Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 34

Xie Nuange and Su Ye turned to choose a room.

In truth, every room was the same.

They stood in a single row with identical furnishings. The interiors were simple, though somewhat better than the Palace of Gathered Elegance.

At the very least, each palace candidate now had a private room.

A canopy bed stood to the right of the entrance, along with a beauty couch, one table, and two chairs.

A yellowed sheet of paper lay on the table. Xie Nuange and Su Ye approached together and read the room’s rules.

[Rule One: The deity loves the faint light of dawn. At the beginning of the Hour of the Rabbit, one person must experience the dawn light on the deity’s behalf.]

[Rule Two: The deity loves the blazing noonday sun. At the midpoint of noon, one person must experience the sunlight on the deity’s behalf.]

[Rule Three: The deity loves moonlight. At the end of the Hour of the Rooster, one person must experience the moonlight on the deity’s behalf.]

[Rule Four: The deity loves faithful believers!]

[Rule Five: The deity’s will must not be defied.]

Xie Nuange turned toward Su Ye.

Su Ye looked up at the same moment. They stared at one another.

“That seems rather simple…”

“That’s it?”

They spoke at the same time.

Su Ye arched a brow, her expression plainly asking whether the scenario was joking.

But how could that be possible?

This was the second stage.

Could it truly be this easy, with only a few lines of rules?

“So in summary, the assigned people worship in the morning, at noon, and in the evening, while someone from each room goes outside to experience dawn, sunlight, and moonlight?” Xie Nuange found it far too simple.

“Aside from three worship rituals a day, the rules of Yinghua Hall only require the rest of us to go outside, get some air, and believe in the deity? That’s all?”

Su Ye leaned against the table with her arms folded. The uncertainty on her face gradually hardened into vigilance.

“Don’t you think it’s too easy?”

Of course Xie Nuange did.

The first stage at the Palace of Gathered Elegance had drowned them in rules.

Walking. Eating. Sleeping. Greeting superiors. Serving tea. Every activity contained dozens of ways to die.

There had even been a minor boss.

And now the second stage expected them to believe that standing outside was enough?

“If sunlight and moonlight aren’t dangerous, then the danger must come from the worship ritual,” Su Ye concluded before searching the rest of the room.

The canopy bed clearly wasn’t intended for the palace maid.

Xie Nuange walked over and found another sheet of paper on the mattress—the palace candidate’s rules.

When she turned after reading it, she caught Su Ye slipping something into her robe.

It seemed palace candidates were not the only ones with private rules.

“This stage probably requires us to cooperate,” Xie Nuange said.

Su Ye looked at her and waited.

Xie Nuange moved closer. “Why did you say I was lucky?”

Su Ye paused in the middle of tapping a floor tile, then continued checking the floor and walls.

“You didn’t know? Then why did you choose me as your teammate?”

Because Xie Nuange needed someone who could fight.

And Su Ye happened to be able to fight.

“Tell me first, and I’ll tell you. A fair exchange.”

Su Ye glanced at her and resumed her inspection.

“It’s not much of a secret.”

Only after finishing her search did she sit down and face Xie Nuange.

“We palace maids can see the palace candidates’ rankings and… combat power.”

Xie Nuange’s smile froze for an instant.

Then curiosity took over. “What’s my combat power? And what rank am I?”

Su Ye looked at her. “You’re the weakest of them all. Ye Wan is first at 8.1. You’re dead last at 0.5.”

“What?”

Xie Nuange stared. “Are you sure? Zero point five?”

So she was the legendary combat weakling?

She recalled the participants assigned as palace maids and the way each had tried to avoid her during the selection.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

In their eyes, she was utterly useless in a fight.

“So you’re Rank One too?” Xie Nuange asked. “First among the palace maids?”

Su Ye nodded without denying it.

“No wonder you called me lucky…”

That explained everything.

“Then how did you take first place?” Su Ye asked.

“…Luck.”

Xie Nuange knew the system had probably counted only Datafication’s attack value.

It had not included the skills she extracted.

“How many palace maids started the scenario? Were you together from the beginning?” Xie Nuange wanted a clearer picture of their first stage.

“A little over fifty, I think. We had an enormous number of rules to learn every day. These are the only people left.”

Su Ye looked at Xie Nuange, waiting for her side of the exchange.

They crouched on the floor, searching for hidden clues while trading every piece of information they were willing to share.

“This stage should require two-person cooperation.”

Su Ye stood and stopped in front of Xie Nuange.

“Drawing the blank proved your luck is good enough.”

She slowly held out a hand. “But I don’t believe anyone can remain lucky forever.”

“You don’t need to reveal your trump cards. You lack combat power, and I lack your luck. We cooperate and clear the stage together.”

Xie Nuange looked at Su Ye’s offered hand, then at her cool, steady gaze.

Suddenly, she smiled and placed her hand in Su Ye’s with playful sweetness.

“Then here’s to a pleasant partnership.”

“The midpoint of noon has arrived.”

The eunuch’s shrill voice echoed across the open courtyard. “Your Ladyship Wang, enter the hall to worship.”

It was time.

Xie Nuange rose and walked to the door.

The sun had reached its zenith. Yet despite the clear, bright sky, the enormous banyan tree blocked nearly all the sunlight.

The courtyard looked sunlit but received almost none of its warmth.

“Which of us goes out?” Su Ye asked from beside her.

Xie Nuange glanced at her, then indicated the courtyard.

“Do you think standing outside is enough, or do we actually need to stand in direct sunlight?”

If direct sunlight was required, only one area would qualify: the open strip between the banyan tree and the main hall.

It looked unnaturally separate from the rest of the courtyard, a single band of sunlight cutting across the stones.

“The rule says the deity loves the blazing sun,” Su Ye said. “It doesn’t say the deity loves shade.”

Xie Nuange nodded in agreement.

People emerged from the other rooms. Some were palace maids, others palace candidates.

“I’ll go.”

Xie Nuange looked at Su Ye, her soft voice carrying an air of entitlement.

“Since you think I’m lucky, I’ll test the path for you. If there’s no danger, you can go out tonight.”

“And if there is danger…”

She leaned closer and met Su Ye’s eyes. “You’ll have to protect me. We’re tied together now.”

Su Ye studied Xie Nuange’s beautiful face. The corner of her mouth shifted, but in the end, she only nodded.

Could a combat weakling truly become Rank One through luck alone?

She did not believe it.

“Fine.”

With Su Ye’s agreement secured, Xie Nuange smiled and left the room.

Outside, she saw Zhao Ning and Ye Wan.

Both nodded when they noticed her.

Xie Nuange stood in the courtyard but felt no warmth whatsoever.

Once the banyan tree blocked the sun, it seemed incapable of radiating even a trace of heat.

The sky was unnaturally blue, the canopy impossibly green.

Everything looked too perfect to be real, like a photograph with every color adjusted to its ideal saturation.

“Let’s go.”

Ye Wan came to Xie Nuange’s side and glanced toward the room behind her.

Su Ye still stood in the doorway, watching.

“Any clues?”

“Not yet.”

Xie Nuange walked beside Ye Wan toward the band of sunlight.

The instant they stepped into it, everything changed.

Warm sunlight soaked into her skin, making her want to close her eyes and sleep.

A breeze appeared as well, carrying the warmth of noon.

Even the air smelled sun-drenched.