Her Rose – Chapter 68

The game, which was halfway through, was interrupted by a sudden accident. Jiang Xinyue was led away by the staff to change her pants, and the others had no choice but to pause and wait for her.

The two girls who had been comforted initially felt a bit embarrassed for crying their eyes out over a virtual character. Now, seeing Jiang Xinyue’s state, they felt a mix of disdain and relief.

For first-timers at a haunted house, they had done quite well—at least they hadn’t lost control of their bladders like this supposed regular.

The haunted house was clearly well-experienced in dealing with guests having physical reactions to being scared. Not only did they have clean clothes prepared, but they even had a dedicated emergency doctor.

But today’s guest was particularly unreasonable. She was the one who got so scared she wet herself, yet she insisted there was a problem with the glasses and that she couldn’t take them off. She ranted and raved, cursing out all the staff members and threatening to sue them.

The manager in charge of this story couldn’t stand it anymore. If it weren’t for the Pleasure Club card, they would have thrown this foul-mouthed person out long ago. They were just working a job, not selling their bodies; they didn’t have to take this kind of insult.

He took a step forward, grabbed the glasses on Jiang Xinyue’s head, and with a soft click, easily unfastened them.

Jiang Xinyue froze on the spot. The manager said coldly, “Ma’am, every pair of our glasses is inspected by a specialist before being given to a guest to ensure there are no issues. You are free to sue us, but we also reserve the right to countersue you for slandering our haunted house’s products. If you have no objections, we can take you to see a lawyer right now.”

As arrogant and domineering as Jiang Xinyue usually was, she was, after all, just a bully in her early twenties who only acted tough at home. Seeing that they were serious, she instantly wilted like a frost-bitten eggplant and bluffed, “Well, I fell like that. Aren’t you responsible for it?”

The manager smiled. “A haunted house is inherently a thrill-seeking activity. You signed the information and consent form before entering, didn’t you? We are not liable for injuries caused by a guest’s own improper actions.”

Jiang Xinyue: “…Then give me a new pair of glasses!”

Manager: “Certainly. However, given your physical condition, we do not recommend you continue the experience.”

Jiang Xinyue was furious. “Are you looking down on me?”

Although she already wanted to back out, she had boasted so much earlier. Now, not only had she wet her pants, but she would also be the first to suggest leaving. Jiang Xinyue’s fragile ego couldn’t accept it.

The manager: “I wouldn’t dare. Please, be my guest.”

Good advice is lost on a fool rushing to their doom. At worst, they’d just have to prepare a few more pairs of pants for her.

By the time Jiang Xinyue was brought back by the staff, Jiang Hanguang and Cheng Ying had already exchanged the intel they had gathered: 1. Miss Li was not married before she died, but she had already lost her virginity. Combined with the fact that she hanged herself, the person who defiled her was likely among them. 2. The Cousin Miss, played by Jiang Hanguang, likely had feelings for Miss Li, which meant she was a suspect. But whether that was true or not depended on figuring out the reason for the missed appointment. 3. Xiao Xiao still hadn’t appeared. She was very likely the watchman who witnessed the crime.

Although they were quite close to the truth, everyone had just witnessed Jiang Xinyue’s miserable state. Out of goodwill, Jiang Hanguang still said, “Why don’t we stop playing?”

Jiang Xinyue had never found her useless Omega sister so agreeable. She was about to raise her hand in agreement when she saw the looks from the other two girls. The faint disdain immediately stung her glass heart.

“I’m fine!” she glared viciously at Jiang Hanguang, as if her sister’s kind suggestion was an insult. “That was just an accident. I wasn’t ready, and that ghost was chasing me like it was possessed. Let’s keep playing! I’d like to see if she can actually scare me to death!”

Jiang Hanguang: “Uh…”

Cheng Ying patted her shoulder and whispered, “Ignore her. Anyway, they have plenty of pants for her to change into here.”

After speaking, she even patted Jiang Xinyue’s shoulder approvingly and said loudly, “As expected of a seasoned haunted house player, Xinyue. Your sister-in-law really admires this spirit of yours, fighting on despite repeated defeats. I mean, what’s the big deal? It’s all fake. Let’s keep playing.”

The statement was seventy percent sarcasm and thirty percent sincerity, so much so that no one present could quite tell if she was praising or mocking her.

