Chapter 9: Ghost Mountain Villa 9
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
In the live stream split-screen, the barrage of comments that had been scrolling rapidly came to a halt.
As they watched the woman lying unconscious in the camera frame, the hearts of all the viewers couldn’t help but skip a beat. Some of them recognized her as Bai Shuang, the popular female singer who had been making headlines recently, and their anxiety grew.
[Surely, this show has a script, right? Right? Bai Shuang is just acting according to the script; nothing has really happened, right?]
[Why does it seem like there’s no movement in her chest? No, no, I’d rather this show have a script now, please.]
Amidst the concerned comments in the live chat, the hashtag #BaiShuangSafety# began trending on social media platforms in real time.
The viewers who had just been arguing about whether the show had a script or not were now united in anxiety, huddled in front of the live stream, silently praying.
Inside the villa’s garden, Yan Shixun cautiously avoided the flower-faced figures looking up at him, quickly bypassing the flowerbeds to reach Bai Shuang.
As he reached out to help Bai Shuang up from the cold ground, the sensation under his hand surprised Yan Shixun.
The human body maintains a certain level of warmth, even in the cold, the skin should be soft and elastic.
However, at this moment, Bai Shuang felt like a porcelain sculpture—smooth to the touch but cold and rigid, lacking vitality.
This didn’t resemble the temperature and softness that a living person should have.
Furthermore, Yan Shixun’s keen observational skills made him acutely aware of the abnormality in Bai Shuang’s appearance and attire.
After dinner, while all the other guests were playing games in the living room, Yan Shixun was alone in his room, reviewing the profiles of all the participants.
From the photos Bai Shuang had posted on her social media accounts, it was evident that she usually portrayed a sweet and youthful image, whether in her songs or clothing style, exuding a youthful campus atmosphere.
And today, the fact that Bai Shuang took the initiative to approach Yan Shixun with a friendly attitude also indicated her gentle personality.
However, at this moment, Bai Shuang’s typically flowing curls that hung over her shoulders were neatly gathered at the back of her head, fastened with a rose hairpin slightly tilted to the side. The hairpin emitted the scent of rose essential oil.
She was also dressed in a beautifully embroidered qipao adorned with intricate rose patterns, and around her neck, she wore a string of slightly yellowed pearl necklace.
She had her eyes tightly closed, porcelain-white skin, and ruby-red lips that resembled blood, lying horizontally under the cold, pale moonlight, looking peaceful and beautiful.
She looked like a woman on the brink of death, presenting herself in the most dignified manner for her final moments.
However, this extravagant attire was completely at odds with modern fashion trends and not the style Bai Shuang, with her personality, would have chosen.
Instead, it resembled the fashion and allure of old Shanghai from a century ago, as depicted in vintage magazines.
Yan Shixun recalled the woman he had seen when he was drawn into an illusion in Bai Shuang’s room…
“B-Brother Yan.”
Because of Yan Shixun’s swift movements, An Nanyuan had been left behind and was absolutely terrified. He stumbled and followed the path Yan Shixun had taken, avoiding the flowers, his heart racing as he desperately avoided looking at those blossoms.
He could feel that as he approached the shed, the faces on those flowers were watching him with resentful eyes, and they moved with his every step.
Finally emerging from the flowerbed, An Nanyuan felt like he had broken out in a cold sweat due to the nervousness. But when he walked up to Yan Shixun and saw him holding Bai Shuang, his heart skipped a beat.
“Is Bai Shuang… okay?”
“She’s fine, there’s still hope, so just be quiet.”
Yan Shixun didn’t have time to explain to An Nanyuan. His slender fingers moved swiftly, drawing an invisible pattern in the air above Bai Shuang’s forehead. At the same time, he muttered quickly under his breath, “Bai Shuang Shen Zhong San Jing Jiu Ling, Wei He Hu Zhi, San Hun An Ding, Jiu Ling Zhao Hui, Shen Xin An Ning. Jing Yuan Shan Zhong You, Jin Gang Fen Lie Xing, Qian Li San Hun Gui, Su Lai!”
Just as Yan Shixun finished his incantation, the symbol he drew in the air above Bai Shuang’s forehead emitted a bright golden light and then dimmed.
Bai Shuang, who had lost consciousness and was lying flat, suddenly opened her eyes and stared fixedly at Yan Shixun. Then, she opened her crimson lips and took a deep breath, as if she hadn’t breathed in a long time, followed by exhaling a long breath.
At this moment, Bai Shuang’s eyes regained their luster, and her ice-cold body gradually relaxed, beginning to warm up.
“H… How did I end up here?” Bai Shuang looked around, clearly realizing that this was not a room, as if she had just awakened from a deep dream. She couldn’t help but feel shocked and anxious.
Then she lowered her head and saw the qipao she was wearing, which made her even more bewildered. “What is this? Where did this qipao come from? Who changed my clothes?”
Yan Shixun looked at Bai Shuang’s anxious expression, his gaze deepening. “You don’t know how you got here? What’s……the last thing you remember?”
The garden that had been beautiful in the afternoon now appeared eerie and pale.
Bai Shuang nervously scanned her surroundings, her face turning ashen with fear. Upon hearing Yan Shixun’s voice, she suddenly remembered the moment before they left when Yan Shixun touched her, making her feel inexplicably relaxed.
Could it be that there really was something sinister here?
