Night, Soul Shaking

The head of the village's spare room wasn't large or small. It was said to have originally been for the village chief's son, but after he went to the city for school, the chief added a bed and turned it into a guest room.

The autumn night was cool. With a gust of wind, the wooden window of the room creaked and groaned. Yu Xing simply closed the window and turned to sit on the bed.

He had just given Carlos the clue he wanted, and the magician, whose actions were rather peculiar, had left.

He was able to return to his room to rest.

The room was simply furnished, with basically nothing suspicious. He finished his cursory investigation, having nothing else to do.

His gaze shifted to his backpack, placed by the bedside.

Just then, the door opened, and Xiao Xuechen walked in somewhat hesitantly. Through the dim moonlight filtering through the windowpane, she could see the outline of Yu Xing's figure.

Although they had explored the ancestral hall together and were now more familiar with each other, she was still a girl, and sleeping in the same room as a man made her a little uncomfortable. She hesitated for a moment before walking over, "san."

"Hm?" Yu Xing was tidying his backpack. This was the first time since entering the game that he had looked through what was actually in his bag.

Besides the easel and other painting tools, there was a notebook, water, and some simple snacks. Especially at the bottom of the backpack, a cold metallic glint was faintly visible.

A dagger?

Yu Xing gripped the handle and pulled the item out.

It was indeed a dagger. Although it was made of ordinary material, the blade was very sharp. A casual scratch on the skin would cause injury.

He searched his memory. This dagger must have been bought in the small town next to Guan Family Village after he got off the plane.

"I've already warned Wei Gong," Xiao Xuechen saw Yu Xing place something under his pillow and didn't ask further. "Ju Lan was also there. Wei Gong said he would notify Xu Hong and Xu Yuan to be careful tonight as well."

"How are their rooms assigned?" Yu Xing wasn't paying much attention to this.

"Ju Lan and Carlos are sharing a room. Wei Gong is with those two brothers. However, when I went, the two brothers hadn't returned to their room yet." After a few sentences, Xiao Xuechen gradually relaxed. She also started tidying her things and asked, "If we can't let anyone in tonight, and we can't go out, should we move some furniture to block the door?"

Yu Xing shook his head slightly. "No need. Just pull the bolt on the door. We'd best not move anything in this room."

"Oh, I'll listen to you." Although she didn't know why, Xiao Xuechen decided to follow the expert's advice.

After a bit more dawdling, they each got into bed.

Yu Xing's bed was by the window. The bed board was hard and made of wood, not well-maintained, with traces of insect damage on both sides.

After observing for a while, he pressed down on the pillow with his hand. Then he felt under the pillow, where his dagger was placed, easily within reach.

Confirming this, Yu Xing closed his eyes, pulled the cold quilt over himself, and settled into a comfortable position before falling asleep with peace of mind.

Going to sleep around nine-thirty was a bit early, but for Yu Xing, as long as he was tired, any time and any place was a good time to sleep.

Moreover, he estimated he wouldn't be able to sleep soundly after midnight, so he could only take this opportunity to conserve his energy, otherwise his body wouldn't hold up.

Xiao Xuechen fiddled with her phone for a while before turning her head. The person across the aisle was already lying on his side and asleep. In the silence, she could faintly hear his steady breathing. He hadn't taken off his clothes, likely to deal with any sudden situations and to accommodate her as a girl. The thin, old quilt covered a corner of his abdomen, making him look somewhat docile.

With nothing to do, she stared at Yu Xing for a while, half in a daze, half admiring him. Then she took off her jacket over her T-shirt and covered herself with the quilt.

Originally, she was muttering to herself that san fell asleep too quickly, as if he wasn't worried about what might happen tonight at all. But unexpectedly, perhaps influenced by the person in the same room, she also felt sleepy very quickly.

"Knock, knock, knock."

Who is it?

Yu Xing vaguely heard a noise and frowned, turning over.

"Knock, knock, knock, knock."

Which little brat dares to disturb his sleep?

