The following night.
Luc Minh barely slept.
The black mark on his left wrist was still there.
Whenever the clock struck exactly **3:00 a.m.**, it burned as though scorched by fire.
He opened the **Maoshan Evil-Sealing Scripture**.
But the lines of blood that had appeared the night before were gone.
Only a blank page remained.
As if nothing had ever happened.
## The Midnight Phone Call
**Ring... ring...**
To Nhuoc's phone rang.
An unfamiliar number appeared on the screen.
She answered.
Static crackled from the other end.
After a few seconds...
A cold woman's voice spoke.
> "Patient..."
> "...Luc Minh..."
> "...please come to Room 13..."
To Nhuoc froze.
"Sorry, you have the wrong number."
The other end fell silent.
Then the voice continued.
> "Patient..."
> "...To Nhuoc..."
> "...Room 13..."
**Beep... beep... beep...**
The call ended.
She immediately called back.
The number...
Didn't exist.
## An Hoa Hospital
The next morning.
To Nhuoc told Luc Minh what had happened.
When Tran Hai heard, his expression immediately changed.
"Room 13?"
"What's wrong?"
Tran Hai lowered his voice.
"Twenty years ago..."
"There was a fire at An Hoa Hospital."
"More than sixty people died."
"The third floor..."
"...no longer exists."
"But the strange thing is..."
"The police phone system still receives a call from the hospital every year."
"Always on the anniversary of the fire."
Luc Minh asked:
"What date was it last night?"
Tran Hai looked at the calendar.
His face went pale.
"Yesterday..."
"...was that exact date."
## The Bell
Night fell.
The three of them arrived at An Hoa Hospital.
The old building stood in the middle of the woods.
Its walls were stained and peeling.
The glass doors were shattered.
The rusted sign had only two readable characters left:
**"...Hoa."**
The moment they stepped through the gate,
a bell rang.
**Clang...**
**Clang...**
The sound was very faint.
But it seemed to echo up from underground.
Luc Minh stopped.
"That's not an ordinary bell."
"It's a spirit-calling bell."
To Nhuoc shuddered.
"Don't say things like that."
## The Dark Hallway
The hospital was pitch-black.
Their flashlights reached only a few yards.
Abandoned examination rooms lined both sides of the hallway.
Plastic chairs were thickly coated in dust.
Medical records lay scattered across the floor.
Suddenly.
The speaker mounted on the ceiling crackled.
Even though the place had been without power for a very long time.
A woman's flat voice rang out.
> "Announcement..."
> "Patient..."
> **"...Luc Minh..."**
> "...please come to..."
> "...Room 13..."
The three stood frozen.
Tran Hai trembled.
"No..."
"There can't be any electricity."
The speaker continued.
> "Patient..."
> **"...To Nhuoc..."**
> "...please come to..."
> "...Room 13..."
## The Shadow Figure in the Pediatric Ward
Footsteps echoed from the end of the hallway.
**Clack... clack...**
**Clack... clack...**
A nurse in an old uniform slowly walked toward them.
Her head hung low.
She held a notebook in one hand.
When she was only a few yards away,
she raised her head.
Half her face had been burned black.
One eye was nothing but an empty socket.
Yet she was still smiling.
"The three of you..."
"...here to visit a patient?"
Luc Minh drew his peachwood sword.
"Who are you?"
The nurse tilted her head.
"It's time..."
"...to take your medicine."
The moment she finished speaking,
do zens of hospital-room doors flew open at once.
Patients in hospital gowns stepped out from inside.
Some were missing an arm.
Some had only half their bodies left.
Some were burned black from head to toe.
But every one of them...
turned to look at Luc Minh.
Then they spoke in unison.
> "Room 13..."
> "...is waiting..."
> "For the Maoshan Heir."
## The Elevator That Ran by Itself
Suddenly.
The rusted elevator at the end of the hallway groaned.
**Creak... creak...**
The floor indicators lit up one after another.
First floor...
Second floor...
Then stopped at...
**The third floor.**
Tran Hai backed away.
"Impossible..."
"The third floor collapsed in the fire twenty years ago."
The elevator doors slowly opened.
There was no one inside.
Only a patient gurney.
A white sheet covered it.
A blackened hand slowly reached out from beneath the sheet.
Its fingers curled.
Motioning...
**"Follow me."**
At that exact moment,
the mark on Luc Minh's wrist flared with heat.
The peachwood sword trembled nonstop.
In his mind, he heard the familiar voice of his master, Luc Thien Ha.
> **"Don't enter Room 13..."**
> **"...unless you're ready to learn the truth."**
The elevator doors remained open.
Inside was darkness as deep as the mouth of an abyss.
Luc Minh took a deep breath.
Then stepped inside.
**End of Chapter 8.**