Nightmare Assault

Just as Xia Meng was about to continue, Fatty took out a piece of cloth from his chest with trembling hands. Xia Meng looked at him with confusion. She looked at the cheap fabric. Soon, she recognised it as the piece that was placed beside the pillow. Every bed had one. The wooden pillow was too solid, so they provided the cloth for the travellers to place their heads on it instead of directly on the wooden pillow.

Fatty peeled off the layers of the cloth. Clearly, there was something inside. Chen Qiang, An Xuan and Xia Meng stared at him. They were so anxious that they’d unwrap it for him if they could. Slowly, a round pearl appeared in his hands. He cupped it with both hands like it was something precious. The pearl emitted a gentle radiance. The only flaw was that it already had some cracks. It appeared to be yanked off a bigger piece of accessory.

“This is…”

“She gave it to me,” Since Jiang Cheng did not stop him, Fatty pointed at the maid in the painting and said, “When her body was moved, this thing fell out.” Fatty omitted a lot of details, but no one questioned him because the thing that appeared in the painting couldn’t be fake.

There was a relationship between the maid and Fatty that they were not privy to. Xia Meng stared at the pearl, but she had no intention of touching it. The mission was near its end. She had to be extremely careful. She was afraid that if she touched the pearl, her face would replace Fatty’s in the painting.

“This looks like it was part of an accessory,” An Xuan looked at Fatty. “This should be a clue left for you by the maid.” An Xuan didn’t call her the little beggar lest he offended Fatty. What he didn’t know was Fatty couldn’t have cared less. In his eyes, the one who had helped him trusted him and actively asked him for food… was the little beggar.

After a moment of contemplation, An Xuan suddenly asked, “Let’s go.” Then, he turned and left, leaving behind the others who were confused.

“Where are you going?” Chen Qiang quickly asked.

“The loft,” Jiang Cheng was the second to move. He said that when he walked past Chen Qiang. Young Master Huang’s loft had many female accessories. Their owner was clearly Xuan Ji. The little beggar was caught after she went to Young Master Huang’s loft. Her body was later moved to the abandoned yard. Other than provoking them, Butler Zhou’s people purposely did that to distract their attention away from the loft. After all, the place… contained so many secrets.

An Xuan also found the real ancient book at the loft. It was also the only place where the ghost had appeared in the morning. It was in the bed. Shi Liaozhi had paid for his stupidity with his life.

With that in mind, the group stopped hesitating. They rushed over to Young Master Huang’s place. The place was quiet, but the silence was discomfiting.

“Don’t use the door.” Xia Meng knelt beside the wall. She whispered, “Follow me. I know a spot in the wall where the structure has crumbled. We can leap over it.” Everyone followed her quietly. Xia Meng was at the front, and An Xuan was at the back.

Jiang Cheng stayed behind Fatty and said nothing. With the aid of the moonlight, they crawled over the wall. They landed practically in silence. An Xuan kept his body low and looked around alertly. This night was instrumental. It would decide their lives.

Similarly, that night was equally important for Butler Zhou’s troupe. Since that was the case… why was the place abandoned?

An Xuan didn’t think it was due to carelessness. Someone who could spend year to set up a plan would make such a simple mistake. Therefore, the only explanation was that this was a set-up.

Could the things inside the loft have already been taken?

Suddenly, he felt someone tap his head. He turned around to be greeted by a pair of sharp eyes. “Stay focused.” Xia Meng whispered.

With Jiang Cheng leading the way, the group came to the window where he, An Xuan and Shi Liaozhi had used before. Not everyone wanted to enter the building so a few of them would stay outside to be the lookouts. Fatty had to enter the loft. He turned to the Doctor subconsciously. The latter nodded.

“Be careful,” Chen Qiang offered softly.

Fatty opened the window cautiously. He looked through the gap. The place had no light, but he could see certain things. Jiang Cheng moved quietly to the other window. He looked around before jumping through it.

The first floor was still stuffed with costumes. Only bits of light filtered through the gaps. The occasional wind flutttered the costumes. It made it looked like people were standing there.

Jiang Cheng’s body froze. Fatty, who was near the Doctor, instantly squatted down. He didn’t say anything but used his eyes to pose his question. Jiang Cheng eventually pulled his gaze back. He shook his face at Fatty to show that everything was fine. Then, he raised his brow at the stairs.

With a swallow, Fatty sneaked over to the stairs.

When Fatty’s attention was elsewhere, Jiang Cheng’s face darkened. He turned to look at the rack in the middle of the room. Something flowed in his eyes. The red costume that had previously been hanging there was gone. He didn’t dare to tell Fatty. This was not a good sign for him.

The wooden stairs were old and decayed. Many segments of the rails were damaged. The stairs creaked noisily. The sound was like claws on Fatty’s heart.

He finally reached the second floor. This place should be unfamiliar to Fatty because he had not been there before. However, Jiang Cheng noted with surprise that Fatty seemed to know the place well.

Fatty pointed at a large screen. He used his eyes to signal the Doctor. Jiang Cheng took a deep breath. Behind the screen… was the humanskin drum.

Shi Liaozhi died there.

Jiang Cheng looked around and felt a strange feeling festered in his heart. There was something very strange about this place. However, he looked around and couldn’t find anything out of place.

However, the next second, Jiang Cheng froze. Cold sweat drenched his back. His pupils narrowed into slits.

“I saw her go up the stairs. How many Mandarin Duck Couples have missed each other? The life of a married couple cannot be forced. How many pairs can last until the end?

“How many phoenixes can find her dragon? For a fateful meeting, life must cultivate both intelligence and luck. Ask God. Even God cannot stomach it.

“We wish for the same heart. If we can’t live in the same house, maybe we can be buried in the same grave. A cluster of branches united in a mass grave. Even then, my heart swims with joy…”

A creepy song began. It undulated with great sadness and melancholy.

It was… right beside his ears.