Bai Liang and Han Yi-Shen got to rest for more than an hour while they waited for the 2 other pairs to reach the top. The main program of the show would be the test of courage later at 8 PM, but they would also have a tour around the mansion after lunch.
This segment wasn't only for safety purposes but was also to advertise the mansion while discussing its history. The one shown in the video earlier was only a summary.
There wasn't any instruction as to how they were supposed to position themselves for the tour, but they tacitly stayed with their partner. They let Han Yi-Shen take the centre position with Bai Liang; he could feel Yi Nian's prickly eyes from behind him.
The guide introduced them to the rooms and key furniture of the mansion with an extensive backstory. When they entered the drawing room, Bai Liang glanced at the figure standing next to the couch who immediately ran away from his presence.
Due to her movement, a cold breeze blew within the room, swaying the curtains along with it. Yi Nian and Shen Qing-Wei paled and shifted closer to their partner.
Seeing Bai Liang didn't react one bit, Han Yi-Shen moved closer to him in exchange. Bai Liang thought he was scared and let him stick close.
"W-what was that?" Yi Nian stuttered.
"It's just a breeze from outside." Wen Zhang crossed his arms. "Cheap trick."
"But the windows here are fixed windows. How can a wind enter?" Shen Qing-Wei wasn't convinced.
"It's a gimmick then." Wen Zhang spread an arm. "You guys forget? This is an attraction."
The guide wasn't offended. "Many think like that but as stipulated before, to maintain the mansion's safety and authenticity, we only restored it without adding more things that could further damage the building in the process."
They continued their tour and walked down the corridor to reach the next room. Feeling the quailing hand on his jacket, Jiang Wei held it and looked at Shen Qing-Wei in reassurance. "I'm not going anywhere. Watch your steps."
Shen Qing-Wei reddened in embarrassment and gave a small nod. She let go of Jiang Wei's jacket. "Sorry…it was inappropriate of me."
Jiang Wei scratched his neck with a slight blush as well. "I don't really mind…"
Bai Liang kept a part of his attention on the couples behind him. Just as he thought everything was going smoothly, Yi Nian emitted a malicious aura. He was ready to stop her when he recalled the revelation and stopped himself. The next part was a part of their fate, he shouldn't intervene.
When they passed a round mirror in the corridor, Yi Nian suddenly pointed at it and jerked back, her mouth forming a silent scream. She hit Shen Qing-Mei who staggered back from the impact only to find the stairs was right behind her. Her foot slipped and she lost her balance.
In that split second, time slowed down as Bai Liang analyzed whether his intervention was necessary. While the scene played according to the revelation, he noticed Yi Nian was about to hook Jiang Wei's arm which would disrupt the next sequence. Without missing a beat, he placed pressure on her and froze her for a split second.
"Watch out!" Jiang Wei reacted on time and caught Shen Qing-Mei's outstretched hand.
He tugged her towards him and the two crashed and fell to the floor. After a moment of silence, everyone came out of their stupor and hurried towards the pair. Yi Nian, however, was petrified. Her hair stood at its end and colour drained out of her face.
She was sure she didn't hallucinate. For a split second, her body was frozen by some invisible force, a cold grip that sent chills to her bones. Was this place really haunted?
Bai Liang frowned at Jiang Wei's inflaming right wrist. He let his guard down. Jiang Wei didn't get injured in the revelation. He could only hope this wouldn't bring troublesome effects.
"Senior Jiang, is your wrist alright?"
Hearing the question, Jiang Wei raised his hand and hissed in pain. Bai Liang took out his metallic pencil case, tore his handkerchief, and performed first aid for the fractured wrist. He also transferred some of his qi to ease the pain.
Luo Kang arrived soon after and Jiang Wei was hustled to the paramedics on standby outside the mansion. Shen Qing-Mei wanted to accompany him out of worry, but Luo Kang stopped her. The program had to continue, so the rest of the cast was told to continue with the tour. Shen Qing-Mei couldn't help but feel anxious and guilty.
Bai Liang considered for a second and went up to Shen Qing-Mei. "Senior Shen, if you leave as well, both of you will be unfamiliar with the mansion's layout later at night. Don't you think that's too dangerous?"
"…I guess you're right. I'll continue the tour for him." Shen Qing-Mei calmed herself down and nodded in determination.
Yi Nian stepped forward to say something only to trip on empty air and tumble forward. Fortunately, Wen Zhang was there to prevent her fall.
"Stop panicking and pay more attention to your surroundings," he scolded. "Shen Qing-Mei could've fallen down the stairs because of you. The consequences would've been worse."
Yi Nian turned red from the humiliation. Coupled with Wen Zhang's reprimand, she lost her chance to follow Jiang Wei outside. She could only continue to act scared and pointed at the mirror in trepidation. "B-but, there was–!"
"Miss Yi," Han Yi-Shen spoke up as well, "I believe you owe Miss Shen an apology."
Although he said it with a friendly face, Yi Nian could feel his displeasure and didn't dare to offend him further. She reluctantly apologized to Shen Qing-Mei and tried to hide her indignance, but it didn't slip the eyes of veteran actors such as Han Yi-Shen and Wen Zhang and lowered their opinion of her.
The tour continued once everything was settled. Wen Zhang subtly alienated himself from Yi Nian and looked after Shen Qing-Mei instead, showing a decent amount of hidden worry. Han Yi-Shen also took Jiang Wei's place to react to the guide and passed them to Bai Liang from time to time, giving him more screentime. Yi Nian made the wise decision to shut her mouth the entire tour.
After it ended, they could finally take a break though it was also part of the program. Shen Qing-Mei directly went to find Jiang Wei and Yi Nian tagged along. Before they left too far, Bai Liang suggested to Wen Zhang and Han Yi-Shen that they all visit Jiang Wei together and both agreed.
With that, he spoiled Yi Nian's plan to get closer to Jiang Wei while Jiang Wei and Shen Qing-Mei naturally became closer during the break.
"Thank you for your help, Xiao Yan," Jiang Wei said in gratitude. "Thanks to you, the injury didn't get any worse. I'll buy you a new handkerchief after this."
Bai Liang shook his head. "Anybody would've done the same. I only happened to have the necessary tools."
"No, no, no." Wen Zhang waved his hands. "I didn't even know what to do. Xiao Yan, you're awesome."
"Junior Wen is right." Han Yi-Shen patted Bai Liang's head. "Don't be too humble."
"If Shen-ge said so." Bai Liang nodded at Jiang Wei. "You're welcome, Senior Jiang."
"What's that? You're also playing favouritism to Senior Han?" Wen Zhang caught Bai Liang's shoulders. "Call me ge too."
"Me too," Jiang Wei chimed in.
"Then, Xiao Yan should call me Mei-jie," Shen Qing-Mei added.
Before Yi Nian could say the same thing, Bai Liang beat her to it. "Zhang-ge, Wei-ge, and Mei-jie should also call each other familiarly."
The gloomy atmosphere soon regained its liveliness, and Xue Liang silently admired how skilful his master was. Although Grandmaster was better at reading people, his master was better at making people favour him when he wanted to.
Bai Liang glanced at Yi Nian who could only watch from the sidelines and feigned ignorance. Socializing was all about chance and timing. Shutting out Yi Nian from the group wasn't difficult since 3 of them already didn't like her.
After a short filler segment and dinner, it was finally time for the test of courage. The darker the night went, the more terrifying the mansion looked and the lower the temperature became. When the sun was gone, the air shifted with each passing time and the mansion descended to its infamed horror.
Bai Liang sighed and prepared himself to look after the foolish mortals.