Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 10

Xie Nuange listened to Zhao Ning, but there was a glaring flaw in her proposal.

Once death closed in, how could Zhao Ning guarantee that the four lowest members of the top ten would not band together to kill those above them?

The real reason she wanted the top ten to cooperate was simple.

She was Rank One. If the deaths truly followed the rankings upward, she would be the last to die.

She needed to make sure enough people remained behind her before every update.

Now that they had a general direction, everyone split up to investigate.

No one wanted to take Xie Nuange along.

She turned a pitiful look on Cheng Luo.

“Cheng Luo, can we go together? I’m Rank Ten. If something happens to me, you’ll be next before the rankings update.”

She caught Cheng Luo’s arm. “You’re so strong that I could never hold you back. More importantly, I don’t have any skill that can hurt you. You’re completely safe with me.”

“I’ll even tell you this: I belong to the Noble Consort faction.”

Xie Nuange met her eyes with perfect sincerity. “That’s my show of good faith. We’re roommates, your skill is powerful, and I can’t harm you anyway.”

Cheng Luo considered it, then agreed with a smile.

Meanwhile, some of the lower-ranked palace candidates had begun to gather. They watched the women at the top of the rankings with almost sympathetic eyes.

“What good is ranking high? They’re going to die anyway.”

“Exactly. At least the rules can be followed. This ghost kills without any logic at all.”

“We should worry about what to do. The ghost clearly doesn’t want us learning the rules or passing the selection.”

“Even if she kills everyone in the top fifteen, the top thirty will be next.”

Silence followed.

Fail to learn the rules, fail the selection, and die.

Learn the rules properly, and a ghost would come to kill you instead.

“Do you think that palace candidate Jiang Fan hates everyone near the top because she failed the selection?” Cheng Luo was discussing the same problem with Xie Nuange.

“Possibly. If Zhao Ning’s information is true, there was never a Jiang Fan in the harem,” Xie Nuange said. “Most likely, she wasn’t selected.”

“That could explain why she resents every candidate with a chance of succeeding. But…”

She looked at Cheng Luo and knew the other woman had reached the same conclusion.

“It may also mean this selection only accepts the top fifteen.”

Once the others guessed that—or even began to suspect it—there would be no need for a ghost to kill them on the final day.

The lower-ranked candidates would find their own ways to climb.

“Interesting. I’ve never entered a scenario like this before.”

Cheng Luo skipped ahead.

Fortunately, the matron did not make them return to the dining hall for lunch. They ate in their rooms instead, and Xie Nuange finally had a full meal.

The Palace of Gathered Elegance grew much quieter that afternoon.

Zhao Ning divided the top ten, including Xie Nuange, into groups to search for clues.

Xie Nuange and Cheng Luo were assigned to the archive room beside the palace, where they would investigate the attendants who had served there.

The lower-ranked candidates gathered in twos and threes beneath the covered walkway, watching the spectacle around the top fifteen.

“I wonder how many of the top ten will come back tonight.”

The speaker tipped her chin toward several retreating figures. “We’re not the ones who should be most afraid. She is.”

She meant Rank Thirteen, Sun Caiwei.

Sun Caiwei felt as though she were losing her mind.

Fifteen had died. Fourteen had died. She would be next.

She could not sit still and wait. She had to escape Rank Thirteen.

How?

Before the rankings updated, she could kill Twelve or Eleven and move herself up one place.

Together with the new Fourteen and Fifteen, she searched for them both.

“Any luck?”

The three regrouped behind an artificial hill after searching separately.

The new Fifteen looked equally grim. Who knew whether the next victim would be Thirteen according to the established order—or whether the ghost would change its mind and start over from Fifteen?

“No. Twelve wasn’t in her room.”

“She must be hiding!” Sun Caiwei ground her teeth. “That bitch always pretends to be so honest, but the moment it matters, she runs faster than anyone!”

She had considered attacking someone higher, but it made more sense to choose the easiest target.

The top ten had formed a coalition. She did not dare take that risk.

In her eyes, Twelve was the ideal target.

“She has to be hiding somewhere inside the Palace of Gathered Elegance.” Sun Caiwei looked around. “Split up and search.”

Rank Twelve crouched in the deepest corner of the latrine, trembling from head to toe.

She heard footsteps outside. Then Sun Caiwei’s voice.

“No one would hide in the latrine. Everyone comes here. It’d be too easy to get caught.”

Twelve clamped a hand over her mouth, terrified of making a sound.

She had no ghost item to protect her and no wide-area attack skill.

“Come out. We won’t hurt you,” Sun Caiwei called in a voice dripping with sweetness. “We only want to discuss something.”

“Let’s go. It stinks in there. We’ll search somewhere else.”

The footsteps gradually receded.

Twelve went limp against the wall, gulping air.

She did not move until absolute silence returned. Only then did she slowly take her hand from her mouth.

Her palm was soaked in sweat.

Xie Nuange and Cheng Luo did not return until nearly lights out.

They found the courtyard in ruins.

“What happened out there?”

When Cheng Luo entered the room, Ye Wan and Meng Shi were already back.

“Did someone find a clue, or did you all fight the ghost?”

Ye Wan smiled and shook her head. “No. Thirteen and Eleven had a fight.”

Xie Nuange looked out the window. The artificial hill had shattered, and pits covered the ground.

“No result?”

She checked the rankings. Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen were all still lit.

“Thirteen ambushed Eleven before the update…” Ye Wan paused. “But Eleven had more ghost items than she knew what to do with.”

“Thirteen couldn’t even get close.”

Cheng Luo flopped onto her bed and kicked her legs idly. “Too bad we came back late. I would’ve liked to watch a little longer.”

“Then Eleven is safe for now,” Xie Nuange said, watching the darkness outside. “With that many ghost items, no one will target her again anytime soon.”

“True.”

Ye Wan gave Xie Nuange an enigmatic look. “But once the sequence reaches Eleven, we’ll have to be careful.”

Xie Nuange lowered her eyes.

Before bed, she spent her final skill use on Ye Wan.

[Ye Wan — Faction: Noble Consort]

After lights out, Xie Nuange lay in bed and ran her fingers over the ring she had taken from Fourteen.

[Ghost Item: Invisibility Ring]

[Uses Remaining: 1/3]

[Effect: Grants invisibility for fifteen seconds. The user cannot be detected during this period.]

A lifesaving ghost item with only one use left.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

The sound came again.

Xie Nuange assumed Jiang Fan was repeating last night’s trick.

Then a palace attendant spoke outside.

“Your Ladyship Xie.”

A high-pitched voice came through the door. “Your Ladyship Xie, Her Highness the Noble Consort has summoned you. Please come out and follow this servant to see Her Highness.”

The Noble Consort had summoned her?

Had the Noble Consort sent someone for her?

No.

[Palace of Gathered Elegance, Rule Two: If someone calls to you at night, do not answer and do not open the door.]

When she blew out the lamp, it had been almost the Hour of the Boar.

Whether the summons was real or false, whether the hour had arrived yet or not, opening that door meant courting death.