Liu Dashao’s expression turned serious as he said, “From the moment I first saw this palace from the shores of the heavy water, I felt that it appeared ethereal and illusory, unlike any earthly structure. Now I feel even more uneasy. Take a look everyone—the construction of the palace, the bricks and wood, have no visible seams or joints. It’s as if the entire palace were carved from a single piece.”
Shaking his head, Liu Dashao continued, “This is just too incredible.”
Jia Zhuangyuan, hesitating slightly, asked Liu Dashao, “So… are we still going inside?”
Liu Dashao gave a bitter smile and replied, “Why don’t you all turn around and look at the steps we came up on?”
Puzzled, everyone turned to look and were stunned. The small black boat they had arrived in had vanished into thin air! The heavy water shimmered ominously, vast and endless, but the boat was gone without a trace.
A chill of dread crept into everyone’s hearts. This was a trap—the boat’s sudden appearance and disappearance had been designed solely to lure them to this palace.
What should they do? All eyes turned to Liu Dashao. He stood silently, gazing at the palace’s open vermilion gates, his face expressionless.
After a long pause, Liu Dashao turned back to the group, shrugged calmly, and said, “Since we’re already here, we might as well go in and see what’s inside.”
Everyone exchanged uneasy glances but nodded in agreement. Circumstance had left them with no other choice.
Liu Dashao led the way, followed closely by the others, as they stepped through the palace gates.
Inside, darkness enveloped them. Shapes and objects loomed indistinctly in the shadows. As the last two, Fan Debiao and Yang Weidong, crossed the threshold, the palace doors suddenly and silently slammed shut behind them before anyone could turn on their flashlights.
Everyone was startled, but before they could react, the interior of the palace was suddenly bathed in a dim, eerie greenish-blue glow. It was the same strange light emitted by the heavy water. Now they could see that countless bronze lamps of various shapes lined the ceiling, walls, and floor, all filled with the glowing blue liquid.
They stood awestruck, as if submerged in a lake of heavy water. Everything around them shimmered with a ghostly pale light, like a dream or illusion.
Even more astonishing was the fact that the entire palace was otherwise completely empty—except for a high platform of green stone directly ahead of them. Atop its dozens of steps stood seven strange, translucent statues of human figures, all carved from a pale green crystal.
Cautiously, they approached and stood at the foot of the platform, looking up. That was when they saw it clearly: the seven statues were of women with serpentine bodies, bare-breasted, with slender necks and human arms and hands. Their hair was styled in phoenix-like buns, their eyes cast downward, their arms raised in a graceful, flower-picking pose.
Puzzled, Fan Debiao asked, “What the hell are these? Snake-bodied, human-headed women?”
Jia Zhuangyuan scoffed, “These are statues of Nüwa. Haven’t you studied history at all?”
Fan Debiao awkwardly chuckled and said nothing more.
Liu Dashao frowned. “Why would there be seven statues of Nüwa in this palace of heavy water?”
Jia Zhuangyuan replied, “It’s common to worship Nüwa in western regions. Before I came here, I read that many ethnic minorities in China regard Nüwa as their ancestral deity. But even I can’t figure out why there are seven statues here.”
As Jia Zhuangyuan finished speaking, a strange and melodious sound suddenly echoed from somewhere unknown. It was a sound both unfamiliar and enchanting, like music from the heavens.
No one could tell where it came from or what instrument produced it, but it seemed to resonate directly in each person’s ears.
Everyone felt uneasy, unsure of what this sound might herald.
Suddenly, Jia Zhuangyuan cried out, “Look! The eyes of the seven Nüwa statues—they’re open!”
They turned to look. Indeed, the once-closed eyes of the statues were now wide open, giving off an eerie, unsettling presence.
Liu Dashao warned urgently, “Everyone, stay alert! Something is definitely going to happen!”
As he spoke, Fan Debiao suddenly cried out in pain, “Ow! Who the hell hit the back of my head? That hurts like hell!”
Everyone turned to look as Fan clutched the back of his head and staggered before collapsing to the ground. What had attacked him?
Before anyone could react, Yang Weidong beside him also suddenly slumped to the floor without warning.
Jia Zhuangyuan shouted, “Damn it, there’s something here! Everyone, get back to back and form a circle!”
Quickly, the remaining members of the group huddled together, backs pressed tightly.
