Evan Lin answered the phone.
Bella Xiao's voice on the other end was, as always, calm and slightly aloof.
"You're about to start winter break, right? Do you still remember what we agreed on before?"
Bella Xiao got straight to the point: "Inside the Oceanport Grand Tomb, there's an immortal bride wedding. You might find the secrets you're looking for there."
"Just like I said before, you may find clues there about the karmic threads wrapped around you. I think this matters a lot to you."
After finishing, Bella Xiao paused, cutting off the conversation.
"How much do you know about the Woman Statue?"
Evan Lin suddenly spoke up.
Bella Xiao always gave off a sense of unpredictability.
The first time they met was at Jingnan Mountain.
The second time they met was when Evan Lin went to retrieve the ancient sword, Dustleave.
The third time, she came looking for him on her own.
Especially notable was the camera Bella Xiao always carried.
It could actually capture the white robe and the woman's black hair hovering above Evan Lin's head.
Evan Lin hadn't considered this aspect before.
But now, thinking about it more carefully, he found it utterly baffling.
Bella Xiao was silent for a moment on the other end.
"I've seen a Woman Statue, but I'm not sure if it's the same kind you're talking about."
Bella Xiao paused again, apparently unwilling to dig too deeply into this question: "A lot of the answers you want might be inside the Grand Tomb."
"I've been pretty busy lately. Once I have some free time, I'll come find you."
But you have to trust me, I won't harm you.
After Bella Xiao finished speaking, she hung up the phone.
Evan Lin listened to the dial tone on the other end, looked at the snow-white campus before him, and took a deep breath.
There's still no movement from Moonshade.
Yvette Ye hadn't called Evan Lin, and Azure Dragon hadn't appeared again.
Everything seemed to grow silent with the arrival of winter.
Except for the internet, where strange incidents are popping up more and more.
Why are you just standing here? We have an English exam this afternoon. If you get stuck, I'll send you the answers after I'm done.
Tyler Tan came in from the dorm entrance, saw Evan Lin standing on the balcony, and slapped Evan's shoulder.
Oh, okay.
Evan Lin snapped out of his thoughts.
He grabbed his exam admission slip from the table and went to the testing hall with Ming Zhao and Eric Wang.
After the English exam in the afternoon, Tyler Tan suggested going to KTV to sing.
He pulled along Annie Shu and another girl from her dorm. Ming Zhao wasn't keen on going and planned to hang out in the library, claiming he just wanted to keep working hard and study.
After Tyler Tan mocked him a bit, Ming Zhao immediately declared he'd win back his pride at the dinner table.
That tree coffin in Ninewood Forest seems to have stirred a bit recently.
In the KTV hallway, Eric Wang stood next to Evan Lin, speaking with a trace of concern: "My family found a stone chamber left behind by our Wang ancestors."
Inside the stone chamber, they found a tome, and in it, there was a bit of information about that tree coffin.
Eric Wang paused at this point.
Evan Lin glanced at him. "What did it say?"
Evan walked forward, his footsteps echoing along the stone floor.
This time, the rock walls felt much damper than before.
The air was thick with moisture.
Cold wind howled through the passage, making a whooshing sound.
After a few steps, Evan suddenly stopped.
Ahead stretched a corridor that seemed endless.
Behind him was only darkness—a passage so black he could no longer see the way he’d come.
But the most crucial change wasn’t what he saw.
Evan suddenly heard...
A different kind of breathing echoed from deep within the corridor.
Listening to the wailing and howling from the private room, Evan sat on the couch, feeling unexpectedly relaxed.
Final exams lasted two weeks in total.
Three subjects each week.
After the exams were over...
Eric Wang was the first to leave—he had to return to Ninewood Forest to keep an eye on that tree coffin.
Tyler Tan stayed on campus a while longer, hanging out with Annie Shu, shopping and dining, enjoying their little two-person world.
Evan accompanied Ming Zhao to the high-speed rail station—his home was the farthest away.
After seeing Ming off, Evan thought for a moment, then bought a ticket at the station.
He decided to pay Thornridge Mountain another visit.
"Last time at Thornridge Mountain, what I found was a fake Yellow Springs and a sky-covering formation."
"That thousand-year-old emperor puppet—who knows if it's still around today."
The reason Evan made this trip was still Damon Wang’s phone call, and the Demon-Culling Finger Damon sent him.
The Demon-Culling Finger had already been taken away by Lily Zhao.
She’d been holed up in the Soul-Sacrifice Beauty Scroll for the past month or two, barely saying a word.
On the train, Evan watched the scenery outside the window, surrounded by the chatter of passengers.
When he arrived at Thornridge Mountain, Evan headed straight for Oxhorn Village.
But before he even reached the village entrance, Evan sensed that Oxhorn Village was much eerier than before.
The mischievous kids at the village head were gone.
Every house in the village was empty.
But every front door stood wide open, and right inside each doorway sat a red coffin.
Evan walked from the village head all the way to the Charity Mortuary.
Inside the mortuary, coffins were scattered everywhere. Since entering the village, he hadn’t seen a single living soul.
"It’s a bit too quiet," he muttered.
Evan frowned, released the Three Maiden Spirits to scout along the way, but still found no trace of anyone.
Night was falling.
It was winter—short days, long nights.
Darkness settled even faster than usual.
By just six in the evening, everything was already shrouded in darkness, and pale white mist began to drift through the air.
Evan circled the mortuary twice, found no useful clues, and finally slipped into a coffin to enter the hidden passage leading down to the Thornridge Mountain tomb complex.
He entered the corridor.
Evan walked forward, his footsteps echoing along the stone floor.
This time, the rock walls felt much damper than before.
The air was thick with moisture.
Cold wind howled through the passage, making a whooshing sound.
After a few steps, Evan suddenly stopped.
Ahead stretched a corridor that seemed endless.
Behind him was only darkness—a passage so black he could no longer see the way he’d come.
But the most crucial change wasn’t what he saw.
Evan suddenly heard...
A different kind of breathing echoed from deep within the corridor.