Chapter 80: The Haunted House 13

The dagger in Su Man’s hand slashed out once more, but in the next instant, Jing Hua mercilessly broke her neck. As soon as Su Man stopped struggling, Jing Hua regained her senses, panic-stricken, and quickly let go. Su Man’s body slid to the floor in an instant.

“What do I do? What do I do? I killed someone, what do I do? I didn’t mean to, I didn’t mean to kill you. What about Aiji? What will my Aiji do now?”

She frantically tried to reattach Su Man’s neck, but in the next second, the corpse vanished from her hands.

Chen Meng had never expected this. She had only wanted to sneak into the kitchen for something to eat, but ended up witnessing Su Man’s murder!

She was so terrified she lost her senses and, before she could be discovered, hid herself swiftly in a corner. Her heart pounded furiously, as though it might leap out of her chest. She was the last one left of those who had entered together—would she be next?

No, she couldn’t let that happen. Her will to survive surged to its peak.

There must be a way out of this place, there had to be. She had to find a clue, she had to find the exit before anyone else did.

She spun around, intent on leaving, but unexpectedly, she saw Qian Ji, so small, standing at the foot of the stairs, staring straight at her.

Never had Chen Meng’s heart beat so wildly.

“Sister, what did you see?” Qian Ji’s face was dark and oppressive, his presence suffocating.

Chen Meng’s mind was filled with the scene of Jing Hua killing Su Man, terrified that Qian Ji might come at her next.

She pinched her thigh hard, forcing herself not to collapse.

Her voice trembled as she tried to sound casual. “Nothing, I didn’t see anything. I was just looking for something to eat.”

Nervous to the point of babbling, she tried to change the subject. “Your mother is over there…”

She pointed in Jing Hua’s direction, then immediately regretted it, wanting to bang her head against the wall—what was she thinking?

But to her surprise, the previously menacing Qian Ji, upon hearing this, turned and fled upstairs as if escaping.

Chen Meng was stunned for two seconds, but then didn’t dare linger, running off as quickly as she could, feeling as if she’d narrowly escaped death by pure chance.

Yet her stomach still growled with hunger. After a brief hesitation, she dashed into the kitchen to search for food.

But the kitchen was completely empty. Now, truly frightened and furious, she couldn’t help but kick over the trash bin.

She’d glanced at the bin earlier—just scraps of paper and plastic bags, nothing useful.

As she was about to leave, something in the bin unexpectedly caught her eye.

After rummaging for a couple of seconds, her eyes grew brighter and brighter. Grabbing her find, she hurried upstairs.

When Su Man awoke again, an hour had passed.

Recalling the scene of her death, she couldn’t help but complain inwardly. Jing Hua truly was the most terrifying turncoat she’d ever met—proving not all such beings were worth dealing with.

This time, she revived in a room on the third floor. As she stepped out, she heard voices from the adjacent room.

Listening closely, it sounded somewhat like Chen Meng.

“This isn’t enough food. Prepare more for me!”

The voice was haughty to the extreme, which was why Su Man only thought it sounded like Chen Meng.

“That’s all there is, just eat what you have for now,” came another voice, awkward and aggrieved, a sullen boy’s tone—unmistakably Qian Ji.

Chen Meng and Qian Ji?

What on earth had happened while she was gone?

The door opened in front of her, and Chen Meng strutted out, her arms full of food. Upon seeing Su Man, she nearly choked on what she was chewing.

She fell to the floor, pointing at Su Man, unable to form words. “You...you...you…”

She “you-ed” for ages but couldn’t get a word out.

Instead, Qian Ji emerged, “What’s wrong with you now…”

Seeing Su Man, his voice faltered. He glanced instinctively at Chen Meng, who quickly shook her head.

Without another word, Chen Meng gathered the fallen food and fled in a hurry, leaving Su Man and Qian Ji staring at each other.

Qian Ji nodded politely to her, then, in silence, closed the door right in her face.

Su Man tilted her head in puzzlement. What was going on with these two?

Soon, Su Man noticed that wherever she went, Chen Meng would be sneaking around after her. If caught, she’d flash an awkward but polite smile.

Su Man had no intention of allowing this to continue. The next time she caught Chen Meng trailing her, she slipped into a room as she passed by, then, as Chen Meng anxiously searched for her, dragged her inside.

“What are you up to, sneaking around like this?” Su Man scrutinized her.

Chen Meng shivered uncontrollably, but still tried to sound tough. “You...you...I’m not afraid of you.”

Su Man was well-versed in dealing with people like this. She didn’t waste words, delivering a small but effective lesson in “tough love,” until Chen Meng, sporting a panda eye, burst into tears and confessed, “You were clearly dead—I saw it.”

Su Man hadn’t expected her to witness everything. “So, after that, Madam Jing Hua apologized to me? And my body disappeared?”

Chen Meng nodded frantically, nearly falling to her knees in tears. “That’s all I know. If you have a grievance, don’t take it out on me.”

So she was being treated as one of those terrifying entities as well.

Seeing Chen Meng so frightened, Su Man suddenly thought to take advantage of this misunderstanding.

“Then what’s going on between you and Qian Ji?”

Unexpectedly, the previously terrified Chen Meng fell silent at this question. After a pause, she regained her composure, “You’re Su Man, aren’t you? You’re not dead, are you?”

Su Man didn’t even need to answer. Chen Meng was already certain, her expression shifting dramatically, her hand pressed to her aching eye, a flash of resentment in her gaze. “I’ll make you pay for what you’ve done!”

“And how will you do that? Who will help you? Yourself? Or Qian Ji?”

Su Man’s words only fueled Chen Meng’s anger, but she didn’t argue, simply shrieked, “Just you wait! I’ll make sure you die with no place to rest!”

Hearing this, Su Man finally understood, though she was surprised. “Why is Qian Ji helping you?”

If Chen Meng had won him over with the affection of a loving mother, that might have been believable. But from their brief interaction, it was clear the two had issues with each other.

Moreover, their dynamic seemed more like Chen Meng was holding something over Qian Ji.

Hearing Su Man’s question, Chen Meng’s face lit up with barely concealed smugness. “Does it matter to you? All you need to know is that he’ll do exactly as I say!”