It really is a haunted castle...

As one of the most common elements in horror games, castles are indeed indispensable.

Just as Xiao Tangqiu was staring at the ancient castle, an old voice suddenly sounded, scaring him so much that he took a step back.

"Welcome, all travelers from afar. The master is waiting for you. Please follow me."

This was an elderly woman with not only white hair, but also wrinkles all over her face, cloudy eyes, and a hoarse voice. She was obviously very old, but she was wearing a men's housekeeper's uniform.

Her appearance was too unusual, so even the newcomers didn't dare to speak easily. They just stared at her warily, as if they still had some suspicion that she and Shen Yuan and others were in collusion to cheat people... But with such a huge castle not far away, who would do such a big thing to cheat them?

No one said anything for a long while. Finally, the girl broke the silence. She nodded to the old woman who looked like a housekeeper and said lightly, "Okay, please lead the way."

The housekeeper turned around and began to lead the way for them. She walked so unsteadily that Xiao Tangqiu was very worried that she would fall to the ground... However, she walked very steadily and very fast, so fast that they had to walk two steps faster.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived in front of the ancient castle. At this time, a statue in front of the castle gate attracted their attention. It was a statue of a naked woman. Her facial features were carved vividly and lifelike, especially the eyes, which were very realistic and compassionate.

Xiao Tangqiu walked forward while looking at the statue, but suddenly he discovered with fear that the statue's eyes seemed to move, and moved along with his walking path, as if... as if it was staring at him.

In addition to Xiao Tangqiu, others obviously noticed the naked female statue. After all, in front of such a gloomy castle, such a statue with a compassionate and holy expression like the Virgin Mary seemed particularly abrupt and out of tune with the entire environment.

However, Xiao Tangqiu did not feel that the statue was holy at all. Instead, he felt a little creepy, especially when he felt that the statue seemed to be staring at him. He felt a chill on his back and felt uncomfortable all over.

"...So beautiful." Tang Mianmian stared at the statue for a while, her expression a little obsessed. "So beautiful! I've never seen anyone so beautiful..."

Xiao Tangqiu was stunned for a moment. Could it be that Tang Mianmian didn’t feel anything strange about the statue?

The other newcomers couldn't help but chime in. Although they had previously been resistant to the eerie castle, their eyes lit up with fascination as they looked at the beautiful statue. "Yes, it's really beautiful! I've never seen such a beautiful statue before!"

"If this were a living person, how beautiful would she be! She would definitely be prettier than those female celebrities in the entertainment industry!"

Xiao Tangqiu keenly sensed something was wrong. He turned his head to look at Shen Yuan and the others, but saw that their expressions were calm and there was no emotional fluctuation. However, the man in the windbreaker noticed his gaze and looked at him with a smile while playing with the scalpel.

He gritted his teeth, turned around, and pretended to be careless but bumped into Tang Mianmian fiercely. Tang Mianmian staggered and almost fell to the ground. "What are you doing! Watch your way!"

Xiao Tangqiu glared at Tang Mianmian and pretended to be angry, "Why are you staring at the statue so stupidly? It's just a statue! No matter how you look at it, it's still a statue! Stop fantasizing! It's so disgusting!"

"Statue?" Tang Mianmian was stunned for a moment, then seemed to react. He said blankly, "...Oh, that's right, it's a statue. Why would I be so intoxicated by a statue?"

The others also looked as if they had just woken up from a dream: "Strange, why are we staring at a statue for so long?"

Tang Mianmian was confused and could only mutter, "After being single for so long, even a statue looks pretty.

Xiao Tangqiu's heart sank as he quickly realized that Tang Mianmian and the others might have been bewitched by the statue. If he hadn't spoken up to remind them, who knows what would happen next... and now they haven't even stepped into the castle!

The previous D-level mission didn't encounter any accidents until the evening, but in this mission, an accident has already occurred before they even officially entered the destination... Should we say that it is indeed worthy of being an S-level mission?

At this moment, the old woman who looked like a housekeeper smiled slightly and introduced it in an old voice: "This statue is called the Virgin Fountain, in memory of a saint..."

"Saint?" Xiao Tangqiu was stunned for a moment.

"...It is said that many years ago, a demon wreaked havoc in the nearby town of Dimon. His power was to control fire, so he used fire to turn Dimon into hell. The fire burned for three days and three nights without being extinguished. Because human water could not extinguish the demon's fire, just before everything turned to ashes, a saint stepped forward—"

"The saint threw herself into the flames and offered a blood sacrifice. After her death, a clear spring gushed out from her body. Wherever the spring touched, the demonic fires were extinguished... Many years later, my master heard the saint's story and had a statue carved for her, named the Virgin Spring."

After the housekeeper finished her story slowly, everyone focused on different things.

"Virgin Spring? Why is it called that? It always feels a bit... vulgar." This is Tang Mianmian, who has a unique focus.

"Demon? Is there really a demon in this place?!" This is the frightened newcomer.

"Dimon Town? Is there a town nearby?" This is an experienced old player.

The housekeeper smiled slightly and did not continue the topic: "The master is still waiting for you, come with me." After that, she turned and walked towards the castle gate.

Tang Mianmian had no choice but to turn her head and look at Xiao Tangqiu: "Qiuqiu, what do you think?"

Xiao Tangqiu frowned slightly and told Tang Mianmian in a low voice, "I've heard the story of the Virgin Spring...and it's completely different from what she said."

Tang Mianmian's eyes flashed with gossip: "Oh? Did she lie to us?"

"I don't think so. Maybe it's not the same story." Xiao Tangqiu frowned. "But I have a feeling that the story of the Virgin Spring is the key to this mission."

Tang Mianmian nodded: "I will review the matter!"

Xiao Tangqiu smiled and said, "No matter what, I have to remember this story."

After the two of them whispered to each other, they saw that everyone else had entered the castle gate and hurriedly followed them.

After the last two people entered the castle, the castle gate slowly closed with no one there.

"Crack—squeak—"

The huge, old wooden door made a dull thud, and the newcomers turned pale with fear. "The door... the door closed by itself!"