Rules of Horror: Survival Begins in the Haunted Harem - Chapter 61

After Rewind, Su Ye listened as Xie Nuange rapidly explained the key points for clearing the scenario.

The deity sounded somewhat disappointed in her this time, but still diligently tried to beguile her.

Yet after the Rewind, Su Ye had already told Xie Nuange her answer.

Cooperation.

She remembered Xie Nuange saying the owls would peck out the deity’s eyes.

Enduring the agony, Su Ye cut off her own arm, chopped it into pieces, and mixed in some seeds.

Only after she saw the owls eat did she scatter seeds over her wounds. Then she lay on the beach and felt them devour her body and eyes.

“What are you thinking about?”

Xie Nuange turned and found Su Ye staring blankly into space.

“Nothing.”

Su Ye came back to herself and smiled. “My eyes still feel a little uncomfortable. I haven’t recovered yet.”

Xie Nuange looked impressed. “You’re incredible. I didn’t dare scatter any over my eyes.”

“You didn’t have to put them in your eyes?” Now it was Su Ye’s turn to stare.

“Of course not…”

Su Ye exploded. “Xie Nuange! Then why did you go out of your way to emphasize the eyes?”

Xie Nuange and Su Ye sat in the side hall for a while before a eunuch arrived to proclaim the imperial edict.

“By the Mandate of Heaven, the Emperor proclaims: The sage, in establishing moral instruction, holds human relations foremost… We hereby name the lady of the Xie clan a Noble Lady and grant her residence in the eastern side hall of the Palace of Eternal Spring…”

Following protocol, Xie Nuange and Su Ye knelt, offered thanks, and accepted the decree.

The bright-yellow silk weighed heavily against Xie Nuange’s palm, carrying a chill that did not belong to cloth.

The instant she accepted it, the edict vanished.

Then the familiar system notification sounded beside her ear.

[Congratulations to Chosen Player Xie Nuange for completing Stage Two—Divine Worship!]

[Title Acquired: Noble Lady.]

[Keep working hard! Just a little more, and you’ll finally enter the imperial harem~]

Xie Nuange’s brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

She had already received a rank, yet she still could not enter the harem?

Why was this harem so difficult to get into?

Anyone could buy a ticket to the Forbidden City, but she still could not enter this harem?

Before she could think further, the eunuch who had read the edict smiled and flicked his horsetail whisk, answering their confusion.

“Noble Lady Xie, by the customs of Great Qian, a selected lady must first return to her residence and prepare for her wedding. At midnight the day after tomorrow, the Ministry of Rites will send a carriage to escort Your Ladyship into the palace.”

Return to her residence?

Xie Nuange and Su Ye exchanged a glance.

Neither spoke. They simply followed the eunuch.

Xie Nuange wondered whether leaving the palace might let her gather more information.

Instead, the eunuch never took them through the main hall, nor did they encounter anyone of high rank.

He led them along a narrow passage, turning this way and that as the route grew increasingly remote.

Xie Nuange and Su Ye became steadily more vigilant. Just as they were about to attack, the eunuch continued a short distance and stopped before a tiny palace gate.

It was a dingy yellow wooden door with peeling paint. A brass lock hung from the bar.

The eunuch took a key from his sleeve, jabbed it into the lock several times, and opened it.

The door swung outward. Light flooded in.

“Noble Lady, you may leave through here and return to your residence. Do not forget to board the sedan chair at midnight the day after tomorrow and return to the palace.”

Xie Nuange nodded, glanced at Su Ye, and led her through the small gate.

[Congratulations on clearing Stage Two. Keep it up, Chosen Player~]

[Please accept your clearance rewards!]

[Skill: Datafication, Lv. 6. This time, you can obtain more detailed information about your target.]

[Skill: Mom!, Lv. 4. Mom has leveled up! She can do more than hit people now!]

[Skill: Medusa, Lv. 2. Maintain eye contact with a target for one second to make their movements rigid for two seconds.]

[Chosen Player: Xie Nuange.

Mental Power increased—92.

Stamina increased—80.

Speed increased—25.]

Xie Nuange was astonished by how much her stamina had increased.

Then she remembered grinding the soles of her feet as hard as shoe leather on the Divine Path and decided she had earned every point.

Even Medusa, which had not improved since Stage One, had finally leveled up.

Then she thought of the ghost items she had obtained from this scenario: half a flatbread and a short blade.

Regret flooded Xie Nuange.

Had she known, she would not have acted on impulse. She would have taken Erya’s handkerchief too!

Why had she burned it? This was all Jiang Yanzhou’s emotions influencing her.

To clear the Divine Path, she had used the last charge of her Firework Bomb as well.

What a loss.

Only after reviewing her gains did Xie Nuange begin examining the scene outside the palace.

A street ran beyond the gate. Cartwheels and countless feet had polished its bluestone paving until it gleamed.

A row of shops stood across the way, cloth banners swaying in the wind. Chen’s Cakes and Pastries. Wang Mazi’s Scissors. A grain shop, and more.

Stalls crowded the storefronts, selling sugar figurines, wontons, and woven bamboo goods. Vendors called over one another.

When Xie Nuange and Su Ye emerged from the palace, people gave them no more than a second glance.

Commoners in plain cloth filled the street, along with laborers in short coarse jackets, young girls carrying baskets, and old men leading donkeys.

Officials and nobles rode past in carriages and sedan chairs.

Some people haggled. Some squatted beside the road eating flatbread. Two children chased a speckled hen from one end of the street to the other.

Bustle. The warmth of everyday life. The presence of the living.

Standing before the gate, Xie Nuange and Su Ye stared at the street in a daze.

The smell of wontons made Xie Nuange’s mouth water.

She stared at the steaming stall and swallowed repeatedly.

“How long has it been since we ate anything like that?” Xie Nuange sighed.

“How long has it been since we saw so many living people?” Su Ye echoed. “Even if the era is wrong.”

It was true. On Blue Star, steaming wontons and big stuffed buns were delicacies reserved for the New Year or the celebration of some important achievement.

And seeing so many people strolling leisurely through a street was rarer still.

The two stood before the palace gate, looking at the street and all those living, breathing people. For a long time, neither spoke.

“Su Ye,” Xie Nuange said.

“Mm?”

“Where exactly… are we supposed to go?”

Su Ye turned toward Xie Nuange, her expression unusually blank.

“You’re the young mistress. I’m your personal maid. Obviously, we’re going back to your home.”

Xie Nuange fell silent.

As a palace candidate in this scenario, she naturally had a home.

She had no idea where it was, who lived there, or even which direction its front door faced.

“Then where is my home?” Xie Nuange asked again.

Su Ye looked at her. She looked at Su Ye.

They stood at the palace gate like two lost travelers.

Ye Wan and the others had already left.

“Maybe… we should walk along the street and look for it?” Su Ye offered, not sounding convinced by her own suggestion.

At that moment, a carriage rounded the corner.

It was not large, with oil-treated walls and blue curtains. A driver in a dark-gray coarse jacket sat on the shaft, a man in his forties.

The carriage stopped before the palace gate. Xie Nuange and Su Ye looked over.

The driver hurried forward with a broad smile.

“Congratulations, Your Ladyship! The imperial edict reached the residence about two hours ago!”

“Master was beside himself with joy and ordered this servant to hurry to the palace gate to receive you!”

For the first time since entering the scenario, Xie Nuange had stepped outside the palace—and met someone from her supposed family.