At 2 p.m., May Shaw was still asleep in her room. While she slept, I tried to examine her body, but found nothing unusual. Yet the May Shaw I saw by the river earlier felt different—especially her left eye, which had turned completely black, leaving me deeply unsettled.
This seemed to be caused by the resentment clinging to her, but it didn’t quite fit. When May Shaw spoke to me, she seemed absent-minded, distracted, and her words struck me as odd.
I began searching every corner of the room, leaving nothing unchecked, but found nothing. Expanding my search, I circled the hotel’s perimeter, then searched each room, but still came up empty.
It was past 3 p.m. when I walked down to the river, to the spot where May Shaw had stood before. Beneath the ice lay the body of a girl named Wendy Chang, quietly submerged. The corpse swayed with the current but never drifted away. I could see tangled strands of vitality and death energy near her body, woven together like a net, binding the corpse in place so it couldn’t float downstream.
Looking at the corpse below, its face swollen and bloated, I sighed. People are fragile—especially in such lonely, oppressive environments with no way out. Four girls, untested by hardship, unable to trust one another because of various issues, ultimately ended up like this.
I took out Belle and gently traced it across the ice. A flicker of flame burst from Belle, melting part of the ice. Instantly, an unbearable stench wafted up. Using the rope I’d prepared earlier, I hauled the corpse out and sighed. On the chest was a sachet—I tore it off, finding it soaked but still embroidered with purple, red, and black thread. The pattern was different from the sachet I already had.
With a shovel, I found a patch of soft ground by the river and began to dig. I could only bury the corpse temporarily. The body burned to ash last night had left not a trace this morning, and the burned house had returned to its original state.
By 4 p.m., I had finally buried Wendy Chang and erected a small gravestone. That’s when I noticed May Shaw had woken up. She walked over blankly, guilt written on her face, knelt before the grave, and paid her respects. After a while, we left. I returned to my room to wash up, planning to look for the body of another girl, Nina Miao, who had slit her wrists in a hotel in the center of town.
It was nearly 5 p.m. when we reached the hotel entrance. May Shaw and I had prepared some food for dinner before coming. We went straight to the fifth floor and stopped at room 519. May Shaw hung her head, silent. I patted her shoulder.
"It’s okay."
When I opened the door, I didn’t smell what I’d expected. Inside, I opened the bathroom door and found nothing—just a tub of water that had dried up, and at the bottom, plenty of congealed bloodstains.
"What’s going on, May Shaw? The body’s gone."
May Shaw ran in, puzzled. We searched room after room. May Shaw admitted her memory might be confused, but she was sure it was this hotel. After searching everywhere, we still couldn’t find Nina Miao’s body.
"Roxie, I remember it was here. What’s happening? Could it be that Nana..."
I saw May Shaw’s unsettled expression and comforted her with a pat on the shoulder.
"It’s okay."
As soon as I finished speaking, I noticed a subtle change in May Shaw’s face. She nodded slightly, her expression reluctant and tinged with sadness.
After dinner, May Shaw lay down on the bed. I kept searching throughout the town. Faced with this situation, I could only turn to the Paper Spirit Art.
I started folding paper cranes—two hundred in quick succession. Then I stained them with my own blood. With a single thought, I was stunned: each crane ignited with a faint flame and slowly floated upward.
"How is this possible?"
I stared in shock. The paper cranes had never been this powerful before, but now, infused with my blood, they burned with vigorous flames. I could control them with my mind more easily than ever. As each crane flew out, I could clearly sense everything around me through them.
This was impossible before. At best, some cranes gave stronger impressions, while others were useless.
The paper cranes began to fly into different houses, searching. I felt as if I were drifting above the town with them, seeing everything with perfect clarity. I didn’t know why I felt this way, but it was relaxing, almost comforting. I’d felt something like this before.
Gradually, I sensed something. Suddenly, my eyes widened—I knew where to go. Rising to my feet, an image flashed in my mind: Nina Miao pressed against a wall, her body wrapped in thick black mist. The mist, like a spider’s web, was unnaturally orderly—more like some kind of spell.
The black mist radiated pure evil. Without realizing it, I was gripping Belle in my hand. I stopped outside a small house near the parking lot—Nina Miao’s body was inside. I was starting to suspect Serena Chen, but when she spoke earlier, her eyes were clear, without a trace of deceit. She hadn’t lied.
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Members of the Nether Syndicate seem born with a certain pride, refusing to associate with ghosts. Even as their lifespans run out, they won’t use forbidden arts to extend their lives. The old man and the blind woman were like that—they could have lived longer, but chose death instead. All they needed was someone with matching birth signs to steal their lifespan, a common practice in the occult world.
I stared quietly at the three-story building ahead, shrouded in black mist. The mist twisted around the rooms like tentacles, writhing and clawing. Waves of evil energy pulsed from within—a spell at work. I didn’t rush in.
"Serena Chen, are you there?"
I called out. In a flash, Serena Chen appeared before me. I pointed at the house ahead and spoke.
"What exactly is that?"
I asked, but Serena Chen looked at me in confusion. Then I realized—she couldn’t see it.
"You can’t see it?"
I asked. Serena Chen shook her head.
"I don’t know what you’re talking about."
As expected, Serena Chen couldn’t see it. After I explained the situation, she shook her head again.
"Unless I see it with my own eyes, I can’t judge. What you’re seeing must be connected to you—otherwise, you wouldn’t see it. And since I’ve been dead for a long time, it has nothing to do with me. That’s just the way Tenfold Crossing works."
"Then, can you see the girls’ bodies?"
I asked. Serena Chen shook her head again.
"You’d better be careful. Tenfold Crossing is full of strange things. There were spellcasters who came here, trying to solve its mysteries, but all of them died here. Long ago, this place was called Enchantment River."
I stared wide-eyed at Serena Chen as she sighed.
"In the past, hunters and herbalists often wandered in here, only to get lost and never return. The Nether Syndicate sent people to solve the problem, but many never made it back. The second master sent us, but I didn’t return either. Do you know why I hate the Underworld Agent so much?"
I swallowed and shook my head.
"The Lan Family came with us—Lan Miu, and people from other families. When we ran into trouble, Lan Miu led the Underworld Agent away, leaving us behind. We faced the unknown and died here, one by one. Years later, a dead member of the Nether Syndicate was brought here by strangers—you must have met him before, the man called Hugh Go."
I swallowed and told Serena Chen that Hugh Go, the Nether Syndicate’s third master, was murdered. Serena Chen smiled bitterly and sighed.
"These things have nothing to do with me anymore, Roxie. I wasn’t going to tell you any of this, but since you didn’t abandon that little girl, I decided to share. There is a way out of here. In all my years here, most people I’ve seen were selfish, but you didn’t leave her behind. Still, I advise you to leave. With your current power, you can force your way out, but she can’t—she’ll die here. So, shall I take you to that place...?"
I gazed at the room filled with black mist and slowly walked over.
"Sorry, that’s just how I am. My husband once told me—we’re human."
"Your power won’t return. You must have noticed by now."
I let out a sound and laughed.
"Time and space here are all jumbled, overlapping and looping. I’ve seen it before—worse than anything here."
"Is that so? Suit yourself."