Chapter 5: The Second Day

The room plunged into an eerie silence.The foul odor lingering in the air seeped into their bones, chilling them to the core.

Drip—A droplet fell beside them.

Though faint, the sound echoed thunderously in the stillness. Ning Qiushui felt Liu Chengfeng shudder violently beside him."L-Little Bro..." Liu Chengfeng's trembling hand reached out blindly.

"Don't turn on the lights," Ning Qiushui warned. "Unless you want to die.""Why?!""Just remember—never turn on lights where there's airflow."

Liu Chengfeng's gaze drifted to the sliver of corridor light under their door. Who left the damn hallway lights on?!

They ended up huddled on one bed, seeking warmth in each other's presence.

By 8 AM, gray light filtered through rain-streaked windows. Liu Chengfeng inspected the floor where putrid liquid had dripped all night.

Gag—The stench of decay overwhelmed him.

Ning Qiushui bent to sniff. "Corpse fluid. Or adipose from decomposing flesh."

Above them, the ceiling stain had expanded to head-size. What hellish thing festered upstairs?

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the villa.

They raced out to find Yan Youping and Ya Mo collapsed outside their room, vomit mingling with a trail of blood leading downstairs.

Inside the death chamber, Wang Yuning's mutilated corpse lay displayed like grotesque art—skin flayed, muscles shredded, organs missing. Her serene smile froze their blood.

"Fucking hell..." Liu Chengfeng's legs wobbled. Even battle-hardened Ning Qiushui fought nausea.

In the kitchen, Ning Qiushui made a chilling discovery: "A steak knife and fork are missing."

Liu Chengfeng recalled last night's metallic scraping. "The wounds... Were those—"

"Precisely." Ning Qiushui's confirmation turned stomachs. "She was butchered with our cutlery."

As they confronted the paralyzed old woman, Ya Mo fled screaming—the missing knife and fork gleamed on the bedside table.

Undeterred, Ning Qiushui approached. "Grandmother... Are you alone here?"

"Meat..." the old woman mumbled. "Not... not..."

When Liu Chengfeng brought beef congee, she spat it out violently. "Meat... not..."

Leaning close, Ning Qiushui finally deciphered her slurred words: "Not... cooked."

Puzzled, he tasted the congee—thoroughly cooked. Then realization struck. "Make plain rice porridge! No meat!"

The moment the bland porridge touched her lips, the old woman swallowed greedily.