NOVPUBEven though the ancient mansion had reset and returned to half an hour earlier, Yang Jian still did not intend to let go of the person named Liu Baimu. In Xiong Wenwen's premonition, Liu had killed one of his own teammates, and even though Yang didn't have his intelligence dossier, it was enough to prove that Liu Baimu posed a certain threat.
Yang Jian had no intention of holding back. He triggered the curse of the Firewood Knife and cleaved it down on a medium left by Liu Baimu.
The cut was vicious, severing Liu Baimu's neck and chopping off his head.
But the next moment, the curse of the Firewood Knife exploded onto Yang Jian.
A blood-red slash appeared on his neck, a wound that could be seen not just on his body but also on the Ghost Shadow.
The neck of the Ghost Shadow also had a gash.
This type of curse even affected the malevolent spirits, but the wounds it caused were different from those inflicted by the Firewood Knife.
Wounds from the curse could heal quickly, but those caused by the slashing couldn't heal in a short time, not even for malevolent spirits, and required much more time.
A complete Ghost Shadow could, to some extent, offset the harm brought by the curse of the Firewood Knife.
"If the Firewood Knife is used without triggering the medium, the curse only affects the body and won't harm the ghost inside it. But once the medium is activated, the ghost within is also injured, there's no avoiding it," Yang Jian said, looking down at the neck of the Ghost Shadow.
A fierce gash had appeared there.
It was as if the Ghost Shadow was going to turn into the Headless Ghost Shadow again.
But it didn't.
The tear in the Ghost Shadow began to heal swiftly as the ghost's innate ability to mend its body took effect, closing the wound.
Meanwhile.
Liu Baimu was still unaware that Yang Jian had set his sights on him.
After leaving the grand hall of the ancient mansion, Liu Baimu and the others dispersed deeper into the manor. Even those who frequented the place couldn't claim to fully understand the mansion, which, despite not being particularly large, was very eerie, as it underwent some changes every day.
These changes were indescribable and erratic.
Sometimes an extra door would appear, sometimes unfamiliar areas, sometimes extra corridors.
Even terrifying supernatural events occurred at times.
Many people have gone missing in the mansion and have yet to turn up.
If it wasn't for everyone being inflicted by the Pendulum Clock curse, they would not have wanted to stay here, and even if they did stay, they wouldn't dare to delve deeply into the mansion, wandering aimlessly.
Although the likelihood of incidents was low, no one wanted to take the risk.
"There was once someone who, in order to locate the Pendulum Clock within the mansion, explored it for a full three months, recording every change, every new area that appeared, and while it came at a cost, they more or less got a handle on most of the mansion's patterns."
Liu Baimu took out a notebook crammed with various notes and a multitude of drawn diagrams.
This wasn't accomplished by him alone, but by several groups of people together.
Those with ambitions to find that Pendulum Clock were not limited to Liu Baimu alone; he had also organized teams to explore the mansion. Even though they encountered some dangers, many things had been ascertained.
"A door that appears every twelve days, that door has yet to be explored for some reason, and it is very close to the area from where the Pendulum Clock's chimes originate. Today is the day the door appears; this might be an opportunity for me."
Liu Baimu walked through the dim and quiet mansion, his expression changing as he weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
According to his original idea, he didn't intend to explore the mansion so anxiously.
But there was no choice.
Today Yang Jian had stormed in, and with [him] blocking the door, there was no chance of escape.
Unless he killed him, he was the one who would die today.
Therefore, Liu Baimu knew that his only chance to turn things around was to obtain that Pendulum Clock.
The search for the Guild President was just an excuse to reassure everyone; in reality, he had his own agenda.
The Guild President had disappeared in the mansion for so long; most likely he was dead. If found, it would just be a corpse, no, perhaps a malevolent ghost that had already resurrected.
"Liu Baimu, if we disperse now, Yang Jian and his people could easily break us one by one. If we stay together, the enemy might still be wary of taking action due to concerns. Such a decision doesn't seem like something you would make."
On the wheelchair, the ghost-controller named Zhang Qing said in a hushed voice.
He was together with Wan Tong and Liu Baimu, forming a temporary small team.
Liu Baimu's gaze was dark as he said, "No choice, staying together gets us all caught at once, dispersing means we might get picked off one by one, both choices lead to death, but dispersing gives a better chance of surviving. The mansion changes in strange ways, and Yang Jian, who just arrived, definitely doesn't know the layout."
"So, we need to seize the time to explore the last uncharted area, it might be dangerous, but it's also a chance."
Zhang Qing shook his head helplessly, feeling like they, the prey, were being driven by Yang Jian, the cat.
"Exploring an unknown area is risky; we too might vanish within the mansion."
Wan Tong said after a pause.
"Both options carry risks, so we might as well keep the risk in our own hands," Liu Baimu said gravely.
While they were talking, they had already quietly split from the others and reached the third floor of the mansion.
