I almost reacted instinctively, turning my body away. Through the back door of the front hall, I saw a strange green light glowing in the back hall across the courtyard. The light seeped through the decaying carved windows, hazily “spreading” in the water.

The green light was extremely eerie, just like before. Now that I was so close, I could notice some barely perceptible flickering in that light. This flickering cast a ghastly hue over the entire courtyard, creating an atmosphere so chilling that it felt as if I had entered another realm.

I swallowed hard, feeling a chill throughout my body, and the fear in my heart was beyond description. Even my mind felt a bit foggy. What was meant to come had arrived, and there was no way to hide!

I tried to calm myself as I approached the back hall, telling myself that since I had come this far, I had anticipated such a situation. I had encountered similar circumstances before, and hadn’t I come through them safely? I refused to believe this time could be any worse.

It was less than twenty steps from the front hall, across the courtyard to the back hall, but I couldn’t tell if it was because my body was stiff or if time felt distorted; it took me a full five minutes to reach it.

The back hall door was tightly shut, and several carved panels at the windows had completely collapsed. Inside, the green light was diffused, but it was hard to see clearly. I cautiously shone a light inside, and for a brief moment, the beam illuminated a shadow that nearly made my heart stop.

I had expected to see a greenish woman’s face, but it was just a shadow.

The scene in the back hall was identical to that in the front hall, except for the piles of decaying debris on the floor; it was almost completely empty. In the center of the back hall, there was also a recess, and the eerie green light was faintly seeping out from behind the partition.

This scene resembled a story from “Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio,” with a dilapidated ancient house, a scholar reading by the light of an oil lamp at night, and a female ghost floating nearby, watching the light from outside. Only now the positions were reversed: the scholar was outside looking in at the glow, and inside there might indeed be a female ghost who had drowned.

I carefully examined the back hall from top to bottom, trying to understand its general structure so I could make a quick escape in case of conflict. Just as I was about to enter through the window, the green light quickly dimmed again, until it extinguished completely.

My heart tightened, as if someone had grabbed my throat, and I instinctively held my breath.

Had it sensed me?

My mind flashed with numerous images, speculating what the situation would be after retreating. Since that “water ghost” had detected my presence, it would surely lie in wait, preparing for a sudden attack.

No! I had no chance of winning. If I just walked in, and it really was a water ghost, wouldn’t that be asking for death?

I was isolated and unsupported, with no one knowing I was here. Even if it wasn’t a water ghost, if I suddenly got stuck or ran out of oxygen, I would definitely die here, and no one would discover me for hundreds of years. Was I really going to take that risk? Shouldn’t I think this through more carefully?

I suddenly felt deflated; the courage I had moments ago vanished, and I no longer dared to go in.

Had fear clouded my judgment?

Given the current situation, should I retreat to seek backup first?

However, if that’s the case, then everything I did before would have been in vain. The dull oil bottle and the fat man completely vanished without a trace at the bottom of the lake. At this moment, if I were to go up, would I even have the courage to dive down again? Even if I were to come back, would I have the courage to repeat what just happened? I’m afraid I wouldn’t. So perhaps the dull oil bottle and the fat man have truly disappeared from my life.

At this point, I couldn’t help but start to miss Panzi. If he were here, how much of a driving force would he be? I really am different from those people. I thought my experiences were rich enough, but it seems that courage has little to do with experience.

In the courtyard, as long as one takes a few steps back and swings their legs, they can easily escape the strange ancient building at the bottom of the lake within minutes, without having to consider anything in front of them. But I stood there, hesitating, because deep down I knew that whether I moved forward or backward, once I took that first step, there would be no way to stop.

At that moment, my eyes caught something—a clear handprint. The handprint was on the window frame, and I hadn’t noticed it earlier due to the tension. This place was covered in sediment, and the handprint was so clear that it must have been made not long ago. Was it mine? I leaned in to compare and saw that two of the fingers in the print were very long—it was left by the dull oil bottle.

I was momentarily stunned, then I traced the position of the handprint with my hand, and it matched the action of prying open the window frame—had the dull oil bottle pried open the window frame here?

There were hundreds of meters from here to where I initially came down. He took off his helmet; how could he have managed to travel such a long distance without a clear form? Could it be that he had also become a water ghost?

The incredibility in my heart grew stronger, but thinking of the dull oil bottle suddenly gave me resolve. Didn’t I promise to help him? If he had turned into a water ghost, then at worst, I would die and become a water ghost too, and the trio of water ghosts wouldn’t be too lonely. If it weren’t for him saving me several times in the past, I would have been dead long ago. Now, I was just taking a risk for him; what’s wrong with that? Is my life really that valuable?

I barely calmed myself down. To be honest, saying that didn’t lessen my fear; in fact, I was even more scared, trembling uncontrollably, unable to suppress it. But the conviction in my heart was so strong that despite this fear, I still swam in through the window into the back hall.

As soon as I entered, I immediately thought, is this a bit impolite? Shouldn’t I knock first? Perhaps they would consider my politeness and spare me. After thinking this, I slapped myself to calm down.

The situation in the back hall was exactly the same as in the front hall. I cautiously circled around the avoidance, and the green light didn’t light up again. Just as I was about to see what was behind the avoidance, I hesitated because my hands were shaking so much that I could barely hold the searchlight.

The trembling was uncontrollable, and the light shook with the rhythm, making the avoidance in front of me look like it was about to fall. I had no choice but to use my other hand to help and forced myself to take the last few steps.

In that moment, all the nerves in my body were highly tense, and my heart was already prepared to see any terrifying situation. As the scenes behind truly came into view, I even felt like the blood vessels in my brain were about to burst.

However, when the searchlight illuminated the area, there was only a pile of white debris, and nothing else.

“Damn it! I have a feeling of being toyed with. Under extreme tension, instead of relaxing because I haven’t seen anything, I feel even more on edge. Looking around, I find that the entire inner hall is completely enclosed. The back is empty, and there should only be a large door leading to the back courtyard. I saw it from outside earlier, and beyond it is the street.

If the thing that emitted the green light was here before, it must still be here, definitely hiding. I held my breath and swam over, taking a defensive stance, looking beneath the collapsed objects to see if anything was trapped, but it was too chaotic to make out. As I kept looking, I suddenly caught sight of the only thing standing — a screen in the corner of the back hall, which had been avoided.

I don’t know what material the screen is made of; it hasn’t rotted, but its hinges can no longer support it, tilting awkwardly and losing its shape. I shone my light on it, and my scalp began to tingle. Behind the screen, a strange silhouette was cast.”