Chapter 13
From the moment Xiao Tangqiu entered the gates of Yun Manor, his whole body felt uncomfortable. It was as if every cell in his body was warning him, “Leave this place NOW!”
If he wasn’t familiar with the common rule that leaving the group equals certain death (unless you’re the protagonist) in all horror movies and video games, he would’ve ran away immediately. But since Lu Dadong’s actions have already proved another common rule in horror movies and video games, which is “after entering a building, the door will be shut tight and impossible to open,” then he wouldn’t bother trying.
After witnessing that horrible scene involving the housekeeper, everyone was rooted in place, afraid to move. Lu Dadong had already tumbled to the ground in fright, staring dumbly at the calm housekeeper as if he had seen a ghost…….. Well, he did just see a ghost……….
Eventually, it was Luo Mansu who calmed down first, “Then, we’ll have to trouble you to take us to the main hall.”
The housekeeper kept his head bowed down as he walked. Everyone else fearfully followed after him.
Xiao Tangqiu sized up his surroundings as he walked; this was a habit he picked up from years of playing horror video games. When entering a new map, he would first memorize the terrain and at the same time plan an escape route. It’s just that he wasn’t sure if the ghosts here would follow the same rules in horror video games or not. In-game ghosts would still have to avoid and go around physical obstacles, but real ghosts don’t have a physical body after all, and can pa.s.s through walls. He was able to outrun the paper doll because the paper doll possessed a physical body; as for the ghosts in Yun Manor……….. They’ve probably never played any horror video games! As if the ghosts would follow the rules of the “chasing contest” in video games!
In here, there’s no way to save the game. If he accidentally triggered a death condition, it was impossible to reload the file and start over!
Nonetheless, he had to admit that Yun Manor looked grand on the outside and was just as magnificent on the inside. With one look, he could tell it was the house of an extravagant and prestigious family.
“We’re here. Please come in.”
Before they had even realized, they had reached the main hall. Once they entered the main hall, they found that there was indeed a feast waiting for them. There were many people sitting on the left side, and at the head of the table sat an old woman decked in luxurious robes. It was obvious the old woman was the Old Madame the housekeeper mentioned.
“Please be seated, everyone,” the old woman emanated the pressure of a superior. The feeling she gave off was one of a superior bossing her subjects around, “You’re all welcome to attend my son’s wedding banquet tomorrow. Let’s start eating.”
On the left of the Old Madame, there was a young girl who was also dressed luxuriously, but the seat on the right was empty. It was strange that there was tableware at an empty seat. But Xiao Tangqiu’s attention soon turned to the guests.
Aside from them, Yun Manor had a few more guests, and these guests were the quiet trio who had separated from them early on. The quiet trio didn’t seem to be surprise to see them, as if they had expected their arrival from the start.
The newcomers sat down, each with their own thoughts. After taking a seat, Xiao Tangqiu noticed that the number of cutlery and bowls set out for them was just right. Although he was already used to this, it made him even more suspicious of the extra set of tableware beside the Old Madame
However, it seemed no one else had noticed it, much less the people of Yun Manor, who looked like they were accustomed to that extra set of tableware.
The dishes on the table were sumptuous. There was fish; there was meat; it all looked very mouth-watering. Yet, the newcomers had a look of apprehension on their faces. Who knows what these dishes were made of?!
Xiao Tangqiu watched as the quiet trio picked up their chopsticks, then turned to look at Luo Mansu. Luo Mansu didn’t hesitate for long, and started to savor the food in front of him with relish.
Having completed a day’s worth of heavy manual labor, Xiao Tangqiu was starving. He quickly lifted his chopsticks and lowered his head to dig into the sumptuous feast in front of him. Tang Mianmian hesitated, but after seeing Xiao Tangqiu eat, he started eating as well. After all, if he were to die, it was better to die together!
But Xiao Tangqiu soon discovered that the food only looked good. The taste, on the other hand, left much to be desired. Although it was somewhat similar to chewing on wax, it was still better than the fish they had eaten the day before.
As soon as they finished eating, the Old Madame arrogantly sent them away. The housekeeper led them to a different courtyard to stay in.
“Have you found anything from Yun Manor?” Luo Mansu asked the trio without any respect for courtesy.
The woman in charge of the trio glanced at him, “Why should we tell you?”
Luo Mansu replied, “Of course, it’s so that we can cooperate and share information.”
The woman sneered, “I don’t need your information, much less your cooperation.”
