Later that night, Lin Chen sat at the table in their room, going through the old prison records they had brought back. A single oil lamp burned beside him, casting a warm light over the scattered pages. Much of the writing was difficult to read. Some pages had been damaged by damp, while the ink on others had nearly faded away. Lin Chen turned another page, frowning as he tried to make out the characters. "What exactly were the prison officials keeping track of?" he muttered. "Half of these records don't even explain what happened." He was about to put the page aside when a few unusual words caught his attention. He pulled it closer to the lamp and gently brushed away the dust. Near the bottom, he found a short passage written in smaller characters. Although some of the writing had faded, he could still make out the sentence. "When the blue rain falls, the mouth cannot hide what the heart knows..." Lin Chen stopped moving. He read the words again, then leaned back slightly in his chair.
He turned the page over, hoping to find more, but the back was blank. He checked the pages before and after it, yet there was no further explanation. "That's all?" he muttered. "Someone recorded something this unusual and left no explanation?" He rubbed his forehead, then glanced toward the adjoining room. After what had happened with the blue rain, the others needed to see this. Lin Chen gathered the pages and stood up. In the next room, Yan Luo sat at the table with his arms crossed, while Wei Han and Su Yuan discussed the strange rain. "Qing Li and Chen Yu were the only ones who saw the rain change color," Yan Luo said, tapping his fingers against the table. "Yet both of them started saying things they clearly didn't want to say. That's too much of a coincidence."
Su Yuan leaned back in his chair, thinking over what had happened. "The rain must have affected them somehow. But I still don't understand why the rest of us saw nothing unusual." He glanced toward the window, where the streets were now quiet. "We were standing in the same place, watching the same rain." "Perhaps the effect only works on those directly exposed to it," Wei Han suggested. He rested one hand on the table. "But we can't be certain without knowing more." Chen Yu sat quietly beside Qing Li, listening to their conversation. Qing Li, meanwhile, looked increasingly annoyed. He reached for his cup and took a sip before setting it down with a sharp click. "Can we stop talking about it? We've already established that the rain was strange."
Yan Luo turned toward him, a faint smile appearing on his face. "And that you couldn't keep a single thought to yourself." Qing Li slowly looked at him. "Do you want to experience the same thing?" "I'd rather not announce my private affairs to the entire group." Yan Luo shrugged and picked up his cup. "I prefer choosing what I tell people." "Then stop talking!" Qing Li replied. Chen Yu lowered his head, hiding a small smile behind his hand. Qing Li noticed and nudged his foot under the table. "What's so funny?" "Nothing!" Chen Yu answered quickly, straightening in his seat. "I didn't say anything." "You don't have to. Your face says enough." Yan Luo laughed and Qing Li stared at him.
Before the argument could continue, footsteps sounded in the doorway. Lin Chen entered with several old pages in his hand. Seeing their expressions, he paused. "Am I interrupting something?" "No," Qing Li answered at once. "They're wasting time." Yan Luo raised his cup. "We were discussing the blue rain." Lin Chen's expression grew serious. He walked to the table and placed the pages in front of them. "Then you should take a look at this."
Lin Chen waited until everyone had gathered around the table before speaking. "I found this among the old prison registers. Most of the writing has faded, but this passage is still clear enough to read." He moved the oil lamp closer and pointed to a line near the bottom of the page. "When the blue rain falls, the mouth cannot hide what the heart knows..." Wei Han leaned forward, resting one hand on the table as he studied the faded characters. After reading the passage twice, he raised his head. "Blue rain? Are you certain this was written many years ago?"
"Look at the paper and ink." Lin Chen turned the page slightly beneath the lamplight. "Both have grown old and worn. I examined the entries before and after this passage, but found no further mention of the rain."Su Yuan drew the page closer, and read the words quietly before looking at the others. "Someone knew of this strange occurrence long before we encountered it. But why would such an account be kept among the prison registers?" "Perhaps a prisoner witnessed it," Wei Han suggested. He leaned back,"Or the prison officials were looking into the matter."
