Chapter 8 Night of Sacrifice (4)
While showering, Zhu Ming had thoroughly inspected her room. Normally, she would have done this immediately after waking, but she had been too focused on finding food.
The room was small and sparsely furnished: fourteen bottles of water, two packs of biscuits, a flashlight, a cleaning schedule, toiletries, a small table and chairs, a few hangers, and a set of clothes identical to the ones she was wearing.
The bathroom contained standard hotel toiletries. The only item of note was a large temporary tattoo on the sink, suitable for applying to a shoulder or leg.
Darkness quickly enveloped the villa. Zhu Ming opened a bottle of water and took a sip.
The heat was oppressive, and the water provided only minimal relief from the thirst.
…
Night deepened.
There were no insects chirping, no frogs croaking, not even the hum of appliances.
The darkness was absolute, the air thick and stagnant, making it feel as if she were trapped inside a giant coffin.
Yun Zouchuan lay awake, staring into the darkness.
At some point in the night, a strange sound reached her ears, a sound she had heard before, just before dawn on the first day.
A rattling, a rumbling, a rhythmic tapping…
The sound stopped, followed by two knocks, then resumed, slowly, erratically, drawing closer.
Yun Zouchuan tiptoed to the door, pressing her ear against it, listening intently. As the sound approached, a picture formed in her mind.
Someone, or something, was pushing a cart. The tapping was their footsteps, the rumbling the wheels of the cart, the rattling the sound of metal clanging together…
Closer, closer… Yun Zouchuan could hear the rhythmic progression from 2001, past 2002, 2003, and 2004, until finally… it stopped outside her door, 2005.
Her pale eyes widened, like a cat’s, fixed on the door.
A familiar, sickening sense of being watched, thick and palpable, pressed against her through the wood. Something was looking at her through the peephole—cold, slimy, malevolent.
Yun Zouchuan remained motionless. The feeling was all too familiar, like the faint, persistent sensation of being observed she had felt during the day, only now it was much stronger.
Knock, knock.
It should be moving on to 2006, she thought.
Knock, knock.
She froze, hearing a third knock.
Knock, knock, knock, knock!
The knocking continued, faster, more insistent, more jarring.
Outside, an eye pressed against the peephole, gazing greedily at the vibrant, forest-like prey within.
…
Room 2001.
It was hot.
Lao Gao sat in a chair, wiping sweat from his brow.
The knocking ghost had moved on. He finally relaxed. The ghosts here didn’t seem so difficult to deal with after all.
He had even escaped that terrifying water ghost!
He was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. The heat was stifling, and a foul odor permeated the room, making him feel nauseous.
The pool water had reeked of decay, and now the smell lingered in his room, growing stronger, like a rotting corpse lying beside him. His clothes, dry now, were wrinkled and damp. He felt grimy, wanting to claw at his skin.
He didn’t dare open the window. He imagined eyes watching him from the gaps in the curtains, from the darkness under the bed, from the reflection in the TV screen.
Finally, he couldn’t take it anymore. He felt his breath growing short, his heart racing. He had never felt so miserable, so wretched.
He grabbed his flashlight, intending to wash his face and neck. He was afraid he would pass out from heatstroke.
In the silent darkness of the bathroom, only the trickle of water could be heard. He placed the flashlight on the sink, the beam illuminating him as he splashed water on his face… Ah, much better.
A smile touched his lips, then froze.
Just now, as he had bent down to wash his face, he had caught a glimpse of his reflection… something wasn’t right.
He looked up sharply at the mirror. The man staring back at him was pale, his expression strange, the corners of his mouth slightly upturned, his eyes dark.
Was it an illusion? A trick of the light and shadows?
The reflection, which should have mirrored his movements, tilted its head slightly, unnaturally.
Lao Gao yelled, splashing more water on his face, and grabbed the flashlight, shining it on the mirror. The reflection, unafraid of the light, began to change rapidly.
Its skin grew paler, its face, hair, and body shifting, the hair growing longer and thicker. It was becoming more… feminine. No, not feminine. Bloated, decaying, mirroring the stench in the room… a female corpse!
Lao Gao instinctively touched his own face. It felt wet and soft, as if it were transforming along with his reflection.
He trembled. He could see ghosts, but he had never seen one so terrifying, so malevolent that it could transform him into a corpse! The flashlight slipped from his shaking hand, hitting the switch and turning off. He fumbled for it, and as he did, he glanced at the mirror—he was back to normal?
He turned the flashlight on. His reflection began to morph into the female corpse. He turned it off. He was normal again.
Lao Gao stood in the bathroom, clutching the flashlight, a wave of exhilaration washing over him. He had encountered three ghosts in one day and survived! He burst out laughing. “So that’s the trick!”
He understood. The flashlight was a trap. The ghosts had deliberately provided them with flashlights, making them think they were safe as long as they had light. Nonsense! He had seen ghosts in broad daylight. They weren’t afraid of the light. The flashlight was the problem. Shining it on himself attracted the ghosts!
