The next morning.
News of a "corpse sitting up during a funeral" spread throughout the city.
Countless cellphone videos appeared on social media.
Some people insisted it was magic.
Others said it was staged.
Still others believed it was a rare disease.
But every video vanished within a few hours.
As if someone were deliberately erasing every trace.
### The Uninvited Guest
Luc Minh had just opened his antique shop when he heard a voice behind him.
"Are you Luc Minh?"
A young woman in a white shirt and blue jeans stood outside the door, a camera hanging from her neck.
She had shoulder-length hair, bright eyes, and an air of complete confidence.
"I'm To Nhuoc, a reporter for *Dong Hai Current Affairs*."
"I want to interview you."
Luc Minh shook his head.
"I have nothing to say."
To Nhuoc smiled.
"Three days."
"Three strange killings."
"And you were there every time."
"You don't think that's a coincidence?"
Luc Minh answered curtly.
"I'm just an antique dealer."
"Really?"
She placed a photograph on the table.
It showed Luc Minh standing outside the funeral home the previous night.
"Then who was holding this sword?"
Luc Minh fell silent.
### The One Who Doesn't Believe in Ghosts
To Nhuoc looked around the shop.
Talismans.
Bronze bells.
A peachwood sword.
A feng shui compass.
She laughed.
"You really believe this stuff can drive out ghosts?"
Luc Minh remained calm.
"You don't believe in ghosts?"
"No."
"I believe in evidence."
"What people call ghosts and demons are usually just phenomena that haven't been explained."
Luc Minh gave a faint smile.
"I hope you can always hold on to that belief."
### A Strange Photograph
To Nhuoc raised her camera.
"Let me take a picture."
"No."
"Just think of it as a keepsake."
*Click!*
The flash went off.
At that exact moment...
The peachwood sword behind Luc Minh trembled.
A chill swept through the shop.
To Nhuoc shuddered.
"Do you have the air conditioner on?"
"No."
Luc Minh looked toward the corner of the room.
A red-clad shadow figure had just slipped past.
### The Manifesting Photograph
That afternoon.
To Nhuoc returned to the newsroom.
She inserted the memory card into her computer to look through the photos.
The first one was normal.
The second one was normal.
But when she reached the third...
She froze.
Behind Luc Minh.
A woman in red was standing there.
Her long hair hung loose.
Her arms dangled at her sides.
The most terrifying thing was...
The woman **had no face**.
To Nhuoc immediately checked the original file.
There was no sign of editing.
"That's impossible..."
She zoomed in on the photograph.
Right beneath the woman's feet.
A stream of black water was flowing.
And across the tile floor.
A line of writing appeared, as though written in blood.
> **"Don't take my picture."**
To Nhuoc jerked and dropped the mouse.
When she raised her head...
The computer screen had gone completely black.
### A Whisper
Reflected in the screen.
She saw...
Someone standing behind her.
Long hair.
Red clothes.
No face.
To Nhuoc spun around.
There was no one there.
She let out a breath.
"I must be imagining things..."
At that moment.
A voice sounded right beside her ear.
"Look..."
"...again..."
To Nhuoc's entire body went rigid.
Slowly, she turned back to the screen.
This time...
The woman in red had moved closer.
Less than a meter separated them.
And the woman's deathly pale hand...
Was resting on To Nhuoc's shoulder.
"Aah!"
Her scream rang through the entire editing room.
Her coworkers rushed in.
"To Nhuoc!"
"What happened?"
She tremblingly pointed at the screen.
But...
The screen showed nothing but a photograph of Luc Minh.
The woman in red was gone.
The blood-written words were gone.
Everything had vanished.
### A Midnight Encounter
That night.
To Nhuoc stood outside Luc Minh's home.
For the first time in her life.
She knocked on the door with a deeply worried expression.
Luc Minh opened it.
The moment he saw her pale face, he understood.
"You saw it."
To Nhuoc gripped her camera tightly.
Her voice was no longer as firm as before.
"That thing..."
"...isn't human."
Luc Minh silently turned and walked inside.
"Do you want to know the truth?"
"Or do you want to keep lying to yourself?"
To Nhuoc drew a deep breath.
"I want to know."
Luc Minh looked up at the Maoshan Patriarch's altar.
The three incense sticks burning there suddenly went out at the same time.
Right afterward...
A knock sounded from the courtyard outside.
**Knock!**
**Knock!**
**Knock!**
Luc Minh stopped short.
He looked at the clock on the wall.
It was exactly **midnight**.
The knocking continued.
The fourth knock...
The fifth knock...
The sixth knock...
Until...
**The seventh knock** rang out.
Luc Minh's expression changed.
"Don't move."
"No matter what happens..."
"...do not open the door."
**End of Chapter 4.**