The sudden scream shattered the deathly silence of the villa.
Everyone immediately turned their attention to the second floor.
"What happened?"
"I... I don't know!"
"Let's go check!"
The group quickly rushed upstairs to the source of the sound.
It was the room where the bedridden elderly woman lay.
Wang Yuning, who had been carrying the meal earlier, was now slumped on the floor, leaning against the wall, hugging her knees and trembling uncontrollably!
The steaming hot food... was spilled all over the floor.
"What happened?"
Ning Qiu Shui asked.
Wang Yuning, in front of everyone, slowly raised a finger and pointed at the elderly woman on the bed, stammering:
"She... she... just... spoke!"
Following her finger, everyone looked at the elderly woman lying motionless on the bed, staring out the window in a daze.
Liu Chengfeng sneered:
"Is that all? Didn't you hear the mistress say her mother is just bedridden?"
"Being bedridden doesn't mean she's a vegetable. Why wouldn't she be able to speak?"
"I thought you were so tough?"
"A bedridden old woman scared you like this?"
Liu Chengfeng, finally seizing an opportunity, unleashed a barrage of sarcastic remarks.
But Wang Yuning, still trembling in the corner, seemed too frightened to retort.
Ning Qiu Shui glanced at the elderly woman on the bed, then signaled Liu Chengfeng to help clean up the mess while he helped Wang Yuning to her feet.
"She's the one who spilled it, but I have to clean it up? What kind of logic is that..."
Liu Chengfeng grumbled under his breath but surprisingly obeyed, quickly fetching a towel from the bathroom to wipe the floor.
The scene felt oddly out of place.
Liu Chengfeng, who seemed so tough and unapproachable, was now following Ning Qiu Shui's orders without question.
But no one questioned it.
After cleaning up the room, Ning Qiu Shui approached the elderly woman's bedside, carefully examined her serene face, and tucked her in before leaving the room with the others.
Back on the first floor, the sky outside was completely dark.
The pale light illuminated the living room.
But for some reason, everyone still felt as if they were surrounded by darkness.
The oppressive silence made everyone uneasy.
"Alright, Wang Yuning, you can tell us now... what did the old woman say to you upstairs?"
Ning Qiu Shui sat on the sofa opposite Wang Yuning, pouring himself a cup of hot tea.
At the mention of what had happened upstairs, Wang Yuning's already pale face turned even whiter!
Her fingers tightly gripped the hem of her clothes.
"Earlier... earlier, I was feeding her, right?"
"She took a bite of the beef tenderloin, and then... she just spat it out!"
Liu Chengfeng's eyes widened:
"What the hell? She spat it out?"
"Was my cooking that bad?"
Ning Qiu Shui frowned.
"Liu Chengfeng, let her finish."
Liu Chengfeng clicked his tongue and muttered a few words under his breath before falling silent.
Wang Yuning's eyes were filled with fear, her expression showing clear reluctance to recall what had happened:
"...I thought maybe it was too hot, so I tasted it myself, but the food wasn't hot at all. So I fed her a second bite, but she spat it out again..."
"And this time, after spitting it out, she... she turned her head and stared at me, saying... saying..."
She struggled to get the words out, and Xue Guize's brows furrowed so tightly they could crush a mosquito. He urged impatiently:
"What did she say? Spit it out already!"
Under Xue Guize's urging, Wang Yuning finally mustered the courage to say through gritted teeth:
"Her voice was very soft, so I didn't hear it clearly, but I think she said... the meat has no taste!"
"Yes... she must have said the meat has no taste!"
As soon as she said this, a terrifying bolt of lightning flashed outside, followed by a deafening clap of thunder!
Everyone was startled by the thunder!
"Damn, that thunder..."
Ning Qiu Shui looked out at the dark sky, then suddenly walked to the window and opened it.
A cold wind carrying rain mist blew in.
"It's raining... a heavy storm, strong winds..."
He closed the window again, his expression growing more serious.
"These things are starting to come true..."
"That letter... it really wasn't a prank, was it?"
Unlike the others, Ning Qiu Shui had received a mysterious letter before boarding the bus.
