Chapter 7 Night of Sacrifice (3)
The rope tightened. Those on shore stared in horror at what was behind Lao Gao.
Something was wrong!
Lao Gao’s heart leaped into his throat. He broke the surface, paddling frantically towards the edge. With the rope, he should have been able to reach safety quickly, but a powerful force wrapped around his legs and torso, pulling him back.
He glanced back and nearly lost control of his bladder. Thick strands of black hair, like animate seaweed, rose from the depths, coiling around him.
Even worse, two pale, swollen arms emerged from the swirling mass of hair. The memory of their cold, slimy touch against his neck made his skin crawl.
“That key must be important!” Xiao Song exclaimed, his eyes gleaming. “Throw it to us!”
Lao Gao wasn’t stupid. “Save me first, or I’ll throw the key back in! Pull harder! Hurry!”
Xiao Cheng and Old Xu, flanking the skinny Xiao Song, heaved on the rope, engaged in a tug-of-war with the unseen entity in the pool. The force pulling against them was terrifyingly strong. Lao Gao, despite being close to the edge, couldn’t be pulled any further. He began to sink, slowly, inch by inch.
The bloated arms in the water rose higher, and a horrifying figure seemed to be taking shape within the swirling black hair.
Seeing the terror on Lao Gao’s face, his hand reaching out desperately, Xiao Song made a ruthless decision. He snatched the key from Lao Gao’s grasp. Wet and slippery, the key easily slipped from Lao Gao’s hand.
Focused on securing the key, Xiao Song released the rope. Lao Gao screamed, his eyes filled with hatred. “You’ll die a horrible death!”
Xiao Cheng and Old Xu, still pulling on the now-slack rope, tumbled backward.
Lao Gao was filled with despair. He couldn’t fight the force dragging him down. He was going to drown!
Suddenly, a tanned hand reached out, gripping his wrist. A powerful force pulled him back towards the surface. Tears streamed down Lao Gao’s face, relief washing over him. Through blurry eyes, he saw his rescuer: the short girl with the thick braid!
Yun Zouchuan, half-kneeling, half-crouching at the edge of the pool, held his wrist with one hand and gripped the pool steps with the other, her face strained with effort.
“A little higher!” Zhu Ming called, holding the metal skewer. Yun Zouchuan pulled Lao Gao up a bit further.
The ghastly white, bloated arms, like rotting flesh, reached the surface, tightening around Lao Gao’s waist, nearly crushing him. Zhu Ming’s hand moved swiftly, plunging the skewer deep into one of the pale arms.
Like a hot knife through butter, the skewer met no resistance. The arm jerked, and the mass of black hair, spreading across the pool, began to churn violently.
The dark hair swirled with the murky water, churning up debris and decaying clothes. A shocking red, like blood, flickered beneath the surface.
A pair of malevolent eyes appeared amidst the hair, fixing on Zhu Ming with pure hatred.
Zhu Ming tilted her head, aiming the skewer at the eyes. The creature, with its enviable volume of hair, recoiled and retreated.
Lao Gao felt the pressure release. In the next second, he was hauled onto the deck. Yun Zouchuan let go of him, shaking her hand, and walked away.
Zhu Ming held up the skewer. The tip was wet and black, not like blood. A foul-smelling, murky liquid dripped from it.
Having swallowed a considerable amount of pool water, Lao Gao coughed and retched, then turned on Xiao Song, his eyes blazing. “You bastard! You son of a bitch!”
Pinned beneath Lao Gao, Xiao Song protested, “It was an accident! My hand slipped! It slipped!”
“Bullshit! You weren’t even trying! You were afraid I’d drag you down with me!”
They grappled and yelled, a chaotic tangle of limbs. Xiao Cheng tried to intervene, but Old Xu held him back. “Let them settle their scores.”
While the situation had been dire, Xiao Song’s actions were reprehensible.
Miss Zhao watched the fight with a grim expression, silent and furious.
Zhu Ming, splashed with pool water, turned away from the brawl, disgusted. She tossed the dirty skewer aside and returned to the table to play with the ants.
Xiao Cheng, no longer attempting to break up the fight, wandered over to Zhu Ming. He was curious about the skewer.
He had examined the skewers earlier. They were ordinary, incapable of harming ghosts. And everyone’s abilities were suppressed, including Zhu Ming’s. So it couldn’t have been her power.
Then how had she done it?
He squatted beside her. “What’s your name? I wanted to ask how you did that just now.”
“Zhu Ming.” Having flipped an ant onto its back, Zhu Ming looked up, satisfied, and held out her hand. “Tuition fee.”
Xiao Cheng patted his empty pockets. “Could I ask what your mission is?”
“Descend the mountain.”
Xiao Cheng’s eyes lit up. “Since we have the same mission, why don’t we cooperate? Miss Zhu, is this your first time in an instance? You might not know this, but the missions are usually related to hidden clues within the instance. The mission is to descend the mountain, but we’re trapped by a barrier. We need to figure out why the barrier is here and how to break it. There will definitely be ghost attacks along the way. If you know how to harm them, wouldn’t it be better to share that information?”
Zhu Ming raised an eyebrow. “What’s your ability?”
It was a personal question, but given the suppression of abilities and the lack of player-versus-player combat in this instance, Xiao Cheng answered, “My ability is simple. It’s similar to what we’re facing now: barriers.”
