"Bang!”
A crisp sound rang out, like the shattering of glass.
The spider web patterns on the water's surface spread out, and in the blink of an eye, that layer of transparent medium was shattered by a small stone.
The water's surface returned to normal after a few breaths. Gu Zhan suddenly sprang out, the fresh air rushing into his nose and mouth.
Beside him, a wooden stick was hard to see in the darkness. All he could hear was someone shouting from the shore, “Hold tight!”
It was Sang Yue's voice.
Gu Zhan no longer hesitated and grasped the stick tightly.
The pull from the riverbank came, dragging him towards the shore.
At the same time, something in the water seemed to have wrapped around his ankle.
In the darkness, Gu Zhan looked down and miraculously locked eyes with a woman in the water. Her gaze expressed pain, as if asking Gu Zhan why he wouldn’t stay and accompany her.
Unfortunately, a gay man wouldn’t have any compassion for a beautiful woman.
Gu Zhan swiftly shook off the hair that had entangled his foot and, with Sang Yue's help, managed to get onto the bank.
Only Sang Yue and Ma Xiaowen were on the shore, both of them shaken, especially Ma Xiaowen, whose lips had turned pale. She trembled as she asked Gu Zhan, “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” Gu Zhan had nearly drowned, but fortunately, he was still alive. “Thank you for saving me.”
“You should thank Ma Xiaowen. If she hadn’t shouted that she needed to go to the bathroom, we would have all been done for.” Sang Yue’s face looked a bit cold.
Gu Zhan didn’t quite understand and looked at Ma Xiaowen.
Ma Xiaowen’s pale face turned red, and she waved her hands repeatedly. “No, no, it’s nothing. Let’s not mention that… What about He Hui?”
She had originally intended to change the subject but felt it was inappropriate.
Yes, where was He Hui?
Only then did everyone realize someone was missing.
Sang Yue said, “She got separated. Quickly, let’s look for her.”
Everyone immediately began to search.
Fortunately, they soon found her in the thicket by the river.
She was soaked through, her lower body submerged in the water, and she was already unconscious.
After being awakened, she looked terrified, and upon seeing the familiar faces, she relaxed slightly. “You… what are you doing here?”
Sang Yue felt a bit irritable. “Didn’t Gu Zhan tell you to stay on the shore? How did you end up here?”
He Hui shook her head repeatedly. “I didn’t mean to! After he went into the water, a lot of dark things started crawling up from the water… I was really scared, so I ran to the side, but I couldn’t outrun them. They caught my ankle and pulled me into the water.”
“We were so close, but no matter how much I shouted, Gu Zhan didn’t respond at all. I… I can’t swim; I thought I was going to drown…”
Hearing her description, Gu Zhan could guess that those dark things were probably the hair of the woman in the water.
Sang Yue didn’t accept He Hui’s explanation because she found it hard to accept that if she had arrived just a moment later, Gu Zhan would have drowned.
But Gu Zhan stopped Sang Yue from getting angry further.
The urgent matter now wasn’t to assign blame.
“Is the director still waiting for us at the village entrance? Let’s go find him.” Gu Zhan said.
Although the director didn’t seem like a good person, it was indeed his presence that shattered the illusion of this village.
If he left, Gu Zhan couldn’t imagine what they would have to face.
This village was more dangerous than he had imagined, so it was better to leave as soon as possible.
Sang Yue had no choice but to swallow her words and returned with the three of them.
When they reached the village entrance, the director had not yet left.
The director seemed surprised that so many people had suddenly come out, staring blankly. “Did Li Qing send you all down?”
Gu Zhan replied, “It was those three girls who were scared and called for me.”
“This… There are so many people in this crew; there’s no need for my leading lady and my screenwriter to go together. What if something happens…” The director looked like he wanted to scold but didn’t dare to. In the end, he swallowed his words and said, “Forget it, get in the car, and we’ll talk about it later.”
As the group opened the car doors, they discovered that someone else was already sitting inside: the male lead, Chai Zhuo, who had left with the director earlier.
Chai Zhuo looked awkward and greeted them with a dry laugh.
However, Gu Zhan and the others, still shaken and nearly drowned, didn’t have the energy for socializing; only Ma Xiaowen managed a forced smile at him.
The director stood outside and said, “It seems there’s not enough room in the car. One of you needs to sit with me in the passenger seat.”
Chai Zhuo quickly raised his hand. “I’ll sit in the passenger seat!”
He squeezed out from the crowd, leaving Gu Zhan and three others to squeeze together in the back.
The car wasn’t small, but cramming four people into the back seat was a bit cramped.
Gu Zhan originally intended for Sang Yue and the other two girls to sit on one side while he sat on the other.
To his surprise, Sang Yue didn’t want to sit with He Hui, and Ma Xiaowen didn’t want to be squished in the middle.
In the end, it turned into Sang Yue, Gu Zhan, Ma Xiaowen, and He Hui sitting in that order.
Gu Zhan: “…”
He really didn’t want to be stuck in the middle of these women.
But there was no choice.
The distance from here to the Black Crow Mansion wasn’t too far.
Gu Zhan didn’t insist, reluctantly squeezing in with this group of women as they headed toward the Black Raven Mansion.
After driving a bit up the mountain, they saw lights on both sides. To facilitate filming, they had set up lines near the mansion.
Even though it was raining, the lights were still working.
The moment they saw the lights, everyone involuntarily let out a sigh of relief.
The car quickly arrived at the Black Raven Mansion. Sang Yue was the first to open the door. After getting out, she said, “The rain has stopped.”
