hei Long suddenly staggered. He pressed a hand against his chest, his face tightening in pain. Su Yuan turned toward him at once. "Hei Long? What happened?" Hei Long gripped the mark beneath his clothes. A faint light shone through the fabric, growing brighter as he struggled to catch his breath. "It burns..." he muttered. Lin Chen stepped closer. "Your mark?" Hei Long nodded, his fingers pressing against his chest. After a moment, he looked around the old house with a troubled expression. "I've been here before."
Everyone turned toward him. Lin Chen's expression grew serious. "When were you here?" Hei Long shook his head. "I don't know." He pressed his hand harder against his chest, his breathing still uneven. "But I remember this place. I was standing here, watching someone die beneath a white sky." Xu Yang's ears twitched. A white sky? The records said Rao Jin was executed thirty years ago, but there was no mention of white rain or anything unusual in the sky. If Hei Long's memory is real, then either the records are incomplete, or this was not Rao Jin's execution at all...
Lin Chen frowned. "The execution record mentioned the officials and witnesses, but nothing about a white sky." Hei Long lowered his gaze. "Then perhaps something was left out." "Or the rain is showing you a memory that isn't yours," Lin Chen said. "Remember what happened during the black rain. People believed they had done things that never happened." Hei Long looked up at him. "This feels different." Wei Han glanced at the ring on his finger. It had stopped shaking, but its faint light continued to flicker. "I agree with him. The black rain confused people's memories. This rain feels as though it is bringing something hidden back to the surface."
Chen Yu rubbed his arms and looked toward the walls. "So we might actually be hearing something that happened here?" "Possibly," Wei Han replied. "But we cannot know whether these memories belong to us or to someone else." Before anyone could speak again, the man's voice returned. "The accused shall be brought forward." The frightened voice followed at once. "Please! I have done nothing wrong!" Xu Yang turned sharply. The crying now seemed to come from just behind him. He spun around, but there was no one there. Something is wrong. I hear someone crying, Chen Yu hears a crowd, and Yan Luo hears a blade being dragged across stone. We're all hearing different things, but they seem connected to the same execution. Are we hearing different moments, or is this house making each of us witness a different part of that day?...
A sudden crack rang through the house, like a thick wooden beam splitting apart. Everyone looked toward the ceiling. The man's voice began again, louder than before. "The condemned—" The next word was lost beneath another sharp crack. The walls shook, and dust fell from the old beams above. Even the candle in the small room flickered, though its flame did not go out. Hei Long slowly raised his head. His breathing was uneven, and his gaze settled on Xu Yang. "I think I was the one who killed him." The room fell silent. Xu Yang looked at Hei Long, then at the faint light glowing beneath his hand.
Lin Chen was the first to speak. "You don't know that for certain." Hei Long tightened his grip over his chest. "But I remember someone dying." "Remembering that you stood here doesn't mean you know what happened."Chen Yu kept his voice calm. "The rain may be forcing a false memory into your mind. We have already seen what the black rain can do." Hei Long shook his head. "This feels different. I can still hear that voice." "Then we will find out whose voice it was," Lin Chen replied. "Until then, don't take a memory as proof." Wei Han turned toward the wall.
The pale handprints had begun to overlap, covering more of the wooden boards. "Lin Chen is right to be careful, but I don't think we should treat this as another trick of the black rain. That rain twisted people's memories. This one feels as though it is bringing something buried back to the surface."Chen Yu glanced between them. "So this house remembers an execution, and now the rain is making us hear it?" Qing Li studied the handprints. "That seems possible." Chen Yu let out a quiet breath. "I was hoping for a better explanation." No one replied. The voices had stopped. The bell was silent, and the footsteps had vanished. For a moment, even the rain seemed to grow quieter. Then Su Yuan spoke from beside the doorway. "There's someone in the room."
