Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 20

[Palace Candidate Rankings: Rank Twenty-Three has died.]

The palace candidates began gathering on the open ground in groups of two and three.

After a while, more women trickled in from outside.

The matron stood atop the steps, sweeping a dark gaze across their faces.

Only after everyone had arrived did she address them.

“Tonight, I will teach you the rules of sleep.”

Sleep?

Xie Nuange paused.

Were they truly expected to attend the emperor in bed once they had learned all this?

“Even sleep is governed by rules in the palace,” the matron rasped, surveying the assembled women. “One day, Your Ladyships will be summoned to attend His Majesty.”

“Whether you lie on your side or your back, your breathing must remain soft. You must not toss or turn, nor may you make a single sound.”

“Your sleeping posture must remain proper. No restless movement.”

She paused, her expression growing colder still. “No passing wind. No snoring. No talking in your sleep.”

“Tonight, I will conduct a bed check. Anyone who fails… will be eliminated.”

The matron did not dismiss them after speaking. Instead, she continued with an encouraging smile.

“At the Hour of the Rabbit tomorrow, this servant will teach Your Ladyships how to serve tea. Tomorrow will be the fifth day.”

Her smile looked almost sincere, as though she were genuinely delighted for them.

“Once you have learned to serve tea, Your Ladyships will have no further rules to study. You need only await the final palace selection on the seventh day.”

The palace candidates collectively drew a sharp breath.

Exhaustion made people snore. It made them shift in their sleep.

But today was already the fourth day, and tomorrow would be the fifth.

If they stayed awake all night, dealing with tomorrow’s dangers would become even harder.

After the tea lesson, only two days would remain. How were the lower ranks supposed to climb?

There would be no more rules lessons to earn them points.

What other way was there to gain any?

“Xie Nuange, how do you think she’s going to check on us?”

Cheng Luo seemed to treat her like an oracle of endless answers, tugging at her with every question she couldn’t solve herself.

“Probably through the window?” Xie Nuange didn’t know either. “Otherwise, who would open the door for her? Who would let her inside?”

Over the past several days, the rules governing their rooms had been extremely strict.

If a person’s nameplate was not hanging outside a room, entering it meant violating an instant-death rule.

Palace servants and eunuchs could not enter without permission either.

Their rooms were relatively safe zones.

The women returned to their room as they spoke.

“Perhaps a face will press against the window and stare at us all night,” Ye Wan teased, turning toward them. “Perhaps its neck will stretch through the window until its face is pressed right against ours.”

Xie Nuange frowned at the image.

“I don’t like people watching me sleep,” Cheng Luo muttered with a pout.

Xie Nuange returned to her bed and leaned against the headboard. She closed her eyes and let the dizziness of mental exhaustion wash over her.

Her mind, however, refused to stop.

[Palace Candidate Rankings updated.]

[Current palace candidate rankings: 27 candidates remaining.]

[Rank One: Zhao Ning.

Rank Three: Ye Wan.

Rank Eight: Cheng Luo.

Rank Nine: Xie Nuange.

Rank Ten: Liu Feng.

Rank Eleven: Meng Shi…]

Rank Nine. At least she was safe tonight.

No. That wasn’t right.

Xie Nuange opened her eyes and looked around.

Meng Shi was nowhere to be seen.

If Meng Shi had worked out the truth, would she try to kill Liu Feng and force her way into the top ten?

And what if she couldn’t find Liu Feng?

She might not be able to kill Ye Wan or Cheng Luo. If she returned here, whom would she target instead?

Xie Nuange checked the time, then opened the rankings again.

Suppressing the nausea that came with her splitting headache, she forced herself to her feet and left the room.

Jiang Fan’s first victim had been the original Rank Fifteen. Xie Nuange needed to find that woman’s roommates.

She stopped outside Room D, took a deep breath, and knocked.

“Who is it?”

A guarded voice came from within, pitched low.

“Rank Nine.”

Xie Nuange softened her voice, making herself sound as harmless as possible. “I’m looking for the Rank Thirteen in your room. I’d like to trade clues.”

Several more seconds passed before the door creaked open a crack.

A face appeared in the gap and studied her warily from head to toe. Only then did the woman pull the door wider.

Rank Thirteen lifted her chin at Xie Nuange. “Go on. What do you want to ask?”

“About the first night.” Xie Nuange remained beside the door. “I want every detail of what happened.”

Rank Thirteen stared at her for several seconds, then twisted her lips into a smile. “Sure. But you’ll have to pay.”

“We’ll exchange clues,” Xie Nuange said. “Tell me everything about that night, and I’ll give you a clue about the pattern behind Jiang Fan’s killings.”

Rank Thirteen’s brow shifted.

The two candidates beside her exchanged glances as well.

“What do you want to know?” Rank Thirteen glanced at the water clock. “Lights-out is almost here.”

Xie Nuange met her gaze. “When Rank Fifteen died that night, did any of you see the ghost enter the room?”

Rank Thirteen rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“We didn’t see anything. You know the rules. We had to be asleep at night.”

“So when Fifteen died, none of you helped her?”

Rank Thirteen gave a cold laugh.

“Why would we?”

Xie Nuange watched her.

“She was arrogant from the moment she arrived. She had plenty of ghost items, so she forced us to give her the bed farthest inside.”

A sneer tugged at Rank Thirteen’s lips.

“That was why she made such a racket when she died on the first night.”

Xie Nuange nodded. “So none of you saw anyone enter the room that night.”

“Was she erased instantly by Jiang Fan?”

Rank Thirteen shook her head. “No. The fight was loud.”

“Then how did you find the handkerchief?”

Xie Nuange had not forgotten how quickly the wooden nameplate Cheng Luo picked up had dissolved.

“The next morning. We didn’t dare look until daylight. By then, no one was inside. Fifteen didn’t leave any ghost items behind either.”

“But there was a handkerchief on the floor with Jiang Fan’s name on it.”

Rank Thirteen paused. “Shame it vanished not long after we picked it up. Turned to ash. Nothing was left.”

Xie Nuange rapidly sorted through the information.

“In other words,” she said slowly, “Fifteen bullied you, forced you to change beds, and still managed to fight Jiang Fan for some time that first night?”

“More or less.” Rank Thirteen studied her. “Why? Is that useful?”

“You’ve asked your questions,” she added, pulling Xie Nuange back to the moment. “Now it’s your turn. What’s this clue of yours?”

Xie Nuange raised her head and looked Rank Thirteen in the eye before sharing her conclusion.

“Jiang Fan was bullied when she was a palace candidate. What she hates most are bullies. Everyone she had killed was someone who had bullied others.”

She turned and walked away.

“Is that true?” Rank Thirteen called after her.

Xie Nuange did not look back. She only gave a quiet murmur of confirmation.

She remembered seeing Rank Twenty steal another candidate’s ghost items earlier that day.

She remembered Liu Feng saying Rank Eleven had stolen all of hers.

She remembered the information she had extracted from Jiang Fan that afternoon—and what Rank Thirteen had just told her.

Jiang Fan had suffered injustice, so she had returned to deliver justice.

The instant Xie Nuange stepped through her own door, someone blocked her path.

The very thing she feared most had happened.