Translator: Cinder Translations
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The "villager" who brought the meat soup had ultimately returned to this building.
As his thoughts deepened, Zhou Rong's face grew darker. Just then, a hand suddenly appeared behind him and slapped him hard, nearly causing him to scream.
He immediately turned around to see Jiang Cheng's serious face.
Jiang Cheng pointed behind him.
Zhou Rong paused for a moment, then his throat involuntarily tightened as he slowly turned around. On the wall behind him hung an old wooden picture frame.
The frame was very old, covered with dust.
Because the surroundings were quite dark, no one had noticed it earlier.
Zhou Rong frowned and carefully took the frame down. Upon closer inspection, the frame seemed to have started to decay in this environment, and the wooden edges were loosening.
He gently wiped away the dust.
Inside the frame was a group photo of six people.
In the front were an elderly couple, sitting on wooden chairs, with four middle-aged men standing side by side behind them.
It was clear that these four men were their children.
The elderly couple appeared to be ordinary, but their clothing suggested they weren't from a typical family.
The woman, though thin and frail, had a haggard face and lifeless eyes. She wore gold bangles, rings, and a pearl necklace around her neck.
The man sat robustly in the chair, dressed in a leather coat with fur-lined boots, holding a long smoking pipe in his hand. His small eyes were narrowed, giving off a cold and sharp aura.
One glance at him made him seem very intimidating.
Behind them, the four men were all well-built. Some carried hunting rifles, some held abacuses, others carried books that looked like they were bound with thread, and the last man wore a pale blue floral apron.
Due to improper storage, the faces of some were no longer clear.
Overall, this family gave off an impression of being quite powerful in the village, likely a very dominant family.
They immediately thought of the wiped-out Qian family.
But… Pei Qian stared at the photo with growing confusion. Something didn't add up.
According to the village chief, the Qian family had four children, but they were not four men. There were three sons and one daughter. The youngest daughter, Qian Jianxiu, had died from illness a long time ago.
Wait… Zhou Rong suddenly raised his head, as if realizing something.
He turned to look at the partially open door.
The strange chopping sound had... disappeared.
Not only that, but their behavior just now was also very strange.
As experienced players, they had been distracted by a photo when faced with a ghost's threat from close range.
Pei Qian's expression became even more puzzled. He walked over and fixed his gaze on the photo Zhou Rong was holding, his eyes gradually becoming more intense, as though he would snatch it away at any moment.
At this point, Zhou Rong understood. The photo was definitely unusual, and it was another crucial clue related to the ghost.
Jiang Cheng stepped forward and blocked Pei Qian's line of sight with his body.
After a few seconds, Pei Qian blinked rapidly as if waking up. When he opened his eyes again, his gaze had returned to normal.
He quickly realized what had happened.
Jiang Cheng reached out and took the photograph, skillfully removing it from the wooden frame, folding it, and tucking it into his chest.
Both Pei Qian and Zhou Rong were stunned.
The photograph was indeed a clue, but none of them knew whether taking it would trigger a ghost attack, especially since the ghost was just a door away.
If a ghost attack occurred, Jiang Cheng would almost certainly die.
Although the ghost's voice had disappeared, they were sure it was still in the room because an eerie, cold atmosphere was still leaking from the gap in the partially open door.
They were all experienced players and had been in close encounters with ghosts before.
It was that feeling.
Zhou Rong, who was closest to the door, dared not breathe too loudly. He couldn't understand why, despite the ghost having already noticed their presence, it hadn't attacked them yet.
Pei Qian was also on edge, his gaze nervously scanning the surroundings. He had already studied the building in detail the evening before.
He knew the locations of all the doors and windows. This was one of the reasons he dared to enter.
From his observations, there was a door about three or four meters to the left of the partially open door that led outside.
But right now, it was completely dark.
Although the windows had been obscured by the ghost's methods, the door might still offer a way out. He thought there was at least a 50% chance that the door could lead to safety.
"Creeeak—"
Just as the three of them were on high alert, the partially open door creaked open.
In the dim light, a twisted, fragmented figure appeared behind the door.
As the figure emerged, the cold, eerie sensation immediately enveloped the three of them.
The ghost... had finally revealed itself.
At this moment, running away was likely impossible, and there was a very high chance of becoming the ghost's target. Zhou Rong and the others held their breath.
At this point, all they could do was pray.
Pray that they weren't the first ones to be attacked.
It was rare for multiple people to die in one nightmare. As long as the ghost didn't attack them first, there was a chance of survival.
The three pressed their bodies against the wall as much as possible. Zhou Rong, who was in front, felt the most pressure, and his body began to tremble uncontrollably.
The ghost's face was obscured by a mist, but from its posture, it seemed to be a woman.
Her movement was eerie, like crawling, with her joints twisting in unnatural directions, as though her bones had been broken.
Surprisingly, after leaving the kitchen, she didn't head directly for the three of them. Instead, she twisted her body slowly to the left and crawled a few meters away. Then, with a "crack," light suddenly flooded in.
The three of them blinked, and in the next second, the door slammed shut with a loud bang.
The ghost... had left.
The three didn't dare move, waiting several minutes before they accepted this fact.
Pei Qian's face was filled with disbelief. He tried to steady his voice and asked, "She... she left?"
Zhou Rong took a deep breath and nodded. "It seems so."
"She didn't notice us?"
"It's likely that we didn't trigger any forbidden actions," Zhou Rong corrected in a low voice. His gaze never left the door, as if worried the ghost might return suddenly. He bit his lip and continued, "If we had reacted too strongly when we heard the sound or saw her, then..."
Indeed, if they were newcomers, they would likely have fled or mentally broken down by now.
(End of the Chapter)
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