He had kept this to himself the entire time.
As everyone whispered among themselves, discussing the "tasteless meat," Ning Qiu Shui suddenly closed the window.
He closed it tightly, not letting even a hint of wind in.
"Alright, if she doesn't want to eat, then forget it. It's getting late, let's all rest early..."
"We'll get up early tomorrow and make some meat porridge for her."
"Have you all chosen your rooms?"
The group fell silent at his question.
"Are we... really going to sleep one person per room?"
Ya Mo, who rarely spoke, finally spoke up, her expression timid, as if she had been frightened by what had just happened.
Xue Guize said:
"We briefly checked the rooms earlier. They're quite large, with double beds, and they're very clean. Two people can easily share a room."
Yan Youping, her eyes still slightly swollen, anxiously interjected:
"But... but there are three of us girls!"
Xue Guize sighed:
"The rooms are big enough. You girls are relatively small, so you can squeeze in together."
The three girls exchanged glances but said nothing.
No one liked the idea of sharing a bed with a stranger.
But they all knew deep down that this villa... wasn't safe.
Everyone felt as if something in the shadows was watching them...
After turning off the lights, they all went upstairs to the second floor.
After a brief discussion, Ning Qiu Shui and Liu Chengfeng were the first to enter a room together.
The three girls were assigned to the room at the far end of the right corridor, the farthest from the elderly woman they were supposed to care for.
The remaining two boys chose the room next to Ning Qiu Shui's.
For some reason, Ning Qiu Shui seemed to exude a strange sense of security. Being near him made everyone feel safer.
The last to head to her room was Wang Yuning.
While she was still lost in thought about the day's events, the others had already entered their rooms.
Suddenly, she was the only one left in the hallway.
The light switch for the hallway was near the staircase, and it was a single switch. However, their chosen room was at the far end, at least twenty meters away.
If she wanted to turn off the light, she would have to walk those twenty meters in complete darkness.
Her gaze fell on the open blinds at the end of the hallway.
The trees outside looked like monstrous creatures, twisted and狰狞, swaying in the cold wind as if they were about to reach in and devour her!
She couldn't help but shiver, too scared to turn off the light. She quickly entered the room at the far end and locked the door firmly behind her.
Bang!
...
Inside the room, Ning Qiu Shui took off his shirt, revealing a well-defined, muscular physique.
Liu Chengfeng, who was brushing his teeth, glanced over in surprise.
Ning Qiu Shui didn't look like such a beast when he was dressed!
"Kid... I didn't expect you to be hiding such a body!"
"With those abs and that V-line, you'd be fighting off rich ladies at the club!"
Liu Chengfeng grinned, winking at Ning Qiu Shui.
Ning Qiu Shui rolled his eyes:
"So why are you sticking so close to me?"
Liu Chengfeng spat out his toothpaste, his expression turning serious:
"...You're sharp, kid. But I can't tell you yet. After we survive this Blood Door, I'll explain everything..."
Hearing this, Ning Qiu Shui was momentarily stunned, then chuckled:
"Quite mysterious."
Liu Chengfeng shook his head and changed the subject:
"By the way, kid, don't you think... there's something wrong with that old woman?"
Ning Qiu Shui fell silent for a moment.
"It's not just the old woman. This whole family, even the villa complex, feels off!"
Liu Chengfeng was taken aback:
"What's wrong with the villa complex?"
Ning Qiu Shui explained:
"The mistress said only her family lives in this area, but I noticed signs of recent habitation in many of the villas I passed. Some of the traces were from the last month or two. Out of the eight houses I saw, all of them showed signs of recent activity, and there are probably more I didn't see..."
"This means... this area was inhabited not long ago."
As Liu Chengfeng listened, cold sweat began to form on his back.
If Ning Qiu Shui's observations were correct, then... where did all those people go?
Ning Qiu Shui walked to the window, his expression grave, hands in his pockets, and continued:
"Besides, people don't usually buy such large garden villas to live alone. Those who move in usually have family or friends. Even if they're away for work, their homes wouldn't be completely empty..."
