Chapter 10

He felt it after knowing. Chen Caixing felt his palm was sticky and spread out his palm. Sure enough, it was full of bloodstains. The colour of the bloodstains was black and had a bad fishy odour. He didn’t know what it was mixed with.

He got it from carrying the wooden barrel just now.

Chen Caixing held back his nausea and saw that there were also bloody handprints on Yuan Jiuwan’s clothes, which were touched by him.

“Gege, I’ll bring you to go wash your hands.”

The two of them headed to the second floor. Wang Xiaoxiao also said she’ll go wash her hands and followed along. Zhao Ru was stunned into a daze and sat at the side of the dining table, trembling while holding a bowl of warm soup. Wang Xingping gave a meaningful glance at Monkey. Monkey quietly followed the three people up to the second floor. Jin Hai sat beside Zhao Ru.

“Chen Caixing, keep the stuff with you.” Wang Xiaoxiao trembled as she took a black item from the belly of her down coat.

Chen Caixing shook the water off his hands, consciously wiping his hands on his sweater before taking the item.

The feeling in his hand made Chen Caixing feel that his hands were washed for nothing. It’s no wonder that Wang Xiaoxiao was trembling but she endured this the whole way. The black paper appeared to be folded into a small notebook. To say it was black, it was in fact blackish-red when seen in detail. It was cold and delicate in one’s hands.

Like human skin soaked in blood.

Earlier in the basement, Chen Caixing was so intimidated until his face nerves were in necrosis for the time being, Now, he calmly opened the item. Wang Xiaoxiao’s heart was filled with admiration as she looked, deciding to hug Chen Caixing’s thigh afterwards.

This was then a fucking ‘veteran’, those three on the first floor were all farts.

Spearing out the black and red human skin, it was roughly the size of an A4 paper, an adapted version in English.

“……”

This broken game. If he was an underachiever, he’d be wasted today. Chen Caixing crushed at the game in his heart but was very serious at reading the adapted story on the surface.

Two types of ‘legends’ were written on it. The first was to supply flesh for a long period to be able to revive a person who was killed. The second was how to thoroughly kill John who became a ghost.

Use the branches of the walnut tree to make nails and it would suffice to insert the wooden peg into John’s heart after midnight, when John comes to life.

“What if this John’s heart is on the right side?” Chen Caixing feared this game’s unexpected operations.

“I don’t think so?” wang Xiaoxiao was also unsure.

Chen Caixing was roasting at first but when he saw Wang Xiaoxiao’s uncertain look, he feared his words would turn out to be true. He put away his things and said, “Let’s go downstairs to eat. Right, where’s that knife?”

“It’s with me. Do you want it?”

“Hand it to me first.” Chen Caixing had a conjecture and wanted to try it on House.

Wang Xiaoxiao obediently handed the knife over. The knife wasn’t very long, it was a kind of thin knife used in the kitchen. A newspaper was used to wrap it. Chen Caixing carefully put it into his pocket. Fortunately, the pocket of the winter down coat was big enough to fit it in.

When the three of them went down, they heard the sound of footsteps and ran into Monkey on the first floor. The other person enthusiastically said the food was getting cold and called them to eat.

I’ll thank you for that. Chen Caixing’s face was expressionless.

Wang Xingping and Jin Hai surrounded Zhao Ru at the dining table. Zhao Ru broke into sobs and cried, “…….Too scary, the barrel kept moving, the lights also went out and there was wind. It must be the ghost, the ghost, he came out wu wu wu……”

The corners of Mr. House’s lips rose slightly, his eyes intensely stared at Zhao Ru. The pity on his face completely disappeared.

Chen Caixing was slightly lost in thought as he stared at the expression of House. The other person noticed it and looked over. Chen Caixing’s stare was discovered but he wasn’t embarrassed and leisurely pulled the little brother to sit at the dining table.

“Today’s lunch is quite sumptuous. I’ve to thank Mr. House for the reception for these past few days. You’re truly a benevolent person.” Chen Caixing earnestly blew the NPC’s rainbow fart.”

