Free Web NovelChapter 850: Chapter 624: Stepping on Shadows
After 15 minutes, the tightly closed door was pushed open, and a figure stood outside the door, glancing around alertly with a paper lantern in hand.
Naturally, the person was Yang Xiao. He didn’t even bother looking at the areas inside the courtyard, but went directly to the Sleeping Gold Pavilion.
The reason was simple: he trusted his teammates. Those who had survived until now were no fools; they might have had their own agendas before the plan was set, but once decided, everyone would faithfully execute their part.
The more dangerous the situation, the more this held true—the only chance of survival was through joint efforts.
As expected, Yang Xiao instantly noticed the Blood Map left by Jiang Qingluan on the ground and the half-empty bag of ashes.
After understanding Jiang Qingluan’s plan, Yang Xiao’s pupils shivered slightly, and he couldn’t help feeling deep respect for her. Undoubtedly a young priest of the Yi Sect, a female hero, she was ruthless to others and even more so to herself, doing everything she could at a critical moment.
He stepped on the marked spot and indeed, Yang Xiao keenly felt something off, hearing two creaking sounds inside the room.
The second sound was particularly unsettling, not coming from underfoot, but from somewhere in this room.
Turning his head to the left, Yang Xiao noticed the wardrobe door was open and empty. Comparing it to the Blood Map on the ground, the wardrobe had been opened by Jiang Qingluan during her first attempt. ƒreewebɳovel.com
This first attempt went smoothly; the unexpected occurred on her second attempt. Yang Xiao focused on the words "square table" on the ground and the mark indicating an attempt. freēwēbnovel.com
Combining his own heard sounds with the friction marks on the corner of the square table and, crucially, Jiang Qingluan’s disappearance as the pioneer, Yang Xiao deduced that a Ghost Substitute was hidden near the square table, and it was likely standing atop the table.
Thinking of a ghost standing on the table looking down upon him in the dim room intensified the awkward feeling in his heart.
Step by step, he approached the black-painted square table, grabbed the ashes Jiang Qingluan left behind, and scattered them upward at an angle.
A bizarre scene unfolded—the ashes seemed to encounter an invisible barrier as they fell, and in the next second, a gaunt figure appeared out of thin air.
It was a maid dressed as a subordinate, soaked all over, with her head unnaturally drooping and untamed hair covering her face.
The corpse stood rigidly on the table, standing on a pair of tightly bound deformed feet, surrounded by an aura of death.
Without a doubt, this was one of the Ancestor’s Ghost Substitutes. As Xiang Fengchen had said, tonight there were six Ghost Substitutes, and people like them who came later, even if killed, wouldn’t temporarily turn into new Ghost Substitutes.
According to the plan, Nalan Shuo, Lou Huixiang, Fang Zhou, Chang Chuchu, Jiang Qingluan, and perhaps even himself soon, were all supposed to be hidden by the ghost, but as long as the Life Incense burned, they wouldn’t drop dead immediately.
Among these teammates, Yang Xiao was particularly worried about Fang Zhou; after all, he was a rookie and his psychological quality and experience couldn’t compare to veteran players. Yang Xiao just hoped he wouldn’t make a fatal mistake, causing others to risk their lives for him.
From Jiang Qingluan’s movement path, there must have been a problem with one of the people ahead; otherwise, they wouldn’t have only reached the first floor of the Sleeping Gold Pavilion.
Analyzing from the Blood Map left by Jiang Qingluan, her stay in the Sleeping Gold Pavilion hadn’t been long. The left room was checked and marked with an "X," indicating no issues. The middle hall was doubtful, marked with a question mark by Jiang Qingluan, and the room on the right—where Yang Xiao was now—had been cleared of anything unusual.
However, Yang Xiao hadn’t found any traces of ash scattering on the first floor, meaning Jiang Qingluan’s first batch of ashes was used elsewhere.
After clearing the anomalies in the room and the surrounding oppressive aura dissipating, Yang Xiao stepped outside, gently closing the door behind him and continued searching for clues in the spacious hall, but his search turned up nothing peculiar.
Stopping at the foot of the stairs, he looked upward; the stair corner vanished into the darkness, as if something were hiding there.
The situation had reached a critical point. Yang Xiao took a small cloth bag out from his chest, opened it, and drew out a dim-red incense stick. He ignited the incense in the candle flame inside the lantern. The incense burned unexpectedly well, and as a faint scent of blood spread, Yang Xiao slowly exhaled—he knew that each stick of incense burned equaled three years of lifespan.
Ensuring the incense burned properly, Yang Xiao then carefully stepped onto the staircase, each step on the old wooden stairs creaking loudly.
The sound echoed in the silent attic, as if many invisible people were following him, matching his steps, while he at the forefront seemed like a guide holding a Netherworld Lamp, leading the homebound lost souls and wild ghosts to the Netherworld.
Since stepping onto the staircase, Yang Xiao walked cautiously, mentally counting each step for fear of missing one or encountering an unexpected additional step.
Yet, until he reached the second floor, he noticed nothing unusual on the way. After a moment, he began turning back downstairs, making another round trip before he finally felt at ease.
Thanks to Jiang Qingluan’s trailblazing, he saved a great deal of time; the credit for finding the maid ghost substitute should be attributed to her.
Returning to the second floor, Yang Xiao’s gaze slowly swept around. The layout upstairs was completely different from 下stairs; the vast space was divided into three rooms, the largest of which used to be the women’s bathing room, while the other two rooms had their doors shut.
