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"I can't find any clues. Should we ask for help?" Xiaoyuan said.
"No need. We only have one chance to ask for help, and this room has more than one chamber. There are definitely more than just these two locks. It would be unwise to waste this opportunity so easily. Although this is a game, we should still take it seriously," I replied while looking at the Memorial Photo of Empress Dowager Cixi.
Everyone nodded and began searching for clues separately.
The Memorial Photo of Empress Dowager Cixi was somewhat blurry; a quick glance revealed nothing unusual. However, when I leaned in to examine it closely, I noticed something odd. To the left of Cixi's head, there was faintly another portrait. It was quite blurry, but I could make out what it was. It was one of the many emperors from the Qing Dynasty depicted on the surrounding walls: Puyi Emperor.
I hurriedly found the portrait of Puyi Emperor. His eyes were directed toward a unique portrait on the opposite wall, which was not of an emperor; it was Li Lianying's own portrait. There were no descriptive words accompanying it, only two phrases: "All the emperors celebrate their birthdays together, wealth cannot diminish public spirit."
"Puyi Emperor's birthday should be the password for the lock on this cabinet," I blurted out.
"Why?" Marlon asked.
I crouched down and grabbed the four-digit combination lock, saying, "With your intelligence, it's hard for me to explain clearly. Go check what Puyi Emperor's birthday is."
"What’s a birthday?" Marlon asked, confused.
"It’s the year he was born."
"1908."
I set the combination and pulled; with a click, the lock opened. It was that simple. I shook my head; if it were this easy, we could escape this room in less than half an hour. Boss mentioned that the success rate for this escape room was only 20%, so perhaps the later challenges would be more difficult.
As everyone marveled, I pulled out a black rectangular box from inside the cabinet. Xiaoyuan snatched it away and exclaimed, "Let me open it!" Two seconds later, she gasped and dropped the box on the floor. The previously relaxed atmosphere turned tense with her sudden outburst.
I glanced at the box she had discarded and asked curiously, "What did you see that scared you so much?" Her expression suggested she was on the verge of tears.
She trembled as she spoke, "A hand... and it moved."
I grabbed the box from the ground and opened it, shaking it slightly as if I wanted to throw it away. Inside was a severed Palm, highly realistic and covered in blood. As soon as the box opened, the control buttons inside released automatically, and the five fingers of the Palm began to move, looking just like a living person's hand. No wonder that creature had scared Xiaoyuan so much; seeing this without any preparation was hard to accept.
I wouldn't be frightened even if it were real. Since this box exists, there must be a reason for its existence; it surely isn't just for scaring people. I reached inside and pulled out a note from the fake hand.
When I opened the note, I laughed. Wasn't this a random occurrence? There was a Sudoku puzzle, a very simple one with four squares in each row and column. I tossed it to Marlon and said, "Here, you're so good at this; you solve it." Then I rummaged through the cabinet and found a pen, a piece of paper, and a simple drawing besides that box. The paper and pen were definitely for us to work on the Sudoku puzzle. I handed them some cash, and the three of them gathered around the altar to start solving the Sudoku.
I took another look at the drawing; it was a simple sketch. The content depicted a monk painting a lotus flower. Next to it were some words: "The monk paints the lotus," with the character for "flower" highlighted in bold red.
The Sudoku was easy, and they solved it in two minutes, getting four numbers that corresponded to the first two digits of the second combination lock on the door. The last digit still had no clues. It seemed we could only find those two digits on this drawing.
I handed the drawing to them, and Xiaohua murmured, "What does 'the monk paints the lotus' mean? The character for 'flower' is specially marked in red; does that signify something?"
I replied, "Hehe, this is a couplet; it's called a seven-character palindrome couplet where the first three characters are phonetically symmetrical with the last three. You can try to come up with a corresponding line." In fact, I knew this couplet already; even if I didn't know it, there was a small hint in the thematic booklet I glanced at before entering. It was just that few people would pay attention to such minor hints. I wanted them to try so they could feel more involved.
There are many ways to respond to this couplet, but there is only one standard answer. Legend has it that this is an ancient masterpiece left by Tang Bohu, later perfectly matched by Ji Xiaolan.
Xiaoyuan said, "The snow on White Snow Mountain is white."
