"What was that?" Jiang Cheng was jolted awake and sat straight up in bed.
The Fatty had dark circles under his eyes, and his ears were perked up high. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "It sounded... it sounded like a gong, but much duller than a normal gong."
The sound drifted over from far away, definitely from outside the compound. It came in one burst after another, and anyone could hear the fear in the gong player's strikes. Jiang Cheng got out of bed and went to the door. "Sounds like something happened in the village."
"Should we go take a look?" The Fatty grew tense, too. If something had happened in the village at this hour, there was a good chance it was aimed at them. Besides, the villagers didn't seem trustworthy.
"Wait." Jiang Cheng pressed himself against the door and peered outside through the crack. Only after he spotted Chen Hao and the others emerging from the side rooms in the distance did he realize they'd probably been drawn by the gong, too. They were standing on tiptoe, looking toward the sound.
The sky outside was already growing faintly bright. Worried it might be a trap, Jiang Cheng called Chen Hao and the others first. Once he confirmed that the people outside were really them, he opened the door and went out.
The Fatty followed close behind him, determined.
"Doc," the Fatty asked curiously, "aren't we going over?" He'd thought Jiang Cheng would go talk things over with Chen Hao and the others.
This was a haunted house, after all. The wind blew through the area, rustling the leaves and weeds. The Fatty suddenly felt uneasy, as if something unspeakable were hiding behind the trees or deep in the weeds.
The Fatty seemed to smell danger