But one thing was certain: provoked by her words, Jiang Xinyue wouldn’t have the face to run away even if she wanted to.

Jiang Hanguang looked at the smiling Cheng Ying and thought for the first time that she could be quite… cunning.

But with Jiang Xinyue and Cheng Ying on opposite sides, she didn’t need even a second to think about who to support.

Jiang Hanguang unhesitatingly abandoned her thin familial bond and tacitly agreed with Cheng Ying’s suggestion.

The two girls just went with the flow, and so the game continued.

Cheng Ying suggested they investigate the Miss’s room, but they were told that after the Second Miss’s death, her room had been sealed and no one was allowed to enter without the master’s permission.

That left only the room of the Eldest Miss, played by Jiang Xinyue, to check.

The group first went to the guest room where the Yin-Yang Master was staying. The room’s furnishings were relatively simple, so almost everyone simultaneously noticed the talismans scattered on the round wooden table in the center of the room.

Cheng Ying led the way over, picked up a talisman, and compared it to the small booklet in her pocket. She turned to the others and said, “This is a house-warding and ghost-expelling talisman.”

The so-called house-warding and ghost-expelling talisman was used specifically for homes targeted by vengeful spirits. It seemed the Li family had hired the Yin-Yang Master not just to preside over a ritual, but because they already knew that Miss Li’s vengeful spirit might return.

Just as everyone was looking at each other, the wooden door to the guest room suddenly slammed shut. The room was instantly plunged into darkness, and the red-clothed female ghost descended from the ceiling, her red dress billowing as she landed in their midst.

“Ah!” The two girls let out a scream and clung to each other.

Jiang Xinyue’s legs were trembling with fear, but this time she didn’t seem to be the ghost’s main target. The ghost floated towards Cheng Ying.

Cheng Ying’s expression was blank. Before being possessed by Cheng Mantou, this thing was just a computer-controlled puppet. Naturally, she wasn’t afraid and just waited for it to deliver its lines.

But her calm demeanor in the face of danger had only one explanation in the eyes of the others—she was scared stiff.

Before the female ghost could speak, Cheng Ying was pulled back. Caught off guard, she stumbled back two steps and fell into a soft, fragrant embrace.

The scent of rose pheromones and a faint medicinal smell wove into a warm net, enveloping the bewildered Alpha.

The woman gently pressed her into her embrace, preventing her from seeing the female ghost’s face. Slender fingers combed through her hair, and a gentle voice echoed by her ear, “It’s okay, don’t be afraid.”

But it was clear that she herself was also completely rigid.

Jiang Hanguang was now facing the female ghost directly. Its rather terrifying face was almost upon her, its eyes, which were nothing but whites, stared fixedly at her.

Even though Jiang Hanguang wasn’t afraid of ghosts, her heart couldn’t help but race and her nerves tensed up.

Humans are naturally inclined to seek advantage and avoid harm. In this situation, the instinctive reaction was to turn and run.

Jiang Hanguang was no exception, but it was obvious that Miss Li was after Cheng Ying this time. If she left, Cheng Ying would be chased again.

Thinking of the Alpha’s disheveled appearance from a short while ago, running so hard her hat fell off, Jiang Hanguang pressed her lips together tightly. She looked at the female ghost quietly, trying to keep her voice steady. “May I… help you with something?”

The staff member controlling the ghost from behind the scenes: “…”

This job was becoming impossible.

I’m playing a ghost, not a monk who separates lovers! Miss, do you have to look like a star-crossed lover about to be torn apart by me, the evil ghost?!

She could only say her line, “Accomplice to a tyrant, you deserve a terrible death!”

Then she quickly made her escape.

The female ghost dissipated into a red mist, the guest room door suddenly swung open, and the room returned to brightness. Only then did Jiang Hanguang finally let go of Cheng Ying, not forgetting to check her face.

“Are you okay?”

Cheng Ying looked at Jiang Hanguang’s beautiful face, so close to her own, and felt as if a large cotton candy had been stuffed down her throat.

A slowly spreading sweetness, and an indescribable softness.

The woman’s hand, clutching her sleeve, was still trembling slightly, but she still looked at her with such concern.

As if she could only be at ease after she nodded.

So this is what it feels like to be protected by the one you love?

