Chapter 18 Night of Sacrifice (14)
…
5:57 a.m.
Zhu Ming stood in the living room and turned off her flashlight.
Dawn was approaching, but the sun hadn’t fully risen yet. A faint light filtered through the windows, dispelling the pure darkness and casting long shadows. Xiao Song entered the living room, humming softly.
Then he stopped abruptly.
A figure stood silently in the dim light.
He saw her at the same moment she saw him.
5:59 a.m. The darkness continued to recede as the sun climbed higher, its warmth intensifying. Zhu Ming’s shadow stretched across the floor.
She smiled brightly. “Found you.”
She raised the cleaver she had been hiding behind her and swung it down towards Xiao Song.
The blade, sharp and clean, freshly taken from the kitchen, glinted in the sudden burst of sunlight at 6 a.m.
Xiao Song yelped, jumping back and turning to flee.
His scream echoed through the villa. “Help! Murder! Help!”
As Zhu Ming tackled him to the floor, the door to 1004 opened. Miss Zhao, her hair uncombed, stared at Zhu Ming in horror. “What are you doing?!”
Zhu Ming smiled at her, the cleaver pressed against Xiao Song’s neck.
Blood trickled down his neck, staining his collar. He trembled, afraid to move.
“Miss Zhao,” Zhu Ming said, “you don’t mind if I kill a ghost, do you?”
Xiao Song stared at her, incredulous. “I’m a ghost? How is that possible?! What’s going on…?”
The commotion drew the others out of their rooms. They rushed into the living room, drawn by the screams, and saw Zhu Ming holding Xiao Song at knifepoint.
Xiao Cheng, confused, tried to intervene. “Calm down! Let’s talk this out!”
Yun Zouchuan, reacting quickly, jumped down the stairs and stood beside Zhu Ming, instinctively taking her side.
Old Xu and Xiao Xue remained silent, waiting for an explanation.
Xiao Song shuddered. “I understand now! You’re the ghost! I was tricked into opening my door last night. Xiao Zhao used a protective charm to block the first attack, and I ran out so she wouldn’t be hurt. Luckily, I was fast enough, and the housekeeper couldn’t catch me. It gave up when I ran outside. I didn’t dare go back, afraid it was waiting for me, so I hid outside. My flashlight died, and I thought I was done for, but then the sun came up! I was so relieved! And now you’re trying to kill me!”
“Is there some kind of misunderstanding?” Xiao Cheng asked. “I was with Old Xu last night. My door wouldn’t open.”
Zhu Ming ignored them, her gaze fixed on Xiao Song. His body was warm, his heart beating, his breath coming in ragged gasps. He was bleeding. But what did that prove?
“You said you stayed outside until dawn,” she said. “Where’s your flashlight?”
Xiao Song looked at Miss Zhao pleadingly. “Baby, help me find it! I remember leaving it near the azaleas in the garden. If you find it, it’ll prove I’m not a ghost!”
Miss Zhao didn’t move. Her face pale, she looked at Zhu Ming, her voice accusing.
“Zhu Ming, are you the housekeeper? Why else would you be waiting for him inside the villa? You said Teng Ge would be the next to die, and he did. You knew the food in the refrigerator wasn’t poisoned. You were able to enter the housekeeper’s room last night, and you refused to destroy your cleaning sign…”
She listed Zhu Ming’s suspicious actions. In this chaotic situation, it was natural for her to trust her boyfriend.
Zhu Ming’s lips curled into a smile. “Nine rooms, nine participants. Isn’t Xiao Song suspicious enough? If you truly believe he’s not a ghost, then do you dare let him into your room?”
Miss Zhao’s head snapped up. “He was in my room last night! What more proof do you need?”
“Did anyone see him enter?” Seeing their desperation, Zhu Ming felt a surge of calm. “Teng Ge, who lived next door to you, is dead. There’s a hallway blocking the view. Unless someone was leaning over the railing, no one could have seen Xiao Song enter 1004. I thought it was strange from the beginning, but you provided him with an alibi, and the others were also suspicious, so I couldn’t be sure.”
She pressed the cleaver harder against Xiao Song’s neck, her eyes darkening. “It would be rather embarrassing to kill the wrong person. You can’t hide it anymore. The appearance of the tenth person proves there’s a ghost among us. But what makes you think there’s only one ghost? Perhaps it has an accomplice, Miss Zhao.”
From the very first day, Zhu Ming had felt as if someone was manipulating events.
She had suspected a traitor among them: Xiao Song, Miss Zhao, even Old Xu.
Xiao Song was the most suspicious. He had found the key but couldn’t swim. He had also been the first to find the crucial clue in the basement: the three pages.
But Miss Zhao was too strange. She and Xiao Song were supposedly a couple, but their interactions didn’t reflect that.
They had secrets. And Miss Zhao had repeatedly refused to let Xiao Song into her room. That morning, after finding Lao Gao’s body, a thought had struck Zhu Ming.
Perhaps it wasn’t a traitor among them, but a real ghost!
But she couldn’t be sure who it was. There were too many uncertainties, and others besides Xiao Song and Miss Zhao were also suspicious. And she lacked concrete evidence.
Lao Gao’s death had given her an opportunity. She had set a trap, just in case.
