“Come out!”
That group of people had returned again.
Jiang Ye impatiently ‘tsked’ once. Bai Chen Zhu found it amusing. “Has that good guy A-Liang that Tang Jie mentioned arrived?” As he spoke, he stood up and hopped twice on his one good leg. Jiang Ye casually supported one side of his body as they went out.
Zhou Zhuo Hua wanted to help Tang Jie out, but Tang Jie was covered in wounds and awkwardly refused the assistance. He carefully walked out the door on his own.
They saw three vehicles pull up outside.
Those three cars had learned from Bai Chen Zhu’s approach: doors and windows tightly shut. Zombies wandered outside, occasionally tangling near the cars. However, the people inside picked up a megaphone and shouted, “Tang Jie!”
Tang Jie shuffled bit by bit along the gravel path to the courtyard gate. The distance was somewhat far, enough for the people outside to shout a few times. “A-Liang, what do you want with me?”
Unexpectedly, A-Liang, dressed all in black, anxiously said, “Tang Jie, are you okay? They didn’t do anything to you, did they?”
These words stunned the four of them: Bai Chen Zhu and the others.
How had they become the bad guys?
“Didn’t you say the housekeeper led them in bullying you?” Bai Chen Zhu glanced over the neatly arrayed group of people and puzzledly asked.
“Those people all left with Uncle Duan.” Tang Jie shook his head. “What happened with Uncle Duan is in the past.”
So, the bullying was because that Uncle Duan had led them? And the ones looking for them to seek revenge were also the group that followed Uncle Duan? With Uncle Duan gone, A-Liang’s group and Tang Jie were friends?
Bai Chen Zhu sorted through the information and found it increasingly strange, yet he couldn’t find any point to question. Everything seemed so reasonable. The only bad guys were that ‘Uncle Duan’ and the people who followed him.
He watched Jiang Ye and Zhou Zhuo Hua talking with Tang Jie there.
“Brother Bai.” Bai Tao had somehow sidled up beside him. She took a deep breath. “Don’t you feel like it’s hard to breathe here? I’m having a bit of trouble catching my breath.”
Bai Chen Zhu surprisedly said, “Uncomfortable?” He raised his hand to touch Bai Tao’s forehead. There was nothing unusual.
“Maybe it’s motion sickness from the ride.” Since Bai Tao saw he was different from her, she ruled out any superpower involvement and figured it was her own body’s issue.
Led by A-Liang, the people from the Villa District changed their attitudes completely once they learned they were Tang Jie’s friends.
Their accounts matched: they called the large, castle-like house in the center of the Villa District the Ghost House and cautioned the group not to enter it lightly. They also arranged a standalone villa for them to live in.
Bai Chen Zhu and the others had still been somewhat wary at first, but seeing their sincere and friendly attitudes with nothing unusual, plus Tang Jie’s tearful gratitude—he said everyone feared the Ghost House, and without them, he would have been left inside unable to get out—the four of them temporarily settled in the villa.
Zhou Zhuo Hua and Jiang Ye had a lot to say to Tang Jie, so the four stayed put in the villa for the time being.
Bai Chen Zhu’s leg hadn’t recovered yet, and he didn’t like socializing. He refused the so-called party and returned to his room to rest.
Midway, Jiang Ye brought Zhou Zhuo Hua up once to check his wound.
“The splint split open. I told you not to move so much.” Zhou Zhuo Hua nagged.
Jiang Ye suddenly pulled out his favorite dagger. “Where to find a stick late at night? Bind this to his leg.”
“Who fixes a leg with a dagger?!” Zhou Zhuo Hua retorted.
“It’s fine. Do as he says.” Bai Chen Zhu waved his hand dismissively.
Zhou Zhuo Hua lowered her head to rebandage him. Bai Chen Zhu lifted his face, looking past Zhou Zhuo Hua at Jiang Ye. A pair of phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
Jiang Ye innocently shrugged. “What’re you looking at me for? Got something on my face?”
“Jiang Ye, you’ve been awfully quiet since we got here.” Bai Chen Zhu lifted the corner of his mouth in a fake smile. “That’s not like you.”
Jiang Ye’s gaze drifted. “Haven’t I always been like this? You’re the one with the bias against me.”
“It is a bias. Never wrongly blamed you.” Bai Chen Zhu nodded meaningfully. “I’m the type who likes to speak openly. I thought we were friends by now. So if you have any worries, why not share them?”
“Of course.” Jiang Ye grinned roguishly, changing the subject. “We’re good friends who’ve been through danger together~ Right, do you remember the method I taught you to retract your mental power?”
“I remember, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to pull it all back yet.”
“Oh, like that.” Jiang Ye touched his nose. “In that case, you could learn from Bai Tao. At the critical moment, smear some blood on a towel and toss it out, then hide yourself well and wait for me to come over.”
Jiang Ye was really off today. Bai Chen Zhu stared at him until he turned his head away. “I hope there won’t be a time we need to use it.”
He lowered his head and touched the not-very-obvious dagger on his leg.