“I’m fine…” Cheng Ying wanted to say she wasn’t scared, but she couldn’t bear to part with this protective Jiang Hanguang and the woman’s comfort. In the end, she could only mumble out a single phrase.

“That’s good.” Jiang Hanguang smiled in relief.

The two girls: “…”

Although there were five people in this room, they felt like the three of them were completely superfluous.

They were dedicated Jiang Hanguang fans, but they were about to turn into Guang-Ying CP fans.

But another person was completely oblivious to being a third wheel. Jiang Xinyue snorted coldly, “Sister, you’re not even afraid of ghosts anymore just to suck up to your backer. Money really does make the world go round.”

The two girls couldn’t help but glare at her. Can’t you just say something human for once?

Only then did Jiang Hanguang remember that there were others in the room. A faint blush rose on her face, and she immediately stood up straight. “Let’s go check the other room.”

Cheng Ying looked at the smug Jiang Xinyue with a dark expression, which only softened slightly when her gaze fell back to the hand Jiang Hanguang was holding.

The Eldest Miss’s room looked far more luxurious than Jiang Hanguang’s. The cabinets and table corners were inlaid with gold trim, but no one who entered had the time to appreciate this ancient nouveau riche’s room.

One reason was that after seeing so many ghosts, a lingering fear remained in their hearts. The second was that something more obvious had caught their attention.

The Eldest Miss’s windows, door, and bedside were all hung with strings of ghost-expelling talismans.

“Looks like we’ve found the right place,” Cheng Ying said, directing everyone to search the room’s cabinets and bed. Soon, several items were placed on the table.

A wooden box the size of a pencil case, a strip of cloth clearly torn from a piece of clothing, and a letter.

Inside the wooden box, a row of gleaming gold bars was neatly arranged, but two were missing.

The two girls exchanged a look and silently took out the gold bars from their pockets, placing them in the empty spots.

A perfect fit.

Cheng Ying opened the letter. Inside were only a few short lines: “August fifteenth, the wooden bridge in the back courtyard. Do not break our promise.”

The moment the letter was opened, a sinister wind blew in from nowhere, and the door slammed shut with a bang.

Jiang Hanguang pulled Cheng Ying behind her, and the two girls instinctively clung to each other.

However, perhaps due to the effect of the ghost-expelling talismans, the female ghost did not appear.

Just as everyone was on high alert, the light from outside suddenly vanished.

Night had fallen.

“The weather is dry, be careful with fire.” Just as the group came out of the Eldest Miss’s room, they saw a person dressed as a watchman approaching from a distance, beating a gong.

It was Xiao Xiao.

Upon seeing them, she trotted over. “I finally get to make my entrance!”

Cheng Ying directly held out her hand. “What did you bring?”

Xiao Xiao took a deep breath, as if still shaken, and rambled as she fumbled in her pocket, “The moment I opened my eyes, that female ghost was standing right in front of me. I almost fainted from fright.”

She placed half a pearl, adorned with a red string, in Cheng Ying’s hand. “She said something about me not saving her when she was in peril.”

Jiang Hanguang looked at the half pearl and silently took out the other half from her own pocket, also placing it in Cheng Ying’s palm.

Cheng Ying gently closed her hand, and the two halves became one.

At that moment, the faint light in the Li residence was extinguished, and a red mist slowly enveloped the entire estate, looking exceptionally terrifying.

Cheng Ying sighed. “Let’s go. It seems they’re forcing us to meet the ghost.”

On the way from the front courtyard to the back, Cheng Ying explained her theory to the others.

Miss Li and her Cousin Miss, both Omegas, were in love, but their relationship was not accepted by society. The master of the Li family was even rushing to marry her off because of it. Left with no choice, Miss Li decided to take a risk and elope with her cousin.

“But,” Cheng Ying’s voice suddenly dropped, sounding particularly gloomy and frightening in the already dark and eerie place, “Miss Li’s two maids, afraid of being implicated, informed the Eldest Miss of the matter. And the Cousin Miss, due to her frail health, failed to make the appointment.”

Jiang Hanguang looked at the two trembling girls and helplessly took over from Cheng Ying, continuing in a gentle tone, “On the night of the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet, the Eldest Miss went to the wooden bridge and there… she violated her own sister. A passing watchman witnessed everything but was too afraid to intervene…”

No one spoke. What happened next needed no further explanation.

