The moment Xie Mingchi settled on his idea, he broke into a cold sweat.
He had spent the entire night trying to figure out the second death rule, but nearly forgot the simplest one: don't look back.
He couldn't imagine what would have happened if he had turned around just now—he'd probably already be dragged off by Mr. Du to be torn apart.
Xie Mingchi stared at the figure before him, this "Wan Wuqiu," who was still trying to deceive him.
"Don't believe me yet? You know that if no one's there, I am the real thing."
"Why don't you trust me? I've been treating you well, haven't I?"
"You can look back if you want."
"Go ahead, take a look, look back."
Xie Mingchi remained unmoved, standing still with the candle in hand, silently listening to the nonsense.
Fifteen minutes passed, and "Wan Wuqiu" finally grew tired of his act. He stopped smiling and glared at Xie Mingchi with venomous eyes, as though he wanted to devour him alive.
Suddenly, "Wan Wuqiu" moved, but instead of advancing toward Xie Mingchi, he began to slowly retreat, step by step, until he disappeared into the darkness.
It seemed he couldn't break Xie Mingchi's resolve and had to leave.
Just as Xie Mingchi breathed a sigh of relief and stretched his ankles, the candle in his hand went out again.
Xie Mingchi: "..."
Damn, this is insane.
The instant his vision went black, a thought flashed through Xie Mingchi's mind. That ghost had retreated, but that didn't mean it would just give up. Since "Wan Wuqiu" couldn't deceive him, would they send someone else—someone he knew better, someone he trusted more?
He thought of He Qi. After all, He Qi was his only real family, so if anyone were to impersonate someone close to him, it would probably be He Qi.
Calculating quickly in his mind, he relit the candle—and saw a new figure.
But this person… seemed familiar, yet somehow not.
Because it was still "Wan Wuqiu's" face, though the clothes had changed. Now, he wore ancient robes, his hair half tied and secured with a hairpin. He looked like a refined immortal, embodying grace and kindness.
Xie Mingchi stared blankly for a moment, then suddenly remembered—his lost ghost puppet had the exact same attire!
But his ghost puppet didn't have a face, and this version of "Wan Wuqiu" perfectly matched the face he had once lost.
Xie Mingchi: "..."
He suddenly had a guess.
But he didn't want to keep guessing, as it was too likely to drive him mad.
"Wan Wuqiu" extended a hand toward him, smiling even more gently than before:
"Ah Chi, let's go."
Xie Mingchi: "...?"
Who's he calling? Me?
Is he out of his mind, acting so familiar?
He quickly rejected his earlier thought. These ghosts must be quite dumb; otherwise, why would they send something even less believable?
"Wan Wuqiu" continued, "Don't you want to go home?"
"The flowers you planted have bloomed, and they look beautiful. You haven't been back in a while. Don't you want to see them?"
"And the juniors—they've been waiting for you to come back and teach them military tactics. They say that practical experience is more valuable; they also want to serve the country and protect the world."
"Staying here is a waste of time. We can leave now."
"Ah Chi, listen to me..."
Xie Mingchi remained unshaken. Each word of "Wan Wuqiu" only deepened his resolve as he silently mocked.
What nonsense is this? When was I ever anyone's junior? Middle school? High school? University?
Or is this "Wan Wuqiu's" junior? Shen Finian? He doesn't seem the type to be studying military tactics for world peace.
Xie Mingchi's frown grew deeper, while "Wan Wuqiu's" urging became more frantic.
"Ah Chi, let's go. He's coming!"
"Ah Chi, why don't you listen? Don't you remember what happens when you don't listen to me?"
"Ah Chi... Ah Chi!!!"
The persuasive tone turned into threats. "Wan Wuqiu's" voice grew hoarse, and his face twisted, becoming grotesque.
But Xie Mingchi noticed that the ghost couldn't approach him.
Was it because he hadn't violated any death rules? So even a ghost couldn't harm him, couldn't inflict any real damage?
That's good.
Xie Mingchi suddenly relaxed, leaning against the railing, silently watching the ghost's madness unfold.
Let's wait and see. Let's see who can outlast whom.
…
The previous night, in the same spot, the boy's candle also went out.
He was immediately gripped by intense panic. But just as his heart pounded, he heard the voice of his ghost puppet:
"Little brother, is that you?"
The boy froze: "…Sis?"
His sister had passed away five years ago. She had always been very kind to him, and he missed her deeply.
A year ago, he had been pulled into the void, and his sister became his ghost puppet.
Although the situation was dangerous, at least he could see his sister again. It wasn't so bad after all.
