Chapter 78: The Haunted House (11)

There was no need for Jinghua and the others to go down and open the door; the front door downstairs had already been forcibly broken open. Two men burst in, one after the other, the sound of their leather shoes striking the floor especially distinct.

Su Man calmly observed everyone's expressions in the room, noticing that they remained indifferent, utterly unconcerned. But upon reflection, it made sense—over the years, perhaps many self-assured adventurers had barged in here in just this manner. They must be used to it by now.

Su Man guessed that these two men were probably the companions who hadn’t arrived yesterday.

Thinking back carefully, she recalled that the remaining two were supposed to be an astronomer and a live streamer. That didn’t seem right; the footsteps of these two were powerful, almost like trained fighters.

Su Man stepped out of the room and glanced downstairs. The two men weren’t especially large, but they looked lean and fit. One of them was holding something that resembled a compass.

The two men looked up and happened to meet Su Man’s gaze. For a moment, as their six eyes met, time seemed to freeze. Then, as if they’d spotted a thief, the two exchanged wary glances and began to ascend the stairs cautiously.

They finally reached the second floor, immediately assuming a defensive posture, but hadn’t expected the tiny upstairs corridor to be so crowded with people.

The two exchanged an awkward look and silently put away their tools. The older-looking man spoke politely, “Sorry for the intrusion.”

There wasn’t much else he could say. After all, they’d forced their way into someone’s home and had been caught red-handed—what was there to justify?

But as his gaze swept over Jinghua and the others, his expression shifted suddenly.

Looking again at Su Man and Chen Meng, he asked in a grave tone, “Do you know Hu Chai? Is Hu Chai here?”

No one answered him.

After a moment’s thought, Su Man suddenly asked, “Are you... Hu Chai’s adoptive father?”

The man’s face registered shock, as if he couldn’t fathom how Su Man had guessed.

Just from his expression, Su Man knew she was right. She mimed the gesture of a gun. “When you came upstairs just now, you instinctively made this motion. Hu Chai once said his adoptive father was a police officer.”

Now that she knew his identity, Su Man kindly pointed to the room. She didn’t need to say anything more—the man caught the metallic tang of blood in the air and, seeing the crowd gathered, a sense of dread overtook him. He dashed into the room.

When he saw Hu Chai’s wretched state inside, his legs gave way and he collapsed to his knees, wailing in grief. “I told you not to come here, didn’t I? My child, why didn’t you listen to me? Why did you have to come here? My child, why...”

Aside from the father’s anguished cries, the room was utterly silent.

Lady Jinghua acted as if she hadn’t seen any of this. She turned and invited the man who’d accompanied Hu Chai’s adoptive father, “All guests are welcome. I’ve just finished cooking, so please join us for a meal in a bit.” She included Su Man and Chen Meng in this invitation.

Su Man had nothing else to do and didn’t want to linger to witness such sorrow, so she followed Jinghua and the others downstairs to prepare for the meal.

Chen Meng was still flustered and hesitated for a moment before deciding to follow Su Man down. But before she’d taken two steps, the man who came later called out to her, “Excuse me, could you wait a moment?”

When Su Man went downstairs, she was surprised to find someone already seated at the dining table.

He stood up shyly, a slice of bread in his mouth, watching their group nervously. In a small voice, he greeted, “Mom, Dad, Grandma...”

Su Man’s eyes flickered and she instinctively glanced at Jinghua. She saw a flash of surprise on Jinghua’s otherwise mechanical face, though it was quickly masked again.

Grandma, however, was overjoyed and rushed forward to embrace him. “Xiao Ji, oh my dear Xiao Ji, my precious boy!”

“Oh, oh, I thought... ptui, ptui, nothing at all. My Xiao Ji is just fine.” Grandma kept murmuring, “It must be because I’ve accumulated virtue...”

Su Man noticed that, after hearing these words, Jinghua let out a pointed snort and sat down at the table with a trace of resentment. Grandma, as if her throat had caught a chicken feather, coughed a couple of times, then fell silent and lowered her head to eat her bread in silence.

This time, Aiji did not sit in his original spot, but instead sat beside Su Man, quietly munching on his bread. He never spoke at the table unless spoken to.

Su Man noticed that Jinghua glanced in her direction, but then looked away, saying nothing. Su Man had no idea what that look meant.

There weren’t many slices of bread on the table, and with the people upstairs not yet down, Su Man had no intention of saving food for them—she ate until she was full.

During the day, Jinghua’s whole family seemed lethargic, even Aiji. After eating, they all wanted to return to their rooms and rest.

Su Man didn’t follow. She couldn’t afford to be as idle.

There were still no clear clues as to whose obsession field this was. She also needed to obtain the resurrection card as soon as possible. And then there were the people upstairs—she needed to communicate with them, too. In short, there was much to be done.

She first checked the livestream. She hadn’t paid much attention to it lately and thought there would be some forced offline warning by now. Unexpectedly, the stream was alive and well, with not even a single alert.

In fact, there were already quite a few people in the room.

Upon closer inspection, she discovered that someone in the stream had spent money to buy her a prop package, giving her a slight upgrade.

She also learned that the prop package was supposed to be purchased by her, but as a novice, she hadn’t known how. That’s why the resourceful viewers had stepped in.

Su Man immediately understood—another layer of connection she hadn’t realized.

She also noticed a few lines flashing quickly by in the barrage:

“So this scary zone is actually interesting? I thought it was all about fighting and bloodshed.”

“Isn’t this the intrigue zone? First time seeing it, quite fun.”

“Watch more streams and you’ll learn a lot about the outside world.”

Su Man pondered. Did this mean they were also from the horror world? She’d heard the light screen say there were means of transport here, that people could travel freely, but was that really true?

And if they were all real people, didn’t that mean they might know a lot? For example, about the Fated Ones.

Zhou Yan was being hunted by the Fated Ones—what were those things?

She asked this question, but no one in the stream seemed to know what the Fated Ones were; the responses were unanimous: “no idea.”

Su Man wasn’t disappointed. She’d just been taking a chance.

Just then, Chen Meng and the others came downstairs, so she shifted her attention away from the livestream, missing a different answer that flashed by in the barrage:

“The Fated Ones—born kings, destined slayers.”

“Miss Su, I’ve heard everything from Miss Chen about your situation. My son’s death... I am determined to find the culprit. I’d like to ask for your help. I will be sure to reward you generously in the future.”