Peep

Wang Ye stared silently at the silhouette, slowly drawing out his Ghost Blade.

But the silhouette didn't move at all, as if unable to hear or see anything, its body tucked away tightly like a little child peeking through a door crack.

Feeling that this person didn't have any intention to attack, Wang Ye relaxed his body slightly, continuously retreating backwards.

Strangely, no matter how Wang Ye moved his position, this silhouette's head could accurately track Wang Ye's location, turning towards his direction.

But...

He clearly didn't have eyes anymore.

This feeling of being stared at continuously made Wang Ye very uncomfortable.

And at this time, that head suddenly dropped to the ground without any warning.

The silhouette hurried out from behind the door, crouching on the ground, ceaselessly groping on the floor.

"Did it fall off..."

Wang Ye contemplated as the head rolled to his feet. He suddenly kicked it away.

The head drew a beautiful arc through the air, passing over the courtyard wall, and falling outside of the Qin Mansion.

Outside the Qin Mansion.

An emaciated figure with decaying skin, moved to the head with extreme speed, picked it up, and dashed away without approaching the Qin Mansion.

As if sensing that his head was getting further away from his body, the silhouette seemed anxious, expanding his search area, constantly crawling around the courtyard.

But it was as if afraid of something, not daring to take half a step outside the Qin Mansion.

The feeling of being spied on finally disappeared. Wang Ye breathed a sigh of relief, no longer bothering with the headless silhouette, inspecting the courtyard instead.

The courtyard was somewhat dilapidated, clearly not having been tended to for a very long time.

The stone table was covered in layers of dust, but one could still clearly see numerous scratches etched onto its surface, as if someone had clawed at it with their fingernails!

Faint traces of blood were still visible within the scratches, only long dried up.

Furthermore, logically speaking, with no one cleaning for such a long time, the courtyard soil should have been overgrown with weeds.

But this place was very tidy, without a hint of green.

Silently crouching down, Wang Ye carefully observed the soil, discovering it was very similar to the soil in the Ancient Lands, faintly exuding a bloody odor.

He wondered whether, deep within this soil, something was also buried like in the Ancient Lands.

With no intention of exploring, there were now only ten minutes left until 3 am.

The Qin Mansion was not very large, merely a two-sectioned residence.

The biggest building right ahead was the main hall. To its left and right were the east and west wing rooms, with servants' quarters tucked away in the corner.

On the other side were the guest rooms.

The buildings were connected in a row, but there was no time now to further observe the layout of the back courtyard.

Moreover, for some reason, whenever he looked towards the back courtyard, Wang Ye would feel a sense of unease in his heart, as if something terrifying lurked there.

Glancing at the stone table and stools once more, Wang Ye confirmed that the scene he'd witnessed within the Ghost Blade earlier should be this place.

Xiao Si was probably sitting on the stone stool, holding the bone scraping knife, and... scraping his own head?

But now, Wang Ye was somewhat doubtful again.

Was that really... his own face on that head?

Continuously recollecting that earlier scene, the features on that head were becoming blurry again.

Finally, when it was 2:59, Wang Ye pushed open the door to the guest room.

Inside the guest room, there was a pungent sour odor unique to old beddings.

The space was not large, containing only a bed, a wooden table, two wooden chairs, a copper mirror, and a copper wash basin.

It looked very simple.

However, hanging from the ceiling beam was a white silk cloth. A woman dressed as a maidservant was suspended from it, eyes rolled back, her body completely decayed.

Faintly, a few bugs could be seen squirming on the corpse.

Yet bizarrely, there was no trace of the expected stench of rot.

Outside the guest room door, the white cloth and lanterns that were hung when someone in the household passed away were also present.

But the bedding inside was a vibrant bright red.

This clashed with the heavy grief outside, full of absurdism.

Wang Ye examined the corpse hanging from the beam, appearing like an ordinary corpse!

But decaying only halfway after so many years, with flesh still remaining - if nothing was amiss, that would be freakish.

What puzzled him somewhat was that while the Qin Mansion didn't seem like a prominent wealthy family, they appeared well-off.

In that era, propriety was held in the highest esteem.

How could a maid have hanged herself in the guest room?

Moreover, one message was continuously conveyed about this residence... that someone inside had died!

Someone important at that!

Otherwise, if it was just a maid who perished, at most she would've been wrapped in straw mat and buried; not deserving of such grand funeral arrangements.

Who exactly died back then?

Xiao Si?

There was no coffin to be found in the courtyard either.

Could it be in the main house instead?

Glancing at the corpse on the beam once more, Wang Ye didn't kindly take it down, instead sitting on a nearby wooden chair to rest his mind.

The Qin Mansion quieted.

Only that headless body remained sprawled on the ground, ceaselessly groping, making rustling sounds.

What was the significance of the Post Office prohibiting him from leaving the guest room before 2 am?

Were they afraid he would die?

But so far, while the Qin Mansion was bizarre, he had not sensed any danger.

Time slowly ticked by, the sky gradually darkening.

For some reason, Wang Ye felt a gaze seemed to be constantly watching him from the darkness.

But checking the female corpse's eyes several times, they remained tightly shut.

As the sky darkened, the guest room also grew darker.

However, after obtaining the Cosmic Bag, Wang Ye was well-prepared, taking out some regular candles to light up the room again.

Yet that feeling of being watched grew stronger and stronger.

Finally, Wang Ye couldn't stand it anymore. Holding up a candle, he searched the room incessantly.

Under the bed, the closet - after scouring every spot, nothing was found.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, that staring sensation was right upon him!

Wang Ye held up the candle, turning around to discover a hole beside the bed, about the width of an index finger.

Raising the candle to illuminate the hole, there was only pitch blackness.

Was there no space on the other side of the hole?

Puzzled, Wang Ye withdrew the candle!

Suddenly, his body stiffened slightly, a chill rising from his heart!

That darkness was perhaps not a wall, but...

An eyeball!

Someone had been peering at him through that hole the entire time!

A creepy feeling washed over him in that moment.