Lunch was still very luxurious, but Gu Zhan found it tasteless.
There was too much meat and vegetables; he didn’t like them.
After finishing the meal, the butler came to collect the dishes. Seeing that Gu Zhan had hardly touched his food, he asked, “Are these dishes not to your taste, sir?”
Gu Zhan replied lightly, “It’s nothing, just not feeling well, my appetite is poor.”
The butler smiled and said, “After lunch, you can take a short nap.”
Gu Zhan nodded and watched the butler leave.
He hadn’t planned on sleeping, intending to sit for a while and then go out for a walk.
However, unexpectedly, after finishing his meal, drowsiness overcame him.
The rain outside was still heavy, but the thunder had ceased, leaving only the sound of the fine rain, like a hypnotic white noise. Gu Zhan sat on the chair for a while, but he simply couldn’t keep his eyes open.
Taking advantage of the last bit of wakefulness, he returned to bed, lay down, and drifted into a hazy sleep.
This nap wasn’t very restful. Shortly after he fell asleep, Gu Zhan felt as if he was engulfed in flames—so hot, so burning!
He squirmed, trying to shake off the scorching sensation, but the flames followed him closely. Soon, he smelled the odor of his own flesh burning. His limbs felt restrained, and he was stuffed into a very tight space, unable to move…
His clothes caught fire as well, flames inching closer to his skin, filling his mouth and nose with heat.
What was happening? Wasn’t he supposed to be sleeping in the mansion? Was the mansion on fire?
In a moment of panic, Gu Zhan suddenly opened his eyes, and the burning sensation vanished.
But soon, he felt ice-cold all over!
In the silent room, a strange dripping sound echoed.
“Drip.”
“Drip.”
The sound was slow and deliberate, seeming to come from above. Gu Zhan looked up and suddenly saw a distorted, pale face! A woman’s body pressed against the ceiling, her pale clothes and wet hair hanging down.
The water dripped from the woman’s hair.
Drop by drop, it fell on Gu Zhan’s neck and arms, each drop sending a bone-chilling cold through him.
Noticing that Gu Zhan was staring at her, the woman smiled, revealing a bloody grin. Then, her hair seemed to come alive, swirling and reaching out to Gu Zhan. When the strands touched him, they spread like snakes, creeping up his neck and burrowing into his clothes.
The icy sensation engulfed him instantly, as if he had fallen into an ice cave.
His body felt frozen, unable to move.
Gu Zhan lay on the bed, quietly watching the woman who had suddenly appeared. Although he couldn’t move, his heartbeat remained calm, as if he could watch her so calmly even without being in control of his actions.
The woman suddenly looked annoyed, increasing the speed at which she controlled her hair.
Gu Zhan gradually felt the bindings tighten, and breathing became difficult…
Just then, footsteps suddenly echoed from outside, startling the woman, and the hair that had reached out quickly retracted.
Immediately, the ceiling returned to normal, and in the ornate decorations, a naked child was flying about happily.
The hair was gone, and the soaking wet woman disappeared.
There was a knock at the door, and it wasn’t the butler, but Sang Yue: “Gu Zhan, are you awake? Hurry up and come out.”
“…” Gu Zhan opened his mouth, wanting to make a sound, but his throat felt as if it had malfunctioned.
He knocked over a vase on the nearby table, and the porcelain shattered on the ground.
Hearing the noise, Sang Yue pushed the door open and rushed in. The moment she entered, the cold temperature in the room changed, and the sense of binding around Gu Zhan vanished.
He felt as if he had been pulled out of the water, sitting up in bed and coughing while clutching his neck.
Sang Yue rushed in from outside: “How are you?”
Wang Zhe and Ma Xiaowen followed her, hesitating at the door, unsure whether to enter.
He Hui, on the other side, was even more timid, cautiously peeking into the room.
Gu Zhan’s body was still very stiff. He tried to get up but accidentally rolled off the bed, the silk blanket tangling around his waist, pulling his clothes out of shape. His shirt, already open, was now even more revealing.
Sang Yue had initially intended to help him but paused, feeling a bit embarrassed upon seeing this scene, “Are you alright?”
Gu Zhan shook his head; he was fine now.
Seeing him say he was alright, Sang Yue decided not to approach any closer. Her gaze landed on his generous and exposed chest, and she helplessly said, “Your clothes…”
“A bit too big.” Gu Zhan casually adjusted his collar and asked, “Why are you all here?”
Only then did Sang Yue remember the main point, her expression becoming more serious: “The rain has stopped. We originally planned to go out for a walk, but we found that... we can’t get out.”
“Hmm?” Gu Zhan looked up.
At this moment, the other three finally entered from outside the room.
Their expressions were grim, and they spoke to Gu Zhan, sharing the current situation one after another.
The door of the Black Raven Mansion was locked, and they couldn't get out.
Sang Yue said, “All the windows here are fake and cannot be opened. The entire house only has small ventilation holes the size of a fist. The door is locked, and none of us can leave. Moreover… we just searched everywhere and couldn’t find the butler.”
The entire house had three floors, completely empty, with only lavish decorations and them.
Gu Zhan immediately felt dizzy.
After recovering a bit, he went with the others to the hall.
As expected, all the doors and windows were sealed shut, and no matter what means they tried, they couldn't escape.
“What do we do now?”
The hall was dead silent; no one spoke.
Gu Zhan carefully observed the house. Everything here was splendid yet unfamiliar. Though the rain outside had stopped, the gloomy sky, knowing they couldn't escape, felt even more terrifying than before.
He asked, “Where's the butler?”
Sang Yue replied, “We’ve looked for him, but we couldn't find the butler.”
