Act II
Perhaps the lesson learned that night worked, and there was peace for several days. The girls breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the gangsters were scared after being beaten and dared not to provoke them again.
However, the good times did not last long——
One morning, as soon as the gate of Ye Mansion opened, a large group of people rushed in aggressively, shouting for their money back.
"What a lousy haunted house! It's a complete scam!"
"Exactly! The newly opened 'Netherworld Pavilion' next door only costs five taels of silver, and can accommodate twenty people at a time!"
"Give us back our money! We want to go play over there!"
A'Luo stood behind the counter, looking at the noisy crowd in front of her, surprisingly calm. She and Sister Qing looked at each other, and they understood each other tacitly. As Sister Ruan had expected, the other party took action.
"Dear guests, please be patient." A Luo smiled sweetly and took out the silver that had been prepared long ago from under the counter. "Come one by one." Then she posted the notice she had prepared in advance at the door.
Perhaps it was because of the reputation of the Ye Mansion, coupled with the sudden attack in the second act, which caught the opponent off guard, the number of reservations for the second act of the haunted house was relatively optimistic, and it attracted some repeat customers.
On the third day, the second act opened on time.
In the inner hall of Ye Mansion, candlelight flickered.
The five participants sat around a carved round table, each with a different expression. Ruan Yunsheng, dressed in a plain long dress, stood at the head of the table with a smile on her lips. "Everyone, please be patient. We still have a distinguished guest who hasn't arrived yet."
"What are you waiting for!" The fat man in brocade robe slammed the table and stood up, the jade pendant on his waist jingling, "My time is money.
Before he finished speaking, the hall door was pushed open.
A dark figure rushed in with the night wind, picked up the teacup in front of the fat man and drank it down. The tea slid down the taut jawline and dripped onto the lapel embroidered with dark patterns.
"S-sorry for being late." The man panted and wiped the corner of his lips, then raised his face that dimmed the candlelight in the room. It was Qi Mingxiu, the second son of the Qi family.
The fat man who was about to explode suddenly wilted and shrank back into his seat in embarrassment. The others were even more silent, not daring to cause trouble again.
"Oh, what an ink stain."
A clear female voice suddenly broke the silence. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw a woman in gorgeous clothes sitting in the corner. Unlike ordinary ladies, she was dressed in tight clothes and had a jade-inlaid dagger on her waist. Her brows were full of heroism. At this moment, she was folding her arms and glancing at Qi Mingxiu with impatience on her face.
Qi Mingxiu was stunned at first, then his eyes widened: "Tomboy? Why are you here?"
"Who are you calling a tomboy?" Gu Nanzhi slammed the table and stood up, rolling up his sleeves to reveal his fair arms. "I haven't seen you for a few years. Are you itching for trouble?"
"Am I afraid of you?" Qi Mingxiu sneered and walked forward with his head held high.
The two of them were on the verge of a fight—
“Bang!”
A crisp shattering sound suddenly rang out, startling everyone. They turned around and saw fragments of a celadon cup scattered at Ruan Yunsheng's feet. A smile still played on her lips, but a cold frost formed in her eyes. "Guest, are you finished?"
Although her voice was gentle, it instantly cooled the whole hall.
Qi Mingxiu felt a chill on his back, and immediately stopped. The heroic woman snorted softly and sat back down in dismay.
"Now that everyone's gathered, let's officially begin this game." Seeing everyone finally quiet down, Ruan Yunsheng tapped the table with his fingertips. "This game is different from the last one. There are two camps, the Yellow Team and the Red Team. The Red Team is the attacker and must find any way to 'kill' the actor playing Ye Li within an hour and a half. The Yellow Team must do everything they can to help Ye Li avoid being murdered. The winning team will receive clues to pass the third act."
"Of course I won't really ask you to kill anyone." Ruan Yunsheng looked at the terrified faces of the people, smiled happily, and explained the rules of the game to them in detail. Only then did everyone's expressions improve.
She flipped her wrist, and six gilded cards were arranged in her palm. Qi Mingxiu took the Ye Li card without saying a word, which made the others angry but dared not say anything, and Gu Nanzhi also chose the Yao Niang card without a doubt.
"The first hour is the preparation phase." Ruan Yunsheng slipped out a gilded hourglass from his sleeve. "Team Yellow will be protected during this time. Everyone can search the Ye Mansion for items with our logo printed on them. The game begins now."
"Oh, right." Ruan Yunsheng, who was about to leave, suddenly retracted his foot and smiled mysteriously, "Be careful of the 'ghost' hiding in there."
This puzzling remark made everyone look at each other in bewilderment, but they had no time to care about it at the moment. They hurriedly discussed and analyzed the strategy to pass the level. No one noticed that the fat man who received a yellow card looked panicked.
Qi Mingxiu stood with his arms folded, raised his eyebrows at Gu Nanzhi, and raised the corner of his mouth in a provocative arc: "I will definitely win this time, just wait for your tears."
Gu Nanzhi didn't even bother to glance at him. He turned around and left with two members of his team. His back was elegant and neat, as if even looking at him any longer would be a waste of time.
Qi Mingxiu snorted coldly, turned to his two teammates and said, "Let's go find the props! Whether they are here to save our lives or to poison us, we must not spare any of them. We must not let them take advantage of us!"
However, luck did not seem to be on their side. After half a cup of tea, the three of them searched every corner of the Ye Mansion but did not find a single decent prop.
On the other hand, on Gu Nanzhi's side, the three people were already holding several things in their hands, such as a porcelain bottle labeled "Duanchangsan", a jade pendant that could resist poison, and even many restrictive notes.
Gu Nanzhi noticed his gaze, deliberately shook the trophy in her hand, and a smug smile appeared at the corner of her lips.
