Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 16

Xie Nuange’s words laid bare Rank Six’s secret concern.

She might look safe for now, but Ranks Seven through Ten all wanted to kill their way upward.

If she joined forces with Cheng Luo and Xie Nuange, wouldn’t she have a better chance of guarding against Seven and Eight?

“Fine. We have a deal.”

With Cheng Luo and Xie Nuange standing on either side of her, Rank Six knew she would have to pay up today.

She could think of it as buying her safety. Besides, she would get a clue in return. It wasn’t a complete loss.

She pulled out a ghost item: a tiny jade cicada, smooth and lustrous all over.

“Let’s go.”

The three of them walked to the entrance of the Palace of Gathered Elegance.

Rank Six stepped forward and held the jade cicada out to the training matron.

The matron’s eyes shifted. At last, she reacted.

She lowered her gaze to the cicada, then looked up at the three women. “What do you wish to know?”

Rank Six and Cheng Luo both turned to Xie Nuange.

Xie Nuange spoke slowly. “Matron, we want a clue that will keep us alive.”

The matron reached out. Her gaunt fingers pinched the jade cicada and raised it before her eyes for a moment.

Then she accepted it.

Xie Nuange let out a quiet breath and stepped back to wait for the answer.

She wanted to know whether the matron’s answer would match her own suspicions.

The matron’s gaze swept slowly across their faces before settling on Xie Nuange.

Four icy words left her lips.

“Learn the rules well.”

With that, she resumed her position and became a statue once more.

All three women stood frozen.

Cheng Luo was the first to explode. “That’s it? We traded a ghost item for four words?”

Xie Nuange lowered her head in thought.

Learn the rules well.

Wasn’t that what they were already doing?

Surely Jiang Fan wasn’t killing them simply because their lessons weren’t good enough.

If that was the case, only the woman in first place would ever clear the scenario.

What would be the point of a palace selection then?

Xie Nuange felt as though she had brushed against part of the truth. It fit some of the clues they had already found.

She raised her head and glanced at Matron Jiang. The woman remained where she was, standing with her eyes lowered.

“Well? What did you figure out?”

Rank Six stared at Xie Nuange. She was clearly furious that a ghost item had bought her a useless clue.

“Nothing.”

Even if Xie Nuange had reached a conclusion, she would never share it with her.

“Nothing?”

Rank Six nearly laughed from sheer anger. “You cost me a ghost item for nothing?”

She turned to Cheng Luo. “Either you pay me back with another ghost item today, or…”

Her gaze swung toward Xie Nuange. “She stays here.”

Cheng Luo said nothing. Still smiling, she watched the conflict unfold between them.

Xie Nuange looked at Cheng Luo and sighed. “I suppose someone high in the rankings doesn’t need to worry much about killing someone below her.”

“Especially when you’re Rank Six. Rank Nine is still a long way behind you.”

She bit her lip and looked pleadingly at Rank Six. “Why don’t we wait a little longer? The rankings are about to refresh. If you kill me now, and Jiang Fan happens to come for me…”

“Once Rank Ten goes gray, who knows whether Jiang Fan will turn on Rank Nine?”

“Wouldn’t that drag Cheng Luo into it?”

The smile on Cheng Luo’s face did not change, but this time she shifted to Xie Nuange’s side.

Xie Nuange had a point. Jiang Fan had skipped Rank Twelve and killed Rank Eleven last night.

If Jiang Fan came for Xie Nuange shortly after Rank Six killed her, who could say she wouldn’t turn on Cheng Luo next?

“Do you have any idea how valuable ghost items are right now?”

Rank Six glared at Cheng Luo. “You said there was a clue. That’s why I came! And now you’re taking her side?”

When Cheng Luo refused to move, Rank Six seemed to give up. She turned to leave, but the instant her hand rose, Cheng Luo called out, “Mom!”

At the same moment, Xie Nuange darted behind Cheng Luo and pressed close against her back.

Rank Six snapped the fingers of her raised hand.

[Skill activated: Time Stop!]

[Upon activation, enemies will enter a state of temporal suspension.]

[Targets cannot attack, move, or use skills. Ghost items remain available.]

[Time Stop will end after two seconds.]

Cheng Luo and Rank Six had activated their skills simultaneously.

As a result, Cheng Luo and Xie Nuange both fell into a bizarre state. They stood utterly motionless, one poised to attack and the other to flee.

Even their billowing hems hung frozen in the air.

The instant Rank Six turned around, Xie Nuange activated both Medusa and Datafication.

[Palace Candidate Rankings, Rank Six: Leng Jing. Skill: Time Stop, Level Three.]

[Upon activation, enemies will enter a state of temporal suspension for three seconds. Targets cannot attack, move, or use skills. Ghost items remain available.]

What an excellent skill.

Three full seconds in which the enemy couldn’t move, but she could…

If only it belonged to her.

Rank Six watched “Mom” rapidly take shape and charge toward her. She tried to step aside, only for her body to lock in place for a single instant.

Her pupils contracted.

Their intelligence had been wrong.

Xie Nuange had a skill too!

Cheng Luo activated a defensive ghost item at once. From where she stood, Rank Six was locked in battle with “Mom.”

Three seconds passed in a blink. By then, Mom was already entangled with Rank Six, and Cheng Luo regained her freedom.

Before Mom could land the killing blow, Xie Nuange slashed Rank Six’s artery with her shard of porcelain.

Bang!

Rank Six had not yet drawn her last breath when Mom flattened her head with a single blow from her spatula.

[Leng Jing has died. Destroy her data?]

Xie Nuange sighed. She had still been a fraction too slow.

[Destroy.]

Cheng Luo dismissed Mom and walked over. She eyed the porcelain shard in Xie Nuange’s hand with open disdain.

“Who could you possibly kill with that thing?”

Xie Nuange gave an innocent shrug. “It’s not as if I have anything else.”

[Palace Candidate Rankings: Rank Six has died.]

“Well, that’s settled.”

As Rank Six’s body gradually disappeared, Cheng Luo crouched to collect the ghost items.

“At least you aren’t first in line anymore.”

[Palace Candidate Rankings updated.]

[Current palace candidate rankings: 29 candidates remaining.]

[Rank One: Zhao Ning.

Rank Three: Ye Wan.

Rank Eight: Cheng Luo.

Rank Nine: Xie Nuange.

Rank Eleven: Meng Shi.]

Xie Nuange regretted missing the chance to obtain Rank Six’s skill, but moving up the rankings still lifted a tremendous weight from her shoulders.

She was no longer Jiang Fan’s first target.

“Let’s go. Time to look for clues.”

Cheng Luo showed no intention whatsoever of sharing the spoils.

“That skill was pretty useless. Lucky for us, too. If it had worked the way I’d heard, she would’ve been a real pain to deal with.”

She grumbled to Xie Nuange as though talking to herself.

“You knew what her skill was?”

At Xie Nuange’s question, Cheng Luo nodded.

“Among the top ten, Rank One was originally supposed to pair with Rank Nine, Rank Two with Rank Eight, and so on.”

Cheng Luo explained, “But you and I paired up, so Ye Wan went looking for clues with Rank Six instead.”

In other words, Ye Wan had told Cheng Luo about Rank Six’s skill, including the gesture required to activate it: raising her hand and snapping her fingers.

Xie Nuange looked at the palace candidates scattering ahead of them in search of clues.

It seemed the top ten were hardly united either.

“Xie Nuange…”

A woman’s voice came from behind them. Xie Nuange and Cheng Luo turned to find the former Rank Twelve, who had just risen to Rank Ten.

The lucky woman Jiang Fan had skipped that morning.