Beauty Snake - Chapter 61

Chapter 61: The One in the Painting is a Serpent Demon.

With her eyes blindfolded and guided by a staff member, the two stopped at a specific spot inside the castle. Upon receiving the instruction, Ji Yunfei removed the blindfold and looked around.

It was pitch black. Only small candle-shaped lights flickered weakly in the distance.

Borrowing that faint light, Ji Yunfei pulled Xie Yin and began moving slowly forward, soon reaching the candle. However, before she could observe her surroundings closely, a scolding voice rang out from behind—low, deep, and tinged with a hint of annoyance: “You lot! What are you doing idling in the living room? The Madam wants her pumpkin soup.”

“Hurry to the kitchen and bring the prepared soup upstairs!” A tall shadow suddenly appeared in the darkness, seemingly dressed in a tailcoat—the image of a butler.

The voice appeared so abruptly that Ji Yunfei’s heart lurched. Her lips parted, and just as she was about to scream, a hand from behind firmly covered her mouth.

“Shh, don’t make a sound. The ghosts here will find you,” Xie Yin whispered into her ear, her voice barely a breath.

Reminded by Xie Yin, Ji Yunfei remembered the sign at the entrance: “Do not scream under any circumstances, or the trapped ghosts will discover you and begin a pursuit.”

Gripped by lingering fear, she nodded obediently and patted the hand over her mouth, signaling Xie Yin that she could let go.

“He said go to the kitchen? How are we supposed to find it in this darkness?” Ji Yunfei whispered in confusion. She looked around and quickly locked her gaze onto a folded piece of paper next to the candle.

Unfolding the paper under the weak candlelight, the two saw its contents. It was a map of the castle’s interior, detailing the layout. Most eye-catching was the red text in the margin:

Adventurers may take the map and the candle to continue their exploration. The ghosts here will kindly reset everything to its original state.

Seeing this, Ji Yunfei and Xie Yin exchanged a look. Tacitly, one took the candle and the other took the map before moving into a corner.

Click— The sound of a mechanism echoed. Where the candle had vanished, a new light appeared; everything had reset to how it was before they arrived.

Not having time to marvel at the clever machinery, the two used the candlelight to study the map. According to the map, they were currently at the northernmost end of the living room, while their destination—the kitchen—was at the southernmost end, a considerable distance away.

Fortunately, with the faint glow of the candle, they weren’t entirely in the dark. Ji Yunfei took a deep breath and nodded to Xie Yin, who instantly understood and took her hand.

On the way from the living room to the kitchen, air-jet traps occasionally attacked their ankles. Ji Yunfei covered her mouth tightly; even when startled, she didn’t make a sound.

Luckily, they reached the kitchen door without further incident. Within her limited field of vision, Ji Yunfei searched the area under the dim yellow light and soon discovered orange stains and fine white powder scattered across the wooden floor.

This discovery made her frown. Following the marks on the floor, she soon saw a bowl of pumpkin soup sitting on the stove. Though it was a model, it looked realistic enough. Beside the soup was an unlabeled jar of medicine and a note.

Clue 1: The pumpkin soup in the kitchen and a jar of medicine. You have the pumpkin soup. Now, go see the master of the manor. The Madam has been waiting in the second-floor bedroom for a long time. Do not make her impatient.

“The bedroom is directly above the kitchen. The stairs leading up are on the left,” Xie Yin said, quickly planning the route on the map. “This way.”

The two crouched low, hugging the wall until they reached the side of the stairs. Suddenly, rustling whispers drifted down from above.

“The Madam has been getting stranger lately… She used to be so dignified and well-kept. Why did she suddenly become so frantic and mad?”

“Shh! Lower your voice! Don’t let the butler hear you…”

“But it’s true. The Madam is not normal. Maybe her memory is fading with age. In the middle of the night, I always hear her writing and drawing in her room…”

“And she’s always muttering something under her breath. ‘Cannot forget, time is running out’?”

Amidst the whispering, hurried footsteps echoed upstairs, followed by the familiar, deep voice of the butler: “Wagging your tongues again? Do you want me to chop them off and mix them into a dish?”

“Get lost and do your jobs!”

Two sets of panicked footsteps scurried away. If one listened closely, the two gossips could still be heard grumbling: “That butler is always lurking around like a ghost…”

“Aaaaah—!” While Ji Yunfei was still processing the information, a girl’s scream erupted from behind. Ji Yunfei knit her brows; that wasn’t Xie Yin’s voice.

She looked back to see a girl with a bob cut screaming in place. Like an ant on a hot pan, she was hopping up and down, yelling: “A cockroach! Aaaaah!”

