Wan Qian stood in the room, pondering for a long time but still unable to recall what she had forgotten.
Oh well—it probably wasn't anything important. With a carefree heart, Wan Qian prepared to wash up and go to bed when suddenly someone knocked on her door.
She walked over to open it and was surprised to find Fang Minglan standing outside.
Fang Minglan's mood was complicated. She had just gone over the rules, and Rule 13 stated, "The nights are cold. Be sure to soak your feet and go to bed by 9 p.m." But when she opened her thermos, she found it was empty.
How could she soak her feet without hot water? Fang Minglan remembered that during dinner, she had seen Wan Qian holding the thermos. Perhaps Wan Qian had already gotten hot water in the afternoon?
With a "let's give it a try" attitude, Fang Minglan spoke up, "I don't have hot water in my room. If you have some, could you share a bit with me?"
"Ah, hot water, huh?" Wan Qian replied. "I just filled it this afternoon." She immediately picked up the thermos and asked, "How much do you need? I'll pour you some."
Fang Minglan was stunned. There really was hot water.
She had spent the entire afternoon searching for clues about the Village Rules, never paying attention to whether the thermos had water in it. If it weren't for the rule that required her to soak her feet, she probably would have never thought to grab the thermos and get hot water.
After all, in the haunted realm, the more one moves, the greater the chance you might inadvertently break a rule.
Fang Minglan studied Wan Qian and suddenly finding it hard to see through the woman in front of her. Was Wan Qian weak or strong? Was she foolish or clever? Fang Minglan couldn't figure it out.
How could someone so bold take the thermos to get hot water when the rules were not clear yet? Or maybe Wan Qian had already found the complete Rules? Or guessed that soaking her feet was necessary tonight, even without the complete rules?
If that's the case, could it be that Wan Qian's previous seemingly gullible demeanor was just a disguise to deceive others? To make her let her guard down, was she planning to deal with her?
In that case, there would be no reason for Wan Qian to tell her that she had hot water. Fang Minglan was lost in thought.
Wan Qian, still holding her warm water bottle, noticed the silence and asked, "Do you still want some hot water?"
Fang Minglan snapped out of her daze and looked at Wan Qian deeply.
Another possibility was that Wan Qian was indeed pretending to be weak to deceive others, and was so confident that she didn't mind sharing some of the hot water with Fang Minglan, knowing it would have no impact.
Fang Minglan smiled slightly. Who will emerge victorious? It's still unknown.
She opened her thermos, let Wan Qian pour in a quarter of it, and thanked her with a smile, "Thank you."
Before leaving, Fang Minglan glanced up at the ceiling beams in Wan Qian's room. The beam was particularly dark, completely indistinct, but her talent ability told her that there was something very dangerous up there.
Fang Minglan's talent was perception-based, allowing her to foresee danger. This ability was a reward she received after accidentally uncovering 60% of the truth about the haunted realm during her first entry into the thriller world. It has helped her many times in the subsequent haunted realms she has encountered.
Even though she had this talent, Fang Minglan did not choose to become a member of the "Secrets Unravelers." Instead, she carefully concealed her ability and used it astutely to gain the benefits she desired.
For example, her third boyfriend—the man who had never come out of the dense forest.
If she could manage to leave this haunted realm, she was sure she would soon receive a hefty insurance payout—after all, dying in the haunted realm would still be considered an accidental death.
Just as Fang Minglan left, the door next door opened. Hao Shijun appeared before Wan Qian, glanced at Fang Minglan's departing figure, and asked, "What did she come for?"
As a police officer, Hao Shijun instinctively sensed a dangerous aura from Fang Minglan. It was hard to explain but quite subtle. It was an intuition he had developed after years of dealing with criminals.
Even Wang Hui and Xie Jia didn't give him that impression. Wang Hui, in fact, exuded more of a numbing despair.
So, since entering this haunted realm, Hao Shijun had kept his distance from Fang Minglan.
Wan Qian, however, remained oblivious to these undercurrents.
"Oh, she just came to borrow some hot water—probably to wash up. The village is cold at night; soaking your feet helps you feel better."
During the day, one might not notice the chill, but as soon as darkness fell, the temperature dropped sharply. With the evening breeze blowing, Wan Qian herself began to feel a bit cold.
She looked at Hao Shijun and kindly asked, "Don't you have any hot water? Do you want me to share some with you? You should soak your feet too."
After a moment's thought, Hao Shijun nodded. Wan Qian immediately cheerfully poured him nearly half a bottle of hot water.
Feeling that she had done two good deeds, Wan Qian was thoroughly content. Once she closed her door, she used the remaining water to wash her face and feet before heading to bed.
In the middle of the night, the temperature suddenly dropped. In her sleep, Wan Qian tossed and turned, feeling uneasy, and pulled the covers tighter around herself.
Suddenly, outside the door, the sound of a suona (a traditional Chinese wind instrument) playing echoed.
Dum dum—a door was being knocked on.
"There's a performance tonight, would you like to come and watch the play?" The voice outside was cheerful.
Inside the room, there was no sound.
Xie Jia lay on the bed, gripping her mother's hand tightly, not making a sound.
Wang Hui held Xie Jia tightly in her arms, her eyes wide open, staring into the pitch-black room without uttering a word.
Hao Shijun, who shared the room with them, slept on a desk. Before going to sleep, he had instructed both of them not to move or make any noise during the night. Naturally, he himself was also silent.
The voice outside waited for a while but received no response, so it moved on to knock on the next door, going down the hallway in turn.