Gu Zhan asked, “Have you checked the second and third floors?”
So far, the dining room, hall, and everyone’s rooms were all on the first floor.
Sang Yue said, “We’ve been there, but unfortunately, I know you think there might be secrets upstairs, but there aren’t. The first, second, and third floors look the same. Aside from the lack of a hall on the second and third floors, every room is decorated lavishly, but all the cabinets and drawers are empty.”
“There's nothing there. The second and third floors don't even show signs of anyone having lived there,” Ma Xiaowen added softly.
This was indeed not a good sign.
Gu Zhan's expression also turned serious.
In the instance, the most feared thing was not having too much information, but rather having none at all.
If the Black Raven Mansion was an empty shell with no information, then the only potentially useful information they had was that script.
Gu Zhan asked, “Is the script still here?”
“It is.” Sang Yue nodded, “Did you read it?”
“I did,” Gu Zhan replied.
Sang Yue said, “Shall we find a place to study this script?”
They all thought of the dining room from before, and Sang Yue led the way there.
But upon arriving at the dining room, they found an unexpected person sitting inside.
The group was first surprised, then relieved upon seeing him.
Right, apart from them and the butler, there had always been another person in this place.
It was the person who had been standing in the corner of the dining room when everyone first met in the morning, dressed in a cloak and completely out of place with the surroundings.
At this moment, he sat at the north end of the long table, smiling at everyone, “You’ve finally arrived.”
“Who are you?” Sang Yue became wary.
“Don’t be nervous, I’m the sorcerer hired by the owner of the Black Raveb Mansion,” the man introduced himself, “My surname is Lin; you can call me Sorcerer Lin.”
“Sorcerer?” Those two words didn’t match him at all. Sang Yue looked at Sorcerer Lin with even more suspicion.
But Sorcerer Lin raised his chin, gesturing for everyone to sit down and said, “Since you can’t leave this place anyway, why not listen to what I have to say?”
He was right.
Gu Zhan was the first to sit at the dining table, followed by Sang Yue.
Once the two were seated, the others followed suit.
Only then did Sorcerer Lin say, “You should already know that ten years ago, this place was used as the filming location for the movie ‘Feast of Horror,’ but that movie ultimately couldn’t be completed because the filming site was haunted, and people died.”
“We already know that,” Sang Yue asked, “What does this have to do with us being trapped here?”
Sorcerer Lin replied, “To be honest, since that film crew chose the Black Raven Mansion for filming, this place has been shrouded in the shadows of ghosts. Originally, the owner’s family lived here, but due to the haunting, they had to move out. The mansion has been abandoned for ten years, and every time someone is sent to clean it, there are always some small accidents, as if warning the owner not to move back in.”
“They’ve been trying to solve this issue. Agreeing to hold the symposium here is part of that. Of course, the owner is a good person who worries you might encounter an accident, so he invited me here. As soon as I arrived, I felt the heavy yin energy in the mansion; there must be a ghost here…”
Sorcerer Lin squinted, a cold light passing through his eyes, “But I don’t know where it is, when it will appear, or how it acts. To exorcise a ghost, I need to know its experiences and name. If I know nothing about the ghost, it will be very difficult for me to succeed. So, everyone, you have a very difficult task ahead of you, but for your own sake, you must do it.”
“Now that you’re trapped here by it, within three days, you need to find out the ghost hidden in the mansion, its experiences, its name, and its methods of harming people. Only then can I exorcise the ghost and let you leave.”
As Sorcerer Lin finished speaking, the system suddenly broadcasted an announcement.
【Congratulations, you have accepted the main quest of the instance <Black Raven Mansion>: Find out the ghost hidden in the mansion and survive.】
This brief announcement undoubtedly proved to everyone that the Sorcerer Lin before them was indeed an NPC.
And what he said could be trusted.
Several players exchanged glances, silently asking each other how to decide.
Should they agree to him? Or should they search for clues on their own?
In the end, Sang Yue took the initiative to speak, “You want us to find the ghost? But we know nothing related to it, only that script… what now?”
Sorcerer Lin squinted, thinking for a moment, and said, “I can help you by providing you with an immersive experience of the script or showing you what happened on the filming site, but you only have two chances. After discussing, you need to inform me where you want to go.”
Ma Xiaowen immediately said, "Since it's related to the movie, we definitely need to check out the filming location."
As soon as she finished speaking, she noticed everyone frowning at her, seemingly blaming her for speaking up.
Ma Xiaowen was startled and shrank back behind Wang Zhe, whispering, "What... what are you looking at me for?"
Sang Yue turned her gaze away and said, "We do need to go to the filming location, but what about the other opportunity?"
She was inquiring about the others.
After a moment of silence at the table, Gu Zhan suddenly said, "Let’s check the script."
After he spoke, the others remained still.
Sang Yue asked, "Are you sure? We only have two chances."
The others still didn't say anything.
After a while, Sang Yue sighed, "Then let’s go with this."
They should have been more careful in their choice, but in the absence of information, being cautious was no different from guessing.
Rather than being purposefully cautious, it was better to make use of the little time they had.
After all, they were all in the dark.
Seeing that no one raised any objections, Sang Yue turned to Sorcerer Lin and said, "We've decided to go to the movie script and the filming of the movie."
"Are you all certain?" Sorcerer Lin smiled and said, "You have plenty of time; you can think about it some more."
He didn't seem anxious and didn't mind being stuck in this place like the other players.
In fact, Sang Yue sensed from his smile that he preferred players to spend more time making decisions.
This further strengthened her previous thought of making a quick decision.
Sang Yue took a deep breath and said, "We've decided, just these two."
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