Whether from overexcitement or a complete breakdown of his mental defenses, Lao Gao threw the flashlight aside and stumbled into the shower.
He needed to wash, to cleanse himself of the stench and filth!
He would survive. He would see through all their tricks and survive!
Behind him, the reflection in the mirror moved its head, slowly turning to reveal a pale, bloated face.
…
…
The second day of the Night of Sacrifice dawned bright and hot.
Zhu Ming woke up early, surprised to find the living room empty.
Something wasn’t right.
She hurried through the hallway towards the staircase on the left and noticed that the door to 2001 was ajar. The room was empty. Unoccupied rooms locked automatically. No one but the guest could open the door.
Unless something had happened.
Entering 2001, she went to the window, pulled back the curtains, and looked down at the source of the commotion.
The other participants were gathered by the trash-filled pool, their faces grim and fearful, staring at something in the water.
A familiar body floated on the surface.
It was Lao Gao. Lao Gao was dead.
No one knew when he had died, but they could all see the contorted expression on his face, his eyes wide with terror and disbelief.
He had died silently in the night.
“It’s the pool…” Xiao Song whimpered, his face pale. “It must be because he went into the pool. He broke a taboo and was taken by the water ghost!”
Lao Gao’s body floated motionless, his slightly plump form making the pool seem even more crowded.
While they hadn’t known him well, his sudden death was a stark reminder of their own mortality. Xiao Cheng glanced at the distraught Xiao Song, muttering, “He has the nerve to say that…”
Upstairs, Zhu Ming leaned against the windowsill, sighing. She turned away from the grim scene.
The air in her room was thick with the same sour, decaying smell. She scanned the room as she walked.
Ten bottles of water, one pack of biscuits. The invitation lay on the nightstand, unchanged. There were no signs of a struggle. She entered the bathroom.
She ran her hand over the countertop. It was dry. She checked the toilet, the showerhead, the floor, the drain.
…The bathroom was dry?
She knelt down, touching the drain stopper. It was dry.
She turned and saw the flashlight lying on the floor in the corner under the sink.
…
Having viewed the body, the others trooped into 2001, surprised to find Zhu Ming already there.
They examined the room, finding the flashlight.
Old Xu picked it up and switched it on. It was dead. His expression was grave. “Strange. What happened? Lao Gao must have used the flashlight to defend himself. It seems the ghost here is more powerful than I thought, able to drain the battery completely.” Though, he thought, the flashlights hadn’t seemed very powerful to begin with.
“He’s gone. Those of us who are still alive need to focus on the mission. Let’s divide the water,” Xiao Cheng suggested. “There are eight of us left, ten bottles of water, and one pack of biscuits. What should we do with the extra?”
Xiao Xue offered gently, “Why don’t we leave them here for now? We can give them to whoever contributes the most or provides the most useful information.”
Everyone agreed.
Old Xu sighed. “Lao Gao’s death is suspicious. Now that we’re all here, let’s be honest and share any clues we have, so we don’t lose anyone else.”
Xiao Cheng raised his hand. “I’ll go first!”
He recounted the skewer, the bloodstains by the grill, and his theory. “Since the body wasn’t dumped in the pool, it must be buried in the garden or hidden somewhere in the villa! If it were outside, a hiker might find it. There have been cases where animals dug up bodies. I think we should search in that direction.”
Old Xu smacked him on the head. “That’s useless. No contribution. Next.”
Teng Ge spoke up. “While you were trying to get the key yesterday, I checked the electrical system. The wiring behind the breaker box is completely destroyed, including the underground lines outside. It would be difficult to repair, and we don’t have any tools or materials.”
That meant the flashlights were their only source of light at night.
Old Xu nodded. “Good. Anything else?”
Yun Zouchuan said, “The ghost can see inside the rooms through the peepholes. And it made multiple passes.” Meaning they couldn’t let their guard down even after the knocking ghost had left.
Xiao Xue added, “There’s a staircase to the roof, hidden behind some potted plants on the second-floor terrace. There are tables, chairs, flowers, and a large urn with water lilies. The water is clean, and the view is nice.”
Xiao Song shuddered. “We can’t go in the pool. The water ghost will get us. That’s how Lao Gao died!”
Everyone rolled their eyes. They had just seen Lao Gao’s body in the pool. That wasn’t exactly a revelation.
Miss Zhao, still pale and silent, was skipped over. All eyes turned to Zhu Ming.
Zhu Ming shrugged. “The water is contaminated. The water in the kitchen, the bathroom, and the guest rooms all have the same strange smell, similar to the pool.”
A wave of nausea swept over the group. Even if they hadn’t touched the pool water, they had all used the other water sources in the sweltering heat.
Zhu Ming smiled at their reactions. “One more thing. Last night—or rather, the night before last—there was a party here.”
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