"Tonight is really cold!" A young monk, appearing around fifteen or sixteen years old, shrunk his neck and tightened his robes, moving closer to the wall corner.

  "Yi Xian, stop hiding here. Let′s hurry up and patrol the night. Once we're done, we can go back to our rooms and sleep," another slightly older monk, Yi Kong, compined, reaching out to pull at Yi Xian.

  "Yi Kong, why don′t we just go back now? Master won′t know," Yi Xian said reluctantly, his face showing unwillingness. He exhaled on his hands and rubbed them together for warmth.

  "No way!" Yi Kong said, somewhat annoyed. "We must see things through to the end. How can we sck off? Master always says that one must..."

  "Alright, alright, Yi Kong, please stop! I'll go patrol with you, okay?" Yi Xian covered his ear, clearly not wanting to hear Yi Kong's tedious old teachings.

  Yi Kong shook his head helplessly and, raising the ntern in his hand, continued walking forward.

  Although the temple was not rge, it contained dozens of rooms of various sizes. All the walls were uniformly gray, and even the tiles on the roof were the same dull gray. It seemed impossible to find another temple like this one in the world.

  Yi Kong looked up ahead, where an old, abandoned tower stood, one that had been locked away for a long time. Normally, reaching this point meant the night patrol was over, and tonight was no exception.

  "Alright, we can go back now," Yi Kong finally spoke. He patted his somewhat stiff face. The weather had changed so suddenly; it had been warm and mild in the afternoon, but now the night air was biting and cold. Even he couldn't help but compin inwardly.

  Yi Kong shook his head helplessly, raised the ntern in his hand, and continued walking forward.

  Although the temple was not rge, it had dozens of rooms of various sizes. All the rooms had uniform gray walls, and even the roof tiles were the same shade of gray. There was probably no other temple like this in the world, with such gray walls and gray tiles.

  Yi Kong looked up ahead. It was a tower that had been sealed off for a long time. Usually, when one reached this point, the night patrol would be considered complete, and today was no exception.

  "Alright, we can head back now," Yi Kong finally spoke, patting his face, which had become numb from the cold. The weather had changed suddenly—just this afternoon it was a gentle spring breeze, and now, at night, it was biting cold. Even he couldn't help but compin inwardly.

  "Let's go, quickly!" Yi Xian could no longer tolerate the biting cold wind. He still couldn't understand why the wind felt so chilling at this time of year, especially standing here, where it felt even more intense.

  "Okay." Yi Kong also wanted to leave quickly; he was starting to feel a bit drowsy. He lifted the ntern and, as he turned, gnced at the old tower once more. It was just a gnce, but that single gnce made Yi Kong freeze in his tracks. He stood there, staring bnkly at the very top of the abandoned tower.

  Yi Xian didn′t understand why Yi Kong suddenly frozen. He nudged Yi Kong and asked,"What′s wrong?"

  "That..." Yi Kong's voice suddenly trembled, filled with an indescribable sense of fear.

  Yi Xian looked up, following Yi Kong's gaze towards the top.

  A faint light leaked through the ancient tower′s decaying window, spilling out recklessly. Though it was only a small glimmer, it was enough to freeze the blood of both Yi Kong and Yi Xian in an instant.

  This was a sealed-off, abandoned tower, its door tightly locked. No one paid any attention to its existence, perhaps because it was located at the far end of the temple, far from where the pilgrims came, so its age and condition were ignored. Neither Yi Xian nor Yi Kong had ever cared about it. But now they had seen light coming from an abandoned tower that was supposed to be sealed off. Both Yi Xian and Yi Kong could no longer ignore it.

  "Yi Kong, did I see that wrong?" Yi Xian rubbed his eyes desperately and said,.

  "It seems to be real," Yi Kong said softly, his voice betraying some uncertainty.

  "This tower has been abandoned for so long; how could there be light now?" Yi Xian leaned toward Yi Kong, his voice trembling as he spoke.

  "Could someone have sneaked up there? Let′s go take a look," Yi Kong said, grabbing Yi Xian′s hand and pulling him toward the tower door.

  Yi Xian jerked his hand away, stepping back in fear. "No! No! It′s te at night—there can't be anything evil up there, right?"

  "What nonsense are you talking about? This is a temple, a pce to worship the Buddha. How could there be anything evil here? You're being way too timid," Yi Kong scoffed, as he never believed in such superstitions.

  "You!" Yi Xian was a little annoyed but quickly added, "Who′s being timid? Let′s go take a look. Maybe it′s some little monk sneaking up to eat something forbidden. If I catch him, I′ll get some credit with the master!" With that, he strode up to the tower door.

  Yi Kong smiled. Yi Xian was only two years younger than him, but his personality was still naive and childish.

  "Hey, the tower door is open. It looks like someone really did sneak up there. Let′s see how I catch you!" Yi Xian said, pretending to be brave.

  "Let′s go; let′s take a look," Yi Kong said, gncing at the ntern in his hand. The candle still had enough left, so it would be sufficient.

  The tower had seven stories. Because it had been abandoned for so long, thick dust had accumuted on every level. Each floor was cluttered with broken tables and chairs and some Buddha statues that had been worn beyond recognition. The stairwell was covered in so many spider webs that there was hardly any space to step. The air was filled with an indescribable, sour, and musty smell.

  "Someone actually came up to such a filthy pce?" Yi Xian couldn't help but mutter.

  "Shh," Yi Kong hushed him, not wanting Yi Xian to alert anyone who might be on the top floor.

  Yi Xian stuck out his tongue and quickly fell silent.

  On the seventh floor, as the light grew brighter, Yi Kong and Yi Xian finally reached the top.

  The light came from a candle—a red candle as thick as an arm—quietly pced on a dusty, broken table. This floor didn′t look any different from the others, except... there was a bed.

  The bed was pced next to the table. At first gnce, it appeared very clean, with a white, rough cloth sheet that was spotless. Underneath the sheet, something seemed to be covered.

  A cold wind blew through the broken tower window, gently brushing against the candle. The flickering fme danced wildly for a moment before the wind swept over the white bedsheet. The sheet was lifted in an instant...

  With a loud "thud," Yi Xian fell to the bottom of the tower like a stone thrown from a great height. A burst of bright red blood shot out from the top of his head. His body swayed a few times before going completely still, unresponsive.

  Yi Kong slowly descended from the abandoned tower and stood beside Yi Xian. He stood there motionless, his once bright and piercing eyes now hollow and lifeless. He didn′t move at all, just standing there, surrounded by the eerie cold wind...

  The ntern went out, and the ancient tower was once again engulfed in darkness.