Chapter 108: Sleepless Night

"What... did you say?" Luo Hanyai looked at the sudden sorrow on Shui Yue's face. A strange ache rose in his nose, and a sense of profound sadness flooded his entire being. Yet, his tear ducts remained completely unaffected; his parched eyes could not summon a single drop, as if they had become a barren, salt-encrusted wasteland.

"Yes, it has already dried up..." Shui Yue shook her head, her expression carrying an indescribable melancholy.

"What is actually going on here?"

"What is meant to come will come eventually. One day, you will understand all of this."

"What if I want to know in advance?" Luo Hanyai widened his eyes, revealing irises of stark black and white, a unique, almost ethereal temperament surrounding him.

Shui Yue fell silent. She shook her head and stepped backward, as if rejecting his notion. "Believe me, knowing everything beforehand would only bring you pain."

"Like a pawn in a game?"

"No one dares to treat you as a pawn, you..." Shui Yue hesitated, leaving her words unfinished.

The two fell into a tacit silence. As they looked up, their eyes met, conveying the most complex emotions and sentiments known to the world.

After a long time, Shui Yue broke the silence. "I must leave."

"Is there any chance we will meet again?"

"There will be."

"Then, until next time?"

"Until next time."

Their exchange was brief and peaceful, as natural as that of two close friends who could see each other every day.

Shui Yue turned and left. With her departure, darkness descended once more. Luo Hanyai remained wrapped in his blanket on the bed, the room door still shut, as if everything that had just transpired were merely a fleeting dream.

"Moon in the mirror, flowers in the water..." Luo Hanyai stared blankly at the ceiling, murmuring to himself.

...

"Click..." Suddenly, a strange sound broke the stillness of the dark night—not a human voice, but the clatter of metal.

"It really is endless." Luo Hanyai put on his damp clothes and carefully traced the source of the noise. It was growing fainter, as if the person making it were moving away, yet he had already pinpointed the origin: beneath his feet, on the ground floor of the inn.

"I’d like to see what this is all about."

Luo Hanyai opened the door and moved through the dark corridor, walking down the stairs with swift, silent steps, like an agile cat.

"No one here?" He reached the lobby and scanned the room, finding nothing. He did not give up, however, feeling along the walls with caution until his hand brushed against a wooden door. Hidden in the dark corner of the lobby was a small door! Holding his breath, he gently pushed it open. Inside lay another dark corridor, and at its end, a faint, ghostly glimmer shone.

Luo Hanyai hugged the wall and moved forward, like a dancer in the shadows, treading lightly through the gloom. Finally, he saw the source of the light: a white candle. In the dancing flame, the back of a man was illuminated; he was swinging an iron shovel, digging hard into the earth.

At midnight, in a dark and terrifying inn, a person was wielding a shovel—a scene identical to a villain disposing of a body in a horror film.

Luo Hanyai gave a self-deprecating smile. "It seems I am destined to be the protagonist of all this."

He did not act rashly but instead crept closer until he reached the edge of the dim candlelight.

"You've arrived?" A voice rang out suddenly, causing Luo Hanyai to jump and stumble back several steps in shock.

"Are you afraid of me?" A figure draped in white turned around. The dim light obscured their face, and the voice was so androgynous that it was impossible to tell if they were male or female. They held an iron shovel in their left hand, as if they had been waiting for Luo Hanyai for a long time.

"Who are you?" Luo Hanyai asked, momentarily stunned.

"I am a guest here."

"A guest?"

"Yes, a guest."

"Then what are you doing here in the middle of the night?"

"Is that any of your business?" The white-clad figure raised an eyebrow, speaking with disdain.

Luo Hanyai nodded with a smirk. "It is indeed none of my business, but I can certainly make a bit of a scene."

"Oh? And what kind of scene can you make?"

Luo Hanyai paused, then, refusing to believe it, shouted a few times at the top of his lungs. Everything remained deathly silent, with no reaction from anyone, as if his voice had been completely swallowed.

Seeing the livid look on Luo Hanyai's face, the figure in white laughed until they doubled over, wiping their eyes as if to clear away tears of mirth.

"You lured me here on purpose, didn't you?" Luo Hanyai refused to stay passive and countered.

"Yes, I lured you here on purpose. As for why, it's simple: I need you to do something for me." The figure looked at Luo Hanyai, enunciating each word clearly.

"Do something? Do I have the right to refuse?" Luo Hanyai said with a wry smile.

"Of course you do. And I will even give you a gift," the figure chuckled.

"I think I'll pass. Gifts seem a bit too formal, don't you think? I’ll just be going now; I wouldn't want to trouble you." Luo Hanyai laughed, waving his hands dismissively as he retreated two steps in silence.

"No trouble at all. See, it's already prepared for you." The figure’s laugh grew shrill. They pointed to the hole they had dug in the ground, which looked exactly like a grave.

"Look, sir, I’m not feeling very well. Could we postpone this? I'll come back to help tomorrow." Luo Hanyai deliberately played the fool, putting on the performance of a coward.

The white-clad figure looked at him with contempt, their expression darkening alarmingly. They pointed to the pit. "Into this, or over there—take your pick."

"I... I'll go over there." Luo Hanyai collapsed to the ground, his teeth chattering, portraying the image of a cowardly, death-fearing man to perfection. If there were an audience, they would surely have voted him an Oscar.

The figure in white sneered. "You will be rewarded."

...

The figure led Luo Hanyai through the dark corridor for a long time. The hallway seemed endless, exuding an intense sense of despair and deathly stillness.

"Ha... ha... I... I can't walk anymore, my legs have turned to jelly..." Luo Hanyai leaned against the wall, gasping for air, feigning physical exhaustion. Secretly, however, he was calculating the distance and time they had traveled.

"Enough, stop acting like an idiot. I know exactly what you're capable of." The figure kicked Luo Hanyai in the backside, sending him sprawling forward.

"Ah! What are you doing... I've been so cooperative, why are you still hitting me!" Luo Hanyai fell like a fool, wailing and howling loudly.

"Let's go. It's time to set off," the figure said coldly.

"Fine, let's set off then. What exactly do you need me to help you with?"

"You'll know once you're out."

The sound of a door opening and closing suddenly echoed. Somewhere, at the end of the corridor, a sliver of light appeared, and a tattered wooden door was swinging back and forth in the wind.

"Get out!"

"Fine, I'm going!"