Yan Luo set his teacup aside and leaned closer to the old register. "If the prison officials were looking into it, there should be another entry somewhere. They wouldn't have recorded such a strange occurrence without a reason." He turned a few pages, but most contained nothing more than the names of prisoners and the dates of their confinement. "These records are incomplete. Some pages are missing, and others are too faded to read." Lin Chen moved the lamp closer to the table and examined the passage again. "Whoever wrote this seemed certain about what the blue rain could do. It doesn't read like a guess." He paused, recalling what had happened earlier that evening. Qing Li and Chen Yu had both struggled to keep their thoughts to themselves, and neither had understood why the rain affected them that way. "Perhaps someone experienced the same thing and left this warning for others."
Qing Li reached for one of the registers and began checking its pages. "If this was meant as a warning, why didn't the writer explain how to avoid the rain?" He stopped at a page and turned it over. "Knowing what it does is of little use if we don't know how to protect ourselves." "Perhaps the writer didn't know," Su Yuan replied. He examined the faded passage once more,"Or perhaps the rest of the account was removed." Wei Han nodded and began sorting through the remaining registers. "We should look for entries from the same period. If the prison officials witnessed this occurrence, they may have recorded it elsewhere."
The others returned to their search. The quiet room filled with the soft rustling of paper as they checked one register after another. Chen Yu held a page near the lamp, trying to make out a line of faded writing, while Qing Li searched through a bundle of records tied with an old cord. Yan Luo compared the dates in two separate registers, occasionally setting aside a page that might be useful. Lin Chen continued examining the pages near the blue rain passage. Most of the entries were ordinary accounts of prisoners being brought in, questioned, or released. Then he noticed a narrow gap in the binding of one register. Something had been tucked between the pages, and its edge was almost hidden beneath the worn paper. "Wait a moment." He eased the object free and laid it on the table.
Wei Han immediately turned toward him. "What did you find?" "Another piece of paper." Lin Chen unfolded it slowly. The writing was faint, and the sheet had been folded so many times that a corner broke away as he opened it. He stopped at once and placed the loose fragment beside the page. "Be careful. This paper is barely holding together." Su Yuan moved the lamp closer while Wei Han leaned over to examine the writing. Several lines had faded beyond recognition, but a date near the top remained clear.
Wei Han's expression changed. "This was written thirty years ago." Lin Chen looked up sharply. Thirty years ago was the same period as Rao Jin's imprisonment and execution, the five deaths, and the red rain that had haunted their investigation. "Read the remaining words." Yan Luo said, his voice now serious. Wei Han followed the lines with his finger. "It appears to be an entry concerning a prisoner. Most of the details are too faint to make out, but there's a name at the bottom." He tilted the paper toward the lamplight. For a moment, he said nothing. Then he looked at Hei Long. "Rao Jin." The room fell silent. Lin Chen stared at the name, while Su Yuan set down the page he had been holding.
Wei Han bent closer to the page,tracing the faded characters with his eyes. After a while, he managed to make out a few lines. "It says Rao Jin was kept in the old prison for questioning. The guards were ordered not to let anyone visit him without permission." He paused, trying to read the next line, but much of the ink had faded. "There's something about an incident that took place before his execution, but I can't make out the details." "Was he questioned about the five deaths?" Su Yuan asked. Wei Han shook his head. "The writing is too damaged to tell." Lin Chen frowned.
Xu Yang leaned over Wei Han's shoulder to get a better look at the page. He stared at the faded characters for a moment, then tilted his head to the other side,as if changing the angle might magically restore the missing ink.Nothing happened.Come on, old paper. Cooperate a little. We've got dead demons, suspicious rain, and a thirty-year-old mystery to solve. You don't have to make everything difficult.he narrowed his eyes at the page. Back in my old world, I could have taken a picture, enlarged it, adjusted the contrast, and searched for similar records online. Here, I couldn't even complain to customer service. My only options were staring at ancient handwriting or asking someone who could actually read it.I've been reincarnated into a cultivation world, and somehow the most powerful enemy I've faced so far is terrible record-keeping...