Everyone turned toward him. Su Yuan stood at the doorway, staring into the small room. The old chair was still beside the table, but someone was sitting in it. The figure wore dark, worn robes like those of a condemned prisoner. Its head hung low, and long hair covered its face. Neither its hands nor its feet could be seen beneath the loose folds of its clothes. Su Yuan's expression tightened. "Who is that?" The figure remained motionless. Lin Chen stepped in front of Su Yuan and looked more closely. "Did anyone see it enter?" Chen Yu shook his head, his eyes fixed on the seated figure. "It wasn't there a moment ago. I was watching the room."
Yan Luo moved closer,Lin Chen studied the figure for a moment before taking a slow step toward the doorway. "Can you hear us?" There was no answer. He moved closer, keeping his eyes on the lowered head. The candle continued to burn beside the figure, its wick still submerged beneath the water. Lin Chen's gaze shifted briefly toward it before returning to the stranger. "Who are you? Why are you here?" The figure did not respond. Not even its hair stirred. Then, without warning, it vanished. Lin Chen stopped immediately. The chair stood empty, and the small room was just as it had been before. He searched the corners and looked beneath the table, but there was nowhere for anyone to hide.
Chen Yu swallowed. "It disappeared right in front of us." Su Yuan stepped closer to the doorway, his attention falling on the table. "Wait. Look at this." A wet handprint had appeared on the dusty surface. Lin Chen turned toward it. Water filled the marks left by the fingers and slowly ran along the grooves in the old wood before dripping over the edge.Xu Yang stared at the handprint. His ears twitched as he counted the marks one by one. One, two, three, four, five... six? He leaned closer, narrowing his eyes to make sure he hadn't counted incorrectly. "That handprint has six fingers." Chen Yu bent forward to look, then quickly drew back. "Six? Are you certain?" Xu Yang nodded. "I'm certain." Wei Han crouched beside the table, examining the print without touching it. His expression grew serious. "That is no ordinary human hand."
Qing Li glanced at the empty chair. "Perhaps the person sitting there was never human." Before anyone could reply, a faint metallic creak came from the other side of the room. Everyone turned toward the sound. An old bronze mirror hung crookedly on the wall, its surface cracked from one corner to the other. Dust covered its frame, and the bronze had grown so dull that it barely caught the candlelight. Yet Xu Yang could see the small room reflected in it with unusual clarity. The table stood in its place. The candle still burned. The chair was beside the table. And someone was sitting in it again.
Xu Yang went completely still. "Don't move." Lin Chen turned toward him. "What did you see?" Xu Yang raised a paw and pointed at the mirror. "Look at the reflection." One by one, they turned toward it. The figure in the old robes sat beside the table, its head still lowered and its long hair hanging over its face. Chen Yu immediately looked over his shoulder. The space behind them was empty. He turned back to the mirror, his face paling. "It's still there." Su Yuan took a careful step closer, then stopped. "But there's no one in the room." Yan Luo shifted to the side, checking the space around the table and the walls. His sword remained in his hand. "There is nothing behind us."
Wei Han slowly raised his hand toward the mirror. The ring on his finger began to tremble, its light flickering more violently than before. He stared at the reflection. "The image is not following the room."Lin Chen frowned. "What do you mean?" Wei Han lowered his hand slightly, watching the figure. "When we move, the reflection should change with us. But look carefully. The table, the candle, and the chair are all in their proper places, yet that figure remains there even though the chair before us is empty." Chen Yu glanced between the mirror and the real room. "Then what exactly are we looking at?" Wei Han's expression darkened. "The mirror is showing something that is not standing here."
Lin Chen frowned. "What does that mean?" "It means the mirror is showing something that is not standing here." The figure slowly lifted its head. Wet strands of hair slipped away from its face, but its features remained unclear. Its skin was pale and stretched tightly over its cheeks. Water trickled from its hair and ran down its chin, yet its robes remained strangely dry. Xu Yang stared at water and smiled.I really need to stop hoping that every new discovery will make this situation easier...
The figure tilted its head slightly. Then it smiled. Su Yuan stepped back, and Chen Yu quickly caught his arm before he stumbled against the wall. "Don't look at it." Chen Yu whispered. "I don't think looking away will help," Qing Li replied, though his expression had grown tense. The figure continued to smile. Slowly, it raised one hand. Its fingers were long and pale. It lifted one finger to its lips, silently telling them to keep quiet. No one moved. The figure held that gesture for several breaths. Then a loud crack broke the silence.