At dinnertime, he leaned against the bay window. He could hear the steady hum of the generator and the lively laughter downstairs. He could see the stars filling the sky and the flickering candlelight.
It had indeed been a long time since he’d seen so many people gathered together.
When the moon rose over the treetops, the light sleeper suddenly jolted awake from his dream.
A dark shadow stood quietly by the bedside. Bai Chen Zhu rubbed his eyes and, accustomed to it, asked, “Jiang Ye? What’re you doing instead of sleeping?”
“Jiang Ye?” The shadow chewed on the two words and chuckled softly. “Looks like you two get along well.”
He took a step forward. It was the slender build of a young man, dressed in black, with a resolute face—it was A-Liang. He said, “If your relationship is too good, that makes things difficult.”
The visitor meant no good. Bai Chen Zhu propped himself up, planning to stall A-Liang first. He immediately went on alert. “What do you mean by that?”
“Sorry, I have to do some bad things to you.” A-Liang said repentantly, then swiftly leaped onto the bed and stomped ruthlessly and accurately on the wound on his calf. “Very sorry.”
Bai Chen Zhu drew in a sharp breath of cold air and abandoned any idea of feigned civility. He immediately shouted loudly, “Jiang Ye! Bai…”
Before he lost consciousness, he saw the tightly shut room door.
When he woke again, Bai Chen Zhu opened his eyes to an extremely luxurious room: a chandelier hanging high, a vibrant sunflower oil painting, heavy dark red curtains… and iron chains bound around his wrists.
These chains looked somewhat familiar. Bai Chen Zhu raised his hand. The more he examined them, the more astonished he became. How did they look more and more like the one that had been around Tang Jie’s neck before?
“You’re awake.”
Bai Chen Zhu was already used to A-Liang’s elusive way of appearing. He raised his eyes to look at A-Liang but discovered Tang Jie was there too.
A-Liang politely nodded to him, then handed the bowl to Tang Jie and turned to go outside and stand guard.
They were in cahoots? Bai Chen Zhu rattled the chains on his hands, his eyes full of doubt. “So what did you bring me here for?”
Tang Jie smiled without speaking. He held the bowl in his left hand and a dagger in his right as he walked over.
“What you said before was all lies.” Bai Chen Zhu quickly retreated, full of vigilance. Unfortunately, his hands and feet were all bound together with iron chains, making movement inconvenient. No matter how he shifted, he couldn’t get off the large bed until his back pressed against the headboard, the chains clanking.
“Who told you to barge in? I said this is the ‘Ghost House’. Hurry up and leave—why wouldn’t you listen?” Tang Jie frowned, looking very troubled. “Maybe this is fate. Uncle Duan ran away, and it delivered you right to me.”
“And I’ve already been very good to you.” A dagger pressed across Bai Chen Zhu’s neck. Bai Chen Zhu involuntarily held his breath. The silver apricot earrings swayed by his ear, their reflection shimmering on the dagger’s blade.
“You know, where did the last person who struggled end up sleeping?” Tang Jie said sinisterly. “In the dog kennel. Considering you’re Jiang Ye’s friend, letting you stay in a guest room is the most patience I can muster.”
“That’s truly my honor.” Bai Chen Zhu tugged at the corner of his mouth and tilted his head to look at him. “Since we’re all friends, how about putting down the knife first before we talk?”
Tang Jie pushed the dagger forward an inch, and Bai Chen Zhu leaned back an inch.
After a moment, Tang Jie laughed. Once he finished laughing, he immediately hardened his expression. “No.”
He gestured with the dagger, as if pondering where to make the cut.
“You don’t look like you’re going to kill me.” Bai Chen Zhu observed for a few seconds. “I’m cooperating fully. Tell me what you want?”
“Some blood.” Tang Jie said leisurely. The way he held the dagger was like holding a pair of chopsticks, searching for the spot to cut on the plate of his body.
Bai Chen Zhu followed his gaze over his own body, then looked at the bowl in his hand. He recalled the bowl he’d seen by the dog kennel during the day.
He paused, figuring that based on the amount, he could still live. So he laboriously lifted his left arm. “Will the arm do? Just don’t cut the wrist.”
“You’re really something else.” Tang Jie was astonished by the captive’s cooperation, but it didn’t affect his movements at all. The dagger flipped in his hand, its sharp silver gleam slicing open skin and flesh…
Bai Chen Zhu’s face gradually paled from blood loss. He stared fixedly as the bright red dripped down, pooling in the bowl. Countless guesses flashed through his mind in an instant, but seeing Tang Jie’s inadvertent vigilant movements and A-Liang outside the door, he chose to hold back from voicing them.
Tang Jie casually bandaged his arm for him, then left with the bowl. He didn’t say another word the whole time.
The heavy room door closed. The chandelier was covered in dust, the light dim and gray. The surrounding furniture faded into the darkness.
Bai Chen Zhu tugged at the chains. They were very short; he couldn’t leave a meter from the bed. They treated him just like a dog, placing an empty bucket by the bed for his physiological needs. Nothing else.
