Song of the Wanderer Arc
Great Demon King 05
Xin Lan looked at Ren Difei, whose face was somewhat terrified, and found it somewhat interesting.
In theory, everyone was just characters in the play, but he had transcended the story and placed himself in a third-person perspective, making much more accurate guesses than others.
Ren Difei met the gaze of those black eyes and resisted the urge to run away.
He hadn’t guessed wrong after all, this feeling of terror!
“I… I didn’t see anything.”
Ren Difei stuttered.
Xin Lan turned around without looking at him anymore and instead tried to cut the meat on the chopping board with the knife in her hand.
A putrid smell wafted over, making people nauseous.
Ren Difei covered his nose, but his eyes remained fixed on Xin Lan.
“If you keep staring at me, I’ll gouge out your eyes.”
Xin Lan put down the knife without turning her head.
Ren Difei immediately averted his gaze and looked around the kitchen.
There wasn’t much garbage in the trash bin, and it was very clean.
Aside from the piece of meat on the chopping board that had already shown signs of decay, there was a pile of vegetables in a bag nearby, as if someone had purchased them to prepare a big meal.
This formed a stark contrast to the situation on the dining table.
After inspecting the kitchen, Xin Lan went to the room on the right.
Molly and Qi Haolin were standing inside, and as soon as Xin Lan entered, she received a disdainful look from Molly.
Xin Lan coldly stared back, and Molly immediately averted her gaze again.
It was a bedroom, and upon entering the room, Xin Lan saw the wedding photo hanging above the bed.
However, the faces in the wedding photo were smeared with watercolors or similar materials, making it impossible to see their original appearance.
This looks like a child’s masterpiece, Xin Lan thought of the little ghost from last night. It was evident that she wasn’t a quiet child.
In the original host’s memory, Xin Lan only found a few useful clues.
The original host only remembered that they reached the third floor, and each floor required a key, with the key hidden in the secret of the floor below.
In simple terms, whether or not this information is accurate, Xin Lan would have to rely on herself.
The furnishings in this bedroom were very simple: a large bed, a wardrobe, a desk, and nothing particularly notable.
Except for the wedding photo, there didn’t seem to be anything strange.
No, wait, there was something.
Xin Lan wrinkled her nose and detected a faint smell of burning.
There must have been a fire here; otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a smell, along with the thick smoke that the little ghost produced yesterday, capable of choking someone.
“That was fast, huh? Wasn’t there anything in the kitchen?”
The mischievous spirit seemed to have calmed down a lot. Her voice became coquettish and carried a strong Taiwanese accent.
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“Let’s talk when we go out later.”
Ren Difei, seeing that Xin Lan didn’t seem inclined to speak, quickly chimed in.
Qi Haolin had already walked into the guest bedroom, and Molly hurriedly followed.
The guest bedroom had been transformed into a dressing room, with both men’s and women’s clothes inside.
Qi Haolin touched them with his hand but found nothing unusual.
With his back facing the others, he felt a bit restless. According to the rules of the game, they had a time limit of seven days and nights, and there could only be one winner.
The others had no idea about the situation and were completely bewildered. But he knew, even though knowing those preconditions wouldn’t be of any use. What exactly was he supposed to do now?
Was this “Game of the Brave” just about exploring?
“These clothes are so expensive.”
Molly noticed a price tag that hadn’t been removed from a coat, and the price on it filled her with envy.
“Your focus is really strange.”
Ren Difei muttered.
“It’s a woman’s nature to love bags and clothes, okay?”
Molly rolled her eyes and began looking through other clothes.
Xin Lan didn’t comment on this; she didn’t have any particular fondness for bags and clothes.
“There seems to be something in this pocket”
Molly said, as if she had felt something. She pulled out something resembling a photo from one of the clothing pockets.
However, before she had a chance to look at it, the photo spontaneously ignited in the air.
Molly let out a scream and quickly let go of it.
That photo quickly turned into ashes, and the dust fell to the ground.
Molly: “What was that creepy thing? It scared me to death!”
Ren Difei: “It should have been a photo.”
Qi Haolin: “Did you see what it looked like?”
Molly: “It burned up as soon as I took it out. There was no time to see.”
Xin Lan continued to play the role of an invisible person. Although she preferred to be in a leadership position, she was not willing to lead a fragmented group. At times like this, she had no desire to step forward and quietly observed the group.
She wasn’t in a hurry; there were others who were more anxious than her.
Suddenly, a scream came from outside. It was from Pi Tianzi.
As Xin Lan was closest to the door, she walked out.
Ke Xuguang was supporting Pi Tianzi, who appeared terrified.
Ren Difei: “What’s wrong? What happened?”
“We just finished inspecting this room and were about to go upstairs. They both said not to go up, but I was curious and decided to take a look at the staircase.”
Pi Tianzi swallowed nervously, her expression still filled with panic, tightly gripping Ke Xuguang’s hand.
“What did you see?”
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Qi Haolin quickly asked.
“I was just at the corner of the staircase, before going up. It was dark up there, and I couldn’t see anything clearly. I was about to continue walking forward when a little girl holding a doll appeared in front of me. She made a creepy face at me.”
