Chapter 16

The paper ball’s appearance left all surviving participants bewildered.

Its paper quality matched the three sheets, with staple holes along the edge that aligned perfectly with the marks on them. This was the real clue—the one the butler had tampered with and hidden.

“There are nine of us participants. The invitation letter clearly indicated this, meaning the number is correct. There can’t be a ghost among us,” Xiao Cheng stated.

“This paper is meaningless,” Miss Zhao said. “If that formation had ulterior motives, then this earlier clue should also be fake.”

Xiao Xue countered, “Perhaps it’s not entirely false. Maybe it meant there’s someone among us playing the role of a mole. After all… who knows if it was the butler or a participant who hung the cleaning sign on Old Man Xu’s door?”

Perhaps because Zhu Ming had played a pivotal role in obtaining evidence, all eyes turned to her.

But Zhu Ming abruptly turned and ran, beckoning Yun Zouchuan to follow.

Xiao Cheng felt overwhelmed. “You’re all right—it could be a mole, or it could be sowing discord. I’m going back to search the storage room again for more clues.”

Xiao Xue paid him no mind. Watching Zhu Ming dart through the kitchen, the dining room, and the game room, searching fervently, she couldn’t help but smile. But the very next moment, Zhu Ming’s brow furrowed, and she headed outside.

She’d figured out the problem.

This place was neither too big nor too small. It seemed like a single walk around would let you take in everything. In reality, though, plenty of spots hadn’t been personally checked by Zhu Ming.

For example, the second-floor terrace and the third-floor rooftop, as well as the garden outside and the area below the pool.

But luckily, it was only the third day. Realizing the problem now wasn’t too late.

Zhu Ming ran up to the second-floor terrace.

The small villa had seven rooms and a large terrace on the second floor. Due to the structure’s asymmetry, there was a corner bend between 2002 and 2003, with the two leftmost rooms folding backward. Similarly, another corner existed between 2007 and 2006, with 2007 and the terrace also angling backward.

Moreover, to screen the terrace from direct view upon entering, the corridor in front of 2007 and the terrace didn’t use railings like elsewhere but had a full wall extending to the ceiling as a partition.

Visually, this made it easy to overlook certain things.

Arriving at the terrace, Zhu Ming sweated profusely under the blazing sun. She’d been darting all over the place last night, then been rudely awoken in the morning. Still unwashed, drenched in sweat and grime, roasting under this sun, she felt like she was starting to sour.

She found the staircase Xiao Xue mentioned, hidden behind some potted plants, and climbed step by step to the rooftop.

The rooftop also had flowers and plants. The view was expansive, offering a vista of beautiful distant mountain scenery. Were it not for the oppressively bad weather, sitting here for a relaxing break would have been quite pleasant.

In the center of the rooftop was a large vat containing water lilies. The mud had settled at the bottom, leaving the water above remarkably clear. Nearby stood a round table with three wicker chairs, a large parasol providing a small patch of shade.

Zhu Ming approached, her brow furrowing deeper.

Because on the round table sat a teacup. The tea inside was still warm, steeped with two lotus petals. Next to the teacup lay a lighter.

Zhu Ming softly drew a sharp breath.

Three minutes later, everyone knew that hidden within this quiet resort villa was a mysterious tenth person.

All eyes immediately turned to Xiao Song.

There is a ghost among you! The nine participants were the correct number, but if there was an extra person, then didn’t that mean…

Xiao Song was nearly in tears. “Don’t look at me like that! How could I be a ghost? My girlfriend was with me!”

That was also true. Having another person vouch for him meant Xiao Song’s suspicion wasn’t actually that high.

But most people here had someone to mutually verify their whereabouts. Only Xiao Xue had entered alone. Xiao Xue shrugged, saying, “Maybe the tenth person is the real ghost. Why else hide? This is a ghost’s scheme to sow discord.”

