Chapter 251 The Man in Black
Su Wuli didn't say anything, but squatted down.
The lantern light shone on the lower edge of the painting, where there was a small groove.
It's square in shape, like something was embedded in it.
She reached out and carefully touched the groove.
The edges are smooth; they were deliberately carved out.
Something is missing here.
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Kai squatted down to look at it and stared at it for a moment.
Suddenly, he pulled a wooden plaque from his sleeve, which was the same pattern on the back of the paper with the character "奠" (meaning "offering" or "condolence") from earlier.
During his previous research, he discovered that the patterns carved on the back of the wooden plaque matched the circles and lines on the paper.
He pressed the wooden plaque into the groove, and it fit perfectly.
The painting came to life.
Wen Yan looked on in astonishment. "Brother, when did you get that wooden sign?"
"That's not important." Chen Kai patted her shoulder. "You can't go wrong with this one. I'm a veteran player of this escape room."
【Wen Yan, don't listen to him; he's just a joker.】
Hahaha, they've tricked newbies again.
Wen Yan said, "I've seen the previous episodes."
As soon as he finished speaking, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Chen Kai's face, and he awkwardly touched his nose.
Just then, a section of the wall in the middle of the painting slowly receded inward.
Then it slid to the side, revealing a dark passage.
A cold draft, carrying a musty smell, blew out of the passageway.
Wen Yan suddenly grabbed Su Wuli's arm.
"Why does it feel so cold?"
Chen Kai stood at the entrance of the passage and peered inside. "I'll go first. My robe is thick and can ward off evil spirits."
The comments section was filled with laughter.
[Blocking evil spirits, hahaha.]
【Wen Yan, why don't you just hang yourself on Chen Kai?】
The three entered the passage, where the light from the lanterns appeared even dimmer, unable to illuminate very far.
You can only see the ground two or three steps ahead.
Su Wuli's heart was pounding, and her palms were sweating profusely.
The lantern handle nearly slipped off.
Wen Yan stumbled along behind, occasionally stepping on Su Wuli's skirt.
After stepping on it three times, she simply lifted up her skirt and hugged it to her arms.
Even without turning around, Su Wuli could feel Wen Yan's hand trembling on her shoulder.
There was light at the end of the passage, a hazy, moonlight-like glow.
Stepping out of the passage, one sees an ancestral hall in front of them.
It's very big, with several layers of roof, the top of which is pointed.
There are many memorial tablets hanging on the wall, densely packed from top to bottom.
A candle was lit in front of each memorial tablet, the flame of which was bluish-white.
The air was filled with the smell of sandalwood and paper money ash, which mixed together and made people's eyes sting.
The general's memorial tablet was placed in the very center, on the largest piece.
The words above were filled with gold powder.
The three characters "Chen Chongyuan" gleamed dimly in the candlelight.
The three of them slowly approached.
The candlelight shone behind the memorial tablet, and a line of words on the wall was mostly obscured by the tablet.
Su Wuli raised the lantern higher and stood on tiptoe to see it more clearly.
Suddenly, footsteps sounded behind me.
Su Wuli subconsciously looked at the two of them, but Wen Yan and Chen Kai didn't move at all.
They looked over as well, and the three of them exchanged bewildered glances.
The footsteps weren't theirs.
The footsteps were still ringing out, even getting closer.
Each step made a sticky sound.
Su Wuli turned around abruptly, the light from the lantern sweeping over her.
A dark figure was seen standing at the entrance of the passage.
The man was dressed in black and his face was covered. Several pieces of the black fabric were torn, revealing the gray-white lining underneath.
There were patches of dried blood on his black clothes, which spread from his collar to his waist.
The blade was stained with a dark red liquid.
It was dripping down the blade and onto the ground.
The person tilted their head at an odd angle, not as if they were looking at them, but more like they were listening.
The neck bends to one side at an almost impossible angle, while the shoulder remains completely still.
The exposed whites of his eyes were too much, and his pupils shrank to a tiny dot, appearing and disappearing in the candlelight.
He suddenly took a step forward, but his knees didn't bend, as if his whole body was being dragged forward by something.
The tip of the knife dragged along the ground as he walked, a screeching sound coming from the earth.
Every step he took was on the beat of Su Wuli's heart.
All three of them were stunned for a moment, but Wen Yan was the first to react.
She screamed and stumbled back two steps, crashing into the offering table.
The memorial tablet swayed slightly, and she quickly steadied it.
Chen Kai took a step forward, blocking Su Wuli and Wen Yan.
"Run!"
Su Wuli quickly grabbed Wen Yan's hand and ran to the other side of the ancestral hall.
Wen Yan's legs went weak, and she almost fell after running two steps. Su quickly pulled her up.
Chen Kai followed behind them, but his robe was too long, and he stumbled and almost fell.
He simply lifted his robe and tucked it into his belt.
The live chat exploded.
Holy crap, this NPC is kind of scary.
Yeah, that's really creepy.
[This is truly a horror doujinshi; it would have scared me to death.]
Run! It's scary!
The sound of that knife scraping the floor gave me goosebumps.
Su Wuli ran to the other side of the ancestral hall, where there was a small door with a lock on it.
She tried to pull it open, but couldn't.
Wen Yan was so anxious that she stomped her feet, and tears were almost in her eyes.
"Hurry up... Pear... Hurry up..."
The footsteps behind me grew closer, and the sound of a knife dragging on the ground slowly moved from the center of the ancestral hall.
Su Wuli forced herself to calm down; she had seen even more terrifying things before.
These are all fake, they don't mean anything.
She tried to comfort herself while glancing around.
The key should be nearby.
She crouched down and touched the ground with her hand, finding a loose stone slab.
Upon lifting the lid, a key was indeed found underneath.
Her hands were shaking as she picked up the key, and it took her several tries to get it into the lock.
I turned the knob, and the lock opened.
"Come in!"
She pushed open the door and pulled Wen Yan inside, and Chen Kai followed her in.
Close the door and bolt it.
Footsteps stopped at the doorway, and the tip of a knife peeked in from under the door before retracting.
It's quiet now.
Wen Yan squatted in the corner, panting heavily, tears streaming down her face.
She wiped it with the back of her hand.
Chen Kai stood leaning against the wall, his robe slipping out of his belt and dragging on the ground.
Su Wuli stood behind the door, listening to the commotion outside, her heartbeat slowly returning to normal.
My hands were still trembling with my heartbeat.
The comments section was flooded with messages.
[Holy crap, Su Wuli is so calm; she opened the lock just in time.]
Wen Yan was so scared she cried. It's heartbreaking.
[Who wouldn't be scared?!]
[The two fairies encountered a horror scenario on their first visit; the production team is really stirring things up.]
It's quiet outside.
The footsteps stopped, but no sound of them leaving was heard.
Chen Kai stepped forward and opened the door bolt a crack, peeking out.
The man in black is gone.
Then, she slowly pushed open the door and stepped out, with Wen Yan and Su Wuli following behind.
The three of them had just walked around the offering table when the sound rang out again.
But it didn't come from the entrance of the passage.
Instead... it came from above.
Su Wuli raised her head, her heart pounding.