Bai Shuang was trembling with fear and clung tightly to Yan Shixun’s arm as she frantically spoke as if grasping at the last straw of salvation: “All I remember is that after I returned to my room, I wanted to change into a long dress, take a selfie in the garden, and post it on my social media before going to sleep. And then, and then, I can’t remember anything else.”
“Wait! Something’s not right. I think I remember, someone was singing,” Bai Shuang’s face turned pale, “I remember a female voice singing ‘Emperor Flower’s Girl’!”
Indeed.
Bai Shuang’s words confirmed Yan Shixun’s suspicions.
The woman wearing the fashionably exquisite attire from a century ago was likely the mistress of the villa back in the day, unable to actively lure people into the villa to do anything. She could only use the singing of old operas and create illusions to entice people to voluntarily walk from their rooms to the garden, where they could be targeted.
What he saw in the illusion was the woman wanting to take her own life because she wanted to kill him. So, what Bai Shuang likely saw was that woman dressing up extravagantly, which could explain why she was wearing clothing with a completely different style from what she usually wore.
Now in hindsight, he realized that the operatic voice he heard in Bai Shuang’s room was actually Bai Shuang’s voice when she lowered her tone. It’s likely that the woman had taken control of Bai Shuang’s body after she entered the garden and used her voice to sing her long-standing grievances towards her lover.
However, Bai Shuang had collapsed at the very edge of the garden where no flowers were in bloom, and behind her was the shed.
The flowers also displayed a sense of dread towards the shed. Even though the faces on the flowers harbored resentment towards Yan Shixun for disrupting their plans, they only dared to look towards it as Yan Shixun walked among the flowers.
When Yan Shixun walked up to the shed, all those flowers turned their heads away in unison, refusing to cast a glance at the shed.
The land near the woodshed was equally fertile, yet not a single flower bloomed.
This peculiar phenomenon caught Yan Shixun’s attention.
Could it be, that woman was near the woodshed?
The woman was afraid of the mansion and dared not enter. The things in the mansion and the old steward could not enter the rooms. The rooms after dark were like safe zones, only accessible from the inside. Yet the flowers in the garden were afraid of the woodshed…
It formed a closed loop.
But something was missing.
Bai Shuang looked at Yan Shixun, who was frowning in thought and involuntarily grabbed onto his shirt nervously. “It’s dark and cold outside, Brother Yan. Let’s go back first.”
“We can’t go back,” Yan Shixun said calmly. “We can only stay in the garden until dawn.”
Since the rooms could only be opened from the inside, it was likely that the villa’s main door was the same.
They could go out but couldn’t go back in.
Moreover…
Yan Shixun keenly heard a sharp, heavy sound of metal scraping on the ground.
He acted decisively, supporting Bai Shuang with one hand and hurrying toward the adjacent shed. With his other hand, he pushed open the decrepit wooden door of the shed, while signaling for An Nanyuan to follow immediately.
“Squeak, creak——”
The shed’s door emitted a sound of protest, groaning under the weight of its long years of neglect.
Years of accumulated dust and ash filled the air as if a century’s worth of time had never seen the light, and it was finally disturbed at this moment.
Yan Shixun swiftly entered with Bai Shuang, and when the bewildered An Nanyuan followed inside, he promptly closed the shed’s door.
His slender index finger was placed before his rosy lips, silently instructing both of them to stay quiet and not make any noise.
But those ink-black eyes sparkled with excitement, shining brilliantly.
Yan Shixun cracked a silent smile and waited patiently.
Although An Nanyuan had many questions, he realized that something was indeed amiss in this villa after the encounter with the rose-faced figures in the villa corridor and garden.
As someone who often watched horror movies, he understood that when a team had a powerful leader who knew what to do, it was best for the team members to follow their lead and not hinder the progress, or else they might end up in unfortunate situations.
So, he obediently kept quiet and stayed close behind Yan Shixun, not daring to make a sound.
In the midst of the silence, there were faint, eerie sounds that grew closer.
“Rustle….rustle….”
Something was approaching with heavy footsteps, dragging metal objects along the ground, taking slow, deliberate steps in the direction of the shed.
It was getting closer and closer.
The sound grew increasingly clear and loud.
You could even hear the heavy breathing.
“Hoo… heh.”
“Hoo… heh.”
That thing had reached the outside of the shed’s door but didn’t hesitate; it just turned and seemed to be walking in a different direction.
Bai Shuang huddled against Yan Shixun, trembling with fear, tightly covering her mouth to prevent any sound from escaping.
However, fear and cold had led to a physiological response.
A tear welled up in her eye, unable to be contained, and moistened the skin below her eyelid.
Immediately, the thing that had just passed by the shed stopped in its tracks, turned around, and with heavy steps, began to walk back.
“Thud!”
Something struck the shed’s door.
The decrepit wood of the firewood shed couldn’t bear the weight and shook heavily.
Bai Shuang and An Nanyuan trembled in fear.
The viewers in the livestream room were even more nervous, holding their breaths.
Amidst the swirling dust in the woodshed, Yan Shixun’s figure was concealed in the darkness.
Only his eyes shone brightly.
“If you like what I’m doing please show your support by donating me a cup of coffee through Kofi, or join membership tier to get access to 5 early chapters every month!’
<Previous Chapter<Table of Contents>Next Chapter>
Thanks for the update