"Good Lord... what on earth did she do to deserve such a brutal death?!"
Liu Chengfeng's lips trembled uncontrollably. He seemed unable to imagine the inhuman torture the female ghost before them had endured while she was alive...
Submerged in a freezing water dungeon, her limbs impaled, every bone in her body removed little by little...
The mere thought sent a chill through his entire body.
"Let's head back down."
Ning Qiushui seemed to have realized something and asked Liu Chengfeng to carry him away from the platform.
Once they were down, he patted Liu Chengfeng's shoulder, signaling for him to set him down. After this little while, he seemed to feel somewhat better and could walk again.
"You all right, buddy?"
Still worried, Liu Chengfeng asked doubtfully.
Ning Qiushui waved a hand and said weakly:
"I don't think I'm injured. It just hurts all over, like knives are slicing my flesh and digging out my bones..."
Liu Chengfeng and Bai Xiaoxiao exchanged a look and immediately understood. The female ghost had been trying to kill Ning Qiushui... using the same method the villagers had used to kill her!
If Guangchuan's memorial tablet hadn't happened to fall and draw the ghost's attention, Ning Qiushui's fate would probably have been...
"Judging by her reaction, she seemed to... know Guangchuan?"
Even someone as oblivious as Liu Chengfeng could see the unusual grief in the ghost's eyes when she held Guangchuan's memorial tablet.
Bai Xiaoxiao glanced at Liu Chengfeng in surprise and teased:
"I never thought someone as thickheaded as you could be observant."
Liu Chengfeng snorted.
"I'm rough around the edges, not blind!"
Ning Qiushui said:
"She didn't just know him."
"She was probably related to Guangchuan... either his wife or his mother."
"Personally, I'm leaning toward the latter."
Liu Chengfeng drew a sharp breath:
"In that case... something really did happen during the great drought in the village all those years ago, something no one knew about and the villagers never recorded!"
"But the ghost in Fangcun Pond wanted us to bring 'her' over. Who... is 'her'?"
Ning Qiushui and Bai Xiaoxiao exchanged a look.
She nodded, then shook her head slightly.
"It's getting late. Let's head back first... it'll be dark soon. This village is seriously eerie, and it's dangerous at night!"
Both men agreed with Bai Xiaoxiao's suggestion.
It wasn't actually that late yet, but it would take them at least an hour to get back to the guesthouse from here.
With plenty of questions on their minds, the three began their return journey.
Fortunately, the trip went fairly smoothly, and they encountered nothing else strange in the woods.
It was almost dinnertime when they returned to the guesthouse. Ning Qiushui and Liu Chengfeng went back to their room to freshen up, then knocked on Bai Xiaoxiao's door to invite her to dinner. But she stood in her room with a grave expression instead of immediately joining them in the dining hall.
"What's wrong, Bai?"
Noticing her expression, Ning Qiushui sensed something was amiss and asked.
Bai Xiaoxiao sneered:
"Someone entered my room after we left this afternoon."
As she spoke, she took out the Black Flashlight from earlier and shone it on the floor.
Footprint after footprint appeared on the seemingly empty floor. Although they were scattered, it was still clear that they belonged to two different people!
Both men's expressions changed.
"This..."
Bai Xiaoxiao's eyes gleamed as she said:
"When Qiushui mentioned this morning that a charred ghost had been searching for something in his room last night, I made a mental note. There's definitely something wrong with this guesthouse, but we can't rule out... human interference."
"So when I came back to my room after lunch, I sprinkled a layer of Special Powder on the floor. I did the same in your room."
With the flashlight illuminating the tracks, she followed the footprints along the corridor and eventually discovered... someone had secretly entered all three of their rooms!
And judging by the footprints, it had been the same person!
"Size thirty-five shoes. Most likely a woman."
As she spoke, Bai Xiaoxiao glanced at Ning Qiushui:
"Looks like we've found the reason a certain unlucky fellow was targeted by that charred ghost on his first night."
Ning Qiushui said nothing, his head still lowered in thought. Beside him, Liu Chengfeng lost his composure first. His fists clenched tightly as rage flared inside him:
"Motherfucker!"
"What rotten bastard would screw us over when we've never done anything to them? If I catch them, I'll...!"
Watching Liu Chengfeng lose his temper, Bai Xiaoxiao said flatly:
"You'll what? Kill her?"
"I..."
Her words abruptly left Liu Chengfeng speechless.
"I have to warn you. Once you're beyond a blood gate, never kill anyone yourself."
"Why?"
"Because anyone who dies beyond a blood gate will become a ghost!"
Liu Chengfeng's breath caught.
Bai Xiaoxiao continued sternly:
"People who commit suicide or are killed by ghosts become completely neutral entities. They don't affect the instance. But if someone murdered by another person becomes a ghost... that's a different story!"
"They usually harbor intense resentment and will seek revenge immediately. They might even... drag other people beyond the blood gate into it!"
Looking at Bai Xiaoxiao's stern expression, Liu Chengfeng couldn't help swallowing. The malicious impulse born of his anger vanished as well.
But soon, he couldn't hold back again and said:
"But... but we can't just sit around waiting to die!"
"Someone screwed us over, and we're supposed to stay quiet? What kind of bullshit is that?!"
Bai Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes and sighed:
"You... really are impatient!"
"You have to take things one step at a time, don't you?"
Liu Chengfeng also seemed to realize how stupid he looked, raging helplessly like this, and scratched his head awkwardly.
"Right... right. I got ahead of myself... sorry."
At that moment, Ning Qiushui, who had remained silent beside them, spoke:
"Looks like what I've been worried about has come true after all."
Both turned to look at Ning Qiushui, and Liu Chengfeng raised his thick eyebrows.
"Buddy, what were you worried about?"
Ning Qiushui didn't answer him immediately. Instead, he pointed at the footprints on the floor and said to Bai Xiaoxiao:
"I'm almost certain already, but I'd still like to confirm it. Bai, go check whether these footprints... belong to Tang Jiao."
Bai Xiaoxiao nodded and left. Before long, she returned and nodded to both men, her expression slightly cold.
"It's her!"
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