Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 32

Xie Nuange entered. When her vision cleared, she found herself before a magnificent palace hall.

Vermilion pillars. Golden glazed tiles. White marble steps.

And… a great many people.

Her pupils contracted.

Cheng Luo stood smiling in the crowd.

Meng Shi was there too, expression cold as she kept to one side and looked at no one.

Fang Yule. Zhu Miao. Leng Jing…

Everyone who had died during the scenario—including those Xie Nuange had killed—was alive again.

All fifty candidates stood packed together, exactly as they had on the first day.

A chill spread through Xie Nuange. Instinctively, she used Datafication on Meng Shi and Cheng Luo.

[Datafication has leveled up.]

Her skill had indeed improved.

It also confirmed that the people before her were living human beings.

How was this possible?

“Stand properly!”

A eunuch’s shrill voice rang out. “Are you deaf? I told you to form ranks!”

The crowd shifted and slowly arranged itself into several uneven lines. Xie Nuange again chose a place near the middle and toward the rear, where she could observe the whole area.

The elderly eunuch gave a satisfied grunt. He took a roll of yellow silk from his sleeve, opened it, and read in a drawn-out voice.

“By mandate of Heaven, His Majesty decrees: palace candidates shall now be selected to fill the Yeting Bureau. Any woman between sixteen and twenty-five years of age, of clean family background and proper appearance, may present herself for consideration.”

“Those selected shall remain in the palace to await their titles. Those rejected shall receive gold and return home. Respect this decree.”

He rolled up the yellow silk and swept a smile that did not reach his eyes across the crowd.

“Your Ladyships, please await the final palace selection…”

Xie Nuange expected a ceremony like those in historical dramas.

Instead, the dying began.

The first candidate stood in the front row.

She exploded with a bang, becoming a cloud of blood.

Every woman stared in bewildered horror.

Then came the second. The third. The fourth…

One after another, they fell.

Some bodies split into pieces. Some heads flew cleanly into the air.

Some twisted beyond recognition. Others collapsed with their throats reduced to mangled flesh.

The final palace selection had begun.

Their numbers plummeted.

Fifty. Forty. Thirty. Twenty.

The deaths came faster and faster, too quickly for Xie Nuange’s eyes to follow.

Then they stopped.

Only fourteen blood-soaked people remained in the open space.

Xie Nuange stood among them. She saw Zhao Ning and Ye Wan among the group. These were the final fourteen who had survived the past seven days.

They were the candidates who passed the selection.

“Congratulations, Your Ladyships. You have passed. Please follow this servant.”

The leading eunuch smiled and guided the fourteen women farther into the palace.

“According to the customs of the Great Qian Dynasty, those who pass the final palace selection must participate in a worship ritual. Only after receiving the deity’s recognition may they successfully bear imperial heirs.”

The eunuch led them to the entrance of Yingling Hall, where fourteen palace attendants were already waiting.

“The Imperial Household Department selected these attendants for Your Ladyships. You will spend the coming days praying and worshipping at Yinghua Hall, so each of you will need someone at your side.”

He looked at Xie Nuange and the others. “Please choose a personal palace maid in ranking order.”

“Once chosen, she cannot be replaced. She will remain your personal attendant throughout your stay at Yinghua Hall.”

As Rank One, Xie Nuange chose first.

When the two groups met, surprise appeared on both sides.

The palace candidates were startled because they had finally encountered the scenario’s other participants.

They had wondered where everyone else had gone. They had not expected to find them here.

The participants assigned as palace maids were equally shocked. They had assumed the scenario required them to climb from servant status to the summit of palace power.

They never imagined some participants had entered as palace maids while others began as palace candidates.

How unfair!

What kind of scenario discriminated between its players?

Why had they been given different starting lines?

Many of the palace-maid participants looked at the candidates with jealousy, envy, or contempt.

They had been assigned different identities, different starting points, and different rules.

“Your Ladyship Xie, it is time to choose,” the eunuch gently reminded her.

Xie Nuange took a deep breath and descended the steps. She passed before the fourteen palace maids one at a time.

With each person, she activated Datafication.

[Participant: Zhang San. Skill: Iron Bones. Physical strength increased threefold. Combat specialist.]

[Participant: Chen Er. Skill: Keen Hearing. Can hear any sound within one hundred meters.]

Xie Nuange’s face gradually paled.

Even after leveling up, Datafication only allowed her to use the skill more often. Activating it so many times in rapid succession still drained her mental power painfully fast.

[Participant: Su Ye. Skill: Shadow Blade. The user’s true body can hide within shadows and exchange positions with them to attack.]

Finally, someone who could fight.

Xie Nuange pointed. “Her.”

Su Ye raised her head and looked at Xie Nuange, brow faintly furrowed. She was clearly displeased to have been chosen.

Xie Nuange arched a brow and studied her.

Su Ye had the kind of face one could lose instantly in a crowd. Nothing about it lingered in the memory—except perhaps her unusually dark irises.

“This servant is Su Ye.”

Su Ye offered Xie Nuange a perfectly correct curtsy. It was clear that she and the other maids had not had an easy time over the past several days either.

After saluting, Su Ye stepped out of the line and took her place behind Xie Nuange.

Zhao Ning chose second. Ye Wan chose third.

The selection proceeded quickly. Fourteen palace candidates and fourteen palace maids were paired one for one.

“Your Ladyships, please follow this servant into Yinghua Hall.”

The eunuch led them through a vermilion gate and along a long, narrow passage.

High red walls rose on both sides. Every few steps, a lantern made from white paper hung against the wall. Whatever burned inside gave off a sickly white light even in broad daylight.

Yinghua Hall stood at the far end.

Two bronze cranes flanked the entrance, each holding a bronze lantern in its slightly open beak.

The threshold was unusually high. Just as Xie Nuange lifted her foot to cross it, Su Ye reached out to steady her.

Xie Nuange stiffened and forced down her instinct to pull away from an unfamiliar person.

“Your Ladyship, allow this servant to assist you.”

Su Ye discreetly raised her eyes and gave Xie Nuange a meaningful look.

Only then did Xie Nuange place her hand in Su Ye’s.

Of course. The palace rule said:

[Rank and hierarchy must be strictly observed…]

Two people stood above the palace maids in the hierarchy.

The palace candidates—and the leading eunuch.

As Xie Nuange crossed the threshold, a cold draft brushed her ankle. She looked down but saw nothing.

The instant they entered Yinghua Hall, a new set of rules appeared.

[Congratulations, Chosen Players, on surviving the first stage!]

[Next, we enter the second stage.]