Shushin opened her eyes, only to find that her hands were bound, and a veil covered her face, obscuring her vision.
Suddenly, someone removed the veil, revealing a familiar person to her.
"Nana?" Shushin thought, perplexed. "She's definitely not the culprit, so why is she helping?"
Looking up at Nana, Shushin questioned her, "Nana, why are you doing this?"
Nana stood up; her expression unreadable. "Don't act like you know me well," she replied.
Ziyi, sitting nearby, seemed sad as she spoke: "You know you'll regret this, right?"
Nana glanced at Ziyi but didn't respond. Instead, she walked over and pulled the blanket over the head of the person sitting next to Shushin.
"What are you doing here, Jianguo?!" Shushin asked, her voice filled with concern.
Jianguo scratched his head with his bound hands, his expression puzzled. "I'm not really sure," he murmured.
Nana stood before Shushin, her tone matter of fact. "You have until dawn to remember your memories."
Nana then seated herself in front of Shushin, her voice cold and calculating. "Had you not lit the fire, none of this would have happened. Hand me the shadow and I shall set you free."
Shushin shot back, her voice laced with sarcasm. "What shadow? I don't know what you're talking about."
Nana's fingers tightened on Shushin's face, pulling her closer in a tight grip. "Stop playing games with me," she warned. "Just tell me."
Shushin, still defiant, responded with a hint of smirk. "His name is Tian yang."
"Also, you'd better go on your way before you lose a limb"
Nana, her face revealing nothing, abruptly let go of Shushin's face and stood up. She pulled a cover over her own face and donned a fluffy black dress, the sight a stark contrast to her usually calm demeanor.
Without another word, she spun around and disappeared, everyone in bewildered silence.
Before completely vanishing, Nana paused and looked at Shushin. "Go find me, Shushin, the Shadow Witch," she declared.
Minghao, his hands tied against another wall, exclaimed, "What shadow are you talking about?"
Shushin answered, her voice calm yet determined, "My soul mate, my savior, my friend, and ultimately, I'm his savior."
"Hey, shadow," Shushin addressed the shadow, "Don't you think it's time to untie my hands? The ropes are digging into my skin, and the pain is starting to be unbearable."
The shadow, seemingly unperturbed by her request, responded, "I had no intention of helping you, didn't I make that clear?"
Jianguo, his eyes wide with astonishment and fear, looked around nervously. "What's happening here? Where is that voice coming from?"
Suddenly, the shadow emerged, a gleaming knife clutched in its grasp. With practiced ease, it cut through the ropes that bound Shushin's wrists, setting her free.
As she stood up and released Jianguo's wrists, his eyes fixed on her face, taking in every detail. She asked, her voice gentle, "Are you okay?"
Lingjie, watching from the side, interjected, "Excuse me for interrupting, but there are others here as well."
Jianguo nodded, smiling as he stood up with Shushin's help. He replied, "I'm coming, you're complaining too much today."
Shushin said, "He has always been annoying since the first day we met."
Shushin then closed her eyes and, with a swift movement, extracted the nails from her hands like a cat, and swiftly cut the ropes wrapped around their wrists.
Minghao, watching in amazement, gasped, "Shadow Witch, how many things can you do?"
"I guess you don't know, but I often heard this title as an insult.
Anyway, I can show more things than you can expect. The main reason I am a Shadow Witch is that I am a very charming person in fact."
Minghao let out a sigh, his tone laced with disbelief. "I can't believe I have you as a friend," he muttered.
Shushin, her expression calm and resolute, responded, "Of course, because I'm not. You're nothing but a deceiver. You got me into this mess. And let's not forget that I saved you, although I doubt, I'll need that favor."
Minghao smiled at her words, his tone almost teasing. "You never know what might happen. Miracles do exist, just like you."
Shushin raised an eyebrow at his words, her voice carrying a hint of skepticism. "A miracle? Where is the miracle?"
Minghao took a step closer, his tone soft and sincere, as he whispered in her ear, "Some people, their very existence is a miracle. Fate can be a miracle too, sometimes."
….
They all left the room, searching until they discovered stairs leading to the roof and stairs descending, with four additional doors, making five rooms in total.
Minghao posed a question, "There are five of us, and there are four rooms, what should we do?"
Ziyi stepped forward, offering a suggestion, "You should go with Shushin to room number 4. There's blood on the door, so you might find something, while I'll take room 1."
