The memories of all humanity are awakening, except for mine.

At this moment, Zhong Huahua and Tang Songming were divided into a group.

The two of them looked up and glanced at each other.

"The haunted ancient house..."

"It still looks a bit scary," Zhong Huahua said, taking a deep breath.

Pushing open the heavy, carved wooden door, a chilly gust of air rushed in, as if crossing the threshold meant traveling back a thousand years.

The room was dimly lit, with only a flickering candlelight barely illuminating the surroundings, reflecting the blue bricks and gray tiles on the walls, and the bronze vessels that were faintly visible in the corner.

The air was filled with a musty, musty smell, along with a faint, almost imperceptible lingering scent of incense.

"This place is extremely strange. Are you mentally prepared?" Tang Songming asked softly.

Zhong Huahua smiled slightly, her gaze firm: "Since I'm here, I might as well make the best of it. Do I look like someone who would be afraid?"

With a click, the door slowly closed, completely isolating the two from the outside world.

The first challenge officially began. The candles on the four walls suddenly went out, leaving only a single oil lamp in the center flickering, casting distorted and bizarre shadows around it.

"Huh, there seem to be pictures and text on the wall?" Tang Songming discovered, in the dim light, that there were obscure and difficult-to-decipher murals carved on the four walls. The patterns were strange and seemed to record some ancient ritual.

Zhong Huahua leaned closer to examine them closely, her brows furrowed: "These totems seem to be related to the Five Elements and the Eight Trigrams, but they are also mixed with symbols I've never seen before."

To solve this riddle, we must first find its key. Tang Songming muttered to himself as he observed, “The ancients said: ‘Yin and Yang generate each other, the Five Elements revolve,’ there must be a mystery within.”

Tang Songming stared at the mural, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly spoke, “Yin and Yang are the way of heaven and earth. The mutual generation and restraint of the five elements are the natural principle. The illustrations and text here are probably not randomly arranged.”

Upon hearing this, Zhong Huahua's brows furrowed with curiosity as she replied, "You mean, these totems aren't just simple decorations; there might be some kind of connection or pattern between them? Like a code?"

"Exactly."

Tang Songming nodded, his fingers gently tracing the symbols on the mural. “Looking at this picture, the elements of wood in the east, metal in the west, fire in the south, water in the north, and earth in the center, along with the yin-yang fish moving among them, seem to be guiding us to find some kind of balance. However, these extra symbols are probably the key to solving the mystery.”

Zhong Huahua looked around, trying to find more clues in the dim environment.

On a sudden inspiration, she took out her phone, turned on the flashlight function, and although the light was weak, it was enough to illuminate the bronze artifacts in the corners.

"Could the extra symbol you mentioned be hidden in this inconspicuous place?"

Amidst the flickering light and shadow, a bronze incense burner caught their attention.

The surface of the incense burner is mottled, and you can vaguely see strings of strange characters engraved on it, which are strikingly similar to the mysterious symbols on the murals.

"found it!"

Zhong Huahua gasped softly. She carefully turned the incense burner, and with a "click," the ground quietly sank, revealing a narrow stone staircase.

The entrance to the second level suddenly opens up, with deep stone steps leading to a faint glow at the end.

Zhong Huahua and Tang Songming exchanged a glance, then stepped side by side into the unknown depths.

At the end of the stone steps was a sealed room, with intricate mechanisms covering the walls. In the center stood an ancient bronze statue holding a strangely shaped key.

The bronze statue's eyes seem to contain some kind of profound wisdom, silently scrutinizing the intruder.

"It seems this is the second test," Tang Songming said softly, his gaze quickly sweeping across the surroundings, trying to find clues among the intricate mechanisms.

"These mechanisms may seem random, but they are actually related to the key in the bronze statue's hand."

Zhong Huahua walked to the bronze statue and carefully examined every detail of the key. "Every line seems to be telling the secret of unlocking it."

Suddenly, four lights of different colors—red, blue, green, and yellow—lit up in the four corners of the room, dividing the space into four areas, each with a different problem waiting to be solved.

"Let's split up, time is precious," Tang Songming suggested. He walked towards the blue area, where there was a complex maze model, and they needed to find the correct path to unlock the mechanisms.

Zhong Huahua then walked towards the red area, where a huge dynamic painting hung, with figures appearing and disappearing in the picture, seemingly hiding some kind of hint.