He unconsciously buried half his face in the pillow, but unfortunately, this couldn't block out the persistent noise.

His slender fingers, with well-defined knuckles, felt around the edge of the pillow for a moment, quickly finding a cold object. In an instant, Yu Xing's eyes snapped open, and in a single second, his grogginess vanished, and he remembered his current predicament.

Right, he was in a deduction game...

"Knock, knock, knock..."

The knocking sounded like it was exploding in his ears. One had to admit, the person knocking was using enough force to wake up even a sleeping person.

"san, are you awake?" Xiao Xuechen's voice, suppressed to a whisper, came from the other side. Yu Xing grunted and rolled over to sit up. He saw that she had apparently woken up a little earlier than him, her curly hair neatly in place, one leg on the ground, her brows filled with vigilance.

He ran his hands through his hair, which was sticking up, and yawned. He opened his phone to check the time.

Twelve-oh-three AM.

As expected, it came right on time. So diligent.

He indifferently watched the slightly vibrating door, his voice husky and magnetic from just waking up. He raised his voice lazily and asked, "Who is it?"

Xiao Xuechen held her breath, waiting for the reply from outside.

The knocking stopped abruptly.

In the unnerving silence, Yu Xing stretched. "If there's no one there, I'm going back to sleep. We can talk about anything during the day. I'm so sleepy~"

"I'm looking for that young girl..." Hearing him say this, a reply finally came from outside. Xiao Xuechen's arm instantly broke out in goosebumps. Sure enough, it was that woman's voice!

Damn it, she's specifically looking for me. Does she really think I'm a pushover?

She snorted coldly, not to be outdone. Her tone was polite, leaving no room for criticism, "Auntie, what is it? It's so late. The young people are about to sleep. You should rest early too and take care of yourself."

Yu Xing let out a soft chuckle.

"Little girl, it's cold, and I'm afraid you'll catch a chill. I want to change your quilt for a thicker one. I've already brought it over, so open the door for me." The woman's voice was kind, but after what they already knew, it sounded chilling.

"No need, Auntie. I'm not cold, just sleepy. Please go back. You should use the thick quilt yourself. I want to sleep." Xiao Xuechen's confidence grew upon hearing that the woman couldn't force her way in.

"..." The person outside the door seemed to fall silent.

"Little girl, it's better to sleep with a thicker quilt when you're living with a boy." After a few seconds, the woman pressed on.

Yu Xing:?

What did she mean?

This made him unhappy. He rolled out of bed, put on his shoes, and walked to the door amidst Xiao Xuechen's soft "What are you doing?" The woman was still persuading them, "Also, young man, think about it. It's not good for your female companion to catch a cold. Why don't you open the door..."

"Knock, knock." Yu Xing curled his knuckles and tapped twice on the wooden door.

The voice outside was interrupted.

He chuckled, "Auntie, you should go back to sleep. It's inconvenient to come in so late at night. I'm used to sleeping without clothes."

Xiao Xuechen:?

The thing outside:?

If you sleep without clothes, how did you get to the door?

Xiao Xuechen looked at Yu Xing, who was clearly lying, and inexplicably felt like laughing in this atmosphere. She also got out of bed and came to Yu Xing's side.

The woman naturally didn't believe his words, but she guessed from their attitudes that these two might already know something.

Her voice suddenly turned grim, "Open the door for me!"

As her voice fell, the door began to be forced open. Fortunately, it was latched, so the door only opened a crack and could not widen further.

Yu Xing seized the opportunity to look outside.

It was pitch black outside, and it seemed the woman hadn't lit a candle.

He quickly turned on his phone's flashlight and shone it directly into the crack.

The door crack was too narrow. He squinted his eyes and could barely make out the silhouette of a woman.

The next moment, an eye suddenly pressed close, wide open, as if trying its best to peer into the room.

"Damn." Xiao Xuechen, who was also watching the door crack, yelped in surprise and instinctively took a step back. However, a cold glint flashed before her eyes, and she saw a dagger thrusting into the crack at a speed her eyes could barely follow. The hand holding the dagger was beautiful, but it was clean, swift, and devoid of any emotion.

