Gu Mian stepped up to the green house.
Every now and then, a few players would pass by in the distance. Most people huddled together in groups, as if they believed safety lay in numbers.
A few people were gathered not too far from the entrance of the green house.
A first glance revealed them to be mostly girls, with a few boys interspersed among them. They all looked like students and seemed quite anxious.
When they saw Gu Mian and his group approach, one of the boys timidly seemed to want to come over and say something.
However, the moment he caught sight of Fatty, who was following close behind Gu Mian, he retracted the foot he had already half extended.
Fatty noticed this too and rubbed his face thoughtfully, "Do I look that fierce?"
Logically speaking, the Doctor should look fiercer than me.
As Fatty was mulling this over, he saw a hesitant expression appear on one of the boy's faces. After seeming to grapple with a decision for a while, the boy finally lifted his foot and walked over to them.
He headed towards Chu Changge. Now that Mr. Green and the ghost woman, two entities with sickening appearances, were not present, Gu Mian, Chu Changge, and Fatty looked relatively normal.
The male student approached Chu Changge first, who seemed more approachable.
For a change, Chu Changge's tone was slightly softer, "Is there something you need?"
Fatty, who had never heard Chu Changge speaking with such a tone before, was intensely curious.
This kindness must conceal some plot, Fatty thought.
Seeing that Chu Changge seemed quite amiable, the boy's tense expression eased up a little. He took a deep breath and asked, "You also saw the light riddle, didn't you? The one about braiding hair."
Fatty, upon hearing this, grew curious, "You're here to solve the riddle too?"
Instantly, Fatty felt a sense of crisis. What if these students solve the riddle before us? But then, a thought struck him. We have the lantern; these students won't be able to find it even if they find the answer.
Thinking this, Fatty relaxed.
The boy watched the expressions change on the somewhat fierce-looking Fatty. First, Fatty frowned, as if about to lose his temper. Then, he relaxed, as if something amusing had occurred to him, and his lips curled into an involuntary smile.
This person has unpredictable mood swings and must be trouble! The boy hastily averted his gaze, looking at the harmless-looking Chu Changge in front of him, "We indeed came here to solve the riddle... we've actually been here for a while now..."
Chu Changge frowned slightly, "You didn't do as the riddle instructed?"
"No," the boy shook his head, "We did follow the instructions, but we didn't get an answer…"
"No answer?" Gu Mian rubbed his chin.
The boy gathered his courage to meet Gu Mian's gaze. Seeing the seemingly gentle manner of this Doctor, he nodded, "Someone did enter... but they did not come out."
He swallowed and continued, "In the beginning, there were four of us students who wanted to solve the riddle; two boys and two girls. The boys went in together, leaving the girls to wait outside…"
Honestly, braiding a little girl's hair under normal circumstances would be better handled by girls.
But given the special circumstances, girls definitely couldn't be the ones to do it.
The male student continued, "After they went in, there was no sound. Our two female classmates got anxious and started calling out to them, but there was no response from inside.
"Those two waited for a long time, even through a ghost tide, but the two boys inside still made no sound.
"At that time, our group happened to pass by, and we recognized the two boys who had gone in... so our group also sent three people in to look for them…"
Even if the boy didn't finish his story, Gu Mian could guess what happened next.
"And those three haven't come out either?" Chu Changge adjusted his glasses.
The boy turned pale and nodded, "And there hasn't been a single sound. We called out from outside but no one responded... we don't dare to go in anymore."
Chu Changge asked further, "How long have they been inside?"
"The first two have been inside for about half an hour, and the next three for about ten minutes..." the boy looked up, "You're planning to go inside, right?"
Gu Mian nodded decisively.
It would be a huge loss not to go in after spending so much effort to get the lantern.
The boy looked fearful, "Whatever's inside must be terrifying, please be careful...and...can I ask you for a favor?"
Though he said "please," his expression held little hope. It seemed he didn't believe his request would be accommodated, yet he didn't want to miss any opportunity. Nᴇw ɴovel chaptᴇrs are published on 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩⚫𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢⚫𝔫𝔢𝔱
"If you're going in, could you please check on how our friends are doing?" the boy asked, lifting his head to look earnestly at Gu Mian and his group.
That didn't seem too difficult.
The boy lowered his head again, "We're almost ready to give up. If you don't come out after twenty minutes, we're going to leave. We can't wait here forever."
Fatty glanced at Gu Mian and then at Chu Changge before pounding his fleshy chest, "No problem, just wait here."
Apparently not expecting the rather fierce-looking Fatty to be so enthusiastic, the boy looked surprised.
But Fatty was also nervous. The riddle mentioned a little girl, but five people have entered one after another and mysteriously disappeared without a trace, or even a sound. Whatever is inside this house must be terrifying.
As Fatty stepped over the threshold of the green house, he cast a backward glance at the group of students.
The leading boy sat despondently on the steps, showing them only his lonely back.
The scene resembled a young man visiting his parents' tomb during the Qingming Festival, filled with sorrow and melancholy.
It seemed like he had given up hope and didn't expect Gu Mian and the others to make it out alive.
He was probably waiting here just to find a reason to leave with a clear conscience.
And after twenty minutes, they would have their reason.