Chapter Ninety-Four: Haunted House 27

"Surely you don't think I'd come to a place this dangerous for a bit of money?" Qing Nian looked like a beaten dog. "I'm guilty."

But guilty of what, he didn't say, and Su Man didn't ask. After all, when someone doesn't want to say something, whatever you drag out of them isn't necessarily the truth.

Su Man had already confirmed that Qian Ji had also created an obsession domain. But why was his mother in here? Could it be that Ai Ji, Jing Hua, and the others were all going to show up too? This was simply endless.

However, the anticipated appearances of Ai Ji and Jing Hua never came. The only one who kept showing up outside was Qian Ji's mother. She entered the room several times, each time asking who they were as if stricken with amnesia, and her reaction to their answer that they were classmates differed every single time.

If the first time had been gentle, then the second time she'd turned noticeably displeased. By the third time she came in, her emotions were far more agitated, and she looked haggard to boot—just one step short of telling them to get the hell out.

Su Man was truly exhausted by these mood-swinging horrors. This was pure psychological assault.

She mulled over the idea of finding a permanent solution to deal with Qian Ji. After all, he wasn't the final boss, not worth wasting so much time on.

Qing Nian, noticing her grim expression, uncharacteristically offered a few words of explanation for Qian Ji's mother. "She's actually a pitiful soul too." He had already recognized that Qian Ji's mother's condition matched the various changing states he'd witnessed back in those days.

"At first, when Qian Ji's mother didn't know that Qian Ji's father had a first wife, that was how gentle she was. Back then, she was good to Qian Ji and good to us neighbor kids too. But later..." After she'd learned about Qian Ji's father's affairs, she stopped smiling. She spent her days beating and scolding Qian Ji to vent her anger, and afterward she grew so haggard she hardly looked human. It wasn't long before she passed away.

Qing Nian couldn't help sighing as he spoke. Qian Ji's mother had truly been a wonderful auntie. Such a pity.

"Qian Ji wasn't originally a bad kid either..." As he said this, something seemed to cross his mind, and he let out a heavy sigh, merely repeating, "I'm guilty."

Hearing Qing Nian's words, a spark of inspiration flashed through Su Man's mind. "You said how was Qian Ji's relationship with his mother?"

"Very good." Qing Nian answered without hesitation, but then furrowed his brow. "Though back then, he was always saying his mother didn't love him."

Su Man nodded, rose, and opened the door. Watching Qian Ji's mother busying herself to and fro, she felt even more certain of something in her heart.

"Su Man, look, what is that thing?"

Rong Rong had crept up beside her at some point. Peering through the crack of the door, she whispered in a trembling voice.

Su Man followed the direction she pointed and discovered, in the corner behind Qian Ji's mother's busy figure, a small black silhouette squatting there with an indistinguishable face, its whole body pitch-black—like a crude sketch, the entire figure cobbled together from haphazard, messy lines.

"Is that Qian Ji?" Su Man felt this domain was so chaotic it gave her a headache. With so many overlapping domains, if an overlapping figure appeared, you couldn't even tell whose obsession had manifested it.

"Probably not." Qing Nian's eerie, ghostly voice came drifting from behind her like a specter, and the hairs on the back of Su Man's neck stood on end.

She shot him a glare. "Speak normally. Do that again and I won't hesitate to throw you out, so you can become a paper-cutout in someone's obsession too!"

Qing Nian gave an apologetic, placating smile. "I was just going to say... that figure looks like a little girl."

"Could it be that Ai Ji?" Rong Rong chimed in quietly, her voice so faint it was barely audible, as if afraid of being overheard. "Maybe in Qian Ji's heart, Ai Ji looks like that."

And just then, the black-line figure they were discussing suddenly turned its head. On its hollow face, the lines twisted, curving into an extremely terrifying grin.

It had no focused pupils, yet Su Man was certain it was looking at them.

Rong Rong felt her throat tighten. "It's spotted us!"

Su Man clenched her dagger tightly but made no move.

Then, the next second, a black mass of gas suddenly appeared beside the black-line figure. It pounced on the figure like a savage beast, tearing and gnawing at the black lines. Before long, it had ripped a hole straight through the black-line figure.

The black-line figure let out an unbearably grating wail of cries. It stretched its arm, thin as a thread and seemingly one snap away from breaking, toward Su Man and the others, as if begging for help.

Qing Nian shrank back at the very rear, only his eyes peeking out as he whispered, "Is it asking us to save it? What is that black gas?"

Su Man said nothing, only furrowing her brow deeper. This scene looked familiar.

Then, before she could decide whether to intervene, a dog's bark rang out, and Precious Princess valiantly charged at the black mass, sinking her teeth into it. The black mass engulfed Precious Princess as well, biting and tearing at her.

Su Man stared for two seconds, then decisively ran over to help.

"Hey, Su Man, what are you doing?"

"You... I... argh!"

The two behind her didn't know whether to follow or stay put. In their hesitation, Su Man had already teamed up with Precious Princess, cutting through the knot with swift resolution and finishing the fight. The black mass was defeated and slunk away, vanishing without a trace.

Precious Princess was full of fighting spirit and, this time, hadn't suffered any harm. She just nuzzled her nose against the black-line figure, which looked like a ragged, tattered rag.

The figure clumsily picked itself up, like a child just learning to speak, babbling as it gathered Precious Princess into its arms. Though its face of interwoven black lines bore no drawn expression, Su Man could feel its joy radiating.

Precious Princess lolled out her tongue and squinted her big eyes in contentment, looking for all the world like she was smiling.

Then, the black-line figure and Precious Princess vanished together before her eyes.

Behind her, Rong Rong and Qing Nian—who had finally mustered the courage to follow—watched the scene with wide, bulging eyes.

"What exactly was that black line thing?" Just looking at the black-line figure was enough to give them nightmares afterward.

Su Man narrowed her eyes and slowly uttered two words: "Ai Ji."

Her mind involuntarily returned to what Qian Ji had told her earlier—that someone in this western-style mansion wanted to harm Ai Ji.

"Su... Su... Su Man." Rong Rong's voice suddenly turned terrified as she called out.

Su Man looked over and saw her clamping both hands over her mouth, pointing desperately behind Su Man.

"Behind you... there's someone."

Behind her, Qian Ji's mother stood in her apron, clutching a cleaver, her gaze fixed and hollow as she spoke in a gentle voice, "Little classmate, would you like something to eat?"

Without waiting for Su Man's answer, the cleaver in her hand had already begun swinging in a frenzy.

"Dong—dong—" The large grandfather clock in the living room chose that moment to chime. The western-style mansion, which had been perfectly normal moments before, erupted in flames once more.