Lu Sheng frowned as he covered the distance between them in a single stride . He looked down on the ground where he stood .
'No footprints, as I expected… And I don't sense anything nearby, either…' He vaguely felt that something was off .
"This place…" Lu Sheng licked his lips . He fiercely stomped his right foot, and lightly flew up into the air .
The surrounding buildings started to get smaller as he traveled hundreds of meters in the air in the blink of an eye . He looked down on the Fei Family Mansion .
"Huh?" Lu Sheng was even more confused .
He wasn't even that far up, but the mansion was still somehow covered by a thick layer of mist, obstructing any view he might have had of it .
Lu Sheng let gravity pull him back down . The wind blew past his ears loudly, and as he fell down rapidly, he could vaguely see the outlines of some buildings . But everything was still unclear .
The view didn't clear up until he was only 7 to 8 meters away from the ground . But, at that height, he could only observe a small area around him .
As he lightly landed back to where he was, Lu Sheng once again stared at the swing for a moment . Behind it was another exit out of the garden, leading to some other place .
He paused, and then walked straight for the exit .
***
Sima Xiu helped Fei Bailing, whose body had gone soft, get onto her feet, and quickly brought her back to a bedroom he was hiding in .
Fei Bailing gasped for breath as Sima Xiu entered the room, and then blanked out for a second .
Someone else stood in the corner of the room with his back to them . A faint sound of chewing came from his mouth like he was eating something .
"Who… . who is that?" Her whole body trembled as she stared at the person .
As if he had noticed her stare, the person's shaking shoulder paused .
"Shhh!" Sima Xiu rushed to cover her eyes . "Don't look at him . As long as you don't look at him, he won't bother us!" His voice was very low, and there was a hint of weakness in it too .
Fei Bailing's heart jumped, and she quickly closed her eyes, not daring to look again .
"Don't be afraid… I've found out his pattern already . He doesn't bother us as long as we don't look at him . Just pretend he doesn't exist . " Sima Xiu coughed and hurriedly covered his mouth with his sleeves . When he moved his sleeves aside, they were stained with blood .
Fei Bailing tried her best to not look at the person, and instead followed Sima Xiu to the bed in the deeper part of the room .
This bedroom was huge, and was separated into two parts by the screen in the middle . One side had the bed and closet, while the other side had desks and a dressing table .
The strange man was standing in the corner next to the dressing table with his back facing them .
The two walked behind the screen and let out a sigh of relief—their line of sight with the man had been broken .
"Why don't we find another room? Do we have to be here?" Fei Bailing whispered . "Also, Inspector Sima, when did you get in? Did you find my sister, mom, and dad?" Her head was filled with questions that needed answers . When she finally met another normal person, those questions came out like an flood .
Sima Xiu let out a weary laugh and waved his hand .
"I came as soon as I got your blood letter… . "
"Blood letter? What blood letter?" He didn't expect Fei Bailing to interrupt him so soon . The girl stared at him with a stunned expression .
"When did I ever write a blood letter?" Her eyes darted around as she spoke, her pupils widening from shock . She looked everywhere but at Sima Xiu .
Her eyes weren't moving together, either . One would be moving left as the other moved right . Other times, one would tilt to the upper right while the other would tilt to lower left . They moved so rapidly, they almost seemed anxious .
That wasn't something a human should be able to do .
"Your eyes…" Sima Qiu's heart turned cold and he stepped back slightly .
"What about my eyes?" Fei Bailing didn't seem to notice at all . "Master Inspector, I never wrote a blood letter . "
"Is… is that so?" Sima Qiu blinked his eyes . In a flash, Fei Bailing turned back to her delicate and pretty self . It was as if he had imagined the whole thing .
"Nothing… Nothing…" Sima Xiu took in a deep breath .
