r18novel Chapter 240, 4th Hall, 5
Chapter 240, 4th Hall, 5
The night seemed to have its last breath cut off.
The glow of the kerosene lamp grew dimmer and dimmer, and a layer of charcoal formed on the wick, casting distorted shadows in the room.
Everyone simply splashed their faces with cold water, the water droplets dripping down their chins onto the dusty ground without making a ripple.
Song Guicheng bent down slightly, scooped up a handful of water with both hands, and splashed it on his face. The coolness instantly spread across his skin. He raised his hand to wipe his face, bringing up a few water droplets. The water droplets rolled down his high, straight nose, slid over the tip of his nose, fell to the corner of his lips, and then meandered down his jawline, leaving a faint water mark on his neck.
He didn't straighten up immediately, but kept his eyes downcast, with fine, dense water droplets hanging on his eyelashes, like butterfly wings covered in morning dew.
Shi Sui crossed his arms and laughed: "On your way back, how about you consider selling yourself? Do you think ghosts will fall for your charm?"
Song Guicheng straightened up, casually wiped his face, a few strands of his white hair were wet and stuck to his neck, revealing a small patch of fair skin, which, against the backdrop of the water droplets, had a clean and beautiful quality.
“Ghosts might prefer your type.” He spoke softly, his voice slightly hoarse from the moisture in his breath. He raised his hand to brush the white hair from his forehead, revealing a smooth forehead and handsome features. His expression was unassuming, yet captivating.
Shi Sui clicked his tongue: "Of course, I'm also a handsome man on the list."
Song Guicheng didn't reply, but instead fetched another basin of water for Shi Sui: "Alright, stop joking, hurry up and wash up."
There was no proper bedroom in the room, only a large communal bed that took up most of the space, so men and women had to sleep together. But at this point in time, the separation between men and women was no longer an issue.
The bed, made of spliced wooden planks, was pitted and uneven, covered with a thin layer of straw, and smelled damp and musty.
People who had finished washing up crowded into the bedroom, like sardines in a can.
"Let's squeeze in, it's better than being out in the wind." Zhou Fang patted the edge of the bed, took off her white coat and put it under her. She had been working all afternoon, and there were still a few unidentified stains on her white coat.
Lin Caiwen added the last bit of lamp oil to the lamp and looked up at everyone: "It's not safe at night, so two people need to stay and keep watch. Watch out for any noise outside, and... don't let anything sneak in."
She spoke the last half of the sentence very softly, yet it seemed to lower the temperature in the room by several degrees.
As soon as he finished speaking, Song Guicheng spoke up, his voice as calm as still water: "Then I'll take the first shift."
No one objected.
Keeping watch at night is so dangerous that not everyone is willing to risk their lives. Moreover, everyone felt that Song Guicheng was a reliable person with keen observation skills.
Chen Wenyu subconsciously wanted to raise his hand and say, "I'll go with Brother Guicheng," but Zhao Xiaoyun nudged him with her elbow, and Chen Wenyu's words got stuck in his throat, almost forgetting what he was going to say.
“I’m paired with Guicheng,” Shi Sui said lazily, leaning against the doorframe. “I’m good at keeping watch, so we can team up and chat.”
"No."
A cold, hard voice suddenly rang out, and everyone turned to look. It was Zhang Haoqing.
He had just finished washing up and came in, staring at Shi Sui with a gloomy face and undisguised hostility in his eyes: "You two are in cahoots. Who knows if you're conspiring together? Are you deliberately hiding anything you've discovered from everyone?"
Shi Sui raised an eyebrow, as if he had heard something interesting: "Oh? What business is it of yours who I'm on?" He looked Zhang Haoqing up and down, a playful smile playing on his lips. "Brother, do we know each other?"
Zhang Haoqing's face flushed instantly, as if a sore spot had been hit, and his tone became even more aggressive: "Stop pretending! Who knows what you're up to! Night watch must be done separately, with strangers paired up, to avoid any underhanded tactics!"
Shi Sui rolled her eyes and ignored him, turning to look at Song Guicheng and muttering, "Who the hell is this lunatic?"
Song Guicheng shook his head. Shi Sui himself had forgotten, so naturally he wouldn't recognize her either.
However, judging from what he knew of Shi Sui, although he seemed carefree, he actually held grudges very much. If they had really crossed paths, he wouldn't be acting like he "had no recollection." It was probably some random passerby he had casually tricked, long forgotten.
Lin Caiwen spoke up at the right moment to smooth things over: "Zhang Haoqing is right. We should indeed separate those on night watch to prevent anyone from making dirty tricks and harming everyone."
She looked at Song Guicheng, her eyes filled with a hint of hidden consideration: "Song Guicheng, why don't you partner with Brother Sun?"
