When they noticed Zhu Jie acting strangely, the others soon spotted the shadow outside the door. Zhang Qizheng gestured for everyone to be quiet, but the shadow outside seemed even more patient than they were. After a full ten-odd seconds, the scene everyone dreaded finally unfolded: the figure raised a stiff arm and began knocking.
The knocking wasn't very loud, but perhaps the surroundings amplified it. Each rap made their hearts seize with fear, as if it were striking directly at them.
"Don't be afraid. As long as we don't open the door, whatever's outside can't get in," Tang Qisheng reminded them in a low voice. Everyone in the room had survived multiple missions and knew how dangerous this was.
The knocking seemed intended only to get the people inside to notice it. After a few raps, it stopped. Zhang Qizheng did something bold: he slowly walked up to the door, bent down, and peered outside through the crack.
But after just one look, he quickly backed away. Only when he'd retreated into the crowd did he manage to suppress his panic. "It's...it's Yao Shunyu. He's back..."
Before the others could react, Jiang Cheng hurried to the door and copied Zhang Qizheng's pose to look outside. Sure enough, by the faint glow of the white lantern outside, he saw Yao Shunyu standing there, pale-faced and filthy from head to toe. He was soaked through, and mud had stuck to him from who knew where.
Because of the poor lighting, Jiang Cheng couldn't make out Yao Shunyu's eyes.
Zhu Jie and the others also took turns peeking outside. Their conclusions were unanimous: it was a ghost. Yao Shunyu had become a ghost after being killed, and now he'd come back for them.
But the longer Jiang Cheng looked, the more he