Abandoned by her lover and violated by her own sister, Miss Li chose to end it all. And now, her vengeful spirit roamed this home that had pushed her into the bottomless abyss, quietly watching every one of them.

“So,” Xiao Xiao scratched her head and said with difficulty, “which one of us is the sinner?”

No one answered her. If one were to talk about the instigator, it was, of course, the Eldest Miss, who was consumed by lust and raped her own sister. But everyone present could not argue that they were innocent.

Every one of them was an accomplice in this tragedy.

In the dim back courtyard, the only light came from a river lantern in the small river.

The lantern rested by the bank, its flame flickering as if waiting for someone to approach.

Inanimate objects cannot speak or move, so on that night, it could only stay there, watching as that girl went from pleading to wailing, and then to complete despair.

Jiang Hanguang stopped Cheng Ying, who was about to step forward, and walked up to gently touch the river lantern.

A red light flashed in the back courtyard, and a female ghost in a red dress descended from the sky, bringing with her a howling wind and heavy resentment as she landed before everyone’s eyes.

Only this time, no one screamed, no one fled.

After learning everything, they felt nothing but deep pity for her.

Miss Li was no longer in that terrifying state with a green face and bared fangs. She had returned to her appearance in life. Through the thin red mist, one could vaguely make out a girl with delicate features.

She gazed at everyone present, waiting for their answers. Then she would decide whether to let them live or die.

This girl, who couldn’t even control her own destiny in life, had finally become a malevolent ghost capable of dominating the lives and deaths of others after her death.

Cheng Ying squeezed the hand Jiang Hanguang was holding and said loudly, “We have found the person who harmed you.”

Miss Li’s gaze fell on her face, devoid of any emotion.

“I should not have been an accomplice to a tyrant, helping your parents hide the truth and even trying to exorcise you. If you are willing to be reborn, I will perform rituals and pray for you every day, wishing you a happy next life, free from such difficult struggles.”

Cheng Ying’s voice was filled with solemnity. Coupled with the incredibly realistic surroundings, everyone present couldn’t help but put themselves in their roles, feeling even more guilt towards the female ghost before them.

“Failing to meet you was my fault. If you still wish for me to die with you, then take my life. I will accompany you on the road to the underworld.” Jiang Hanguang looked at Miss Li with a complicated expression. As an actress, she was skilled at getting into character, and the guilt and sorrow in her heart were even stronger than the others’.

The two girls followed suit, “Miss, we shouldn’t have betrayed you. We are willing to pay with our lives.”

Xiao Xiao: “To not save someone in peril is the same as being a murderer. If you kill me, I have nothing to say.”

Finally, the gazes of all the people and the ghost fell upon Jiang Xinyue.

It was unclear whether their gazes sparked Jiang Xinyue’s abundant desire to perform, or if Miss Li’s current appearance wasn’t intimidating enough.

Jiang Xinyue straightened her back and sneered, “It’s just a game. You’re all acting like it’s real.”

As if that statement wasn’t infuriating enough, she added smugly, “If you ask me, this ghost’s tolerance is way too low. Isn’t it normal for an Alpha to make a little mistake when they’re drunk? Her family even found someone to take her off their hands, but she had to be so dramatic. Isn’t that just looking for trouble?”

“Xinyue, shut up!” Jiang Hanguang couldn’t listen anymore and spoke up to stop her.

But Jiang Xinyue’s eyes suddenly widened. “Look at you, now that you’ve latched onto a rich backer, you even dare to talk to me…”

Before she could finish her sentence, her expression suddenly changed.

The female ghost suspended in the air transformed, her face reverting to that gruesome image of endlessly bleeding wounds. She tilted her head back at a right angle and let out a hoarse, piercing cackle.

Jiang Xinyue subconsciously tried to hide behind Jiang Hanguang while fumbling with the glasses on her head, but the ghost gave her no such chance. With a flash of red, it was right in front of her, its voice thick with resentment.

“Shameless, unrepentant, you deserve to die!”

“Ah!”

For some reason, Jiang Xinyue’s glasses wouldn’t open again. She let out a wail, turned, and ran. No one had time to grab her.

It wasn’t until she was chased by the female ghost all the way to the back courtyard gate, where she slammed into the thick stone wall with a thud and passed out without another sound.

Only then did the female ghost look back at the others, her form slowly dissipating.

The red mist receded with her, and the sky brightened.