The Second Letter

"Wait, what's wrong with you two?"

"Did we mention something taboo?"

Liu Chengfeng found their change in attitude deeply strange, as though he had said something he should not have.

Tian Xun's expression shifted uncertainly. Only after a long while did he let out a heavy breath.

"You two... really have terrible luck!"

The two exchanged a glance, and Ning Qiushui frowned.

"What do you mean?"

Tian Xun began explaining how the terrifying worlds beyond the blood gates worked.

"There are two kinds of ghosts inside the blood gates... The first kind originates locally. They're all earthbound spirits. No matter how powerful they are or how deep their resentment runs, once we finish our task and leave the blood gate, our dealings with them are over."

"The other kind... is rather special."

"Although they're also bound by the blood gates' rules, they aren't confined to a single area. After slaughtering all the local NPCs, they move somewhere else to wreak havoc."

"These ghosts... carry an outrageous amount of resentment!"

"Usually, once you encounter one in a blood gate, the story behind your next blood gate will involve it!"

"And blood gate stories involving ghosts like these are more terrifying than ordinary ones, with higher death rates!"

Tian Xun paused, an indescribable sympathy entering his voice.

"I don't know what you did to deserve this... encountering a ghost like that in your very first blood gate. No wonder only two people survived."

"But I doubt you'll live much longer. I'm not trying to curse you... Go home, write your wills, and get your affairs in order!"

"Say a proper goodbye to your family and friends."

With a long sigh, Tian Xun gathered their bowls and chopsticks and carried them into the kitchen.

Only then did the two understand why the others' attitudes had changed so drastically.

In their eyes, the two of them were already dead!

"Seriously, they think that little of us?"

"If we survived that damn thing once, we can do it a second time, and a third!"

"They think we won't survive the next blood gate? Then we'll survive and prove them wrong!"

Liu Chengfeng grumbled and cursed, doing his best to sound dismissive, but Ning Qiushui could hear the faint tremor in his voice.

After washing the dishes, Tian Xun took them to their rooms at the Haunted Lodge.

To their surprise, the others did not live in the villa.

Instead, they lived in the single-story building in the garden behind the courtyard.

The surroundings were lovely. Though cold and deserted, the place certainly looked much nicer than the pitch-black villa.

Tian Xun handed them their keys and gave them a few instructions, then went to watch television in the villa.

Their rooms had televisions too, but the screen in the villa was much larger.

With worries weighing on both Ning Qiushui and Liu Chengfeng, they did not take the bus back to their original world. They wanted to wait for Liang Yan, the head of this Haunted Lodge, to return and ask him about their next red gate.

But even after night fell, they saw no one return to the villa.

With no other choice, they decided to wait another day.

Unable to sleep in the middle of the night, Ning Qiushui went into the courtyard to clear his head, only to hear hushed voices coming from the villa.

He raised an eyebrow and went to the back door to listen.

Inside, he heard a woman's voice and the steady voice of a man.

Ning Qiushui recognized the man's voice. It was Meng Jun.

The woman's voice... he had never heard before.

It probably belonged to Bai Xiaoxiao.

"Bai Xiaoxiao... are you sure you haven't made a mistake?"

"What, you don't believe me?"

"You know how close Yan and Mang were, right? If he finds out someone caused Mang's death, Yan probably won't let it go!"

Bai Xiaoxiao was about to speak when she suddenly turned toward Ning Qiushui's hiding place and said coldly:

"Who's there?"

"Come out!"

Ning Qiushui stepped out of the darkness.

Seeing that he was a newcomer from her own Haunted Lodge, Bai Xiaoxiao's delicate face lost some of its chill.

She wore red lipstick.

A vivid red.

Like a phoenix amid blazing flames, utterly at odds with her name.

"It's so late. Why aren't you asleep?"

Unbothered by her hostility, Ning Qiushui simply replied:

"Aren't you two still awake too?"

He sat openly on the sofa and looked at the brazier in the center.

With him there, the two abruptly dropped their conversation.

"What's your name?"

In the end, Bai Xiaoxiao spoke first.

"Ning Qiushui."

"Mm. How was your first blood gate?"

Ning Qiushui opened an unopened bottle of cold beer on the table and took a sip.

"Honestly, not great."

"I nearly died."

Bai Xiaoxiao gave a distracted hum and offered some perfunctory reassurance.

"That's how the worlds beyond the blood gates are. One careless moment can cost you your life. But once you've passed the first gate, the ones after it get a lot better..."

Before she could finish, Meng Jun said coldly from beside her:

"There won't be any more gates."

Bai Xiaoxiao snapped out of her distraction and asked in surprise:

"Meng Jun, what do you mean?"

Meng Jun stood.

"Ask him yourself. I'm going to bed."

With that, he left without looking back.

Bai Xiaoxiao turned to Ning Qiushui, who described the story behind his first blood gate in detail.

Of course, Ning Qiushui withheld certain facts.

The facts concerning that mysterious anonymous letter.

He only said they had stumbled upon the rules governing the deaths.

After hearing Ning Qiushui's account, Bai Xiaoxiao's expression shifted several times.

