Chapter 8

When Zhu Ming returned to wash up earlier, she had checked over the entire room. Normally, one should check the room first thing after waking, but she had been in a hurry to find food, so she had put it off.

The room wasn’t large, with very few items: 14 bottles of water, 2 packets of crackers, a flashlight, a Cleaning sign, daily toiletries, a small desk and chair, a few clothes hangers, and one set of spare clothes identical to what she was wearing.

In the bathroom were the standard toiletries provided by the hotel—all very common. The only thing worth noting was probably a temporary tattoo sticker left on the sink counter. It was quite large, suitable for sticking on a shoulder or a leg.

Soon, night fell completely. Zhu Ming opened a bottle of water to wet her throat.

In this heat, these bottles of water were just barely enough to keep someone from dying of thirst.

…

Deep into the night.

No chirping insects. No croaking frogs. Not even the hum of electrical appliances.

It was so dark there wasn’t a single sliver of light. The air was stifling and stagnant, making one suspect they were lying inside a giant coffin.

Yun Zouchuan lay with eyes wide open, unable to sleep.

At some late hour that night, a strange sound came from outside. This sound was familiar; she had heard it on the first day, before dawn too.

Clatter-clatter, rumble-rumble, tap tap…

The noise stopped. Then, knock knock—two raps. Moments later, the slow, unhurried, chaotic sounds resumed, growing closer and closer.

Yun Zouchuan crept on tiptoe to the door. She closed her eyes and pricked up her ears, listening silently. As the sound repeated, rhythmic and drawing near, an image gradually formed in her mind.

Someone—or something—face indistinct, was pushing a small cart forward. Tap tap went its footsteps. Rumble-rumble went the cart’s wheels. Clatter-clatter went the sound of metal objects shaking and bumping together…

Closer. Getting closer. Yun Zouchuan could hear it moving past Room 2001, then 2002, 2003, and 2004, with a steady rhythm, until finally… rumble-rumble… it arrived right outside her door.

Her pupils, pale as glacial ice, instantly dilated wide like a cat’s, staring fixedly at the door panel before her.

A familiar, deeply nauseating sense of being coveted—felt so many times before—surged through the door as thick and tangible as a solid object. Something was staring at her through the peephole—cold, slimy, greedy, malevolent.

Yun Zouchuan remained perfectly still. This feeling was too familiar. It was exactly like that faint, spider-web thin, yet persistently clinging, sense of being watched during the day—only now it was far more intense.

Knock knock.

It should move on to Room 2006 now, Yun Zouchuan thought.

Knock knock.

She froze, then heard the knocking sound again at the door, a third time.

Knock knock, knock knock!

Again and again, faster and more urgent, louder and more thunderous.

Outside the door, a single eye was pressed tightly against the peephole, gazing greedily at the prey inside, whose life force was as vital and vigorous as a forest.

…

Room 2001.

Hot.

Old Gao sat in his chair, continuously wiping sweat.

The Knocking Ghost had left. Old Gao finally relaxed. It seemed the ghosts in the dungeon weren’t so difficult to deal with after all.

See? He had even escaped that terrifyingly strong Water Ghost!

Old Gao was exhausted but couldn’t sleep, because the heat was simply unbearable. Not only was it hot, it also stank, bringing on symptoms of heatstroke.

The pool water had been exceptionally filthy, carrying a strong, sour, rotting stench. This smell festered in the closed room, growing heavier and heavier. No matter how he sniffed, it smelled more and more like a highly decomposed corpse was lying right next to him. After his clothes dried, they were wrinkled and damp. Old Gao felt grimy all over, an itch he desperately wanted to scratch right through his skin.

But he didn’t dare open the window to air the room out. He felt as if, in the gaps of the curtains, in the darkness under the bed, in the corner-of-the-eye glance at the TV screen, there hid a pair of eyes secretly spying on him.

Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore. He was finding it hard to breathe, his heart racing. He had never suffered like this in his life, had never been in such a pathetic state.

