Even if he was not clever, he knew something with wrong with Zhou Rong and Yi Zhiping. Even if they were not ghosts, they had been controlled by ghosts. Perhaps… they already died once they stepped into this building.
He quickly turned around to run down the stairs. He suddenly halted. A ball of shadow appeared on the previously-empty staircase. His heart was gripped. Then, a strange thought appeared in his mind. Could the two be pointing at this ball of shadow earlier?
Before he could dwell on it, the dark clouds outside the window parted, and the bright moonlight shone in. Ben Fu got a good look at the thing. It was not a shadow but a person kneeling on the ground.
“Did you see who it was?” Zhou Rong whispered.
Jiang Cheng, Chen Xiaomeng and Jiang Zhongyi squeezed behind the door. They didn’t open the door fully but only looked out through a small gap. Jiang Zhongyi swallowed nervously. He said uncertainly, “It… appears to be Ben Fu.”
Earlier, he was the one staying guard. Compared to Jiang Cheng, who had the previous shift, he was very nervous. He would go to check out the door every few minutes. About ten minutes ago, as he looked outside again, he caught a figure sneaking through the night. Due to the angle, before he could catch a better look, the shadow disappeared from his line of sight. In the panic, he only saw the figure from the back and believed it was Ben Fu.
“What should we do?” Jiang Zhongyi turned to Zhou Rong out of habit. “Should we inform the others?”
Zhou Rong didn’t answer because he was thinking. Zhou Rong was more concerned about how Ben Fu got the guts to leave the house alone at night. The village head even warned them from doing so before he left. Ben Fu might be a bit silly, but he was not stupid. Therefore, there had to be something else.
Earlier, Jiang Cheng’s face was unnatural. It was a mixture of conflict, regret and some confusion… None of these escaped Zhou Rong’s eyes. He believed Jiang Cheng had found something.
Jiang Cheng scratched his chin and lamented, “What a waste of sweet potato…”
Chen Xiaomeng, “I told you there’s something wrong with his brain…”
After Zhou Rong calmed down, he tried to understand his words from another perspective, “Mr. Yi.” He said rapidly, “Do you mean… Ben Fu…”
“If that was the real Ben Fu, he either found some clues, or he was attracted by something,” Chen Xiaomeng glanced at Zhou Rong impatiently, “But the result is the same either way.”
Jiang Zhongyi’s face was pale. He knew what Chen Xiaomeng meant.
“Of course, there’s a second possibility,” Chen Xiaomeng said coolly, “If that Ben Fu was a ghost, the goal was to lure us out.”
Jiang Zhongyi wiped away cold sweat from his forehead. Who would go out so late at night?
The old axle creaked like an old scissors. It snipped Jiang Zhongyi’s soul. As his eyes widened, Jiang Cheng opened the door and walked out. Following him were Chen Xiaomeng and Zhou Rong. He quickly looked out. He noticed the door of the other house also opened. Bei Qian, Yu Man and Lee Lu stood at the door. They looked bad. This was especially true for Lee Lu. Even through the distance, they could see her body shaking.
After a few seconds, Jiang Zhongyi quickly ran after the others. He’d rather die than stay in the house alone. Now that everyone had appeared, the person earlier was probably the real Ben Fu.
“I… am a very light sleeper.” In the crowd, Lee Lu’s voice trembled. Even the warmth from the stove couldn’t chase away the frost around her heart. “I heard the sound of wind, so I woke up to see what was happening. I was surprised to see the door open. By then, Ben Fu… was gone!”
After hearing that, Bei Qian’s face darkened. Then, he said, “Ben Fu should be drawn away by the ghost. It’s probably over for him.” Other than that, they couldn’t come up with another reason why he’d leave on his own. After all, the mission had just started. It would be rare for him to find the critical clue and clear the mission instantly. However, it was too late now.
Thankfully, none of them were newbies. Even though there were emotional fluctuations in their eyes, at the end of the day, they were glad that it was not them. Dying in the nightmare realm was very common. What they needed to do was to analyse the mission taboos so that they would not be the next victim.
The good thing about them being experienced players was that no one suggested something stupid like going to find Ben Fu. They gathered in a singular room to rest. They closed the door and sat around the stove. Two people stayed up to guard the place. The shift would change every half an hour to ensure that everyone had enough time to rest.
Just like that, they waited for the sun to rise. Zhou Rong pushed open the door when they heard footsteps outside the door.
It was the village head and the tanned man. The man had a shoulder pole. The pole had baskets on both ends. The baskets were covered with cloth. Fragrance floated out.
“I’m sorry.” The village head started with an apology, “Masters, you must be hungry. Come and eat!”
Underneath the clothes were stacks of steamed buns. They were slightly yellow in colour. Upon closer inspection, they were poking out at spots. In this era, white flour should be a luxury item. The villagers probably had to give up a lot just to make these buns from rough grains.
After they said their thanks, they grabbed the buns to eat. The other basket had a black urn. A split-open gourd accompanied it. It was probably a water ladle. After they had their fill, they went to scoop the water to drink. Everyone ate and drank quietly.
The village head’s eyes wandered around the group. His mouth opened a few times, but in the end, he only said a few perfunctory words.
Chen Xiaomeng leaned against the window and munched on her bun. Actually, when the village head appeared, she noticed that the village head was surreptitiously doing a head-count. He even tried a few times to extend his neck to look into the two houses.
The village head knew that they were missing one person but he didn’t bring it up on purpose. Chen Xiaomeng narrowed her eyes.