Chapter 17

How did this jade pendant just appear out of nowhere?!

Xiao Tangqiu jumped up in surprise; the jade pendant fell out of his trembling hand and onto the ground again, making a crisp clink as it hit the the hard surface.

A chill ran down his spine. He felt as if someone was watching his every move from behind. He whipped his head around, expecting to see something but all he was faced with was an empty, paint-cracked wall.

“What the fuck?! You’ve even got a jade pendant?!” Compared to Xiao Tangqiu, Tang Mianmian was much more optimistic, “It must be an important item related to the plot! Definitely one of those items that will trigger the plot!”

“Most likely I guess……….” Xiao Tangqiu paused for a moment before smiling helplessly, “We’ll look for clues regarding the jade pendant tomorrow. It’s already so late, let’s just rest for the night.”

Tang Mianmian answered with a yawn as he rubbed his tired eyes, “Yeah, I’m feeling sleepy too. Let’s go to sleep.”

There were exactly two beds in the room, one for each of them. Tang Mianmian was more cowardly, so he chose the innermost bed while Xiao Tangqiu was left with the bed by the side of the door.

The both of them took off their shoes and climbed into bed. Tang Mianmian watched as Xiao Tangqiu carefully arranged his shoes so the heel faced the bed and the toe faced outside. He couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”

Xiao Tangqiu replied faintly, “I heard that if the toe of the shoe faces the bed , then ghosts will climb into your bed in the middle of the night.”

Tang Mianmian cussed, “Fuck, are you for real?!”

He was so frightened that he immediately rearranged his shoes at the foot of the bed, but then he heard Xiao Tangqiu chuckle, “…… Just kidding.”

Xiao Tangqiu waited for Tang Mianmian to let out a sigh of relief before teasing again, “This way, if a ghost climbs into bed later, it’ll be convenient for me to quickly run away.”

Tang Mianmian scowled, “……………..This explanation doesn’t make me feel any better ah!”

“Don’t think too much, just go to sleep.” Xiao Tangqiu lay down and closed his eyed, “Anyways, no matter what, tomorrow is the last day.”

Tang Mianmian spoke after a brief pause, “What’s going to happen if we don’t complete the mission by tomorrow’s deadline?”

Xiao Tangqiu kept his eyes closed as he said, “Perhaps we’ll diek2026;k2026;k2026;. But then again, who knows?”

Tang Mianmian looked like he wanted to say more, but after hesitating for a long time, he decided against it.

Xiao Tangqiu’s felt uneasy with worry; he thought he would’ve been unable to fall asleep, but as soon as he closed his eyes, exhaustion overtook his body and he descended into a deep slumber.

It was a night of dreamless sleep.

The next morning, as soon as Xiao Tangqiu opened his eyes, he couldn’t believe that nothing had happened the entire night. Furthermore, his quality of sleep actually improved……….. It was completely illogical! This eerie place was one thing, but he had never slept this well even in his own home. Ever since the incident that happened seven years ago, he wasn’t able to get proper sleep. Every night, it would either be agonizing insomnia or horrible nightmares.

Although he slept better last night, his back was aching and his limbs were sore. Sleeping on the wooden bed was no different from sleeping on the floor. On top of that, the pillow was hard as stone. It was impossible to get a good night’s sleep. He wasn’t sure how he managed to sleep through the entire night – he must’ve been possessed!

Tang Mianmian, who had also gotten up, looked lifelessly at Xiao Tangqiu. His eyes were covered in dark eye circles. “It was so noisy last night. I kept on hearing the cries of a baby coming from right outside the window. I was so scared that I couldn’t sleep. The cries finally stopped in the later part of the night but then, I was half asleep when I felt like someone was stepping all over my back……….”

“Crying? I didn’t hear anything ah!” Xiao Tangqiu was stunned, “Wait a minute….. What’s that on your back?!”

“My back?!” Tang Mianmian flinched in fear and immediately turned around, trying to look at his own back but he couldn’t see anything at all. Watching Tang Mianmian spin round and round in place, just like a dog chasing its tail, Xiao Tangqiu raised his lips in amusement.

“It looks like there’s something on your neck. Stop moving, let me look at it,” Xiao Tangqiu walked over to Tang Mianmian and lifted up his shirt. The moment his eyes laid on Tang Mianmian’s back, Xiao Tangqiu couldn’t help but curse out loud.

Tang Mianmian’s back was covered in dark footprints the size of a baby’s. The footprints stretched from his neck all the way to his lower back; it was as if a baby had repeatedly walked up and down his back.

“Footprints, so many footprints………..”

Tang Mianmian felt the hairs on his body raise, “Fuck my life! Did that infant spirit really give me a back “massage” last night?!”

“Quickly check if there are any on my back!” Xiao Tangqiu quickly lifted up his shirt so Tang Mianmian could take a look.

