The horrifying scream lasted only for a short moment before it suddenly stopped.
Ning Qiushui was the first to rush upstairs, followed by Liu Renfeng and the others.
But the moment they reached the second floor, everyone abruptly froze.
Shock and disbelief filled their faces.
"No… impossible…"
Bei Dao's voice trembled, and his legs were shaking violently.
Before their eyes, the bloodstains that had been splattered across the floor earlier…had completely vanished—without a single trace of blood remaining.
As if… everything that happened earlier had been nothing but an illusion.
"Everyone—look!"
Just then, Yan Youping exclaimed in panic, pointing to the room at the end of the corridor.
Everyone looked over and saw a large pool of fresh blood flowing out from under the door, spreading across the hallway…
The wind blew through the wide‐open window at the far end of the corridor, carrying a nauseating metallic scent of blood.
"Damn…"
Liu Renfeng finally squeezed out the word, goosebumps covering his entire body.
The others looked just as terrified.
Ning Qiushui stared at the open window and frowned.
He clearly remembered closing and locking it tightly when examining Wang Yuning's body that morning.
No matter how strong the wind was, it couldn't have pushed the window open.
And the latch could only be opened from the inside.
After they went downstairs earlier, Ning Qiushui had been keeping an eye on the old woman's room. She never left the room, so she definitely couldn't have opened the window.
Everyone else was on the first floor searching for Ya Mo—so none of them could have opened it either.
If so…
Who opened it?
Could it be…
Wang Yuning, who had already died?
The thought alone sent chills down Ning Qiushui's spine.
But unlike the others, who cowered in fear, he stepped forward—fearful yet determined—walking toward the room where the blood was flowing out.
Seeing this, the others stared with their mouths wide open.
Damn it…
Why was Ning Qiushui's courage so insane?
Was he not afraid that something terrifying might be waiting behind that door?
"Ning Qiushui, are you crazy?!"
Bei Dao shouted, but Ning Qiushui ignored him and continued walking toward the window at the end of the hallway.
Suddenly, someone rushed out.
It was Liu Renfeng.
"Xiao Ge, wait for me…"
Seeing Liu Renfeng following, the other three finally forced themselves to move, gritting their teeth as they followed behind.
When they reached the end of the corridor, Ning Qiushui immediately shut the window and locked it again.
Only then, under everyone's tense stares, he slowly opened the door of the last room.
The moment the door opened, Yan Youping vomited on the spot.
"Ugh—!"
The others also recoiled half a step in horror.
Inside, Ya Mo's corpse hung in midair, soaked in blood.
Her abdomen had been slit open, her internal organs gone, leaving only a bloody spine…
Her neck had been twisted at a 90-degree angle, her face frozen in a twisted, eerie smile—staring directly at them.
No one dared meet her gaze.
Except Ning Qiushui.
He walked beneath the corpse, examining it closely, his eyes growing sharper.
"The method of death is almost identical to Wang Yuning. Same killer."
"Was it… the old woman upstairs?"
Ning Qiushui turned to look at the old woman's room.
Remembering the words she spoke earlier, his pupils suddenly contracted.
Could it be…
"Wait! Did anyone notice… Wang Yuning's body is gone!!"
Bei Dao suddenly pointed at the bed behind Ya Mo's body, shouting in horror.
Everyone looked.
Indeed.
The corpse that should have been lying on the bed had vanished.
Even the bloodstains were gone.
So… where did her body go?
Bang!
Ning Qiushui suddenly slammed the door shut, looking at the blood on the floor as he said slowly:
"Let's go downstairs first."
Xue Guize stared at him.
"Downstairs? What about… Ya Mo's body in here?"
Ning Qiushui shook his head calmly.
"Don't worry about it. It will clean up."
Everyone felt chills crawling down their spines.
As they followed him downstairs, they asked:
"Ning Xiaoge, when you say 'it'… who do you mean?"
Ning Qiushui didn't turn around.
"The killer."
"You mean… the old woman on the second floor?"
Ning Qiushui did not answer.
Back in the villa's main hall, everyone fell into a suffocating silence.
Fear engulfed them like a rising tide.
The atmosphere remained tense until night fell.
Finally, Liu Renfeng couldn't stand it anymore and stood up.
"I'm going to cook."
Ning Qiushui also stood up.
"I'll go too."
"For now… none of you should act alone, no matter what you do."
He didn't wait for a reply and walked into the kitchen with Liu Renfeng.
Yan Youping, knowing that the kitchen knives were what the ghost used to kill, refused to take even a single step toward the kitchen.
Inside the kitchen, after confirming no one else was there, Liu Renfeng lowered his voice:
"Xiao Ge… are you planning to go to the third floor tonight?"
Ning Qiushui, who was taking meat from the fridge, paused slightly, then smiled without turning back.
"Looks like you're not as dumb as you look."
"Smart move, old rascal."
Being praised, Liu Renfeng scratched his head shyly.
"Little bro… there's something I don't understand."
"Why don't we go to the third floor during the day? Why must we wait until night?"
"That place… must be extremely dangerous, right?"
Whether from the villa owner's earlier warning or from their own intuition, everyone knew—The third floor was extremely dangerous.
And the iron door leading there was secured with a heavy lock.
They had no key.
Still rummaging through the fridge, Ning Qiushui replied:
"You're right. It is extremely dangerous… especially during the day."
Liu Renfeng froze.
Then enlightenment struck him.
"Xiao Ge, you mean… the killer isn't the old woman upstairs… but is actually on the third floor!"
"During the day, it rests up there. At night, it comes down… to hunt?!"
Ning Qiushui nodded slightly.
"Exactly."
"The old woman is probably just an ordinary person—a bait left behind by that ghost to lure victims into the villa."
"And I have a very bad suspicion… but we'll only be able to confirm it tonight."