Free Web NovelChapter 205: Chapter 173: Escape on a Rainy Night_2
Xia Xiuyan made a desperate escape, clutching an old-fashioned flashlight with a long handle, trying to carve a life-saving path for herself. Yet the routes marked on the map were unclear—it seemed as though their selection was deliberate. The marked paths were the most convenient and suitable escape routes, at least for her.
"Don’t be afraid, don’t be scared, Chu Xi... he’s just acting, he wouldn’t dare hurt me," Xia Xiuyan reassured herself with all her might.
After giving herself a mental pep talk for some time, she dared to look back. But that one glance shattered all her illusions. She saw Yang Xiao wielding a knife, chasing her just ten meters behind, occasionally swinging the blade furiously, slashing through bushes and branches alike, swinging the kitchen knife with the might of an ax.
Soon, the two of them reached the first marked spot, one after the other. At a prominent spot on the trunk of a crooked tree, Yang Xiao found a plaque marked with the number 1, which he tore off and stuffed into his pocket.
Meanwhile, the harried Xia Xiuyan had no time to look back.
As he was about to catch up to her, Yang Xiao deliberately slowed down, but every now and then he hacked violently at a tree trunk, producing some strange noises. He needed to put pressure on Xia Xiuyan, preparing her for the plan that was to follow.
Seeking shelter from the rain nearby, Yang Xiao took out his phone and made a call, "Where are you?"
"I’m already near point number 2," the person on the other end answered, with the chaotic sound of rain and rustling leaves in the background.
"Good, proceed as planned, but remember, don’t get too close to us. We don’t want to give ourselves away," Yang Xiao instructed before hanging up the phone. He picked up the kitchen knife and continued the pursuit.
At this moment, Xia Xiuyan was in a sorry state, even her map had gotten wet, "No, at this rate he’ll catch me eventually. He certainly won’t dare to lay a hand on me; this must be Director Ding’s setup. He wants a truly immersive sense of horror."
Soaked to the skin by the downpour, Xia Xiuyan slowly calmed herself. After all, they lived under the rule of law; Chu Xi would not dare to do anything rash.
She had witnessed Chu Xi’s acting skills with her own eyes. He was perfectly suited to play the role of a psychopathic killer, a character that was difficult for ordinary people to fathom.
In this regard, he possessed unparalleled talent.
Taking advantage of the fact that Chu Xi hadn’t caught up yet, Xia Xiuyan decided to call Ms. Shengnan to find out what was going on with this scene.
But just as she was about to take out her phone, she caught a glimpse of something stirring in the distance.
There was a tree there, and beneath it was a gloomy darkness; Xia Xiuyan couldn’t see clearly at first. She lifted her flashlight and shone it towards the spot.
The dim yellow light penetrated the darkness. The next second, Xia Xiuyan saw it—it was a person.
A person dressed in a beige suit, drenched from head to toe.
"Ah! Ah... aah aah!"
Piercing screams echoed down the hillside. At that moment, Yang Xiao, who heard the screams, quickened his pace to catch up with Xia Xiuyan.
Xia Xiuyan had fallen to the ground by then, covered in leaves and mud, trembling all over, with her flashlight thrown aside.
"What’s wrong?" Yang Xiao set down the kitchen knife and pretended to be concerned.
"Someone, there’s someone over there!!" Xia Xiuyan stammered in fright, her face ashen.
"Where?" Yang Xiao looked in the direction Xia Xiuyan was pointing, "There’s no one here. How could there be? Are... are you sure you didn’t see it wrong?"
"I’m sure!" Xia Xiuyan clutched Yang Xiao’s arm without letting go, her voice quivering with tears, "There was someone. Let’s... let’s get out of here quickly, together, don’t leave me behind."
"Then wait for me a second, I need to find the marker for point number 2."
After peeling off the marker from a nearby large rock, Yang Xiao helped Xia Xiuyan up, and together they headed for the third meeting point.
It was expected that Xia Xiuyan would be scared; this was all within Yang Xiao’s and Xu Yu’s plan. Along the way, Yang Xiao looked for an opportunity to send a message to Xu Yu, who was playing the ghost.
