Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 49

The four of them sat in Xie Nuange’s room.

With the door shut, most of the noise outside was blocked. They could only faintly hear people walking around the courtyard and speaking in hushed voices.

“We’ll still take turns, one at a time.”

Ye Wan glanced at Xie Nuange and Su Ye. “You two… still haven’t reached an agreement?”

Su Ye’s face was expressionless.

Xie Nuange blinked, the picture of innocence. “We have. We’re getting along wonderfully.”

Ye Wan snorted and did not press the matter.

“Fine. I’ll go first.”

She paused and gently tapped a finger against her knee.

“According to the information I obtained, this scenario has two ways to clear it.”

Xie Nuange raised her head and looked at her.

“Don’t ask how I got that information.”

“Everything has two sides,” Zhang San added. “That was the information the Banyan Tree gave me.”

It was also the only clue Xie Nuange had failed to coax out of her.

Xie Nuange’s fingers twitched.

Two sides.

That was far too vague. No wonder Ye Wan had not mentioned it yesterday.

“My turn?” Su Ye asked.

Her voice was calm. “Once the deity gathers all its faithful believers, it will become a god.”

Xie Nuange jerked her head toward Su Ye.

Impossible!

Gathered. What would be released once it had gathered them all?

She had only seen two legs. Who knew whether the next time it would be something else?

Or was the deity itself gathering so-called faith from them…

What would happen when the collection was complete?

Xie Nuange stared into Su Ye’s eyes. There was no hesitation or doubt in them, only a certainty that bordered on devotion.

Su Ye believed it.

She truly believed the story in the side hall.

Xie Nuange lowered her lashes and fell silent for a moment.

“I’ve heard the deity speak.”

Everyone looked at her.

“It said…”

She raised her head and looked through the window. “The Banyan Tree is a false god.”

The room abruptly fell silent.

Su Ye and Ye Wan both raised an eyebrow, not expecting Xie Nuange to reveal such an important clue.

“See? I told you the clues I found proved the deity was real!”

Su Ye grew agitated. She was now convinced that the chain of events they had pieced together from the clues was true.

“I have another question.”

Xie Nuange looked at Su Ye and Ye Wan. “Whenever the main hall opens, how does it feel to you? What does it look like inside?”

Su Ye answered almost without hesitation. “Comfortable. The scent of sandalwood is strong, but not choking. The deity’s gaze is compassionate. When it looks at you, you feel… accepted.”

Ye Wan nodded. “More or less the same for me. Warm. Safe. Like being held in my mother’s arms when I was little.”

“I feel uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable,” Zhang San said in disagreement. “That’s why I rarely go near it.”

Xie Nuange nodded. “So do I…”

Unfortunately, Zhang San was going inside tonight. Otherwise, Xie Nuange could have asked her to stand at the doorway and look when it opened again.

Then they could see whether the hall appeared the same to Zhang San as it did to her.

“Aren’t you thinking of changing the order of entry?” Su Ye finally asked. “Zhao Ning came to see you at noon, didn’t she?”

“Yes.”

Ye Wan nodded. “But she didn’t leave the object with me. Still, I have a feeling.”

“I mentioned this when I traded clues with Zhao Ning. I have the sense that the earlier you enter, the safer it is.”

The earlier they entered… the safer it was?

“Coo-coo.”

“Coo-coo.”

Evening was drawing near. Owls once again circled overhead.

“It’s almost time.”

Ye Wan sighed and turned to Xie Nuange. “I told you before. Once I come out, I’ll do everything I can to bring you a clue.”

Xie Nuange followed Ye Wan and Zhang San outside.

“Ugh!”

Zhang San disgustedly brushed bird droppings from her clothes.

“That’s revolting! How did I get so unlucky?”

At her words, Xie Nuange looked up at the owls in the sky.

Every night, they appeared above the main hall.

The information Su Ye and Ye Wan had found formed one complete story.

The deity had endured untold hardships to find a seed, bring it home, plant the Banyan Tree, and protect Great Qian.

Yet the clues she and Zhang San had found were pitifully scarce.

Why could some people see the complete story while others received only fragments?

Was it because they had taken a position opposed to the false god?

“Ye Wan!”

Xie Nuange looked at Ye Wan as she stepped onto the stairs.

She hurried forward and caught Ye Wan’s hand. “Ye Wan, I just—”

“Your Ladyship, please enter the hall!”

The eunuch’s voice rang out, drawing everyone’s attention.

The moment Xie Nuange saw his eyes, her body jolted.

Those eyes did not belong to the eunuch.

She slowly released Ye Wan’s hand, then stepped forward and hugged her.

“Come back safely.”

Ye Wan’s eyes flew wide. Only after a long moment did she lift her arms and gently pat Xie Nuange’s back.

“How touching.”

“Sure is. Once the killing starts, though, who’ll remember any of this?”

Both Xie Nuange and Ye Wan heard the mocking comments behind them.

“Don’t forget what you promised me.”

Xie Nuange let go and looked at Ye Wan, then turned and took her place in the moonlight.

The doors opened. Ye Wan and Zhang San walked inside.

Xie Nuange stood under the moon, watching her Faith Points—which she had lowered only with great difficulty—begin climbing again and again.

How was she supposed to lower them this time?

There were many ways to raise Faith Points: photosynthesis, offering incense in the side hall.

Lowering them, however, was terribly difficult. So difficult that repeating an action produced diminishing results.

She could not drag this out any longer.

Ye Wan had chosen to enter without collecting any key clues.

That proved her claim that entering earlier was safer.

Combined with what Xie Nuange had seen today…

She drew a deep breath.

Then she looked up at the sky.

The owls were still circling, their coos echoing overhead.

Xie Nuange’s expression stiffened. Unable to stop herself, she walked forward several steps.

She stopped just short of the boundary between moonlight and darkness.

The owls overhead looked just like the image she had seen that day.

Circling in the sky…

The god had put on legs that belonged to them. If more people died, would it put on their arms next?

Then a torso… and finally, internal organs…

Su Ye came out soon afterward and found Xie Nuange staring fixedly at the owls overhead.

“What’s wrong?”

Watching the circling birds, Xie Nuange softly asked, “Do these birds appear here every night?”

Su Ye thought for a moment, then nodded. “That’s right. They were here last night too.”

She looked up with Xie Nuange. “But what could be more ordinary than birds?”

“If they only appear at night, then it isn’t ordinary. I don’t know if you’ve ever heard a certain legend…”

Xie Nuange spoke softly, recalling a story her older brother had once told her.

“Prometheus stole fire for humanity, so Zeus chained him to Mount Caucasus, where a divine eagle devoured his liver every day.”

“Because he was a god, his liver regenerated each night. The cycle repeated, subjecting him to eternal torment.”

When she finished, she turned to Su Ye. “If these owls only come at night, could they be bringing something back for the deity?”

“Something like…”

“Eyes.”