“Sounds somewhat useful,” Zhu Ming assessed coldly. “How about this? I’ll tell you what I know, and you’ll owe me a favor. You also have to tell me what you know.”
“Nothing illegal or immoral,” Xiao Cheng stipulated.
Zhu Ming: “…”
Xiao Cheng: “?? Why are you silent?”
Zhu Ming pointed the skewer at the patch of weeds and ants between the tiles. “Pay attention to this.”
Xiao Cheng, his eyesight weakened from too many late-night gaming sessions, squinted. Just as he was about to lean closer, someone else beat him to it.
Xiao Xue knelt down, rubbing her fingertip against the dark stain and sniffing it. “It’s blood.”
Xiao Cheng’s face paled. He now noticed that the stains on several nearby tiles were darker than the others. Even the wooden deck had some dark, unremovable marks. And there were so many ants… drawn to the blood.
Zhu Ming smiled, satisfied. She wouldn’t have to explain.
Xiao Xue glanced at the clean skewer, her eyes flickering. “Something happened here.” She just didn’t know how serious it was.
Xiao Cheng gasped. “I get it! A ghost was stabbed with a skewer, then dumped in the pool. A skewer stained with her blood would be seen as the murder weapon. Many ghosts are afraid of the weapon that killed them, so that’s why it worked. That’s why Old Xu and I couldn’t find any signs of a body or blood in the garden.”
As soon as he finished speaking, he noticed Zhu Ming and Xiao Xue looking at him with the same expression… the look one gives an idiot.
“Am I wrong? Dumping the body in the pool would make it look like an accidental drowning, and the killer would get away with it!”
Zhu Ming stood up, tossing the skewer back into the container. “We should check the basement. There are still some things we need to figure out. As for the skewer…”
She chuckled darkly. “I used a few other methods. That’s a secret for now.”
The heat intensified, and everyone was drenched in sweat. Zhu Ming felt herself starting to wilt. She couldn’t take it anymore. She needed a shower!
Xiao Cheng stared at the bloodstains, finally understanding.
The amount of blood wasn’t enough to cause death by blood loss in an adult. The skewer was thin and long, meaning it must have struck a vital point. To fake a drowning, the killer would have had to remove the skewer, and with the body so fresh, there would have been more blood. Also, a fatal wound, even a small one, would be noticeable upon examination.
So the idea of staging a drowning after a stabbing at the barbecue grill didn’t hold up.
A sense of relief washed over Xiao Cheng, quickly replaced by another question.
Zhu Ming had said she used other methods on the skewer. But everyone’s abilities were suppressed. What methods had she used?
…
By the pool.
Xiao Song finally broke free from Lao Gao’s grip. “You’re not dead, so what’s the big deal? It’s almost dark. Are we going to the basement or not?”
“I see your true colors now. I’m lucky to be alive. If this keeps up, you’ll get us all killed!” Lao Gao’s hand trembled as he pointed at Xiao Song. “Bastard!”
Xiao Song’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t respond.
The key was important, and they needed to investigate the basement. Lao Gao reluctantly agreed, still grumbling. “My pants are almost ripped, and my watch is waterlogged! That cost me 20,000 yuan!”
He tugged at his wrinkled clothes, lamenting his disheveled appearance.
They headed towards the basement, Lao Gao clutching the key he had risked his life for. Passing the grill, each person grabbed a skewer for protection, mimicking Zhu Ming’s method, even though they didn’t understand how it worked.
Miss Zhao, ever observant, noticed Xiao Cheng’s earlier conversation with Zhu Ming and hung back to ask him about it.
Zhu Ming, freshly showered and changed, her hair still damp, caught up with them. Yun Zouchuan, who had disappeared at some point, reappeared as well.
Lao Gao’s attitude towards them had softened considerably. He managed a weak smile and thanked them.
Zhu Ming looked him over. “I suggest you take a shower, preferably before nightfall.”
Lao Gao hesitated, unsure whether to prioritize showering or the basement.
Zhu Ming didn’t press the issue. His choices and their consequences were his own.
But before they reached the basement door, they watched in disbelief as the sun began to set at an alarmingly rapid pace. At this rate, it would be completely dark in three minutes!
“Damn it! Everyone back to your rooms!” Old Xu yelled, sprinting towards the villa. “Night is the realm of ghosts. Our rooms are relatively safe. We need to hide!”
Those on the first floor reached their rooms quickly. Miss Zhao, in room 1004, stood just inside her doorway. Xiao Song, still outside, pleaded, “Let me stay with you! It’s safer with two people.”
Miss Zhao’s lips tightened, her stiff posture betraying her reluctance. “We don’t know what will happen if we switch rooms. Please don’t be childish.” She slammed the door shut.
The rapid sunset had panicked everyone. Zhu Ming and Yun Zouchuan headed for their rooms, 2004 and 2005, next door to each other. Zhu Ming tried Yun Zouchuan’s door. It was locked. Hers opened easily.
Before entering, Yun Zouchuan said, “Someone was watching me.” She had slipped away earlier to try and pinpoint the source of the unsettling gaze she had felt.
Zhu Ming was surprised. “Weren’t they watching me?”
All day, she had felt the strange sensation of being watched. She had assumed Yun Zouchuan’s earlier departure was a display of unspoken teamwork, that she had gone to find the peeper.
But Yun Zouchuan had been looking for her own watcher.
They stared at each other, each thinking the other was overly self-important, and then entered their respective rooms.
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