Chapter Thirty-Four: A Single Eye?

We ascended the stairs and arrived at that tightly shut door.

After Madam entered first, leading Xiyue and me inside, an odd sense of familiarity welled up in my mind. Yet, for all my searching, I could not recall when or where I had seen this place before.

“Please, rest well, both of you. If you need anything, just call,” she said.

Xiyue nodded.

Once the plump woman had left, Xiyue hurriedly closed the door and immediately sat down beside me.

Her sudden action puzzled me, but what she said next sent a tremor through my whole body.

“Xiao Dong, whatever I say next, just do as I ask—don’t question me.”

Seeing the seriousness in her face, I quickly nodded.

“Hug me,” she said.

I hesitated for a moment, then slowly reached out and wrapped my arms around her. Her body was cool to the touch, smooth as jade, and my heart fluttered.

“Lie in my arms,” she instructed.

Obeying her quietly, I offered no resistance, lying gently in her embrace, breathing in her faint, sweet fragrance. Suddenly, she pressed me tightly against her chest. The sensation sparked a strange, inexplicable urge within me, but just then, I suddenly felt as if a pair of eyes were staring right at me, locking onto the back of my head.

“What’s that?” Xiyue pointed toward the bathroom, then pushed me inside and shut the door behind me.

As soon as I entered, the feeling of being watched intensified. I began searching around, desperate to discover what was spying on me. But the bathroom was small, and I saw nowhere a person could possibly hide.

I examined every corner until my gaze landed on a worn patch beneath the sink. At first glance, it appeared no different from anywhere else, but on closer inspection, something was amiss.

I remembered reading news stories about hidden pinhole cameras being installed in hotels, concealed in such inconspicuous places. Could there be something like that here?

Curiosity piqued, I walked to the sink, crouched down, and laid my hand on the damaged spot. The moment I touched it, a chilling dread swept over me, raising every hair on my body. But now that I’d come this far, there was no room for hesitation.

With effort, I pried up the cracked tile. Instantly, I recoiled in shock.

For there, staring back at me, was what I could only call an eye—though it looked more like a perfectly round orb, starkly black and white.

That black and white “eye” gazed straight at me. I was terrified, yet found myself unable to utter a single sound.

Worse still, my body was paralyzed, unable to move even an inch.

Within that black-and-white void, I could sense a force so palpable I felt that with just one step forward, I’d be drawn into another dimension entirely.

“Master, don’t look! Close your eyes!” came a childlike voice suddenly within my mind.

At that moment, the black-and-white “eye” shifted, becoming bloodshot and terrifying in its intensity. I immediately squeezed my eyes shut.

Ah!

My breath came in ragged gasps.

I jolted upright, realizing at last I had been dreaming. Cold sweat drenched me. Sunlight spilled in through the window, filling the room. Xiyue was still beside me, leaning against the headboard, lost in deep sleep. But now, looking at her face, she seemed troubled, as if caught in some distress.

We had entered Browed-Brush Village together, which meant Xiyue was still trapped in that house. Would that horrifying “eye” harm her? By now, I regarded the eye as a formidable foe—surely, it was no benign thing.

“Tu, how do I wake Xiyue?” I cried.

“The mistress seems to be resisting something, but not with much success. I can feel her life force draining away rapidly. It appears something is feeding on her vital energy,” Tu replied.

“What? Then think of a way to save her—quickly!”

Tu slipped from my sleeve and said softly, “It must be the house in your dream—something went wrong there. I can sense the mistress’s aura growing weaker. Let me think…”

I looked at Xiyue. Her cheeks, once tinged with a healthy flush, were turning pale. My heart was in turmoil. Xiyue was deeply important to me—she harbored many secrets, and since we had entered Browed-Brush Village together, we must share a profound bond.

Strangely, I realized I was growing fond of her. Even knowing she was an ancient corpse, bearing the mysterious Eight Locks of Heaven and Earth, after this journey, I wondered if perhaps we were more alike than I’d ever imagined. Had I too once possessed many memories, only to have them sealed away? The blood array within me—the one Xiyue had recently restored—gave me pause.

Chen Chuyi had warned that my destiny now had a void, my life force ebbing away at a terrifying rate. He had not explained, but I suspected this trip, the search for the Beauty’s Coffin, and whatever corpse-coffin Xiyue mentioned, were all intimately connected to me.

I recalled the moment we entered the village—the look of terror the crow gave me. Why did it say I was the one who had sealed them here? Why did it claim I always returned, each time bringing a beautiful woman with me?

What could it all mean?

“Master, only you can save her now,” Tu urged. “My spirit is too weak to approach. You must use your yang energy to draw her soul back.”

“How do I do that?”

“The simplest way is… to kiss her!”

My cheeks flushed. It wasn’t my first time, but facing Xiyue now, I felt shy.

“Hurry, master! Her life force is vanishing rapidly. If you don’t act, she’ll be trapped in that dream forever, never to awaken!”

Startled, I didn’t hesitate further. I wrapped her in my arms and pressed my lips to hers, cold and pale.

Immediately, a wave of icy energy seeped from her lips into my body...