Song Guicheng's gaze swept over everyone. Chen Wenyu looked expectant, yet also a little timid and nervous. Zhao Xiaoyun leaned against the wall, her expression indifferent, as if she had no interest in keeping watch. Sun Zhida sat on the edge of the bed, arms crossed, clearly ready to get up at any moment.
Tonight he had planned to team up with Shi Sui, so Shi Sui could hold him off for a while while he explored the ancestral hall. There must be something inside. It wasn't that he wanted to monopolize the clues, but the photos he'd seen today, the cracked patterns on the gate tower…
Forget it, there's no rush. We'll wait for the right opportunity.
Song Guicheng nodded: "Okay."
With things settled here, Lin Caiwen looked at Shi Sui and asked, "Shi Sui, what about you?"
Shi Sui yawned and pointed at Chen Wenyu with his finger: "Then let's bring a little one along, so he can practice his courage."
Chen Wenyu suddenly looked up, his eyes wide open: "Me, me?" He subconsciously looked at Song Guicheng, and seeing the other nod, he forced himself to agree, "Okay."
The group split into teams again, and after making arrangements, they found places to lie down.
Nine people were crammed into the large communal bed. The sounds of breathing, the creaking of the wooden planks as people turned over, and the faint sound of the wind coming from the alleyway were particularly clear in the quiet night.
Song Guicheng and Sun Zhida moved small stools and sat at the door. The light of the kerosene lamp was locked inside the house, and only the pale moonlight shone through the clouds, casting a faint silver glow that turned the houses on both sides of the alley into silent shadows.
On the bed, Shi Sui nudged Chen Wenyu beside her with her elbow and chuckled in a low voice, "Are you scared?"
Chen Wenyu shrank his neck and said softly, "Yes, a little..." He paused, then asked, "Brother Shi Sui, you really don't know that Zhang Haoqing?"
Shi Sui raised an eyebrow: "What do you think? There are so many people who know me that they can't even fit in two alleys. How could I possibly remember them all?" He licked his lips, his eyes shining in the darkness. "But the more he jumps around, the more interesting this instance seems to me. There must be a lot hidden inside."
……
The night grew deeper and deeper, like an ink bottle being slowly tightened, the thick black ink seeping in little by little from the opening, overflowing the window frames, the halo of the kerosene lamp barely illuminating a small patch of the floor in the main room.
As Song Guicheng listened to the breathing on the communal bed gradually becoming even, Chen Wenyu turned over, mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, and then fell into a deep sleep again.
He and Sun Zhida sat on small stools, each holding their own weapon.
In Song Guicheng's hand was the dagger that Jiang Chi had given him before. He originally thought that the dagger was only good at cutting iron like mud. He used it once in the Mingde dungeon, but he didn't expect it could also cut through low-level evil spirits.
Sun Zhida sat upright, his gaze occasionally sweeping across the tightly closed wooden door, his ears twitching as he listened to the sounds outside. He stroked a sharpened iron rod, which gleamed coldly even in the warm light, looking as if it could easily pierce a person's throat.
“This place is very eerie,” Sun Zhida spoke first, his voice low. “I didn’t mention it when we were inside, but there are scratches on the back door of the warehouse, and there’s bloodstains at the base of the wall. They’re not fresh; it looks like someone deliberately swept them.”
Song Guicheng grunted in agreement: "Didn't Liu Qinggen and Zhou Fang see it?"
Sun Zhida frowned, a flash of disgust crossing his eyes, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "That couple looked honest, but they're actually old foxes. They spent the whole afternoon whispering about something and didn't do much work. Chen Mo and I ran around all afternoon and we're exhausted."
Song Guicheng frowned as well. This kind of person is like a parasite in a team. They don't contribute their strength, but expect to share the results. Moreover, they are cunning and love to sabotage others.
“It’s alright,” Song Guicheng said. “Just keep an eye on things.”
Sun Zhida's Adam's apple bobbed, and he nodded without saying anything more. He took out a compressed biscuit from his bag, broke it in half and handed it to Song Guicheng, while he slowly chewed the other half, crumbs falling onto his clothes.
Song Guicheng took the biscuit but didn't eat it immediately. His gaze calmly fell on the wooden door, as if trying to see through the thin wooden board and into the thick, impenetrable night outside.
He could vaguely hear a very light sound, like chains dragging on the ground, and the wind rustling through the roadside weeds, making a soft, whispering sound like someone tiptoeing past.
Song Guicheng glanced at his watch: "The curfew is at ten o'clock, and it's almost eleven now."
Sun Zhida swallowed the biscuit, his voice still low: "The instance has just opened, and we don't have any useful clues. At times like this, we still have to heed the instance's warnings. I just don't know if Jia Weimin's rules are true or false, or what his purpose is."