Pi Tianzi was so frightened that she fell down the stairs, but Ke Xuguang quickly caught her, so she didn’t get seriously hurt.
“You mean the little girl from the photo album?”
Ren Difei asked.
“Yes, and that creepy face she made… it was real.”
Pi Tianzi said, pausing for a moment when mentioning the creepy face. It seemed as if the image of the little girl pulling her mouth wide open, revealing a long tongue, and smiling at her had resurfaced in her mind.
“So, you’re saying… there are ghosts here.”
Sheng Lifan’s face turned incredibly grim. He had finally come to terms with the possibility that there might not be any ghosts here, but now this happened.
“Let’s not discuss whether there are ghosts or not for now. Let’s go to the living room, share the information we have, and then discuss possible solutions together.”
Qi Haolin said, without time to feel others’ fear, after Sheng Lifan finished speaking.
Everyone gathered in the living room. Looking outside from there, it still seemed to be enveloped in a dark, ink-like night.
Xin Lan remained silent, sitting on the sofa as her invisible self.
Ren Difei took a seat closest to her and glanced at her cautiously. Seeing her lack of response, he began speaking on behalf of the group.
“We saw unfinished fast food packaging on the dining table, takeaway boxes in the trash bin next to the table, a half-cut piece of meat on the chopping board in the kitchen, and a large bag of vegetables nearby. There was nothing in the trash bin.”
Ren Difei explained, using his peripheral vision to check Xin Lan’s reaction. Xin Lan nodded, indicating that was correct.
Ren Difei breathed a sigh of relief. Typical supernatural ghost stories always ended in death. How could anyone possibly make it out alive? Unless they had some kind of opportunity, like wearing a Buddhist bead or a jade pendant around their neck, but he didn’t have any. In order to survive or, more accurately, be the last one to die, Ren Difei decided to cling tightly to the boss lady’s thigh. He would live for as long as possible.
“We entered the bedroom, and someone had smeared the faces in the wedding photo on the bed. It was probably done by that little girl. Then we went to the guest bedroom, which had been converted into a dressing room. There were clothes belonging to both men and women inside. Molly found something resembling a photo from the clothes, but as soon as she took it out, it spontaneously ignited.”
“We entered the little girl’s room. It was messy, with dolls scattered everywhere and trash from leftover snacks. We found her diary and a sketchbook.”
Sheng Lifan spoke and placed the notebook and sketchbook on the coffee table.
The sketchbook was opened, and every drawing was filled with a childlike charm. There were flowers, suns, houses, and puppies. There was also one depicting two adults holding the hand of a little girl with braided hair. This particular drawing was meticulously done, using watercolors and crayons. The title was written at the top, and underneath was a neatly written name in childish handwriting, displaying a sense of dedication.
My Family, Feng Xinyu.
However, the subsequent drawings felt different. It became a chaotic mass of black colors with irregular lines.
Until the last page of the sketchbook, the entire sheet was covered in traces of red watercolor.
Pi Tianzi: “That little girl who scared me at the staircase, Feng Xinyu, she’s the one”
Molly: “She’s definitely still in this house.”
Pi Tianzi: “You’re stating the obvious. Where else could she go?”
Pi Tianzi coldly retorted, her clear displeasure towards Molly evident.
Molly: “You’re the best, none of what you say is nonsense, truly impressive!”
Ke Xuguang: “Alright, come on, it’s already late. What’s the point of arguing over these things?”
Molly: “She started insulting me first, I didn’t want to argue like this. Who knows what this middle-aged lady, who tries to act young, is up to.”
Though Pi Tianzi had done her makeup well, it couldn’t fool Molly’s eyes. She found it annoying how Pi Tianzi pretended to be innocent while still attacking her. They were both acting young, so why should she be looked down upon?
Pi Tianzi: “I don’t bother talking to women who sell themselves. What’s with the act of being a pure-hearted university student? You’re selling yourself and still feeling superior. Do you have no shame?”
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Molly: “Who are you calling a person who sells themselves? Perhaps you’re the one in that line of work. Am I only pretending to be a university student because I wear a white dress? Am I not allowed to look young? And you, at your age, wearing a cutesy pink dress—don’t you have some mental issues?”
They say three women make a drama, and Xin Lan didn’t need to intervene at all. These two were more than capable of tearing each other apart joyfully.
“If you want to die, continue arguing.”
Qi Haolin, annoyed by their bickering, said in a cold and irritable voice.
Molly remained silent, and Pi Tianzi smirked at the sight.
Qi Haolin thought that women were troublesome, always chattering away. The one who was always quietly present was the best.
He couldn’t help but glance at Xin Lan, and they locked eyes. Xin Lan mouthed something to him.
Idiot.
Xin Lan looked down on Qi Haolin. He was even worse than the previous two.
The first one played with emotions and left the host to die without helping. The second one used her and then discarded her, even humiliating her in the process. And this one, well, he was a combination of both.
He played with emotions first, didn’t break up even if he lost interest, let the original host support him, living a life of freeloading, eating and drinking at the original host’s expense. Then, he kicked the original host aside and took away all of her savings, bringing the original host to this kind of place to meet her end, ultimately torturing and killing her.
He was truly the scum of scums.