Xiao Song nodded rapidly. “Yes, yes! I bet that’s the thing that’s taken over my room. If you don’t believe me, how about this: tonight, everyone pairs up in rooms. Then we’ll see tomorrow if you can still return to your own rooms! Simple, right?”

Xiao Cheng scratched his chin. “Yeah, that’s so easy to test. A ghost wouldn’t be that stupid, would it?”

Zhu Ming looked thoughtfully at the floor beneath her feet. This spot was right above 2007. “Who knows? Maybe the ghost is even dumber than you think. Actually, when it got dark last night, I was observing. Xiao Song, I don’t think I saw you enter Miss Zhao’s room.”

The night before last, she’d seen him get a door shut in his face. She figured last night was probably similar. Zhu Ming hadn’t actually waited until the very last moment to go inside; she’d just been bluffing.

Xiao Song explained pitifully, “That’s because I thought the barrier would be broken by midnight and we’d leave this place. I was scared of being left behind. So when you guys were about to head to the basement, I went to 1004. Miss Zhao figured the dungeon was almost over and no more accidents would happen, so she let me in. Who knew afterwards…”

Being interrogated like this left Xiao Song feeling humiliated and angry. He glanced around, suddenly grabbed the teacup, and smashed it.

Everyone stared at him in surprise. Xiao Song picked up a shard of porcelain and placed it in Miss Zhao’s hand. Turning his head away, he declared tragically, “Since you all think I’m the problem, why not just test it? See if I’m human or a ghost!”

Miss Zhao used the sharp porcelain to make a small cut on Xiao Song’s hand. A bit of blood welled up. Xiao Song squeezed his eyes shut and let out a blood-curdling scream like a slaughtered pig.

Miss Zhao also felt embarrassed. After all, he was her boyfriend. Lowering her voice, she said, “He’s bleeding. That proves he’s human, right?”

No one could bear to watch. Such a big man, making such a huge fuss over such a tiny wound.

Xiao Cheng was utterly disgusted. With Brother Teng and Old Gao dead, Xiao Song was the only male left of comparable age. Yet he had zero goodwill towards him. “I suddenly feel like, whoever the ghost is among us, it can’t be Xiao Song.”

If the ghost were this pathetic, it might as well go home and sell sweet potatoes.

“Can’t we just go knock on door 2007?” A-Zou’s thinking was always more direct.

“What if that’s another trick by the ghosts to kill people? Even if the one inside 2007 is human, not a ghost, the fact that they’ve been hiding and refusing to show themselves means they have their own goals and motives. Simply knocking wouldn’t do much,” Xiao Xue explained. “I’m not going to knock. I’m afraid of triggering a taboo.”

Old Man Xu, who’d been studying the notebook the whole time, interrupted everyone. “Aren’t we all focusing on the wrong thing? Our goal isn’t to distinguish humans from ghosts, but to break the barrier and leave this place. That note might just be a distraction to buy time. To be honest, I think I know how to break the barrier now.”

The group was far more concerned about this than Xiao Song’s situation.

Xiao Cheng asked excitedly, “How do we do it?”

Stroking his chin with a hint of pride, Old Man Xu smiled and explained, “The barrier is indeed generated primarily by the Deity Statue and linked to the formation. But breaking the barrier isn’t limited to just completing the formation. There’s another option: destroy the Deity Statue!”

This was like a splash of cold water that suddenly woke everyone up. Of course! Since the statue and formation created the barrier, destroying them should work!

Old Man Xu added, “Naturally, we can’t just smash it crudely. We need to replace the red candles with white ones, swap all five offerings for items with positive or opposing properties, then, precisely at high noon, insert three incense sticks upside down before breaking the statue. This method is the safest. Directly shattering it might violate a taboo.”

A-Zou glanced at the sky, a look of pleasant surprise on her face. “There’s still time today.”

Xiao Cheng agreed, “Right, right! Let’s gather everything quickly and aim for a one-shot success.”

Things suddenly seemed to fall into place. The white candles were in the storage room, and the required offerings could all be found—the garden here was quite diverse.

