The Villa

55.Trapped in Crimson

　　"Damn, these corpses are terrifying!"

　　"Good thing they're not moving."

　　As they ventured deeper, their initial fear gradually subsided.

　　They soon realized that the villagers strung up outside their houses were not actually alive.

　　They had been killed and deliberately posed in that gruesome manner.

　　After about fifteen minutes of walking, Ning stopped in front of a dilapidated building.

　　The structure was a mixture of brick and cement, cobwebs hung in every corner, and a thick layer of dust covered the interior.

　　It seemed like no one had lived here for a very long time.

　　And unlike the other houses, there were no corpses hanging here.

　　"This is it," Ning declared.

　　They gathered under the eaves.

　　To be safe, Ning took out the blood jade.

　　It emitted a faint, red glow.

　　He walked around, and suddenly, a crack appeared on the surface of the jade.

　　He didn't comment on it.

　　He knew that the blood jade had limited uses.

　　Bai had told him that all ghost artifacts obtained from behind the Blood Gate had a limited number of uses.

　　Generally, powerful ghost artifacts couldn't be used more than three times.

　　And while extremely rare artifacts, such as the blood jade, could be activated more frequently, their uses were still finite.

　　"There shouldn't be any ghosts inside. Otherwise, the blood jade's glow would change," he said, trying to sound confident, though he wasn't entirely convinced.

　　The ghost, Guang Xiu, was far too terrifying!

　　They couldn't rule out the possibility that it possessed the ability to conceal its presence.

　　"Let's go in together, and stay alert!" Bai said, pushing open the door.

　　Creak—

　　The old wooden door groaned as it reluctantly swung open, revealing a room filled with dust-laden air.

　　The faint squeaking of rats could be heard.

　　As they entered, the sounds abruptly ceased, and shadows darted away, disappearing into the darker recesses of the room.

　　The house was much larger than the other houses in the village.

　　In a poverty-stricken place like Qiyu Village, whoever lived here must have held a special status.

　　A picture, covered in a thick layer of dust, hung on the wall near the entrance.

　　It depicted a family of three: a man, a woman, and a young girl.

　　Ning recognized the man from the ancient book he'd found in the Shaman's room.

　　It was Ruan Xin, Ruan Huang's son.

　　Ruan Xin was the Shaman's father and a key figure in Qiyu Village's descent into its current state.

　　"It seems this is Ruan Xin's house," Bai commented.

　　They searched the house and eventually found a coffin in the south-facing room on the first floor.

　　Exchanging wary glances, Bai, holding the wooden comb in her hand, stepped forward and opened the coffin.

　　Contrary to their expectations, nothing jumped out at them.

　　Inside the coffin lay a skeleton and a perfectly preserved head!

　　The head's eyes were tightly shut.

　　Though its face was pale, it didn't exude an eerie aura.

　　Instead, there was an unexpected sense of... peace.

　　They also noticed that the head was completely bald.

　　As Bai reached out to pick up the head, the skeletal hands shot out and clasped her wrist in a vice-like grip!

　　The others were about to intervene when Bai suddenly spoke, her voice strong and steady,

　　"Haven't you done enough harm to this village in life?"

　　"Look at what you've turned it into! A living hell!"

　　"Must you continue your wicked ways even in death?!"

　　Whether it was Bai's words that struck a chord of guilt within Ruan Xin's remains, or perhaps it was because he was now merely a lingering will and not a true malicious spirit, the skeletal hands loosened their grip.

　　Looking down at her wrist, Bai saw two dark, hand-shaped marks where the bones had grasped her.

　　"Bai, are you alright?" Liu asked worriedly.

　　Bai shook her head.

　　"Let's get out of here. I don't have a good feeling about this village."

　　The others nodded in agreement.

　　None of them felt comfortable staying in this blood-soaked village for a moment longer.

　　But just as they were about to leave the house, they heard Fang's terrified shriek!

　　They turned around to see her standing in the open doorway, drenched from head to toe in the pouring blood rain!

　　Fang stumbled back under the eaves, her arms wrapped around herself as she crouched on the ground, sobbing as if the end was near.

　　Sensing something was wrong, Ning hurriedly took out the eyeballs.

　　But as he held them in his hand, they watched in horror as the eyeballs began to melt, dissolving into clear water at an alarming rate...

　　"Wh-what's going on?!" Liu exclaimed in disbelief.

　　They had been relying on those eyeballs to navigate through the blood rain.

　　Now that they were gone, wouldn't they all be soaked?

　　None of them wanted to be drenched in that eerie blood rain.

　　"Find an umbrella!" Ning reacted quickly.

　　He had a growing sense of unease.

　　He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but something felt terribly wrong.

　　He needed to get out of there, fast!

　　They frantically searched the house but couldn't find a single umbrella.

　　"Damn it, how can there not be a single umbrella in this house?"

　　"Well, it is called Qiyu(Plea for rain) Village," the bespectacled man said, forcing a chuckle, his face pale. "With a name like that, you can imagine how much the villagers love the rain. It's not that surprising that they don't have umbrellas."

　　Left with no other choice, they braced themselves and stepped out into the blood rain!

　　They knew that every second spent in this village increased their chances of dying!

　　The moment they stepped back into the downpour, a bone-chilling coldness washed over them.

　　Now they understood Fang's reaction.

　　Not daring to waste another second, they pushed forward, the chilling blood rain beating down on them as they ran towards the village entrance!