Everyone turned toward the door at the front of the house. It shuddered in its frame. Another crack followed, and the old wooden latch slowly lifted by itself. Lin Chen stepped away from the mirror. "The door..." The door began to swing inward. Its hinges groaned, though no one stood near it. Beyond the doorway, the street was empty. Not a single villager remained beneath the rain. No one stood beside the houses or along the road. Only the white rain continued to fall, covering the empty street in a pale sheet of water. Chen Yu stared outside. "Where did everyone go?" Wei Han lowered his gaze to the ground beyond the threshold. His expression changed. "Look at the footprints."
Wet marks covered the muddy street. Some were small, others large, and many crossed over one another. They stretched from the far end of the road all the way to the wooden house. Xu Yang moved closer to the doorway and looked down. Every footprint faced the house. None led away from it. The white rain continued to fall, but the marks did not wash away. They remained clear in the mud, all pointing toward the place where they stood. All the footprints lead toward the house. None lead away.
Then suddenly a dark figure appeared at the far end of the street. It walked slowly toward the wooden house, its head lowered and its arms hanging motionlessly at its sides. Xu Yang narrowed his eyes, trying to make out its features through the heavy rain. At first, it looked like nothing more than a shadow. But with every step, its shape became clearer. Its dark, worn robes were exactly like those worn by the figure they had seen in the execution room. Chen Yu leaned closer to the doorway. "Tell me I'm not the only one seeing this." Qing Li glanced at him. "If you are, then we are all seeing the same thing."
Wei Han kept his eyes on the approaching figure. "Its robes are the same as those we saw inside." Su Yuan frowned. "Then is it the person from the chair?" "Perhaps," Chen Yu replied. "But we saw that figure sitting inside. This one is coming from the street." Chen Yu looked between them. "Could there be two of them?" Yan Luo tightened his grip on his sword. "Or perhaps the one inside was never the only one."
The figure continued walking. It did not hurry, nor did it seem to notice the rain falling over its body. As it drew closer, Xu Yang's gaze dropped to its feet. His ears slowly flattened. The figure was barefoot, but its toes pointed backward. He stared for another moment. Wonderful. Another creature with something wrong with its body. Is there anything in this village that can walk normally? "Its feet..." Xu Yang said. Lin Chen followed his gaze. "What about them?" "Look carefully." Chen Yu leaned forward again. The moment he saw the figure's feet, he quickly straightened. "Those are facing the wrong way!"
Qing Li's expression turned cold. "You have a sharp eye." "I would rather have eyes that hadn't seen it."The figure finally reached the house and stopped just outside the doorway. It did not cross the threshold. Its wet robes hung loosely around its legs, and its backward-facing feet remained planted in the mud. Yan Luo raised his sword slightly. "Why has it stopped?" Qing Li studied the space between the figure and the doorway. "Perhaps it cannot cross." Chen Yu glanced at the threshold. "Then this house has at least one useful quality." "I wouldn't call a house that keeps changing its rooms useful," Qing Li replied.
Chen Yu sighed. "You really know how to ruin a moment of relief." The figure slowly lifted its head. Its face remained hidden beneath its wet hair, but Xu Yang felt its gaze settle directly on him. His body stiffened. "It's looking at me." Lin Chen stepped closer, placing himself between Xu Yang and the doorway. "Don't go near it." Xu Yang stayed where he was. The figure's lips began to move, but no sound came from outside. Instead, a voice came from somewhere inside the house. "You have already let me in."
Everyone turned toward the inner room. The old chair beside the table was no longer empty. Someone was sitting in it, its head lowered beneath long, wet hair. Chen Yu's face paled. "It was outside just now..." Wei Han looked back toward the street. The figure had vanished. "How did it get inside?" Su Yuan stared at the chair. "It never crossed the threshold." Yan Luo kept his sword pointed toward the seated figure. "Then the one outside was only a distraction." Xu Yang looked from the empty street to the figure in the chair. Wait. If it never entered through the door, what exactly did we let inside? Chen Yu's attention shifted to something near the wall. "Was that stone tablet there before?" An old stone tablet stood partly hidden behind a wooden pillar. Its surface was covered in dust, and its worn face appeared blank.
