Chapter 63

Chapter 63

Ruth was in a daze, her spirit clearly broken. She certainly couldn’t sleep alone tonight, so Tu Nan simply brought her back to the room she shared with Jenny.

Tu Nan applied medicine to Ruth’s legs. Ruth didn’t react at all throughout the process, merely staring blankly while hugging her knees, lost in thought.

Jenny patted her on the shoulder, offering comfort and hoping she would find the strength to pull herself together soon.

Jack was dead, and even her enemy was gone. Ruth had suddenly lost her sense of direction and didn’t know what to do anymore.

While Ruth sat alone in the corner staring into space, Tu Nan and Jenny sat together to discuss the secrets of the Manor.

“Now we know that the Madam didn’t invite us to the Manor to find playmates for her daughter, but to find a suitable Heart for her,” Jenny said, her brow furrowed. “But then why do the Weird come knocking on our doors every night?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” she continued. “If she wants our Hearts, then there’s no reason for George to have warned us not to open the door on the first night.”

Tu Nan thought back. “Do you remember how Bob looked when he died?”

“Of course, his Heart had been carved out…” Jenny paused, looking puzzled. “Could it really have been the Madam?”

Tu Nan shook her head. “The Madam only needs one Heart for the medicine, yet the Weird knock every night. I’m more inclined to believe that the Weird appearing at night and the Madam are actually from two different factions.”

“They’re competing with the Madam for the Hearts?”

The mystery seemed to grow larger, yet it felt as if they were only a single step away from piercing through the veil.

Tu Nan suddenly recalled the information she had seen in the newspaper.

“The newspaper said that the Manor welcomed a new owner after the fire, but the current owner is still the Madam. She invited many guests after the fire, and all those people disappeared. That must have been when the Madam started plotting for Hearts… Now, the people who die in the Manor all become the ‘pet Sheep’ raised by Lilith.”

“Perhaps those killed by the Madam all turned into pet Sheep. They hate her, but they can only move after midnight. Based on what we saw with Alan, as long as they obtain a living person’s Heart, they can transfer the soul residing in the Sheep’s body into a human vessel and become human again.”

Jenny clicked her tongue. “To become human again, they have to kill two people.”

Tu Nan shook her head. “They stopped being human long ago. In my eyes, that’s just a lingering obsession.”

The two fell into silence.

“Anyway, there are only four of us left. We might as well call him over. Tonight is the third night, and the Weird definitely won’t be as easy to deal with,” Jenny suggested suddenly.

Tu Nan nodded; she had been thinking the same thing.

Fortunately, it wasn’t midnight yet. Tu Nan knocked on the wall, and a response soon came from the other side.

Fu Zhixing asked her what was wrong.

She tapped out a rhythmic message on the wall, signaling to Fu Zhixing that he could sleep in their room tonight.

Fu Zhixing was not a hesitant person. In their current situation, there was indeed strength in numbers. Without a word, he walked over from his room.

Since midnight hadn’t arrived, Tu Nan felt safe opening the door to let Fu Zhixing in.

Ruth was still sitting in the corner in a daze, while Jenny was fussing over her Potted Plant. Tu Nan and Fu Zhixing exchanged a look, and she gestured for him to make himself at home.

Fu Zhixing walked over to the sofa, sat down, and closed his eyes to rest.

“Everyone should try to get some rest first,” Tu Nan said. “I’m afraid it will be very difficult to get any sleep later tonight.”
“I’m not sleepy,” Ruth said, glancing at her blankly. “You guys go ahead and sleep first.”

Jenny stood up, walked to the bed, and lay straight down, closing her eyes decisively.

Tu Nan paused for a moment before walking to the other side of the bed to rest.

Though she lay down to sleep, she wasn’t the least bit tired. Too much had happened today, leaving her mind in a cluttered mess.

The mysteries of the Manor were like a tangled ball of yarn, knotted everywhere with loose ends sticking out. She had no idea how to unravel them and straighten everything out.

As her thoughts drifted, she finally slipped into a hazy slumber.

An unknown amount of time passed before Tu Nan suddenly jolted awake.

The candle in the room had gone out at some point, leaving it pitch black. In the darkness, she heard several sets of breathing; they seemed very close to her, though she couldn’t tell whose was whose.

The rhythmic dripping of water drifted in from outside again.

She still couldn’t understand why there was the sound of water.

With a sudden *whoosh*, light flared up before her eyes. The brightness made her eyes ache, and she blinked hard several times before finally adjusting.

Fu Zhixing had lit a candle.

The pale candle glowed in his palm, its dim yellow flame flickering slightly and illuminating his face.

Fu Zhixing cast a glance toward her.

Tu Nan sat up and scanned the other two.

Jenny was also awake. Ruth remained exactly as she had been before they slept, curled up in the corner without moving a muscle.

“Aren’t your legs numb?” Jenny couldn’t help but ask.

“…” Ruth gave them a ghostly look but said nothing.

*Thump, thump, thump.* There was a knock at the door.

“Don’t they have any new tricks?” Jenny complained. “It’s already the third day, and it’s the exact same routine. Believe it or not, it’s about to say ‘open the door.'”

As soon as the words left her mouth, the voice outside rang out-

“Open the door.”

“…”

“See?” Jenny shrugged. “I knew it.”

However, this voice sounded somewhat familiar.

“Quick, open the door… it’s me…”

Tu Nan listened intently and finally recognized whose voice it was.

Jack!

The Weird were incredibly cunning, experts at psychological warfare who knew exactly what kind of voice to use to lure those inside into the trap.

Ruth’s head snapped up, her eyes vacant as she asked dazed, “Is that you…?”

“It’s me.” The voice outside sounded as if it were enduring some kind of intense pain. “My dear, why won’t you open the door? Don’t you love me anymore?”

“N-no, that’s not it,” Ruth said frantically. To prove her words, she immediately tried to scramble to her feet.

*This is bad.*

Tu Nan jumped up to stop her, only to see Ruth collapse back down the moment she stood up.

-Having stayed in one position for too long, her legs really were numb.

This fall cleared Ruth’s head slightly, and a spark of clarity returned to her eyes.

“I won’t open the door. Give it up.” She understood perfectly well what was outside. Her lover had left her completely and would never return.

“My dear, are you really going to be so heartless?”

“Jack” began to sob quietly.

“It hurts so much… they dug out my heart… my chest is empty, it’s so cold, so much blood…”