WTNL Chapter 242

(4/4)

Changsheng Building
Chapter 242: Why are you running?

Wen Jianyan, holding the lit candlestick in one hand, took a deep breath and resolutely walked out of the courtyard, stepping into the boundless darkness.

Although he had made up his mind, the further he went, the more uncertain he felt.

It was too dark; the surroundings were just too dark.

The light from the candle in his hand was too weak, barely illuminating the winding path beneath his feet. He couldn’t see what was ahead, nor what was on either side.

It was as if in this world consumed by darkness, he was the only one existing.

Even worse, this was true.

This feeling made Wen Jianyan shiver from the bottom of his heart.

He hunched his shoulders, couldn’t help but stop, and looked back.

The path had disappeared.

The courtyard had also disappeared.

Behind him was only a vast expanse of darkness, as if telling him that once he left the courtyard, there was no way back.

Wen Jianyan: “…”

Ha, haha… just as expected.

Wen Jianyan, gritting his teeth, slowly turned around and looked at the winding path in front of him.

The end of the path extended into the darkness, with no end in sight.

But now, besides continuing forward, there seemed to be no other options.

What to do, feeling a bit regretful.

Wen Jianyan gripped the cold candlestick in his hand tightly, his face was pale, and with difficulty, he swallowed a mouthful of saliva. He turned around and continued to walk forward along the winding path.

Without any landmarks, time and distance seemed to lose their meaning.

The candle in Wen Jianyan’s hand became the only light in the darkness.

That light was weak and thin, seemingly ready to be extinguished at any moment.

The temperature around him also became colder and colder, like little knives cutting the exposed skin. The bone-chilling cold rose from his feet.

After walking for an unknown amount of time, the scene in front of him finally changed. At the end of the pitch-black path, a barren graveyard appeared. The winding path extended into the cemetery, soon disappearing among it.

There was no sign of life around, only a desolate graveyard that stretched as far as the eye could see. Each mound was covered with weeds, and the air was filled with a faint stench of decay mixed with the smell of not fully burned incense ash.

In the boundless darkness, the graveyard in front of him appeared particularly eerie and sinister.

“……”

Wen Jianyan stood among the countless grave mounds, feeling a sudden shiver run down his back, and the palms gripping the candlestick were slick with cold sweat.

Really…

Really can’t go back?

He turned his head once again, looking behind him.

The path he had just been standing on had disappeared at some point, the only thing remaining was a large grave mound standing directly behind him.

It was as if…

He had just walked out from this very grave.

Wen Jianyan was scared by his own imagination, causing all the hair on his body to stand on end.

Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid!

He absolutely wasn’t scared at all!

With a stiff face, Wen Jianyan kept hypnotizing himself in his mind.

“Integrity First” live broadcast room:

[Shit, the anchor’s face is so pale, he must be really scared.]

[Poor guy, always facing the highest difficulty despite having the smallest courage. So pitiful.]

[LOL, is this for real? I always thought that veteran anchors at this level wouldn’t be scared anymore…]

Out of sympathy, the sound of rewards started to ring in Wen Jianyan’s live broadcast.

After several seconds, Wen Jianyan finally managed to calm down a bit, no longer as panicked as before.

He withdrew his gaze, looking around the graveyard before him, and then suddenly froze.

Although most of the graves were submerged in darkness, blurry and indistinct, the few closest to Wen Jianyan were illuminated by the faint candlelight. These eerie graves had grayish tombstones in front of them, with portraits placed behind the tombstones, and in front, incense burners and rotting offerings.

Wen Jianyan seemed to suddenly realize something, turning once again to look at the grave behind him.

Although the grave behind him looked very similar to the surrounding graves, it was missing something…

The incense burner in front of the tombstone was gone, and the spot where the portrait should have been was empty.

Wen Jianyan was taken aback, then lowered his head to look at the portrait he had taken from the third painting.

Could it be…

He hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to give it a try.

After all, the road back had already disappeared. All Wen Jianyan could do now was to go all out and try everything possible.

Having made up his mind, Wen Jianyan bent down and placed the portrait in the empty spot behind the tombstone.

The moment he placed it, a sudden change occurred!

The mound in front of him, which had been high and raised, started to darken and collapse entirely!

“…!”

Wen Jianyan was so shocked that he gasped and took a step back.

In front of him, the path reappeared.

Beyond the collapsed mound, the winding path appeared once again. Not far from the path was the familiar gate of the courtyard, with lanterns hanging on either side—one red, one white.

The sight was so familiar that it almost made Wen Jianyan weep with joy.

“…!”

The way back had appeared!

Seeing this, Wen Jianyan’s spirits lifted.

No matter what happened next, he was no longer in a situation without an escape route. This realization brought him some comfort.

However, before he could relish in this feeling for long, Wen Jianyan quickly noticed something was amiss.

Not far ahead, the courtyard at the end of the path didn’t look exactly the same as in his memory.