They already knew Rao Jin had been executed after spending time in prison, but the old records suggested there had been more to his confinement than they had discovered. "Look for the date of his execution. If we can match it with the other entries, we might find something useful." Wei Han checked the bottom of the page and nodded. "The date is still clear." Yan Luo took another register and began searching through its entries. "Then we should compare it with the records of the five deaths. If the dates match, we may finally understand why Rao Jin was blamed." He glanced at the passage about the blue rain. "And we still need to find out why someone recorded that warning in the same collection." No one had an answer. Xu Yang stared at paper and thought.Wow... We're going to solve a murder by reading paperwork older than my entire previous life. At this rate, I'll need to cultivate for another hundred years just to understand the filing system...They continued searching until the oil in the lamp grew low.
The next afternoon, the group followed a narrow path through the forest, heading toward an old settlement beyond the mountain. According to the directions they had gathered, someone there might know what had happened thirty years ago. The farther they walked, the quieter the forest became. Lin Chen had not heard a bird for some time, and even the sounds of insects seemed to have faded. Wei Han stopped at a fork in the path and checked the directions. "We should take the left path. It leads toward the settlement." Su Yuan looked at the trail ahead. "Have you been there before, Yan Luo?" "Once, many years ago."
Yan Luo pushed aside a branch and stepped onto the narrow path. "Several demon clans used to live there. Most of them left." "Why?" Chen Yu asked."Some say the place became unsafe. Others claim the clans fought over the land." Yan Luo glanced at the trees. "No one knows what really happened." Qing Li was about to reply when Lin Chen stopped beside a tree. Deep scratches ran down its trunk, cutting through the bark. He crouched to examine them, then noticed similar marks on a tree a few steps away. "Wei Han, look at this." Wei Han approached and ran his eyes over the scratches. Some were old, but others looked fresh.
A broken branch lay nearby, its thick wood split as if something had snapped it with great force. "These were made by claws," Wei Han said. "Could it be a demon?" Lin Chen asked. "Most likely." Wei Han looked deeper into the forest. "But I don't know what kind." Su Yuan picked up the broken branch, then let it fall. The sound seemed strangely loud in the stillness. "Whatever made these marks was here recently." Yan Luo walked toward the nearest tree and examined the ground around it. There were no clear footprints, only patches of disturbed soil and dead leaves scattered across the path. He straightened slowly. "Stay alert. Something is wrong here."
A faint rustling came from the trees behind them. Qing Li turned at once, his hand lifting as spiritual energy gathered around his fingers. Chen Yu moved closer to him, watching the shadows between the trunks. Nothing appeared. "Did you see anything?" Chen Yu whispered. Qing Li shook his head but did not lower his hand. Lin Chen looked back along the path. The trees stood close together, their branches blocking much of the afternoon light. For a moment, he thought he saw something move between them. When he looked again, there was nothing there. He swallowed. "I think we're being followed."
A sharp crack sounded above them. Everyone looked up. A few leaves drifted down, but the branches overhead remained still. Yan Luo stepped beneath the nearest tree and studied the tangled canopy. "Whoever you are, show yourself." His voice carried through the forest, but no answer came. Then something moved in the darkness between two distant trunks. It was too quick to make out clearly. Lin Chen caught only a dark shape before it disappeared behind the trees. Wei Han drew a small blade from his sleeve. "Everyone, stay close." For a moment, no one moved. The silence pressed in around them, and Lin Chen became painfully aware of how far they were from the nearest settlement. "Should we turn back?" he asked.Su Yuan replied. His gaze remained fixed on the trees. "Going back may not make us any safer." Yan Luo looked toward the path ahead.
The group resumed walking. Above them, hidden among the thick branches, a dark-furred creature watched in silence. Its golden eyes followed each person, never blinking. When Yan Luo suddenly glanced upward, the creature pressed itself against the trunk, its claws digging into the bark. Yan Luo held his gaze on the branches for several seconds. Then he turned away and continued after the others. Only when their footsteps had faded did the creature move. It slipped onto another branch without making a sound and followed them deeper into the forest.
