Chapter 10

It was quickly discovered that clues were spread across a large area of the floor. One flashlight wasn’t enough, so Old Man Xu, Xiao Xue, and Miss Zhao activated their flashlights together, standing in different directions, finally illuminating this section of floor.

There, drawn on the ground with an unknown blackish-red fuel, was a complex Formation. At each of the Formation’s five points stood an incense burner with a red candle inserted. The cement platform was inside the array.

“What is this? It’s so gloomy,” Brother Teng said, looking at the red lines on the floor. The more he looked, the more they resembled blood. Though he was an Awakened, his spirituality wasn’t high. Unlike other Awakened who could easily see ghosts, he rarely came into contact with metaphysical matters. Now that Zhu Ming wasn’t around, he was shamelessly pretending nothing had happened again.

Old Man Xu said, “It looks somewhat like a variation of the Soul-Sealing Array from Maoshan arts. I can’t be sure.”

“There’s something inside the cement platform!” Brother Teng, being closest, pointed out.

Moving closer and shining a light, they saw that the center of the cement platform had been hollowed out and filled with water. An object was submerged inside, and two smaller items were placed on the edges of the platform, left and right.

A fist-sized statue with a human head and snake body was placed right in the center of the little pool, completely submerged. The flashlight beam refracted through the water, making the crudely made, simple Deity Statue’s face seem especially sinister and terrifying.

Out of reverence for the mysterious and unknown, everyone looked at the Deity Statue, not daring to touch it for the moment.

As for the two objects on the platform, they were a mobile phone and a wristwatch. The smartphone, speckled with dried bloodstains, was an older model. The watch was clearly a woman’s watch, slightly rusty, its hands stopped still.

Old Man Xu gathered his thoughts and said, “Within the Formation, the Deity Statue sits in the primary, upper position. The dungeon is called the Night of Sacrifice. I fear we are meant to sacrifice to this deity.”

Miss Zhao, who had been silent for a long time, finally spoke. “Remember the Barrier scope we explored? This basement is exactly at the center of the entire Barrier. I believe the key to breaking the Barrier and completing the mission is right here.”

“Look at this!” Just as a few were discussing, Xiao Song happily picked something up from the ground. “I accidentally stepped on a pen earlier. There are also three sheets of paper stapled together next to it.”

Several flashlight beams swiveled over.

The pen was nothing special. The paper was a bit dirty. Opening it, they saw some hastily scrawled words:

“I shouldn’t have come to this abandoned villa for a vacation with my friends. Something went wrong. She fell into the pond and drowned! She became a Fierce Ghost and wants to make all of us stay here with her. I managed to leave this place, but in the end, I came back. I couldn’t forget my friends, couldn’t bear to see her turn into a Fierce Ghost and cause harm. I want to release her spirit, to let her find liberation!”

The first page ended. Turning to the next, several drops of dark red bloodstains stood out starkly:

“This is bad. She discovered my intentions. The Formation is only half-finished. Though I couldn’t release her spirit, at least I sealed this place so she can’t leave. Thank the deity for their mercy… Today I record this matter. If destined ones come later, please continue to complete the Formation, or else everyone will be trapped here to die. Her personal belongings have been placed. The steps to complete the Formation are on the back. I will write them all down.”

A few people huddled in a circle, their heads close together. The flashlights focused their beams on the paper in the center, making their faces look pale as ghosts. Behind them, the thick darkness completely engulfed everything.

Xiao Song nervously licked his lips and turned to the next page. This entire page was dedicated to the steps for completing the Formation.

“Place the pomegranate, Morningstar Lily, red dates, Willow Leaf, and Water Lily into the incense burners at the five corners of the Formation respectively. Light the red candles. Then, at the stroke of midnight, drip the blood of [the… maiden…] onto three Incense Candles, light them, and offer them to the Deity Statue. Place the […] into the center of the array and await the deity’s descent. At that time, the power of the Deity Statue can be used to suppress the Fierce Ghost. Once the Fierce Ghost is suppressed, the Barrier will break on its own. P.S.: The longer the hair of the Virtuous [Maiden…], the better the effect.”

Several places in this passage were obscured by bloodstains. The word “maiden” could faintly be seen, and combined with the note, they could guess the covered word was “Virtuous Maiden.”

The three sheets of paper contained very little information, but it was critical. They quickly finished reading. Closing the papers, thinking there was nothing else, they then discovered a line written in large, blood-dripping characters on the back of the last sheet: “Several Virtuous Maidens have arrived! Receive the deity’s descent, exorcise evil, and break the array!”

Brother Teng suddenly felt a chill down his spine, as if someone had been watching everyone from the shadows all along. But thankfully… it seemed this matter had nothing to do with him. The text stated a Virtuous Maiden was needed.

