She Saw It

"Knock knock knock."

There was a knock on the door, and after a while, the sound of slippers approaching came from inside. A woman's voice cautiously asked, "Who is it?"

Yu Xing ignored the overwhelming stench and spoke in a normal, polite tone. "Excuse me, are you our guide, Gao Yiling? We're tourists who just arrived in town today. Are you in charge?"

Upon hearing this topic, the person inside seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and the door opened a crack, revealing the face of the girl who had been arguing with someone downstairs.

The girl was still a little uneasy. After a moment of hesitation, she made sure the people outside didn't look menacing before letting go of their hands. "Yes... I should be in charge. I'm sorry, I delayed your enjoyment because of personal matters."

"I've been the only guide for this tour group to Nanshui Town, and the travel agency can't find you a replacement. It's all my fault..."

"It's nothing, we saw what happened downstairs too." Yu Xing smiled at Gao Yiling, who only reached his chest. "We thought it was a bit strange, so we came up to check it out."

Gao Yiling's eyes dimmed; she naturally understood what "a little strange" meant.

Given her family's situation, she's almost at her wit's end.

"Lingling, who's here?"

Suddenly, a weak voice came from inside the house. Gao Yiling snapped back to reality, turned around, and called out, "Dad, it's nothing, it's just my tourists. You can go back to sleep."

There really are people here?

Yu Xing's eyes flashed, and she subtly shifted her body to give a wider view to the Nightmare beside her.

He could see the living room behind Gao Yiling. The living room had a simple style, with a lot of wooden furniture and little decoration. The sofa was against the wall and empty.

"Since they're guests, invite them in and have a seat. Standing at the door... cough cough cough cough..." After a series of earth-shattering coughs, the voice continued, "What kind of behavior is this?"

"Oh, right, right!" Gao Yiling then remembered to invite them inside. She forced an apologetic smile. "Come in and rest for a while. I remember the meeting time I told you was 3 p. m., but I have things to do before then. You can come to my house and rest for a bit; it's warmer inside than outside."

The three were let inside, and to be honest, the room wasn't much warmer than outside.

Gao Yiling was wearing a thin top and a skirt, which made her presence quite incongruous in a town where many people had frozen to death.

Yu Xing sat down on the sofa and looked down at the coffee table in front of her.

The wooden coffee table wasn't very clean; there were some oil stains on the surface, and it also had holes of various sizes. No matter how you looked at it, it was no longer suitable for use.

Hua Subai and Yan sat on either side of him, behaving like guests and not touching anything without permission.

Gao Yiling brought over a teapot and several cups, and without any formalities, said, "Please help yourselves if you want some water. I have to take care of my dad, so please excuse me for a moment."

With that, she turned and walked towards the bedroom.

She opened the bedroom door, then closed it again. Due to the angle, Yu Xing and the others couldn't see what was inside for a moment.

"... Strange," Nightmare whispered. "Although her father spoke, this smell doesn't seem like a place where a living person could live. I'm still more inclined to believe that her father is dead."

How can a dead person talk?

Coincidentally, the thing that strategists see most often is the dead talking, and them talking in all sorts of different ways.

"Heh, the whole room is deathly still. I advise you not to drink this water either." Hua Subai pushed the teapot away with disgust and wiped his hands.

[Current Main Quest completed]

The system suddenly popped up, and this time Yu Xing heard a cold, mechanical voice again.

However, after the completion announcement, no new tasks were given.

"It seems the new quest won't trigger until after 3 PM. Until then, it's more worthwhile to go to town; we might stumble upon Side Quest," Nightmare said thoughtfully. "But the guide is also a concern."

Yu Xing straightened the wrinkles in her clothes, adjusted the painting tube she carried with her, and pondered for a moment, "Although there are obvious strange things in this room, I don't sense any malice. In that case, I'm even more interested in seeing what's going on in the bedroom."

It was that "father" who asked Gao Yiling to invite them in. If there was no ill intent, then what was the purpose?

Suddenly, Yan remembered something. "Let me see it!"

Yu Xing glanced at her.

"I'm a woman, so I'm more likely to gain your trust in this situation. Just wait and see!" Nightmare stood up confidently and went straight to the bedroom door to knock.

"Guide, it's a bit awkward for us to just sit here. Actually, I used to be a caregiver. Is there anything I can do to help?"

After a moment, Gao Yiling opened the door with some surprise, holding a damp towel in her hand. "You've worked as a caregiver?"

She sized up the wolf-tailed girl's cool appearance. "... I really didn't expect that."

"When you're out having fun, you should dress up according to your mood. I didn't dress like this when I was a caregiver." Yan shrugged, her eyes already drifting towards Gao Yiling's back. "Let me help you."

The bedroom wasn't large, and the bed was empty, but there was a rather heavy wardrobe next to the door, blocking the corner furthest from the door.

She saw two thermos flasks and a basin there, with steam rising from the basin.

It must be there!

Damn it, if she had just taken two more steps, she would have been able to see that blind spot.

She was prepared to be rejected by Gao Yiling, but she used this method to try and get a glimpse of the bedroom. Unfortunately, she couldn't see anything, which left her somewhat resentful.

As a result, Gao Yiling's eyes lit up. "Thank you so much! I've always felt that I haven't taken good enough care of the patient. Could you teach me how to take care of a patient while you're at it?"

As she spoke, she affectionately took Yan's hand and led her inside.

In that instant, Yan felt a sense of foreboding, as if she were prey walking into a trap. She quickly turned around, trying to give Xing a wink.

But in that instant, a Spiritual Sense struck her. The entire living room seemed to peel away like pieces of a photograph; mold appeared on the walls, the floor was filthy, and pus covered it in varying shades. Worms crawled out of the sofa where Yu Xing and Boss Hua were sitting, and the coffee table was swarming with maggots.

A maggot was crawling on the rim of the teapot, wriggling around, and then it fell in the next second.

"Damn it!" Yan blurted out a curse, his stomach churning, especially when he saw Yu Xing and Boss Hua sitting there calmly as if they hadn't noticed anything.

This time, she didn't actively use her ability to see, but when she entered the bedroom, the changing magnetic field triggered her ability, and she passively perceived what was hidden beneath the space.

Gao Yiling seemed not to hear her loud, forceful curses, and still pulled her inside. Yan subconsciously struggled, only to find that Gao Yiling was surprisingly strong.

This kind of immense strength, which doesn't match one's appearance, is usually reserved for ghosts and monsters...

A towel was shoved into Yan's hand, and Gao Yiling immediately closed the bedroom door.

The girl's smile became much more genuine, "Please, okay?"

Outside the door, Hua Subai sat up a little straighter.

"Was she looking in our direction just now?" Yu Xing raised an eyebrow.

The look that was originally meant as a warning, but which instantly turned into one of astonishment and disgust, clearly indicated that they had seen something different.

He glanced behind him; behind the sofa was only a bare white wall.

There doesn't seem to be anything that would cause such a dramatic outburst.