The crimson color was overwhelming, the air thin and suffocating, like a damp red silk cloth covering one's face, making it impossible to breathe.

Nan Xian was trapped in the crimson and unable to move. She struggled incessantly, covered in sweat, and her limbs trembled constantly.

A raging fire ignited in her chest, burning her as if she were in a steamer. She groaned in pain, wanting to escape this hellish place that tormented her.

"Sister? Sister, wake up!"

A familiar voice entered my mind, going from blurry to clear in just a few words.

Her call was like a thin but strong thread, tightly binding Nan Xian's soul and pulling her out of hell.

Nan Xian suddenly opened her eyes—

Ding He stood by the bed, leaning slightly forward, the bedside lamp illuminating her worried face.

"Sis, I heard you screaming for help, so I rushed over—what's wrong?"

Nan Xian tried to open her mouth to speak, but found that her lips were stuck together because they were dry. When she pulled them apart, she felt a stinging pain, and then she tasted a faint metallic flavor.

Seeing this, Ding He quickly poured a glass of water, helped Nan Xian sit up, and drank it.

Nan Xian took a breath, ignoring her physical discomfort, and asked, "What's the date now?"

Ding He was taken aback. "Number 26? What's wrong?"

Nan Xian shook her head and forced a reassuring smile.

She patted Ding He's hand and said, "I'm fine. You should go back to sleep. Tomorrow—there are more important things to do."

Ding He looked at her still pale face and was still a little worried. She made sure Nan Xian really didn't need her to stay with her before leaving.

Nan Xian took another shower, washing away the sticky sweat all over her body. She stood under the showerhead, the water flowing down her skin.

The horrifying scene she witnessed at the Teng family home replayed in her mind like a movie replay: Old Man Teng's head was hanging above hers, his wide-open mouth and terrified eyes seemed to be silently pleading for help.

A drop of warm water splashed into her eyes. She looked down, rubbed her eyes, and then opened them again. The water at her feet suddenly turned into streams of flowing blood.

Nan Xian was immediately shocked and cried out. She instinctively stepped back, but when she looked again, the water had returned to its normal color.

She relaxed instantly, then belatedly realized her legs were weak. She bent over, clutching her chest and gasping for breath, her drowsy state vanishing in an instant.

Not daring to linger in the bathroom any longer, she quickly dried herself, put on a bathrobe, returned to bed, and wrapped herself tightly in the blanket.

The hotel room had heating on, and the bedding was a new one that Ding He had changed for her earlier; it was dry and warm.

Nan Xian felt a chill run through her body; in the brightly lit room, it felt as if countless eyes were watching her.

Why was it herself? Why did she have to see those bizarre situations and then go back to before everything started? Who is the mastermind behind all this?

Filled with bewilderment and confusion, she clutched the corner of the blanket tightly, anxiously awaiting the arrival of dawn.

In the end, Nan Xian couldn't stay awake any longer and drifted off to sleep again.

However, what she didn't know was that after she fell asleep, eight distorted and bizarre "human" faces gradually appeared in the eight corners of her room.

Their appearance was very incongruous; their faces looked like eyes, noses, and mouths were randomly stuck onto a lump of pitted clay. Some had unusually large eyes, some had disproportionately small noses, and one was even missing an ear.

They looked different, but they all stared intently at Nan Xian on the bed with eyes that were almost greedy and eager.

The face in the northwest corner grinned, its thin, almost indifferent mouth revealing a few maniacal laughs squeezed out of its throat.

"Humans have three souls and seven spirits. The three souls are the Heavenly Soul, the Earthly Soul, and the Life Soul. Her first two souls have already scattered. As long as we break her Life Soul, we can take over her body! This is a body of perfect harmony, a great tonic!"

The other seven faces chuckled sinisterly upon hearing this, and after making some comments about Nan Xian, they slowly disappeared into a corner.