The Glorious Past (1)

Yun Lintian and his companions crept cautiously along the second-floor hallway. Cobwebs, like tattered shrouds, draped the exposed rafters, and a thick layer of grime clung to everything. The silence was a suffocating weight, pressing down on them with an unseen hand.

Tentatively, Yun Lintian pushed open the nearest door. A stale, moldy odor assaulted his nostrils, sending a jolt of revulsion down his spine. The room was barren except for a pile of tattered straw mats huddled in the corner and a single, dust-encrusted chest shoved against the far wall.

Yun Lintian's gaze lingered on the chest for a moment before a dark stain spreading across the floorboards near the window snagged his attention. Dried blood, unmistakable. It was the first time he'd encountered such evidence after navigating countless skeletal remains.

He scanned the room carefully, finding no remnants of life here. Evidently, the source of the blood hadn't met its demise in this room.