"When I came in, I looked everywhere for you, but this place is too big and has to many corners, so I nearly got lost . Then I saw that person by accident . " He pointed toward the corner . "And I finally have a place to hide . Then, I found a map of the layout of the mansion, and followed it here . "
"Is that so?" Fei Bailing stared at him with anticipation . "Did you find my sister? And my mom and dad?"
"Unfortunately, no . "
"Really? Really? You haven't, either…" Fei Bailing muttered to herself . "Then where did they go?"
Sima Xiu exhaled . He, too, felt like he was hallucinating from his exhaustion and injuries .
"Oh, and what did you eat these past few days? There is no one normal left in this mansion, right?"
"Eat? Food?" Fei Bailing blanked for a second, then lowered her stunned head . "Right… What did I eat? What exactly?"
Sima Xiu frowned . He guessed that living in such a horrifying environment for so long had done something strange to her mind .
"Let it be . Let's not talk about this for now . We must find a way to leave . This mansion is too strange . I came in last time and tried to leave twice, but couldn't find the gate no matter what . "
Fei Bai Ling's pupils dilated, then went back to normal . "I know where we can leave . " She raised her head . "Aside from the main gate, there are two other gates . "
"Take me there . We must leave immediately!' Sima Xiu finally found some hope .
"Ok… ok…" Fei Bailing nodded . She raised her head and rubbed her weary eyes, suddenly noticing that something was off in her peripheral vision .
She turned her head .
"Aghhh!"
She let out a sudden, sharp scream .
The shape of a head was bulging out of the screen to her right .
It was the man in the corner! He stared at the two of them through the screen . His whole face was against the screen, like he was trying to break through this only barrier .
"Go!" Sima Xiu said instantaneously as he dragged Fei Bailing around the screen and out of the room .
"Rumble . . . "
As soon as they got out onto the passage, they suddenly noticed the sky had been covered in dark clouds that blocked out the sun . Everything turned dim, and darkness started to creep out from the corridor behind them .
The normally bright passage started to turn darker and darker . The darkness rapidly approached them, spreading like ink in the water .
"Go!" Sima Xiu stared at this weather that was obviously not natural . He hurriedly carried Fei Bailing on his back and started running .
"Crack!"
Lightning flashed . A small girl in a white dress appeared in the darkness of the passage . Her hair was unbound, and she was staring at the two people, watching them flee .
She advanced step by step, dying everything around her in black as she advanced .
The dark cloud in the sky also followed her footsteps, veiling all light in front of her .
"Crack . "
Another flash of lightning .
Fei Bailing was being carried on Sima Xiu's back, and the two of them sprinted away, leaving a sprinkle of blood behind them . The wound to the side of Sima Xiu's waist had reopened .
"You're wounded!? You're bleeding!" Fei Bailing exclaimed .
"I'm fine, I'm fine . We must leave this place now . " Sima Xiu endured the pain and didn't change his expression . Aside from his pale face, he appeared just as healthy as any normal person .
"We are safe . Nothing is following behind us . " Fei Bailing looked back . It was all clear .
They had unknowingly reached the entrance to a feast hall . The door was half-open . Cold, bone-chilling air flowed out from it .
"Is that so?" Sima Xiu let out a sigh of relief, and gently put down Fei Bailing .
"This… is where my father and other people have their meetings…" Fei Bailing steadied herself and looked at the ruined furniture inside the hall .
She could see the wine cups scattered on the ground, the flipped table and chairs, and the mold growing on the carpet and dirty floor .
"Let's find the exit first," Sima Xiu reminded her .
"I think… it seems like there's a secret passage here…" Fei Bailing hesitated, then slowly walked into the hall .
The hall was in a mess . Cobwebs, dust, and shattered lamps filled the interior, while some unknown black stains covered the walls .
"Here!" Fei Bailing found the exit . It was right next to an air vent . The secret passage appeared when she moved a brick on the wall .
But the trigger was two meters above the ground, so she had to stand on a chair to reach it .
"I'll go in first . " Sima Xiu glanced at the mysterious tunnel in front of him . It was dark, and he couldn't see anything inside .