There was something complicated in her eyes.

Admiration, sympathy... even a hint of regret.

"Meng Jun and Tian Xun are right. That woman in red behind your first blood gate wasn't an ordinary earthbound spirit. She was a terrifying, vicious ghost that's extremely difficult to deal with... Fortunately, it was your first scenario, so the blood gate severely restricted her abilities and killing rules. You two were also brave and observant enough to find a way to survive in time. Otherwise, neither of you could possibly have returned alive!"

"And the story behind your next blood gate will probably involve that female ghost."

"If you can resolve everything properly, you might be able to bring a Ghost Artifact back from that blood gate."

Ning Qiushui froze.

"A Ghost Artifact?"

Bai Xiaoxiao turned her hand over, and a bloodstained wooden comb immediately appeared in her small, pale palm.

"Something like this."

"Generally, you can't bring things out of a blood gate. But certain difficult blood gates contain powerful items. These items are extremely precious, and each has a different effect."

"For example, with this wooden comb of mine, just comb someone's hair once, and ghosts won't be able to pinpoint that person for one minute."

"These Ghost Artifacts can greatly improve our chances of surviving beyond the blood gates!"

Ning Qiushui recalled the Blood Jade he had brought out of his first blood gate and fell into thought.

Things from inside a blood gate could not be brought outside.

Except for Ghost Artifacts.

It seemed... that Blood Jade was a Ghost Artifact too.

Seeing his reaction, Bai Xiaoxiao assumed the next blood gate had frightened him. After a moment's hesitation, she said:

"Oh, fine. There aren't many people left in our Haunted Lodge anyway. The last few groups of newcomers were hopeless. Every one of them was wiped out within their first three gates..."

"When you enter your second blood gate next week, I'll guide you through it for free."

"Besides... you really do have potential worth nurturing."

Only after Bai Xiaoxiao finished did Ning Qiushui suddenly remember that Tian Xun had told them she was away guiding newcomers through blood gates.

"You can... guide people through these things?"

Ning Qiushui was somewhat surprised.

Bai Xiaoxiao nodded.

"For a newcomer's first six blood gates, a veteran can accompany them."

"There are even specialized 'studios' that do this."

"But veterans generally charge enormous fees to guide newcomers. After all, we're only human. No matter how experienced we are, there's still a risk of things going wrong even in a low-difficulty blood gate..."

Ning Qiushui nodded in understanding.

Since they were risking their lives to earn money, charging more was only natural.

After all, money was just a material possession. Compared with life, it hardly mattered.

With those things cleared up, Ning Qiushui rested at the Haunted Lodge for the night, then boarded the bus and returned to the world outside the fog.

As soon as he got home, he turned on his computer.

A friend named Mole had sent him a message.

The message was brief-

[No luck. The post office has no record of that anonymous letter.]

[The people at the post office told me the anonymous letter I'm looking into is... a letter that doesn't exist.]

[But don't worry. I'll keep looking out for you.]

Ning Qiushui narrowed his eyes.

Mole was his friend.

Someone... very good at finding things.

"Even you can't find it...?"

Ning Qiushui muttered to himself.

Ding-dong-

Just as he was lost in thought, the doorbell suddenly rang.

Startled out of his thoughts by the bell, Ning Qiushui got up, went to the door, and opened it.

It was his neighbor, a plump woman in her fifties named Mu Cui.

Wearing a floral blouse, she looked as though she had just returned from shopping. There was still some sweat on her forehead as she smiled and handed Ning Qiushui a letter.

"Qiushui, a letter for you."

Ning Qiushui took the letter, and his expression changed abruptly.

"Auntie Mu, this letter... where did you get it?"

Mu Cui took out her keys to unlock her door and answered casually:

"From the mailbox downstairs..."

"You're always so careless. Remember to check your mailbox every time you come home..."

As she spoke, she opened her door and went inside.

Holding the letter, Ning Qiushui closed his own door as well.

He sat down on the living room sofa and stared at the letter on the coffee table, his breathing growing rapid.

The second letter.

He opened it.

Sure enough, it was anonymous again.

But this time, there were no hints, only a photograph.

And that photograph made Ning Qiushui freeze on the spot!

It was actually... a photograph of Bai Xiaoxiao!

It was old and yellowed too, as though it had been around for years.

Yet the Bai Xiaoxiao in the photograph was clearly about the same age as the Bai Xiaoxiao he had met!

Her smile was lifelike, her vivid red lips untouched by the passage of time.

"Holy shit..."

This time, even the normally composed Ning Qiushui could not help swearing.

This... was far too eerie!

He slowly turned the photograph over.

His fingers trembled slightly.

There was a sentence on the back of this photograph too-

[She must not die in your second gate.]

"Just as I thought..."

A chill ran down Ning Qiushui's back.

The person who sent the letter... was watching me from somewhere!

But...

Why did he have these photos, and why was he giving me hints?

What exactly... was he trying to do?

PS: 3,100+ words. I was working on the outline for the second instance yesterday, so I was one chapter short. I'll make up for it with three chapters this afternoon and post them between 7 and 8 tonight.