That night, none of us dared to truly fall asleep. We took turns keeping watch by the door, wary of the hunchbacked demon making a sudden "visit." Fearing I would pull another all-nighter as I had before, Yashu insisted on pushing me to take the first shift so I could get some rest early.
- The Next Morning (Day 2) -
I woke up in a hazy state to the soft calling of Xi Yong'an. Looking around the room, everyone was already awake, their faces etched with weariness and anxiety.
I approached the door, cautiously peering through a small crack. The sight outside made my heart tighten: on the floor, dark red bloodstains dripped and dragged in long streaks along the gloomy hallway. The hunchbacked demon from last night seemed to have vanished, but the traces it left behind still reeked of the scent of death.
To be sure, I tossed an old rag out into the hallway to test the waters. No movement. No roars or the sound of scratching claws. Only then did the group dare to creep out and open the door. Looking at the wreckage and the mottled bloodstains, I swallowed hard. Last night, someone certainly hadn't been as lucky as us.
Walking down the corridor, I saw the door to Pham Bach Kha and Xiao Shu's room slightly ajar. Through the gap, our eyes met. Bach Kha's face showed clear unease; occasionally, he glanced toward Room 5 with a haunting look in his eyes.
Before long, Li Junjie and Hoang Nhat Tan also silently stepped out. There was absolutely no sign of the black-haired girl, Wu Mengqiao, or the pink-haired Tu Qinghe. The nine of us stood rooted in the middle of the hallway, a heavy silence enveloping the entire group.
Finally, Yashu spoke up to break the thick atmosphere:
-"About last night... is everyone okay?"
-"We're fine," Bach Kha replied, though his voice wavered slightly. "At that time, the demon had smashed through Tu Qinghe's door. Luckily, I had the Gem in my hand, so I activated it to buy time for those two girls to escape, while I rushed back to my room to bolt the door. But it seems... they were still overtaken."
Ky Kha Nhien maintained her signature lazy expression; she yawned while asking indifferently:
-"Those two didn't run into your room for shelter?"
-"The situation was too chaotic then; the demon was blocking the path, so they were forced to run in the opposite direction," Bach Kha explained, his brows furrowed.
While everyone was busy explaining themselves, I had quietly moved toward Tu Qinghe's room. The doorknob turned easily; the door was unlocked. The room was empty and cold. As expected, the two girls hadn't made it back here last night.
The group began to follow the dark red bloodstains on the floor. The trail led us back to the hallway full of mirrors - the place where I had previously discovered the mysterious secret room. At the end of the hallway, Tu Qinghe and Wu Mengqiao were huddled together, trembling against the corner of the wall.
Their faces were bloodless, their eyes sunken from staying up all night, filled with terror and extreme exhaustion. As soon as they caught sight of us, like drowning people grasping at a straw, they both rushed out of that dark corner.
I narrowed my eyes to observe. The position they were just standing in... was right beneath the secret room. Currently, it was perfectly camouflaged behind the wallpaper, leaving the poor girls unaware that they had stood right next to a world-shaking secret all night.
Tu Qinghe ran headlong toward us and threw her arms around Pham Bach Kha, her muffled sobs on the verge of breaking out. Time seemed to freeze in that moment - between a miraculous survival and the secrets still lurking behind the mirrors.
The wound on Tu Qinghe's arm was still oozing blood, even though she had hastily torn her hem to wrap it. A cruel, long gash stretched from her wrist to her elbow. Wu Mengqiao was no better; her leg had a deep, jagged claw mark, blood soaking through the fabric.
Phan Ngoc Tien - the girl with glasses who had helped us stop bleeding using bitter bush leaves - also approached the two victims. She took out the remaining leaves, crushed them, and applied them to the wounds. Tu Qinghe bit her lip hard against the stinging pain. Once the first aid was finished, Phan Ngoc Tien pushed up her glasses and bandaged the wounds.
After regaining some composure, their voices trembled as they recounted the events of last night. When the dry knocking sounded, knowing that the Grim Reaper had come for them, both panicked and tried to climb out the window. But bad luck struck: the damn window lock was jammed! The demon lunged in like a whirlwind, scratching Qinghe's arm as she tried to shield herself. Mengqiao threw her body into a powerful kick to push it back, but in return, she received a painful bite to the leg.
At the critical moment, Pham Bach Kha appeared from the opposite room. He used the power of the Gem to restrain the demon, opening a path of survival for them. But the peace was too short-lived; after running only a few meters, the demon broke free and pursued them frantically.
At the very end of the hallway, facing a dead end, the two girls desperately huddled in the corner, closing their eyes to wait for death. But something strange happened: the demon didn't pounce on them. It just stood there, maintaining a certain distance, and stared with a bizarre gaze throughout the long night. It wasn't until dawn broke that it slowly turned its back and vanished into the darkness of the hallway.
Upon hearing that, our entire group froze, a bolt of electricity running down our spines. The position where the two girls stood... was exactly beneath the secret room in the ceiling that we had found.
A terrifying yet hopeful hypothesis flashed through my mind: That hunchbacked demon didn't dare get close to this place. Perhaps the secret room was a direct threat to it, or it hated something inside, or perhaps it was even trying to protect the integrity of this place by keeping its distance.
Thanks to Tu Qinghe and Wu Mengqiao's life-and-death situation, we had accidentally stumbled upon a priceless survival rule: The area beneath the secret room is a forbidden zone for the demon. Though no one knew how long this rule would protect us, or when the demon would find a way to break it, at least for now, this was the safest haven in this gloomy mansion.
Yashu leaned in slightly, her breath trembling, whispering just loud enough for me to hear:
-"It seems like things are starting to get more complicated; we're up against something with its own rules, not just a mindless monster."
I agreed, replying:
-"But perhaps this is a good thing."
At this moment, Pham Bach Kha lightly patted Tu Qinghe's shoulder, giving a thumbs-up in a gesture of praise:
-"Well done."
Seeing his look of approval, Tu Qinghe's cheeks suddenly flushed red. She was a bit flustered, murmuring back:
-"I... I think it was just luck. I only found this clue by accident."
Meanwhile, the young master Xi Yong'an had been silent all this time, his face pensive as if he were calculating some extremely grand strategy. Then suddenly, he sidled up to me, leaning close to my ear with an excited expression:
-"Hey, I just discovered something extremely important."
-"What is it?" I asked softly, my heart racing because I thought he had figured out the demon's logic.
Yashu, standing next to us, was equally curious and hurried to lean in and listen. Yong'an took a deep breath and solemnly whispered:
-"I've discovered that... Tu Qinghe likes Pham Bach Kha!"
I, who was bracing myself for life-saving information, felt like "falling over" on the spot after hearing that.