Beyond a narrow stream, there was old wooden house beside shrine. An elderly fox demon sat under the eaves, sewing a torn sleeve. A young rabbit demon came out carrying a basket of herbs, but stopped when he noticed the silence. "Grandfather, where have all the birds gone?" The old fox stopped sewing and listened. There were no birds, no insects, and no sound from the trees. He put down his needle. "Bring the herbs inside." "But I haven't finished sorting them." "Leave them. Go inside." The rabbit demon's ears twitched at his grandfather's sharp voice. He turned toward the house, then looked back when the old fox stood up.
Dark clouds spread across the sky, quickly covering the mountains. The light faded, and the forest grew dark. The rabbit demon stopped at the doorway. "Is that a storm?" The old fox gripped his staff and stared into the trees. His ears moved slightly, as if he were listening for something. "Go inside," he said. "Don't open the door unless you hear my voice." "Grandfather, what's wrong?" "Go!"
The rabbit demon hurried inside. The old fox followed, but stopped when he heard a faint sound from the forest. It sounded like footsteps dragging across stone. He turned toward and tightened his grip on the staff. Nothing moved, but he stood there for several seconds before entering the house. He shut the door and pushed the wooden bolt into place. The rabbit demon watched him, his ears pressed flat against his head. "What's out there?" The old fox didn't answer. He stood with one hand on the bolt, staring at the door. After a long moment, he whispered a name,"Rao Jin..."
The black rain began without warning. Cold drops fell through the trees, leaving dark trails on the leaves. Yan Luo looked at his hand when a drop landed on it. He rubbed his fingers together, feeling a strange chill spread through his skin. Another drop hit his cheek. He wiped it away and looked up, but when he blinked, the forest had changed. The sounds around him faded, and the others were gone. Yan Luo turned to look behind him, but there was no one there. "Su Yuan?" He waited for an answer, but only the sound of rain reached his ears. He walked between the trees, looking around as he searched for the others.
The forest seemed strangely empty. He couldn't hear their voices or even the sound of their footsteps. "Where is everyone?" he muttered.He stopped when he heard footsteps behind him. "Yan Luo." He turned and saw Su Yuan standing between the trees. For a moment, he simply stared at him. Then he quickly walked over and grabbed Su Yuan's wrist. "Don't go." Su Yuan looked at him in surprise. "Yan Luo, what's wrong?" "They're gone. Everyone's gone." Yan Luo glanced around before looking back at him. "I've been searching for them, but I can't find anyone."
Su Yuan studied his face, noticing how tense he was. "I'm here!" he said quietly. Yan Luo looked at him for a moment, as if making sure he was really there. His grip loosened slightly.Then a branch cracked somewhere behind them. Yan Luo turned toward the sound, but there was nothing between the trees. When he looked back, Su Yuan was standing farther away. Yan Luo frowned. "Su Yuan, don't stand so far away." Su Yuan didn't move. Yan Luo took a step toward him, but Su Yuan seemed to move farther away. "Su Yuan?" He tried again, but the distance between them only grew.
The rain ran down Su Yuan's face, and his figure slowly became harder to see. Yan Luo's expression changed. He hurried forward and reached for him, catching his wrist again. "No. Stay here." Su Yuan looked at him, but his face was already beginning to fade. Yan Luo tightened his grip, refusing to let go. Everyone else was gone. He couldn't watch Su Yuan disappear too. "Don't do this!" he said, his voice low. Su Yuan's hand felt cold in his grasp. Then even that feeling began to disappear. "Yan Luo, wake up." Su Yuan's voice sounded distant. Yan Luo stared at him, confused. "What?" "Yan Luo, wake up!"
The forest shook around him and cracks spread across the ground, and the trees began to break apart. Yan Luo looked around in alarm, but before he could react, everything disappeared. Yan Luo blinked and found himself standing in the real forest, his hand still wrapped around Su Yuan's wrist.The others were nearby, but the black rain continued to fall. Yan Luo released Su Yuan's wrist and looked away, trying to steady his breathing. Su Yuan glanced at him but didn't ask what had happened. He simply stayed beside him, giving him a moment to recover.