And the longer the Virtuous Maiden’s hair, the better the effect. The girl here with the longest hair was the one with the braided pigtails.

Faint, barely discernible gazes lingered on Yun Zouchuan. Yun Zouchuan lowered her eyes slightly. There it was again. That malicious, sticky gaze had returned, and it was even closer and more intense than before.

However, apart from Yun Zouchuan, the others felt nothing special and were all intently studying the paper.

As it happened, Xiao Cheng had been investigating the garden all day yesterday. He immediately offered the information, “I remember the five things needed for the offering. Three of them are in the garden: the Pomegranate, the Morningstar Lily, and the Willow Leaf.”

Xiao Xue also spoke up, “On the third-floor rooftop, there happens to be a large vat growing Water Lilies.”

Brother Teng, wanting to leave this place no less than anyone else, asked urgently, “What about the red dates and Incense Candles?”

Xiao Cheng comforted him. “Don’t worry, they must be here. Let’s search carefully. Since the task was set up, there must be a way to complete it.”

For a moment, everyone began chattering, discussing back and forth. They seemed to have already accepted that this was the correct clearing method. No one thought to ask if the several Virtuous Maidens were willing, especially the one with the longest hair.

Xiao Song was particularly excited. “This is great! Once we complete the array, we can seal the evil ghost and open the Barrier!”

These were words everyone loved to hear! For a moment, the pitch-black basement was filled with a lighthearted, hopeful mood.

Old Man Xu coughed twice and said, “While it’s still light outside, let’s quickly gather everything we need. The faster we finish, the faster we leave.”

Afterward, the group searched the basement again but found nothing else.

“Let’s go, look around outside,” Old Man Xu said, mainly to conserve flashlight batteries.

Brother Teng turned to leave first. This place was so gloomy and strange; it made him uneasy all over. He took a few steps forward, then suddenly paused, hesitating. Next to the door stood a backlit, dark human silhouette.

Silently, without a word, no one knew when it had arrived… In an instant, the hairs on the back of Brother Teng’s neck stood on end.

Xiao Cheng saw it too and quickly swung his flashlight over, shouting, “Who’s there! … Zhu Ming? What are you doing here!”

The figure standing against the light raised a hand to shield its eyes. “Didn’t I say I was coming too? And I’m not standing right behind you. Tch, such a coward.”

A false alarm. Brother Teng desperately wanted to walk wide around her.

As Xiao Song walked out the door, Zhu Ming stretched out her hand and simply snatched the three sheets of paper away.

“What are you doing!” Xiao Song cried out anxiously.

“Nothing. I’m just curious about what’s written on this paper. Can’t I study it a little? You’ve all already read it anyway.” Zhu Ming was perfectly self-righteous.

“…” Remembering how she had suppressed Brother Teng, Xiao Song glared at her grudgingly but ultimately didn’t dare snatch them back.

While the others were busy searching, Zhu Ming lay on the sofa. Her head was at one end, her feet at the other. She occupied the entire sofa by herself. Holding the three sheets of paper, she used them as a fan to cool herself. Her posture was incredibly arrogant. Compared to the busy, bustling figures of the others searching for offering materials, it was like a slave master versus slaves.

Unfortunately, no one dared say anything. After the incident in the kitchen, everyone was a bit wary of dealing with Zhu Ming.

Yun Zouchuan sat on the other side. Whenever someone passed by, she fixed them with a deep stare, her eyes as pale and shallow as a glacier. Too bad no one tried to talk to her either, because she looked as tight-lipped as a sealed jar.

Zhu Ming toyed with her pigtail absentmindedly, but her mind was pondering other questions. She felt something wasn’t quite right—everyone was very happy. The joy of completing the mission and escaping danger had diluted the fear of the death that morning. She was within this atmosphere yet detached from this excitement. She still felt a strange, persistent dissonance.

.

Everyone’s efforts paid off. All the items were quickly gathered. It had taken considerable effort to find the red dates and Incense Candles, though. The red dates were hidden in a kitchen cabinet, and the candles were in the duty room.

With everything ready, there was still some time before the point last night when it got dark.

“A-Zou, girl, how about you give it a try tonight?” Old Man Xu gently tried to persuade her. “Rest assured, we will all stand guard around you. If danger arises, I will certainly rescue you.”

“But…”

“I, an old man, have been inside the Dark Realm Space at least three times. I have life-saving measures. You can rest easy.”

Yun Zouchuan frowned. “What I meant was, we don’t have any tools to start a fire. How can we light the incense and candles?”

Everyone: “…”

They had been bustling about for half the day, focusing solely on finding the things mentioned on those three sheets of paper, but had completely forgotten the need for a lighter!