Jianguo added, "Given that I can't go with Shushin, I'll head to room 3."
"Then, I'll go with Ziyi," Lingjie added.
As everyone prepared to enter their respective rooms, Minghao and Shushin stood before room 4, exchanging a glance before gingerly opening the door. Inside, they discovered an array of pictures, chronicling their lives over the years. The walls were adorned with images of them all, but the sight of a bloody statement caught their attention.
In bold lettering, it read, "I have to play dirty, if I want to win and get revenge."
Shushin's eyes narrowed slightly but her voice remained steady as she responded, "Yes, there is a high possibility that Nana is the one seeking revenge."
"But it's not her," she added decisively, a hint of doubt creeping into her voice.
Minghao's frustration finally broke through as he exclaimed, "Then who is it? Why can't you tell me?"
Shushin's slender fingertips traced the contours of a picture on the wall, her gaze fixed on the vibrant image of a wizard, his cape billowing in a nonexistent breeze.
"The great wizard…" she murmured, her voice carrying a touch of awe. "He was a legend in the magic kingdom. Brilliant, yet reckless."
She continued moving about the room, her eyes darting from photo to photo as her words flowed like a quiet stream. "His curiosity got the better of him, leading him to pry into things he should have left alone."
"His skills were unparalleled, but he made a grave mistake," she said, her gaze now fixed on a photo of the wizard's daughter. "He meddled in matters beyond his comprehension and paid the ultimate price."
Minghao, growing more impatient with each word, interjected, cutting through the quiet with his annoyed voice. "Shushin, why are you telling me all this?"
Despite Ming Hao's attempts to make her stop, Shushin continued, her voice unwavering.
She spoke of the wizard daughter, whose life was marked by both privilege and misfortune.
The woman had been desired for her beauty and body but had never truly felt loved or desired. Despite her engagement to a man, she had secretly pursued a relationship with another, from which a child was born.
She had then married, albeit unsuccessfully, before finally running away, leaving her daughter behind. However, it was not long before she discovered that her life had become one of constant concealment.
Shushin spoke of her living like a "drowned rat," hiding from everyone except her killer, her foe. With a bitter tone, she informed Minghao that the man in question had countless wives and children and held the throne in highest regard. His ultimate desire, it seemed, was for the woman to perish, as he deemed her a threat to his own ambition.
Ming Hao, unable to escape the onslaught of Shushin's words, sat on the floor, his face buried in his hands as he gazed at the ground. By this point, he realized that there was no way to prevent hearing the rest of Shushin's tale.
As Shushin spoke, Ming Hao could almost feel the weight of her words bearing down on him, like a boulder pressing on his chest. Her voice, firm and unwavering, echoed in the room, the details of the woman's story slowly unraveling before his eyes, despite his attempts to shield himself from them.
She continued; her voice heavy with emotion. "But there is a selfishness that resides within him. He snatched the child from her, refusing to relinquish it, yet occasionally visiting the child as it grew. Everyone suffers in some way, under the guise of family - that very family that tears apart one's soul and steals their affection."
She paused, her gaze sweeping across the room, before continuing. "However, it appears there is more to the story. I've recently learned of another character within this tangled web - a man deeply in love with the beautiful girl."
"He was a kind and virtuous soul, destined to be her best friend, yet she never reciprocated his feelings," she explained. "In time, he wed another, yet the girl continued to linger in his thoughts and heart."
She continued. "His wife, wracked with sorrow, took her own life out of grief. The father, consumed by guilt and madness, realized that he had destroyed his entire family, and chose to end himself before he could bring further ruin upon them any longer."
Shushin words had uncovered a web of tragedy, guilt, and loss that extended beyond the king's immediate actions. Everyone was linked to the king's misdeeds in some way, their lives intertwined in a complex and unfortunate dance.
The revelation about a second love story stirred up a mix of emotions, as it seemed like a never-ending cycle of pain and destruction fueled by the king's selfish desires. The thought that everyone in the palace was connected to the king in some way, and how this could affect their lives.
She pondered the situation silently to herself, thinking, "Everyone gathered here has a bond with the king, in some way or another. We are all connected, a single thread woven through lives. So, is it revenge that the mysterious criminal seeks from us? Or perhaps it is our assistance in capturing him that he desires?"
"Ah... I truly hope it's not you..."