The message was simple, just six short words: Go to the fourth meeting point.
Now Xia Xiuyan hadn’t completely lost her sanity. Once her psychological defenses fully collapsed, Yang Xiao would be able to extract the truth about the night Teacher Wang died from her.
"What exactly did you see just now?" Yang Xiao asked, pretending to support Xia Xiuyan. freewёbn૦νeɭ.com
As the question left his lips, Yang Xiao distinctly felt Xia Xiuyan’s body shiver, but she persisted in her defiance, "No... nothing, I might have been just like you said, too nervous, and saw it wrong."
Yang Xiao chuckled, speaking in an easy-going tone, "I knew it, it has to be, in these desolate hills with the heavy rain pouring, how could there be anyone else here, a ghost maybe."
Now Xia Xiuyan turned pale and hurriedly cut him off, "Don’t, don’t talk nonsense!"
"What’s the matter? It’s just a joke," Yang Xiao shrugged, clearly not taking it seriously.
"Places like this are heavy with yin energy, don’t... don’t mention those bad things."
"If you don’t do anything wrong during the day, you won’t fear ghosts knocking at your door at midnight. We are just filming a movie, we haven’t done anything wrong, what’s there to be afraid of?"
"Just, just stop talking about it, it’s for your own good." Xia Xiuyan pinched Yang Xiao’s arm hard, but she clung closer to him, her eyes nervously darting around, as if fearing another shadow might suddenly appear.
The path between mark 2 and mark 3 was difficult to navigate, and with Xia Xiuyan in tow, they weren’t moving quickly.
Yang Xiao suggested taking a break halfway, but Xia Xiuyan disagreed; she didn’t want to spend a second longer here.
After walking for roughly 5 minutes, Xia Xiuyan swallowed and quietly asked, "Chu Xi, do you... do you believe that those things exist?"
"What things?" Yang Xiao asked, pretending not to understand as he held a flashlight in his hand.
"You know... those things that people turn into after they die." Xia Xiuyan’s words lacked conviction.
"You mean ghosts?" Yang Xiao deliberately pronounced the word loudly.
"Don’t say it so loudly. I just wanted to ask you, do... do you believe in them?"
After a moment of thought, Yang Xiao finally nodded, "If you really want an answer, then I believe, ’Heaven is three feet above your head.’
Yang Xiao quickly added, "There’s a belief in my hometown that only those who die with unresolved grievances get the chance to become ghosts, and they become fierce ghosts at that, the kind that seek revenge. As to whether it’s true, I don’t know, since no one’s ever seen one."
As he said this, Yang Xiao’s voice suddenly took on a ominous tone, "But think about it, those who have truly seen them have been killed by ghosts, don’t you think that’s the logic?"
"You... you should
not talk nonsense." Xia Xiuyan reacted strongly.
"Hey, you’re the one who asked. That’s what people in my hometown say, all the older generation knows it," Yang Xiao retorted, dissatisfied.
As they were talking, Xia Xiuyan suddenly raised her hand, pointing excitedly at a tree not far ahead, "Look!"
Looking closely, there was a sign nailed to the tree, marked with the number 3.
They had found mark 3.
Just as Yang Xiao was about to go over and retrieve the sign, suddenly, Xia Xiuyan shivered violently, her face visibly paling. freeweɓnøvel.com
Her mouth was agape, her face etched with horror, but she couldn’t utter a word.
Behind the tree, half a body appeared, its details unclear in the night, but the beige suit was unmistakable.
However, by the time Yang Xiao came to his senses and shone the flashlight over, the figure had mysteriously vanished.
"Did you see that? Did you see that?" Xia Xiuyan was now completely panicked, shaking Yang Xiao’s arm.
Yang Xiao was stunned. He soothed Xia Xiuyan, suggesting she sit under the tree to rest, while he took the opportunity to send a message to Xu Yu: Wrong, the meetup point is number 4, not number 3.
Moments later, he received a reply. But as he read the message, the hairs on the back of Yang Xiao’s neck stood on end.
"What are you talking about? I’m already at meetup point number 4, and everything here is normal. How much longer will you be?"