Gu Zhan followed her out and noticed that the rain had indeed stopped.
The director also got out of the car and said, “Li Qing is really too reckless. It’s raining, and she still arranged for you to go to an abandoned village. It’s dangerous to go out at night. I’ll go ask her what she was thinking."
Ma Xiaowen approached Gu Zhan and murmured, “If you hadn’t driven the car away, we wouldn’t have to be like this.”
Sang Yue raised her voice and said, “It’s too late, director. We’re all very tired; let’s talk about it tomorrow. Let’s get some rest tonight, okay?”
The director turned back to look at them and saw the fatigue on everyone’s faces.
“Alright, then you can rest for now,” he said.
The group dispersed, walking slowly toward the mansion.
Li Qing hadn’t slept; she came out as soon as she heard the commotion.
Seeing Gu Zhan and the others return with the director, she felt a bit guilty.
The director didn’t say much, only stating, “Let’s discuss things in the morning; for now, go back and rest.”
Li Qing breathed a sigh of relief and hurried to send Gu Zhan and the others upstairs.
The rooms were all flooded, so they had to find new accommodations. Fortunately, the Black Raven Mansion had enough rooms. Li Qing quickly prepared two temporary rooms.
It was barely enough for everyone to stay.
Gu Zhan and He Hui had gotten wet, so they went to wash up.
When Gu Zhan finished washing and changed clothes, he found Sang Yue sitting on another bed in his room.
“Aren’t you supposed to be in the same room with them?” Gu Zhan asked.
Sang Yue replied, “I’m here to keep an eye on you.”
Gu Zhan: “…”
He was very tired and didn’t want to talk much with Sang Yue. He just lay down on the other bed and said, “Whatever you want.”
Sang Yue also lay down, staring at the ceiling. She asked Gu Zhan, “Do you think what He Hui said is true?”
Gu Zhan paused and said, “I don’t know. I did see something black underwater that could wrap around people.”
“What was it? What did you see underwater?” Sang Yue asked, becoming anxious.
Gu Zhan’s mind had already drifted; the underwater experience had exhausted him greatly.
He slowly spoke to Sang Yue, and before he realized it, he fell asleep.
In the moment before losing consciousness, he seemed to hear Sang Yue say, “I suspect there’s a ghost among us.”
Gu Zhan was startled.
He wanted to ask Sang Yue why she thought that, but his body had already slipped into deep sleep. Just that moment of surprise in his consciousness wasn’t enough to wake him; he was dragged deeper into sleep.
That night, he didn’t sleep well.
Confused dreams followed one after another. He felt like an outsider, watching each terrifying and chaotic dream until, finally, he met someone in the dark.
The person's face was unclear, only a pair of eyes gleaming in the darkness.
Deep in those eyes was a mocking look toward Gu Zhan, pure malice mixed with curiosity that felt very familiar to him.
The person was holding a black cat, whose greenish eyes mirrored the expression of the one holding it.
An impatient fish tail slapped against the ground as the figure asked Gu Zhan, “Do you think you are human?”
“Embrace us; compared to that world, you are more suited to this one.”
This neurotic, cryptic dream made Gu Zhan unable to hold back an expletive.
“Get lost.”
With that, the dream shattered, leaving only the sound of a vague, ambiguous laugh from the figure.
Then, bright, clear sunlight fell on Gu Zhan’s face. He opened his eyes and turned his head slightly.
It was morning; the sun had come up.
Sang Yue had gotten up at some point and was standing by the window, looking outside.
Hearing a sound, she turned her head, “You’re awake?”
Gu Zhan had a splitting headache. He propped himself up and checked his sanity value, which seemed to have dropped significantly again.
“What did you say to me before I fell asleep?” Gu Zhan asked.
Sang Yue chuckled and leaned against the window, “I thought you didn’t care. I called out to you so many times, but you didn’t respond.”
“I was asleep.” Gu Zhan knew he hadn’t just been sleeping but had likely been forcibly shut down by the effects of this scenario.
Sang Yue said, “I still can’t figure out why that ghost would trap us in the Black Raven Mansion. It could have killed us outright, yet it chose to put us through this. It even gave us a chance to figure out who it was… Later, I thought that the ghost was among us, desperately needing to change identities, lurking among us, trying to masquerade as a survivor to leave the Black Raven Mansion together.”
Her words were somewhat convoluted. Gu Zhan thought for a moment about her previous attitude towards He Hui and asked, “Do you think He Hui is that ghost?”
Sang Yue replied, “She didn’t come here with us. Although she claims to be a player, she doesn’t have any initial information… It’s hard for me not to suspect her.”
“And…” she turned again, not allowing Gu Zhan to see her expression, “What she did by the river yesterday was just too coincidental; it’s hard to believe.”
Gu Zhan sat for a while, feeling his headache ease slightly.
He steadied himself by the bed and said, “What if she really was in danger? Isn’t it too cold-blooded to suspect your teammate like this?”
Sang Yue suddenly tightened her grip on the windowsill, clearly not unconcerned.
If He Hui was just an ordinary player, and she harbored such sinister thoughts behind their back…
But Sang Yue persisted with her thoughts. She turned around and said, “Anyway, I won’t trust her again. Just consider me the bad guy.”
She glanced at Gu Zhan and, as she walked past him, expressed her disappointment, “I thought you would have the same opinion as me.”
After saying that, Sang Yue walked out the door.
Gu Zhan sighed as he stood there.
The same opinion?
No, their thoughts were different.
Sang Yue believed He Hui was the ghost.
And Gu Zhan thought…
There was more than one ghost.
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