Free Web NovelChapter 990: Chapter 696: Time_2
Here is the translated text: freewēbnoveℓ.com
After speaking, Yang Xiao turned back to look at the Guan Gong statue in the southeast corner. His expression grew peculiar. "Strange, both of these icons are meant to suppress demons and banish evil. Their energies should clash; there’s no reason for them to be facing each other in worship."
"Chu, you actually know about these things?" Yu Kai’s eyes lit up, as if he’d discovered a new world, and his tone immediately became more courteous.
"Just a little. There’s something wrong with this place. This Guan Gong statue isn’t an ordinary one; it’s an inverted Guan Gong. Only the shady characters in the Myanmar and Thailand regions would worship such a Guan Gong. This thing is ominous, filled with excessively heavy Evil Qi."
"Seriously?" The leopard-print-clad woman looked skeptical. She was a veteran in these tasks and had seen her share of people pretending to be mystics to inflate their value.
Yang Xiao ignored her and walked forward on his own, stopping about two meters away from the Guan Gong statue. "Can’t you tell what’s odd about this Guan Gong?"
Yu Kai stroked his chin, his expression strange as he scrutinized it up and down. "There’s something peculiar about it, but I can’t pinpoint what it is."
"Have you ever seen a white-faced Guan Gong?"
Yang Xiao’s words snapped them out of their reverie. Yu Kai and the others suddenly realized—they had always heard of red-faced Guan Gong, but this statue’s face was white.
"In face-paint culture, red faces usually represent righteous characters, loyal and bold, whereas white faces often depict deceitful and sinister characters. A white-faced Guan Gong signifies killing intent. And look at the sword—have you seen one with the blade pointing downwards?"
Upon hearing this, the man in a suit widened his eyes, nodding repeatedly. "You’re right. The sword is reversed—blade down, hilt up. Lord Guan is holding the sword wrong! It’s truly... truly an inverted Guan Gong!"
Noticing the increasingly fervent gazes fixed on him, Yang Xiao maintained an impassive exterior but inwardly felt a chill. These people lacked experience; it seemed that he wouldn’t have anyone to rely on this time—he was stuck as the leader.
"Chu, this time I’ll follow your lead. Can you analyze further? What’s going on in this place?"
"I’ll follow your lead too."
"Me too, me too!" freeweɓnovel.cøm
In just a few short sentences, Yang Xiao had established his leadership position. The four people—including Yu Kai—now looked at him with admiration.
At this point, Yang Xiao stopped being excessively polite. Under his arrangement, they began introducing themselves.
First was Yu Kai, an experienced traditional Chinese medicine practitioner. He was also the oldest among them at slightly over fifty, though he looked like he was in his forties—his health regimen was impressive. This was his third Nightmare task.
Next was the leopard-print woman, Qu Hong, who claimed she was a bar singer. This was also her third time in the Nightmare World.
The suited man was named Dou Jie, a content creator who made a living by uploading edited videos. This was his second time entering the Nightmare World.
Another middle-aged woman, Xiao Qinya, was a homemaker. Like Dou Jie, it was also her second time here.
As expected... Yang Xiao sighed inwardly. Including the young woman left tied up in the darkroom, there was no one among them with extensive experience—their capabilities were nowhere near half of those from the Fushou Manor team.
But this was only his preliminary judgment; after all, Yang Xiao couldn’t rule out the possibility of someone hiding their true abilities.
At Yang Xiao’s suggestion, they released the young woman tied up in the darkroom. Her name was Xi Huijun, a trainee flight attendant and the only newcomer among the six.
After this ordeal, Xi Huijun became much more subdued. Though still crying, she had learned to keep quiet. Yang Xiao offered her some comforting words before leaving her alone.
As they meticulously searched through these rooms, Yang Xiao found several photographs hidden beneath the glass tabletop. The photos showed various people kneeling on the ground, surrounded by curling incense smoke, with a half-human-sized black Buddha statue looming faintly in front of them.
The other photos depicted similar scenes, differing only in shooting angles, subjects, and objects. Yang Xiao could roughly deduce that the occupants of this office likely made their living resolving "situations"—intervening in incidents that defy rational understanding or that ordinary people could not manage—in other words, handling supernatural occurrences.
As Yang Xiao pondered, a suddenly piercing alarm sound rang out, instantly catching everyone’s attention. Yang Xiao followed the sound and found a red alarm clock on a desk by the wall. Turning off the alarm, he discovered a slip of paper tucked underneath the clock.
Unfolding the note, he saw hastily scribbled words—a messy script, but legible. It read "3:00 PM, Mr. Sun."
Yang Xiao picked up the alarm clock, which showed the current time as 2:50 PM. It seemed the clock was set to remind them—or perhaps the original occupants—that at 3:00 PM, someone calling himself Mr. Sun would arrive.
Yang Xiao speculated that this might align with Captain Zhou and his group; after all, there was still no news from Captain Zhou and the others.
"Yu Kai, Qu Hong, you two stay with me. Everyone else, hide in the employee dorms inside." Yang Xiao glanced at Xi Huijun and sighed, offering a few consoling words. "Stop crying—it won’t help. Since you’re here, we’ve all been through this initial stage. As long as you obey, we’ll take care of you."
"I want to go home." Xi Huijun sobbed softly, her makeup-smudged face looking completely pitiful.
"Enough already. Let me warn you: if you cry any further and draw the Ghosts here, none of us will be going home." Dou Jie said in a cold, threatening tone.
The mention of "ghosts" seemed to stun Xi Huijun briefly; her complexion changed visibly, turning ashen pale. Her lips quivered. "You... What did you say?"
"Tap, tap, tap..."
Right at this moment, hurried footsteps echoed from the corridor outside. With a mere glance from Yang Xiao, the group sprang into action: Dou Jie and Xiao Qinya moved without hesitation, grabbing Xi Huijun and briskly heading inside. Dou Jie even thoughtfully covered Xi Huijun’s mouth to ensure everything proceeded according to Yang Xiao’s plan.
Yu Kai and Qu Hong each took a seat, while Yang Xiao occupied the largest and newest chair at the spacious main desk—presumably the boss’s seat.
Sure enough, Yang Xiao glanced at the desk’s alarm clock—it was now 2:53 PM. The footsteps in the corridor stopped precisely outside the door.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Three knocks on the door—soft but distinct.
Yang Xiao signaled with his eyes, and Qu Hong, clad in leopard print, sashayed to the door and opened it. Standing outside was a balding man, likely in his early fifties, his face lined with worry and dark circles heavy under his eyes, as though he hadn’t rested in ages.
"Hello, my name is Sun. I contacted you yesterday." The balding man’s bloodshot eyes revealed his extreme anxiety.
"Mr. Sun, please come in." Yang Xiao invited the man to sit on a nearby sofa, both of them taking their places opposite each other. Qu Hong expertly boiled water and prepared tea, while Yu Kai stayed at Yang Xiao’s side, acting like a diligent assistant.
Noticing the balding man’s unease, Yang Xiao offered a reassuring smile. "Mr. Sun, please feel free to speak. Rest assured, you’re very safe here."
