Nightmare Assault

Chapter 263: Young Master

Early the next morning, Fatty, who was still wrapped in bed, was woken up by Jiang Cheng. While the two men woke up, Xia Meng used the opportunity to take a quick nap. When the sun was fully up, footsteps approached their door. Due to the overall silence of the place, the footsteps were loud.

“Dear Dafu,” The woman from yesterday said, “Please come and enjoy breakfast.”

Jiang Cheng sneakily opened the door. The middle-aged woman stood outside. However, she still wore her bored face. She looked like an annoyed unpaid intern. At the same time, Jiang Cheng saw the people come out of the other rooms. They looked over while they discussed among themselves.

Jiang Cheng’s group felt better. The other groups radiated a sense of anxiety. This meant that they had heard the strange Chinese Opera the night before too. They weren’t the only ones who heard it. This was very important.

The middle-aged woman led them around the lake. The pebbled road led to a pavilion that sat on the lake. The pavilion didn’t stray too far from the shore. It was only around ten metres. They had already noticed this pavilion when they arrived yesterday. There was a wooden table inside the pavilion. It was filled with delicious dishes, fruits and wine. Chairs were placed around the table.

After everyone took their seat, the woman stood at the shore. Her eyes stared at the travellers as if she was trying her best to remember every single one of them. The dishes looked delicious, but how could they gather their appetite while being stared at like that?

Everyone shared a look. While they ate, they quietly discussed what had happened the night before. As expected, everyone heard the singing, but to Fatty’s surprise…

“You saw someone dancing on the lake?!” It was Zuo Qing who spoke. She didn’t lower her voice, so she sounded abrupt. The already frightened Tang Shirou had her face paled even more.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Yes…” She stuttered, “I was curious when I heard the song. And… I saw someone dancing on the lake.” She started to shiver again.

Fatty subconsciously turned to An Xuan. He noticed the latter had his head lowered as he enjoyed the meal. There was even a hot bowl of soup beside his plate.

“What kind of person was dancing?” Xia Meng asked.

“I don’t know.” Tang Shirou shook her head. “It was so foggy. I only saw a silhouette, but… it should be a woman.” She quickly added, “And… she was very thin.”

Everyone heard the singing. They could understand Tang Shirou’s fear, and… they looked at Tang Shirou with well-disguised pity. As a newbie, her mission had been completed. Even though the first person to see the ghost didn’t necessarily mean death, the chance of it was high. Plus, based on her descriptions, this ghost’s story…

“Dear Dafus,” The haunting voice drifted over. The travellers turned to the shore. The middle-aged woman stood there. Her pose hadn’t even changed. “Please come with me after you’re done with your meals,” Her voice was cold and even like a machine. It discomfited the travellers, “Butler Zhou is waiting. He has something to inform you.”

They finished their meals and followed the middle-aged woman for quite a distance. Around ten minutes later, they reached a rather large yard. This place was more imposing than where they stayed. In the yard, there were already three people waiting.

The leader was a small middle-aged man. He narrowed his small eyes. He had a bushy moustache and a narrow face. His clothes were more high-class than the others in his company.

The young woman and the vicious-looking man they saw yesterday stood behind the middle-aged man.

“This should be Butler Zhou. Pay attention to his words and actions.” When they were in some way from the man, Qin Jian whispered. Just like yesterday, the group stood there expressionlessly.

“My surname is Zhou. I serve Elder Huang’s family. I’ll be handling your accommodation and food while you stay here,” Butler Zhou’s face appeared to be frozen. He radiated a strange aura. Butler Zhou ignored the traveller’s reaction and continued on his own. From him, the travellers got a grasp of the mission’s background and setting.

Chen Qiang was right. They were in the Song Dynasty. The manor’s owner had the surname Huang. He was a local tea merchant. After he gained enough money, he got a simple official post. Then, he retired and enjoyed his life at home. Due to his charitable nature, people called him the Charitable Huang. He enjoyed a good reputation. However, that didn’t mean he had good luck in life. Elder Huang’s single son got a rare illness. He acted crazily. He locked himself up in the attic and refused to see anyone. Plus…

At this point, Butler Huang paused. He lifted his head to study the travellers. Everyone felt like they had been seen through.

“Did you… hear anything strange yesterday night?” Butler Zhou suddenly asked.

“No.” An Xuan answered the question for everyone. He asked very naturally, “We were tired from our journey, so all of us slept very early.”

Butler Zhou’s lips curled upwards. His eyes were hard to read, “Is that so?” He suddenly laughed, “It’s great that Dafu’s rest was not interrupted.”

“Butler Zhou, what do you mean?” An Xuan blinked innocently, “Why would we be interrupted?” With his kind appearance, An Xuan was the kind of person who could gain someone’s trust easily. Of course, this would only work for people in Tang Shirou. It was useless for people like Jiang Cheng and Xia Meng.

However, for some unknown reasons, Butler Zhou started to explain the situation, “Ever since he fell ill, the young master developed a strange hobby.” He stared at An Xuan and uttered slowly, “He would come out at night to sing Chinese Opera on the lake.”