Chapter Six: Vacation Villa 6

The head was placed directly facing the entrance, its eyes wide open, staring at them.

Su Man was a little surprised; when she'd seen it earlier, Zhou Bin's corpse had still been intact.

Her gaze was wary. The blood that had splattered on her when she was killed had vanished, but that monstrous Hu Meili could very well emerge from some corner.

"Su Man, is that you...?" Hu Kan swallowed hard, trembling. "You weren't talking about this method, were you?"

Su Man raised her brows, noticing the glimmer of light shining inside Zhou Bin's skull. Following Hu Kan's words, she nodded, "Why don't you give it a try?"

Hu Kan was dubious, yet had no choice but to believe. His eyes caught a pair of scissors on the washstand. He picked them up and carefully moved closer to Zhou Bin's head.

Su Man cautiously stepped back behind him, her gaze sweeping the surroundings with heightened vigilance. Somehow, a dagger had appeared in her hand, hidden behind her back.

"What should I do?" Hu Kan glanced back instinctively, noticing that Su Man was nearly out of the room. Panic rose within him, his courage almost shattered. "What's wrong? Is there something here?"

He tried to crawl out, his limbs weak and trembling.

Su Man ignored him, her attention fixed on the head that was slowly emerging from the washbasin behind him. At last, she spoke, "Hu Kan, looks like it's your turn next. Take a look behind you—what do you see?"

Hu Kan didn't want to look. No matter what was behind him, he wished he could avoid it. But his head seemed out of his control, mechanically turning to face it.

"Ah!!"

He let out a blood-curdling scream, scrambling backwards on all fours. A blood-soaked head hovered behind him, nearly pressed face-to-face.

"Xin Ling, it's not me! I had nothing to do with it, don't kill me, please don't kill me!"

"Su Man, Su Man, save me! I don't want to die!" he screamed hysterically, gasping for breath, his hands clawing wildly at the air, desperately hoping Su Man would help him.

"Ah!!" Another scream echoed as Hu Kan's arm was hacked off by Hu Meili, who had climbed halfway out of the washbasin. If not for his reflexive dodge, his head would have been severed.

"Help me, Su Man, help me!"

But Su Man would never care for a scapegoat. She crouched, grabbed Hu Kan's collar, and hauled him in front of her as a shield. With her other hand, she plunged the knife into Zhou Bin's mangled mouth. Hu Kan had already tested the head for her; it posed no danger.

Zhou Bin's mouth was hacked into a bloody pulp, and the light intensified—this resurrection card was a tooth!

She was about to wrench the tooth free when a piercing scream erupted.

Hu Meili's body, tilted and half-suspended in the air from the washbasin, had somehow driven her fingers deep into Hu Kan's abdomen, forcefully piercing him through. The fingertips were less than two centimeters from Su Man's scalp.

Thick, crimson blood flowed down Su Man's head. Her hand shook as she shoved Hu Kan away.

Danger triggered her latent strength. That tooth, though tough, was torn out by her sheer force.

It all happened in a flash, barely two seconds. Sensing Hu Meili abandon Hu Kan and rush at her with a crazed, snarling face, Su Man grabbed Zhou Bin's ruined head and swung it at the creature.

But the blood underfoot turned the smooth floor into a trap; she slipped and crashed heavily to the ground, missing her chance to escape.

It was over!

Her heart lurched.

But the scene she expected—her own beheading by Hu Meili—did not occur.

Hu Meili, upon seeing Zhou Bin's battered head, seemed to witness something terrifying. "It's not him, it's not him! This isn't him!!"

She flung the head away in panic, as if deranged, and crashed into the mirror, vanishing inside.

Whatever the reason, the fact remained: she was saved.

Su Man exhaled in relief, ignoring the pain in her body as she scrambled to her feet.

The commotion was surely heard downstairs; people would be coming up soon. She had to deal with the mess quickly.

"Su Man, save me, I don't want to die."

Against all odds, Hu Kan still clung to life, his face ghastly pale as he reached out to her. "I don't blame you for luring me here, Su Man. Don't you want to know who made that mysterious phone call? There must be emergency medicine in this villa. Save me and I'll tell you everything, everything I know."

Hu Kan wasn't a fool. Su Man's sudden change in attitude made things clear: she brought him here to die.

"Hu Kan," Su Man picked up the fallen knife, her tone gentle yet eerie, "it's your turn now. Why don't you understand?"

This was no time for internal strife—she couldn't let the others realize she’d tricked Hu Kan into coming here to die. If they grew wary of her, how would she continue to play?

"Besides, what I already know can’t be used as a bargaining chip."

Hu Kan was utterly terrified. The woman approaching him with the knife was like a demon from the depths of hell. He clutched his wounded abdomen, retreating again and again until there was nowhere left to go. His mind collapsed. "You know everything? How is that possible?!"

"Yes, I know it all. That pitiable woman, Xin Ling—you called her name in your panic just now. You looked so pathetic then."

"How could you possibly know..." Hu Kan had countless questions, but he never got the chance to ask. His gaze faded as Su Man's knife severed his last hope of life.

When Aya and the others rushed upstairs, they found Su Man and Hu Kan lying in pools of blood.

Nearby, Zhou Bin's mangled head lay on the floor.

The shock was so great, none of them could utter a sound.

After a long moment, Aya was the first to find her voice, rushing to Hu Kan's side. Her trembling fingers checked his breath, and she collapsed weakly to the floor.

"Hu Kan is dead," she murmured in a daze.

"Su Man isn't dead—she's still alive!" The others checked Su Man's breath and relaxed slightly. Since she was alive, she could tell them what had happened.

"I..." Su Man opened her eyes at just the right moment, but before she could speak, Aya yanked her over.

"Why is Hu Kan dead? Tell me! Why did Hu Kan die?!"

Su Man: "..."

She slapped Aya hard. "Aya, get a hold of yourself!"

Aya was stunned. "You dare hit me?"

But no one cared for threats now, because Zhou Bin’s puzzled voice suddenly interjected, "What is that head? How does it look so much like mine?"

The already terrifying atmosphere became even more horrifying.

Everyone remembered that Zhou Bin had come up here as well. They could hardly imagine how he’d react upon seeing his own head.

But there was no need to imagine. Zhou Bin gave them the answer himself.

The previously reasonable Zhou Bin suddenly turned ferocious, like a raging beast. He spotted someone nearby and tore their head off in one swift motion.