"Hey, Tang, Song, Ming, here's a riddle that sounds like a line of poetry."

Zhong Huahua shouted into the empty room, her voice echoing with a hint of barely perceptible laughter, "The Red Lotus is reborn from the flames of karma, the phoenix rises from the ashes and spreads its wings to soar. This must be referring to a specific action."

"On my side, there are vast blue waves where dragons lie hidden, and pearls gleam beneath the blue sea. I feel that what I'm looking for is related to water."

Tang Songming responded by tapping his fingers lightly on the maze model, indicating that each choice required careful consideration.

"Interesting. It seems that there are hidden sword shadows and thunder in my picture. Thunderous force cuts down evil spirits, and a flash of sword light settles the world."

Zhong Huahua stared at the moving picture, where the figures appeared and disappeared, their swords flashing, revealing an aura that could not be ignored.

The two fell into thought, trying to solve the puzzle before them.

Zhong Huahua's gaze gradually sharpened, as if she could penetrate the canvas and reach the true meaning behind it.

She slowly raised her right hand, as if imitating the swordsman's movements in the painting, and swung it down, perfectly overlapping with the sword light in the painting. With a "click," a wall in the red area quietly opened, revealing an exquisitely crafted mechanism box.

"Found it! The key lies in the slashing posture!"

Zhong Huahua excitedly shouted and opened the mechanism box. Inside lay a red gem, its light shimmering and reflecting the tail feathers of the phoenix in the painting.

Almost simultaneously, a low cheer came from Tang Songming's side: "I've solved it too! At the end of this blue maze, there is a pearl that sparkles with the light of ocean waves."

The two exchanged their treasures, their eyes gleaming with victory.

These gems seem to be more than just rewards for completing levels; they appear to be keys to deeper secrets.

“Next, it’s time for the central bronze statue,” Tang Songming said. They walked together to the statue and embedded the two gems, red and blue, into the grooves around the statue in that order.

Suddenly, the bronze statue's eyes flashed with a strange light, and the key in its hand slowly rose and automatically inserted into a hidden mechanism on its back.

With a mechanical whirring sound, the floor of the stone chamber began to rotate, eventually stopping in front of a new exit.

The newly opened passage led Zhong Huahua and Tang Songming to a space furnished like a luxury hotel suite.

The lighting was soft, and the furniture was exquisitely arranged; if it weren't for the faint, antique atmosphere still permeating the air...

"This third challenge seems to test our thinking and adaptability even more." Tang Songming looked around, his sharp eyes capturing every detail, and he stopped using classical Chinese at this point...

Zhong Huahua gently touched the silk curtain beside her; its texture was smooth. "This doesn't seem like something from ancient times; instead, it has a modern feel to it. Everything here seems a bit unusual."

The two began to explore the room separately.

Tang Songming arrived at an old-fashioned desk, on which lay several yellowed sheets of paper and an old-fashioned quill pen.

He gently picked up a piece of paper, on which was written in exquisite calligraphy a seemingly casual passage: "When the moon rises, the stars guide us to find harmony in silence."

Tang Songming frowned in thought, "This sentence seems to contain a hidden meaning, perhaps related to time."

At the same time, Zhong Huahua pulled open a seemingly ordinary bedside table drawer, inside which was an old music box with intricate astronomical totems carved on its surface.

As she gently wound up the music box, a crisp and melodious tune began to play, accompanied by the slow movement of the painting on the wall above the bed, revealing a hidden compartment behind it.

"Tang, Song, Ming dynasties—a discovery has been made here!"

Zhong Huahua called out, revealing the item in the hidden compartment—a pocket watch inlaid with gemstones, the hour hand pointing to eight o'clock, with a note attached: "Let time stand still, and the answer will appear."

"It seems we need to find a way to stop time in this room."

Tang Songming walked thoughtfully to the window and looked up at the sky. "It's almost time for the moon to rise."

As the moon slowly rose, subtle changes began to occur in the room.

The objects that were originally still seemed to have come to life. The paintings on the wall began to move slowly, forming a series of dynamic scenes, while the constellation totems cast shimmering light on the carpet, guiding a specific path.

"Look! The constellations connect to form a guiding route!" Zhong Huahua excitedly pointed to the star map on the carpet. "Following this route, we might find a way to stop time."