"That's not right; there are people and objects in couplets with deeper meanings. If it were that easy to match, it wouldn't be considered a masterpiece," I said. Just as I said this wasn't correct, I heard a low voice beside my ear saying "not right." The tone was deep and slow, as if someone was pressing their throat while speaking right next to me. I couldn't tell if it was male or female, but there was no one else around; if it wasn't an auditory hallucination, then those two words must have been spoken by it. After confirming this thought, I remained unfazed and kept smiling as if I hadn't heard anything. I'm sure they hadn't heard those two words either; otherwise, they would have said something long ago.
At that moment, Marlon slapped his palm and said, "Now that you mention it, I've got it!" Xiaohua looked at him with admiration and said excitedly, "That's amazing! Please tell us!"
Marlon closed his eyes and shook his head as he said: "Celestial Empire silk towards heaven."
"To hell with you," I cursed in disbelief. "Isn't there supposed to be people or objects involved? How can that be correct?" he retorted.
"In ancient times, 'silk' was indeed used; back then Ji Xiaolan matched 'the book of Lin Han' with 'ink brush,'" I explained.
Xiaohua pondered for a moment and said: "Painting corresponds with writing; flower corresponds with ink. The monk paints the lotus corresponds with 'the book of Lin Han' ink." That really is quite brilliant.
I nodded and replied: "Yes, it's much easier to communicate with cultured people like you than with those who only know how to shout towards heaven. Since 'book' is highlighted here, we can deduce that 'ink' is implied—one-two-three... Mozi has fifteen strokes in total; thus, the last two digits of that combination lock should be one and five." After saying this, another hollow voice echoed in my ear: "Correct." I shook my head in disbelief; was this Spirit God helping me cheat? However, at least it reassured me that it bore no hostility.
Marlon listened to me and then walked over to the door, quickly entering the correct password to unlock it. He couldn't wait to push the door open and step inside. However, after entering, he hurriedly turned around and came back, trying to ingratiate himself with me. "You're the boss, you go in first. You go in first," he said, looking utterly pathetic.
I shot him a disdainful glance and pushed the door open, stepping into the second room. The second room was pitch black, without any lights, and all the walls were covered in black wallpaper. Facing me as I entered was a wall that sent chills down my spine; it had a row of severed hands hanging from it, and in the corner, there was a human head, also hanging on the wall. It looked something like this:
I stood at the entrance without stepping inside, using my flashlight to illuminate the layout of the second room. The main reason for my caution was that I knew a Spirit God was present here, and such a sudden new environment could easily lead me to miss something important. With this thought in mind, I focused intently, and my sensitivity to darkness allowed me to catch a glimpse of a shadow in the corner diagonally across from the entrance. In the blink of an eye, it vanished. I shone my flashlight at that spot, and after the shadow disappeared, I saw a small low doorway with a padlock hanging on it, seemingly indicating that this was the way to enter the third room.
The second room was simple; there was just a computer desk covered in black paper with nothing on top. The side of the desk had three drawers, one of which was locked. Aside from this desk and those severed hands along with the head, there was nothing else in this room.
At that moment, I was sure that the Spirit God was also in this room. However, since she wasn't making any excessive movements, I felt no fear. I stepped inside, and Marlon along with Xiaoyuan followed closely behind me. They seemed accustomed to such horror and didn't react too strongly upon seeing the props on the wall. I suggested, "Let's split up and look for clues." Since there were only two flashlights—one for me and one for Marlon—Xiaoyuan naturally gravitated towards me while following Marlon.
As Xiaoyuan approached, I was examining a diagram taped to the wall that required some calculations. She tapped me lightly on the shoulder, perhaps trying to scare me. Without thinking much about it, I suddenly turned around and shouted while shining my flashlight from my chin upwards. My mouth opened wide in surprise. I genuinely intended to scare her; however, when I turned to look at Xiaoyuan, I was stunned by a mass of shadow behind her that appeared even more solid than before. I could vaguely make out a head's outline and a somewhat pale face.
I reached out and pulled Xiaoyuan closer while glaring at that shadow. It seemed to be deliberately teasing me, and I was certain that no one else could see it besides me—not even the shadow itself could perceive its presence. Perhaps those sensitive to Yin Qi might feel something amiss, but with the air conditioning running low in this room, ordinary people wouldn't be able to distinguish between Yin Qi and cold air.
"There's a note here," Marlon suddenly said. I turned my head to see him holding a note; meanwhile, the head hanging on the wall continued to move its mouth wide open as if it had just spat out that note from its mouth.
Thank you for providing images related to this horror theme from Room Escape Liu Boss. Thanks also to "I Am Hami, You Are Melon" for their support with 111 flowers and "Qing Qiu" for their fine wine contribution.
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