Heartbeat

For a moment, the room fell silent when Ghost Douluo asked, "What about the heartbeat?"

Xiao Ran felt the tip of Hu Liena's tail brush lightly against his ankle beneath the chair. It was both a reminder and a probe. He did not look at her, keeping his gaze on the indistinct face beneath Ghost Douluo's hood.

"It's still there," Xiao Ran said. "But much weaker than when we went in. After we came out, it grew another layer more distant. Now it feels like several mountains lie between us."

Ghost Douluo said nothing. The tip of his cane tapped the floor twice, very softly. The sound was unusually clear in the quiet little room.

"You said earlier," Ghost Douluo began slowly, "that the patterns in the brand resembled something you carried."

"Yes."

"What?"

Xiao Ran reached inside his clothes, took out the Ultraman Tiga Card, and set it on the table. The room was dim, and an extremely faint glow veiled the card's surface. He turned it over. The patterns on its back were almost impossible to make out in the darkness, but Ghost Douluo's gaze settled on them and stayed there.

"These patterns weren't there before we went in," Xiao Ran said. "They started appearing at the edge of the hollow. They kept getting clearer."

Ghost Douluo reached out. His gaunt fingers paused at the edge of the card without touching it. He withdrew his hand and leaned back in his chair, the shadows beneath his hood deepening.

"You know what's down there," Xiao Ran said. It was not a question.

Ghost Douluo remained silent for a while. The wind outside squeezed through the gap in the window, carrying the dry scent of afternoon soil. Hu Liena sat perfectly still, but Xiao Ran could sense that all her attention was focused on Ghost Douluo's face.

"I sent you because I wasn't sure," Ghost Douluo finally said, his voice even raspier than before. "I passed that hollow once, thirty years ago. There was no fog then, no bodies, only those patterns on the rocks. I stood at the edge for half an incense stick's time, then withdrew. After I came back, I recorded a few things on the Parchment."

He paused.

"That word you saw—'retreat'—I wrote it."

Xiao Ran was not surprised. He had already guessed.

"The thing underground..." Ghost Douluo said slowly. "It isn't a soul beast."

Hu Liena's ears twitched.

"I checked Spirit Hall's old records. That location had already been marked before Spirit Hall was founded. The old records called it the 'Sealed Abyss.' There was very little written about it, only 'do not approach, do not investigate, do not breach.' Three phrases, six characters. There was another line in smaller writing beneath them, but it had been blotted out with ink. I shone a light through it and barely made out two characters."

"What were they?" Hu Liena asked.

"Do not."

Xiao Ran frowned. "Do not what?"

"I don't know. Whoever blotted it out didn't want anyone to see it, leaving only those two characters as a warning." Ghost Douluo tapped his cane against the floor again. "That was why I sent you. I wanted to see what the place had become after thirty years. The dark red fog you saw, the brands on the backs of the corpses' necks—none of that was mentioned in the old records. That means it's changing. And your card—"

His gaze fell on Xiao Ran's face through the shadows beneath his hood.

"It's establishing a connection with that thing."

Xiao Ran said nothing. This matched his own judgment, but hearing it from Ghost Douluo gave it a different weight.

"Where did the card come from?" Ghost Douluo asked.

"I found it."

"Where?"

Xiao Ran shook his head. "I don't know. It was on me when I woke up. I can't remember what happened before that."

That was the truth. His memories began in the wasteland outside Spirit Hall; everything before that was blank. The Ultraman Tiga Card had been pressed against his chest, as though it had grown there. This was not the first time Ghost Douluo had asked, but the answer was always the same.

Ghost Douluo did not press him further. He reached out and pushed the card back, moving very gently, as though touching something fragile. "Keep it safe. Don't let anyone else see it."

Xiao Ran tucked the card back inside his clothes.

"One more thing," Ghost Douluo said. "Someone came to Spirit Hall during the two days you were away."

Hu Liena raised her head.

"From Sea God Island. She said she was here for an exchange visit, and brought a token from Sea God Island along with official documents. Bibi Dong let her stay." Ghost Douluo's tone betrayed no opinion. "Her name is Bai Lu. Her martial soul is a Sea Moon Jellyfish, control type. Her soul power is around level sixty-five."

