Nightmare Assault

The room was small. Qin Jian looked around, his body chilled. There was no painting. Where was the painting? Could they have hidden the painting? Qin Jian analysed everything in his mind. No. The painting looks strange and suspicious. No one would dare to look too long at it, much less move it. So… Qin Jian’s heart skipped a beat. The painting… had disappeared!

It disappeared after Chen Xiaomeng came to find him! Or else why wouldn’t she let him into the room the second time? She was worried that he’d realise the painting had disappeared. Everything made sense then. This was a trap.

They used some kind of method to transfer the ghost’s attention to him. This was bad… But the things that they said…

Qin Jian’s ears twitched. Footsteps came from outside the door. In his hurry, he noticed the window was open for a small gap. He pushed it open and leapt out.

Fatty, who pushed open the door, sighed in relief. Then, he said, “Boss, there’s no one here.”

“Even so, we can’t let our guard down.” Jiang Cheng strode into the room and sat on the chair. “Qin Jian, that old fox, is not so easily fooled.

“What about Ol Six?”

“Don’t worry, Boss.” Fatty grinned wickedly, “Brother Six said that everything is done. However, that poem might enlighten the old man, and Brother Six is worried that…”

“That can’t be helped.” Jiang Cheng took a sip of the water. Then, he slammed the cup heavily on the table. It caused Qin Jian, who was eavesdropping, to shiver. “There is no dead-end in the mission. Even if we have transferred the risk to the old man, based on the rules, he will have a chance to survive.” Jiang Cheng narrowed his eyes, “It’ll depend on him to see if he can grab it.”

“Ol Seven, contact the others. We’ll make a move tonight. Try our best to distract that old man.” Jiang Cheng held the cup with one hand. “See if the old man’s death can bring up new information tonight.”

“Boss is clever as per usual.”

…

When everyone gathered for dinner that night, Qin Jian’s head was still buzzing. It was not only because he hadn’t figured out that poem but also because of the conversation between Hao Shuai and Fatty.

Boss… that was how the Fatty referred to Hao Shuai. Then, Hao Shuai called him Ol Seven. And there was a Brother Six…

The scary thing was after they mentioned Ol Six, Hao Shuai said that they needed to inform the others… So… How many of them were there?

The more he thought about it, the more scared he became. He understood why Hao Shuai was always so calm. He had a lot of people to support him.

He looked around the table. Everyone looked like they were Hao Shuai’s brothers. No one could be trusted.

“Elder Qin,” An Xuan suddenly asked, “Why haven’t you eaten anything?”

Qin Jian was startled. When he recovered, he quickly tried to say naturally, “I’m not that hungry.” An Xuan was highly suspicious. He was probably working with Hao Shuai. Qin Jian was wary. Why would he ask such a simple question? It didn’t match his normal personality.

Shi Liaozhi was suspicious. He was the only one at the table who hadn’t glanced his way. Was it because he was afraid that he might see through him? He wondered which rank Shi Liaozhi was.

I cannot trust anyone… I can only trust that poem… Those few stanzas! Qin Jian picked up his bowl and shovelled the food into his mouth.

Xia Meng picked up a pickled cucumber. She slowly chewed on it as she stared at Qin Jian from the corner of her eyes. This man was not dumb. He merely encountered someone who was more clever than him. ℞ᴀɴ∅฿ЁＳ

“Dear Dafus,” The middle-aged woman waiting outside the pavilion said emotionlessly, “Evening is coming. Please go back to your rooms to rest after dinner. “We don’t want you to be tired tonight and ruin the Young Master’s mood.”

You Qi looked at the woman. He opened his mouth but didn’t make any sound. He was probably thinking about how to start the conversation. As the woman turned to him, he forced himself to say, “What… is the plan tonight?” He added, “Why a boat ride?” Holding the middle-aged woman’s gaze was horrifying. He only stared at her for a while before quickly looking away.

“It’s to help choose a bride.” Everyone was startled when they heard the answer. A few seconds later, the woman suddenly smiled. She narrowed her thin eyes, and her lips were curled up exaggeratedly. It reminded the travellers of the paper doll.

“The Young Master requires Dafus to help him select a bride,” The woman explained in a chilly tone.

Around midnight, the wind blew in from the lake. It cut their bodies like knives. The thin costume was barely any use. However, no one dared to take it off. Tang Shirou’s example told them that this costume might be their skin.

The strange thing was that even if there were winds, the winds did nothing to blow away the mist that had gathered above the lake. The night was moonless.

The mist was like a ball of indelible ink. Just watching it was eerie.

Qin Jian stood in a secluded corner alone. Earlier, Shi Liaozhi was standing behind him but Qin Jian quickly moved away. This caused Shi Liaozhi to frown.

They had a basic understanding of the rules. Based on Chen Qiang, who knew a bit about local customs, this felt like a pre-wedding game. The general idea was that women of similar build would be mixed with the real bride. All of them would be dressed the same. Then, the new groom would be given three cups of wine and be asked to select the real bride.

The only difference in this case was the setting was on top of a lake.

“Is there a punishment if the groom were wrong?” Shi Liaozhi asked softly.

“Not that I know of.”

Everyone sighed in relief.

“It’s just as after the groom made the choice, the chosen bride would remove the groom’s costume. Then, a broom would be used to sweep around the couple before the parents to symbolise chasing away…”

Before he could finish, Fatty’s face paled. Removing the clothes… in this mission… meant removing someone’s skin!

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