Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 27

Xie Nuange stared as Cheng Luo hid her hand behind her back.

Only the tip of the gold hairpin remained visible through her clenched fingers.

“Let me check whether it’s the right one,” Xie Nuange urged. “What if it’s a fake?”

“It doesn’t matter if it is.”

Cheng Luo smiled and took half a step back. “We can’t keep looking today anyway.”

Xie Nuange frowned.

Cheng Luo tipped her chin toward the courtyard gate. “Look at the sky.”

Xie Nuange raised her head and finally noticed how dark it had become.

It had been noon when they entered, yet night was already approaching.

“We’ve been inside for less than one shichen,” Cheng Luo said in her usual soft voice. “Time seems to pass differently here.”

“Besides, I need to preserve enough strength to fight. What if I spend all my mental power searching for a hairpin and something attacks us tonight?”

Her gaze slid toward Xie Nuange.

Behind them, something pounded violently against the Cold Palace gate.

In front of Xie Nuange, Cheng Luo held the hairpin and refused to yield an inch.

Xie Nuange looked at Mom, who stood before Cheng Luo.

The ghost was much fainter than usual. The edges of her silhouette had begun to blur.

Cheng Luo was nearing her limit too.

“Let me see if this is the right one. If it is, we can turn in the quest as soon as we return, before another candidate steals it.”

Xie Nuange softened her voice. “If it isn’t, you can do whatever you like with it.”

Cheng Luo stared at her, then suddenly smiled and held out the pin.

“Big Sister Xie, you’re a smart woman.”

“Only eighteen candidates remain. You’re Rank Seven, and I’m Rank Six. You know exactly how much fighting power you have compared to the rest of the top ten.”

Cheng Luo leaned closer. Her lowered voice carried an intimate warmth.

“Trading one quest item for my protection until the end is a very good bargain.”

She tilted her head, her smile growing sweeter.

“There is still more than a day before the scenario ends. The competition will only get fiercer.”

“Whom do you think they’ll target?”

Her voice was light as a feather, yet it fell against Xie Nuange’s ear like a blade.

“Do you think they’ll kill the weakest person to force their way into the top ten…?”

Xie Nuange’s hand paused in midair before slowly accepting the hairpin.

“Don’t worry. I’ve always known which path is best for me.”

She lowered her eyes to the pin and ran her fingertips gently across its surface.

Cheng Luo watched her closely.

“Once you’ve checked it, remember to hand it back on your own. I wouldn’t want to violate Jiang Fan’s rule.”

“Mm.”

Xie Nuange softly acknowledged her and activated Datafication.

The result still identified an ordinary hairpin.

The female ghosts continued wandering through the Cold Palace, rustling as they moved.

Zhang Lanyi remained dutifully occupied with pounding on the gate.

Mom stood beside Cheng Luo, her translucent body swaying faintly. She was protecting Cheng Luo—and warning Xie Nuange.

Xie Nuange did not look up. She simply slid her fingers slowly over the gold pin.

Her fingertip found a slightly raised edge.

It was so fine as to be almost imperceptible, but her nail caught against it.

She gently pried upward.

A layer of gold foil lifted away.

Beneath it was a hint of blue-white.

Jade!

Xie Nuange’s heart skipped a beat.

She activated Datafication on the pin again.

[Item: Jade Hairpin. Made in Year Three of the Great Qian Dynasty. Property of Jiang Fan. Quest item.]

This was it.

They had found it!

Cheng Luo tilted her head. Her smile remained as innocent as ever, but none of it reached her eyes.

“Big Sister Xie, shouldn’t you give it back now?”

Her gaze remained fixed on Xie Nuange. “Though it doesn’t matter if you refuse.”

Cheng Luo looked at the sliver of blue-white jade beneath the gold.

“Even after we turn in the quest, we’ll have to remain here for more than a day.”

“Until the final moment, no one knows whether they’ll survive to reach the palace selection. I can’t speak for anyone else, but you… definitely won’t.”

Xie Nuange extended her hand and passed over the hairpin.

Cheng Luo snatched it back.

The lifted edge of gold sliced across Xie Nuange’s fingertip.

Blood immediately welled from the cut and ran downward.

Xie Nuange curled her finger, then looked up at Cheng Luo and asked softly, “If I give this to you, can you really protect me?”

She activated Datafication.

Her face went abruptly pale. At the same time, she directed the thorned vines underground, positioning them beneath both herself and Cheng Luo.

She glanced toward Mom.

The ghost’s figure had faded even further.

Cheng Luo could not sustain her much longer.

Cheng Luo tucked the hairpin into her sleeve and dusted off her hands. Her usual cheerful smile returned.

Seeing Xie Nuange’s pale face, she promised casually, “Of course. Once I turn in the quest, I’ll protect you.”

Xie Nuange lowered her eyes.

[Datafication target: Cheng Luo.]

[Skill: Mom!]

[Skill Description: No one loves you more than Mom. Can’t win? That’s all right. Call Mom, and Mom will help you.]

[Mom’s existence consumes the user’s mental power. The longer the user’s mental power can sustain her, the longer Mom will remain and the stronger her attacks will become.]

Xie Nuange’s lashes trembled. Her voice remained calm.

“Good.”

Then she raised her eyes and looked directly into Cheng Luo’s.

Medusa.

Cheng Luo’s smile froze.

The thorned vines attacked at the same instant.

Countless tendrils erupted from beneath the ground. Serpentine thorns surged up beneath Cheng Luo and wrapped around her legs, waist, and arms.

Thorns stabbed toward her chest, only to be blocked by a ghost item.

Xie Nuange changed tactics. The vines tightened, making Cheng Luo’s bones creak under the pressure.

Cheng Luo was pinned in place, unable to move.

But Mom moved.

The translucent ghost released an inhuman shriek. Her enormous body barreled straight toward Xie Nuange.

The spatula rose high, splitting the air with a howl.

Xie Nuange called the remaining vines back to defend herself. They intertwined into a barrier before her.

Bang!

Mom sent Xie Nuange and her vines flying.

Xie Nuange’s back struck the mottled courtyard wall. Blood surged into her mouth and ran from the corner of her lips.

Her organs felt as though they had been overturned. Darkness pulsed across her vision.

Mom’s spatula had made the vines fade, but they continued constricting Cheng Luo.

Held in place, Cheng Luo endured the thorns churning inside her. Blood poured from her mouth, nose, and eyes.

“Mom… Kill her!”

Mom charged again, her huge body casting Xie Nuange into shadow.

The raised spatula came down toward her head.

Clutching her chest, Xie Nuange activated Medusa again.

Mom’s body stopped for an instant, as though someone had pressed pause.

Xie Nuange kicked hard against the ground, twisted away from the spatula, and raised another wall of vines before herself.

But the next instant, Mom’s weapon skimmed past her cheek and slammed down toward her shoulder.