We’re doomed. That was the first thought that popped into Ji Yunfei’s head. She wanted to calm the girl down, but the other was in such a state of panic that she couldn’t hear anything.

“The scent of the living… Who is there!” The footsteps from upstairs began descending. The butler’s low roar echoed through the space in 360 degrees, heavy with pressure.

“I found you… The living should not be here…” Before she could react, the butler’s figure appeared before her. Under the light, Ji Yunfei finally saw his face.

It was a face covered in blood-red scars… the original features were completely gone, making it terrifying. Seeing the three of them, that horrific face forced a grin, looking even more ghastly.

“Run!” Ji Yunfei didn’t hesitate. She reached back, grabbed the hand behind her, and bolted toward the stairs.

Relying on her memory of the map, Ji Yunfei dashed into the Madam’s bedroom and slammed the door shut. Only after ensuring there was no movement outside did she lean against the door, gasping for air.

“Xie Yin, are you okay?”

“Xie Yin?” When there was no response, Ji Yunfei realized something was wrong. She turned around, and her pupils shrunk.

The hand she was holding wasn’t Xie Yin’s. Standing before her was a mannequin draped in cloth.

Her heart clenched. She shoved the mannequin’s hand away and peered out the bedroom door. Silence had returned to the surroundings, as if nothing had happened. Ji Yunfei had no choice but to close the door again and take things one step at a time.

Picking up the candle that had fallen to the floor, she inspected the room. Books and clothes were scattered everywhere in a mess. She stepped carefully but was suddenly tripped by something, nearly falling.

Looking down, she found hundreds, thousands of “snakes” surrounding the bed. This discovery made her gasp. She had to admit the props in this haunted house were high-quality; even knowing they were fake, her heart still hammered at first sight.

She knelt down and pushed the pile of prop snakes aside, revealing the brown wooden floor. Upon it were faint, barely noticeable bloodstains. Following the trail upward under the light, she saw the state of the bed.

Lying in the center was an “old woman” in a nightgown. Her clothes were neat, her silver hair was spread out wildly, and a faint smile lingered on her aged face—she had seemingly passed away without pain. However, beneath the calm surface, the bedding was soaked through with blood. The source was two terrifying blood-red holes in the woman’s neck.

This must be the master of Twilight Manor.

Ji Yunfei frowned and touched the woman’s neck; the two holes looked like the work of snake fangs. She raised the candle to inspect other parts of the mannequin and soon noticed something was off. The left hand was clenched in a tight fist, as if holding something.

Ji Yunfei pried the mannequin’s hand open. Inside was a piece of paper very similar to the one in the kitchen, but this wasn’t a note—it was a full sheet of paper.

Clue 2: The Madam’s calligraphy and painting.

Ji Yunfei focused on the paper. The first thing she saw was a painting. The person in the painting had blurred features, showing only an outline. Most distinct, however, was the human upper body and the snake tail belonging to a serpent for the lower body.

The one in the painting was a serpent demon. Ji Yunfei was almost certain. After all, this blurred silhouette was far too similar to the “Snake Beauty” and her kind that she had seen before.

She couldn’t help but sigh; it seemed she and serpent demons were fated to cross paths everywhere…

But she couldn’t dwell on that now. Her priority was to find the next mission location, finish the quest, and find Xie Yin. Her gaze moved down to the dense red text. Leaning in, she could even smell a faint scent of iron.

Was this a blood letter…?

Do not forget him… Time is running out, give me a quick end. Hide! Hide! Do not let them find you! I will protect you from the most hidden high place.

Next to the dense red font, this last sentence was highlighted in black ink, making it very prominent.

“The most hidden high place?” Ji Yunfei murmured. She checked the map and quickly found the place that fit the description best—the castle attic.

Having confirmed her next destination, Ji Yunfei pursed her lips and whispered: “Whether you are human, ghost, or demon, I’m coming to see for myself.”

“Glasses, are you ready? A-Fei should be arriving soon,” Xie Yin’s voice came through the walkie-talkie.

“Don’t worry, Boss. The NPC has been… well…” Glasses-Ge paused, glancing at the NPC who had fallen into a beautiful dream nearby. “Arranged. No problem.”

“Have you memorized your lines? There must be no mistakes in the performance. Do not let A-Fei notice anything unusual.”

“Don’t worry, Boss. Absolutely no problem. Today, I’ll show you my genius acting skills!” Glasses-Ge sounded significantly more confident, his voice full of excitement and anticipation.

“Alright, handle it well. See you at the Ghost Market tonight.”

“Understood, Boss! See you then!”

Huff— Huff— The sound of heavy breathing approached. Glasses-Ge immediately composed himself and prepared for the performance.

A faint light appeared in the dark attic as the floor entrance was opened. The attic welcomed its first visiting adventurer.

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