Chapter 83: The Haunted House, Part 16

All along the way, Chen Meng grumbled angrily, growing more infuriated the more she thought about it. Did Qian Ji really believe she wouldn’t dare to expose him? He had deliberately humiliated her, purposefully refusing to help her—well, let’s just see what happens. Passing through the main hall, she found pen and paper, scribbled something down, and then quietly slipped it through the crack beneath Aiji’s door upstairs.

As she slinked away furtively, Su Man appeared once more, entered the room, and picked up the letter.

"I know Qian Ji’s secret—don’t make a fuss. If you want to know more, meet me in the kitchen at noon."

The letter was clearly meant for her. Su Man glanced at the time; there was still an hour to go. Chen Meng’s little tricks were outside her original plan, but not by far. She had already intended to drive a wedge between Chen Meng and Qian Ji, but it turned out she hardly needed to intervene—they had already fallen out. At a time like this, Chen Meng would naturally seek a more reliable partner.

And of course, Su Man herself was the most reliable. But this meeting, scheduled an hour later... It seemed Chen Meng still hadn’t made up her mind completely. That wouldn’t do. Clearly, Su Man needed to come up with another plan; if she waited too long, something might go wrong.

But before she could think of a solution, Hu Nian came rushing over in a panic.

“Miss Su, I need your help!” he blurted.

Su Man, however, was preoccupied with more pressing matters and wasn’t inclined to pay him much attention.

Desperate, Hu Nian gritted his teeth and said, “Don’t you want to know about that fire? We’ve found out something, and if you help me, I’ll tell you what I’ve discovered!”

The fire? That was certainly something Su Man wanted to know about, but the situation with Chen Meng was important as well.

“What do you want me to do?” she decided to listen first before making up her mind.

“It’s nothing major—Qing Nian’s been trapped by a dog. We’ve tried everything but can’t get past it!” Hu Nian clenched his teeth in anger at the mention of the dog. “Who knows what’s gotten into that animal...”

The Precious Princess?

Before he could finish, Su Man cut him off, “Let’s go—show me.”

If it was truly the Precious Princess, it shouldn’t take much time, and she could still catch up with Chen Meng’s matter afterward.

After they left the room, Chen Meng sneaked back, hesitating. She realized she regretted her decision. Compared to Qian Ji, she despised Su Man even more. She’d acted on impulse; if she really ended up working with Su Man, who knew how furious she’d be in the future?

She had to retrieve the letter before Su Man found it. But when she entered the room, the letter was nowhere to be seen. A flutter of unease struck her, but she tried to reassure herself—Su Man might not know it was from her.

Comforted by this thought, she went off to find Qian Ji. No matter what, she still held leverage over him. No matter how angry he was, he wouldn’t dare do anything to her. Since she hadn’t prepared an excuse for herself yet, she sneaked into Qian Ji’s room. But just as she opened the door, she found Qian Ji standing there, expressionless, staring at her.

His first words nearly made her lose her nerve. “You went to Su Man, didn’t you? Planning to tell her my secret?”

“Don’t be ridiculous! I didn’t tell anyone!” Chen Meng tried to deny it, but then, feeling justified, she straightened her back and declared, “Yes, I went to her. You’re not my only option. I haven’t told her yet, but I want you to know—if you keep this up, sooner or later I’ll reveal your secret!”

“I should have known better than to trust you. Only the dead can keep secrets forever,” Qian Ji said, fixing her with a somber, adult gaze.

A chill ran down Chen Meng’s spine at his words, but she tried to convince herself he was only trying to frighten her, retorting with false bravado, “Don’t forget, I still hold the main piece of evidence. Without me, you’ll never find it!”

“That’s right. Without you, no one will ever find it. And if you’re dead, no one will ever know the secret,” Qian Ji replied with a sinister smile.

Only then did Chen Meng realize the danger. Without thinking, she turned to run—she needed to find Su Man!

But the door, so close at hand, slammed shut right before her.

Meanwhile, Su Man had followed Hu Nian some distance through the limited space of the house. He kept stalling, stopping and starting, never quite leading her to where Qing Nian was supposedly trapped.

His behavior was all too much like someone deliberately wasting time.

She halted. “Aren’t we there yet? Where exactly is Qing Nian?”

“We’re here,” Hu Nian muttered, eyes darting around before he nodded and pointed to the room closest to the living room on the first floor. “He’s in there... trapped.”

“And the dog? Didn’t you say there was a dog blocking you?” she pressed.

“The dog must have run off,” Hu Nian replied, avoiding her gaze, still pointing at the room. “Why don’t you come with me to check on Qing Nian?”

Everything about him was off. Su Man realized what was happening, cursed Chen Meng’s stupidity under her breath, and turned to run upstairs.

But she’d barely taken two steps before Hu Nian grabbed her arm. “Don’t you want to know about the fire? You’ve come all this way—you might as well help me check on Qing Nian. Who knows, maybe he’s already dead in there.”

Without mercy, Su Man slashed out with her knife. Hu Nian’s hand was severed clean at the wrist, falling to the ground with a thud. After a stunned moment, he collapsed to his knees, howling in pain.

“You better pray I’m wrong—otherwise, I really will kill you. I thought you were just foolish, but I never imagined you’d be so stupid as to stall for a monster...” she spat.

With a kick, she sent Hu Nian sprawling and ran upstairs again. This time, she had barely taken two steps when a dark shape flashed before her eyes. She leapt backward, and then, with a sickening thud, something heavy crashed near her feet. Chen Meng, limp as a ragdoll and her face unrecognizable, lay in a pool of blood, dead beyond all hope.

Looking up, Su Man saw Qian Ji peering down from the landing, flashing a victorious and taunting smile.

Su Man drew in a deep breath. Her carefully laid plans were now in shambles. She had calculated every move, but had never accounted for someone being so hopelessly foolish as to seek their own destruction.

She glanced at Hu Nian, still wailing in agony. A teammate who became a liability at the crucial moment—no, not a teammate anymore. An adversary.

She didn’t even feel like asking for an explanation.

“You must have known there would be consequences for this,” she said coldly.

Without waiting for a reply, she hurled her dagger, embedding it deep in Hu Nian’s shoulder.

His screams echoed again. Normally, Su Man would have granted a swift end, but now, she suddenly understood—some people truly deserved a thousand cuts before any sense of justice could be satisfied.