At dinner, as everyone gathered in the restaurant, He Qi suddenly felt an inexplicable chill creeping down his back.
This chill was all too familiar to him. Every time he lied to his brother about something, his brother would exude this cold, deathly aura, freezing the air around him, randomly chilling everything nearby.
But tonight, he felt okay, because the chill seemed to be directed at Wan Wuqiu.
"Hey, I was wrong," Wan Wuqiu said, propping his elbow on the table and resting his chin on his hand, his tone earnest. "But I didn't mean to hide it from you. It's just that there wasn't enough time to explain."
Xie Mingchi took a sip of his soup, his tone indifferent. "Yeah, I know. I understand. You don't need to explain."
Wan Wuqiu tilted his head, staring at him for a moment before he spoke cryptically. "I don't think you fully understand."
Wan Wuqiu's explanation for the "no turning back" clue was that he had obtained a soul line from the previous puppet world, and the void had given him the clue for the next one as a reward for being the victor.
This explanation made sense on the surface, especially since Xie Mingchi was still a newcomer and most of what he knew about the rules had come from Wan Wuqiu. Naturally, he trusted what Wan Wuqiu told him.
However, deep down, Xie Mingchi couldn't completely verify the truth of this explanation.
Yet, that wasn't what truly bothered him. What was really getting to him was that the night was fast approaching, and he still hadn't found a way to avoid his inevitable fate.
Tonight, he was the one who would disappear.
Wan Wuqiu watched him for a long while, sighing. "Ugh, what a mess. I actually found something I wanted to tell you, but it seems like you don't want to talk to me now."
Xie Mingchi shot him a glance but then turned away, his gaze drifting toward the rest of the table. Everyone's eyes seemed filled with curiosity and gossip, watching the situation unfold between them.
It wasn't just Mr. Du; others also saw Wan Wuqiu as Xie Mingchi's puppet, or the other way around. Though they usually acted in groups of four, they were considered a pair when they split off into two teams.
Earlier in the afternoon, Mr. Du had gone from the third-floor restaurant to the second floor. Afterward, Xie Mingchi and Wan Wuqiu came to the restaurant to figure out what Mr. Du had been doing.
Thanks to He Qi's sharp senses, they had guessed that Mr. Du might have been performing some kind of ritual. After He Qi used his "dog nose" to search the area, they confirmed that the restaurant smelled the most strongly of incense.
The restaurant was dominated by a large table in the center, with very little else in the way of decoration. Any ritual would likely be hidden, as Mr. Du was known for his tricks.
Wan Wuqiu continued to casually search, while Xie Mingchi stood at the door of the restaurant, frowning.
He stepped out into the corridor and walked the length of it, then turned back and walked to the other side of the restaurant.
Wan Wuqiu stopped and looked at him. "What are you doing?"
Xie Mingchi replied as he walked, counting aloud, "One hundred seventeen, one hundred eighteen, one hundred nineteen, one hundred twenty..."
He stopped suddenly, having reached the end.
"The measurements are off," Xie Mingchi said decisively, turning back to face Wan Wuqiu. "I counted one hundred twenty-six steps in the corridor, but there are six steps missing in the restaurant."
For a man with an adult shoe size like Xie Mingchi's, those six steps could easily accommodate a small space.
Wan Wuqiu walked over, tapping on the wall in several places.
Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
Then, a deeper, hollow thud.
The sound of tapping suddenly changed, and Wan Wuqiu's expression shifted. He exchanged a look with Xie Mingchi. "It's hollow."
Together, they began searching the wall.
Suddenly, one of them pressed a brick in the wall, causing the entire section to slide open, revealing what was inside.
It was a golden Buddha statue, standing about as tall as a person. The Buddha's eyes were closed, and its expression was solemn, sitting upright in a shrine.
Xie Mingchi couldn't place which culture or time period this Buddha belonged to because it was so bizarre.
The Buddha had no smile, holding a skull in one hand and several chains in the other.
In most people's minds, gods and Buddhas are meant to bring peace and salvation, but this Buddha looked more like an evil spirit.
Wan Wuqiu quietly said, "It's a 'suppressing evil' statue."
Xie Mingchi suddenly understood.
So many children had died in this villa, their vengeful spirits lingering. Mr. Du was greedy for money but also fiercely protective of his life, so he surely took precautions to prevent the ghosts of the children from harming him.
The spirits of the dead children were scattered throughout the villa—the photos on the first floor, the stairs leading to the fourth, the rooms on the second and third floors where they had died.
Mr. Du had to take measures to defend himself.
So he had brought in this fierce statue, feeding it with the essence of the children's souls, using it to suppress the spirits, killing two birds with one stone. Meanwhile, he continued his sinister trade, profiting from the blood-soaked money.
Even in death, Mr. Du clung to his obsession. That was why, even as a ghostly puppet master, he kept creating these puppet worlds. Though the villa had no entertainment areas, its rooms dedicated to making money were still in place.
This meant that anyone entering the puppet world became another child to be devoured by the villa, further entrenching Mr. Du's obsession and driving him into madness.
As Xie Mingchi thought this over, Wan Wuqiu suddenly grabbed his wrist and started pulling him out of the restaurant. Xie Mingchi instinctively resisted, remembering that Wan Wuqiu was a man with a false face. "What are you doing?!"
"Shh, don't talk," Wan Wuqiu whispered in his ear, his voice barely audible. "The Buddha is watching us."
