Translator: Cinder Translations
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"Something's wrong! Something's wrong!" The Fatty came running back, shouting as soon as he reached the door. "You guys… you guys should come and take a look!"
Hearing this, Xia Meng quickly walked out.
Jiang Cheng, on the other hand, reluctantly sat up from the bed. After stretching his body slightly, he finally jumped down.
When they stepped out of the room, they saw that besides them, the rest of the people were gathered outside Zuo Jing's room. However, they weren't standing too close but rather keeping a certain distance.
Zuo Jing and her group were also there, but their expressions were extremely grim. Especially Shi Liao Zhi, who almost needed support to stand properly. The Fatty blinked as he observed, feeling that he wasn't entirely faking it.
Did something happen again? The Fatty wondered.
He quickly counted the people present and confirmed that no one was missing.
"What happened?" Xia Meng was the first to step forward.
An Xuan glanced at her. That usual indifferent attitude of his was gone. He seemed to be taking this situation quite seriously. He then stepped aside and signaled with his eyes.
Xia Meng followed his gaze and immediately frowned.
On the door of Zuo Jing's room, one bloody handprint after another was smeared across the surface.
From top to bottom, there were roughly dozens of them.
On the ground outside the door, a pool of blood could be seen. A winding trail of blood extended from the door to the nearby bluestone-paved road. However, the early morning drizzle had diluted it slightly, making it less distinct.
Everyone's gaze followed the blood trail, leading toward the direction where it disappeared. If they walked a bit further in that direction, they would reach the lake.
As Jiang Cheng and the others approached, Chen Qiang lowered his voice and quickly recounted the events of the previous night. He had already explained some of it to An Xuan's group earlier, so this time, he kept it brief.
However, out of consideration for Shi Liao Zhi, he deliberately omitted the part where the latter had opened the door and ended up getting knocked unconscious.
"You all stayed in your rooms without making a sound," You Qi asked, "And then Qin Jian— no, the ghost pretending to be Qin Jian just left?"
"That's right," Chen Qiang nodded.
Swallowing nervously, You Qi's expression also turned uneasy.
According to Chen Qiang, that ghost had falsely accused him of being the real ghost.
He couldn't tell if there was some deeper meaning behind this.
For example… was he the next target?
"A painting appeared in our room," Zuo Jing suddenly said. "It depicts a woman gracefully dancing. I believe she is the ghost in this instance."
"She is also Young Master Huang's wife," Zuo Jing added, scanning the group.
Chen Qiang had previously mentioned that the ghost's final cry had been that of a woman. Moreover, its body was abnormally large, almost twice the size of a normal person. This detail matched You Qi's earlier description of the ghost.
"A painting?" You Qi feigned confusion. "What kind of painting?"
Zuo Jing shot him a glance and sneered, "A painting that brings misfortune upon appearing. It might be a warning before the ghost claims its next victim." She paused briefly before speaking again with a meaningful tone. "If you haven't seen it before, I don't recommend looking."
You Qi's face stiffened with embarrassment.
An Xuan nodded. "In that case, let's all take a look."
With that, the group carefully avoided the bloodstains and entered Zuo Jing's room.
After hesitating for a moment, You Qi also followed, keeping his expression tense.
The blood on the door and ground looked grotesque. As the last one to enter, You Qi glanced at it a few more times, causing his heart to race. He quickly sped up his pace.
Inside the room, standing before the painting, the Fatty's expression grew increasingly strange.
Instinctively, he glanced toward the doctor, only to find that the doctor was pressing himself against Zuo Jing—almost sticking to her.
It was as if he was trying to merge into her body.
This painting… was different from before.
Though it still depicted a beautiful woman dancing, the background and several details had changed.
For example, the previous background had been empty, but now, a tall multi-story building stood in the distance. At the top of the building sat a round object.
The woman in the painting also appeared more vivid. The intricate patterns on her traditional dress had become more detailed, and the flowing motion of her long sleeves was even more pronounced.
It gave off the eerie feeling that if one wasn't careful, the woman might just dance out of the painting.
The mere thought of this possibility startled the Fatty.
"You all see this?" You Qi suddenly spoke up. He seemed like he wanted to point at something in the painting, but before raising his hand, he hesitated and decided against it, opting instead to signal with his eyes. "Doesn't that building resemble Young Master Huang's pavilion?"
At first, everyone had merely suspected it, but after You Qi mentioned it, they all examined it more closely. The resemblance was undeniable.
"It seems our earlier guess was correct. This female ghost is Young Master Huang's lover," the Fatty agreed.
"You should say she was Young Master Huang's newlywed wife," Chen Qiang corrected. "After all, they had already held their wedding ceremony."
Jiang Cheng hadn't participated in the discussion. Instead, he took advantage of the situation to stay close to Zuo Jing while occasionally glancing at the woman in the painting.
First, he observed her fair and delicate neck. Then, his gaze moved down to her slender waist.
The waist of the dancing woman in the painting was slim and held an inexplicable allure. Jiang Cheng's eyes slowly shifted further downward, eventually settling on a small object that most might overlook.
It was a silk pouch.
At first glance, it resembled a scented sachet that women carried, tied to her waist with a string. As she danced, the tassels at the end swayed gracefully, as if they were alive.
A moment later, Jiang Cheng's expression took on a peculiar look.
"Did you see that?" Xia Meng whispered after they left Zuo Jing's room. The three of them had walked to the lakeside. "The object hanging from that woman's waist."
Gazing at the calm lake, Jiang Cheng said, "It was a silk pouch."
"So you're saying the coded message referring to a 'plain pouch' actually meant a silk pouch, and the key to solving our current predicament is in the ghost's possession?" The Fatty quickly asked.
Based on the painting, that seemed to be the implication. It wasn't difficult to understand.
"The painting is changing over time. The longer we delay, the worse it might get," Xia Meng shuddered as she recalled the painting's unsettling aura. "I'm really worried she might actually come to life."
Hearing her words, the Fatty felt the same. He hurriedly nodded. "Me too! I stopped looking at it after a while—I was afraid that if I did, I'd somehow bring her to life."
"Looks like our next move is to figure out how to get that silk pouch from the ghost," Jiang Cheng said casually.
Stealing from a ghost—just imagining it sent a thrilling chill down the Fatty's spine.
(End of the Chapter)
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