Zhu Ming, her chin resting on her hand, laughed silently. Although A-Zou was sometimes a bit slow and not good at social graces, let alone scheming, her intuition was incredibly sharp. She was also very good at grasping key points.

No matches were found here, no lighter. Starting a fire had become a problem.

Miss Zhao sat on the sofa, her body ramrod straight. She closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, and when she opened them again, she strode purposefully toward the kitchen.

“Though there’s no electricity here, the gas canister still works.” Turning the knob on the stovetop, click, a small flame flickered to life, burning quietly.

Zhu Ming tilted her head and muttered softly to Yun Zouchuan, “She’s actually quite clever. It’s just her judgment that’s terrible.”

The final puzzle was solved. Everything was ready, all that was needed was the opportune moment.

“An old man like me doesn’t sleep well. I remember the butler’s knocking happens around two in the morning. This formation needs to be done at midnight. Going out then, we probably won’t run into the butler,” Old Man Xu said. “Everyone remember to bring your flashlights, in case of danger in the dark.”

“Wait,” Miss Zhao suddenly said. “I don’t think we need that many people. Too many creates chaos.”

Her reasoning was sound. Old Man Xu thought for a moment and said, “Miss Zhao, the three of us with experience shall go. We’ll protect the person entering the array together. If something unexpected happens or anything seems off, we can pull her out in time. The others will wait indoors and act according to circumstances. After all, this doesn’t require all the female comrades to enter the array.”

True, not everyone needed to enter. But who should be chosen to go in?

For a moment, everyone’s eyes turned toward Yun Zouchuan. Her hair was the longest.

Before anyone could persuade her, Yun Zouchuan nodded calmly. “Understood. I will go.”

The look of amusement in Zhu Ming’s eyes instantly changed. “A-Zou, do you know what you’re saying?”

How could she not know? Yun Zouchuan spoke with a hint of troubled anxiety. “I always feel this place gives me a very bad sensation. I want to leave early. Maybe it’s just too hot here.”

Yun Zouchuan liked the scenery of summer but not the temperature. She couldn’t withstand the heat, only her long habit of enduring harsh environments kept her going.

“Boss, you know I’m stupid. I can’t think of any other ideas. If this is the correct way, I can try it. If there’s a problem in the middle, I’ll find a way to pull out then.”

Finally, she looked at Zhu Ming. “Boss, do you have any other thoughts?”

Zhu Ming was silent for a moment, then said, “It feels off. As for specific thoughts… I don’t have any concrete ones yet.” A faint flash of inspiration had just flickered through her mind, but she hadn’t caught it. “I just feel that everything is going too smoothly. Smooth to the point of seeming contrived.”

With the mission about to be completed, if Yun Zouchuan backed out now, things would become very troublesome. Miss Zhao stared coldly at her and said, “Miss Zhu, we can tolerate your eccentricities. But isn’t it a bit too much if you keep obstructing us from completing the mission?”

Facing her, Zhu Ming wasn’t polite at all. She instantly put on a mocking smile. “If you’re so eager, why don’t you go? It’d be even safer, after all, you’re an experienced Participant.”

Miss Zhao averted her gaze and said stiffly, “My hair is short.”

Xiao Song, defending her, yelled, “She already agreed. Don’t cause trouble! You wouldn’t be a ghost in disguise, would you? We’re about to finish the mission anyway. If you’re so capable, find your own way to do it.”

Zhu Ming looked at Xiao Song and said coldly, “Short hair, short on insight too.”

All the men present: “…” Isn’t that map cannon a bit too much!

Unable to find a line of reasoning for the moment, and without a legitimate reason to stop them from completing the array—especially since A-Zou was willing—Zhu Ming could only hold back. Of course, if completing the mission were really this simple and smooth, that would be nice. But Zhu Ming still felt something wasn’t quite right. What exactly was it…

The more she rushed, the less she could think. Slap! Zhu Ming smacked the coffee table with the rolled-up papers. She stood up and silently looked around at everyone.

She had doubts and didn’t want to let anyone else off easy. Better that everyone agonize together. So Zhu Ming said, “Old Gao might not have died simply because he went into the pool.”

After dropping that bombshell, she brushed off her clothes and left, leaving behind a room full of question marks.

“What does she mean by that?” Xiao Cheng was dumbfounded.

Xiao Xue thoughtfully stood up and walked toward the public restroom. Xiao Cheng curiously followed her.

There was nothing special there, except the mop basin. It had just been drained the day before. Now, the Drain Plug was back in, and a layer of water had accumulated in the basin again.

As for the others, the less trouble, the better. They were about to finish the mission anyway. Who cared how Old Gao actually died? Maybe he died from opening the door for the Knocking Ghost!