Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Chapter Four
Lin Sui stood outside the old house at No. 17 Nanchang Road, the night wind swirling with damp, cold mist, brushing against her face like an invisible hand. The butterfly mark on her wrist throbbed faintly, like a needle piercing her skin. She tightened her grip on her backpack, which held Shen Jingqiu's notebook and that ticket. The dream from last night lingered like a shadow at the back of her mind—Shen Jingqiu's pale face, that eerie smile, as if pulling her into the depths. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the iron gate. The outline of the old house blurred in the fog, resembling a sleeping giant. She knew the answer lay within, even if that answer might consume her.
As she stepped into the corridor, the wooden floor creaked beneath her feet, sounding like a quiet warning. She turned on her flashlight, its beam sweeping across the peeling wallpaper, the musty smell mingling with a sickly sweetness, reminiscent of decaying flowers. She ascended to the second floor; the bathroom door was ajar, revealing darkness akin to an abyss. Pushing it open, she saw the butterfly shadow code still on the wall, blue ink seeping into the cracks like a living creature breathing. A chill ran down her spine as the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. She took out the notebook and compared it to the code, whispering, "She’s here." No sooner had she spoken than a muffled thud echoed from within the wall, as if someone had knocked.
Lin Sui froze, her flashlight trembling in her hand like it was gasping for air. She stared at the wall; the knocking came again—deep and slow, as if resonating from far below. Swallowing hard, she pressed her ear against it. The wall felt icy and damp; she held her breath as a low humming emanated from within, like wings fluttering. She stumbled back suddenly, her heart pounding like a drum. In that moment, she understood—Shen Jingqiu had not left; she was trapped in this old house or rather caught in some kind of temporal rift.
Flipping through the notebook, Lin Sui read Shen Jingqiu's words: "After signing, Blue Butterfly came; time stopped; I heard voices from inside the wall." Lin Sui furrowed her brow—voices from inside the wall? She recalled the last line of the code: "The soul lingers forever, April 25." The date on the ticket—Shen Jingqiu's endpoint. A wave of dizziness washed over her as images from 1947 flashed in her mind—Shen Jingqiu standing at Xiafei Road residence, Blue Butterflies flooding outside as she signed a contract with gold bars laid on the table. The knocking outside grew more urgent; she opened the door but saw only darkness. Blue Butterflies surged in, enveloping her as she screamed and vanished, leaving only butterfly shadows on the wall.
The scene flickered away and Lin Sui snapped back to reality; her flashlight beam scanned the bathroom again. The code on the wall had changed into a new string of symbols. Decoding it against a price list with trembling hands, she wrote down: "She paid a price; you are the key." Lin Sui stared blankly—key? Looking down at her wrist, she saw that the butterfly mark was deep like a brand. A wave of nausea hit her—had she inadvertently activated something? Gritting her teeth, she resolved to find out. She knocked on the wall softly and said, "Shen Jingqiu, are you there?"
A long low moan resonated from within the wall—a sigh. The floor trembled beneath her feet as the bathroom mirror began to shake. Turning around, she saw her reflection in the mirror; yet within her pupils was an additional Blue Butterfly slowly flapping its wings. She screamed and stumbled back into a lamp that shattered upon impact, glass shards scattering across the floor. The butterfly shadow in the mirror moved as if trying to escape. Clenching her jaw tightly, she fixed her gaze on it and whispered, "Tell me the truth."
The mirror rippled like water disturbed by a stone; a shadow emerged—Shen Jingqiu appeared with a pale face and hollow eyes, an eerie smile playing at her lips. Her voice came out hoarse like wind: "I signed a contract for gold bars but they wanted my soul. I am trapped here; time loops; Blue Butterfly is the lock." A chill crept up Lin Sui's neck as she asked, "What about me?" Shen Jingqiu laughed—a laugh sharp as a knife: "You came; the lock has opened."
At that moment, knocking from within transformed into a rapid drumming sound; the floor shook violently beneath her feet. She spun around abruptly as pieces of wallpaper peeled away to reveal a crack through which blue light seeped like shadows of wings. Pain shot through her wrist as blood oozed from the butterfly mark. It dawned on her—the curse of Shen Jingqiu had reset itself and she was its igniting spark.
Leaning against the wall for support while gasping for breath, Lin Sui felt despair wash over her like an overwhelming tide. Since childhood, she had feared uncertainty; after her mother disappeared, she learned to suppress fear with logic—but now logic lay shattered around her. Closing her eyes tightly, Shen Jingqiu's shadow burned into her vision while that eerie smile mocked her ignorance. She remembered those blue butterflies outside her mother's window—their cold touch felt prophetic; now it was her turn. Clenching her fists until nails dug into palms painfully brought some clarity.
Opening her eyes again to focus on that blue light within the wall—it wasn’t an illusion but Shen Jingqiu's prison. Anger surged within her—why was it happening to her? All she wanted was truth yet found herself dragged into this abyss instead. Remembering Shen Jingqiu’s despair when signing that contract—she too thought escape was possible but paid for it with eternal entrapment in loops. Lin Sui gritted her teeth; she refused to repeat history’s mistakes. She needed to break this curse even if it cost her sanity. Taking a deep breath as urgency intensified in that low humming sound from within—the wall seemed to urge for decisions.
She felt like standing at cliff's edge with Shen Jingqiu’s shadow behind and an unknown abyss ahead of her. Wanting to flee but hearing footsteps echoing from within walls testing her limits made dizziness wash over again; blood from wrist felt chilling against bone. Suddenly laughter escaped from within—a mad laugh—as realization struck: it wasn’t Shen Jingqiu who couldn’t escape but herself.
Lin Sui forced herself to stand straight, staring at the crack in the wall. Blue light seeped through, flowing like liquid. She reached out, her fingertips touching the light, which felt icy against her skin. A sharp pain shot through her, and the butterfly mark on her wrist glimmered as if responding. The knocking from within the wall ceased, replaced by a whisper: "You unlocked it..." She quickly withdrew her hand as a Blue Butterfly emerged from the crack, its wings slowly flapping as it flew toward her. She froze, the shadow of the butterfly magnifying before her eyes, like a net descending.
Gritting her teeth, she dashed down the stairs and burst out of the old house. The night fog was thick as ink; she leaned against a streetlamp, gasping for breath. Looking down, she noticed the blood on her wrist had vanished, but the butterfly mark had deepened, as if etched into her bone. A chill ran through her as she turned around; the bathroom window of the old house glowed with a dim yellow light. Squinting, she saw a figure standing by the window, resembling Shen Jingqiu, staring at her. The shadow moved, appearing to descend the stairs. Lin Sui's heart nearly stopped as footsteps echoed behind her—deep and slow, as if emerging from the fog.
Comment 0 Comment Count