Xiao Ran and Hu Liena exchanged a glance.

"Relations between Sea God Island and Spirit Hall have always been neither hot nor cold," Hu Liena said. "To suddenly send someone here..."

"That's why I said 'during the two days you were away.'" Ghost Douluo slowly rose, bracing his cane against the floor. "She asked about you. Specifically, 'Have those two who went to the western forest come back yet?'"

Xiao Ran's heart sank.

"How did she know we went west?" Hu Liena's voice turned cold.

Ghost Douluo did not answer that question. He walked to the door with his back to them, his grayish-white robe resembling a hanging flag in the dim light.

"You've only just returned. Go rest first. Bibi Dong will summon you tomorrow. Weigh for yourselves what you should and shouldn't say then." He paused. "As for the woman from Sea God Island, don't approach her for now. I'll deal with her."

He opened the door and left. His footsteps faded down the corridor.

Hu Liena stood where she was for a while, then turned to look at Xiao Ran.

"Do you trust him?"

"Which part?"

"All of it."

Xiao Ran considered it. "The part about the Sealed Abyss is probably true. The old records match the Parchment. But he definitely knows more than he's telling us."

"That woman from Sea God Island..."

"Trouble," Xiao Ran said.

Hu Liena glanced at him without arguing. Her tail drew tight behind her, pressed against the side of her leg in a wary posture. By the time they left the Side Hall, the sky had darkened. Several Soul Guidance Lamps burned in the corridor, casting a dim yellow glow. Xiao Ran walked ahead, then stopped as he rounded a corner.

Someone stood at the end of the corridor.

It was a woman who looked to be in her twenties, with long silver-white hair hanging loose. She wore Spirit Hall's standard outer robe, but a different badge was pinned to her collar. Pale blue and shaped like a jellyfish, it gleamed faintly beneath the lamps. She leaned against the wall as though she had been waiting a long time.

At the sight of them, she straightened.

"You're back." Her voice was soft, with a hint of moisture like a sea breeze. "My name is Bai Lu. I'm from Sea God Island."

Her gaze passed over Hu Liena and landed directly on Xiao Ran. Her eyes were extremely pale, almost transparent, but the intent seriousness with which she looked at people bordered on intrusive.

"You're Xiao Ran?"

Xiao Ran did not answer. Hu Liena took half a step forward, placing herself slightly ahead of him and to one side.

"Do you need something?"

Bai Lu gave a faint smile. "Don't be nervous. I only wanted to get acquainted." Her gaze shifted from Hu Liena to Xiao Ran's face, lingered for a few seconds, and then she tilted her head.

"Your heartbeat," she said, "is a little fast."

Xiao Ran's pupils contracted.

But Bai Lu said nothing more. She stepped aside to clear the corridor and gestured for them to pass, that same faint smile still on her face. Hu Liena stared at her for two seconds, then led Xiao Ran past her. After they had gone several steps, Bai Lu's voice drifted toward them from behind, very softly, as though she were talking to herself.

"Sea God Island's old records also contain a term connected to the place you visited. It's called the 'Abyss Below.' They say there is a heart in the Abyss Below, and a lock upon that heart. If the lock starts to move..."

She did not finish.

Xiao Ran did not stop walking, but his fingers clenched inside his sleeve. He did not look back. Only after reaching the end of the corridor and rounding the corner did he release them.

"She did that on purpose," Hu Liena said quietly.

"Yes."

"What do you think?"

Xiao Ran walked a few steps in silence before speaking. "There is a heart in the Abyss Below, and a lock upon that heart. If the lock starts to move—"

"What?"

"I don't know the rest," Xiao Ran said. "But when she said my heartbeat was a little fast, the card wasn't beating."

Hu Liena stopped and turned to look at him.

"What does that mean?"

Xiao Ran pressed a hand to his chest. The card lay perfectly still, as cold as an ordinary piece of iron. "It means what she heard wasn't the card."