"I need to go... to the study room!"
Liu Lili suddenly spoke, as if waking from a dream. She grabbed her cloth bag and headed outside, her eyes beginning to glaze over again.
"Keep my appointment... the study room."
Murmuring, she quietly left the reception room.
The butler waiting outside was about to stop her, but halted when he saw Jiang Nuo gesture for him not to.
"We'll follow her. Don't worry."
With that, Jiang Nuo and the other two followed Liu Lili out without interrupting her stride.
Once they left the villa, even the cameraman inexplicably felt his whole body grow lighter, as though something weighing on him had vanished.
He told himself it had to be his imagination and hurried after them, diligently doing his job.
After crossing to the opposite street, Liu Lili began making turns.
There were many alley entrances here, yet she navigated every turn without error until she reached the deserted end of an alley.
"Keep my appointment..."
She was still murmuring those words.
Holy crap... even a local like me never knew this place existed!
Is there really a study room here?? I just searched the map, and nothing came up.
Liu Lili ventured farther and farther into the secluded area, then suddenly began tearing at her hair, pulling it out by the handful and winding it around her fingers.
"What is she doing?" Si Yan didn't understand.
Unexpectedly, Liu Lili seemed to hear him. She slowly turned her head and stared fixedly at Si Yan, murmuring, "So heavy..."
"My hair is so heavy..."
Si Yan glanced at her nearly bald head, a flicker of distaste crossing his phoenix eyes.
It's heavy when you've barely got any hair left?
Seemingly frightened, he tugged at Jiang Nuo's sleeve, lowered his eyes, and pressed his lips together without a word.
Jiang Nuo smiled at Liu Lili, his eyes curving. "Keep moving, or I'll pull out every last hair."
Liu Lili: "..."
Whether she understood or not, she turned away indignantly.
I'm shameless, so I'll say it first! Jiang Nuo, you spoil Si Yan so much!
Okay, okay... respect from an Ink Wash fan... never thought I'd live to see Si Yan act cute on his own initiative.
As Liu Lili pushed open a door and entered, Jiang Nuo suddenly called out to the cameraman, patting both his and Si Yan's shoulders.
"All right. Let's go."
The cameraman noticed nothing unusual. Assuming Jiang Nuo was encouraging him, he gave a guileless smile and followed him inside.
Si Yan, however, distinctly felt a searing warmth spread from his shoulder, dispelling the bitter cold inside him that seemed to come from his soul.
His fingers curled slightly, reluctant to let go of that warmth.
For some reason, even holding hands today hadn't felt like this, though it had back at the mansion.
While he was lost in thought, they had already entered the so-called "study room."
They called it a study room, but it was far too dilapidated.
It looked more like a long-abandoned warehouse with a few long tables, benches, and bookshelves added. Even the windows were broken.
Damp cold assailed them instantly.
Jiang Nuo looked at the rows of bookshelves and told Si Yan, "You were right. Those were bookshelves in the drawing."
"But the drawing showed the backs of the bookshelves." Si Yan raised his eyes and frowned. "Are there hidden doors and passages behind them too?"
Otherwise, the drawing's viewpoint was far too strange.
"Ah... not necessarily."
A glimmer rippled through Jiang Nuo's eyes. He seemed to have realized something, but kept Si Yan guessing.
"Always assume the worst."
Si Yan lowered his eyes and said nothing more.
At the long table, Liu Lili had already set down her cloth bag and taken out an exquisite little storybook, which she began reading quietly.
Figuring he might as well since he was already here, the cameraman worked up his courage, approached, and aimed his camera at the storybook.
The moment he did, the camera shook again.
There was clearly nothing in the book!
Yet Liu Lili was reading it with such relish!
Danger! Cameraman-
Oh my god, she came all the way out here just to read a wordless book? So creepy!
"You must have seen it wrong..."
Liu Lili suddenly turned toward him. With her head bowed and eyes lifted, she grinned hideously and stared eerily at the cameraman, whose legs were going weak.
"No..."
He instinctively tried to answer that there clearly weren't any words, but before he could get another word out, a small stone flew over and struck him squarely in the forehead.
Jiang Nuo had already appeared beside them, his tone slightly stern. "Don't answer its questions."
"Ah... sorry."
The cameraman's heart inexplicably sank, and he didn't dare ask any more questions.
Jiang Nuo tapped the table, reminding Liu Lili, "Didn't you come here to keep an appointment?"
"Keep my appointment..."
Liu Lili repeated the words.
She slowly closed the book, turned toward the empty seat beside her, and smiled with an inexplicably eerie sweetness.
"Long time no see."
There was nothing in the empty seat.
"I didn't see it wrong this time." Liu Lili seemed to receive a reply and spoke again.
Another full two seconds of silence followed.
"All right. I'll take them inside."
Jiang Nuo blinked and looked at the undeniably empty seat, inexplicably beginning to doubt himself.
There was actually a ghost even he couldn't see.
So, out of the camera's view, he touched his left eyelid. A faint fluorescent glow flashed, and he looked again.
Jiang Nuo: "..."
For once, he fell silent.
There really is nothing there!
Why is a young girl like you lying to people!
Liu Lili finished the conversation, rose, and silently walked toward the bookshelves.
The moment she approached them, thick mist filled the entire warehouse, faintly tinged with black.
The camera lens also seemed to become veiled in mist.
Holy shit... I'm blind!!
Someone, wipe your emperor's eyes!
Liu Lili merely stood beside the bookshelves, seemingly waiting for something.
Taking the opportunity, Si Yan glanced at the bookshelves a few more times and suddenly noticed their bottoms beginning to disappear.
He raised his eyes in surprise, only to see Liu Lili launch herself into a bookshelf.
Immediately afterward, Si Yan felt a powerful suction and was inexplicably drawn in as well.
Their surroundings suddenly turned entirely white.
The livestream cut to a white screen, and the signal was lost.
Holy shit!!! Why's it gone?!
What does this mean? Did I just see the bookshelf open?? Was I imagining it?!
Aaaaah, nothing's going to happen to them, right!! Should we call the police?!
The bullet comments raced past. Some viewers thought Jiang Nuo and the others' performance had simply ended here, and they were deliberately leaving a cliffhanger.
Heh... I think this is just as far as they can take the fakery.
Uh, I think so too. Those who know, know. Any further and it'd probably count as fraud.
Jiang Nuo's fucking incredible. What kind of backing does he have to act this brazenly, running circles around so many people just to build his charlatan persona???
Fuck whatever you lot say, I've called the police! If it's fake, having them arrested would be good too!
The livestream was abruptly shut down.
Many viewers who hadn't managed to post their comments went straight to Weibo's public feed instead, drawing the attention of quite a few passersby.
Meanwhile.
After steadying himself, Jiang Nuo pulled Si Yan upright and touched his forehead. "Whoa, why did you suddenly go so pale?"
He'd better not let his mission target get scared to death.
"I feel awful..."
Si Yan's face was pale, and even the light in his phoenix eyes had dimmed somewhat. He leaned against Jiang Nuo's shoulder and closed his eyes to recover.
The fluctuation in his soul the instant he was sucked in had nearly made him faint.
"Hiss... something's wrong. Let me check."
Jiang Nuo took his wrist to check his pulse.