Nightmare Assault

“The body might be down there,” He told Xia Meng, who was beside him.

…

“Doctor,” Fatty asked when they returned to their room, “Could Shi Liaozhi be the ghost in disguise?”

“I don’t know.”

Fatty looked at Jiang Cheng with confusion. The latter sat at the table and looked out the window. Sensing Fatty’s gaze, Jiang Cheng turned back and, in a rare moment, explained the situation, “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not an encyclopedia. I can’t know everything.” However, he still shared his thoughts, “Temporarily, I see nothing wrong with him. I just can’t figure out how he managed to escape from the ghost.”

“Could it be an item, Doctor?” Fatty asked excitedly, “He had the life-saving white paper!”

Jiang Cheng nodded. “That’s possible.”

“Doctor,” Fatty licked his lips, “Actually, I also think Shi Liaozhi should not be possessed. Think about it. If he were the ghost in disguise, why would he bring us to find the ghost’s body? Why would he help us? Plus,” He continued, “The lake’s water didn’t show any problems with his reflection.”

In his understanding, the ghosts in the missions couldn’t be described. They were like the amalgamation of all the negative elements. They were brutal and cunning. The only thing that limited them was the rule.

Jiang Cheng shook his head. “Those are all circumstantial. They cannot prove Shi Liaozhi’s identity.”

Fatty blinked. Then, he reacted and asked, “Doctor, I don’t understand.”

“Have you seen the body?” Jiang Cheng asked.

Fatty was startled.

“Plus, who told us that the lake could reflect the ghost?” Jiang Cheng continued, “Have you personally verified that?”

Shi Liaozhi gave them the corpse’s location and it was You Qi who told them the lake’s surface could reflect the ghost. None of the other travellers could support their claims.

“Doctor,” Fatty widened his eyes, “Do you think something’s wrong with You Qi?”

“I don’t know about that, but I do know this. If we believe everything he says, there’s no chance we’re leaving this nightmare alive.” Jiang Cheng rolled up his sleeves. Fatty looked brow-beaten because the Doctor was right. He let his guard down.

“Alright.” Jiang Cheng didn’t lecture Fatty. He changed the topic, “After we entered Young Master Huang’s place, what happened outside?”

Fatty nodded. “Doctor, I was about to tell you that.” He became very serious. Before this, Xia Meng had been following them. Now that she was gone, he finally had the chance to say what was on his mind. “The little beggar came to find me again. It was when I was hiding behind the rock to be your guard. Then, he suddenly appeared. It gave me such a fright.”

“Again?” Jiang Cheng frowned.

“Yes.” Fatty nodded. “He even came with the bowl. He directly shoved it at me to demand food. It’s like I owe him or something.”

Jiang Cheng scratched his chin. “He gave us information yesterday. It’s normal for him to ask for rewards.” He asked, “Did he say anything?”

Fatty’s eyes dimmed. He drooped his head. “The kid is quite poor. He can’t speak. He’s mute. Since he couldn’t speak, I thought of drawing his drawing out on the floor to ask him about it,” Fatty continued. “But before I finished, he snatched my pen and finished the painting himself. Then, I pointed at the scratched Huang word…”

“Wait.” Jiang Cheng interrupted, “He drew another painting, and the scratched-out Huang word was still there?!”

“Yes.” Fatty nodded consecutively, “I was confused. Why would he make the same mistake twice? Therefore, I pointed at the scratched-out word. He just shook his head like I was the one who made the mistake.”

Jiang Cheng took out the drawing from yesterday and placed it on the table. The painting had a boat. The boat had three people. The people in front and at the back were rowing the boat. The person in the middle was collected. They believed that it was Young Master Huang. An arrow poked out of the small man’s feet. It connected to a Huang character.

Their focus was on the spot above the little man’s head. There was a blob there. Under the blob was another Huang word.

Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes. Fatty didn’t dare to disturb him. But in the end, he couldn’t stop his curiosity. He whispered, “Doctor, what’s on your mind?”

“Young Master Huang is the man,” Jiang Cheng repeated. Fatty nodded. They had confirmed this before. “But the man is not Young Master Huang,” Jiang Cheng added. Fatty was confused. He looked at Jiang Cheng like he had lost his mind.

Jiang Cheng pointed at the scratched-out Huang and then at the other Huang, “This Huang is not that Huang.” He looked at Fatty and stressed, “This is not a mistake. This is a hint.”

Fatty looked at the painting. Then, his eyes widened in disbelief. “The Young Master Huang on the lake… is Elder Huang?!”

Jiang Cheng nodded.

Instantly, Fatty’s face dropped as sweat poured out of his forehead. This was too ridiculous, but it could explain everything. No wonder the servants didn’t care about Young Master Huang’s symptoms. It explained why the servants cooperated with the act. It was because… Young Master Huang was the owner of the house.

“So… is there no Young Master Huang at all?” Fatty gasped, “It has been Elder Huang all along. He’s the one who is sick!

“Could the dead woman be a girl he forced to marry him? She was unwilling and was murdered by Elder Huang. She became a ghost and came back to haunt his home!” Fatty suddenly felt like he had been given a script of the story. It felt sensible to him.