Liu Dashao formed a sword with his fingers and traced a line across his brow, activating his supernatural vision. But he saw nothing. Alarmed, he turned to Jia Zhuangyuan, “You said there’s a ghost—where is it? I can’t see anything even with my spirit vision!”
Jia Zhuangyuan, panting nervously, replied, “I’m not sure if it’s a ghost or not, but whatever it is, it’s invisible. Look at those heavy water lamps—they’re swaying. That means something is moving around us, hiding and waiting to strike!”
They looked again. Sure enough, the lamps were swaying back and forth. Invisible ghosts? Liu Dashao felt a chill run through him. This was beyond belief.
Jia Zhuangyuan continued, “Remember when we left the haunted house and heard footsteps but saw nothing? I think it was the same thing. It just hadn’t attacked us then.”
Liu Dashao thought for a moment. “So you’re saying these things have been following us all along, even into this palace?”
Jia Zhuangyuan shook his head. “I don’t know for sure, but I think they were already waiting inside this palace. And that strange music? I think it was meant to cover up their footsteps. Those statues opening their eyes? That was probably a hidden mechanism being triggered.”
Cai Qingchong asked nervously, “So what do we do now?”
Jia Zhuangyuan smirked. “Whatever they are, the key is to find and disable the mechanism. Once that happens, they’ll probably reveal themselves—maybe through sound, like footsteps.”
As he spoke, Liu Dashao looked down at the unconscious Fan Debiao and Yang Weidong and noticed something alarming: dark spots were spreading across their faces.
“Jia Master!” Liu Dashao shouted. “Look at them! Their faces are covered in black spots!”
Jia Zhuangyuan hurried over and cursed, “Damn it! It’s corpse poison. I need to treat them now or they’ll die!”
Quickly, the group moved closer, forming a tight circle around Jia Zhuangyuan as he knelt beside Fan Debiao. Liu Dashao and Cai Qingchong shielded him with their bodies, trying to prevent another invisible attack.
Jia Zhuangyuan muttered, “Sure enough, there’s something here! Both of them have a green hair stuck in the back of their heads. This is strange—why would a ghost use corpse hair to attack us? Ghosts and corpse spirits are completely different beings!”
While cursing and muttering questions, Jia Zhuangyuan managed to pull the green hairs from their skulls and applied antidote ointment. He then tied ropes around their wrists and helped them lie still.
Inside the palace, the strange music still played. The flickering lamps confirmed that the invisible entities were still lurking, ready to strike at any moment.
Jia Zhuangyuan handed the ropes to Liu Dashao and Cai Qingchong. “Never mind what they are for now. It seems they only target the back of our heads. Our priority is to stop that music. Let’s pull Fan and Yang toward the platform with the seven statues. I’ll try to disable the mechanism first, then deal with these invisible things.”
Everyone nodded and, pulling the ropes, dragged the unconscious bodies of Fan Debiao and Yang Weidong toward the platform. The invisible entities seemed to sense their plan and began to swirl around them, causing the lamps to sway violently.
As they reached the foot of the platform, Jia Zhuangyuan suddenly laughed out loud. “Heh! Let me show you little ghosts what I’ve brought with me!”
He reached into his backpack and flung a handful of sticky rice into the air. Amid the melodious music, faint shrieks of pain could be heard.
Jia Zhuangyuan sneered, “You wait—once I disable the mechanism, I’ll deal with you lot!”
With that, he leapt onto the platform and disappeared behind the statues. The others remained below, backs pressed together, scanning the air for any sign of movement. They all wanted to see what these invisible entities looked like—ghosts or something else entirely.
They silently prayed that Jia Zhuangyuan would find and disable the mechanism quickly, or else they would be trapped here forever. The palace doors were shut, and the boat was gone—clear signs of a sinister plot by these invisible beings.
Just as they were growing anxious, the music that had filled the palace abruptly stopped. Everyone’s hearts leapt—Jia must have found the source.
Sure enough, the seven Nüwa statues had returned to their original, half-closed gaze.
Jia Zhuangyuan’s laughter echoed from the platform. He reappeared, flung another handful of sticky rice into the air, and leapt back down to join the group.
The rice struck something invisible in the air, producing a faint popping sound, followed by more shrieks.
But to their dismay, no footsteps followed. The flickering lamps told them the invisible entities were still present.
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