Mr. House put on a fake smile and said, “You’re all so lovely and tender, anyone who meets you would want to help. Lovely children, hurry up and eat.”

Lunch was steak spaghetti, sumptuous indeed.

However, the ambience at the dining table was not very good. Zhao Ru was endlessly weeping, Wang Xingping was thoughtful, he didn’t know what bad tricks he had up his sleeves. Jin Hai was watching Chen Caixing while his hand heavily sliced the steak. The plate and knife made an ear-piercing sound, it didn’t seem like slicing steak but like he wanted to cut Chen Caixing’s neck.

“Your knife is so blunt. I lend it the one I have here.” Chen Caixing took out the knife wrapped in a newspaper from his pocket and tossed it onto the table.

Jin Hai was provoked, slammed the table and scolded, “You fucking——”

“Enough!” Mr. House got angry and berated all of a sudden.

Jin Hai swallowed back his curses in a daze until his face turned purple from holding it back. Everyone at the table didn’t dare to even take a breath. From entering the game until now, the NPC had never been so obvious in exposing his expression. Even if he was angry, he would coldly stare at them.

Chen Caixing knocked the table, making a ‘dong dong’ sound and took note of the slight twitch of House’s lips.

“Mr. House, was it you who killed your brother John?”

“Yes.” The lips of Mr. House trembled as he said. He looked at the knife wrapped by an old newspaper and got lost in his memory. He murmured, “It was him who killed Anna. Why did he have to kill Anna? I was so angry that I ended up killing him……”

“Anna and his child. No, no, Anna and my child. Our child. He already had the wax museum. Why did he have to snatch Anna and snatch our child away? I hate him. I hate him.”

There was also a child?

Chen Caixing was taken aback. He thought of a love triangle and didn’t expect it to become a moral melodrama behind his back.

He originally thought it was House who was secretly in love with Joanna but couldn’t receive her love. Now, it seems that Joanna and House had sex and also had a child? Uncertainty could be heard from House’s tone. House also couldn’t tell Joanna’s child belonged to who.

At first, he thought it was really weird. Since Joanna discovered John’s secret, why did she not escape from the town and report to the police? He could understand it now. She might have wanted to stay with John for the child or maybe the town was too far away and she needed to drive but a married woman running with a child could not get far.

“It was John. All because of John. He ruined me and ruined Anna. Unforgivable, unforgivable!”

The knife wrapped in the newspaper was the murder weapon used to kill Joanna.

“John’s heart is on the left or the right?” Chen Caixing brought out his words and asked cautiously.

The raging and deranged Mr. House gradually calmed down upon hearing that question, because it called to mind painful memories. He glanced at Chen Caixing gloomily and viciously.

“I don’t know.”

Chen Caixing wanted to recite poetry again. There were minors present so he held back his profanities. Unexpectedly, the poems awaited. This broken game. It was said to be an intermediate-low level. Wang Xingping, those three, are idiots!

“Ok, thank you.” Chen Caixing took advantage of when those three opposite him were in a daze, to calmly put away the knife wrapped in a newspaper.

Jin Hai’s sight was on Chen Caixing’s pocket containing the knife. Chen Caixing noticed it and ridiculed, “If I give it to you, do you know how to use it?”

Jin Hai: ……He really doesn’t know how to use it.

After checking with the NPC, Chen Caixing had an appetite and ate his lunch relaxed and slowly. House left the kitchen. He should have gone to the backyard. Wang Xingping, those three, didn’t have an appetite. Wang Xiaoxiao had a bellyful of questions but now was not the right time to say it. But when she shot a glance at those three hoaxers opposite her, her heart felt refreshed.

In the beginning, Jin Hai, this rascal disliked women for being useless. I’m useless your ass, trash that’s strong in appearance but weak in reality.

After eating lunch, Chen Caixing, the three of them went upstairs.

“Chen Caixing, let’s cooperate.” Wang Xingping stopped him.

