Nightmare Assault

An Xuan didn’t seem to catch the hidden meaning in Jiang Cheng’s words. He smiled naturally, “Miss Tang is so kind. I’m sure she’ll bless all of us.”

“No. No. She’ll focus on you.” Jiang Cheng retorted, “I’m sure she still remembers your kindness towards her!”

“Mr. Hao, please don’t say that. You are too kind.”

Xia Meng felt a headache coming. She turned around and wanted to get Fatty to stop this meaningless exchange. However, she realised Fatty was enjoying this a little too much. She suddenly understood why Jiang Cheng kept Fatty by his side.

In the end, she couldn’t stand it anymore and interrupted, “Mr. An, what happened to Qin Jian’s corpse?”

“Let… me explain it.” Shi Liaozhi suddenly stood up, “I was having a walk with Miss Zuo and the rest by the lake earlier. We walked past the location where we boarded the boat yesterday. I suddenly remembered what You Qi said.”

Xia Meng looked at him. She believed he was talking about You Qi seeing the ghost in the water’s reflection. “What happened next?” Fatty felt compelled to ask. He was not interested in Shi Liaozhi, but he wanted to know how the corpse was found. After all, this was another clue.

“Then… I went closer to the lake and looked down…” At this point, he started to shiver again, “And… I saw him kneeling at the bottom. His skinless hands grabbed the edge and looked at me with his face raised!” Shi Liaozhi’s lips trembled from fear. He discovered a person without skin hiding in the water, suddenly staring at him with his bulging eyes. However, that was not the scariest. The thing that cracked Shi Liaozhi was… why he was the one who discovered the body.

Qin Jian’s body was stashed there, and everyone could have discovered it. Why would he be struck by the sudden fancy to take a glance?

The thing that happened the night before… the painting… He had been targeted by the ghost. If he didn’t find a solution soon, he’d be the next to die.

“Your situation is very dangerous,” Xia Meng was direct. She shrugged, “You’ll be the next to die.” Even though it was harsh, it was the truth. Other than quickening breathing, Shi Liaozhi didn’t respond in any other way. He stared at Xia Meng, waiting for her to continue.

“You saw the building in the painting, right? There has to be a clue there.” Xia Meng said, “There should be another play tonight. This might be your last chance.”

Shi Liaozhi gritted his teeth. He knew Xia Meng was right, but he was unwilling to be used like that. “You want me to risk my life to search the place for you.”

“You make it sound so serious.”

Shi Liaozhi scoffed. At this moment, he was too lazy to keep up the pretence. He forced out the voice from his throat, “Young Master Huang’s place might not be safer than the play. You won’t trick me that easily.” Shi Liaozhi knew that he had no other choice. However, he still wished to fight for more benefits, like getting someone to accompany him…

“I’ll go with you.” A hand landed on Shi Liaozhi’s shoulder. The latter turned around and was greeted by Jiang Cheng’s handsome face.

“You?” Shi Liaozhi was startled.

“And me.” An Xuan patted Shi Liaozhi’s other shoulder. He said with determination, “I’ll go with you too, Mr. Shi.” He looked at Shi Liaozhi and Jiang Cheng. He paused before adding seriously, “I worry about the two of you.”

“Tsk.” Jiang Cheng scanned An Xuan with derision. Then, he darkly told Shi Liaozhi, “Brother Shi, you need to be careful. The last person Mr. An was worried about is already in the heavens now.”

However, from Shi Liaozhi’s perspective, he still hoped that people would accompany him to share the risk… even though he knew neither of them had good intentions. After all, this mission was quite busy. First, they had to focus on how to deal with the servants at the Huang Residence. Butler Zhou and the middle-aged woman clearly acted strangely.

They returned to the group. After a quick discussion, it was decided that Shi Liaozhi, Jiang Cheng and An Xuan would go to Young Master Huang’s home. The others would provide background support.

They would rest in the afternoon and then split up for investigation. After lunch, when the sun was at its pinnacle, Shi Liaozhi’s group went close to Young Master Huang’s place. They hid in a lush bush. They watched the movement in the building through the gaps. The place was silent. The door was closed like there was no one inside. Shi Liaozhi knew that he was the one being selected by the ghost. Therefore, he was the scout. The other two were merely there to steal the credit.

They didn’t choose the door. Shi Liaozhi silently opened a window. After realising there was nothing wrong, he skipped over the window.

“Brother An,” Jiang Cheng whispered to An Xuan beside him, “You should use another window. We’ll surprise Young Master Huang.”

An Xuan pretended not to hear him. Half a minute later, An Xuan and Jiang Cheng jumped in the same window. After they landed, the two of them immediately parted from each other. They were wary of each other. They had been to the first floor before. It was rather small. The place was filled with costumes. However, the ones that remained were incomplete. They walked past a few clothes racks. The catching red costume was placed in the middle.

Even in the dim lighting, the costume was as red as blood. Its colour felt like blood rolling before their eyes.

Shi Liaozhi tried his best to survive. He went up the stairs before the other two. He looked around and came back down. “There’s no one up here.” He whispered, “Young Master Huang is not around.”

An Xuan glanced at him.

“Do… you want to come up here?” Shi Liaozhi swallowed nervously, “There’s… something strange up here.”

The last time, Jiang Cheng slipped away after staying up there for less than ten seconds.

Young Master Huang’s room was decorated with a lot of antiques. There was a vanity table with a lot of Opera accessories.

The carved wooden bed was like an art piece. There was a gauze curtain around it. The bed was empty except for a mandarin blanket and a black pillow.