There was no snow-covered ground in the tenth layer.
Beyond the door lay an old corridor.
The corridor was narrow, with pale gray wallpaper on either side, water stains along its lower edges, and a fluorescent tube flickering overhead. It looked like the old building at the Special Investigation Bureau Headquarters, yet also like some deserted corridor in the Xu Family Old Residence. A mirror hung at the far end, covered with a cloth that left only a sliver of silver edging exposed at the bottom.
Lu Wenchuan stopped in the doorway and glanced down at their still-clasped hands.
Xu Zhihan followed his gaze.
"You want to let go?"
Lu Wenchuan looked up. "Do you?"
"You ask too many questions," Xu Zhihan said coolly.
Lu Wenchuan smiled and did not let go.
A line of text suddenly surfaced on the corridor wall.
[First Heart-Questioning Question: What do you fear?]
The moment the words appeared, half the lights went out.
The first door on the left side of the corridor opened.
Inside was the back courtyard of the Xu Family Old Residence.
The well stood beside the withered tree, with Lin Wan standing beside it. Her back was turned to them, the Silver Nameplate in her hand, the wind lifting the hem of her skirt. Xu An's faint voice drifted out of the well.
"Big Brother Xiaohan."
Xu Zhihan's fingertips twitched.
Holding his hand, Lu Wenchuan said softly, "It's fake."
"I know."
Xu Zhihan glanced through the doorway.
Lin Wan turned, her expression gentle, but there was no light in her eyes.
"Xiaohan, don't go any farther. Every step you take will hurt the people around you."
Lu Wenchuan raised his short blade and was about to cut the black line beside the door when Xu Zhihan spoke first.