The Long-Cherished Wish (12) - The Situation

"She's lying... in your spot." Zhao Ruru's expression was hidden beneath her long hair, her dark eyes fixed on Yu Xing, unmoving.

In an instant, a subtle sense of dread spread through the blood-soaked room.

In fact, often the scariest thing is not unfamiliar ghosts or monsters, but... a familiar person suddenly showing an unfamiliar expression.

Yu Xing tilted his head, squatting down more casually. He smiled and said, "My position? Because of my close relationship with Liu Xue? So, the Master had already planned this from the day he found me, that he would never let me live."

"Perhaps, anyway, it's because of Young Master Fang." Zhao Ruru paused weakly after saying a few words, the red ribbon on her wrist disappearing into the bloodstains on her body, clinging damply to her slender, fair wrist.

Yu Xing could understand after a little thought that if the madam's beauty truly stemmed from the young master's death, then her two personal maids would naturally be implicated.

So far, Mama Liang is the only close relative who is truly good to Liu Xue, and he himself is the person Liu Xue likes. Xiao Ling, played by Zhao Ruru, has some relationship with Young Master Fang. Combining the conditions of the first two, he can boldly guess that there might be some unclear entanglement between the character Xiao Ling and Young Master Fang.

The remaining two spots, I'm afraid...

It was reserved for the bodies of Young Master Fang and Liu Xue.

The circle in the middle of the blood array is too small. Unless two urns are placed inside, it is impossible to fit Young Master Fang and Liu Xue. However, if these two people are not inside the array, then the existing three confirmed locations are meaningless.

Therefore, the five empty circles in the blood array should be placed for -- Young Master Fang, Zhao Ruru, Yu Xing, Mama Liang, and Liu Xue, respectively.

Yu Xing didn't want to dwell on how Zhao Ruru knew that the spot where the maid in charge of washing clothes was lying was reserved for him. It was obvious that Zhao Ruru's mental state was a bit off; he was in a state of lucidity but acting abnormally.

He looked at Zhao Ruru and asked, "So what are you going to do now? Do you need my help?"

"I can't leave... If I leave, I'll die." Zhao Ruru lowered her eyelids, looking at the still-dry blood on the ground, and gently tapped the ground with her pale finger. "This array will officially activate... when all five human sacrifices are placed... All the sacrifices will... die instantly, but before that, as long as someone is chosen, no matter... no matter what kind of injury they suffer, staying in the array will keep them alive."

She grinned. "Fortunately, I can't leave before it's over."

Yu Xing frowned, reached into Zhao Ruru's long hair, pinched her chin, and forced her to lift her face.

Her long black hair parted naturally to the sides, revealing a pale, small face. The smile on her lips hadn't faded, and her eyes held an emotion that was hard to decipher.

Yu Xing leaned closer to observe her, seemingly trying to decipher Zhao Ruru's current state of mind. After observing her for a while, he finally asked, "Zhao Ruru, does this formation still have the power to affect one's mind—"

The conversation ended abruptly.

A soft sound came from outside the door.

It seems someone is coming.

Yu Xing's first thought was that, because of his entry, the door to this side room, which should have been locked, was now open.

If the other party is Master, they can tell at a glance that someone else has been in and out of this place!

He immediately fell silent, stood up, avoided the blood on his feet, went to the window, pushed it open a crack, and then hid behind the only cabinet in the room that could provide cover.

The cabinet was placed in the corner, creating an isosceles triangular space together with the two right-angled walls.

Upon seeing the bloodstains on the corner of the cabinet, he knew it couldn't be moved, otherwise the blood would leave trails on the floor. So he used the cabinet for leverage, climbed up, and carefully squeezed himself into the cramped space.

In this way, from the outside, it would be impossible to imagine that someone is hiding inside.

The next moment, the side room door was pushed open, Yu Xing leaned against the wall, listening to the door open and close, and then the girl's angry voice rang out.

"Someone came in! Hey, who was that?"

Yu Xing recognized the voice as that of the girl beside the Master, and since there was only one person in the room she could communicate with, it was obvious who she was asking.

But no one answered her; Zhao Ruru only responded with a weak groan.

Yu Xing heard a muffled thud, as if the girl had kicked Zhao Ruru, tearing open her wound and causing Zhao Ruru to cry out in pain.

"I'll ask you one more time, who is that person?" The girl's gloomy voice sent chills down everyone's spine. Yu Xing's view was blocked, so he could only use his voice to discern the situation. However, the audience who didn't want to see this scene from a blind perspective temporarily switched to Zhao Ruru's side, and saw the situation inside the room clearly.

