chapter 52

“Fu Zhixing…” Tu Nan’s voice was dry. “I think we… should run quickly…”

“Run!” Fu Zhixing didn’t hesitate, turning around and sprinting away.

The wind howled past their ears. As soon as the sheep saw them turn and run, they immediately broke into a gallop, chasing after them.

While chasing, they let out weird howling noises.

Tu Nan felt she had never run so fast in her life, yet she still couldn’t outrun the four-legged sheep.

Fu Zhixing was much faster than her; she could almost feel the heavy breathing of the sheep right behind her.

“Careful!”

Fu Zhixing reached the doorway first, turned back with a cold look in his eyes, and swung something out with his hand.

A cool breeze swept past her ear. She didn’t dare look back, but out of the corner of her eye, she seemed to see the sheep behind her pause for a moment.

Biting her lower lip, she used all her strength to reach the doorway.

With a “bang,” the wooden gate of the fence was shut. There was no Lock on this door, and she worried the sheep might chase after them, but fortunately, they didn’t seem to have any such intention.

She leaned against the fence, her throat tasting of blood from running too fast.

“What’s up with these sheep… really?” she asked, still shaken.

Bob and Alan-how could they have turned into two sheep?

It was too weird.

“I’m afraid it has something to do with whatever knocks on the door every night.” Fu Zhixing’s face looked terrible. He glanced up at the moonlight. “It’s about time. Let’s head back to the Mansion first.”

Tu Nan nodded, suppressing the panic in her heart. The two of them walked back to the Mansion in silence.

The scene of the Lamb writing its own name on the ground lingered in her mind.

Bob and Alan had both turned into Lambs, so… what was the thing now inside Alan’s body?

And why did it dig out Bob’s heart?

She was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the strange sight up ahead until Fu Zhixing suddenly pulled her aside, snapping her back to reality.

“Shh.” Fu Zhixing pressed his index finger to his lips, signaling her not to speak.

They hid in the shadow beneath a Rose trellis. If you didn’t look closely, you’d never notice there were two people here.

She looked ahead. Two men were carrying a Stretcher toward the direction they had just come from.

It seemed they had run into the Mansion’s servants disposing of a corpse.

“What bad luck, it’s our turn to do this again,” one of the men complained. “Last time that woman was so thin and small, it was easy to handle. This man is so heavy, it’s bound to be a hassle.”

“Keep your voice down,” the other man said. “If George hears you, he’ll punish you for sure.”

“Sigh.” The first man sighed. “It’s all because we’re not good with words and never win her favor. Look at Simon, he really knows how to please people.”

“Just say less.”

The two men carried the body forward in silence and haste.

Tu Nan and Fu Zhixing exchanged a glance and quietly followed.

The two men didn’t walk far. Unexpectedly, they returned to the very place where Tu Nan and Fu Zhixing had first arrived.

The Sheep Pen.

It seemed that many things in this Mansion were intricately connected to these sheep.

The men opened the door and entered the Sheep Pen, while Tu Nan and Fu Zhixing crept closer.

Fu Zhixing took out a Miniature Doll from his pocket, only the size of a palm, and placed it on the ground. The Little Doll actually began to move, step by step, looking just like a miniature version of Fu Zhixing.

Tu Nan watched as the Little Doll walked in perfect sync, slipping through the crack of the door that had just been pushed open.
“He can let us hear what they’re saying.” Fu Zhixing explained in a low voice.

He took out a pair of Headphones and handed one to Tu Nan.

Quite considerate.

Tu Nan took one Headphone and put it on her ear. The sounds inside came through clearly.

“What’s wrong with these sheep? Why do they look so agitated?”

“Forget about them, let’s deal with this thing first. We have to finish him before Midnight.”

Then came the sound of dragging something heavy, followed by a sudden “thud,” as if something hard had struck stone.

Tu Nan recalled that the only place with stone in the Sheep Pen was the huge Stone Trough.

When she was feeding them this morning, she noticed two Stone Rods by the Stone Trough. At the time, she hadn’t understood what they were for.

Now, she seemed to vaguely understand.

The sound in the Headphones quickly turned into rhythmic heavy blows, again and again, the heavy Stone Rods striking flesh.

“Pa”

“Pa”

“Pa”

She inappropriately remembered a video she’d seen about making Beef Balls in a certain region.

Using manpower, repeatedly pounding.

“Save this for watering the flowers,” someone said. “Throw these bones to the sheep. Why are they moving again?”

“These stupid things probably can’t resist when they see food.”

Tu Nan couldn’t listen any longer. She took off the Headphones, her face pale, her stomach churning.

Fu Zhixing didn’t look much better.

If just listening made them this sick, what about seeing it with their own eyes?

The Little Doll wobbled out from inside, and Fu Zhixing tucked it into his arms, took off his Headphones, and said, “It’s about time. Let’s head back.”

Their night excursion had already yielded plenty of useful information.

They hurried back to the Mansion before those two servants came out.

The Mansion was pitch dark inside. They carefully felt their way back to the Third Floor.

It wasn’t Midnight yet, so Jenny hadn’t locked the door. In the darkness, Tu Nan said goodbye to Fu Zhixing and groped her way into the room.

Inside, only a single Candle was lit, casting a dim light. She hid in the blind spot of the Mural’s gaze and exchanged a look with Jenny, who had already noticed her.

Jenny nodded.

Only then did Tu Nan step out.

The Mural was covered with a Blanket by Jenny, and the Little Doll Fu Zhixing had made was lying motionless on the bed, looking as if it were asleep.

“Any news?” Tu Nan asked.

“When I got back, the Blanket on the Painting had fallen off again. The Little Doll just sat there dumbly. I think they noticed something. George came knocking not long after.”

“Did he notice anything?” Tu Nan asked nervously.

Jenny shook her head. “I just said you were taking a bath and didn’t let him in, then covered the Mural again.”

“They probably already know something’s wrong,” Tu Nan frowned, “but they haven’t confronted us.”

“Since the Rule doesn’t forbid it, even if they notice, there’s nothing they can do.” Jenny saw her pale face and asked quietly, “Did you find anything?”

Tu Nan hesitated, but still recounted what they’d seen tonight.

“…That’s how it was. Bob and Alan, they’re probably really turned into two sheep.”

The information was overwhelming, and Jenny was left dumbfounded and utterly disgusted.

“So what exactly did we feed them this morning?”