Chen Yu studied it from a distance. "I don't remember seeing it earlier." Wei Han glanced at the tablet. "Perhaps we weren't meant to notice it until now." Qing Li looked at the faint markings beneath the dust. "Or perhaps it wasn't here until now." Chen Yu turned to him. "That is somehow worse."A single white drop fell from the roof and landed on the tablet. Faint lines appeared beneath the dust, slowly forming characters. Chen Yu stepped back. "There. The stone is writing." Wei Han watched the characters emerge. "It seems the rain has revealed something hidden inside it." Soon, the first sentence became clear. [Five rains. Five doors. One truth buried beneath them.]
Su Yuan read it quietly. "Five rains... five doors. What could the doors mean?" Chen Yu glanced toward the window. "We've encountered red, black, blue, and white rain. If there are five, one is still missing."Qing Li studied the inscription. "That explains the rains, not the doors." "Perhaps each rain opens a door," Chen Yu suggested. Lin Chen shook his head slightly. "The inscription doesn't say that. The rains and doors may be connected, but we don't yet know how."
Su Yuan considered the words. "Perhaps each rain reveals a different part of the truth. The doors could be places, memories, or something we haven't encountered yet." Chen Yu looked at the tablet again. "Five rains, five doors, and one buried truth. Whoever left this message certainly enjoyed making things difficult." Qing Li glanced at him. "At least the message is clearer than your explanations." "I was hoping you might offer something more useful." "I could, but you might not understand it." Yan Luo gave a quiet chuckle. "You seem to enjoy provoking him." Qing Li glanced at him. "Only because he makes it so easy." Chen Yu looked between them.
More characters appeared beneath the first sentence, but their shapes overlapped and faded before anyone could read them. Xu Yang leaned closer, his ears twitching. I've seen these symbols before... He looked toward the others. "They resemble the carvings at the ruined execution ground. The ones beside the damaged inscription about the red rain." Lin Chen studied the markings. "Then the two places are connected." Wei Han raised his hand. The colorful rings around his fingers trembled and drifted toward the tablet. "It's drawing in spiritual energy." Before he could examine it further, Hei Long pressed a hand against his chest. His mark had begun pulsing again. Su Yuan noticed. "Your mark is reacting to it." Hei Long nodded. "It feels the same as it did when the red rain first appeared."
Xu Yang looked between the mark and the tablet. The mark appeared after the red rain, and now it reacts to something connected to all five rains. These incidents must be leading toward the same truth. A sharp crack came from the tablet. A thin line split the inscription from top to bottom. The distorted characters began to fade until only the first sentence remained...Chen Yu stared at it. "It went to all that trouble just to show us a sentence we already understood?" Qing Li glanced at him. "Would you rather it had written your name?" "If it had something useful to say, I wouldn't object." Yan Luo looked at the tablet. "Perhaps it has already said enough." Chen Yu turned to him. "You have a remarkable ability to find meaning in things that tell us absolutely nothing." "And you have a remarkable ability to complain about them."
Qing Li gave a faint smile. "At least you agree on something." Chen Yu looked between them. "I'm beginning to feel like the only sensible person here." "That would be a lonely position," Yan Luo replied. Chen Yu opened his mouth, then decided against answering. He rubbed the tablet's surface, but the stone was already dry. Qing Li examined it. "The writing was hidden inside the stone. The water only revealed it." Su Yuan nodded. "Like ink appearing on old paper when it becomes wet." Chen Yu withdrew his hand. "A reasonable explanation. I'll take it. I have no desire to argue with another object today."
A faint light passed across the tablet. Xu Yang's attention returned to its surface. For a brief moment, another line appeared beneath the first sentence. The characters were clear, unlike the distorted writing that had appeared before. He read them silently. [The fifth door has already opened.] He looked at the others, but no one seemed to have noticed the new words. Before he could point them out, the writing vanished. The house fell silent. Outside, the white rain suddenly stopped.