Old Gao steeled his nerves, grabbed the flashlight, and prepared to wash his neck and face; otherwise, he might pass out from heatstroke.

In the silent, dark bathroom, there was only the sound of water trickling. The flashlight sat on the sink counter, a beam of ghastly white light shining directly at Old Gao. He quickly scooped up a few handfuls of water and splashed them onto his face… Phew. Much cooler.

The man couldn’t help showing a hint of pleased smile. But in the next moment, hands cupped mid-scoop, he didn’t dare move.

Just now.

When he lowered his head to wash his face, out of the corner of his eye, he caught a glimpse of the mirror… Something seemed off.

Old Gao jerked his head up and stared in horror at the mirror. The man in the mirror had a ghastly pale complexion, a strange expression, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted, his gaze sinister.

Was it an illusion? An illusion caused by the light and dark?

The reflection, which should mimic the person’s movements exactly, gently, queerly tilted its head.

Old Gao let out a yell. In a fluster, he splashed water about, hurriedly picked up the flashlight, and shone it directly at the mirror man. But the reflection was not afraid of the light at all. Instead, it began to change more and more rapidly.

The complexion grew paler and paler. The face shape, sideburns, and body type started to shift. Even the hair grew longer and denser. It was actually changing, more and more, into a woman. No! Not a woman—a bloated, rotting, putrid female corpse, its stench matching the foul odor in the room!

Old Gao instinctively touched his own face. Wet, slippery, and soft. It seemed to be transforming along with his reflection.

He began to tremble. He could see ghosts, but he had never seen such a terrifying evil spirit—evil enough to turn him into a corpse! The flashlight slipped from his trembling hand, clicking off in the process by lucky chance. Old Gao quickly picked it up. Just as he was about to turn it on, his eyes glanced at the mirror—he had changed back to normal?

He turned on the flashlight. His reflection began to morph into the female corpse. Turned it off. It reverted to normal.

Old Gao stood in the bathroom, clutching the off flashlight. The joy of encountering a ghost three times in one day yet surviving each time rose to a peak, and he burst out laughing. “So this was another trap, hahaha!”

He understood now. The flashlight was a trap! The ghosts here deliberately gave them flashlights, making them think they’d be safe as long as they had light. Bullshit! They saw a ghost in broad daylight, proving ghosts weren’t afraid of light at all. This flashlight was problematic. Shining it on himself was what summoned the ghost!

Whether from excessive excitement or a psychological break under overwhelming terror, Old Gao tossed the flashlight aside and rushed into the shower stall, eyes red-rimmed.

He was going to shower! Wash away all this stench and foul luck!

He would survive. He would see through all the ghosts’ tricks and survive!

Behind him, the head of Old Gao’s reflection in the mirror moved slightly, slowly turning into a ghastly pale, bloated face.

…

…

The Night of Sacrifice, Day Two. Sunny. Hot.

Zhu Ming rarely woke up so early. She stepped out and saw the living room was completely empty.

That wasn’t right.

She quickened her pace, walking down the corridor toward the stairs at the far left end. She saw that the door to Room 2001 was half-open, and no one was inside. The doors to unoccupied guest rooms would close automatically. No one except the room’s occupant could open that door.

Unless something had happened.

Entering Room 2001, Zhu Ming went to the window and pulled back the curtain, looking down toward the source of the chaotic noise below.

By the trash-filled pool stood the other participants. Their faces were grim or terrified, their gazes uniformly fixed on the swimming pool.

Because floating on the water’s surface was a familiar corpse.

It was Old Gao. Old Gao was dead.

No one knew when he died, but everyone could see the twisted expression on the corpse’s face. His eyes were wide, cracked open, filled with both terror and a kind of denial, as if questioning something, refusing to believe something.

Overnight, just like that, silently dead.

“It’s the pool…” Xiao Song clenched his jaw, his face ashen as he said, “He must have violated a taboo by going into the pool. The female ghost latched onto him, so he died here!”

Old Gao lay eerily quiet, his slightly overweight body submerged in the water, making the pool seem even more crowded.

