She began moving her family's boxes, opening them one by one. The clothes inside were thrown onto the dust-covered floor, causing even more dust to rise in a thick cloud.
As she rummaged through the boxes, tossing items aside, she found nothing but old clothes. Taking a deep breath, she was about to turn and leave when she suddenly noticed a small bed in the corner of the attic. Just then, she heard a noise coming from under the bed.
"What could it be? Could it be a rat? I haven't been back in so long, and the house has fallen into disrepair."
She cautiously bent down and suddenly noticed a pair of hands reaching out from under the bed. The fingers were sharp and slender, but these hands were definitely not those of a living person; they were covered in necrotic spots.
She recoiled and fell back onto the bed. The hands seemed familiar, as if she had seen them somewhere before.
She gritted her teeth, wondering who it could be and what they might want to tell her. At this point, Luo Wan could think of nothing else. She stood up, walked to the bed, and suddenly yanked off the cover. There was no one under the bed, only a small wooden box that looked very old.
She opened the box to find a collection of very old items: a vanity mirror, rouge, hardened face powder, a handkerchief, and a wooden comb.
There was nothing of particular interest. She examined the box, which clearly belonged to a woman, but nothing seemed strange about it. What was that hand trying to hint at?
Suddenly, a sharp pain pricked her finger. She pulled back in pain and looked down to see it was a needle with a long thread attached. The thread was red, a shade of red that was very familiar to her.
Could this needle be the one used to embroider those red embroidered shoes? She began desperately searching through the box, trying to find the red embroidered shoes she so desperately wanted. Every time she faced danger, she would always see those shoes, indicating they held some important secret.
While she was searching, Luo Wan suddenly felt as if someone was standing behind her. She whirled around quickly, but there was nothing there. She looked to the left and right but still saw no one.
Perhaps she was just being paranoid. Not daring to think too much, she put down the items and headed outside. As she was closing the box, she froze for a moment, as if she had seen something.
With trembling hands, she held the mirror and slowly brought it up to her face.
In the mirror, she saw her own terrified face. As she moved the mirror downward, it passed over her slender neck and shoulders. To her shock, she saw a shoe on her left shoulder, and as the mirror continued to move, she noticed another shoe on her right shoulder. However, this time, there was actually a person standing on the shoes.
She had just looked around behind her and to the sides, but it turned out that the ghost was standing right on her shoulders.
She dared not look up, but she could see the ghost firmly standing on her shoulders. This time, she could finally see the embroidered shoes clearly. On the uppers of the shoes were two small characters stitched: " 殊儿" (Shū er, it's a girl's name, but it means special child).
As she whispered the name "Shū er," a sudden gush of blood erupted from her mouth. A sharp pain hit her chest, and she collapsed to the floor, feeling dizzy and overwhelmed by a powerful sense of her life slipping away. Turning her head, she looked at the cobblestone street, and to her shock, all the doors and windows she could see were green, each one a vivid shade of jade green.
Hearing the loud thud from upstairs, Lǐ Dàlù and Shàngguān Liúyún immediately rushed up. They found Luo Wan lying on the floor. After a great effort, the two of them managed to lift her and place her on the bed. By this time, Luo Wan was already half-conscious.
Seeing Luò Wǎn's condition deteriorate rapidly, Lǐ Dàlù knew she wouldn't last much longer. He glanced at Shàngguān Liúyún, and they both understood the urgency. They began calling the villagers in, with Shàngguān Liúyún offering large sums of money to incentivize them to search every inch of the area. Shěn Jī also busily joined in the search.
Meanwhile, Lǐ Dàlù and Shàngguān Liúyún stayed by Luò Wǎn's side, keeping a watchful eye on her.
Time was running out. If it weren't for the life-sustaining red string given by Old Master Shànqīng, Luò Wǎn would have already succumbed. But she was still clinging to life, refusing to give up until the very last moment.
Luò Wǎn had fallen into a semi-conscious state, continuously begging for water and kept shouting for thirst while lying on the bed. No matter how much water she drank, it did not seem to help.
Seeing Luò Wǎn in such a state, Lǐ Dàlù recalled of the words that Old Man Shànqīng had said softly before he left,
"The blood of the Tiānmù is the most precious. Although it cannot penetrate the Green Door, at least it can buy you time. Take care of yourself; if you can't hold on, don't force it."
(天目; Tiānmù, someone with the third eye or "heavenly vision" or "divine sight," possibly referring to an individual with the ability to perceive things beyond the ordinary—such as spiritual realms or hidden truths. In some contexts, this might refer to someone with clairvoyance, heightened intuition, or spiritual powers.)
Lǐ Dàlù suddenly lifted his wrist to his mouth and bit down hard, letting the blood flow freely. He brought the bleeding wound to Luo Wan's lips. As the blood touched her mouth, a faint hint of color returned to her pale, almost transparent face.
Shàngguān Liúyún, unable to find the right words, turned with bloodshot eyes and said, "Find it. Whatever you need, I can provide it once you find it.”
He crouched down, holding Luò Wǎn's hand, and, in a moment of vulnerability, whispered to the unconscious Luo Wan, "Please, don't die. Don’t leave me again.”
Seeing this scene from a distance, Shěn Jī was consumed by a fiery rage that could destroy everything. She picked up a lighter and ran outside, determined to burn the red string herself. Although she didn't fully understand the string's significance, she knew that without it, Luo Wan would surely die.
The local villagers had gathered at Luo Wan's house, searching diligently for the red string. They had pulled out various red items—red yarn, red fabric strips—but the crucial red string with the earring as a pendant was still nowhere to be found.
Shàngguān Liúyún, frantic with worry, paced back and forth beside Luò Wǎn and Lǐ Dàlù. He yelled for doctors and ordered that blood be transfused to Li Dalu. Everyone followed his commands, running around in a chaotic frenzy. The entire town seemed to be in a state of madness.
Shěn Jī sneered as she retreated to a dark corner of the backyard. There was a locust tree standing off to one side. She ran behind the tree, making sure no one could see her, then pulled the red string out of her bag with one hand while holding a lighter in the other.
In her heart, Shěn Jī silently said, "Luò Wǎn, Luò Wǎn, don't blame me. This is your fate. It wasn´t me who killed you; you´re just unfortunate.”
With this thought, Shěn Jī felt more at ease. Her right hand, steady and determined, lit the flame. The blue flame shot up high, and the lighter, though disposable, seemed brand new. She grinned wickedly as she brought the flame closer to the red string.
As the red string came into contact with the flame, it began to curl and shrink. The outer part of the string started to char, and in just a second, it would reach its ignition point and turn to ashes.
At the same time, a piercing scream erupted from Luò Wǎn inside the house. In her semi-conscious state, she writhed in pain, her body curling up, her teeth clenched tightly.
Seeing this, the already pale Li Dalu, in a frenzy, tried to hold her still. He shouted at Shangguan Liúyún, "Hold her mouth open! If she bites her tongue, she'll die!"