Zhu Ming slacked off, going back to shower while everyone else busied themselves. She was curious about who exactly resided in Room 2007, but outsiders couldn’t force the door open, and if the occupant refused to come out, there was nothing to be done.

Furthermore, she believed the resident of 2007 was a participant, not a ghost. It was highly probable that person had shone the light for her the previous night. And that lighter… This individual had always been observing everyone, and had even discovered the formation’s problem earlier than the rest, which was why they removed the lighter.

This person had acted without ever being noticed. Given their intelligence and carefulness, they wouldn’t be careless enough to accidentally expose themselves. The teacup and lighter placed on the table had appeared at precisely the right moment—just as everyone found the paper ball, their whereabouts were revealed. This was actually a signal of goodwill: they were telling everyone not to waste time on them.

So whether it was an internal mole or a genuine ghost, the direction was clear. What was still missing was decisive evidence.

Thinking about how everyone else had been toiling downstairs while this person rested on the rooftop, leisurely brewing lotus petal tea… Zhu Ming felt a tiny bit irritated. But, of course, she also rather admired this person’s remarkable composure.

When Zhu Ming emerged from her shower, the others had just finished gathering the items.

Xiao Song was listless, hanging his head. A tiny cut on his hand and he acted as if he’d contracted a terminal illness, slacking off at every task.

The three incense sticks were the same ones as before. White candles came from the storage room. The offerings were: withered grass, corn poppies, azaleas, peach twigs, and cypress twigs.

Everyone went to the basement. This time, Old Man Xu entered the formation himself. He lit the five white candles, arranged the offerings, stuck the three incense sticks in upside down, and then carefully, solemnly lifted the Deity Statue from the water, holding it high.

Unconsciously, everyone held their breath, eyes fixed intently on the statue, terrified that something unexpected might happen during the process.

Old Man Xu was equally solemn. He took a deep breath and forcefully smashed the statue to the ground.

Smash!

The statue broke into two halves, rolling to the sides. Yet, nothing changed.

Xiao Cheng ran outside to check the barrier, returning moments later. “The barrier is still there!”

Old Man Xu looked aghast. “How can this be? The barrier should be broken!”

“If you don’t believe it, let’s all check together.” Xiao Cheng leaned on his knees, panting. “Really, nothing has changed.”

The group, who had believed they were about to complete the task and escape the dungeon, suddenly felt a bucket of cold water dashed over their heads. For a moment, everyone was disheartened and bewildered.

Everything had been perfectly prepared, so how could it have failed?

Perhaps because she’d witnessed the far worse failure of the formation method, Yun Zouchuan wasn’t very dejected. She stepped forward and picked up half of the broken statue, examining it closely. “It’s plastic.”

As for Zhu Ming, she had vaguely suspected it wouldn’t be so simple. Many mysteries remained unsolved, so she wasn’t particularly disappointed either.

And if today’s attempt failed, they’d have to wait another day. Waiting another day meant she could try and probe that so-called ghost.

Afternoon.

The group, refusing to give up, continued scouring the storage room and basement for new clues. Some even dared to knock on the door of 2007, but received no response.

A busy afternoon yielded little. Night fell early as before. Everyone returned to their rooms, bracing for another harrowing night.

At two in the morning, the butler made his resentful rounds. When he reached Zhu Ming’s door, he pounded heavily several times. Zhu Ming slept soundly, oblivious.

At three in the morning, a sudden, unnatural alertness jolted Zhu Ming awake.

Here it comes again. This dungeon’s illusions weren’t even as immersive as the one she’d encountered at Li Xiuya’s house. Couldn’t they just leave each other alone and get a peaceful night’s sleep?

Zhu Ming sighed, turned over, and closed her eyes, ready to go back to sleep.

But a voice came from outside the door.

It was a voice that often echoed in her dreams, keeping the dark flames in Zhu Ming’s heart burning persistently.

A gentle, melodious female voice spoke from outside the door: “Mingming, where am I? It’s so dark here. Open the door and let me in, okay?”