His luck had always been good. Every time he entered the puppet world, though he couldn't find the soul thread, he never triggered the death rule and could always leave by following others' footsteps.
On the other side, his sister responded:
"It's me. It's your sister."
The boy was still confused: "Sis, how did you come here? Didn't we…"
"The game is over," his sister said, "This round has ended. I found the way to break the game. We can leave now."
"Let's go quickly. When we get home, I'll send you to university."
The boy, having been on edge all night, finally couldn't hold it in anymore. He took a few steps forward:
"Let's go, Sis…"
"Okay."
"Sis" grabbed his arm, following the line of his arm to his candle, taking it from him.
At that moment, there was a soft laugh, followed by a satisfied sigh.
The boy shuddered: "What was that sound…"
"Sis" slowly turned her head, revealing a twisted smile:
"Of course… it's time for you to become one of us…"
Before the boy could even scream, his mouth was covered, and he was dragged into the painting, leaving only his heart behind in the villa forever.
…
The morning sunlight filtered through the curtains and into the room. He Qi groggily opened his eyes.
Ah, it's already morning. It's the second day since they entered the puppet world...
He Qi suddenly jolted awake—*morning!*
He quickly glanced over at his brother, who was still sleeping peacefully, though with heavy dark circles under his eyes.
"Thank God, thank God..." He Qi slumped back, his soul relaxing. He then quickly glanced at the other bed where Wan Wuqiu was also lying there, safe and sound.
He sighed in relief: "Oh my God, we're back! I knew it—I knew my ancestors would protect us!"
Xie Mingchi, disturbed by the noise, groggily spoke:
"Do you even know who your ancestors are? And what's it got to do with me?"
He Qi completely ignored his brother's sarcasm and asked in excitement:
"Bro, you're awake?! Did you make it through last night?"
"Yeah, I survived." Xie Mingchi opened his eyes, exhausted.
Last night, due to his standoff with the ghost, several hours later, the ghost finally gave up and left.
Once the ghost left, Xie Mingchi kept walking, steadily holding the candle, reaching the spot where the first person had stood. Meanwhile, the surrounding red light vanished, and the hallway returned to normal.
After waiting for a while, Wan Wuqiu came to Xie Mingchi's side and sighed in relief when he saw he was unharmed.
"It's okay now. Let's go back."
Hearing that voice, Xie Mingchi suddenly felt a rush of PTSD. His scalp went numb, and he glanced at him, but said nothing.
Wan Wuqiu: "What's wrong? Are you mute?"
"It's not that," Xie Mingchi gave him a complicated look, "Just give me a moment, I think your head's getting bigger."
But all in all, no one died.
That was good news for them—but also bad news.
He Qi was confused:
"Why is it bad news? If no one died, isn't that the best outcome?"
Shen Finian kindly explained:
"For the four people who played the game, of course, it's good news. But for those who didn't..."
He yawned.
"The rules are alive. This means, if Mr. Du originally had three death rules, then sadly, tonight will bring the fourth."
He Qi was shocked.
They still didn't know how many death rules Mr. Du had created, and they were barely surviving with just the two they knew.
Because no one died last night, the death rules would be more lenient, and Mr. Du was likely to add a new rule that would guarantee their deaths.
For them, this was a deadly blow.
"We can't delay anymore," Xie Mingchi sat up and rubbed his hair, "Tonight, we have to send him on his way."
He knew that Mr. Du would focus on him. It was because of him that Mr. Du hadn't gotten anywhere last night. His intuition told him that Mr. Du would certainly target him.
The new death rule was probably aimed at him.
"Let's have breakfast first," Wan Wuqiu suggested, "Didn't Xiao Xiao say we should cooperate?"
The four of them quickly washed up and arrived at the third-floor dining hall. Xiao Xiao and Chu You were already waiting at the table. When they saw Xie Mingchi was unharmed, Xiao Xiao showed both surprise and a trace of admiration:
"You really didn't die? You've got some skills, newbie. Who died last night?"
"No one," Xie Mingchi shook his head, "All four of us are still alive."
Xiao Xiao's face changed immediately:
"This is bad."
Wan Wuqiu laughed coldly:
"That's why we need to get the soul line tonight. With the clues we have, are we still cooperating?"
Xiao Xiao glanced around at everyone, made up her mind, and said:
"Alright, we'll cooperate. I've figured out a few locations of the soul lines, but each one will provoke Mr. Du, so we need to act simultaneously. Whoever gets it, it's fine."
Wan Wuqiu gave her a long look, then turned to Xie Mingchi:
"What do you think?"
Xie Mingchi raised his eyes and smiled faintly:
"Fine, I'll gamble."