Chapter 17: Ghost Mountain Villa 17
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For many people in the entertainment industry, the treatment provided by the production team represents their status. Changing rooms midway through the show would usually lead to dissatisfaction from both the artists and their fans.
However, when Yan Shixun requested that all the guests on the right side move to the left side, everyone quickly complied without any complaints or questions. Even in the live chat, many people were anxiously urging the guests to move faster, the fans had nothing but supportive comments.
It seemed as though any delay in the guests’ actions could put their lives in danger.
However, it was not too difficult to move the guests from the right side.
On the right side, there were four rooms on the second and third floors. The male actor on the second floor was already mentally unstable and had been sedated in a room on the first floor temporarily converted into an emergency space. Meanwhile, Liu Yiyi, who was seriously injured, was also in the emergency room on the third floor.
Terrified by the ghostly figure in the mirror, Ding Xi didn’t even bother packing her things. As soon as Yan Shixun finished speaking, she rushed to the room of the only other female guest, Bai Shuang.
As for the guest on the second floor, although he was not pleased and felt it was beneath him to take orders from someone who hadn’t even entered the entertainment industry, he had witnessed the consequences of not obeying Yan Shixun’s instructions in the morning. So, he obediently carried his luggage and moved into the room on the left side of the second floor, sharing it with another guest.
Once the room assignments were settled, the staff members breathed a sigh of relief. They had been worried that the steward would suddenly appear from some corner and stop their actions midway, but everything had gone smoothly.
However, in Yan Shixun’s view, things had gone too smoothly.
Based on his deductions, the red room on the right was under the control of the steward and the creatures in the villa. To them, the person in the right room was their “possession.” Now that the occupant of the right room had moved to the left, aligning themselves against the steward, it was a potential loss for him and possibly a gain for the female ghost. Yan Shixun sensed a power struggle within the villa that was far from over.
So, why hadn’t the steward appeared at all from the beginning to the end?
“When was the last time you saw the steward?” Yan Shixun asked in a deep voice.
The group hesitated for a moment, trying to recall.
“During breakfast?”
“Yeah, I think it was during breakfast. He went to the kitchen, and I stayed in the living room. But I haven’t seen him come out since.”
“Now that you mention it, that’s right. We haven’t seen him after breakfast.”
As everyone discussed their timelines, they realized that after breakfast, the steward had not appeared in front of any of them.
They exchanged glances, seeing the questions and panic in each other’s eyes.
— More terrifying than seeing the bugs was the brief appearance of the bugs and then their disappearance inside the rooms. It made people suspicious, wondering whether the bugs were hiding under the pillows or crawling on their backs.
Yan Shixun, on the other hand, held onto the gilded railing and looked down from the third floor into the living room.
He didn’t believe that the steward would stay in the kitchen all the time.
Yesterday afternoon, the steward had closely followed his every move. Last night, the steward had also been standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room, watching the garden and the shed.
Someone who wanted to control everything couldn’t possibly allow everyone to roam freely in what he considered his territory. However, the steward had never shown up.
Unless… there was something more important occupying the steward’s attention, preventing him from diverting his focus to monitor what everyone was doing.
Yan Shixun suddenly said, “Who is watching the first-floor first aid room?”
The staff looked at each other and hesitated, saying, “When we heard someone shouting, we thought someone else was injured, so we quickly grabbed the first aid team and the medical kit and came up. The people guarding the first aid room are all here now…”
As they spoke, the staff suddenly fell silent.
They also realized the purpose behind Yan Shixun’s question and anxiously leaned against the railing, craning their necks to look down, trying to see the situation in the first aid room.
However, under the U-shaped structure, those standing on the third floor on the left side couldn’t see the first aid room on the first floor, which was also on the left.
“No way! There were only two people in the first aid room… Liu Yiyi!”
The responsive staff immediately rushed down the stairs.
But Yan Shixun was much quicker in his reaction.
As the staff began to move, Yan Shixun swiftly braced one hand against the railing. His perfectly toned arm tensed as he exerted a sudden burst of strength, leaping over the railing from the third floor and soaring down towards the first floor.
Amidst the gasps and exclamations of the onlookers, Yan Shixun landed gracefully on the carpet in the first-floor living room. He slightly crouched to absorb the impact, then straightened up and walked briskly towards the first-aid room.
The room that should have been securely closed was now open.
Through the slightly ajar door, one could see the male actor still fast asleep on the bed, while the bed that had held Liu Yiyi was empty, with only a white blanket half-fallen onto the floor.
Just like the appearance when Liu Yiyi struggled to climb down from the bed in the morning.