Although everyone wasn’t close to Old Gao, to see someone alive just yesterday suddenly dead like this stirred a painful sense of empathy. Xiao Cheng glanced at the panicked Xiao Song and muttered, “You’ve got some nerve saying anything…”

Inside the villa, on the second floor.

Zhu Ming leaned against the window, let out a long breath, then turned around, choosing not to look anymore.

Her nose caught the heavy, sour-rotten air. As she walked through the room, she took in the entire scene.

Ten bottles of water left. One pack of crackers. The invitation letter lay on the nightstand, unchanged. There were no signs of a struggle in the room. Zhu Ming walked into the bathroom.

She swiped a finger across the counter—dry. She then looked at the toilet, the showerhead, the floor, and the drain plug.

…The shower stall was dry?

Zhu Ming crouched down and touched the bathroom drain plug. Indeed, it was dry.

Turning her head, she spotted the flashlight that had rolled into the corner under the sink.

…

After viewing the body, the group clamored their way up to Room 2001. Seeing Zhu Ming already waiting there, they were somewhat surprised.

Everyone also inspected Room 2001 and discovered the flashlight.

Old Man Xu picked it up and tried to turn it on, only to find it was dead. With a grave expression, he said, “Strange. What exactly happened? When Old Gao encountered the ghost, he should have turned on the flashlight for defense. Looks like the ghosts here are more terrifying than I imagined, able to drain it until the battery runs out.” Although it seemed their flashlights didn’t have much power to begin with.

“The man is gone. We, the living, still have to carry on with the mission. Let’s divide up the water,” Xiao Cheng said, scratching his head. “Eight people left, ten bottles of water, one pack of crackers. What to do with the extras?”

Xiao Xue proposed gently, “Why not leave them here for now? We can give them out based on who makes the biggest contributions and provides the most intel later. What does everyone think?”

No one objected to this suggestion.

Old Man Xu sighed. “Ah, Old Gao’s death is far too suspicious. Now that we’re all here, why don’t we be forthright and share all the clues we know, to prevent more pointless deaths from happening next?”

Xiao Cheng raised his hand. “I’ll go first!”

He recounted the matter of the metal skewer and the bloodstains by the barbecue. Then he said, “Since the body couldn’t have been dumped in the pool, it must have been buried in the garden or hidden inside the villa! If dumped outside, it could easily be discovered by tourists. There have been cases like that before—wild animals dug up a corpse and tourists found it. I think searching in that direction is the right way.”

Old Man Xu smacked his head. “You’ve said a lot but nothing useful. No contribution. Next.”

Brother Teng said, “While you guys were fishing for the key yesterday, I checked the electrical circuits. All the wiring behind the breaker box has been destroyed, including the cables buried outside the villa. Very hard to fix, and no tools or materials were found.”

This effectively meant flashlights were everyone’s only light source at night.

Old Man Xu nodded. “Good. Anything else?”

Yun Zouchuan said, “A ghost can see into the room through the peephole. And it made a return trip.” This meant one couldn’t let their guard down just because the Knocking Ghost left.

Xiao Xue continued, “Next to the second-floor terrace, there’s a staircase hidden by potted plants. It leads up to the rooftop. There are tables, chairs, plants up there, plus a large vat with a water lily growing in it. The water is clear, the view is nice.”

Xiao Song said fearfully, “You can’t go into the pool! The female ghost will claim your life! That must be why Old Gao died!”

Everyone was speechless. Having just seen Old Gao’s body in the pool, wasn’t that stating the obvious?

Because Miss Zhao had a terrible look on her face and remained silent, everyone skipped her, instinctively looking toward Zhu Ming.

Zhu Ming spread her hands. “The water has a problem. The water in the kitchen, the public bathroom, and the guest rooms all share the same peculiar smell, very similar to the pool water.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, several people felt like retching. Even if they hadn’t touched the pool water, in such heat, many had inevitably come into contact with the other water sources.

Zhu Ming watched their reactions with a smile. “One more thing. Last night—no, I should say, the night before last—a party was held here.”