Tang Mianmian looked at Xiao Tangqiu’s back and was just about to say something when the door was opened from outside.

“Xiao Tangqiu, Tang Mianmian, last night did you……………” When Luo Mansu caught sight of the both of them, he immediately turned around, “Excuse me, I’m sorry for disturbing you. I’ll wait outside.”

Xiao Tangqiu, “……………..”

Tang Mianmian, “……………….”

After a while, Tang Mianmian finally spoke, “…………. There’s nothing on your back.”

“Really?” Xiao Tangqiu immediately disregarded Luo Mansu’s reaction. He frowned, why had the infant spirit treated him differently? Could it be due to the key? Or was it the jade pendant?

Tang Mianmian wanted to cry but failed to shed a tear, “Could the infant spirit’s footprint be poisonous? Will it be my turn soon?”

Xiao Tangqiu comforted him, “Don’t panic, let’s ask Luo Mansu about it first.”

When they left the room, they saw Luo Mansu waiting outside for them with Ding Tiantian and Ding Mimi. After hearing what Xiao Tangqiu had to say about the ghost footprints on Tang Mianmian’s back, Luo Mansu also realized that he had misunderstood the situation earlier. He scratched his nose, “Don’t worry, the footprints are probably just a warning or a form of intimidation. If it had intended to kill, your friend would already be dead.”

Tang Mianmian remained skeptical, but it wasn’t as if he could do anything about it now. Xiao Tangqiu exchanged last night’s findings with Luo Mansu.

Last night, Luo Mansu visited the Old Madame’s and the other women’s courtyards and the ancestral hall. They discovered that there weren’t any men in the Yun family. Apparently, all the men of the Yun family couldn’t live past 30. Yun Jizhou, who was the eldest son of the current generation had passed away even earlier. The Old Madame and her two daughter-in-laws had been widowed for many years.

Xiao Tangqiu also narrated the “adventures” they had last night. Of course, to some extent, he held back certain information, but he was certain that Luo Mansu did the same.

Luo Mansu paused for a moment before he said, “I think we should go to Yun Jizhou’s room to take another look….. It could be the key to everything.”

Xiao Tangqiu nodded in agreement. They five of them quickly set out of Yun Jizhou’s courtyard, not bothering to stick around for empty talk. As they walked, Tang Mianmian couldn’t resist asking Luo Mansu, “Did you hear a baby crying last night?”

Luo Mansu and the twins shook their heads, indicating that they hadn’t heard anything last night.

Tang Mianmian’s expression was full of inner turmoil. Luo Mansu’s room was separated from theirs by only a wall. If he had heard the ghost crying, logically speaking, so should they. Why hadn’t they heard anything? But then again, Xiao Tangqiu hadn’t heard the crying either……….

Sigh….. He didn’t want to solely receive all of that infant spirit’s favor and affection ah! Isn’t it good to share rain and dew?!

Very quickly, they arrived at the front of Yun Jizhou’s courtyard. Xiao Tangqiu was just about to say something when he was interrupted by a blood-curdling scream.

Tang Mianmian strained his ears trying to listen carefully. Then, he shouted, “Yun Jizhou’s room! It’s coming from Yun Jizhou’s room!”

Xiao Tangqiu and Tang Mianmian exchanged a glance and immediately ran towards Yun Jizhou’s room. Luo Mansu and the twins quickly followed after them.

Xiao Tangqiu slammed the door to Yun Jizhou’s room wide open. In an instant, a man covered in fresh blood dashed towards him. Xiao Tangqiu was so afraid that he shakily took a few steps backwards.

“Help! Save me! No, I mean save Xiaotao!” The man was shouting one moment and mumbling incoherently the next. Xiao Tangqiu fixed his gaze upon that man and realized that it was Yang Bing! Although he was drenched with blood, he didn’t seem to have any wounds on his body – the blood must’ve come from someone else.

He walked past Yang Bing into the room only to discover that the white drapes inside were mottled with a rain of blood. When he followed the trail of blood that led to the front of the coffin, he realized why Yang Bing had gone mad.

In the middle of the coffin lay a young woman wearing a red wedding dress – it was Lu Xiaotao. She was wearing the exact same red wedding dress that Fang Lan’s paper doll had worn and her face was twisted into a sinister expression that appeared even more malevolent with blood pouring out of her seven orifices. But the most terrifying part was the long, deep gash that had split her stomach wide open. The gash was so deep that her five viscera and six bowels had spilled out.

Xiao Tangqiu held his breath, unable to look away from the scene in front of his eyes. Lu Xiaotao was holding on tightly to a long, slippery object, and upon closer inspection, Xiao Tangqiu realized that her bloody fingers were actually wrapped around a section of her intestines

Xiaotao’s five viscera and six bowels that had overflowed from the gaping hole in her body seemed to have been ripped out by Xiaotao herself……….