The girl held a short knife in her hand, the blade pressed against Zhao Ruru's face, slowly drawing a fresh, bleeding gash.

Zhao Ruru was in pain, but she didn't have the strength to scream; she was already so weak that she could only breathe.

"Still not going to talk?" The girl placed the knife against her other cheek.

The sharp blade was reflected in Zhao Ruru's pupils. Finally, panting, she said, "Masked, I can't see..."

"Then you should be able to see where he's hiding now, right?" the girl threatened.

Zhao Ruru hesitated for a long time. Seeing the knife hanging over her leg, about to pierce her thigh, she trembled and pointed her finger at the cabinet.

The girl's gaze followed her pointing finger, and when she saw the cabinet, which was as tall as a person, a cruel smile appeared on her lips.

She let Zhao Ruru go for the time being and walked towards the cabinet.

Yu Xing could hear the footsteps getting closer and closer. He knew that Zhao Ruru might have pointed him in the right direction, and his breathing became lighter and lighter.

The girl walked lightly and slowly, as if she knew there were ventilation holes in the cabinet so that the person inside could see what was happening outside, and deliberately walked in a way that created a sense of oppression.

When she suddenly opened the cabinet door, it was empty.

The girl was stunned for a moment, then her gaze shifted downwards, noticing the untouched corner of the cabinet, and then the open window. She flew into a rage, storming around the blood array back to Zhao Ruru, stomping on it, and yelling at Zhao Ruru's pained expression, "Trying to play tricks on me at a time like this? Giving others time to escape?"

"If you delay the Master's business, you'll experience a true fate worse than death before you die!" She viciously stomped on Zhao Ruru's wound a few times before quickly leaving the side room, making sure to lock it again, and then went to chase after the person who "escaped through the window."

Zhao Ruru was covered in sweat from the pain, looking utterly miserable, yet a faint smile played on her lips.

The audience was somewhat shocked.

[Oh my god, Zhao Ruru is in such a bad state, her injuries are so severe!]

[Look, she's still laughing. Has she finally gone mad?]

[Luckily, her prediction was very accurate, and the fortune teller cooperated well too. If she had pointed directly to the window, that woman might have moved the cabinet to look.]

[That's right. Only if the fortune teller points to the cabinet once will the woman not think that the lucky one isn't inside the cabinet, but behind it. She will definitely think the fortune teller lied to her. With this comparison, the clue she discovered about the window herself becomes clear.]

[That was pretty impressive, no wonder they're on the same team, they have great teamwork.]

[Luckily, I reacted within three seconds. If it were me, I definitely wouldn't have thought to move the window. After all, I'm not even sure if I could have climbed behind the cabinet in three seconds.]

[My impression of Zhao Ruru has changed. I originally thought she just got lucky and gained the ability to tell fortunes, but after seeing her today, I realize she's a real man.]

[You know what, she'd always seemed pretty timid, but in that crucial moment, she actually held her nerve.]

[I'm a viewer of Xing, and I'd like to ask Zhao Ruru what happened to get her trapped here? How are Cold Wine Luo Liang doing?]

Just as the audience began discussing the information from God's perspective, Yu Xing nimbly climbed over the top of the cabinet and flipped out.

He strode over to Zhao Ruru, helped her up as she tried to sit up again, and checked her injuries.

She had even more blood on her.

In reality, most of the blood didn't seep from the wound; rather, the blood patterns in the blood array snaked upwards, covering Zhao Ruru's clothes and skin.

Thanks to this blood, Zhao Ruru's injury did not worsen, but strangely remained in a constant state.

"I'll ask you one more time, you really can't leave? That means you can't move until this phase is over, right?" Yu Xing was very careful, making sure that apart from her hands, there wasn't a drop of blood on Zhao Ruru's body.

Zhao Ruru coughed a few times. "Yes... you're concerned about me? That's really something, I... cough cough cough, I thought you only cared about the wine..."

Yu Xing's forehead twitched. "I also care about the food."

It was obvious that she was talking nonsense.

I doubt she'll even know why she said those things once she's out of that state.

Zhao Ruru continued, "I don't have a knife, I don't... I don't have a dagger... Ugh, I'm going to die, but I won't die... Ah, will Zhao Mou throw me into the audience of Lingren?"

Yu Xing sighed. What had he just heard? Lingren??