A screen stood between him and the window; he couldn’t see the outside view, only hazy light.
But Bai Chen Zhu guessed that, based on the decor here, it should be that castle-like villa where they’d seen Tang Jie during the day—the one with the artificial mountain and streams three stories high, majestic and grand.
It was only the first night. Bai Chen Zhu closed his eyes, enduring the stinging pain in his arm. He didn’t know how long it would take for them to notice his disappearance and find their way here. Even if they did notice, searching would take time. The building was tall, probably with many floors and even more rooms…
By then, he might have turned into a dried-up husk.
Bai Chen Zhu suddenly regretted telling Jiang Ye to sleep in separate rooms. Before, for safety and convenience, they’d always paired up. It was rare to see a Villa District as safe as a secure zone, and with four rooms prepared, none of them had paid attention to the room assignments.
Wait… Why had Tang Jie chosen him? Bai Chen Zhu abruptly lifted his eyelids and sat up straight. Leaving aside Jiang Ye, Bai Tao was young, Zhou Zhuo Hua had no superpower—why him specifically? Just because his leg injury made him slow to run?
Blood, drawing blood, Uncle Duan, escape… Putting these together, Bai Chen Zhu instantly thought of the towel stained with Bai Tao’s blood that had attracted the zombies before.
It was because he was a mental-type ability user. But he hadn’t exposed it openly at all, unless…
Bai Chen Zhu’s brows darkened. He sat quietly in the darkness for a while, then pulled the blanket back over his legs with a belly full of anger.
Bai Chen Zhu couldn’t reach the bandage on his forearm; Tang Jie’s bandaging skills were really poor. He lay on his side on the bed and soon fell asleep obediently following his body’s instincts.
When he woke again, his strength had mostly recovered.
Bright daylight shone outside. A bit of faint light filtered through the heavy screen. On the bedside table closest to him sat water and two steamed buns—having nothing to do with the ‘feast’ from the night before.
Having rested enough, Bai Chen Zhu closed his eyes and probed, trying first to locate Jiang Ye and the others. But unexpectedly, as soon as his mental threads floated out, they were ‘eaten’ by something, not a trace left, let alone reaching outside the villa.
His temples stung with a slight pinprick pain.
He rubbed the spots and instead tried to explore this eerie villa.
His mental threads were most sensitive to living beings with mental power activity, less so to inanimate objects. Thus, he quickly discovered that, aside from himself, there was an odd presence upstairs emitting faint mental power fluctuations.
Zombies’ mental power was nearly depleted, so Bai Chen Zhu’s first thought was: Another fellow sufferer? Another ability user captured for bloodletting?
More importantly, Tang Jie wasn’t there. Having recovered some strength, Bai Chen Zhu quickly cast aside the doubt. He hopped down from the bed on one leg. The stab of pain in his calf made him draw a deep breath.
After thinking for a moment, he unwound the bandage on his leg, freed the dagger, and rewrapped it.
His movements weren’t as nimble as Jiang Ye’s. He ground at the chains on his wrists for a long time, wedging them against the joints and grinding hard. Amid the grating noise, after a very, very long time, he finally severed the chains on his wrists and ankles one by one.
In that half day, plenty could have happened. When Bai Chen Zhu hopped lopsidedly to the second floor, he immediately noticed two people opening the villa’s courtyard gate.
He keenly sensed those two weren’t Zhou Zhuo Hua or the others.
Bai Chen Zhu lightened his movements and quickly supported himself along the stairs upward, wanting to find a place to hide first. From farther away, he saw it was Tang Jie and A-Liang, carrying some food as they entered his room.
He would definitely be discovered. Bai Chen Zhu had a bad premonition, his heart pounding up to his throat. Besides the winding spiral staircase, there was a semi-transparent sightseeing elevator. He looked left and right before quickly slipping into the low-key stairwell.
There were two of them. Bai Chen Zhu thought, since he couldn’t beat them, and since he had to escape, then he should find another ally.
He was going to find the other person in the building!
Following the fluctuations of mental power, Bai Chen Zhu accurately made his way to the top floor, the fifth floor.
Compared to that dog kennel ‘Da Huang’, this was a luxurious grand door made of precious materials. One could even imagine how large the room inside was, occupying half a floor.
What kind of person exactly lived here?
Bai Chen Zhu placed his hand on the door. It wasn’t locked. He pushed it open silently and saw a vast emptiness.
This room was very strange. Of the three walls in the small hall, two had been knocked down, and the area beside them was a complete mess. Only on the carpet in the center of the room sat an empty bowl.
There was nothing.
Bai Chen Zhu stepped forward doubtfully, one step, then another. Something wet and sticky fell from the ceiling, dripping onto his shoulder.
He touched the wet and sticky spot on his shoulder. With a sense in his heart, he looked up and came face to face with an iron-blue, distorted human face. Gray eyeballs, so turbid that the pupils could barely be distinguished, fixedly locked onto him. In the wide-open mouth, the tonsils were visible, and the falling saliva carried threads of bloody qi.
Bai Chen Zhu: ……!
