The scene was eerily quiet, with the trio standing frozen in place and the only sound being the distant drip of water from the ceiling.
She was dead.
Her neck was twisted in an unnatural way, and her dark hair splayed messily around her, accentuating the grotesque angle of her neck.
The butler's face immediately turned ashen, his hands trembling as he clutched the doorframe for support. He had seen many things in his years of service, but this... this was too much.
Zhao Ming's reaction was even worse. The moment the butler had opened the door, Zhao Ming's knees gave out on themselves, and he collapsed to the floor face first. Sun Chang noticed a little blood on the floor where Zhao Ming had hit his nose.
As for Sun Chang, he tried his best to ignore the sensation coming from his stomach, steeping over Zhao Ming's collapsed body to inspect the room.
"The door was locked from the inside. That rules out forced entry."
"The window was open, but the bookshelf and desk were undisturbed. Her belongings, including her journal and clothing, remained untouched. This ruled out robbery as a motive."
As he looked around the room, he felt something was wrong. It was too clean, and nothing had been packed. Was she not planning on leaving?
He knelt down to check the body. "Her body is still warm. There are no signs of struggle. Her neck... it's clearly broken."
He noticed the lack of defensive injuries. It seemed she may have been killed while resting. But when he checked the bed, it was perfectly made, with no sign of anyone having slept in it. So she wasn't resting, but she may have been incapacitated quickly. But if she had been resting or incapacitated, such a severe injury should have caused her to wake up in pain or at least scream.
Gently, he moved Sofia's dark hair away from her face, revealing a gentle smile.
Why was she smiling?
Was it relief? He thought about it and considered that maybe the life of a servant was stressful, and the death of Zhao Mei most likely had an impact on her. But how did she know she was going to die? The timing seemed too convenient, just as he had arrived at the house and then when the curse had broken out.
Curse?
It was then that he noticed the handprints on her face. His blood ran cold. He turned to look in the opposite direction in which her head was facing and saw his reflection.
Mirror!
Perched on the dresser was a small mirror, the size of a laptop.
Sun Chang didn't take time to admire it, because in that split second he had grabbed a vase from the desk beside him, and, in a swift motion, hurled it toward the mirror, the vase spinning through the air before crashing into the glass, causing it to shatter into countless fragments.
Sun Chang turned pale. "Did she die because of the mirror?" he muttered, staring at Alice's lifeless body.
He hesitated. "It all seems too coincidental. Smiling before she died, did she know about the curse? Only Zhao Yin, the butler Zhao Ming, and Zhao Li know the details. Did Zhao Mei tell her?"
"She must have known," he continued, pacing the room. "The question is, why didn't she tell the rest of the family? Maybe resentment? It's a possibility. I just happen to arrive, and the curse breaks out. No, I came unannounced. She might have been planning on killing the family, and I got unlucky."
He frowned, then shook his head. "Well, that's not important right now. How did the curse target Alice? It should be targeting Zhao Li."
Suddenly, he recalled the butler's earlier words about the curse potentially evolving. "The curse may have the ability to evolve," he whispered to himself.
Sun Chang's expression turned grim as the realization hit him. "And for it to evolve, it has to fulfill a condition."
He paused, his gaze returning to Alice's lifeless body. "Death."
His thoughts continued to turn, trying to make sense of the situation. "If this is true, then after Zhao Mei's death, it's possible for the curse to target more than one person. But why would Alice choose to die, know? If she wanted revenge, wouldn't it be better to watch it to the end? To see everyone suffer.
If he wanted revenge, he would watch as the curse would twist their limps into unnatural angles, their bones snapping and jutting through their skin. They would be left contorted, alive just long enough to feel every excruciating break before death.
His thoughts were interrupted by the butler's voice. "Sir, should I notify the authorities?"
Sun Chan froze, his eyes meeting the butler's. "Don't," he said abruptly.
The butler had already reached for his phone but hesitated at Sun Chang's command. As he glanced at his screen, his eyes widened in horror at the sight of a smiling face. Before he could react, his eyes turned pitch black.
"Sir, I... " the butler's voice trailed off, replaced by a smile.
Sun Chang lunged forward with startling speeds, tackling the butler to the ground. They rolled across the floor, knocking over the lamp and crashing into a coffee table.
Sun Chang ducked a swing to the head, countering with a punch to the butler's midsection, but it seemed to have little effect.
The butler grabbed Sun Chang by the collar, lifting him and slamming him against the wall.
Sun Chang took in a sharp breath as pain shot through his back. "Did it get a strength boost too?"
Desperate, Sun Chang bit the butler on the wrist, to little effect. The butler didn't even flinch. Sun Chang then kicked him hard in the chest, causing the butler to stumble slightly.
Sun Chang broke free and fell to the ground. He wiped his mouth, his expression turning ugly.
"This is difficult, I can't stop him without hurting him. But if I kill him, will the curse also die?"
He didn't have time to think as the butler roared, throwing a punch that caught Sun Chang's jaw, sending him staggering back.
Sun Chang's vision blurred, but he focused, sidestepping another attack and landing a swift kick to the butler's knee. The butler stumbled, giving Sun Chang a brief opening.
In a desperate move, Sun Chang spotted the phone on the floor. He dove for it, snatching it up just as the butler lunged at him again. With all his might, Sun Chang smashed the phone against the nearest surface. The screen shattered, along with the smiling face displayed on it.
The butler froze, his eyes returning to normal, clutching his head. "What... what was that?"
Sun Chang got to his feet, trying to steady his breathing. The butler winced, looking down at his wrist. "Why does my wrist hurt?"
Sun Chang looked a bit embarrassed, avoiding eye contact. "Don't worry about that. Do you not remember what you just did?"
The butler shook his head slowly, still clutching his wrist. "All I remember is everything going dark."
Sun Chang stared at the butler's confused expression before looking at the broken phone.
"I think the curse is evolving," he said slowly.
"The first time, it seemed to only follow the user influencing them. The second time, it could kill through reflections—like what happened to Zhao Li. And now..."
He paused, troubled. "Now it seems like it can possess people."
The butler paled further, realization dawning on him. "Then just now..."
Sun Chang nodded solemnly. "Yes, I think by killing Alice, it was able to possess you. It's adapting, becoming more dangerous with each victim."
"Then why am I still alive? Why didn't it kill me?"
Sun Chang shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe it got greedy and thought it could kill both of us. If it went for Zhao Ming, I could have easily scored a double kill."
The butler was left speechless, his mouth opening and closing as he struggled to find words. After a moment of hesitation, he asked, "Can we leave? Get away from this place."
"It's possible," he admitted slowly, "but it seems that once cursed, the curse wouldn't be restricted to this house."
The butler's expression fell, "Zhang Mei mentioned shadows outside," he recalled, "If the curse can manifest beyond these walls..."
Sun Chang nodded grimly. "Then leaving might not guarantee safety.