The corridor on the third floor was old and in disrepair, the wooden flooring creaking and groaning as if it might collapse at any moment, dropping someone through to the floor below; some boards were even broken, missing, and the most exaggerated part was a gaping hole in one spot.
The hole was pitch black, impossible to see inside; people had thrown objects down to test it, only for the objects not to fall onto the second floor but disappear altogether.
Ignoring the black hole on the ground, the trio continued forward.
They acted swiftly because Yang Jian was still taking action in the hall, ready to strike at any moment, leaving no time for hesitation.
"We're here."
The two of them continued along the corridor, and at the end, an old wooden door appeared before their eyes.
Usually, there was only a wall here, no door, but today this wooden door had appeared.
Beside the wooden door, someone had painted an outline with paint, a marker to let others know that at certain times, a door would emerge here.
Liu Baimu, who knew this place well, opened the door with ease. He had been here more than once, but never had the courage to step inside.
This time he opened the old wooden door again.
The rust-coated bolts creaked ominously, as if they might fall off at any moment, but behind the door was a sinister and cold staircase, which, oddly enough, extended upwards instead of downwards.
Considering this was the third floor, where standing on tiptoes would let one touch the ceiling, there was nothing above.
Yet the staircase within this third-floor wooden door led somewhere.
To a mysterious and eerie unknown location.
Not within the confines of this ancient house.
Even before entering, a faint and nauseating stench of decay wafted down the staircase, as if a body was rotting away, and the temperature inside seemed unusually chilly, with strange noises occasionally audible.
As if someone or something was moving around.
"Go in."
Liu Baimu immediately said, without hesitation, he stepped forward.
Zhang Qing, who was in a wheelchair, hesitated for a moment before getting down and climbing the stairs with stiff steps.
Wan Tong had no choice but to follow behind.
But it wasn't long after they started up the stairs.
Suddenly.
Liu Baimu, who was leading the way, froze in his steps and stopped. His eyes suddenly bulged, and the hairs on his body stood on end, feeling an unprecedented sense of danger.
But before he could become alert to his surroundings. 𝘯𝘰𝑣𝘱𝑢𝘣.𝑐𝑜𝑚
The next moment.
A bizarre crack appeared on his neck.
"What happened?" Liu Baimu was horrified, instinctively clamping his hand on his neck.
But it was already too late.
With a shake, his head fell off, hitting the stairs with a dull thud before rolling down.
The headless neck gushed blood, splattering everywhere.
"Liu Baimu," Zhang Qing behind him was also shocked and instinctively caught the head that had tumbled down the stairs.
"Is there a ghost on these stairs? Were we attacked by a ghost?" Wan Tong nervously scanned the surroundings.
Liu Baimu's head seemed to retain consciousness, and after a brief state of shock, he quickly realized something: "No, it's not a ghost attack, it's Yang Jian. Yang Jian is attacking me."
"How can you be so sure?" Zhang Qing asked urgently.
"Fang Shiming from my friends' circle was killed in the same way. Everyone knows that Yang Jian has a technique to attack others without seeing them, which involves a supernatural item, probably a Firewood Knife. The weapon he had before was very strange; I've been paying attention to it."
Liu Baimu gritted his teeth, his complexion becoming increasingly pale as blood rapidly drained from his body.
But he was still alive.
Some supernatural power seemed to be sustaining his life.
"What do we do now?" Zhang Qing's complexion was fluctuating, and he began to panic.
Yang Jian was able to kill without being seen, making it futile to run anywhere.
Liu Baimu's face turned a shade paler as he gazed at his own headless corpse still standing on the steps ahead.
The body was motionless, yet it didn't fall over, as if some incomprehensible supernatural force was propping it up.
"What's there to panic about? Keep moving forward. We can't turn back now, or you'll all be killed. Yang Jian's method must come at a price; supernatural items always entail significant risks. He targeted me because he must recognize the threat I pose, given that I killed his teammate Li Yang half an hour ago," said Liu Baimu, still lucid and speaking rationally.
"Yang Jian fears I'd use the same trick to kill another of his team members, so he struck first and took action against me. I'm sure that after this attack, you two are safe."
"A person like Yang Jian would not waste an attack on the likes of you because in his view, you're easy to eliminate and not worth the risk of using a supernatural item."
"Hurry, don't linger, my body staying here is dangerous, once the fierce ghost revives, all of you will die. Besides, I won't live much longer in this state. Only by finding the Pendulum Clock can I restart Resurrection." He urged them because he had just seen his own body twitch slightly.
This was a very bad sign.
Zhang Qing and Wan Tong glanced at each other, both gritting their teeth, and continued their ascent despite their trepidation.
They quickly passed by Liu Baimu's headless body, not daring to stay a moment longer.
Should the fierce ghost revive, this staircase would become a deathly passage to hell, where whoever came would die.