After taking a few steps past the living room’s screen and the enormous decorative vase, Yan Shixun realized that Liu Yiyi had not disappeared but was lying on the floor. Her head and shoulders were stuck in the doorway, preventing the door from closing.
He scanned the surroundings and found no signs of any presence. Then, he crouched down next to Liu Yiyi. With one hand, he pushed the door panel that was pinning her and took a quick look inside the room before bending down to check on Liu Yiyi’s condition.
Liu Yiyi remained in a deep slumber, still unresponsive and lacking any autonomy. Judging by her posture and the wrinkles on her clothes, it appeared that someone had forcibly dragged her from the bed to the doorway, pulling her through under her arms.
The person who had dragged her showed no concern for her well-being, only wanting to take her away. During this forced maneuver, her previously bandaged wounds had reopened, staining her clothes and the floor with blood.
If Yan Shixun hadn’t sensed that something was wrong and rushed to the first aid room as quickly as possible, taking the shortest route, Liu Yiyi might have been taken away without a trace.
As he got closer, Yan Shixun suddenly noticed something unusual about Liu Yiyi’s body.
——The smell of blood coming from Liu Yiyi’s torn wound was foul.
Unlike the usual iron-like scent of blood, the odor from Liu Yiyi’s body was more like the stench of blood that had been sitting for years.
It was the same scent as the red wine bottle Yan Shixun had found in Liu Yiyi’s room.
So, was the blood she had consumed still taking effect, conducting the “exchange” ritual within her body?
And the creature that had just taken Liu Yiyi away while everyone was away, likely the one who had severely injured her with an axe.
“Mr. Yan, this, this!”
The paramedics rushed down the stairs and saw Liu Yiyi lying on the ground, covered in blood. She immediately became anxious.
Liu Yiyi’s wound was on her lower back. Although emergency treatment by Yan Shixun earlier in the morning had stabilized her condition, any slight mishandling could damage her kidneys and spine. Not to mention, if the wound got infected and inflamed, with the current lack of adequate medical supplies, she might go into shock and face life-threatening situations.
The paramedic was on the verge of tears, looking at Yan Shixunwith hopeful eyes, hoping he could work another miracle.
Yan Shixun didn’t divert his attention to the paramedic. He stood tall and walked into the room with large strides, lifting a towel folded on the side with a “swish!” in the air.
“Ren Lai Ge Chongzhi, Gui Lai Ge Chongshan. Qian Xie Po Bu Chu, Wan Xie Po Bu Kai.” Yan Shixun chanted with a peculiar rhythm, rapidly reciting while his slender fingers landed on the bath towel, using his hand as a pen and the towel as a talisman, swiftly drawing down the symbols.
The bath towel slowly drifted down and covered Liu Yiyi’s waist and abdomen.
Whether it was an illusion or not, the paramedic felt, at that moment, that the originally ordinary bath towel flashed with a dazzling golden light, exuding a majestic and awe-inspiring force to ward off evil spirits, making them inexplicably filled with reverence.
“Her wounds have reopened, I leave the subsequent bandaging work to you,” Yan Shixun called back to the dazed paramedic, calmly passing by her and heading towards the kitchen.
“Remember to keep the bath towel covering her all the time, don’t take it off.”
The paramedics stood still for a few seconds before finding their voice, “Yes, yes, understood, Mr. Yan.”
In front of the split-screen camera, the viewers watching Yan Shixun were also taken on this roller-coaster of developments, their hearts pounding with excitement. They only breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Yan Shixun calmly diffusing the crisis.
[That’s great! Thank goodness Brother Yan is there! I suddenly feel like I might fall in love with Brother Yan, what do I do? Having Brother Yan around is so reassuring.]
[Wait a minute! I’ve seen the gestures Yan Shixun just made! I have a friend who’s a Taoist, and he drew something similar in front of me, except it was on yellow paper with cinnabar ink. He said it was an exorcism spell. Could it be that there are real ghosts in this villa?!]
[You’re only believing it now? I’ve believed in Yan Shixun since last night.]
[Taoist? So, Yan Shixun is one too? Wow, he’s kinda handsome.]
The viewer who mentioned the similar symbols had sparked a new round of discussion, but he was too busy to engage further. He quickly disconnected and went to consult his Taoist friend for confirmation.
Meanwhile, as the staff hurriedly descended from the third floor, Yan Shixun had already headed to the kitchen.
However, when he pushed open the door, the kitchen was eerily empty.
Not only was the steward who everyone claimed had not left the kitchen since this morning nowhere to be seen.
The countertops and cabinets were bare, devoid of any ingredients.
As if they had not been used in a long time.
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