“What can you present if we cooperate?”

Wang Xingping smiled, “Little brother, this game is very dangerous, don’t be a bigshot,1 we naturally have our own way——”

“We don’t have time to listen to you going around in circles. Make it clear. Who is looking for who now.” Chen Caixing had an expression of it’s up to you whether you want to speak or not.

Wang Xingping’s smile distorted. He stopped Jin Hai and said, “I have a lifesaving prop, it can withstand an attack from a ghost once.”

“Are you so generous?” Chen Caixing thought about it.

“I can give you a prop, a talisman.” Wang Xingping took out a yellow triangle talisman from his pocket.

Chen Caixing didn’t touch the talisman paper and said, “Go break a wax figure, let me see if it’s genuine.”

“Don’t be so outrageous!” Wang Xinggping gritted his teeth, “Do you know how much this talisman costs?”

Monkey and Jin Hai cursed. Chen Caixing remained unmoved. Wang Xingping really walked to the wax figures on the first floor in the end. He drew a breath as he held the talisman. Fear was present in his eyes too. Chen Caixing looked at him coldly by the side. Wang Xiaoxiao wanted to say something but hesitated, she wanted to persuade Chen Caixing to not take it so far but after waiting for three or four minutes, Wang Xingping didn’t move.

The living room was in silence. Wang Xiaoxiao also realised Wang Xingping told one lie after another.

“Well, tell me how we’ll cooperate.” Wang Xingping put away the talisman. His lie was seen through but his face did not turn red in shame.

Chen Caixing shook his head, his eyes were cold, “I don’t trust you, each to your own.”

After so much of a delay, there was no need to go upstairs anymore. Chen Caixing thought of the trembling barrel in the basement. He had an inkling that John will knock on their door today. This was a good opportunity. John didn’t come out last night but let his ‘wax puppets’ come out to bewitch them.

He didn’t know the limits of John’s abilities nor did he know the conditions for John to come out of the basement. He could only wait. If by any chance, they missed the chance when John left the basement after midnight, they had no time to waste.

“Go to the backyard.”

Chen Caixing led people to the backyard decisively. Mr. House was standing under the tree. The weather was awfully bad, the dark fog was heavy. The withered grass and the temperature clearly indicated it was autumn but this tree was lush and flourishing.

On the tree branch, Lin Qianqian’s face was gentle, wearing a smile, as if she was very happy.

It was her who walked towards the tree alone, the branches hung her up like a type of sacrifice.

He stopped a distance from the branches of the tree. Chen Caixing knew Wang Xingping, those three, were secretly monitoring them from nearby but time was too tight and couldn’t care about anything else. He looked at the sky, it could be seen with the naked eye that the fog thickened. He must make haste.

“Xiao Jiu, you take the items, Don’t be afraid.” Chen Caixing handed the black human skin to Yuan Jiuwan and said to Wang Xiaoxiao, “If we want to go back, we have to kill John to resolve Joanna’s grievances.”

This game had two bosses, John who was dedicated to making wax figures and Joanna who was nourished by House with flesh. If they don’t kill John, half of them would die in John’s hands and be made into wax figures and the other half would be hung on the walnut tree to become ‘fertiliser’.

It’s best to take advantage of when the two bosses were weak and in equilibrium to act on them.

“Don’t get close to the tree, go further away.” Chen Caixing was a bit confident in his heart, especially when House said that John even killed Joanna’s child. As a mother with undying grievances and incapable of vengeance, so long as the players take revenge on behalf of her and her child, the game should end, right?

The branches swayed and the hanging corpses blew by the wind, making a rustling sound.

Wang Xiaoxiao rubbed her arms, her scalp was numbed as she said, “Chen Caixing, something is wrong with this tree, are you really going?”

“The knife should restrain Joanna.” Chen Caixing pulled out the knife after he spoke and unwrapped the newspaper. The blade was stained with bloodstains and was rusty. This time, he couldn’t help but to curse, “Fuck——”