She looked up along this hand, and a cold light flickered in Yu Xing's dark eyes, emitting a chilling glow in the darkness. His slightly upturned eyes held an indescribable smile, which, along with his indifferent lips, made him seem... gleeful? Or absorbed?

It was like a perverted killer had found his prey and was calculating something she didn't want to think about.

This expression stunned her. The change in his demeanor for that instant sent a chill down her spine, even as an ally. Her hair stood on end, as if she, too, would be sliced into pieces by this person while he smiled, with a dagger in hand!

This person... is so dangerous...

What jolted her awake was a scream from the thing outside the door. Following the sound of the blade cutting into flesh, Xiao Xuechen shivered and saw the shattered eye withdraw. Yu Xing pulled the dagger back, and the door slammed shut with a "bang," and then...

"No blood. As expected, it should be a corpse." San's voice was the same as before, but Xiao Xuechen felt as if a demon was whispering.

No wonder. The sensory experience at such close range just now had left too deep an impression on her.

"Hm?" Noticing Xiao Xuechen's strange expression, Yu Xing glanced over.

"N-nothing." He's a teammate, a powerful figure, a good person... Xiao Xuechen chanted in her heart.

The next moment, Yu Xing realized her thoughts.

"Haha, little sister, don't be afraid. I'm actually very kind~" He slightly bent down, retracting the dagger, and revealed a harmless smile that was like a bright light in the darkness, instantly dispelling the gloomy aura around him.

Xiao Xuechen covered her eyes.

Forget it... I'll just pretend I didn't see anything. Yes, he's very kind!

"Bang!"

Another loud noise made the two, who had just dealt with the thing outside the door, look towards the source of the sound.

It was the window.

Outside the window, the village chief stood there at some unknown time. His square face was contorted into a twisted smile. He reached out and pushed open the unlocked window frame.

"This is bad!" Xiao Xuechen cried out and rushed to close the window. Yu Xing, of course, was faster. He strode over, but before he could touch the window, the village chief let out a cold laugh and disappeared into the darkness.

Gone? Yu Xing had a feeling it wouldn't be that simple.

As he reached out to close the window again, he heard a familiar, urgent, and fearful female voice approaching, "Don't close it! Help me! Let me in!"

The girl's figure ran from another civilian house. In the dim moonlight, her cute face was contorted in terror.

It was Ju Lan.

Xiao Xuechen's eyes widened slightly, and a thought popped into her head: Why did she go out?

Seeing the girl about to pounce and climb through the window into their room, Yu Xing, with lightning speed and ruthless efficiency, slammed the window shut.

"No!!" Ju Lan screamed, clinging to the outside of the window and banging on it, "Let me in, let me in!"

"Weren't you staying with Carlos? You came out, where is he?" Xiao Xuechen remembered something and questioned her.

"I woke up and he wasn't in the room. There was a paper figure on his bed. I don't know where he is! Please, let me in. There's a ghost, there's a ghost--"

As Ju Lan spoke, two slender figures slowly materialized behind her.

They were two villagers.

Two villagers, one holding an axe, the other dragging a wood-chopping knife.

Ju Lan glanced back, then turned around in despair, tears streaming from her eyes: "Please... Xu Yuan and the others won't let me in. There's only here left..."

Yu Xing pressed his hand against the window and, upon hearing her words, turned his head to look at Xiao Xuechen.

"What do you think? Should we open it?"

The decision was suddenly thrown to her by Yu Xing. Xiao Xuechen was startled for a moment, then, relying on a crucial intuition, realized this was Yu Xing testing her.

She didn't know what kind of feedback her answer would give her from Yu Xing, but she knew what the correct choice was as a deducer.

She closed her eyes, her tone laced with reluctance:

"We can't open it."

Ju Lan's expression shattered, and a bone-deep hatred rose in her eyes.