Qi Mingxiu was so angry that his teeth itched. The memory of being beaten by her when he was a child suddenly flooded his mind. He narrowed his eyes and suddenly lowered his voice to his two teammates, "Find a way to separate them later and rob them directly!"
The two teammates were stunned and hesitated: "Is this... possible?"
"Why not?" Qi Mingxiu said confidently, "Did Boss Ruan say we can't rob?"
The teammates thought carefully and realized that this rule was indeed not mentioned in the rules.
A hint of cunning flashed in Qi Mingxiu's eyes. He approached the two of them and whispered his evil intentions to them. The three of them looked at each other and smiled maliciously in tacit understanding.
The three of them were lurking at the corner of the corridor, holding their breath. Not far away, Gu Nanzhi's team was scattered in the courtyard searching for props. The tall man was squatting by the well searching, the short and fat young man was checking the cracks in the rockery, and Gu Nanzhi was walking alone towards the ancestral hall.
"Let's do it!" Qi Mingxiu waved his hand, and the three of them jumped out like cheetahs.
The short and fat young man had just touched a treasure bag when he suddenly felt his ankle tighten and he fell into the grass with a plop. Before he could scream, Qi Mingxiu covered his mouth nimbly, and the other two quickly snatched the props from his arms, leaving none behind.
"Thank you for the gift~" Qi Mingxiu let go of his hand, winked at him, turned around and ran away.
"Stop!" The tall man rushed over when he heard the sound, but was deliberately tripped by Qi Mingxiu's companion. The porcelain bottle in his hand fell with a "bang" and was snatched away by the other party.
When Gu Nanzhi rushed over after hearing the sound, she only saw Qi Mingxiu's back as he climbed over the wall. The guy even turned around and made a face at her!
"Qi, Ming, Xiu! You are cheating!" Gu Nanzhi was so angry that she kicked the corridor pillar and broke it, and wood chips flew everywhere. She swore that she would not kill him after the protection time was up.
After Qi Mingxiu and the other two grabbed all the props, their luck gradually improved and they were always able to find hidden objects before the Red Team.
At this moment, Qi Mingzheng was standing on tiptoe, trying hard to probe his fingertips into the crack in the wall. The narrow gap made his knuckles turn white and sweat broke out on his forehead.
"Master, how about I do it?" The younger brother who played the role of the servant suggested in a low voice.
"Shut up!" Qi Mingxiu's cheeks flushed red, and he suddenly exerted force -
“Crack!”
The wooden box was finally dug out. He rubbed his aching arm and opened the lid. A bronze key lay quietly inside, with retro patterns coiled around it, emitting a cold light under the candlelight.
"Master, there's a note at the bottom of the box!"
Qi Mingxiu quickly took it out and saw the words written on it:
"This key can open the secret room in Yao Niang's boudoir. Inside is a magical elixir that can neutralize the poison. However, the secret room is full of traps and puppets, so enter with caution."
Qi Mingxiu clenched the key tightly, excitement burning in his eyes. If he could really get that magic pill, he would definitely win the game!
"Walk!"
He lowered his voice and gestured to his two teammates. The three of them crouched down and took cover in the shadows of the pillars, avoiding the inspection of Gu Nanzhi's team all the way, and finally reached Yao Niang's boudoir.
Pushing the door open, I found the furnishings in the room were exactly the same as the last time I came. The scarlet curtains hung low, the bronze mirror on the dressing table was covered with thick dust, and the porcelain vase as tall as a person in the corner of the wall still emitted an eerie green light.
"The secret door is here!"
The book boy squatted beside the antique display case, his fingers brushing across an almost invisible gap.
The moment the key was inserted into the keyhole, the mechanism turned with a "click" and the wall slowly cracked open to reveal a deep corridor.
A cold wind carrying the smell of decay blew in his face. Qi Mingxiu held his breath and stepped into the darkness first. The dim light from the tinder could only illuminate three steps away. The walls on both sides were covered with scratches, as if something had tried desperately to escape.
"There are words on the door!" The fat man pointed at the rules of the game written on the door with trembling hands.
Qi Xiuming frowned. He didn't expect that he only had one stick of incense to get the medicine. If he failed to get it out successfully, the puppets behind the door would collectively riot.
"One stick of incense? That's too harsh!" The fat man stared at the bloody warning on the door, his voice trembling, "Or... should we go back?"
"Since I'm here!" Qi Mingxiu gritted his teeth and pushed open the shaky wooden door.
Behind the door, darkness surged in like a tide, instantly swallowing up the faint light of the tinder. Before his eyes was a huge maze. The towering stone walls extended in all directions in the darkness, with no end in sight. There was no candlelight, no skylight, only endless darkness and dead silence.
"How do we get here?" The servant swallowed, his voice echoing in the empty maze, sounding particularly harsh.
Qi Mingxiu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He pulled off his belt and gestured for the two to take off their coats: "Tie them together, don't get separated."
The three of them twisted their clothes into a rough "rope" and tied each other tightly. Qi Mingxiu took the lead, and the three of them moved forward inch by inch like a cautious centipede, sticking to the cold stone wall.
The light from the tinderbox was so weak that it could only illuminate the palm-sized area under his feet. Qi Mingxiu's palm was pressed against the wall, and his fingertips could feel the uneven carvings on the stone surface, which looked like some kind of runes, or like marks scratched by fingernails.
"Master..." The servant's voice came from behind, trembling a little, "Did you hear any sound?"
Qi Mingxiu held his breath.
In the darkness, besides the heartbeats and breathing of the three people, there seemed to be another sound mixed in -
“Rustle…rustle…”
It seemed like something was crawling slowly along the ground.
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