Chapter 67: The Cabin of Haunting Memories

The rhythmic crunch of fallen leaves echoed.

After dozens more steps, the silhouette of the wooden house gradually sharpened into view.

Only then did the young woman notice the ground around the house was stained with a ring of crimson-black ink, tracing the intricate lines of a complex magic array.

She had never witnessed such an exquisitely crafted array.

It comprised several perfectly interlocking, flawless concentric circles, each adorned with a profusion of winding, intricate, yet elegantly sharp runes.

A ring of bone-white candles encircled the outermost ring, standing sentinel like silent guardians of a tomb.

However, these candles had all long since extinguished, leaving only charred wicks swaying gently in the faint breeze.

Lily of the Valley paused at the edge of the array, her gaze sweeping over the wicks, each on the verge of breaking.

“It seems to be an array for defense and vigilance… but I can’t sense any magic.”

Lu Chen carefully picked up one of the candles, scrutinizing it from top to bottom.

“Yes, I’ve seen these candles in textbooks. The Warlock Council often uses them to store magic and sustain arrays. Since all the candles are extinguished, the array is no longer active.”

“Lily of the Valley, are there any potions inside the house?”

The young woman lifted the entirely black, trembling compass.

“Yes, and there seems to be quite a substantial number. I’ll go open the door; wait here for a moment.”

Lily of the Valley gathered her magic, a verdant glow swirling around her. She walked slowly to the wooden house, pushing the door open silently as she entered.

A refreshing, fragrant scent wafted towards them, and a brightly lit corridor appeared before their eyes.

The corridor stretched deep and long, utterly incongruous with the exterior of the small wooden house.

The walls on both sides were plastered with an unbroken succession of horror movie posters, ranging from last century’s *The Thing* and *Event Horizon* to more recent titles like *Long Legs* and *Something in the Dirt*. There was even a pseudo-documentary called *Apology to the Iinuma Family*.

Each poster contained an embedded door, making the corridor resemble a miniature cinema.

Lily of the Valley cautiously surveyed the corridor, finding no malevolent beings that could pose a threat. This absence, however, only deepened her confusion.

‘Who would build such a cabin in White Mist Forest? Is it for movies? Or a warehouse? Even eccentrics rarely have such peculiar hobbies.’

She suppressed her doubts and spoke.

“…There’s no one here, and no traps. Mr. Lu, you can come over.”

“Alright.”

Lu Chen quickly followed, stepping into the cabin. The two walked slowly through the corridor, their steps echoing softly on the clean floor tiles.

The young woman approached *The Thing* poster and tentatively pulled on the door embedded within it.

The wooden door suddenly swung open, revealing nothing but a bare wall behind it.

She and Lu Chen exchanged a puzzled glance, then tried opening several other doors embedded in the posters, but each time, they found only a wall.

Lily of the Valley said.

“There are no rooms behind these at all. These doors seem to be nothing more than decorations!”

Lu Chen shook his head as he continued deeper into the corridor.

“But the potions are definitely in this cabin, aren’t they? Surely one or two of these doors must be real… Ah.”

Mid-sentence, a particular poster suddenly caught the young man’s peripheral vision, instantly seizing his full attention.

He immediately turned and rushed towards it, scrutinizing it with an expression of disbelief.

This poster bore no relation whatsoever to horror films, standing out conspicuously in the corridor.

Yet Lu Chen recognized it… or, more precisely, he had personally created it.

It was the first promotional poster for the magical girl “Fireworks.”

The young woman in the poster smiled radiantly, surrounded by a dazzling aura of flames.

The young man stood before the poster, staring up blankly at his lover, a chilling dread seeping into his very bones.

He reached out, gripped the handle embedded in the poster, and gently turned it.

“Click.”

The door opened, revealing a room filled with televisions before the young man’s eyes.

Screens were densely hung everywhere.

Every screen was illuminated. Every single one displayed images of Xia Shi.

The young woman’s first transformation, her first victory against a monster, her fierce battle with a formidable foe on the pedestrian street, her photos with fans at a convention, her interview in front of the branch headquarters, her charging with flames towards a corrupted avatar…

The young woman happily bringing cake to her mouth in a shop, the young woman and the young man walking hand-in-hand down a moonlit street, the young woman laughing and leaping through a park at night, the young woman, her cheeks flushed, confessing her love to him on a bench…

Xia Shi’s growth, Xia Shi’s victories, Xia Shi’s defeats, Xia Shi’s shyness, Xia Shi’s joy, Xia Shi’s love.

Almost everything about Xia Shi was contained within this room, within this cabin shrouded in mist, under the gaze of the cabin’s owner.

Then, in the very center of the cabin… several bottles of ink-black liquid floated in mid-air, bobbing up and down like corpses submerged in the deep sea.

Lu Chen stared blankly at the room before him, feeling as if he had become a puppet dismembered of its limbs and torso, his remaining mind utterly blank.

“Mr. Lu, are you alright?”

Only when Lily of the Valley spoke with a sudden force did Lu Chen manage to snap back to reality.

He bit his lip hard, took a deep breath, and steadied his rapid, chaotic breathing.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. It was just a moment of panic. This room, what in the…”

Lily of the Valley cast a cold glance around the television screens.

“Perhaps it’s just another one of Envy’s twisted hobbies. Don’t dwell on it. I’ll report this room to the Syndicate when we return.”

She walked directly to the center of the room, snatched the few bottles of Masked Potions, and sealed them securely in her backpack.

“The mission is complete. Mr. Lu, let’s head back quickly.”

Lu Chen gazed at the flickering screens, clenching his fists. He said in a low voice.

“Forgive me, Miss Lily of the Valley. Could I ask for five minutes? I’d like to search this place myself.”

‘Although an unsettling, strange odor permeated the air, this corridor isn’t dangerous… Five more minutes won’t hurt.’

The young woman made up her mind and nodded.

“As you wish. I’ll watch from the doorway; just call me when you’re done searching.”

“Thank you.”

Lu Chen expressed his thanks and walked deeper into the room. Lily of the Valley returned to the corridor, silently watching the young man from outside the door.

“Whimper…”

At one point, a soft sound suddenly reached the young woman’s ears.

At first, she thought it was the young man rustling around in the room, but she quickly realized it was a human sound… the sound of someone whimpering and crying.

A whimper.

The whimpering sound came again.

Lily of the Valley straightened, her gaze sharply sweeping the corridor, instantly pinpointing the source of the sound.

The sound came from behind a door. A door that wasn’t covered by a poster.

The crying grew louder, seeming to murmur a few indistinct words in a trembling tone.

Lily of the Valley couldn’t quite make them out, yet an inexplicable wave of nausea and irritation washed over her, followed by an ineffable emotion swelling in her heart.

“Mr. Lu, hold on a moment. Something unexpected has happened.”

She swiftly called out to Lu Chen, then flipped her dagger, rushed to the door in a few strides, and pulled open the handle.

The wooden door burst open, revealing a spacious room. It was dim and gloomy, with a screen hanging on one side, a projector standing on the other, and a long sofa placed in the center.

Then, beside the sofa, a tiny figure was curled on the floor, her young face streaked with tears.

The figure trembled as she lifted her head, letting out another whimper.

This time, Lily of the Valley finally understood her words.

“Sister, Sister…”