Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 25

[Palace Candidate Rankings: Rank Five has died.]

[Palace Candidate Rankings: Rank Twelve has died.]

[Palace Candidate Rankings…]

Announcements sounded one after another.

A glance across the rankings revealed a swath of gray names.

Yet even more candidates still held their tea bowls steadily in both hands.

Just as Xie Nuange began to think the lower ranks might be wiped out in this trial, the matron finally gave the next command.

“Present the tea.”

That meant every candidate still alive had passed the illusion.

Xie Nuange bent her knees slightly and raised the bowl to the level of her brow.

The training matron passed each woman in turn, lifting the lid to inspect the tea inside.

Xie Nuange’s tea was no longer perfectly clear, but it remained above the passing threshold.

“The tea is unacceptable.”

The matron’s voice came from behind Xie Nuange.

Before the candidate could speak, a tremendous force began pulling at her.

She burned through countless ghost items before she finally managed to regain her footing.

The matron merely stared at her for two seconds, then moved on.

Several other bowls were less than eight-tenths full.

The bowls drew a considerable amount of blood from their owners, leaving their faces deathly pale.

But at least they survived.

“Congratulations, Your Ladyships. You have completed your palace-etiquette training. You may move about freely for the next two days.”

At the matron’s declaration, the tables before them and the bowls in their hands vanished.

“From this moment onward, Your Ladyships need only await the final palace selection the day after tomorrow.”

Her gaze passed across the women in the front rows. “If you have no other business, you may rest in your rooms until the selection.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the rankings refreshed.

[Current palace candidate rankings: 18 candidates remaining.]

[Rank One: Zhao Ning.

Rank Four: Ye Wan.

Rank Six: Cheng Luo.

Rank Seven: Xie Nuange…]

Xie Nuange swept her gaze across the list, calculating rapidly.

Almost every name below hers was unfamiliar.

Quite a few candidates from the lower ranks had survived, while several from the middle had died.

The competition would only become more vicious.

The palace candidates dispersed in groups of two and three, but every woman studied the others from the corner of her eye.

Many of them approached Zhao Ning.

Those hovering around Rank Ten wanted to ally with the leaders in exchange for a chance to move upward.

The candidates at the very bottom began banding together, preparing to kill their way up.

The woman who had abruptly leapt from Rank Six to Rank Three yesterday was also surrounded. Everyone wanted to know how she had improved her rank.

A cluster of mid-ranked candidates gathered around Ye Wan as well.

Everyone formed their own group, unwilling to survive the rules and ghosts only to die at another person’s hands.

Xie Nuange remained where she was and studied the crowd.

The matron still stood at the entrance to the Palace of Gathered Elegance like an NPC programmed to do nothing else.

Their rules lessons were over, yet she had not left.

Xie Nuange took a ghost item from her sleeve.

[Jade Pendant: Hold this item and state the name of the person before you, or one piece of information about them. They will regard you as one of their own and reveal a secret. Uses remaining: 2/2.]

She closed her fingers around the pendant and walked toward the entrance.

Xie Nuange stopped in front of the matron.

The woman’s cloudy eyes slowly turned toward her face.

Xie Nuange took a deep breath, gripped the pendant, and spoke.

“You are Jiang Fan.”

The matron’s eyes went still. Her gray-white pupils fixed on Xie Nuange.

“You were a palace candidate in the Year Three selection of the Great Qian Dynasty.”

The pendant warmed in Xie Nuange’s hand.

Its information changed.

[Jade Pendant uses remaining: 1/2.]

The matron’s face remained as stiff as that of a papier-mâché figure.

Had Xie Nuange guessed wrong?

Was she not Jiang Fan?

Her fingers tightened around the pendant.

That made no sense. Palace servants and eunuchs could not enter their room without permission.

But Jiang Fan could.

And so could the matron.

Even if that was coincidence, how could she explain Jiang Fan walking out of the matron’s body last night?

Then there was the information she had inspected: Jiang Fan held the executioner’s blade of justice.

The rules were her justice, and in the Palace of Gathered Elegance, only the matron controlled those rules…

Just as Xie Nuange began to wonder if she had truly made a mistake, the matron finally spoke.

Her voice was no longer coarse and rasping.

It was the soft, delicate voice of a young girl.

“I had a hairpin. Someone took it from me.”

Xie Nuange held her breath.

“The hairpin is in the Cold Palace.”

The matron stared straight at her. “Will you bring it back for me?”

A scenario-clearing quest!

Xie Nuange’s heartbeat quickened.

“Yes.”

She turned and left the Palace of Gathered Elegance. Outside, she saw Ye Wan take something from her robe and hand it to a young eunuch.

The instant the eunuch accepted it, Ye Wan’s rank jumped from Four back to Three.

Satisfied, Ye Wan turned around and smiled at Xie Nuange. “Are you here to do a faction quest too?”

“A faction quest?”

Xie Nuange looked puzzled.

Ye Wan gave her an amused half-smile. “Cheng Luo didn’t tell you?”

“Raising faction favor through quests also improves your rank.”

Xie Nuange looked at the young eunuch standing by the wall.

She had been so focused on clearing the scenario that she had paid no attention to the young eunuchs and palace maids.

Suddenly, she remembered the tip from the beginning.

[Friendly Reminder: No one in the palace is useless. It only depends on how you choose to use them.]

“There’s still time to start,” Ye Wan said.

She smiled, then left without lingering.

Xie Nuange walked toward the young eunuch. Before she could speak, Cheng Luo caught up with her.

“I saw you talking to the matron. Where are you going?”

Xie Nuange paused. “The Cold Palace.”

“I’m coming too.”

Cheng Luo sidled closer with a bright smile. “I’ll handle any danger. If we get a reward or a clue, we split it evenly.”

Xie Nuange looked at her.

Cheng Luo still appeared innocent and harmless, but Xie Nuange knew exactly how shrewd she was.

“Should we bring Ye Wan?” she asked.

Cheng Luo shook her head. “No need. She’s Rank Three, so she’s safe. Bringing more people would only make trouble.”

The two passed around the main hall of the Palace of Gathered Elegance and headed toward the Cold Palace, one behind the other.

Cheng Luo asked no further questions. She walked beside Xie Nuange with a light step, as if they were touring the imperial gardens.

The Cold Palace stood northwest of the Palace of Gathered Elegance. To reach it, they had to pass through a moon gate and follow a long, narrow passage.

No one ordinarily went there.

Of course, in this scenario, imperial consorts might not be the only things imprisoned inside.

The thorn seeds beneath Xie Nuange’s feet slipped silently underground and spread forward with her.

When they reached the entrance, both women studied the rules posted on the gate.

[Cold Palace Rules:]

[One: Do not tell anyone your name.]

[Two: Do not provoke the imperial consorts in the Cold Palace.]

[Three: Do not reveal your identity.]

Only three rules.

The two women exchanged glances and pushed open the gate.

It slammed shut behind them the moment they entered.

The ruined Cold Palace abruptly came alive.

Countless pairs of eyes turned in unison toward the two intruders.

There was no wind in the courtyard, yet a chill brushed the back of Xie Nuange’s neck.

Something had just passed behind her.