"Water Official, Outer God…"
Seeing the different titles on the statues, Wu Xian immediately realized these deities must have distinct classifications and purposes. Unfortunately, he had seen too few statues so far to make an accurate judgment.
There was no incense burner before the Many Treasures Tathagata statue, which meant one couldn't gain any blessings by worshipping it. Still, it must be useful somehow.
After a moment's thought, Wu Xian gathered some miscellaneous items from other rooms and covered the statue carefully. That way, even if someone entered the room, they wouldn't notice the Outer God statue unless they searched thoroughly.
Exploration of the inn's second and third floors was complete.
Finally, Wu Xian descended to the first floor, just in time to meet Shi Ji returning.
Clutching his side, Shi Ji looked pale and miserable, carrying a large bag. Just as Wu Xian was about to ask about him, Shi Ji instead asked with concern:
"Mr. Wu, you look very pale. Has something happened?"
Wu Xian waved him off: "I'm fine. What's with you…"
Shi Ji smiled wryly as he lifted the bag:
"Oh, I found some food. I'm a bit clumsy with complicated tasks, but cooking I'm not bad at—so I thought I'd make something warm for everyone."
"Not sure when the evil spirits will attack, but if we don't have food, people might actually die."
Hearing that, Wu Xian realized he was hungry after all, and looked forward to dinner.
As the two passed each other, Wu Xian suddenly stopped.
He wasn't sure if it was his imagination, but the things Shi Ji carried…
Smelled incredibly fishy and foul!
…
Outside the inn, thick gray mist hung heavily. The weak sunlight barely touched the ground, casting a gloomy pall over the surroundings.
The social order in this blessed land had long since collapsed. Judging by the signs around, a small number of people still survived, but they were few and far between.
Following the chilling guidance from "Mr. Wang," Wu Xian arrived at the Fuxin Huayuan residential complex behind the inn.
"Friend, I want to—"
"Get lost! You'll get me killed! If you come any closer, I'll kill you!"
As soon as Wu Xian stepped into the complex, he saw Wen Chao and Fang Zhi running out of a unit in disarray, chased by a pale, gaunt man wielding a kitchen knife and shouting at them.
When the man saw Wu Xian, his face changed slightly before retreating back into the shadowy building.
Wen Chao looked helpless; he had never been treated like this before.
After chatting briefly with them, Wu Xian learned they were trying to gather information about the blessed land through survivors, but progress had been slow.
After a short rest, Wen Chao and Fang Zhi resumed their visits.
Wu Xian, guided by the cold sensation, stopped at the entrance of a unit and looked up.
"That Mr. Wang must be buried here."
The icy chill was a flat sensation—it couldn't tell him which floor Mr. Wang was on. The building had seventeen floors, each with two rooms, and searching floor by floor would waste too much time.
So Wu Xian didn't take the elevator or stairs upstairs. Instead, he opened the electric meter cabinet downstairs.
Fortunately, the power system in this blessed land still worked. Since Mr. Wang was locked in a refrigerator, it had to be consuming electricity.
After watching the meters for a while, Wu Xian confirmed only unit 902 was using power.
Though the building had an elevator, Wu Xian chose to climb the stairs.
On his way up, he noticed the situation here resembled the inn's second and third floors: most doors were damaged, interiors faded and broken.
Clearly, in this cursed place, a door was a vital defense—only intact doors could keep evil spirits out.
Creak...
Wu Xian stepped into Room 902—it was Mr. Wang's home.
The large room was in shambles. Furniture was overturned, and garbage like takeout boxes and milk tea bottles cluttered the floor. Leftover food in containers rotted and stank. In the corner stood a freezer.
Wu Xian rummaged through the mess and picked up a photo: a wedding picture. The wife smiled brightly, beautiful and radiant; the husband looked plain and worried, his eyebrows furrowed deeply.
"This wife looks familiar."
He flipped through more photos, focusing on the beautiful woman. Finally, he found one showing her bare feet. After studying it a moment, he was satisfied.
"Mr. Wang's wife… is the same woman who attacked me as the hanging ghost!"
Suddenly, a chill ran down Wu Xian's spine. He coughed violently, his body weakening. His dropping temperature was pushing him to the brink of danger.
It was obvious Mr. Wang was locked inside that freezer.
But Wu Xian didn't rush to free him. Instead, he continued searching the room for useful clues that might help him decide what to do next.
After a while, a faint voice came from inside the freezer.
Mr. Wang could no longer hold back.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry and open this coffin. Let me out. If I get out, I'll lift your curse, and your temperature will rise again."
Wu Xian answered casually, "Your coffin is locked. I'm looking for the key."
Mr. Wang sighed mournfully, "Ah… Juan'er, why are you like this…? Hurry and find the key. Once you find it, let me out."
Wu Xian chuckled quietly to himself. The freezer wasn't actually locked. It seemed this Mr. Wang, beyond cursing Wu Xian to help open the door, had no real control or awareness of the outside world.
Knowing this, Wu Xian felt even less urgency.
He kicked aside some clutter, pretending to search seriously for the key, then asked leisurely, "May I ask why you're locked inside a freezer?"
"A freezer?"
"Oh, so this is a freezer,"
Mr. Wang was momentarily stunned, as if struck by a sudden realization. Then he began to tell his story.
"Juan'er and I met that winter. Back then, she…"
"Juan'er and I were very much in love. She once told me she wanted to be with me forever. Maybe because she loved me so much, she couldn't accept my death. So she put me in the freezer—to keep me close, in a way."
Wu Xian sneered in disbelief.
He picked up a diary from the floor, its pages filled with large and small handwriting—all repeating the same sentence:
"It's you who did this to me. You can't escape. I will torment you for the rest of your life!!!"
Flipping further, he found a phone adorned with a glittering crystal sticker—likely belonging to the woman.
"Mr. Wang, you're not being honest."
"What did you say?!"
Mr. Wang was offended by the remark and shouted angrily. Suddenly, Wu Xian's body temperature dropped rapidly; he began to stagger unsteadily.
"I suggest you calm down. If I freeze to death because of your curse, no one will be around to find your key."
Wu Xian shrugged on a thick coat, sat down charging the phone, and told his theory beside the freezer.
"Here's how I see it: you used to work a job where being exposed to light meant death. Liu Juan might have been one of the victims too. She caught you in a bind, forcing you to marry her and pay for her extravagant spending."
"On the surface, you were husband and wife. But in reality, it was more like a master-servant relationship. That's why every photo of you two smiling features her, not you."
"Then you died."
"Maybe she hid your body in the freezer out of hatred—or perhaps to benefit somehow from keeping your corpse around."
By then, the phone had finished charging. Wu Xian deftly cracked the password again, browsed through the gallery, and widened his eyes.
"Tsk tsk, so that's what she meant by 'tormenting you for life.'"
"Is this the ultimate hatred… or twisted love?"
On the screen were countless selfies of Liu Juan eating.
Each meal was taken sitting before the open freezer door. Her main dishes were cooked meats, as if she were sharing a feast with her deceased husband.
But strangely,
the further back in time the photos went, the less of Mr. Wang's body could be seen inside the open freezer.