A sliver of nightlight seeped through the crack in the door, thick and almost alive. Song Guicheng unconsciously stroked the hilt of his knife. He could clearly hear the howling of the wind through the narrow alleyway outside, and the distant sound of a window frame creaking in the wind.
He said softly, "Whatever Jia Weimin's motives, the noise in this alley at night is indeed... not quite right."
Sun Zhida could only feel a deathly silence. He frowned slightly and followed Song Guicheng's gaze: "What did you hear?"
“It’s hard to say,” Song Guicheng shook his head, his tone cautious. “It sounded like footsteps, or like something being dragged, intermittent, deep in the alley.” He paused, then added, “It didn’t sound like a living person walking.”
Sun Zhida unconsciously gripped the iron rod tightly, his knuckles turning white.
He didn't ask for details. Anyone who has been in the Soul Tracing World knows that the words "something's not right" often hide the most dangerous signals.
“Then we’ll stay inside,” he decided, his voice crisp. “The door is bolted shut, and the windows are boarded up. As long as we don’t go out, we can at least ensure the safety of the house for the time being.”
Song Guicheng nodded in agreement. He glanced at the large dormitory. Even though it was so dark, his vision was not greatly limited. Lin Caiwen was sleeping lightly, her brows slightly furrowed; Su Xiao was curled up, clutching an old cloth bag tightly in her arms, probably carrying something she cherished; Zhao Xiaoyun had her back to everyone, her wine-red curly hair resembling a dormant flame in the dim light, it was unclear whether she was awake or asleep.
Sun Zhida changed his posture, leaning his back against the cold wall and closing his eyes to rest, but he never let his guard down.
Song Guicheng rubbed his fingertips on the cold dagger a few more times, the coolness seeping through his skin clearing his chaotic thoughts somewhat.
His gaze passed through the crack in the wooden door, landing in the darkness deep within the alley. The wind outside swirled a few withered leaves against the wooden door, making a soft, rustling sound.
The patterns on the ancestral hall entrance in Chen Mo's photo at dusk looked very similar to those on the Wuzhi altar. Although they were badly mottled and broken, he could still tell them apart at a glance.
Song Guicheng's Adam's apple bobbed slightly. After Wu Zhi fell into a deep sleep, he stepped over divine breath, risked his life by falling from a building, conquered dungeons, and even ended that lingering delusion.
That ancestral hall might hold the clues he's looking for in this copy.
However… Song Guicheng glanced at Sun Zhida, who was resting with his eyes closed beside him. Sun Zhida’s breathing was steady, but his hand never left the iron rod, and his earlobes twitched slightly, clearly keeping a high level of vigilance to the surrounding movements.
Such a person is meticulous and follows the rules. If you knew he wanted to go to the ancestral hall alone during curfew, you would never agree to it.
But going on a cursory inspection with these people tomorrow wouldn't be of any use; he had to explore the ancestral hall inch by inch by himself.
Moreover, this matter shouldn't be known to too many people in the first place. Searching for Wu Zhi's whereabouts was his deepest obsession hidden beneath his gentle exterior, like a vine entwining his heart, something that couldn't be exposed to the light and wouldn't tolerate any outside interference.
Collective action would be too conspicuous; the Redemption Team might think he was "neglecting his duties" or even question his allegiance. The Extinction Team's mission was to kill residents, but at this moment, his mind was entirely focused on that lonely shrine.
If he were to keep watch with Shi Sui, it would probably be much easier. Shi Sui may seem carefree, but he is actually quite shrewd and perceptive. They can work together seamlessly without much explanation. He only needs to say, "Keep an eye on things for me for a while," and Shi Sui will usually wave his hand dismissively, muttering "troublemaker" under his breath, but he will keep a tight watch on the house, allowing him to sneak into the ancestral hall to investigate.
But now, Sun Zhida is by my side.
Song Guicheng let out a soft sigh, suppressing his impulse.
There is no rush.
He knew all too well what waiting felt like. From the day Wu Zhi fell into a deep sleep, he had been waiting—waiting to find him, waiting to awaken him, waiting for his god to return to his altar.
The instance has only just begun; the ancestral hall won't disappear, and the clues won't vanish into thin air.
Sun Zhida seemed to notice his movement, opened his eyes and looked over, his eyes questioning.
Song Guicheng nodded slightly, revealing a gentle smile, his voice still very low: "It's nothing, it's just a bit windy."
Sun Zhida nodded and closed his eyes again.
Silence returned to the room. Song Guicheng stared at the darkness peeking through the crack in the door. The thought of going to the ancestral hall hadn't faded, but he carefully put it away, like hiding a fragile treasure.
hold on.
He's waiting for the right opportunity, waiting for a gap when no one is paying attention. He has plenty of patience and plenty of ways to go; he'll go eventually.