Ye Zhiqiu felt himself plunged into darkness. There was no sound around, not even the rustling of the wind.
He looked ahead and noticed a faint light in the distance. Without hesitation, Ye Zhiqiu sprinted towards it, eager to break free from this suffocating darkness.
However, when he finally reached the light, he was confronted with multiple versions of himself. They were all closing their eyes, as if fast asleep.
He recognized these figures all too well; they were all him.
To be precise, they were his dead selves.
Why were his corpses here?
Ye Zhiqiu didn't know. He kept asking himself this question in his mind, but no answer came. His unease grew stronger and stronger. Just then,
a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.
"You've finally come."
The voice rang out abruptly in the quiet atmosphere. Ye Zhiqiu glanced around, but apart from his own corpses, there was no one else.
The voice let out a low laugh. "Don't look around. I am you, and you are me."
As soon as the voice in his mind faded, images of his numerous past deaths appeared before his eyes.
Ye Zhiqiu shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel these illusions. But no matter what he did, the images kept coming, showing the scenes of his repeated deaths and resurrections over and over again.
Just then, his younger self emerged from the wall. Having drowned, his clothes were dripping with water, and the sound of the water droplets hitting the ground was clearly audible. The young Ye Zhiqiu walked up to him, his clothes wet and uncomfortable.
"Why did you come back to life? And why do you keep wandering in death again and again?" The young Ye Zhiqiu reached out and touched his face. Although his voice was young, it was devoid of any emotion.
His eyes were also lifeless, as if he were a puppet speaking these words.
Ye Zhiqiu met his gaze. The place on his face where the young Ye Zhiqiu's hand touched was wet, carrying the stench of decaying flesh.
Facing these words, Ye Zhiqiu didn't know how to respond. He covered his head with both hands, his eyes blank. All he could do was repeat the same words he had said countless times before.
"I don't know..."
But the young Ye Zhiqiu didn't stop speaking because of his answer. He gently patted Ye Zhiqiu's shoulder and pointed towards the wall.
Ye Zhiqiu looked in the direction he was pointing and saw his other selves climbing down from the wall and walking towards him.
The ground turned into a lake, its depth unfathomable, with only cold ripples on the surface.
They climbed down the wall, but before they could reach him, they all fell into the water. Countless versions of himself struggled in the lake, reaching out their hands towards him in a desperate bid for survival, and pulling at his clothes.
"Tell us... why can't you die..."
Numerous voices repeated the same words. Ye Zhiqiu's ears were filled with the noisy voices. He didn't want to listen anymore, but these voices haunted him like ghosts.
Countless faces identical to his own were in front of him. It was like a living hell.
In a daze, he seemed to return to the moment of his first death. Countless versions of himself pulled him down, deeper and deeper into the water.
Ye Zhiqiu felt as if he couldn't breathe. He closed his eyes tightly, trying to avoid looking at them.
But no matter what he did, he couldn't escape those nightmare - like voices.
"Why can you be resurrected while we have to die in your place!"
"We also want to live. We also want to see the world for a little longer. Why is it so unfair!"
"Tell me how you were resurrected. Let us stay in this world with you..."
...
Countless similar words filled the air. Ye Zhiqiu could only repeat the same words. He didn't even know why he had been resurrected, so how could he explain it to these people?
The more he struggled, the more intense the pain in his head became, as if something was about to burst out. He covered his chest, his brows furrowed tightly.
These were his deepest nightmares, and he couldn't escape them.
Countless versions of himself grabbed his clothes, their voices ringing in his ears one after another, leaving him with no chance to escape.
But his reason told him that he couldn't give in at this moment. He still had to take Song Yan out of here. They had promised to go back together, and he had promised to give Song Yan an answer...
He couldn't stop here!
On the other side, Song Yan watched Ye Zhiqiu's state. He was completely helpless outside. All he could do now was to find out what was strange about this place.
This house was very strange. There had been a strange fragrance since the beginning.
Song Yan frowned as he looked at the candle in his hand and then at the other parts of the house. He found that there was no other source of light except this candle.
Strangely enough, the candle in his hand hadn't burned down even a bit after burning for so long.
As soon as Song Yan realized this, he knew that he had fallen into a trap as soon as he entered the door. He quickly blew out the candle, and the house was once again plunged into darkness.
Ye Zhiqiu still showed no sign of reaction. Song Yan groped his way to the window and opened it to let in some fresh air.
He had lit the candle for too long. If the smell could make people fall into an illusion, then what he needed to do now was to disperse the odor.
After the window was opened, the moonlight streamed in. By the faint moonlight, he saw that the walls, which had been filled with corpses just now, were now empty.
It was obvious that everything just now was an illusion.
Song Yan had managed to get out of the illusion, but Ye Zhiqiu still showed no sign of waking up.
He still knelt on the ground, his eyes closed tightly and his brows furrowed.
Song Yan walked up to him. In this situation, he had no way to wake Ye Zhiqiu up from the illusion. All he could do was stay by his side to protect him.
This house had been strange from the moment they entered. He couldn't be sure what would happen next. All he could do was stay with Ye Zhiqiu and wait for him to come out of the illusion on his own.
Just then, a sudden sound of footsteps came from outside the door. Song Yan placed his hand on the sword at his waist and stared intently at the door.
The footsteps were unhurried. In a short while, the person reached the door and opened it. The black robe fluttered gently in the night wind.
"Director Song, long time no see."
The person's voice was low. He walked into the room step by step. By the faint moonlight, Song Yan could see his shining eyes.
He had a half - smiling expression on his face.
Oh, it was an old acquaintance.
Song Yan narrowed his eyes. His wary expression remained unchanged as he looked at the person in front of him.