The rain continued for three straight days.
After the incident with the shattered mirror, the mark shaped like a **red eye** on To Nhuoc's wrist did not disappear.
On the contrary...
It grew clearer by the day.
Whenever night fell,
the mark emitted a faint red glow.
And To Nhuoc always heard the same voice.
> "Come here..."
> "...I'm waiting for you..."
## The Unsent Letter
That morning,
Luc Minh opened the door and found a black envelope on the front porch.
No stamp.
No address.
No sender's name.
Inside was nothing but a map and a single line of writing.
> **"If you want to know the truth about the Maoshan fire..."**
> **"...come to Nameless Temple before midnight."**
In the bottom corner
was the familiar symbol of the **Red Eye**.
Ha Van Son studied the letter for a long time.
At last, he said:
"It's a trap."
Luc Minh nodded.
"But we still have to go."
## Nameless Temple
The temple lay deep in the forest.
It had been abandoned for decades.
The strange thing was...
Every Buddha statue in the temple had been turned to face the wall.
Not one statue looked outside.
To Nhuoc asked softly:
"Why would they do that?"
Ha Van Son answered slowly:
"Long ago..."
"People turned the Buddha statues toward the wall..."
"...so they wouldn't have to witness humanity's crimes."
His words left all three of them silent.
## The Underground Main Hall
In the center of the main hall
stood a bronze incense burner.
The moment Luc Minh touched it,
**Boom!**
The entire stone floor split in two.
A stone staircase leading underground appeared.
Freezing air rushed upward.
The stench of blood filled the air.
The three of them carefully descended.
Below...
was a massive main hall.
Hundreds of red candles burned.
But the most terrifying thing was...
On both sides of the hall
stood hundreds of black clay jars.
Each one gave off the sound of a crying child.
## Huyen Ling Society
At the far end of the hall,
an old, silver-haired man sat on a stone chair.
He wore a black robe.
Embroidered on his chest was the symbol of a **red eye with nine rays of light**.
Four masked men stood on either side of him.
Luu Han was among them.
The silver-haired man smiled.
"Welcome..."
"...last heir of Maoshan."
Luc Minh said coldly:
"Are you Truong Bach Uy?"
The man nodded.
"I am."
"I've been waiting for you..."
"...for twenty-two years."
## The Truth About the Huyen Ling Society
Truong Bach Uy rose slowly.
"Do you think the Huyen Ling Society is an evil cult?"
"No."
"We were once..."
"...a branch of Maoshan."
Luc Minh froze.
"That's impossible."
Truong Bach Uy gave a cold laugh.
"A hundred years ago..."
"Maoshan split into two factions."
"One side sealed ghosts."
"The other..."
"...wanted to control ghosts to protect the human world."
"The winners..."
"...were called the righteous path."
"The losers..."
"...were branded the evil path."
Ha Van Son tightened his grip on his sword hilt.
"You're twisting history."
"No."
Truong Bach Uy shook his head.
"I'm only telling the other half."
## The Living Vessel
Truong Bach Uy raised a hand.
A curtain of water appeared in the middle of the hall.
Within it
appeared a vision of an ancient ritual.
Two newborn babies lay inside a ritual formation.
One was covered in light.
The other was swallowed by darkness.
Truong Bach Uy's voice echoed through the hall:
"The Demon King cannot be destroyed."
"It can only..."
"...be transferred into another vessel."
He looked straight at Luc Minh.
"You..."
"...are the chosen vessel."
Luc Minh's entire body went rigid.
The image of Room 13.
The nameless grave.
The child who looked exactly like him.
Everything suddenly fell into place.
## The Deal
Truong Bach Uy took out the other half of the Maoshan map.
He placed it on the stone table.
"I can give you this half of the map..."
"...in exchange..."
"Hand over To Nhuoc."
Luc Minh did not hesitate.
"No."
"Then..."
Truong Bach Uy sighed.
"...what a shame."
He flicked his finger.
Immediately,
more than a hundred clay jars cracked open in unison.
Streams of black energy burst out.
They transformed into countless shrieking evil spirits.
The entire hall shook.
## The Traitor
Just as the battle was about to erupt,
a figure suddenly appeared behind Truong Bach Uy.
It was...
Luu Han.
But instead of protecting the society leader,
he suddenly drew a short sword.
**Thud!**
The blade pierced through Truong Bach Uy's shoulder.
Blood sprayed everywhere.
The entire hall fell silent.
Even Truong Bach Uy had not expected it.
Luu Han gave a cold laugh.
"Society leader..."
"Your era..."
"...is over."
Truong Bach Uy was not angry in the slightest.
He only smiled faintly.
"Luu Han..."
"You think..."
"...you're the first traitor?"
At that moment,
a gigantic black hand suddenly rose from Luu Han's shadow.
It clamped around his neck.
The sound of breaking bones rang out.
**Crack!**
Luu Han did not even have time to scream.
He was dragged down into the darkness.
Before he disappeared,
he managed to shout:
> "Don't open..."
> "...the door beneath the mountain..."
Every candle in the hall went out at once.
In the darkness,
a pair of enormous red eyes slowly opened.
An ancient voice rang out.
> **"At last..."**
> **"...I can smell the vessel."**
Luc Minh felt the mark on his wrist burning hot, as if it would sear through his flesh.
He knew...
Whatever was looking at him was not human.
Nor was it a ghost.
It was the entity that had been sealed beneath Maoshan for hundreds of years.
**End of Chapter 17.**