Chapter 108: A Sleepless Night

"What... are you saying?" Luo Hanyai looked at the sudden sorrow on Shui Yue's face. A sour feeling rose in his nose, and a sense of melancholy flooded his entire being. Yet, his tear ducts remained completely unaffected; his parched eyes could not summon a single drop of moisture, as if they had become a barren, salty wasteland...

"Indeed, they have already run dry," Shui Yue shook her head, her expression carrying an indescribable sadness.

"What is actually going on here?"

"What is meant to come will come eventually. One day, you will understand all of this."

"What if I want to know in advance?" Luo Hanyai widened his eyes, revealing clear, contrasting whites and blacks, a peculiar aura seemingly swirling around him.

Shui Yue fell silent. She shook her head and retreated slowly, as if rejecting his notion. "Believe me, knowing this in advance will only bring you pain."

"Like a pawn in a game?"

"No one dares to treat you as a pawn. You..." Shui Yue hesitated, leaving the thought unfinished.

The two shared a silent understanding. As they looked up, their gazes met, conveying the most complex emotions in the world.

After a long while, Shui Yue broke the silence. "I must leave."

"Is there any chance we will meet again?"

"There will be."

"Then, until next time?"

"Until next time."

Their exchange was brief and calm, as harmonious as that of two close friends who could see each other every day.

Shui Yue turned and left. With her departure, darkness descended once more. Luo Hanyai remained wrapped in his blanket on the bed, the door still shut, as if everything that had just transpired were merely a dream.

"Moon in the mirror, flowers in the water..." Luo Hanyai stared blankly at the ceiling, muttering to himself.

...

"Click..." A strange sound suddenly shattered the stillness of the dark night—not a human voice, but the clashing of metal.

"It really is endless." Luo Hanyai put on his damp clothes and carefully traced the source of the sound. It grew fainter, as if the person making it were moving away, but he had already pinpointed the origin: directly beneath his feet, on the ground floor of the inn.

"I’ll see what this is this time."

Luo Hanyai opened his door, traversed the dark corridor, and moved down the stairs quickly, without making a sound, like a nimble cat.

"No one?" He reached the lobby and scanned the room, finding nothing. But he did not give up. He carefully felt along the wall until he touched a wooden door. Hidden in a dark corner of the lobby was a small door! Holding his breath, he gently pushed open the slightly ajar door to reveal another dark corridor. At the end of the passage, a faint glimmer of light shone.

Luo Hanyai pressed against the wall and moved forward, like a dancer in the shadows, walking lightly through the gloom. Finally, he saw the light—a white candle. In the flickering candlelight, the silhouette of a man appeared, his hands swinging an iron shovel, digging hard into the ground.

At midnight, in a dark and terrifying inn, someone was wielding a shovel, just like the scene of a villain disposing of a body in a horror movie.

Luo Hanyai gave a self-deprecating smile. "It seems I am destined to be the protagonist of everything."

He did not act rashly, instead creeping closer until he reached the edge of the dim candlelight.

"You've come?" A voice suddenly rang out. Luo Hanyai jolted, startled, and stepped back several paces.

"Are you afraid of me?" A figure draped in white turned around. The dim light obscured their face, and the voice was so neutral that it was impossible to tell if it was a man or a woman. The figure held an iron shovel in their left hand, as if they had been waiting for Luo Hanyai for a long time.

"Who are you?" Luo Hanyai asked, stunned.

"I am a guest here."

"A guest?"

"Yes, a guest."

"Then what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Is that any of your business?" The figure in white raised an eyebrow, speaking with disdain.

Luo Hanyai nodded with a wry smile. "It’s true, it’s none of my business, but I can certainly make some noise."

"Oh? And what kind of noise can you make?"

Luo Hanyai paused, then defiantly shouted several times. Everything remained as silent as the grave; no one reacted, as if no sound had been produced at all.

Watching Luo Hanyai’s ashen face, the figure in white laughed until they doubled over, wiping their eyes as if brushing away tears of mirth.

"You lured me here on purpose, didn't you?" Luo Hanyai refused to stay passive and countered.

"Yes, I lured you here on purpose. As for the reason, it is simple: I want you to do something for me," the white-clad figure said, staring at Luo Hanyai, enunciating every word.

"Do something? Do I have the right to refuse?" Luo Hanyai laughed bitterly.

"Of course you do, and I will even give you a gift," the figure in white laughed.

"I'd rather not. A gift would be too much, wouldn't it? I’ll just leave; I won't trouble you any further." Luo Hanyai waved his hands with a playful grin and took two silent steps backward.

"It's no trouble at all. See, it’s already prepared for you." The white-clad figure’s laugh became more shrill. They pointed to the hole dug into the ground, which looked exactly like a grave.

"Look, sir, I'm feeling a bit unwell. Could we postpone this? I'll come back to help tomorrow." Luo Hanyai feigned ignorance, putting on the act of a coward.

The figure in white glanced at him with contempt, their expression chillingly dark. They pointed at the pit. "Enter this, or go there. Pick one."

"I... I'll go there." Luo Hanyai collapsed to the ground, teeth chattering, portraying the image of a cowardly, death-fearing man to perfection. If there were an audience, they would surely have voted him an Oscar.

The white-clad figure sneered, "You will be rewarded."

...

The figure in white led Luo Hanyai through the dark corridor for a long time. The passage seemed endless, exuding a heavy sense of despair and deathly stillness.

"Ha... ha... I... I can't walk anymore, my legs have turned to jelly..." Luo Hanyai leaned against the wall, gasping for breath, appearing completely spent. Secretly, however, he was calculating exactly how far and how long they had traveled.

"Enough, stop playing the fool. I know exactly what you are capable of." The white-clad figure kicked Luo Hanyai in the rear, sending him stumbling several steps forward.

"Ah! What are you doing... I've been so cooperative, why are you still hitting me!" Luo Hanyai fell to the ground like a fool, letting out a drawn-out wail of pain.

"Let's go. It's time to hit the road," the figure in white said coldly.

"Fine, let's hit the road then. What on earth do you need my help with?"

"You'll know once you're out."

The sound of a door opening and closing suddenly echoed. Somewhere, at the end of the corridor, a glimmer of light had appeared. A tattered wooden door was swinging back and forth in the wind.

"Get out!"

"Fine, I'm going!"