And then, yesterday, Xiao Song had conveniently moved into 1004 the night before they were supposed to destroy the cleaning signs, giving him a plausible reason for not being able to open the door to 2007.
With the appearance of the tenth person and the note from the storage room, Zhu Ming was almost certain Xiao Song was the ghost. And her probing of Miss Zhao had revealed a flaw in her earlier thinking. There wasn’t just a ghost among them, but also an accomplice covering for it!
There were still many unanswered questions. Why hadn’t the tenth person revealed themselves? Why hadn’t the ghost provided all the clues at once, leading them directly to the ritual…?
But the trap was set. If these two fell for it, it would prove their guilt!
And… the accomplice wouldn’t be helping the ghost without expecting something in return.
Zhu Ming’s eyes narrowed, a challenging glint in them. “Xiao Song has already stayed in your room for two nights. It shouldn’t be a problem for him to enter again, in front of everyone, right? Or are you afraid to let him in because you have something to hide?”
They both knew the truth, but neither could back down now.
When Miss Zhao stepped aside, clearing the doorway, Zhu Ming knew. Never sympathize with your enemy, especially when they’re willing to sacrifice others.
She shoved Xiao Song into the room. “You invited him in yourself.”
Miss Zhao clenched her fists. “Enough! Are you satisfied? What about you? What proof do you have that you’re not the ghost?”
Zhu Ming pulled Xiao Song back out and stepped on his chest. “What does that have to do with me? Don’t forget, you still have one more thing to do—show us your flashlights. I doubt a ghost needs a flashlight. Xiao Song must have had his with him when he went to your room last night. Show them to us, and it’ll prove you’re both human.”
Following Zhu Ming’s instructions would put them at a disadvantage, but… if they could prove their innocence, then Zhu Ming would become the prime suspect! This was her plan backfiring spectacularly. If she was forcing their hand, then they would be ruthless.
A dark glint flickered in Miss Zhao’s eyes. “Fine,” she said, and ran to the garden to retrieve the flashlight Xiao Song had mentioned.
She returned a few minutes later, flashlight in hand. To prove it wasn’t a fake, she also retrieved her own flashlight.
Holding both flashlights, she declared, “Everyone see this? Xiao Song and I are both participants! You’re the ghost, Zhu Ming!”
Zhu Ming held up her own flashlight. “Here’s mine.”
Miss Zhao suddenly realized something.
For some reason, she had been waking up before dawn every day, filled with unease. She needed to be aware of her surroundings. So when she heard footsteps outside her door before sunrise, she had looked through the peephole.
She had seen a figure sitting on the sofa. It was Zhu Ming. Her flashlight beam had been very dim and had gone out before dawn!
Miss Zhao, a clever woman, immediately grasped the key point. “How do we know that’s your flashlight? Maybe you took it from Lao Gao. His was dead. Don’t tell me yours is dead too. Turn it on and let us see!”
“Sure,” Zhu Ming said, and turned on her flashlight. A dim light appeared.
Miss Zhao froze.
Zhu Ming smiled. “Well, Miss Zhao? My flashlight works. That proves it’s mine, right?”
A bead of sweat trickled down Miss Zhao’s forehead. She stared at Zhu Ming, a wave of fear washing over her… Zhu Ming’s flashlight hadn’t died. She had turned it off herself. How? Wasn’t she afraid of what might happen in that brief moment of darkness?
Miss Zhao realized something. This woman had come prepared. She had planned everything, including Miss Zhao’s reactions. In that case… she couldn’t play by Zhu Ming’s rules!
A sense of foreboding filled her. Looking at Zhu Ming’s mocking smile, she knew there had to be another layer to this trap.
What should she do? They had both proven they had flashlights. What other tricks did Zhu Ming have up her sleeve?
No, it didn’t matter. She couldn’t react defensively. She had to interrupt, to disrupt Zhu Ming’s plan!
She gave Xiao Song a look, and he suddenly burst into tears, thrashing on the floor. “Just kill me already! We both have flashlights! We’re both human! The ghost is in 2007! You’re being unreasonable! Even if you’re not the ghost, you’re a traitor! Just kill me!”
Zhu Ming wasn’t fooled. She grabbed Xiao Song’s hair and slammed his head against the floor. “Shut up.”
Xiao Song’s head swam, and he bit his tongue, unable to speak.
Zhu Ming continued calmly, “Kill you? Why would I do that? You have a heartbeat, you breathe, you’re warm. You’re such a good imitation of a human. Killing you would only make me more suspicious. I’m so weak. I wouldn’t stand a chance against all of you. And there’s no rush. We’re not finished yet.”
Damn her! Miss Zhao instinctively took a step back.
This woman was not only cunning but also ruthless. She couldn’t pretend to ignore this anymore. How could a girlfriend stand by and watch her boyfriend being abused?
There was no turning back now. Everyone was watching. If she showed any hesitation, if she refused Zhu Ming’s demands, she and Xiao Song would lose everyone’s trust. They would be trapped…
Zhu Ming didn’t give her time to think. Her eyes narrowed, her voice a mixture of casualness and malice. “Miss Zhao, you reminded me. How do we know where your flashlights came from? Now, it’s your turn to turn them on.”
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