The Trap

Only then did Fan Li, who had gotten into the car first, realize that Jiang Cheng hadn't followed. He turned around and looked at them strangely.

But the Fatty didn't have the time to worry about him. He noticed that Guide Zheng was staring at Jiang Cheng, his expression growing uglier by the second, his gaze turning venomous.

A few seconds passed, and the driver still made no move. Then the car door slammed shut with a bang.

It happened so fast that the Fatty jumped.

The bus sped off, leaving two deep tire tracks in the dirt.

"No! No!" Terrified by Guide Zheng's gaze, the Fatty trembled uncontrollably. Putting what had happened to Sister Nuan together with the situation now, he finally blurted out, as if only just realizing it, "It's a trap! Guide Zheng isn't human either—he's a ghost!"

Jiang Cheng ignored the Fatty. He watched the bus disappear, then slowly shook his head.

Back at the villa, Jiang Cheng went straight to the iron door leading to the third floor. The Fatty tried several times to ask him questions, but never got the chance.

Jiang Cheng reached out, and the iron door opened.

Jiang Cheng hadn't pushed it. Someone inside had turned the lock and pulled the door open.

"It's you!"

The Fatty cried out as the door opened.

Chen Xiaomeng appeared behind it, still looking as harmless as ever. She opened the door, and Jiang Cheng walked in first. The Fatty hesitated, then followed him inside.

Just as Sister Nuan had said, the third floor was indeed a darkroom with no windows. Its only lighting came from two white candles, each as thick as a baby's arm.

But in the faint candlelight, they could see that the room was spacious—larger than the master bedroom. A few meters away, a pitch-black iron door was set into the wall.

The moment he saw that door, the Fatty finally relaxed completely.

The black iron door gave him an indescribably eerie feeling, and that feeling couldn't be faked.

"I'm curious. How did you realize that was a trap?" Chen Xiaomeng sat in a chair, propping her chin on one hand and pointing vaguely toward the back of the villa with the other.

She didn't look nervous at all. If anything, there was a hint of excitement in her eyes.

Of course, it wasn't for the Fatty. It was for Jiang Cheng.

Jiang Cheng sat in the chair opposite her and looked at her. "You set it up convincingly. You left a rope on the stairs, cut the hemp rope in the storage room, and hid the pieces behind the firewood, making it look as if you'd left through the back door of the storeroom."

"But what puzzled me was this: if you'd already left, why did the ghost disguised as Sister Nuan appear in your bedroom? That made no sense."

"Also, the master bedroom where you slept had been carefully tidied. I couldn't think of any reason a ghost would do that, either."

Chen Xiaomeng smiled. "After all that, you still got tricked into leaving the villa. You just didn't get on the bus at the last moment."

Jiang Cheng shook his head. "You're wrong."

"Oh?" Chen Xiaomeng looked surprised. "What am I wrong about?"

She figured he was just too stubborn to admit defeat. It had been a long time since she'd met anyone this interesting in the Dream Realm.

"There are three things you got wrong. First, you didn't trick me into leaving the villa. I went willingly."

Jiang Cheng went on to explain, "The dirt behind the villa still had tire tracks, but there were no footprints from you. So you never left the villa. It was all a trick."

"Second, you were the only one who deceived us, because Sister Nuan was already dead."

As he spoke, he took a coin-sized object from his pocket and tossed it in front of Chen Xiaomeng, whose smile had all but disappeared.

It was a button.

Square, made of tortoiseshell, and rather rare.

"I found it in the master bedroom. It still had torn threads attached," Jiang Cheng said. "If I remember correctly, it came from Sister Nuan's coat."

"I think the ghost had just killed Sister Nuan when I reached your room. The button flew off as she struggled. After the ghost left, you tidied up the room so we wouldn't discover that Sister Nuan had been killed by a ghost. You wanted to make it look as if you'd escaped the mission."

After Jiang Cheng finished speaking, he fell silent.

The smile had vanished completely from Chen Xiaomeng's face. After a long pause, she asked in a low voice, "And the third thing?"

"The third thing is the most important." Jiang Cheng sat up straight and looked her in the eye. Both Chen Xiaomeng and the Fatty, standing nearby, tensed.

"I want to know who gave an ordinary-looking, stubby, conceited, dumb, stupid, flat-chested woman like you the nerve to scheme against me." He looked at Chen Xiaomeng as he spoke.

The Fatty froze. He knew Jiang Cheng didn't play by the rules, but he hadn't expected him to be so sharp-tongued, too.

Time seemed to stand still. Chen Xiaomeng's mouth fell open, but she couldn't get a single word out.

"All right." Jiang Cheng relaxed, leaning comfortably against the back of the chair. He lifted his chin and said, "Now I ask, you answer."

"I'll answer your ass!"

Chen Xiaomeng snatched up the porcelain vase beside her and hurled it at him. Jiang Cheng dodged with a quick tilt of his head. Her face flushed red, and she looked ready to fight him to the death.

After dodging, Jiang Cheng said calmly, "I suggest you think this through. We're in a sealed room, and it's just you and me here. If you don't do as I say, something very unfriendly might happen."

Chen Xiaomeng sneered. "Are you threatening me?"

The Fatty licked his lips and cut in. "Hey, man, you're not the only guy in here. I'm here too."

Jiang Cheng glanced at the Fatty, then continued speaking to Chen Xiaomeng. "Right, there's also a fat guy here. Think carefully."

Chen Xiaomeng's face slowly turned pale. Then she quickly glanced back at the iron door. Jiang Cheng's voice came from behind her. "Don't think about running. That door is five meters away, and I'm only three meters from you. Catching you would be easy."

Chen Xiaomeng laughed in fury. "The door will open in less than ten minutes. I don't believe you'd do anything!"

Jiang Cheng stroked his chin, looking as if he'd just realized something. "So there are still ten minutes." He stood up with a meaningful smile. "It won't take that long. Thirty seconds will do."

The Fatty's eyes suddenly widened.

Chen Xiaomeng clenched both fists. Whether from anger or fear, she trembled. After a long pause, she gritted her teeth and said, "What do you want to know? Ask quickly."

Jiang Cheng smacked his lips and sat back down. He still looked a little disappointed.

"How did you open this door?"

Chen Xiaomeng glared at him and answered irritably, "After you left yesterday, the ghost that killed Sister Nuan dragged her body here. I followed it inside."

Thank you to Brother Renjian Chunri for the tip! Thanks to Renjian Chunri, Gongzi, haoghty Puppet Master, Faith, and Brother Legendary Netherese for your additional support!