The others looked annoyed, but Luo Mansu merely replied, “Oh, forget it then. We’ll do our own thing. As long as you don’t ruin things for us, I won’t mess with you either.”
That woman no longer spoke. Once they reached the courtyard, she left for one of the rooms with her other two teammates.
The housekeeper stopped in place, not moving another step forward. His head was lowered, blocking his eyes. In the same strangely tranquil tone, he said, “Please arrive at the main hall on time tomorrow night to take part in the wedding banquet.”
“Tomorrow night?” Xiao Tangqiu stared blankly. Who holds a wedding banquet a night? However, he soon recalled that this was Yun family’s oldest young master, Yun Jizhou’s wedding banquet. Surely, it was a ghost wedding!
The others were still finding fault with the trio for their lack of cooperation, “How can they be so arrogant? Isn’t it for the best if we cooperate and get out of this G.o.d-forsaken place as soon as possible?!”
At the moment, Lu Dadong was suspicious of everyone. He spouted gloomily, “Could it be they’re already dead? How is it possible that they’ve been in this haunted house for two days? Yeah, that must be it! This creepy village is full of ghosts. Who knows if there are ghosts pretending to be one of us now!”
As soon as his words fell, everyone looked at each other in silence. Although Lu Dadong seemed off his rocker, what he said wasn’t completely impossible.
“Shut up!” Luo Mansu glared fiercely at Lu Dadong. “There aren’t that many twists and turns in a D-level game! Also, where the h.e.l.l do you think you are?! Must everyone obediently cooperate just because you say so? Who knows what you’ll do when no one’s watching! No one’s going to believe you without rhyme or reason! A stupid fool who unconditionally trusts others will not survive beyond a day in a place like this!”
Lu Dadong’s showed a look of displeasure, but he stopped talking. Luo Mansu couldn’t be bothered with him and solemnly continued, “It’s already the second day. The deadline for the game is three days, which means we’ll have to solve everything by midnight tomorrow.”
Xiao Tangqiu immediately understood what Luo Mansu was trying to imply, “You’re planning on exploring Yun Manor tonight?”
Luo Mansu nodded, “I’m afraid there’s still a lot of clues within Yun Manor. It’s hard to say if those three managed to find all the clues. Anyways, we can’t rely on them. Don’t forget, in this game, it’s better not to trust anyone or rely on anyone!”
Xiao Tangqiu frowned and paused for a moment before he said, “Yun Manor is too big. There’s no way you’ll be able to search the entire place in one night……..”
Luo Mansu explained, “That’s why I’ll need people to work with me. It’s still the same terms; we’ll share information with each other.”
Xiao Tangqiu thought about it and nodded his head, “Alright then, Tang Mianmian and I will go together. We’ll split up with you to look for clues.”
Tang Mianmian scowled, “Hey! You haven’t even asked for my opinion!”
Xiao Tangqiu asked, “You don’t want us to stick together?”
Tang Mianmian pictured being completely alone in a room and immediately nodded his head, “I’ll go with you! Let’s go together! If you dare abandon me, I’ll follow you wherever you go even if I become a ghost!”
Ding Tiantian and Ding Mimi hesitated. Previously they hadn’t gone with Luo Mansu to dig up the grave. If they backed out again, Luo Mansu was sure to give up on them altogether. So, with their voices trembling, the twins asked to go with Luo Mansu.
The couple said they would search for clues tomorrow. They were afraid to explore the haunted house at night so they left for their room. Obviously, Lu Dadong, who had long grown suspicious of everyone else, didn’t want to join them and also went into one of the rooms on his own.
The five of them were split into two teams. One team would head left and the other would head right.
Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian chose to go right.
Under the veil of darkness, the house, which looked magnificent in the day, took on a more sinister vibe at night.
Tang Mianmian grabbed onto the corner of Xiao Tangqiu’s shirt, sounds of sobbing spilling from his lips. Xiao Tangqiu was terrified as well, but he tried his best to stay calm.
However, as hard as he tried to keep his head, Tang Mianmian’s constant “wuwuwu,” which blew right into his ears started to get to him. He wasn’t even that afraid to begin with, but after listening to Tang Mianmian’s repeated “wuwuwu,” he started to get really scared.”
“Can you stop crying?! Screw your f.u.c.king wuwuwu! For every cry you make, I’m going to hit you once. And why the f.u.c.k are you blowing into my ear?! Screw your blowing ah!”
Tang Mianmian paused for a long time before saying softly, “I didn’t cry ah….”