"Ok!" Fei Bailing nodded and stepped back a little .
Sima Xiu looked around the hall again . After making sure there was nothing wrong, he dove forward and easily entered into the tunnel .
He crawled forward a little and realized there wasn't much dust and seemed pretty safe . He then quickly went back to the entrance .
"Come, I'll help you up!" He poked out his head .
"Ok . "
Fei Bailing reached out her hand as she stood on top of the chair .
"Whoosh . "
Suddenly, the light in the hall dimmed, and within a single breath, the sky outside was covered tightly by dark clouds . Everything inside fell into darkness .
"Bam . "
"Ouch . "
Fei Bailing got startled, and fell by accident .
"Are you alright??" Sima Xiu hurriedly took out his match, but couldn't light it no matter how hard he tried . [ED/N: Not a modern match, but an ancient Chinese sort of one . ]
"No matter . I'm standing up again . I'm reaching out with my hand now . " Fei Bai Ling's voice came from the darkness .
"Alright . Hurry, I'll help you up!" He quickly reached his hand out, and soon caught a small, ice-cold hand . He pulled upward and dragged her up .
***
"That hurt…" Fei Bailing rubbed her bottom and sat up .
"Are you alright? This secret passage is blocked . I didn't notice that before . We must find another exit . " Sima Xiu's voice came from in front of her .
"Ok!" Fei Bailing stood up and saw a shadow in front of her, then nodded hurriedly . "I know another exit . "
"Is that so? Then let's go . " The shadow grabbed her, hurriedly walked out of the hall, and ran back toward the passage .
"Huh? I think we are going the wrong direction . " Fei Bailing was confused .
"No, this is the right way," the shadow replied .
"This is the direction we came from, we are going back!" Fei Bailing finally realized something was wrong .
"Of course it's the way back . " The shadow didn't even turn his head . He held her hand with an even stronger and tighter grip .
The two ran past one room after another until they darted out of the passage and into a garden .
"This place… No! I don't wanna go back!" Fei Bailing finally realized something was wrong . She started to struggle fanatically, but the hand held her tightly, and she couldn't get away no matter how hard she tried .
"Hehehe . . . "
She could vaguely see the small shapes that stood in the garden in the darkness, making child-like laughers . All of them were looking in her direction, like they were staring at her .
"No… No…!" Tears streamed out of Fei Bailing's eyes . She was then dragged toward her bedroom . The person gripping her hand didn't talk, and only ran forward .
The two of them ran along the garden wall, getting closer and closer to the children .
"Hehehehe… . "
"Little girl…"
"Little girl…"
"Little girl…"
"Little girl…"
The children started to approach her rapidly . Fei Bailing's body shook and her back turned cold . She couldn't help but let her stiff body be dragged along as she stared at the approaching shadows .
Her body was cold in the darkness, and her breathing even nearly stopped . All she could do was stare at the approaching shadows of children with a stunned face .
The kid in the front reached out with his hand toward her .
"Puff . "
Suddenly, the shape dragging her along disappeared . Fei Bailing fell down to the ground .
She landed perfectly amid the children .
"Hehehehe… . "
The shadows walked toward her slowly one after another . All of them slowly reached with their hands toward her .
"Little girl . "
"Little girl . "
"Little girl . "
"Little girl . "
"Little gir—"
"Boom!!!"
Suddenly, the wall to the side exploded . Countless pieces of debris shot out like cannonballs, ruthlessly slamming into the door behind them .
"This is why I hate mazes . " A tall and muscular shape came out from the hole in the wall, holding a sword with white steam rising off it .
The man was half-naked, and his muscles were twisted like the roots of a thousand-year old tree and covered in a metallic shade .
The most eye-catching part was the countless blood-red, net-like patterns covering his body . These patterns shined a cruel and bloody light in the dark, like creeping worms sucking blood .
Chapter end
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