The two lanterns, one red and one white, hanging at the entrance were supposed to be extinguished when he left. Their original colors could only be faintly seen through the gray layer covering them. But now…

The two lanterns were inexplicably lit, one emitting an eerie crimson glow and the other a ghostly pale light. They swayed gently in the darkness, giving off an extremely ominous vibe.

The lanterns… were lit?

Why?

Who lit them? And for what purpose?

A strong sense of unease arose in his heart, creeping up his spine, with chills running from his feet to his whole body.

Wen Jianyan stared intently at the illuminated courtyard in the distance, subconsciously stepping back—

“Crackle!”

Suddenly, a familiar sound of intense burning rang out!

Wen Jianyan’s pupils contracted as he instinctively lowered his head to look at his palm.

The candle fixed in the candlestick had suddenly ignited fiercely, with the white molten wax dripping down rapidly, shortening the candle by more than an inch in an instant.

This phenomenon typically only happened under one condition!

“Tap, tap, tap—”

Suddenly, the dead silence was shattered by the sound of hurried footsteps coming from the desolate graves behind him!

Not good!

Wen Jianyan didn’t even have time to turn around and look. He gritted his teeth and dashed towards the portrait behind the tombstone as fast as he could—

However, strangely enough, even though he had grabbed the portrait, the path that had appeared beyond the collapsed grave mound and the courtyard gate at the end of it did not disappear.

“Tap, tap, tap, tap—”

The hurried footsteps grew closer, almost upon him in the blink of an eye.

The hair on the back of Wen Jianyan’s neck stood on end. He whipped his head around—

In the next second, a terrifying scene appeared before his eyes.

Four figures were carrying a crimson sedan chair, rushing towards him at a terrifying speed. As they drew nearer, under the candlelight, Wen Jianyan saw that the four figures carrying the sedan chair were actually paper figures—pale faces painted with grotesque red blushes, their lips curved into rigid, horrifying smiles.

And in their hands, they were carrying a paper sedan chair!

The four paper figures, with their eerie smiles, charged towards Wen Jianyan.

“!!!”

“Whew.”

The candle in his hand was blown out.

In the darkness, Wen Jianyan’s pupils suddenly contracted. Before he could react, he felt a dizzying spin, and then he was covered in a sheet of crimson. A strong, rotten smell of blood assaulted his nose!

……

Under the intense impact, Wen Jianyan felt as if he had fainted for a few seconds… or a few minutes.

He blinked and took two seconds to realize that he was still alive.

Wait… wait…

So what exactly happened just now?

What was going on?

Wen Jianyan blinked. First, he felt his vision covered in crimson, and then he realized that his surroundings seemed to be swaying, almost like…

like being in a sedan chair.

He hesitated for a few seconds, raised his hand, and instinctively touched his face.

The familiar texture of fabric.

“…”

This was bad.

Really bad!

Cold sweat broke out on Wen Jianyan’s forehead. He cautiously lifted a corner of the red veil on his head and peeked outside.

The outside was also crimson.

It was completely the inside of a paper sedan chair!

Just as he lifted a corner of the veil, the familiar terror brought by the darkness attacked from all sides. Wen Jianyan then realized that he wasn’t holding a candle and hurriedly let go, allowing the red veil to cover his face again.

The sense of danger receded.

Sure enough, in some sense, the red veil could also fend off the threats brought by the darkness.

Almost immediately, Wen Jianyan opened his live streaming interface.

It was all grey.

The store couldn’t be accessed, and items couldn’t be used.

Wen Jianyan sat upright in the sedan chair, his fingers curled tightly around his knees.

In the gap under the red veil, he could clearly see that the clothes on his body had turned into a wedding dress at some point, exactly like the female corpse in the coffin earlier. And… for some reason, the appearance he had activated after entering the instance had disappeared.

Underneath the crimson fabric was Wen Jianyan’s own male body.

Something was wrong… very wrong.

A cold sweat broke out on Wen Jianyan’s forehead as he sat still.

The paper sedan chair swayed back and forth, and through the thin red paper, he could hear the urgent footsteps of the four paper figures.

Suddenly, he remembered.

If nothing went wrong, the portrait placed after the tablet, affected by the curse of the three paintings, would have his face printed on it.

Which means…

Wen Jianyan stared at his tightly clenched hands on his knees, cold sweat dripping from his forehead.

This situation was exactly like he had replaced the female corpse in the three paintings and become the newest member of the courtyard…

Just as Wen Jianyan’s body and mind were taut to the extreme…

Suddenly, a cold hand appeared out of nowhere in the darkness, pressing on his waist. The dead man’s icy cold temperature seeped through the thin fabric, making his scalp tingle.

“Ahhhhh!!”

In his horror, Wen Jianyan couldn’t help but scream.

Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, the young man arched his body and jumped up, but in the next second, he was forcibly pressed down by the hands that increased their grip.

“Don’t move.”

Through the swaying red veil, his vision was blurry. A man’s low voice came close to his ear, echoing in the paper sedan chair.

Wu Zhu leaned down, embracing the trembling young man, and asked unhappily:

“Why are you running?”

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