Chapter 40: Coming Upstairs

In Bishuiwan Estate, lights blazed everywhere—from the opulent crystal chandelier hanging from the grand hall’s ceiling, to the dim, intimate ambient lamps in the dining room, down to every single streetlamp along the garden and building edges—all were lit. The brilliant glare had once been so intense it blinded the eyes.

Horror films often favor dark, enclosed settings to evoke danger, but Feng Yu shu now walked through a brightly lit, spacious hall, where a single turn of her head revealed the stone pillars and statues outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows.

Empty, bright, silent.

Occasionally, a corpse leaned against the wall or lay sprawled on the floor, with no blood or signs of struggle—like a puppet whose power had been cut, limbs twisted into unnatural shapes, motionless.

Feng Yu shu gripped the wall, carefully sidestepping the scattered corpses, ascending the stairs toward the second floor.

The corpses littering the hall and corridors wore work uniforms—gardeners and cleaners responsible for daily maintenance, along with decorators, construction workers, and security personnel who had stayed behind to make final adjustments before the estate’s official opening.

Others wore pajamas—they were senior executives and employees of Xin Jiayuan Group, who had traveled here on company business and become the first guests of Bishuiwan Estate, sharing it with the Bai Fu gui family before its public opening.

Now they were all dead here.

In the silent night, muffled sobs and hysterical screams occasionally surfaced; each life lost meant less time left for Feng Yu shu, as if a death knell chased her footsteps, urging her to move faster, faster still.

Feng Yu shu ran barefoot across the soft burgundy carpet, hastening up to the second floor of the estate.

“Hmm?” Ning Zhe perched on her shoulder, tilting his head.

Bishuiwan Estate was vast, and this European-style castle contained many rooms; among all the brightly lit chambers, one room stood out starkly—its light was off.

In this opulent, luminous estate, that single patch of darkness was the most conspicuous.

“It’s… Bai Zhi. That’s her room.” Feng Yu shu suddenly grew agitated, her steps quickening involuntarily.

Ning Zhe frowned, stepping in front of Feng Yu shu and following her as they approached the only room with the light off.

“Bai Zhi? Are you in there? It’s Mom…” Feng Yu shu pounded on the door, her face frantic: “Are you asleep? Wake up! We have to go!”

After knocking for several minutes with no response, Feng Yu shu suddenly remembered she had a spare key. She fumbled frantically in her small handbag, pulling out the key and jamming it into the lock.

A faint rustling came from the door; Feng Yu shu twisted the key left and right, but it wouldn’t turn.

She turned to Ning Zhe, who stood beside her at the windowsill, her eyes pleading: “What do I do, Ning Zhe? I can’t open the door…”

Ning Zhe looked up—the construction quality of Bishuiwan Estate was excellent. Marble slabs lined the exterior walls as insulation; each room’s door was thick solid wood, likely maple or another hard timber. For an unarmed human, forcing entry wasn’t just impossible—it was fantasy.

Even the War Wolf couldn’t do it.

But Ning Zhe could.

Ning Zhe stepped down, grabbed a vase from the windowsill, and smashed it directly against the sealed window. With a loud CRACK, the glass shattered—and from within the dark room came a stifled scream.

“Bai Zhi!” Feng Yu shu’s concern deepened.

Even with the glass broken, the window lacked a security grille, making it too narrow for an adult to pass through. Ning Zhe pushed off with one hand, transforming into a small bird that slipped effortlessly through the hole, landing smoothly inside.

But the moment his feet touched the ground, he sensed a rustling in the pitch-black darkness. He instinctively sidestepped—and heard the sharp clang of metal striking stone.

“Miss, you trying to join the Biographies of Assassins?” Ning Zhe sidestepped further, found the light switch by the door, and as the light snapped on, he stomped down hard, pinning the figure lunging at him beneath his foot. Only now could he see: a girl in a loose pajama robe, hair disheveled, face pale. Ning Zhe’s combat boot pressed squarely against her delicate neck. Trapped at her vital point, she thrashed violently, reaching for the dagger that had fallen to the floor after striking the marble wall…

“Hmm?” Ning Zhe looked closer—it wasn’t a dagger. It was a sharp metal hairpin.

“Stay still. Don’t move.” Ning Zhe crouched, binding her wrists behind her back with his arm, then reached for the door handle to open it.

But after several turns, it wouldn’t budge—the girl had filled the handle’s gaps and lock hole with wood glue.

“Wood glue? You playing with wooden model blocks?” Ning Zhe asked casually.

The girl ignored him entirely, still thrashing violently despite her bound hands, trying to bash her head against the wall.

No—more precisely, she was trying to hit the light switch on the wall.

“You want to turn off the light?” Ning Zhe asked.

This time, she stopped struggling. She gave a faint, barely audible nod—and a whisper of “Mm.”

“If you have something to say, say it. If you don’t speak, how can I understand?” Ning Zhe shook his head, then flipped the light switch off. The room plunged back into darkness.

After the light went out, the girl’s mental state visibly improved—she no longer frenziedly attacked—but Ning Zhe still felt her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She was terrified.

“You’re Bai Zhi?” Ning Zhe slowly loosened his grip and asked.

“How do you know?” The girl’s weak voice rang clear in the dark.

“I came here with your mother. Didn’t you hear her calling you?” Ning Zhe sighed. “Or did you think she was a ghost?”

“Yes, I thought a ghost was luring me to open the door… Wait.” Bai Zhi’s tone suddenly brightened: “You know ghosts exist?!”

“I know they exist—but first, tell me why you turned off the light and hid in here.” Ning Zhe countered. “The estate is full of dead people. Many, many dead people. And you’re still alive—I believe you know something.”

About the cruel ghost in the estate.

“It’s the light. The ghost kills with light.” Bai Zhi said without hesitation. “Contrary to common sense, within this ghost’s range, brightness means danger, darkness means safety. As long as you stay in the dark, it can’t find or kill you.”

Her tone was full of hope, as if terrified he wouldn’t believe her.

“Alright…” Ning Zhe tentatively accepted this explanation—after all, Bai Zhi’s survival was the best proof.

So now the question was: how to open this damaged door and get Bai Zhi out?

As he pondered, a muffled sob echoed from the hallway outside—the voice of Feng Yu shu: “Ning Zhe… the ghost… it’s coming up the stairs…”

As she spoke, a crisp sound—like a porcelain vase striking marble—echoed softly through the silent estate.

Thump. Thump.

(End of Chapter)