All the contestants were bewildered. Xue Yier rubbed her eyes in disbelief.
Was it a bug in the illusion card or the work of a ghost leading them astray?
If it was the latter, this ghost was really audacious to play tricks in front of a group of Taoists!
A contestant was about to step forward and throw a talisman paper, but was stopped by Yu Nian.
Although the girl's clothes were tattered, one could still vaguely recognize the school uniform of Wanjv High School from its color scheme.
"This is not the work of a ghost leading us astray. She's a student from Wanjv High School," Yu Nian said.
Unlike the scene on the third floor, the girl didn't say a word this time. She slowly raised her lowered head. When everyone saw her face, they gasped in horror.
The girl's facial features were blurred. One could only see her deeply sunken facial contour. She was as thin as if she had been dehydrated, with only a pair of empty eyes staring fixedly in their direction.
Yu Nian's gaze fell on the name tag on her chest, only to find that the place where the name should have been engraved was blank.
Luo Zhi felt a bit scared under the girl's stare. She wanted to muster her courage and go up to the fifth floor. But just as she moved to the stairway, the girl teleported in front of her.
The resentful energy around her turned into a dense net, firmly blocking their way.
Luo Zhi was startled. She immediately summoned the fox spirit to protect herself and was ready to fight at any moment.
Unexpectedly, after releasing the resentful energy, the girl showed no further reaction. She stood there quietly, showing no intention of hurting anyone.
Luo Zhi was completely confused. "What on earth does she want?"
Yu Nian stared at the girl for a while and suddenly realized something. "She has consciousness. She's not an illusory image. She's trying to tell us: don't go upstairs."
All the contestants were a bit surprised. This was the first time they had seen such a kind - hearted ghost girl in the competition!
But what on earth was so terrifying upstairs that this ghost girl had reminded them again and again?
Feng Chengyuan thought for a while and asked doubtfully, "She kept saying sorry just now. Who did she kill? And how did she die?"
Before Yu Nian could respond, Fu Sui on the side suddenly threw a talisman paper. The ghost girl winced in pain, let out a hideous roar, shed two lines of bloody tears, and then disappeared.
Fu Sui looked at everyone coldly. "I think you've been in this illusion for too long and your minds are muddled. How can you trust the actions of a ghost? It's extremely stupid."
After saying that, he gave Yu Nian a deep look, ignored the others, and strode up the stairs to the fifth floor.
The next second, the lights in the corridor suddenly began to flicker crazily.
The ghost girl who had disappeared just now reappeared in front of everyone. Under the flickering lights, her face was deathly pale, her chapped lips were turned outwards, and blood beads were constantly dripping. Then, she suddenly began to breathe heavily.
At first, the girl's breathing was very shallow, but gradually, her breath became more and more chaotic and heavy.
Feng Chengyuan was the closest to the girl. He felt that every breath of the girl seemed to take all her strength, which made people feel desperate.
In the end, the girl's lungs were like two broken bellows. She inhaled more than she exhaled, and black - red blood foam kept spraying out of her mouth and nose, staining her school uniform red.
Yu Nian frowned tightly. She took a step forward, trying to help the girl get out of the suffocation.
But just as Yu Nian was about to touch the girl, she suddenly felt a tightness in her chest.
In an instant, the corridor became visibly narrower. Dim yellow lights came on in the originally dim passage. Vaguely, there were suddenly pedestrians in the quiet corridor.
Groups of figures came from the light and shadow. It was extremely lively, but one couldn't see their faces clearly.
One could only vaguely recognize their actions and expressions.
Some were carrying schoolbags, some were holding breakfast and test papers, and some walked in groups, arm in arm intimately.
The only thing they had in common was that each of them had a wooden face, like walking corpses.
The scene at the moment was like an old movie that had been stored for too long, constantly freezing and skipping frames. It was indescribably absurd and strange.
Suddenly, a strange "giggle" laughter echoed in the entire corridor, sharp and ear - piercing.
The whole world seemed to be activated. Several figures rushed out of the shadows, chasing each other playfully. After passing by Yu Nian, they suddenly disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Although it was only a matter of a few seconds, Yu Nian knew that they had entered an illusion formed by the resentful energy accumulated by someone before their death.
Xue Yier looked utterly incredulous. "What's going on? Aren't we already in an illusion?"
Yu Nian asked expressionlessly, "Do you know about the dream within a dream?"
Xue Yier nodded.
"Now it's an illusion within an illusion."
Xue Yier: …
The judges outside the field were a bit restless. Xu Yufang asked the always calm and composed Master Fu, "Senior, isn't this topic of ours a bit too difficult this time?"
After all, even the judges present might not be able to get out unscathed in such a double illusion!
Master Fu showed no expression. He even sipped his tea leisurely. "I believe they will return successfully." After saying that, he said to the butler puppet beside him, "A Gui, bring me some preserved fruits and sweet water."
The butler puppet responded and was about to turn around to make arrangements when Master Fu suddenly stopped him.
"Remember to put more sugar."
Xu Yufang was a bit stunned. She didn't understand where Master Fu's trust in the contestants came from, nor why the always light - eating Master Fu suddenly started to eat snacks.
But Xu Yufang believed that Master Fu must have his reasons for doing so.
Could it be that preserved fruits are beneficial for cultivation? Xu Yufang quietly made a note of it. She must eat more when she got back!
…
The scene changed again. The figures disappeared, and everyone was plunged into a long - lasting darkness.
When Xu Ning opened his eyes again, he found that the contestants who had been standing beside him had all disappeared, and he was in the corridor on the fifth floor.
Plaster statues and skeletons were everywhere. The incandescent light shone straight down from the ceiling, making Xu Ning's eyes ache.
He tentatively called out to the other contestants, but got no response.
Xu Ning suddenly became a bit panicked. He rushed to the stairway on the fifth floor to leave, but as soon as he stepped one foot out of the floor door, he suddenly broke out in a cold sweat.
The stairs leading to the fourth floor were gone. He was standing on the suspended fifth floor.
It was pitch - black under the threshold, and the cold wind was bone - chilling. If he fell, he would surely be smashed to pieces!
Xu Ning tightly grabbed the door frame and curled up in a ball, on the verge of tears.
"Is this reasonable?"
Just as Xu Ning was at a loss, he suddenly felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.
Xu Ning shuddered. He felt that the hand was extremely cold, as if it had just been taken out of an ice cellar.
Xu Ning turned his head tremblingly and came face to face with a blank - faced person.