The thought of something unclean lurking unseen in his room, watching him from the shadows, gave Ning Qiushui goosebumps all over!
He left the room without betraying anything and stepped into the corridor.
But then something happened that made his hair stand on end...
The red glow from the Blood Jade in his palm didn't fade... it actually grew brighter!
Fuck!
Ning Qiushui couldn't help swearing inwardly.
He wandered around with the Blood Jade, his unease growing stronger!
He soon discovered that the red jade glowed wherever he went inside the guesthouse!
Could... the entire guesthouse be haunted?
After pondering for a moment, he immediately found Bai Xiaoxiao and Liu Chengfeng, called them into his room, and shut the door.
Then Ning Qiushui took out the Blood Jade and placed it before them.
"Hey, isn't that the piece from our last scenario... Fuck! Why is it glowing?!"
Surprise crossed Liu Chengfeng's face, then turned to terror.
Remembering the female ghost from the previous Blood Gate, he scanned every corner of the room.
But he saw nothing frightening.
"Stop looking..."
Ning Qiushui shook his head, his expression growing considerably more serious.
"The Blood Jade glows anywhere inside the guesthouse."
Then he carefully explained the Blood Jade's origins and effects to Bai Xiaoxiao.
After listening, Bai Xiaoxiao knitted her brows.
Her red lips parted slightly.
"There's definitely something wrong with this guesthouse."
With that, Bai Xiaoxiao looked around Ning Qiushui's room before fixing her gaze on the wooden bed.
Someone had cleaned the wooden bed carefully. It was fairly clean, and even the tiny corners around the headboard hadn't been missed, but...
Bai Xiaoxiao extended her slender fingers and lightly brushed the floor beneath the bed. Her fingers came away coated in a thick layer of dust, along with a little... hair.
"See that?"
Both men nodded. Ning Qiushui looked thoughtful, while Liu Chengfeng was utterly confused.
"Doesn't that just mean they didn't clean underneath?"
"That's pretty normal..."
Ning Qiushui said:
"That's not the issue. The dust... is too thick."
"It's like... a house that hadn't been used for a long time was suddenly cleaned out specifically for us."
Liu Chengfeng froze.
"Exactly."
A glimmer of appreciation appeared in Bai Xiaoxiao's eyes as she looked at Ning Qiushui.
She had guided many newcomers.
Few were as perceptive and observant as Ning Qiushui.
In fact, most newcomers weren't even as capable as Liu Chengfeng. When something happened, all they knew how to do was scream and cry for help.
"...Wait, that doesn't make sense. This is the village tourism agency's guesthouse. From what that NPC named Hou Kong said earlier, the village seems to care quite a bit about tourism. How could it have gone unused for so long?"
An inexplicable chill crept over Liu Chengfeng.
Ning Qiushui continued:
"You're right. Unless..."
As he spoke, his expression shifted slightly. He looked up and met Bai Xiaoxiao's eyes.
Her expression was equally grave. She gave an almost imperceptible nod, as though she knew what he was thinking.
"Unless what?"
Frantic with impatience, Liu Chengfeng leaned forward, thrusting his face close as he asked.
Ning Qiushui shook his head.
"...We can't be completely sure yet. I'll tell you later."
Bai Xiaoxiao checked the time.
"There isn't much time left today, and we don't know when it gets dark in this village, so let's turn in early after dinner."
"We'll explore the village tomorrow morning."
Liu Chengfeng raised his eyebrows.
"We've got all that time tonight. Aren't we going out for a look?"
He remembered the previous Blood Gate. The female ghost had told them never to go to the third floor, yet their way out had been hidden there.
This time, the NPC named Hou Kong had also told them not to go out at night. Perhaps...
Bai Xiaoxiao glanced at him and said evenly:
"The worlds beyond the Blood Gates are usually extremely dangerous at night!"
"Think back to your last Blood Gate. Didn't the ghosts come out to kill people at night?"
"Unless there's a clear hint or a definite clue that requires us to take the risk, I don't recommend acting at night."
"Of course, if you think you're the chosen one, pretend I didn't say anything."
Liu Chengfeng immediately wilted.
After dinner, the three returned to their own rooms to rest.
As it turned out, Bai Xiaoxiao's experience really was useful.
At around seven, darkness fell over Rain-Praying Village at a speed visible to the naked eye.
It took less than ten minutes to go from bright sunshine to pitch-black darkness!
Even from the attraction nearest the guesthouse, walking back in ten minutes would have been impossible!
In other words... anyone still outside searching for clues to survival would have to return in the dark!
It's not midnight yet. They should be fine, right?
That was what Ning Qiushui thought.
The moonlight was bright and clear. Although night had fallen outside, the dirt road was still visible.
The Blood Jade lay on the bed, giving off a faint glow.
He lay down, closed his eyes, and rested quietly.
Sometime in the latter half of the night, Ning Qiushui woke.
Something had startled him awake.
Ning Qiushui heard... what seemed to be a noise in his room.
Almost instantly, he was wide awake!
He held his breath and listened carefully. Something seemed to be crawling across the floor of his room!
Scrape-
Scrape-
Whatever it was seemed to have claws. As it crawled across the floor, it made a scraping noise that sent shivers down his spine!
Ning Qiushui went rigid.
He was almost certain that this thing... couldn't possibly be human!
The Blood Jade in his palm grew hotter and hotter.
What's... down there?
The strong scorched smell he had noticed during the day filled his nostrils!
Ning Qiushui desperately wanted to turn his head and see what was beneath the bed... but reason told him he absolutely must not move!
A single movement... could mean the difference between life and death!
"Grrk-"
An awful sound came from the terrifying thing's throat. As it crawled, it seemed to notice Ning Qiushui and suddenly began crawling toward his end of the bed!
The scrape of claws against the floor was especially horrifying. Ning Qiushui felt cold seeping through his entire body. The foul scorched smell filled every corner of the room. If he hadn't fought to suppress it, he would have broken into a violent coughing fit!
But he knew he absolutely couldn't cough now!
Although he hadn't seen the ghastly thing crawling beneath the bed, Ning Qiushui had a vague suspicion that it couldn't see him and didn't know he was on the bed!
Under immense psychological pressure, Ning Qiushui didn't make the slightest sound.
Sure enough, some restriction prevented the ghost crawling around the room from climbing onto the bed. It crawled beneath it for a while, then, after confirming that whatever it sought wasn't there... crawled back out the door.
As it left, it even closed Ning Qiushui's door for him.
This ghost... is pretty polite.
Ning Qiushui made the self-deprecating joke inwardly.
But only he knew how dangerous that situation had truly been!
He suspected that if he had made any loud noise or met the ghost's eyes... it might have dragged him away or killed him!
After the ghost, which reeked of scorching, left, the smell in the room faded considerably.
The Blood Jade in Ning Qiushui's palm gradually cooled as well, no longer so scalding.
Just as he was about to go back to sleep, an utterly agonized male scream came from outside the window!
That soul-chilling scream instantly drove away every trace of Ning Qiushui's drowsiness!
Before you continue