Seeing that this person's mind was becoming increasingly confused, perhaps she had used up her last bit of rationality dealing with the girl earlier, and now she was left with only indescribable anxiety. Before she could pour out all the panic she had been holding in her heart, Yu Xing held her shoulders and interrupted her reading.

Did you use your True Sight Dust?

"... What?" It took Zhao Ruru a few seconds to realize that Yu Xing was asking her a question.

After a few more seconds, she finished thinking, "It's no use."

"Give it to me, it's a waste to keep it on you." Yu Xing held out her hand.

Wow, so this is what they call "caring"?

[Such a straight man!]

[Is this the right time to actually observe the dust? I thought about it, and hey, it really is.]

[That's how it should have been. Fortunately, we cleared the level quickly, so Zhao Ruru might still have survived.]

Zhao Ruru was in a daze for a while, then suddenly sighed.

"The ghost bag is in the Master's room. Do you think... he's blind?"

Given how badly she's injured, unless the Master is blind, how could he not see the ghost pouch hanging on her waist, the one used for divination?

The only good news is that since the lady had given her the same kind of bag before, it means that ghost bags already exist in this world. Therefore, Zhao Ruru won't be mistaken for an outsider, recognized by NPCs, and then killed.

But that's only for now. Once the Master discover more, it's uncertain whether they'll still be kept in the dark.

Yu Xing paused, realizing that if she wanted to get the True Sight Powder to fight the evil spirits, she would first have to go to the Master's bedroom.

"The wine is with the Master..." Zhao Ruru suddenly remembered the key point, "But he doesn't... know that my bag is with the Master. You can... meet up first."

Then, a smile reappeared on her lips, "Hmm... When are you all going to meet me underground...?"

Yu Xing: "..."

"Okay, I'll go meet up with Brother Jiu first." Yu Xing selectively ignored the last sentence, no longer wanting to waste any more time here, because the girl or the Master's other subordinates might return at any time.

The door was locked from the outside. He glanced at the window and then simply jumped out.

By now, the Master should already know that he has betrayed us, right?

If someone enters the side room, the girl can easily find out he's no longer in his room with a simple search; the key to this is all too obvious.

In other words, he would have to complete all his tasks while enduring the Master's hostility.

"Heh, this is quite interesting." Yu Xing stepped onto the lawn, not in a hurry to find Zhao Yijiu, but instead planned to find out the current situation inside the Fang Mansion.

The Master arrested one of the madam's maids and also arrested Mama Liang, acting with complete impunity as if no one in the entire Fang Mansion cared about him.

And what about the master? And the mistress?

What state was Young Master Fang in after his death?

He circled the Fang Mansion, eavesdropping on almost every servant, including the steward, from every nook and cranny.

He didn't even need to try to bring up the topic; almost every servant was quietly discussing these matters in the room.

By piecing together several pieces of information, Yu Xing quickly pieced together what had happened during the time he was away from the Fang Mansion and on the funeral street.

First, the lady accused the two maids of becoming increasingly disrespectful and disregarding their master, always wearing cold expressions as if they were the ones who should be served.

The exact words were. "I used to treat you all like younger sisters, and it was one thing that you didn't know your place, but today my son is in trouble, and I need you to do something, and you're all so unwilling! You've really given me face!"

After hearing this, Yu Xing could only praise the lady's brilliant plan.

She was lenient with the maids because she needed their blood, but the maids' cold attitude was probably something she had planned long ago, so that she could get rid of these two semi-knowledgeable people as soon as possible after the deed was done.

When the lady was angry, the Master happened to be present and suggested that she make an example of Xiao Ling by locking her up and starving her, while Xiao Meng should reflect on her actions.

In reality, all they needed to do was give Xiao Ling an excuse to disappear.

Then, Mama Liang learned that all the money she earned each month was being spent by the family's old gambler. She was so angry that she fell ill.

This was clearly intentional, and it's likely just Master fabricated for outsiders.

Mama Liang Liu Bingxian inside and out, so even if she knew he was lying to her, she wouldn't be so furious.

Yu Xing thought that either Mama Liang was seriously injured by the Master and thrown into the side room, or the Master told her Xiao Jin's true intentions, which made her so angry that she suffered a heart attack.

Leaving that aside for now, what Yu Xing heard from the butler was the most important change—

I heard that the Master told the old man that Young Master Fang still has a chance to be resurrected.

The resurrection required a very complicated ritual, one of which was to summon back the young master's soul and have him marry another extremely yin soul.

Master Fang loved his son dearly.

So... he agreed to the Master's suggestion almost without hesitation.