They followed the guidance of the constellations, wandering around the room until they finally stopped in front of a huge floor-to-ceiling mirror.

As the two approached, the mirror suddenly became transparent, revealing the entrance to the secret chamber behind it.

In the center of the secret chamber stood an exquisite astronomical instrument, its gears meshing together as if connected to the stars outside.

In the center of the astronomical instrument, there was a noticeable empty space, which seemed to be just the right place to put the pocket watch that Zhong Huahua had found.

"It seems this is what we need to do."

Tang Songming carefully inserted the pocket watch, and as the pocket watch was put back in place, the astronomical instrument began to slowly rotate.

Time seemed to stand still in the entire room; all the moving images were frozen in time, and even breathing seemed exceptionally clear.

"Success."

Zhong Huahua said softly that she noticed a stone slab behind the astronomical instrument slowly descending, revealing a uniquely shaped silver key.

suddenly……

A door appeared before them, and Zhong Huahua inserted the silver key into it, causing the door to slowly rotate.

"The haunted ancient house..."

Zhong Huahua looked at the plaque above and murmured softly.

The gates of the ancient mansion slowly opened before them. In stark contrast to the luxurious suite they had just entered, a heavy and oppressive atmosphere enveloped them, as if the air itself was thicker than the outside world.

The interior of the mansion was dimly lit, with light filtering through the sparse window frames, casting eerie shadows.

"This ancient, haunted house exudes an ominous aura," Zhong Huahua said in a low voice.

Tang Songming nodded, his gaze sweeping over the surroundings as he tried to find clues: "The layout here is intricate and complex; we must proceed with caution."

The two stepped onto the creaking wooden stairs, each step accompanied by echoes of history.

The old house seems to have its own set of logic, which is both illogical and subtly hints at the existence of a way out.

“Strange, why are all these murals incomplete?” Zhong Huahua pointed to the walls on both sides of the corridor. Although the images on the murals were exquisite, they were all missing a crucial part.

“The missing part might be the answer we’re looking for.” Tang Songming examined the painting carefully, a glint of light in his eyes. “Look, the hand in this painting seems to be pointing in that direction.”

They followed the signs and came to a study filled with ancient books.

Every book on the bookshelf is covered in the dust of time, as if it holds stories from thousands of years ago.

"With so many books, how am I supposed to find them?" Zhong Huahua was getting impatient; she didn't like this feeling of being trapped by time.

"Don't rush. There's a saying that goes, 'There's a golden house in books.'" Tang Songming pulled out an old book with a yellowed cover and gently blew away the dust. "Perhaps, our answer lies hidden between the lines."

The pages turned, making a rustling sound.

Suddenly, Tang Songming stopped what he was doing, his gaze fixed on a line of text: "In the shadows, the candlelight is dim, truth and lies dance together. This sentence..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhong Huahua suddenly realized: "Candlelight? We haven't seen any candles or light sources along the way, except..."

She pointed to a strangely shaped bronze candlestick in the corner, but there was no lit candle on it.

Just as Tang Songming was staring at the line of text, trying to find more clues, Zhong Huahua had already impatiently walked towards the bronze candlestick.

She circled the candlestick, carefully observing every detail, trying to find a hidden switch or compartment.

"Do you think this might be the key?"

Zhong Huahua spoke half-asleep, half-to herself, her fingers gently touching the patterns on the candlestick, as if engaging in a silent dialogue with it.

"Probably."

Tang Songming put down the ancient book in his hand and came over as well. "Ancient mechanical arts are profound and sophisticated. This candlestick may be the key to unlocking all the mysteries."

Suddenly, Zhong Huahua's finger stopped on a tiny bump.

This raised point stands out slightly compared to the patterns on the other parts of the design.

She had an idea. She gently pressed the button, and with a soft "click," a small drawer slowly opened at the bottom of the candlestick.

A letter lay in the drawer, tied with a thin string, covered in dust and looking quite old.

Zhong Huahua carefully took out the letter and handed it to Tang Songming, her eyes full of anticipation.

Tang Songming took the letter, untied the string, and unfolded the letter.

But there wasn't a single word in the letter, which made the two of them frown even more.

"There wasn't a single word in this letter!"

"How can we get out of this haunted ancient house?"

Zhong Huahua frowned deeply. This was the only hurdle she faced; her mind was racing, but she couldn't figure it out no matter what she tried. (End of Chapter)