Xu Yang watched them.Xu Yang was about to ask him about it when Lin Chen suddenly stumbled backward. He caught himself against a tree, breathing hard. For a moment, he stood there with one hand pressed against the trunk. Then he looked up at Qing Li and Wei Han,"What are you looking at?" Qing Li turned toward him. The hostility in Lin Chen's voice caught him off guard, and he exchanged a brief glance with Wei Han before looking back at him. "What's wrong with you?" "Don't act like you don't know!" Lin Chen's eyes moved between them, searching their faces as if he expected to find proof of something. "You think I haven't noticed what you're doing?"
Qing Li's brows drew together. "What are you talking about?" Lin Chen laughed and shook his head. "Still pretending? You're all the same." Qing Li took a cautious step toward him, but Lin Chen immediately retreated. His back nearly struck the tree again, and his hands curled into fists at his sides. "You shouldn't have come with us." Qing Li said coldly. Lin Chen went still. He stared at Qing Li as though he hadn't expected him to say it aloud. "What did you say?" "You heard me." Lin Chen looked toward Wei Han and Su Yuan. Neither seemed surprised by Qing Li's words. They simply watched him. A strange chill crept through Lin Chen's chest. "So this was your plan?" he demanded. "You brought me here, and now you want to get rid of me?"
Wei Han frowned and stepped forward. "Lin Chen, listen to me." "Stay back!" Lin Chen shouted, raising a hand to stop him. "You're all waiting for a chance to turn on me!" Wei Han stopped, keeping his voice calm despite Lin Chen's growing agitation. "No one's trying to hurt you." "Then why are you looking at me like that?" Lin Chen demanded. His gaze darted between their faces, but no one answered in the way he wanted. Their silence only made him more suspicious. Su Yuan approached slowly,"Lin Chen, there's no reason for you to—" "We can't let him leave."Lin Chen stared at him.
For a moment, he seemed unable to speak. Then his expression crumpled into disbelief, quickly replaced by anger. "I trusted you." Qing Li reached toward him, perhaps intending to calm him down, but Lin Chen reacted before he could get close. He bent down, snatched a thick branch from the muddy ground, and swung it at Qing Li. "Stay away from me!" Qing Li jerked aside. The branch missed him by inches before striking a tree with a loud crack. He stared at Lin Chen in disbelief, then took a step back. "Lin Chen! What the hell are you doing?" "Come any closer and I'll hit you again!" Lin Chen held the branch with both hands, keeping it between himself and the others.
Chen Yu moved forward, alarmed by the sudden attack, but Wei Han raised a hand to stop him. He didn't want anyone else approaching Lin Chen too quickly. "Lin Chen," Wei Han said, maintaining distance. "Look at us. No one's attacking you." "Shut up!" Lin Chen swung the branch toward him. Wei Han stepped aside, avoiding the blow, but his expression grew more serious. "You expect me to believe you?" Lin Chen demanded. " What's wrong with you? Why are you behaving like this?!" Wei Han said. He held Lin Chen's gaze, refusing to move closer. "Take a moment and look at what's in front of you." Lin Chen tightened his grip on the branch. He wanted to believe there was some explanation, but every time he looked at them, he saw the same cold expressions. He could still hear their words in his head.
"He's slowing us down. We should have left him behind." Lin Chen's stomach twisted. He remembered Qing Li's cold laugh, followed by Wei Han's quiet reply. "We can't keep pretending he's one of us." Then Su Yuan's voice came, calm and certain, as if the decision had already been made. "Once we reach the settlement, we'll get rid of him." Lin Chen stared at them.
Then a familiar voice called his name. "Lin Chen!" He flinched and turned toward the sound. The rain struck his face, and for an instant, the trees around him seemed to shift. He blinked, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Qing Li was no longer looking at him with hostility. Instead, he stood several steps away, staring at Lin Chen with open confusion. Su Yuan's expression had changed too, and Wei Han was still standing where he had been, his hands empty and his posture relaxed. The branch slipped from Lin Chen's fingers and landed in the mud.