"But in reality, it seems like this villa complex is now only inhabited by... us."
He pointed outside.
Following his finger, Liu Chengfeng saw that the dozen or so houses in front of their window... were all completely dark!
Not a single light was on!
"This..."
"How can this be?!"
His face turned extremely grim.
Ning Qiu Shui said slowly:
"Something must have happened here."
"Something... truly horrifying."
He carefully checked the window, making sure it was tightly sealed, not letting even a hint of wind in, before closing the curtains and returning to bed.
Without the wind, the two of them lying in bed noticed a strange smell.
"What's that smell?"
Liu Chengfeng asked.
The smell wasn't strong, but it lingered, refusing to dissipate. It was like... something rotting and moldy
Remembering what Xue Guize had said earlier, they searched around and finally pinpointed the source of the smell.
—It was coming from above them.
The wooden ceiling was damp, as if some kind of liquid was seeping through.
The liquid was a yellowish-brown color and had a foul odor.
"Damn..."
Liu Chengfeng felt nauseated and quickly moved the bed away.
"What is that?"
Ning Qiu Shui stood below, squinting at the damp spot on the ceiling. After a long while, he finally said:
"Big Beard, do you trust me?"
Liu Chengfeng wasn't sure what Ning Qiu Shui meant by this, but he nodded.
"I trust you."
Ning Qiu Shui said slowly:
"Tonight, don't fall asleep. Don't turn on the lights. No matter what you hear... don't react."
Liu Chengfeng's body stiffened.
"Kid, are you saying... something's going to happen tonight?"
Ning Qiu Shui remained silent for a long time before finally giving an almost imperceptible nod.
He turned off the lights, and the room was immediately plunged into a terrifying, silent darkness...
Liu Chengfeng lay in bed, his mind in turmoil.
Although he tried his best to stay awake, as time passed, exhaustion finally overwhelmed him...
After what felt like an eternity, he was awakened by a strange sound.
The sound came from outside the door.
It was... like the sound of two sharp metal objects scraping against each other.
Screech—
Screech—
Hearing this spine-chilling sound, the first thing that came to Liu Chengfeng's mind was... knives and forks!
As someone who often cooked, he was all too familiar with the sounds of kitchen utensils!
Liu Chengfeng sat up abruptly, wanting to turn on the light, but then he remembered Ning Qiu Shui's warning and lowered his hand.
"Kid, are you there?"
Liu Chengfeng whispered, and immediately heard a soft "shh" from beside him.
"Don't make a sound."
Ning Qiu Shui's voice was equally low, with a faint tremor that betrayed his own nervousness.
The door to their room wasn't completely sealed, and a sliver of light from the hallway seeped in through the gap beneath it.
As the terrifying sound passed by their door, a strange shadow flickered past as well...
The horrifying scraping sound made Liu Chengfeng's heart feel like it was about to leap out of his throat!
The thing outside their door... had stopped right in front of it!
Liu Chengfeng clenched his fists, his breath caught in his throat!
What was that thing outside the door?
If it came in... what would happen?
For a moment, his mind went blank, as if he had lost the ability to think.
It felt like minutes, but it might have only been a moment. The terrifying shadow outside finally moved again, heading deeper down the hallway...
The ear-piercing scraping sound resumed—
Screech—
Screech—
It felt as if an executioner was searching for a prisoner to torture...
It moved further down, pausing briefly at the second door, then continued to the door at the far end of the hallway. After stopping there for a while, it finally fell silent...
Ning Qiu Shui suddenly sat up in bed, tiptoed to the door, and pressed his ear against the gap.
He listened for a long time.
No more sounds came from outside.
It was as if the shadow had vanished into thin air.
After listening in silence for over ten minutes, he confirmed that the sound was truly gone and returned to bed.
"Kid, what was that thing outside?"
Liu Chengfeng whispered.
Ning Qiu Shui shook his head:
"I don't know, but it definitely wasn't human."
"It didn't make a single footstep."
Hearing this, cold sweat immediately broke out on Liu Chengfeng's forehead.
No way...
This villa...
Could there really be something supernatural here?