During the meal, Yashu skillfully probed the butler about the owner of the house:
-"Um... won't the lady of the house be joining us for dinner? We really wanted to thank her in person for giving us shelter on such a rainy night."
At the mention of the mistress, Li's face darkened for a split second, but he quickly regained his usual stern composure:
-"The mistress is currently experiencing some health issues, so she rarely leaves her room. I acknowledge your gratitude and will pass it along later."
He spoke at length, but my mind only spiraled around that one phrase: "Health issues, rarely leaves her room." What kind of issues? Work-related? Perhaps... but I leaned towards a psychological explanation, or something much more sinister. The image of the blood-soaked bed in the secret chamber suddenly flashed in my mind like a warning. Perhaps to complete this mission, we would inevitably have to set foot on the upper floor to uncover the truth.
As soon as the meal ended, the storm broke out again. A bolt of lightning tore through the night, slicing across the eaves of the luxury villa and illuminating eerie shadows dancing on the walls.
Afterward, we retreated to our respective rooms. Just as we stepped into the hallway, Yashu, Xi Yong'an, and I suddenly realized a problematic issue: the guest room had only two single beds. In this weather, no one wanted to lie on the cold stone floor.
In the end, Xi Yong'an and I had to accept squeezing onto one bed, leaving the other for Yashu. The trouble was, the bed was barely 1.2 meters wide; two guys had to press tightly against each other, and one wrong move would send us "landing" on the floor in an instant.
Seeing the two of us acting so awkwardly, pushing and shoving to claim space, Yashu couldn't help but laugh out loud. After her fit of laughter subsided, we finally turned off the lights, ending the night in a cramped and forced silence.
I huddled close to the wall, leaving the outer side for Xi Yong'an. In the dark, cold space, his warm breath fanned steadily against the back of my neck, creating an extremely strange sensation. I instinctively recoiled and whispered grumpily:
-"Can't you turn the other way? Stop pressing your face into my back, it tickles like crazy."
-"I'm used to sleeping on my left side, I won't be able to sleep if I flip over now," Yong'an murmured back, his tone sounding just as embarrassed.
So, I had to grit my teeth and endure that warm stream of air until the person next to me stopped moving. ( Asleep already? ) - I wondered. I turned slightly to look at the opposite bed; Yashu had also drifted into a deep sleep long ago. Seeing both my teammates sound asleep, I finally relaxed and closed my eyes...
However, just as drowsiness hit me, a "strange object" suddenly weighed down on my waist and wrapped around it. I jolted awake, looked down, and saw Xi Yong'an's arm clutching me tightly. He must have a habit of hugging a bolster at home.
Before I could find a way to "disentangle" myself from this nuisance, a pair of legs swung over, hooking around my hips and resting squarely on me without a care in the world.
( Turns out the young master's sleeping habits are quite a mess... ) - I sighed inwardly. I intended to shove the heavy "limbs" off me, but seeing Yong'an in a deep sleep, I suppressed a sigh and endured it.
But just as my eyes were about to close again, a dark shadow flitted past the gap under the door, making me jump in fright. ( Who is that?! )
Immediately after, light but rapid, hollow knocks echoed against the door. Yashu sprang up like a coiled spring, and Xi Yong'an was awakened instantly. Casting embarrassment aside, the three of us held our breath, staring collectively at the wooden door.
( This scene... why does it feel so familiar... ) - I shuddered, remembering the demon that knocked on the door at the cafe back then.
Cold sweat began to bead on my forehead. I stepped cautiously across the freezing floor, peeking through the peephole. No more tricks of disguised relatives; the entity outside flaunted its true, horrific form: a hunchbacked demon with hollow, pupil-less eyes. Despite them being just two black pits, I could still feel a murderous gaze pinned directly onto me.
Suddenly, it let out a heart-wrenching roar and used its pitch-black claws to shred the door. A large hole appeared right before my eyes; I leaned back just in time, nearly receiving a "commemorative scar" from it.
In this life-and-death situation, I turned my head and shouted. Yashu and Yong'an had quickly flung the window open. Summoning all my strength, I pushed the heavy bed to block the wooden door. As soon as the two of them jumped out, I followed suit. The hunchback demon kicked the door open and burst in, but was momentarily hindered by the bed. Those few short seconds saved my life. If I had been impatient and run first without blocking the door, I would likely have been torn into a hundred pieces by now.
Since we were on the ground floor, the height wasn't too dangerous; we landed safely in the middle of the flower garden. Although the thorny rose bushes scratched my skin painfully, it was still a thousand times better than being caught by that demon.
Not daring to linger for even a second, we fled in a hurry. Outside the villa, the rain poured down in torrents, and frequent claps of thunder tore the sky apart. We ran to the next room and urgently pounded on the glass door. Ky Kha Nhien appeared with her usual lazy expression. She looked at us without the slightest hint of surprise - she must have heard the horrific commotion in our room earlier. However, instead of opening the door immediately, she coldly commanded:
-"Hold up your scratched arm so I can see."
Seeing the bright red drops of blood being washed away by the rain, Ky Kha Nhien finally withdrew her scrutinizing gaze and unlatched the door. She explained nonchalantly:
-"The blood of demons in these missions is usually much thicker and darker than players' blood. Better safe than sorry."
Inside the room was also Phan Ngoc Tien, the girl with glasses who was looking out anxiously. Having just escaped the clutches of death, I leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. A strange mix of relief and excitement surged in my heart: we had just survived a lethal pursuit.
Phan Ngoc Tien looked at the three of us in our miserable state - soaked to the bone, with blood from the thorn scratches staining our clothes deep red. She nudged her glasses, hurriedly took a handful of bitter bush leaves from her pocket, crushed them, and applied them to our wounds. Ngoc Tien's eyes showed a mix of fear and pity, completely opposite to the indifferent, gloomy demeanor of Ky Kha Nhien, who sat on the bed with her chin resting on her hand.
At that exact moment, those hollow knocks sounded again at the room opposite us. The hunchback demon had found a new target!
Immediately after came Tu Qinghe's blood-curdling scream and the sound of Pham Bach Kha's door being kicked open.
-"Run, now!" - Bach Kha's voice bellowed, echoing through the dark hallway.
I pressed my eye to the peephole and saw Wu Mengqiao and Tu Qinghe, their faces pale as ghosts, fleeing frantically. The sound of hurried footsteps followed by the thundering slam of a door echoed back. Though I didn't witness the full events outside, the thick murderous intent radiating into the room made my spine turn cold. This was truly too dangerous!