Xie Mingchi's heart skipped a beat. He cautiously glanced over with his peripheral vision and saw that the Buddha's eyes, which had been closed, were now wide open! Its tiny yet piercing black pupils were fixed on them.
A cold sweat broke out on Xie Mingchi's back. He frantically slapped the wall, finally triggering the mechanism to close the wall back up.
Fearing that staying in the restaurant would draw attention from the Buddha, the two of them blended into the crowd of other pairs and found no more useful clues for the rest of the evening.
This only further convinced the others that they were a pair.
Finally, Mr. Du, who had been staying on the second floor, entered the restaurant. This time, he sat down without saying a word, glaring at everyone at the table. His movements grew rough as he cut his food.
Xie Mingchi caught a faint smell of blood in the air. He glanced at He Qi, who immediately understood and whispered, "Mr. Du's forearm is bleeding."
Xie Mingchi looked over and indeed saw blood slowly seeping from his right forearm.
"Bang—"
Mr. Du suddenly threw his knife and fork onto his plate with a crash, shattering it into pieces. He glared at everyone and snarled, "Who went somewhere they shouldn't have?!"
The group exchanged nervous glances, none daring to answer.
Mr. Du raised his voice again. "Who—went somewhere they shouldn't have—"
"We certainly didn't," Xie Mingchi wiped his mouth calmly, "We're your guests, of course, we follow your rules. If you don't want us to go somewhere, we won't."
Mr. Du looked at him, his gaze sharp, before shifting his attention to the others, his voice low but menacing. "You'd better all listen to him. You're on my turf—mine!"
The last word echoed, and the entire house seemed to tremble. Then, Mr. Du quickly left the restaurant.
Xie Mingchi kept his calm facade, but inside, he was freaking out.
Damn, it looks like tricking ghosts is easier than I thought. The real problem is the psychological pressure.
He breathed a sigh of relief, waiting for someone to leave the table before giving He Qi a signal to return to their room.
The night was almost upon them, and as it got darker, the little ghosts would start appearing more frequently.
Just then, Xiao Xiao, who had been silent throughout dinner, suddenly blocked Xie Mingchi's path after the other teams had left. She frowned, staring at him.
Xie Mingchi was taken aback. "What's the matter?"
Xiao Xiao smirked. "Seems like I underestimated you, newbie. You've got some skills," she said, glancing over the other three with Xie Mingchi. She lowered her voice. "Tonight, you're the fourth one, right? If you make it till tomorrow, how about we team up?"
It seemed they had figured out the pattern of selecting players for the Four Corners Game.
Xie Mingchi couldn't help but feel a bit exasperated. He didn't bother hiding his displeasure. "If I make it till tomorrow, why do you think I need to team up with you
to leave?"
Xiao Xiao grinned. "Because we've figured out how to get the soul line. But we need someone to team up with. The more, the merrier. I like your mindset and strength, so if you survive till tomorrow, we can talk cooperation."
Xie Mingchi hesitated. They had gotten a rough idea of Mr. Du's history today, but they still hadn't found any solid clues about the soul line. If Xiao Xiao's offer was genuine... maybe it was worth considering.
After all, the puppet world was full of dangers.
"Let's talk tomorrow."
Xie Mingchi didn't refuse outright. After a brief nod, he turned to leave with Wan Wuqiu and the others.
He shared Xiao Xiao's words with them and then looked at Wan Wuqiu. "What do you think?"
The alliance with Wan Wuqiu had been the first one he formed, and in terms of entering the puppet world, Wan Wuqiu had been a helpful guide. He wasn't a saint, but he wasn't heartless either. Since there was a chance to leave the puppet world, it would be better to stick together with him.
He Qi: "Of course! Let's get out of here as soon as possible!"
Shen Finian: "I'll follow your lead, senior. After all, I'm just the hired help."
"Fine," Wan Wuqiu agreed without hesitation. "I support your decision."
Xie Mingchi thought for a moment. He hadn't actually made up his mind, but since He Qi and Shen Finian were on the same page, he didn't argue. He nodded and then asked, with a hint of concern, "Alright, let's deal with tonight's issue first. Will I make it through the night?"
If he didn't, there'd be no point in talking about alliances.
Wan Wuqiu suddenly smiled. "You'll make it. Remember I mentioned I had something to tell you at dinner?"
"I remember," Xie Mingchi recalled. "So, what did you find?"
Wan Wuqiu smiled softly. "We snooped through Mr. Du's files earlier. You saw the old records, but I looked at the ones in the cabinet that were from this year."
"This year?"
When they checked the photos on the first floor, the latest date was from the previous year.
Xie Mingchi's mind clicked. "Wait, are they ours?!"
Wan Wuqiu nodded, pleased. "Exactly. They're our files."
"In those files, there's information about each of us. It even predicted the organs Mr. Du might target from us. But compared to the files of those who have already died, ours is missing something—and it has something extra."
Xie Mingchi couldn't help asking, "What's missing and what's new?"
Wan Wuqiu raised a finger. "What's missing are the organs he's already taken. What's new is our cause of death—each of us has a predicted cause of death in the files."
Xie Mingchi's face darkened. "So... what about that guy, his puppet, Zhang Di, and Qi Luo? Their causes of death are in there too?"
Wan Wuqiu nodded. "Yes, but since most of the other cases aren't helpful, I only looked at last night's guy. His cause of death wasn't just turning back. He also handed his candle to a 'ghost' that appeared out of nowhere. Xie Mingchi, you're not going to die."